SCT’s Educational Programme
This page outlines the educational programme which SCT is undertaking with the University of Leeds.
Expressing Citizenship
SCT, in collaboration with Stephen Coleman, Professor of Political Communication at the University of Leeds, and supported by the BAFTA-winning creative agency Bold Creative is working on an exciting new project to develop innovative, web-based resources to support citizenship learning and teaching.
Expressing Citizenship, generously funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, will develop attractive and accessible educational resources to help young people improve their speaking and listening skills and overcome the lack of experience and confidence which prevents so many from expressing their ideas and opinions and engaging with community and civic life.
Two sets of resources – a web-based animation aimed principally at young people and a related series of written guides for teachers and youth leaders – will focus on three core needs among young people:
- Expression – how to identify issues, organise thoughts, express themselves in public and influence others
- Common Cause – how to relate to and learn from the needs, interests and opinions of others, develop consensus and build support and cooperation for shared agendas
- Influence – how to engage effectively within their community, in a range of settings including work and with the decision-making process.
It will be undertaken over nine months, probably starting in September 2011, and based on work with four groups of young people in West Yorkshire to
- gain insights into their knowledge and experience of the democratic system and the issues which matter to them
- support them in acquiring skills in speaking and listening (as outlined above)
- design the educational resources, with the young people’s input, for use both within and beyond school settings.
SCT/UoL’s proposals are set out in more detail in Expressing Citizenship – A Project Summary.
