Making a MEAL out of a Global Professional Learning Community: A transformative approach to global education

Abstract

The implementation of global education in schools has, despite the plethora of differenttermsusedtodescribeit, beendefinedbyanapproachthatensuresglobal issuesareembedded(1)inthecurriculum(asubject-specificapproach),(2)across all subject areas (an interdisciplinary approach), and (3) in the school's ethos (a 'whole-school approach'). The means by which each of these three approaches has been implemented, however, have been far less cohesive. This paper will argue that one potential tool is extending the Professional Learning Community (PLC) model to focus on the global (i.e.creating a Global Professional Learning Community [GPLC], also known as a Networked Learning Community). We suggest that this form of collaborative working is a vital tool in creating effective policy and shared practice for global learning. Moreover, its methods incorporate the key values of the global learning ethos: participation, inclusion, and critical and creative thinking. The paper explores this premise through the analysis of Sazani Associates' GPLC, established over a period of ten years and incorporating approximately 40 schools in both Wales and Zanzibar. It focuses on how the GPLC has developed through peer exchange, skill sharing, continuous professional development, and a critical learning approach to evaluation in both localities. This paper explores how this GPLC contributes to the quality of education from a Northern and Southern perspective, and how it counters the tension between the aims of global learning approaches and their more prescriptive means. It also considers the role of critical reflection in measuring a transformative approach to learning, where both educators and pupils are able to explore the global in a structured yet holistic way.