Professional development
Teachers need time and space to reflect on making the global dimension central to their practice.
This might be combined with an audit or the development of a school policy, or linked to performance management and school improvement plans.
There are a whole range of professional development opportunities out there that explore the global dimension. Get in touch with the organisations listed below, or check out our calendar for any forthcoming courses and other CPD events.
In-service training and short courses | |
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| Development Education Centres (DECs) |
DECs are independent local organisations that raise the profile of global issues and encourage positive local action for global change. Many centres offer training as twilight in-service sessions, whole day events, or short courses. Find your local DEC on a map. |
| School partnership sessions |
If your school has a partnership with another school, you might want some training around developing this link. Global School Partnerships offer workshops on topics such as 'Building Effective Partnerships' and 'Involving Communities', as well as options for university accreditation. Find out more from the Global School Partnerships website. |
| Subject teaching associations |
If you belong to a subject teaching association, they may offer professional development opportunities about the global dimension to your subject. Examples include the Geographical Association’s CPD curriculum development project Valuing Places, or the Association for Science Education’s Global web pages. Find out more about subject associations from www.subjectassociation.org.uk. |
Individual Study | |
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| Background reading |
If you have limited time for in-service training, you might like to consider individual research and study. There are many books available to teachers, which explore the theory and practice of teaching through the Global Dimension. Browse through some of the Professional development or Background information resources listed on this site. |
| Exchanges and study visits |
Exchange visits with teachers living in another country can offer a chance to develop personally and professionally by teaching within a new environment and experiencing new teaching methods and resources. Study visits also offer opportunities to experience best practice in international education. They can be short-term theme focused visits or visits to a particular country, for example where your school might have a link. Find out more from the British Council website. The Scottish Continuing International Professional Development Programme (SCIPD) is being taken forward by Learning and Teaching Scotland. A range of international study visits is available for individual staff or groups. |
| Online resources |
Maybe you'd like to do your own research or study over the internet, in which case there are plenty of websites available to help you. You can search for these and similar resources by choosing ‘Professional development’ from the 'Background materials' list on the left hand side of this page. The Teach Global website from the Open University site includes sections for primary and secondary teachers, whilst Oxfam’s Education website has a 'teacher support' section with CPD resources. |
| Postgraduate study |
There are many universities offering post-graduate courses in issues relevant to the global dimension. Examples include a Masters in Education for Sustainability or a Post-graduate Certificate in Development Studies. You can search for postgraduate courses by location and by subject on the Prospects website. |