LONDON, The United Kingdom — One of the best ways to provide security, prosperity and stability to a society is through education. Education strengthens economies, reduces crime and intolerance, and drives better relationships with countries worldwide.
One of the single most important goals of the United Nations Millennium Goals was to provide universal primary education to all children around the world. As of 2015, 57 million children were not attending primary school.
Much improvement has been made over the last 25 years. The literacy gap among youths age 15-24 has improved from 83 percent to 91 percent worldwide between 1990 and 201. Gender gaps have also closed significantly.
A plateau has been reached where new strategies are now being implemented to reach the remaining children. Alternative methods of teaching are being applied and the United Kingdom is one of the nations leading the way in providing global education through the Internet to 30 countries simultaneously around the world.
The new initiative is called Connecting Classrooms. The program will run from 2015 until 2018, with a build capacity of 45,000 teachers and 12,000 school leaders worldwide, helping connect educators worldwide.
Teachers in countries such as Nigeria will have support to implement core skills into their curriculum. The focus will be on skills such as developing student leadership, creating digital literacy and new ways to encourage critical thinking and development among students.
Connecting Classrooms aims at helping teachers develop new skills as well. Online access will improve pedagogy in the United Kingdom and abroad in many ways. The connection will foster continuous professional development among participating teachers through online dialogue and sharing of tips.
Through the program, sustainable partnerships will be fostered between schools in 30 countries. Such diversity will better help the next generation of adults bridge the cultural divide that has plagued many places of the world and be more prepared to join the global economy. The program will also give teachers access to high quality resources. These resources will support teachers in helping deliver improved learning outcomes for their teachers.
Programs such as Connecting Classrooms are efficiently utilizing the Internet to benefit people around the world. Dr. Jo Bell, the British council director of Education and Society, believes this is the best way to prepare children for the future.
Dr. Bell is quoted as saying, “Young people need and deserve the opportunity to grow into well rounded, creative and critical citizens, ready to engage with labor markets and shape the future for themselves and future generations.” Educators from 30 countries agree with her.
Sources:Connecting Classrooms 1, Connecting Classrooms 2, Expat Forum, United Nations
Photo: Flickr