As all good geographers know, Brazil is a big country. So when a headteacher study group embarked on a visit there in March 2004, the focus was on not one, but two destinations: Recife and Porto Alegre. The visit, under the International Placements for Headteachers (IPH) scheme, enabled the study group to look at different aspects of leadership and gave them the opportunity to explore the rich diversity of a vibrant country. The common experience was that everyone felt inspired to broaden the global awareness of pupils and teachers back home.

For Sarah Davies, head of Ferncumbe Church of England Primary School in Warwick, the visit was in part a quest to find ways her school could continue to develop its global awareness. ‘The need to educate pupils for life in an ever-shrinking global community was high on my agenda. What role could we play as global citizens? How could we make a difference?’ she says.

Likewise, for Heather Fielding, head of Oakfield Primary School in Rugby, this was a chance to explore opportunities for international activities at her school - activities which had already included teacher visits to the Ukraine and Maryland in the United States.

Looking back on the experience, Heather says it also provided an opportunity to re-evaluate her educational views and aims.

Transferable skills
The visit started with a briefing from the British Council in Sao Paulo on the workings of the education system in Brazil, and then it was time to split into two groups, one bound for Recife, the other for Porto Alegre.

Sarah’s group headed south to Porto Alegre. The theme of their visit was ‘collaboration’. They were able to see at first hand how, through working together, the headteachers there had helped to shape their schools. For example, one head met with parents every Friday afternoon to discuss school issues. Despite some schools having few resources, they were all, like their British counterparts, keen to instil a sense of purpose and community in the school.

Heather Fielding travelled north to Recife, where she was struck by the children’s enthusiasm to learn despite the lack of resources. For her group the focus was ‘sharing experiences of group leadership’ and they concluded that successful leadership styles are the same whether in Warwickshire or Brazil.

Kathy Lodder, headteacher at Lambley Primary School in Nottinghamshire, was a facilitator for the study group visiting Recife. She summed up the experiences of both groups: ‘We agreed that the skills necessary for an effective leader were indeed transferable across cultures and countries. Their ideas would have worked just as well in the UK because, like us, they want the very best for the children in their care.’

The visit allowed participants to see different leadership styles in action, to learn more about the culture, and to experience the challenges faced by schools in Brazil. What they had not anticipated was the huge impact the visit would have on their own schools when they returned home.

Ambitious global agenda
In October last year, the Brazilian headteachers paid a reciprocal visit to the Warwickshire schools, funded by the British Council office in Brazil. This gave pupils and staff a glimpse of Brazilian life and culture and since then both Oakfield and Ferncumbe have gone from strength to strength in building the global dimension in their schools.

During the heads’ visit to Oakfield, Heather remembers the school assembly as ‘one of those magical spine-tingling moments. The children sang for their Brazilian guests then the interpreter, Gabriela di Laccio, who also happened to be quite a well-known opera singer, sang the same song in Portuguese. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house!’

The vision of governors and staff is for Oakfield to be a global school in ethos and practice. ‘Through displays, assemblies and presentations, the children have become aware of one more distant locality - Recife in Brazil,’ says Heather. And it doesn’t stop there. Through the DFID (Department for International Development) Global School Partnership scheme, the school is forging a link with a primary school in Pampawie, Ghana, which three teachers visited at Easter. ‘The difficulty lies in knowing where to stop!’ exclaims Heather.

Sarah was also delighted that her school was able to extend the same hospitality to its guests as she had received in Brazil and used the reciprocal visit to make plans for further collaboration. Ferncumbe, a rural school of just 82 pupils, has already embarked on an ambitious global agenda, having formed a link with Kakua Primary School in Sierra Leone. Sarah has also been running workshops for other heads and deputies in her area, sharing experiences and encouraging others to develop global links. Everyone from Reception to Year 6, can now identify continents, countries and flags. The pupils learn about other children around the world and take part in activities such as World Book Day. ‘Global awareness has been built into our school curriculum and values,’ she says.

Even before their visit to Brazil, Heather and Sarah had aspirations to develop their schools’ global awareness. Sarah says the study visit certainly fitted the bill. Her hopes for the impact of the global agenda at her own school surely speak for any school wishing to broaden its experiences worldwide: ‘Our links around the world should ensure that Ferncumbe pupils grow up as global citizens of the future, able to identify and celebrate diverse cultures and their positive contributions to global society.’

© May 2005, British Council, Learning World.
Published with permission
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-world.htm