Pedagogical development

Today, many folk high schools work extensively with sustainability in subjects, in relation to the school's own ecological transformation and with the communities around them.

This project seeks to create a framework for the development of sustainable personal formation at folk high schools by sharing educational experiences from different schools, by inspiring teachers with the latest insights within the field and by developing and testing new educational programs together. This collaboration between folk high schools will create synergy, motivation, and joy in educational development work.

Therefore, People’s Future Lab has created the following teacher training course. Throughout 5 online modules participants from all over the world gathered learning and reflecting upon the topics.

Peoples education

What can we as people educators especially bring to the table in the sustainable transformation of societies? With its 175 years, the folk high school is an old lady. We stand upon great educational thinkers who are still very present in the way we think and practice education today.

In this module we will explore the main concepts of the folk high school pedagogy. Based on both praxis and theory we will start the conversation about where that place us in the field of sustainable education.

Sustainable education

UNESCO‘s definition of Education for Sustainable Development is that it: “empowers learners to take informed decisions and responsible actions for environmental integrity, economic viability and a just society, for present and future generations, while respecting cultural diversity.”

The vision is ambitious, but what does this actually means for our pedagogical praxis? This is what we will explore in this module.

Global education

Global education aims at opening a global dimension and a holistic perspective in education to help people understand the complex realities and processes of today's world and develop values, attitudes, knowledge and skills that will enable them to face the challenges of an interconnected world.

In this module we will especially focus on intercultural competencies and the sustainable transition in a global perspective. We will explore how we establish the best pedagogical conditions for intercultural meetings and global experiences to create reflection and learning in our common project.

Action learning

Action learning or project-based learning is about learning while experimenting with concrete actions of social innovation in everyday life. Experiences arise when the individual actively tries to influence his/her surroundings, and when the surroundings response to the actions and subsequently the learners jointly reflect on the experiences made.

In this module we will focus on the pedagogy of action learning and discuss the paradoxes that can arise while mixing pedagogy with social and political change.

Local engagement

As pedagogical institutions, how do we create long-term impact for the better in the local area surrounding our schools? How do we create real change? How do we make local actors our allies?

The focus is on engaging the local society in the green transition. The student/change agents and the folk high school will engage with local partners and local community in this proces towards a common goal.

Listen to the participants