SKHC

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The project “Sharing Knowledge and Handling Controversy in schools in Greece, North Macedonia and Bulgaria”

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The Joint Programme provides funding to enable cooperation in at least three states within the framework of the European Cultural Convention in the fields of education for democratic citizenship and human rights education (EDC/HRE). At least one of the participating states should be a member of the European Union. Each project must make available information on current democratic citizenship and help improve human rights education practices in the participating countries. In addition, the Programme intends to:

▶ Encourage discussions and the sharing of best practices for addressing EDC/HRE issues.

▶ Raise awareness and increase visibility of the role of EDC/HRE at all levels of society.

▶ Promote cooperation between national, regional and local authorities and civil society organisations.

▶ Contribute to the promotion and continued development of citizenship and human rights education in Europe.13

The SKHC project The Sharing Knowledge and Handling Controversy Project (SKHC), which was held in schools in Greece, North Macedonia and Bulgaria, is part of the Multilateral Co-operation Projects of the 6th Cycle of the DISCO Programme. The overall aim of the project is to respond to the common controversial issues that appear in the three neighbouring countries and to build a peaceful and inclusive school environment through jointly developing and applying appropriate educational practices and tools within school communities in the three countries. To succeed in this, the three partner countries build on the EU/CoE handling controversy training tool, “Managing controversy. Developing a strategy for handling controversy and teaching controversial issues in schools”. https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/charter-edc-hre-pilot-projects/the-programme/objectives, accessed on 30 August 2021. Handling Controversy in Schools through Human Rights and Citizenship Education

▶ Based on previous CoE publications on handling controversies, partner countries train the local teaching community and come up with new educational material appropriate to facilitate upper primary and secondary school teachers which incorporate human rights and citizenship education in their everyday school practice. Furthermore, through the project’s activities, school administrators, officials for educational planning and other regional or national educational stakeholders are motivated and supported in promoting democratic education using human rights education participatory methodology and techniques. The main aim of the project is to build a peaceful and democratic school environment, which is inclusive and participatory for all members of the school community. Specifically, the project will impact educational policies and practices through:

▶ The introduction of non-formal education methodology and practices to the teaching community, with ensured participation and direct results.

▶ The involvement of official educational bodies run by the Ministry of Education in the three partner countries to ensure the promotion of a democratic and human rights-oriented school culture.

▶ The empowerment of schools in adopting a community-based operating model including school teachers, directors, students as well as non-teaching school staff and parents, educational officials, CSOs related to education etc.

▶ The sustainability of the project through related educational programmes and activities run by school teachers with the support of the partner NGOs.

▶ The sensitisation of the wider community concerning the importance of democratic education.

 

The partnership

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ANTIGONE – Information and Documentation Centre on Racism, Ecology, Peace and Non-Violence (leading partner) ANTIGONE is an independent, social, non-profit organisation based in Thessaloniki, Greece. Since its launch in 1993 the organisation has been active in the struggle against racism and discrimination and has promoted social ecology, peace and non-violent conflict resolution. The main aim of ANTIGONE is to contribute to the development of a democratic, open society, capable of ensuring that everyone has access to decent living standards and quality of life.

More information about ANTIGONE is available here: www.antigone.gr/en

JHR – Journalists for Human Rights (implementing partner) JHR is a non-governmental, non-partisan and non-profit organisation based in Skopje, North Macedonia. It was formed in 1996 as a non-formal group and registered in 1999 and is actively working to achieve greater transparency and objectivity in reporting. It also promotes children’s rights and gender equality, the greater understanding of women’s rights as human rights and aims at the elimination of discrimination against women in society and within their families, as well as striving to uphold the right to a clean environment. Its aim is to bring together the citizens of Northern Macedonia with the aim of sharing information and fostering dialogue, while respecting traditional and moral values in the country, regardless of religion, language, sex.

More information about JHR is available here: www.jhrmk.org.

AMALIPE Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance (implementing partner) Amalipe Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance is a leading Roma organisation working for the equal integration of Roma people in Bulgarian society. The organisation plays a central role in organising the Roma civic movement and advocates integration with state institutions. Amalipe Center is a member of the Public Council of the Ministry of Education and Science, the National Patient Organisation, the European Women’s Lobby and others. The chairman of the organisation, Deyan Kolev, was elected as a representative of Roma NGOs in the Monitoring Committee of the Operational Program “Science and Education for Smart Growth”, 2014 – 2020.

More information about AMALIPE is available here: https://www.amalipe.bg.

 

The trainings in Bulgaria March, 2021 – September, 2021

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Controversial Issues in Schools

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1.1: Definition What are controversial issues? The definition of controversial issues differs slightly from place to place. One definition for controversial issues is that they are significant academic, social, political, and ideological matters involving opposing viewpoints and/or multiple perspectives.2 A controversial issue is also defined as one which results in dispute and disagreement due to a difference of opinion.3 According to another definition, issues typically become controversial when the parties involved have competing values and interests; when they strongly disagree about statements, assertions, or actions; when the subject touches on some particular sensitivity (e.g. political or religious); or when they arouse an emotional reaction. These topics may relate to events in the past, to a current situation or to some future desired outcome.4 In European educational practices controversial issues are defined as “issues that evoke strong emotions and are related to our values and ideals and can divide a community and society”5 . They generate strong emotions, conflicting explanations and solutions based on alternative beliefs and values, competing interests that lead to the division of society.

1.2: Types of controversial issues Controversial issues range from local to global and vary from place to place. For example, religious and sexual orientation issues are relatively uncontroversial in some countries and very controversial in other countries. Some controversial issues have a long and enduring history, like divisions and conflicts among different groups within countries, while others, such as cyberbullying and the threat of youth radicalisation, have emerged only recently. In that sense, what is controversial in one school or even one class may not be a concern in another. Potentially controversial issues in a school curriculum:

▶ History-related issues, including different narratives and perspectives; and sensitive topics such as past conflicts, the origins of nationalism, fascism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

▶ Questions related to contemporary issues e.g., social, political, economic, religious, moral, philosophical, etc. (covered in several classes, such as history, religious education, health education, civic and social education, literature, science and more). Some school subjects are more likely to cause controversy than others:

▶ Literature – social issues, such as racism and equality, and changes in attitudes towards issues over time.

▶ Language – insight into other countries and cultures, cultural ties.

▶ History and history-related issues, as before.

▶ Science – evolution, climate changes, animal experiments, stem-cell research, genetically modified food.

▶ Religious education – religious diversity and use of religious symbols such as the crucifix and the hijab may be concerned.

▶ Health and sex education – sexual orientation, abortion, drug use. 2 https://policy.hcpss.org/8000/8050/, accessed on 10 August 2021. 3 https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/frame_found_sr2/tns/tn-34.pdf , accessed on 10 August 2021. 4 https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/teaching/ideas-teaching/teaching-controversial-topics , accessed on 10 August 2021. 5 Teaching Controversial Issues Through Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights, Council of Europe, September 2015, p. 8. Controversial Issues in Schools

▶ Mathematics – different number and measurement systems, use and misuse of statistics, such as those related to crime and immigration rates.

▶ Civic and social education – political systems, political parties, policies, and ideologies.

▶ Physical education – cultural attitudes towards sports, gender patterns in sports and doping.

▶ Art – cultural attitudes towards art, art as propaganda and protest, use of art to raise awareness.

▶ Information and communication technology – radicalisation of young people through social media, pornography, Internet privacy, democracy, and online campaigns.

▶ Geography – including local issues, pollution control, planning and segregation, and global issues, such as fair trade, migration, climate change and ethical tourism.

▶ Music – cultural attitudes towards music, music as a means for propaganda or protest, racist and sexist lyrics in music. While not every issue is suitable for discussion for every age group and keeping in mind that there are no ‘‘quick fixes’’, controversial issues should not be avoided in schools and classrooms. Moreover, these issues, cannot be confined to classrooms: they spill out into other areas of the school, corridors, cafeterias, playgrounds and staff rooms6 . Furthermore, students are exposed to controversial issues more than ever through mass media, and, therefore, they need to have a safe space to discuss and demystify them. Discussing current controversial issues can be a good way of helping young people learn how to engage in democratic dialogue.

 

Resources

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