February 2012 Development Education Day at NUI Galway

The School of Education at NUI Galway will hold a Development Education Day on Wednesday, 15 February. Organised in partnership with Self Help Africa and with support from Irish Aid, the event is the first step towards integrating Development Education as a much more significant component across all Initial Teacher Education programmes offered at the University.

NUI Galway students on the Professional Diploma in Education, Dioplóma Gairmiúil san Oideachas and the BA in Mathematics and Education programmes, as well as some practicing teachers from cooperating partner schools, will also participate in the event. The Development Education Day will involve 26 expert speakers hosting 33 sessions, promoting awareness among the teachers. The event will also provide attendees with some knowledge on the main emerging issues within Development Education and ideas on how to bring development issues into the classrooms.

Keynote speakers at the Development Education Day will include: Sydney Chisi, Director of Youth Initiative for Democracy in Zimbabwe and Ray Jordan, CEO of Self Help Africa.

Development Education themes covered throughout the event will include Global Interdependence, Climate Change, Food Security and Irelands Bilateral Aid Programme, and group workshops will focus on how to integrate Development Education in specific areas across the curriculum.

Event Organiser, Seán Ó Grádaigh from the NUI Galway School of Education, said: “Development Education plays a key role in the curriculum in Irish second level schools. Through a series of workshops, presentations and seminars, this event will provide our student teachers with a broad understanding of current development education issues. Participants will gain an understanding of the skills required to embed development education topics into their subject teaching.”

For further information contact Seán Ó Grádaigh in the School of Education, NUI Galway, at sean.ogradaigh@nuigalway.ie or 091 494072/495985.

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