The Swedish national curriculum for both schools and pre-schools clearly states that we need to develop in our children and students certain norms and values (see excerpt below).
“The internalization of Swedish society imposes high demands on the ability of people to live with and understand values inherent in cultural diversity. The (school and) preschool is a social and a cultural meeting place, which can reinforce this and prepare children for life in an increasingly internationalized community. Awareness of their own cultural heritage and participating in the culture of others should contribute to children’s ability to understand and empathise with the circumstances and values of others.”
To work according to the curriculums we follow as well as Futuraskolan’s vision, values and promises. These projects will make concrete our vision about developing world citizens, PER as well as provide a structure to keep our promise of children and students who are:
Visible (through individual/personal involvement with the help of an enquiry-based learning approach)
Challenged (by stepping outside of our comfort zone)
Successful (by gaining an understanding that their personal engagement in these projects can make a difference on a global scale)
Younger children and students:
Community exchanges locally, nationally and through “locally based travelling” (VR or Skype)
Older students:
Community exchanges locally, nationally and through “locally based travelling” (VR or Skype). Older students need also to take on a greater ownership of the project (challenge-based / enquiry-based learning projects along with developing a personal action-orientation which can be presented in an IPC or IMYC “Exit Point”.)
Parents and school community can contribute with money for resources through fund raising projects, but also with a letter to the school in the Philippines with the purpose of a more meaningful and authentic exchange.