The Schools Project website - launching Summer 2011
The Schools Project is a collaborative educational programme devised by Primark, Aylesbury High School (AHS), and the Sourcemap research project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab.
The project will create an online educational resource and gateway for students, teachers and young people to find out more about ethical trading; and a curriculum that other schools can use to teach the subject.
The primary objective is that students create content for other students about ethical trading, using their own voices, charting their own progress and learning.
The project sits within the framework of the Active Citizenship curriculum. Citizenship is a statutory subject at Key Stages 3 and 4 (secondary). It is part of a non-statutory framework at Key Stages 1 and 2 (primary), and was first included as part of the school curriculum in September 2002.
As a school subject, citizenship is a form of knowledge relating to an individual's rights, responsibilities and position within society.
External partners
During the project, the students have the opportunity to engage with a range of stakeholders including voluntary organisations, campaign and advocacy groups, government bodies, sustainable business advisors, and others.
The importance and role of these stakeholders is to foster and encourage debate on complex issues; and to introduce students to the different roles and responsibilities of stakeholders within the framework of ethical trading.
To date, students have engaged in dialogue and research with Anti-Slavery International; the Ethical Trading Initiative; the United Nation’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour and SustainAbililty; The Reassurance Network; Engaged Partnerships for Change; Level Works; Business for Social Responsibility.
The Schools Project website
As students work through the modules, they will be creating content that records and demonstrates their progress and learning. The content they create will be published online on a dedicated website that the students will create and design.
Content will range from written articles to blogs and videos. Support will be given by MIT, AHS, Primark and external partners. The website content forms the required coursework for the Active Citizenship curriculum.
The Schools Project is a dynamic learning resource, and the aspirations of those involved in it, including the students, are that it continues to develop and grow.