Join us at LGEC's AGM

LGEC's 2011 Annual General Meeting will take place on 3rd October at 6.30pm at LGEC's offices (18a Ribblesdale Place, Preston). Following a review of the past year's activities and finances, the appointment of LGEC Trustees will take place. The AGM will conclude with a presentation about Global Youth Work by Stuart Wroe, LGEC's Global Youth Work Co-ordinator.

For more information, please contact LGEC on 01772 252299 or lgec@lgec.org.uk.

Free Global Youth Work training

LGEC is offering free introductory professional development workshops for youth workers in the North West in partnership with Global Link. The daylong workshops focusing on 'Global Youth Work' will be held in Penrith, Preston and Barrow in Furness during the autumn. Visit LGEC's training page for further details and booking information.

The Global Youth Work training sessions are funded by UKAid from the Department for International Development.

New LGEC research report, 'ESD and Initial Teacher Education'

This week, LGEC has published a new research report, "ESD in Post-compulsory Initial Teacher Education." LGEC commissioned Magnified Learning to carry out the study, as part of LGEC's three-year Sustainable Skills project. Key findings of the report include:

• There are FE and HEIs providers of ITE which offer learning about ESD as part of their programmes, but they are in a minority;
• In most cases teaching about SD and ESD is absent from ITE provision;
• A minority of FE ITE lecturers are unclear about how if they or their ITE colleagues undertook CPD on ESD, it could benefit beginning teachers;
• A minority of FE ITE lecturers are unclear about how if they or their ITE colleagues undertook CPD on ESD, it could benefit the sector as a whole;
• A minority of HEI ITE lecturers are unclear about how if they or their ITE colleagues undertook CPD on ESD, it could benefit beginning teachers;
• The relevance of sustainable development to all vocational areas is not fully grasped, and is can be viewed as a separate ‘topic' rather than a cross-cutting theme;
• A majority of ITE staff who teach about SD either have not or are not known to have undertaken associated CPD;
• The inclusion of teaching about SD on ITE programmes in FE colleges is allied to increased appetite for further associated CPD.

You can download and read the full report here.

The Sustainable Skills project is funded by UKaid from the Department for International Development.

LGEC highlighted in evaluation best practice guide

Evaluating Global Learning Outcomes, a recent publication from Think Global and the Charities Evaluation Services, has highlighted recent evaluation work conducted by LGEC as an example of innovative and effective evaluation in the global learning field. The book features a case study of the North West Global Education Network's use of the 'most significant change' evaluation methodology to evaluate the success of the Local Learning Networks of Schools programme. NWGEN was managed by LGEC and was one of 11 'Enabling Effective Support' regional programmes supported by the Department for International Development until 2010.

To order a copy of Evaluating Global Learning Outcomes, visit the Think Global website.

LGEC plays key role in successful model United Nations project

LGEC played a key role in 'East Lancashire Goes Global', a mock UN Summit focusing on the Millennium Development Goals. For two weeks in late June and early July, LGEC Schools Co-ordinator Sarah Hetherington facilitated and took part in a role play with 300 students from secondary schools across East Lancashire. The two-week project was organised by Lancashire County Council and delivered in partnership with the Burnley and Pendle Faith Centre, Global Link, and Cumbria and Lancashire Education Online (CLEO).

Artwork from the Sustainable Skills Millennium Development Goals design competition was also on dispay at the Burnley and Pendle Faith Centre, where the event was held.

Teachers who were involved in the event commented:

"Overall a unique and exciting experience enjoyed by all"

"We were very proud of our students - for their teamwork, the way they organised and presented themselves and for the way they put self interest aside to reach a consensus."

For more details and to view film footage of the event, including a question and answer session with Nicola Harrington-Buhay, the Deputy Director of the United Nations Development Programme based in Brussels, visit the CLEO website.