The Colourlful World – a game for Sustainable Development Education of Children Erasmus Project

Project Title

The Colourlful World – a game for Sustainable Development Education of Children

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

Background
As climate change, overpopulation, and inequalities take their toll on our planet and on global human development, Sustainability has become increasingly important for a prosperous and viable future. The UN defines Sustainable Development (SD) as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. As such, SD calls for concerted efforts towards building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and planet by harmonizing economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. STEM has at this level, a huge role to play as it can provide answers to this crucial harmonization. For the past years, SD has been a significant element of the EU’s political agenda. In 2001, the EU established a SD Strategy and more recently was a major contributor to the UN’s 2030 Agenda for SD.
One cannot talk about SD without highlighting the role of education. Education is central to efforts to develop and promote sustainable solutions for the developmental needs of both people and the planet (UN, 2013). Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) should be understood as an integral part of quality education and lifelong learning. All educational institutions ranging from preschool to tertiary education and including both non-formal and informal education should consider it their responsibility to address sustainable development and to foster the development of key cross-cutting competencies related to sustainability. (Issues and Trends in ESD, UN, 2018) As noted, ESD should start early in school (UN, 2018). It is in early childhood that children often experience the greatest environmental challenges, and it is a time when the foundations of many of their fundamental attitudes and values are established. We know from research and experience that even very young children are capable of sophisticated thinking in relation to socioenvironmental issues and that the earlier ESD ideas are introduced, the greater their impact and influence can be. In EU member states, SD tends to be covered at the higher levels of school education (EACEA, 2017). In primary school, in turn, ESD has generally been insufficiently addressed. It is common to find some SD related topics covered in class (e.g., environmental protection, waste), but rarely as part of a holistic approach.

Project Outcomes
In response to this situation, the Colourful World project gathered 6 partners from the UK, Portugal, Poland and Greece, including a higher education institution, an education authority, schools and companies. The project has developed an innovative and playful pedagogy for Sustainable Development education for children (aged 6 to 10) which encourages their interest in STEM topics. This pedagogy is based around a computer learning game that the project has successfully devised, tested, and launched. This game, which is now freely available online, is for formal, non-formal and informal learning contexts. Available in all the languages of the project partners (English, Greek, Portuguese, Polish) the game is currently being played and enjoyed by young learners in several countries.

Alongside the game, the project has produced a guide for educators to facilitate its use in learning contexts as well as a glossary of key terms to augment and refresh the knowledge base of participating educators. Like the game, these are freely available in all the project languages. Additionally, Colourful World has also delivered: project presentations to disseminate Colourful World and associated outcomes to target groups; pilot testing activities of the game and linked learning materials to validate them and capacitate educators on their use; publications and presentations about the project in a range of formats and settings, including peer-reviewed journals, conferences and symposia to spread awareness of Colourful World; a website and a Facebook page on Education for Sustainable Development with a repository of the materials produced in the project (and other relevant matter) that can be a meeting point for people involved or interested in the topic; a Sustainability Strategy presenting the guidelines for the ongoing exploitation and dissemination of the results of the project; contests which have engaged children and educators in the project and raised awareness of Sustainable Development; a project video to promote Colourful World.

Project Website

https://www.colourfulworld.eu/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 236096 Eur

Project Coordinator

The University of West London & Country: UK

Project Partners

• SZKOLA PODSTAWOWA NR 1 IM.KEN W KRAKOWIE
• ADVANCIS-BUSINESS SERVICES, LDA
• ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER OF VAMOS
• Surrey SATRO
• Boon Unipessoal, Lda.