Click here to view the resources in a downloadable pdf format

The People’s Voice schools’ resources were produced as a result of an initiative bringing together researchers at the University of Glasgow and school teachers (recruited through Education Scotland) in order to create new resources for use in ‘Broad General Education’.

This scheme aims to create resources for use in schools which utilise research from the University of Glasgow (specifically from the College of Arts). However, rather than simply ‘disseminating’ the research to schools, researchers work directly with teachers who create a resource based on aspects of the research. Having the teachers in the driving seat is fundamental to these projects as it means that these new resources will speak directly to the needs of those actually working in the classroom and can be better integrated into the curriculum.

The scheme produces resources for use at the levels of ‘Broad General Education’ (BGE). This is because, unlike the National Qualifications, BGE is inherently more flexible in its content, based as it is on ‘Experiences & Outcomes’ rather than ‘knowledge’. This structure means that diverse subject areas – such as those researched at universities – can now be taught in the classroom.

The schools’ resources here were created by Athole McLauchlan. Athole notes:

‘I have worked as a primary teacher in Scotland for the last 15 years. During this time I have worked across four different local authorities and a variety of settings. I have experience as a Social Studies Development Officer with Education Scotland and as a Principal Teacher. In 2015 I coordinated a national project developing political literacy in Scottish schools in the run up to votes at 16. In July 2017, I moved with my family to live and work in Beijing, China. I now teach as a Grade 5 Homeroom Teacher at the Western Academy of Beijing. It was exciting to be asked to think of teaching resources for the People’s Voice because of my twin passion for literacy and history. My aim was to create teaching resources that made these lyrical nuggets accessible to the modern classroom. I hope students can find connections between the political issues, poets and protest singers of the past and the issues that affect them in the present. Perhaps inspiring them to find the confidence and voice to write their own poem or song of protest.’

For further information on BGE@University of Glasgow, contact Professor Dauvit Broun         (Dauvit.Broun@glasgow.ac.uk).

Find out more about this scheme on the Education Scotland National Improvement Hub: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/