Connecting with the community

last updated:August 2009

We chose this case study because it describes a project in which connections were made between the school curriculum and wider community. It involved a class of 11 to 12-year-old pupils from a Glasgow primary school and their two job-share teachers in making a film about citizenship in a partnership with a theatre and film production company. The teachers aimed to create a real context for developing their pupils’ citizenship skills, while also giving them a sense of achievement. The project took six months from the initial proposal to the premiere in a Glasgow Cinema.

What activities did the pupils engage in?
The teachers prepared the pupils for making the film by working on their group work skills. They set up a number of group tasks in different areas of the curriculum. In their feedback to the class they emphasised group performance and pupils’ individual contributions to the overall work of the group. According to the teachers: 'the class very quickly got the message that they rose or fell by collaboration and group outcomes'.

While working on the film the pupils also explored citizenship through studying units such as: Our Community, Rights and Responsibility, Government and Law, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Effecting Change. The units were flexible and lessons evolved in response to the children's level of interest and needs. Invited guest speakers included representatives from a variety of organisations, such as Amnesty International. The pupils’ responses to the units showed how their awareness of citizenship and inclusion were growing. The class made lists, without prompting, of excluded groups and constructive ways of making society more inclusive.

How did the pupils work with professionals to make the film and what skills did they learn?
Making the film involved designing a number of key learning/activity stages, including:

• a local actress helping the children develop their drama and improvisation skills. She explored citizenship with them, developed their confidence in story telling, and taught them acting skills
• involving a theatre company and film production company in helping the class with scripting. The children were soon using film and television vocabulary effectively
• designing the work so that pupils worked in small groups and took responsibility for their own small scene such as, a panel discussion, supported by the media professionals, class teachers and other staff, and
• casting parts and organising the filming schedule. The external professionals took the children's scripts, made them practical, explaining each step to the children and ensuring that each child was involved in the acting and filming processes.

During the week-long filming pupils took on the roles of sound engineer, production assistant, assistant director – 'some of them displaying the qualities, creativity and bossiness of true professionals'. Some additional film was taken in class, teachers and children were interviewed, and a documentary was put together to inform other teachers about the project. Pupils wrote a booklet with support from the local authority’s advisor in social subjects.

How did the pupils benefit from the project?
The teachers reported pupils becoming much more confident in their approaches to each other and to their schooling. Some of them displayed a high level of knowledge and understanding of rights and responsibilities. In the words of one pupil: 'Everybody had a lot of fun filming. I learned we should care for the community and not to be selfish and help elderly people to cross a road. I really enjoyed making the film'.

Pupil consultation and involvement became the norm and seemed to work well. Pupils met and in most cases exceeded their attainment and attendance targets. Teachers noted that their creative writing and oral communication skills had improved significantly.

The film was launched at the Glasgow Film Theatre before an audience of parents, friends, family, colleagues and invited guests. One of the teachers commented: 'Hearing the applause from their guests was magical for them. They had achieved something that had seemed impossible…'

This sentiment was clearly echoed by the pupil who said:
'Mrs. Harker spoke (at the premiere of the film) and said how proud she is of us and things. Then they played the film and it was brilliant. It was funny. At first it was embarrassing seeing ourselves on the big screen but then we got used to it. It is my favourite film in the whole universe…'

Reference
Clare Harker and Geraldine Smith, Holmlea Primary School, Glasgow
Developing citizenship and increasing pupils participation