Case study of a curriculum activity

The Bristol children noticed from evidence in photographs that the children in the village only have books in English.  They learned that one of the aims of the Zambuko Library Project is to purchase a bookbinder so that new and relevant materials can be made to enable the children to learn to read in their own language, Shona.

Here are some questions asked by the English children after studying the photographs.

I would like to ask the builders some questions about what they think about the project.  Do they like working as builders on this kind of project?  What do you think the oldest man in the village thinks about it?  Do you think he can remember other projects like this in the past?

I think it would be nice if when the library is built the children could get a cold drink when they first arrive to look at the books.

There was concern for truth here as the children identified questions that they wanted to ask the people in the photographs.  The teacher was well placed to support this because the children had begun a conversation (so to speak) and were thinking beyond themselves and their own experience.

The children began to consider questions of justice.   They discovered that the old man knew much about building because when he was 45 years old the village had been forcibly moved to its current location to make space for the development of a white Rhodesian farm.   There were many subsequent questions about honesty as the children explored the many representations of the Shona people through different media, in the past through the colonial times and the war of independence and also in current reports on tensions in the country.  There were conflicting accounts here which they had to appraise.  As they found out more about the process of decolonisation, the vestiges of former trading patterns became apparent – for example the controversial tobacco trade on which this village in part depends economically.  Learning about trust emerged from this enquiry. They learned about arrangements that are in place to support this community and about how their support networks operate. They learned  that the village is itself seen as a centre for spiritual healing and that many who are troubled depend on the skilful interventions of Dominic Mutambapadziri, a healer who lives there and is the leader of the community.  For example one man visited because he had killed another man when he was a soldier in the war in the Congo. They also found out that the elderly are always accompanied and supported by younger community members. They learned about a sense of duty too and how those in the village see understand their responsibilities, for example within an extended family which draws together 35 siblings. 

The children also considered what their own responsibility might be to those living in different material conditions.  They recognised that the village needed a total of only £3000 to construct the community library building.   Motivated towards social justice, the children took the story back to their own families and friends.  By their own initiative they raised money by selling toys that people no longer wanted on behalf of the community library – in particular to buy a book binding machine. They raised more than was needed - £312 - enough to put the roof on part of the building.

These children learned about citizenship and the application of moral principles in a different community setting and they took action themselves in response. 

Source: Clough N and Holden C (2002) Education for Citizenship: Ideas into Action, London: Routledge