“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange… When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror.”
–Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop
On Wednesday 18 February, we joined the Highland One World team on their visit to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. They led professional learning sessions on Global Citizenship and anti-racist education for around 150 teachers from across the Outer Hebrides, spanning early years, primary, and secondary schools. During the trip, we also met with teams at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council), including community learning, youth work, and refugee resettlement, to hear about their experiences and needs in relation to Global Citizenship Education.
Ben Sparham and Catriona Willis led the sessions, showing how anti-racist practice can be part of everyday teaching. The focus was practical, building on what is already happening in classrooms, using available resources – including a new anti-racist education website developed by the Development Education Centres – and making small changes that ensure all students feel safe, respected, and represented. The sessions moved beyond inclusion and explored ways of preparing young people to be thoughtful, active, and responsible citizens in a diverse and connected world.
The sessions began with space for teachers to share questions and concerns. These conversations are not always easy. Some teachers spoke about wanting to do this work well but not always feeling confident, and about working with limited time and resources. What came through clearly, both in Stornoway and in our wider work across the Highlands and Scotland, is that representation matters.
Teachers face significant challenges. They are already overstretched and under-resourced, and delivering this vital work often means going above and beyond their usual workload. It takes committed educators to make it happen, and we see great examples of this, from the enthusiasm of teachers at Stornoway Primary, Lochardil Primary in Inverness, Nairn Academy, Peebles High School, and many others across Scotland.
Gaelic Language
Discussions with teachers highlighted a unique perspective on inclusion and representation rooted in the Outer Hebrides’ Gaelic heritage. The islands remain the heart of the Gaelic language in Scotland, even though it was once widespread across the Highlands, and Gaelic-medium schooling is the norm. Teachers highlighted the need for global citizenship and anti-racist education that is accessible in Gaelic and that reflects the islands’ history and community life.
As Sharon Sharkey, Deputy Head at Nairn Academy, a native of Lewis and a Gaelic speaker, noted at SIDA’s session on Global Citizenship Education at The Gathering on 4 February, the history of Gaelic language and cultural loss offers a way to explore themes of dispossession, inequality, and cultural erasure. Linking local experiences to wider global issues helps learners understand justice, inclusion, and respect for all communities.
Windows and Mirrors
This is where the concept of windows and mirrors is so useful, one that Highland One World use to structure their advice and trainings, and on which they have developed a brilliant resource for educators.
All learners need both windows and mirrors. Education should act as a mirror, where young people see their lives, families, and identities reflected and valued, whatever those identities may be. It should also act as a window, helping them learn about people and experiences beyond their own. Without mirrors, children can feel invisible. Without windows, their understanding of the wider world is limited. Both are essential for confidence, empathy, and curiosity.
Sometimes the starting point is simple – a book choice, a classroom display, a conversation, or a story added to a lesson. Small changes shape how young people understand themselves and others. This can include:
- In science, highlighting scientists from a wider range of backgrounds alongside familiar names.
- In early years, considering the books, dolls, and role-play materials available – whose lives are represented and whose are missing.
- In history, questioning whose stories are told and whose are left out, including colonial histories and their impact.
- In technology and STEM, discussing global challenges and how innovation connects to inequality and sustainability.
- In home economics, exploring Fairtrade and the origins of the everyday food and drinks we consume.
While long-term curriculum change is a key goal of the global citizenship movement, there are opportunities within the current system to make a difference. This means finding spaces where alternative stories can be shared and different cultures celebrated, helping young people see a fuller picture of the world. It also means creating learning environments where all students feel safe, represented, and respected, not just through the school culture, but also in how schools respond to incidents of racism and what they do to ensure every learner feels seen and protected.
Supporting Teachers and Communities
Across Scotland, many teachers care deeply about this work. The challenge for them is not willingness, but capacity. Teachers are already stretched, and much of this work depends on individual effort on top of an already full workload.
During our time in Stornoway, we also met members of the Community Learning and Development (CLD) team, including youth work and refugee resettlement staff at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. They saw the value of Global Citizenship Education in helping young people and communities engage with issues that matter to them and tackle shared global challenges. However, like in schools, it often depends on the commitment of individual – and very stretched – staff, rather than a consistent, well-supported framework. The staff at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar are not alone – we’ve heard this from other CLD workers in other regions in Scotland.
Beyond Schools
At the GCE session SIDA and Scotdec led during The Gathering in February, we explored how global citizenship education applies beyond schools, for community groups and workers. Participants saw its relevance in many areas – from sailing and poverty reduction to anti-racism and local climate work.
For these reasons, responsibility cannot rest with teachers, lifelong educators, and youth workers alone. Global Citizenship and anti-racist education need proper support: clear curriculum guidance, accessible resources, and backing from local authorities and national policy. Every learner, in every community, deserves an education that helps them understand difference, respect human rights, and recognise their place, and their power to make change, in a shared world.
Scotland’s Learning for Sustainability framework is valuable and unique in the UK, but its global citizenship element is applied unevenly and needs more attention alongside its focus on environmental sustainability.
Global Citizenship Education cannot be optional – it is essential for preparing young people, adults, and communities to understand the world, navigate its challenges, and take action on the issues affecting both their lives and humanity as a whole. The challenge now is to make sure all learners and citizens, in all communities, cultures and languages in Scotland, have access to it.
Ahead of the Holyrood election in May, we have launched an open letter calling for stronger support for GCE in policy and practice. The letter calls on all party leaders to include this commitment in their manifestos. You can read and sign the letter to show your support.
Read more about Global Citizenship Education here.
Images: Hannah Clyne, Hannah Raymond / SIDA