Dr Vanessa Andreotti
Positions
Visiting Academic from the Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice – University of Nottingham
Qualifications
B.Ed. (Brazil), M.Ed. (Manchester University), Ph.D. (University of Nottingham)
Room
Room: Wheki 368
Contact Details
Phone: 364 2987 ext 8841
Internal Phone: ext 8841
vanessa.andreotti@canterbury.ac.nz
Background
I was born and raised in Curitiba in the South of Brazil and trained as a teacher of English. I did my Masters in Education with a focus on Educational Technology at the University of Manchester. I have had an unusual and fast tracked journey in which professional experience and education/research always concurred. I taught at primary and secondary schools for 7 years before joining the British Council as an education coordinator for projects around global citizenship linking Brazilian schools to schools in the UK. At the British Council I also coordinated projects within a capacity building programme for 4.000 teachers of the State of Parana funded by the World Bank. I was awarded a Ph.D scholarship by the University of Nottingham and moved to England with my family. I continued to work and carry out research in the areas of global citizenship, development and intercultural education, working with schools, NGOs, professional organisations, teacher networks and academic partners - both in the UK and internationally. In 2005, I joined the Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ), within the School of Politics and International Relations at Nottingham University, as a research fellow and education and outreach coordinator. Since April 2007, I have been a visiting lecturer at the University of Canterbury. I keep my affiliation to CSSGJ through the coordination of specific educational projects.
Undergraduate Courses
Research Interests
My research background is inter-disciplinary. I am interested in post-colonial theory and post-critical pedagogies and my research focus is on building bridges between contemporary theories and debates around globalisation and diversity and pedagogical practices in educational contexts. In this sense, for the last 5 years I have been involved in research based collaborative projects related to the development of strategies and methodologies for the introduction of global issues and perspectives in educational contexts using enquiry and dialogical approaches. These projects focus on independent thinking and ‘critical literacy’, which I conceptualise as an educational practice that prompts learners and teachers to make connections between language, knowledge and power through social analysis.
Current Projects
I have designed and implemented several pedagogical projects in the UK context and internationally. One of the most significant of these projects (which I still coordinate from NZ) is the 'Open spaces for Dialogue and Enquiry' initiative (OSDE – www.osdemethodology.org.uk). This project is hosted by the Centre for the Study of social and Global Justice. OSDE offers a methodology and resources for the introduction of global issues and perspectives in educational contexts focusing on the development of critical literacy and independent thinking. OSDE was initially funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the British government in 2004. The project brings together a collective of academics and educators in 8 countries and has attracted considerable attention both in terms of its proposed classroom practices and in terms of its theoretical framework. OSDE has been recommended in the latest report on citizenship and diversity of the Department for Education and Skills in England (DfES 2007:47). The latest CPD publication of this project can be found at www.osdemethodology.org.uk/keydocs/pdresourcepack.pdf.
I am also currently involved in the coordination of the 'Through Other Eyes' project (www.throughothereyes.org.uk) on indigenous perspectives of the development agenda, also funded by DfID, and the 'Critical Literacy' initiative (www.criticalliteracy.org.uk/elt) which engages teacher networks in India and Latin America in the development of resources for critical literacy in English Language Teaching (both ESOL and EFL) and citizenship education. The latter received a British Council innovation award in February 2007. I am also involved in a number of other educational projects as a consultant, evaluator or advisor (e.g. The Global Dimension in Initial Teacher Education at Manchester Metropolitan University and Polis at the University of Southampton).
Recent Publications
Andreotti, V. (in press). An ethical engagement with the Other: Gayatri Spivak on education. Critical Literacy: theories and practices, 1(1).
Andreotti, V., Warwick, P. (2007). Engaging Students with Controversial Issues through a Dialogue Based Approach. Published online by CitizED: http://www.citized.info/?r_menu=res&strand=3
Andreotti, V., (2007). Two approaches to Global citizenship Education. Expand (Aotearoa Global and Development Education Network Magazine). Published online by Agaden: http://www.agaden.org.nz/EXPANDJuly2007.pub
Andreotti, V. (2006). Theory without practice is idle, practice without theory is blind: the potential contributions of postcolonial theory to development education, Development Education Journal, 12(3): 7-10.
Andreotti, V. (2006). Soft versus critical global citizenship education. Development Education: Policy and Practice 3 (Autumn): 83-98.
Andreotti, V. (2006). Book Review: Political and Citizenship Education: International Perspectives. International Journal of Educational Development, 26(2): 563-564.
Andreotti, V., Barker, L., & Newel-Jones, K. (2006). Critical Literacy in Global Citizenship Education: Professional Development Resource Pack. Nottingham: GED.
Andreotti, V. (2005) The Other Worlds educational project and the challenges and possibilities of Open Spaces. Ephemera Journal [online].
Andreotti, V. (2005) Parana ELT: o projeto da proposta curricular. In Clarissa Jordao, Telma Gimenez e Vanessa Andreotti (eds), Perspectivas Educacionais e o Ensino de Inglês na Escola Pública. Pelotas:Educat.
Andreotti, V. (2005) Reclaiming the Right to Question: the Parana Teachers' Experience in Hugh Starkey and Audrey Osler (eds), Citizenship and Language Learning: international perspectives (pp.)
Andreotti, V. (2005). Modernity, capitalism and colonialism and their effects on schooling, alterity and 'active citizen participation' in Wildemeersch, D. Bron, M. and Stroobants, V. (eds) Active Citizenship and Multiple Identities in Europe (pp. 112-128). Frankfurt: Peter Lang Verlag.
Andreotti, V. and Dowling, E. (2004) WSF, Ethics and Pedagogy. International Social Science Journal (UNESCO), 56(182): 605-613.
Recent conference papers
Challenges for global citizenship and development education – Conference: Exploring global citizenship, organised by the Aotearoa Global and Development Education Network (4 July 2007 – Wellington) – opening plenary
Critical literacy in Global citizenship Education – Conference: Identity and Belonging in the Global Classroom, organised by the Humanities Education Centre (9 March 2007 – London) – opening plenary
OSDE in peace education - Peace Education conference (10 March 07 – Birmingham)
Whose globe? Whose citizenship? - ESRC Global citizenship seminar (14 March 07 – Bath)
A postcolonial reading of discourses and practices of 'global citizenship' in England – academic seminar at the School of Politics of the University of Southampton (15 March 07 – Southampton)
OSDE in primary education – DICE conference (24 November 06 - Dublin)
Why and what development education? - Development Education Conference at the London Institute of Education (22 November 06 – London) – opening plenary
Learning from difference – Global Studies Association (5 September 06 - London)
Soft or critical Global Citizenship Education? - Manchester Metropolitan University (8 June 06 - Manchester)
Why dialogue? - European social Forum (5 May 06 - Greece)
Recent consultancy work
- Humanities Education Centre (London): Southern Voices – project evaluator (ongoing)
- University of Southampton: design and development of online educational resources for the Polis programme (School of Politics) (ongoing)
- DICE-Dublin: critical global citizenship frameworks – strategy workshop (March 07)
- UKWOLA: school linking toolkit ‘critical friend (2006)
British Council: tutor at the Hornby Summer School – enquiry approach (January & July 06) - Humanities Education Centre (London): teacher training in Global Citizenship Education & Critical Literacy (November 06, March 07)
- Derby LEA: teacher training in Global Citizenship Education & Critical Literacy (October 06)
- Development Education Association: enquiry facilitation and resource development (September 06)