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With the signing of the agreement on the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) programme by SA Deputy-President Thabo Mbeki and American Vice-President Al Gore on 17 February 1997, South Africa became a full participant of the GLOBE programme. The South African partner in this programme will be the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST), while the national co-ordination of the programme will be undertaken by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in Pretoria. GLOBE is an international US-based environmental education and science programme initiated by Vice-President Gore to promote problem solving and practical hands-on skills, as well as to improve learner achievement in science, mathematics and technology. The programme also aims to enrich learners' understanding and awareness of both the local and the global environment; facilitate global communication, co-operation and information exchange between students, schools, scientists and communities, and to encourage local projects and initiatives on environmental issues. A total of 44 countries (four from Africa, including South Africa) have so far officially joined the GLOBE programme. "The GLOBE programme has considerable potential to contribute to improved teaching and learning in South African schools. The concepts and skills that the programme seeks to develop will prove particularly valuable to schools that have been disadvantaged in the past," says Ms Bridget Hughes, the researcher in the HSRC's Group: Human Resources who will be responsible for co-ordinating the programme. Under the guidance of GLOBE's trained teachers, students at all GLOBE schools throughout the world are to undertake environmental measurements and tasks. The information collected by students is then sent through to the GLOBE Student Data Base where it forms part of a global environmental database that can be accessed by scientists, students and teachers. "While full participation in the GLOBE programme requires a variety of educational resources including Internet access, it is possible for schools with limited resources to also participate in the programme. It is essential that GLOBE promotes educational equity and builds capacity in South African schools. A broad range of schools will be encouraged to participate in the programme and share ideas, experiences and resources. Schools without computers or access to the Internet can submit data and environmental findings to the GLOBE co-ordinators, who will in turn be responsible for reporting that schools' data via the Internet," Ms Hughes explains. During the course of the year a pilot programme, funded by DACST, will be conducted at 50 schools selected nationwide by the various provincial education departments. Each of these schools will in turn select a teacher who will be responsible for co-ordinating the GLOBE programme within that school. Ms Hughes, who underwent GLOBE training in America in November last year, is currently the only person in the country qualified to train teachers in the GLOBE programme. The pilot programme will be launched with the training of teachers in the Western Cape on 18 and 19 March 1997. At the end of the pilot phase the strengths and weaknesses of the programme will be evaluated and recommendations be made regarding possible adjustments. Depending on the availability of further funding, the programme could then be extended to a larger number of South African schools.
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