Schools Acting as Change Agents (SAChA) Project

The SaChA project is to use ACToolkit to promote more inclusive and equitable education in schools in Scotland and internationally.

About SAChA

Researchers from the Centre for Research in Educational Inclusion and Diversity worked with teachers and education professionals to co-produce the Agents of Change Toolkit (ACToolkit). ACToolkit guides school staff through planning, implementing and evaluating change projects. The AC Toolkit is an accessible and practical toolkit for schools to engage with change projects around the SDGs through minigames and playful activities that facilitate whole-school approaches. The ACToolkit is designed to help educators:

• build SDG-related improvements into their local plans;
• identify relevant expertise and work with other players within and beyond schools to implement change projects; and
• evaluate the impact of change processes and outcomes.

We will work with at least 8-9 schools, share ACToolkit, and support practitioners to address issues specific to their schools that reflect global challenges, e.g. inequality, diversity, sustainability and Covid recovery. Examples from this knowledge exchange work will be documented and shared with more schools locally and internationally to demonstrate how ACToolkit can be used to tackle similar or other challenges to generate impact.

The SaChA project builds on four completed and ongoing projects:

1. Agents of Change Toolkit (ACT)
2. Teaching that Matters for Migrant Students (TEAMS)
3. Teacher Education for Changing Demographics of Schooling and Making Sense of Teacher Agency for Inclusion
4. Impacts of COVID-19 on teaching practice opportunities for virtual internships

The SaChA project uses the insights and tools developed in these projects to facilitate planning, implementing and evaluating change in schools and support teachers as reflective practitioners.

Funder

This project is a collaboration between researchers, practictioners, and leadership, funded by the Scottish Universities Insight Institute.

Research Team

Dr Nataša Pantić

Director of CREID and Senior Lecturer, Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh

Dr Dianne Cantali

University of Dundee

Constanza Herrera Seda

University of Santiago