What is Compassionate Systems Education

The programme combines two key components; the first, a series of systems thinking tools that can be used in any curriculum context to help students understand the deep interconnectedness of the issues we discuss in the classrooms. These tools also structure their learning and encourage a conceptual understanding of the issue being studied; they are used in particular to explore complex issues like the UNSDGs which are the focus of many areas of our curriculum.

The second component is a set of practices and approaches which work to develop emotional literacy with the students and teachers. Students gain a deep understanding of some of the world’s most challenging issues, and they gain the compassion and empathy to appreciate the human connectedness in these issues whilst not becoming overwhelmed by the challenges they bring psychologically and emotionally. The learning skills acquired to understand these complex issues allow our students to understand and approach other complex understandings in all areas of their learning as they progress.