Primary school teacher Nicola brings classroom ideas to the world

October 7, 2025

Last week our primary school teacher Nicola presented at the Alliance for International Education (AIE) conference hosted by The International School of The Hague.

Their session, together with her copresenter Niki Cooper-Robins, titled ‘The Beauty of Entanglement: Exploring the potential of Art & Creativity to Re-visit the Concept of International Mindedness in the 21st Century’, explored how music, visual art and collaborative storytelling can deepen international mindedness and support education for justice and peace.

The Central Idea

Entanglement recognises that our identities, cultures and experiences are woven together: The presentation connected this to the history of international education, from the idealistic, ‘changemaking’ notions of Comenius’s 17th-century vision to the experiential philosophy of Kurt Hahn, founder of the United World Colleges. Educationalists such as Mary Hayden and Jeff Thompson have shown how, with the rise of globalisation and neoliberalism, the mission of international education has sometimes shifted towards marketisation and individualism. Revisiting the ideals of Hahn, who believed education should cultivate compassion, resilience and responsibility through shared experience, is vital if we are to renew international education as a force for peace and cooperation.

A Primary Example: “The Mysterious Enderchest”

Nicola shared how a Year 3 class at United World College Maastricht re-imagined the myth of Pandora’s Box inside Minecraft. Students scripted the story, designed characters and sets and used music, movement, masks and 3D models to dramatise it. From the Enderchest emerged the “evils” they see in the world, i.e. war, hate, hunger, sickness but on a second opening, butterflies of hope took flight. Students voiced their hopes for fairness, safety, belonging and care for the planet.

In Deweyan terms, this was art as experience, the transformation of raw feeling into expression that can be shared and understood by others. Dewey argued that art is not decoration or enrichment but the highest form of human communication, because it allows us to live in and through each other’s experiences. In this project, the children’s fears of war, hate, and hunger were given shape and just as powerfully, their hopes for peace and fairness became visible and audible to others. In that sense, the classroom became what Dewey called a “community of experience,” where meaning is not imposed but created together. In many ways, the project also echoed Hahn’s belief that young people need shared, purposeful experiences that shape both character and community.

Looking Ahead

Nicola is currently pursuing doctoral research with an EdD at the University of Bath and she is excited to keep weaving these threads across curriculum and community, supporting students to imagine, create and act together.

Her work reminds us of the incredible impact teachers have: inspiring curiosity and compassion and showing that classrooms are not just places of learning but communities where young minds are guided to explore and grow.