In today's rapidly evolving world, educators face the critical challenge of preparing students with the essential life skills they'll need to navigate increasingly complex local and global challenges. Facilitating classroom discussions about current affairs serves as a powerful catalyst for developing creative problem-solving abilities and communication skills, while tackling political polarisation and fostering well-informed citizens. 

Programmes like The Economist Educational Foundation’s Topical Talk, provide lessons and training to support children to develop these essential skills and a broad understanding of current affairs. 

‍

Creative problem-solving for real-world topics

‍When students engage in discussions about current events, they enter a dynamic learning environment that mimics real-world problem-solving scenarios. They’re presented with unfolding situations that often lack clear solutions. This ambiguity is  an ideal training ground for creative thinking. For example, when discussing environmental challenges like climate change, students must grapple with competing interests, technological limitations, and financial challenges – all of which require innovative approaches to problem-solving.

Students learn to identify connections between different aspects of an issue, understand cause-and-effect relationships, and consider both short-term and long-term consequences of potential solutions. For example, a discussion about social media regulations might lead students to consider free speech, the economy and mental health– all interconnected elements that impact society in different ways. 

Information overload (infodemic) and misinformation also present significant challenges to creative problem-solving. Media literacy is also increasingly on the radar of educators and regular discussion about current affairs supports the critical thinking skills required to evaluate sources, fact-check claims, and navigate the complex landscape of modern information. 

Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, has made it clear that space is needed in the curriculum to develop the critical thinking skills needed to engage with the news. In the summer of 2024, she told The Telegraph: “It’s more important than ever that we give young people the knowledge and skills to be able to challenge what they see online. That’s why our curriculum review will develop plans to embed critical skills in lessons to arm our children against the disinformation, fake news and putrid conspiracy theories awash on social media.”

Perhaps most importantly, classroom discussions about current affairs help students develop agency and confidence in their ability to effect change. When students regularly engage with real-world problems, making decisions and exploring solutions, they begin to see themselves as capable problem-solvers rather than passive observers. This self-perception can have lasting impacts on their willingness to engage with complex challenges and their belief in their ability to make meaningful contributions to society.

‍

Communicating about the biggest issues of our time

Communicating about the news can be challenging, but it builds essential skills. As students share their perspectives on current events, they must learn to articulate their thoughts clearly, provide evidence for their arguments, and respond thoughtfully to different viewpoints. Sensitive and complex topics offer rewarding opportunities to practise active listening, persuasive speaking, and the ability to construct logical arguments – all of which are invaluable in both academic and professional settings.

When examining global issues, students must consider multiple viewpoints and cultural contexts, enhancing their ability to communicate across differences. This skill is especially crucial in today’s climate of  polarised online discourse. The recent Oracy Education Commission’s report, We Need To Talk, highlighted the importance of developing speaking and listening skills for democracy. Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England wrote: “Now more than ever, we need our young people to be equipped to ask questions, to articulate ideas, to formulate powerful arguments, to deepen their sense of identity and belonging, to listen actively and critically, and to be well-steeped in a fundamental principle of a liberal democracy—that is, being able to disagree agreeably.”

‍

Topical Talk: a programme to support discussions about current affairs

Teachers play a crucial role in facilitating these discussions effectively. By creating a safe and inclusive classroom environment, they can encourage all students to participate and share their unique perspectives. It’s important to guide discussions productively while allowing students to reach their own conclusions, helping them develop critical thinking skills rather than simply accepting presented solutions. But many teachers are nervous or feel ill-equipped to do this. The Missing Link report found that while teachers recognise the importance of political literacy in young people’s development,  “only 1% feel fully prepared” to teach such lessons.

Providing programmes and support to teachers is critical. One such programme is Topical Talk, a programme from The Economist Educational Foundation that brings high-quality discussions about the news into classrooms worldwide. Designed for 10-16-year-olds, it provides free weekly news lessons to help teachers spark meaningful conversations about current affairs. 

‍

‍

These lessons combine the pedagogical expertise of The Economist Educational Foundation’s teachers with the journalistic expertise of The Economist newspaper. This ensures that every lesson has content that teachers can trust, alongside interactive activities designed to make children think critically and communicate effectively about the topic. 

Participating students are encouraged to delve into real-world issues by learning about important facts and contexts; analysing different perspectives; and debate these in a safe, structured environment.

Not only do these discussions build news literacy and oracy, but they support children to engage with a broad spectrum of current affairs while developing the essential skills proven to positively impact life outcomes.

‍

The Skills Builder Universal Framework and Topical Talk 

The Economist Educational Foundation has partnered with Skills Builder for almost a decade and is a level 4 impact organisation, demonstrating a deep commitment to measuring the progress of essential skills. Over the years, the Foundation has been supported by Skills Builder to transition from using an in-house skills framework to applying the Skills Builder Universal Framework across its offerings. This has had a significant impact on their ability to measure student progress in speaking, listening, problem-solving and creativity and to compare this progress to other students. Joining a community of educators and organisations with shared language and measures has built credibility with schools, funders and supporters who appreciate a collaborative skills development tool.

By using the Universal Framework, Topical Talk has been able to prove that students participate regularly, over at least six weeks, can make up to seven times the progress of their peers in creative-problem solving and communication skills. 

Topical Talk teachers also value the Skills Builder Framework and see its benefits across the curriculum:

“Skills Builder is clear and in child-friendly language which my students understand. Looking at specific skills and steps to show the students the skills they're currently working on, how they can use them outside of school- and later in life in careers- has been very successful. It gives children more of a purpose and meaning behind their learning. As a teacher, I really like being able to link how relevant a skill is in Topical Talk to another lesson, and for use outside of school and in careers. That’s a really powerful and easy template to apply broadly.”

Teacher, Rivers Academy West London.

‍

Topical Talk in action

Take a recent Topical Talk lesson on AI and Sustainability. Each Topical Talk lesson focuses on a specific Skill’s Builder Framework skill and step selection, as well as an outcome for knowledge gained on the topic. There are built-in opportunities to reflect on these within the lesson. This lesson looked at ‘Listening’. 

In this particular lesson, after learning about the environmental impact of using AI, children take part in an activity where they consider a variety of different voices on the topic and decide who deserves to use AI the most. They role-play the different perspectives and make choices based on their discussion. Activities like this remove the teacher from the discussion and force students to engage and empathise with different points of view before considering consequences of different decisions in small groups. There is no single ‘correct’ answer - each option has its own pros and cons. 

‍

Find out more

As we continue to face unprecedented global challenges, nurturing essential skills through current affairs discussions is not just valuable–it is essential in preparing students for future success. By making these discussions a regular part of the curriculum, educators can help create a generation of confident, creative problem-solvers ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

You can read more about the impact of Topical Talk here.
You can set up a free teacher account to access Topical Talk lessons here.
Read about the impact of the Skills Builder Universal Framework in one school here.

If you’d like to discuss Topical Talk teacher training or bespoke Topical Talk programmes, please email FoundationTeam@economist.com