Assisting in the Development of Walk the Walk Found to Have Impacted Young Adult’s Attitudes to Sectarian Behaviour
A graphic novel aimed at educating young people about the consequences of sectarian behaviour, 6000 free copies of which were sent to adult learning groups across Scotland, has created a shift in young adults’ attitudes to Sectarianism, according to a recent independent study.
Walk The Walk was one of 44 projects funded by the Scottish Government in 2015 in a £9m drive to tackle the root causes of sectarianism. Written in script form with accompanying graphic novel style illustrations, the book was developed by Scottish Book Trust with input from literacy learners and support workers who have first-hand experience of sectarianism.
Written by Gowan Calder and illustrated by Jill Calder, it follows two firm friends, Rab and Robbie, who live at opposite ends of the same street. On this street, The Walk, there is a split between the top end and the bottom end and it sometimes feels more like a war zone than a neighbourhood. As Rab’s cousin Kylie gets ready to marry Robbie’s brother Romeo, tempers are flaring and both families think the wedding is a betrayal of their roots.
The results of the independent evaluation, involving 34 tutors, show that participating in the book’s development process in particular led to deeper engagement from the learners, helping them to develop empathy with the characters while exploring the issues and circumstances that surround sectarian behaviour.
The researchers also found that learners’ had improved self-confidence through increased participation in group discussion and reading aloud. In some cases this even translated into greater confidence in discussing sectarianism outside of the group and in challenging other people’s language use and behaviours. Essentially, the consultation process as part of the book’s development was experienced as giving voice to people who were unused to being listened to, as one literacy tutor explains:
“The group had been quiet – at the start, they didn’t feel they could control anything, so the fact that they were able to participate in the writing of a book and sort of shape it – ‘I didn’t like that bit’, ‘I liked that bit’ – that was great for them, because they come from a background of feeling like they didn’t have any control over what happened around them… there was one student in particular you could really see him go from “there’s no much point me contributing anything cos nobody ever listens to me” – to him actually fully contributing cos he knew he was going to be listened to. It was good.”
The evaluation was conducted by Alette Willis PhD from the School of Health in Social Science at the University of Edinburgh. Commenting on the results, she said:
“The activities used in the development sessions enabled and supported learners to recognise that others have different perspectives and to reflect upon links between their own perspectives, experiences and opinions and those of other people in the group and of the characters in the story. Reading the book out loud and providing feedback on drafts of the book were particularly valued activities that seemed to have the greatest potential to impact positively on learners. Learners enjoyed reading the script together and enjoyed developing characters and being engaged in a creative process.
“These activities were associated with a deepening recognition of others’ perspectives. This was the case for tutors as much as for learners. In particular, some younger participants felt that working with this project gave them insight into the experiences of older generations.”
Danny, a learner at Adult Education Bathgate, said:
“At the start I didnae think so [that a graphic novel would be effective] – I mean, usually a book, you willnae find many young folk reading books, it’s all on Facebook and that. So I didnae think it was the best idea, to be honest…When I started to read it and see how good it was going to make folk realise, like especially with families and that, that you get families in that situation, you can relate to it and maybe bring down a lot of situations. I mean there’s a lot of hatred in families and it’s actually, if you’ve noticed, there’s a lot of families in Scotland that’s going through that same problem as it is in the book, know what I mean? It’s based on a true story, it’s not made up or sci fi or that.”
A full copy of the evaluation is available upon request from [email protected] and a pdf of the book can be downloaded free here. Scottish Book Trust has also created some online support materials that accompany the book to help learners understand the subject in more depth. The online materials can be accessed here.
