St. Peter's Barcelona: Pioneering Futures Literacy in Education
- Lisa Giuliani
- 20 hours ago
- 3 min read
Pioneering Futures Literacy in Education
St. Peter's School in Barcelona has established itself as the first international school in Cataluña and one of the first in Europe to implement Futures Literacy in its curriculum. Their journey toward incorporating futures thinking began in 2020 as part of a strategic planning initiative to explore innovative approaches for the school.
Implementation and Development
As documented in the materials, St. Peter's decision to establish a futures thinking course came after two years of growing interest. Teach the Future first visited the school in October 2022, meeting with the owner, principal, and curriculum coordinator, all of whom were committed to incorporating futures into their curriculum.
The school appointed teacher Noelle Roces to lead the initiative and conduct futures activities in classes throughout the year. Sandra Martinez, from the Spanish Hub, joined Ms. Roces in the Spring semester as part of her practice teaching assignment.
In collaboration with the Curriculum Coordinator, Teresa Ferrer, and the head of Education, Lourdes Barceló, the school designed a program to embed Futures Literacy that included several key events:
A Futures of Education Workshop with Peter Bishop and their team of teachers in October
Teacher attendance at a futures studies conference in Trento
A year-end event for parents, teachers, and colleagues interested in Futures Studies
The Futures Literacy Conference
In May 2023, Teach the Future visited the school again when St. Peter's hosted a conference titled "Futures Literacy: A New Skill in Education." This event was open to educators, parents, and professionals interested in learning how to identify signs of the future in the present.
The conference featured:
Six student presentations demonstrating what they had learned about the future during the year
A presentation from Jordi Ginjaume, the general manager, on why the school adopted futures thinking
Noelle Roces sharing plans for the first formal course in Fall 2023
Peter Bishop providing historical background and rationale for teaching futures thinking
As stated in the materials, the foundation of future learning at St. Peter's is the recognition that "the future is not predetermined and cannot be predicted with certainty and that the actions we take in the present can influence it."
Futures Literacy Lab
St. Peter's established a Futures Literacy Lab led by Noelle Roces. As described in their own materials, the aim is "to foster Futures Literacy in our students, empowering them to identify the signs of the future(s) in the present, so that they can help to design a better world."
Integration with STEM and Real-World Applications
The school has also integrated futures thinking with their STEM education. Their MYP students have showcased projects that impressed representatives from the European Space Agency. Orestis Giannakis, a former teacher now working with ESA, noted the students' "engineering mindset" and communication skills.
The materials specifically mention student Nikita Kornilov, who came to St. Peter's four years ago and was inspired to design, build, and launch his self-designed rocket.
Jaume Sanpera, CEO and co-founder of Sateliot, observed that "These students aren't just solving a technical obstacle at school—they're solving tomorrow's challenges."
Educational Significance
St. Peter's work with Futures Literacy aligns with UNESCO's recognition of its importance. In 2020, UNESCO hosted the First World Summit on Future Literacy and has since established more than 80 Learning Laboratories of the Future worldwide.
Their pioneering efforts place them among a small but growing number of schools worldwide that have institutionalized futures education, joining institutions like Summit Micro School in Toronto, GEN Koleji in Istanbul, and programs at Notre Dame University and Arizona State University.