Do We Have Alternatives?

Goal 4: Quality Education


This is a role-play activity that addresses issues of interpersonal violence and bullying.

unknown-topicArt and Design


stopwatchTwo 45 minute lessons




Behavioural competences

To take responsibility for ensuring one’s own education and the education of others


To reflect upon the consequences of one’s actions on the access to education of others

Lifelong learning key competences

Social and civic competences


First Class:

  1. Introduce the activity. Explain to the students that they are going to work in small groups to make short role-plays on the theme of bullying.
  2. Carry out a brief brainstorming session on “What is bullying?” to ensure that everyone agrees about what bullying is, knows the different forms it can take, and that it can happen in any school, college, club, organisation or workplace.
  3. Divide the students into three groups and tell them to write a short play on the issue of bullying. Give them 35 minutes to rehearse and prepare their role-plays.

Second Class:

Ask each group, in turn, to present their scene.

Leave any comments until all groups have presented their scenes and then come together into plenary for discussion.


Discuss the issues that were brought up in the plays. Discuss how bullying affects a person’s well being. If your school have an anti-bullying policy then discuss how it works and if it can be improved. If your school does not have an anti-bullying policy, then try to make one and discuss how it could be implemented at your school.

Follow up suggestions

Ask the students to study the targets for Goal 4 and reflect on how this goal is important and what they themselves can contribute with to address the targets.

Ideas for actions

  1. If your school does not have an anti-bullying policy, then try to make one and discuss how it could be implemented at your school. You can get inspiration from the method described in “Responding to Racism” in Compass, A manual for Human Rights Education for Young People. You can find the link to the method under “Further Information”.
  1. If the method is applied in drawing class, the students can be asked to make drawings reflecting upon SDG 3. E.g.:
  • How individuals can contribute to this goal.
  • Why is important for the global society this goal.
  • What would I gain if this goal would be achieved?

Then an exhibition of these drawings can be made in school

3. If your school has a weekly meeting/assembly for all students and teachers where students can make different announcements, the students can make a contribution about bullying or goal 3 in general. They will have to be given time to prepare that in advance.

Further information

The Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) targets:

Council of Europe, ”Do We Have Alternatives?”

Other methods related to discrimination:

Council of Europe, “Responding to Racism,”