While the adage contends that it takes a whole village to raise a child, a new program shows a village of children could just raise themselves, almost.

The Kids Teaching Kids scheme does exactly as the name suggests, and provides a way for even the youngest students take on a curriculum of their own design.

As the challenge of making content relevant and exciting for students continues, Kids Teaching Kids uses their pre-existing interests as a start for ongoing engagement.

The education program developed in Australia is being rolled out worldwide, and one of its main orchestrators says it helps students get to the root of issues of most importance to them.

Kids Teaching Kids was designed by environmentalist Arron Wood, who says the program’s success comes from the fact the children determine their topics.

This year, it has seen students at Melbourne primary schools learning about risks to the Great Barrier Reef, among many other topics.

“Although we try to avoid politicising Kids Teaching Kids, they actually end up tackling a lot of issues which our politicians are arguing about in parliament,” Mr Wood said in an interview with Radio Australia.

“Many of the issues are very topical; they are choosing either quiet broad global topics or they could be as local as a waterway or an area bushland that they are passionate about.”

The initiative has been taken up in New Zealand, and South Korea has included a pilot program in its education system this year too.

“The... thing about Kids Teaching Kids is that it doesn’t just stop in their community, we showcase workshops from Australia and around the world, so there is that sharing of knowledge,” Mr Wood said.

“The program is freely available, so anyone who is interested in the Pacific Island in getting involved, can pick up the program and implement that in their local community.”