According to the European Commission, around six million young people drop out of school each year – about 14% of all pupils. On the other hand, improving the attractiveness of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) to young people is crucial to generate a more skilled workforce in the EU. Nowadays, youngsters are particularly open to the “CSI” thematic and iconography. This may be the leitmotiv for an innovative strategy of education aimed at mitigating early school dropout and promoting inter-disciplinarity and cultural exchanges while favoring social inclusion. The project “Euro4Science: Exploring CSI-Effect and Forensic Sciences to boost the appeal of science to young people and reinforce inter-disciplinarity in European high schools” (EU4SCI) aims at developing and implementing innovative practices, tools and methodologies in schools, enhancing the quality and relevance of the learning offer in education, more specifically regarding the attractiveness of science-related subjects and careers. The project will develop, test and implement a Forensic Science Education Toolbox in 4 languages (English, Portuguese, Bulgarian and Polish) to be used in European Schools. This Toolbox will be designed and produced to be used by students under teachers’ supervision. It will consist of a main box with lab materials and several support documents: students Guide; teachers’ Guide; CSI Cases. EU4SCI will also organise 3 “CSI weeks” with a range of exciting activities for pupils and engaging the whole learning community. The CSI weeks (Portugal, the UK and Bulgaria) will host a programme with different activities including: sharing experiences of Educational Forensic Science Projects; presentation of “CSI cases” and development of activities around them; bioethical debates; conferences and debates with teachers, students, and other stakeholders/organisations; Science fair, etc. Besides the CSI weeks, several other events and initiatives will be implemented in the 4 participating countries, including: workshops for teachers; short-term exchanges of groups of pupils and “CSI@school” international conferences. The project is carried out by partnership coordinated by a University of Aveiro (Portugal) and involving two schools (Portugal, the UK), one NGO (Bulgaria) and 2 SMEs (Portugal, Poland). Through the proposed activities, partners will address needs that have been identified in the current EU school context, namely: - To promote inter-disciplinary pedagogical approaches, through the collaborative development and implementation of a Forensic Science Educative Tool Box. - To promote teacher’s involvement in experimental education by testing and using the Toolbox and engaging in several activities of the project. - To improve the motivation of European students to scientific culture and professions, as result of the participation in exciting activities with a strong scientific and pedagogical component and contacting professionals that use this knowledge in their day-to-day work. - To contribute to minimize early school dropout, as result of the increased motivation for classes and a wider perspective of possible career options, including those connected to scientific fields. Within this objective, particular attention will be paid to messages transmitted to girls, to foster gender mainstreaming and pass the message that scientific subjects and careers in science-related fields should be considered as career options for youngsters of both genders. By fostering the attractiveness of science-related subjects through exciting activities connected to the “CSI Theme” and by engaging teachers and pupils of different ages in a project held at international level, Euro4Science will contribute to build a dynamic network of schools in Europe, decrease early school dropout and integrate pupils and teachers in a more motivating school environment.
According to the European Commission, around six million young people drop out of school each year – about 14% of all pupils. On the other hand, improving the attractiveness of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) to young people is crucial to generate a more skilled workforce in the EU. Nowadays, youngsters are particularly open to the “CSI” thematic and iconography. This was the leitmotiv for an innovative strategy of education aimed at mitigating early school dropout and promoting inter-disciplinarity and cultural exchanges while favoring social inclusion. The project “Euro4Science: Exploring CSI-Effect and Forensic Sciences to boost the appeal of science to young people and reinforce inter-disciplinarity in European high schools” (EU4SCI) intended the developing and implementing of innovative educational practices, tools and methodologies, enhancing the quality and relevance of the learning offer in education, more specifically regarding the attractiveness of science-related subjects and careers. The project developed, tested and implemented a Forensic Science Education Toolbox in 4 languages (English, Portuguese, Bulgarian and Polish) ready to be used in European Schools from a website detailed contents after in situ trials of a physical toolbox. The Forensic Educational Toolbox was designed and produced to be used by students under teachers’ supervision. It consists of a main box with lab materials and several support documents: Students Guide; Teachers’ Guide; CSI Cases. EU4SCI organised 3 “CSI weeks” with a range of exciting activities for pupils and engaging the whole learning community. The CSI weeks (Portugal, the UK and Bulgaria) hosted a program with different activities including: sharing experiences of Educational Forensic Science Projects; presentation of “CSI cases” and development of activities around them; bioethical debates; conferences and debates with teachers, students, and other stakeholders/organisations; Science fair, etc. Besides the CSI weeks, several other events and initiatives were implemented in the participating countries, including: workshops for teachers; short-term exchanges of groups of pupils and “CSI@school” international conferences. The project was carried out by partnership coordinated by a University of Aveiro (Portugal) and involving two schools (in Portugal, and the UK), one NGO (Bulgaria) and 2 SMEs (Portugal and Poland). Through the proposed activities, partners addressed needs that have been identified in the current EU school context, namely: - To promote inter-disciplinary pedagogical approaches, through the collaborative development and implementation of a Forensic Science Educative Tool Box. - To promote teacher’s involvement in experimental education by testing and using the Toolbox and engaging in several activities of the project. - To improve the motivation of European students to scientific culture and professions, as result of the participation in exciting activities with a strong scientific and pedagogical component and contacting professionals that use this knowledge in their day-to-day work. - To contribute to minimize early school dropout, as result of the increased motivation for classes and a wider perspective of possible career options, including those connected to scientific fields. Within this objective, particular attention was paid to messages transmitted to girls, to foster gender mainstreaming and pass the message that scientific subjects and careers in science-related fields should be considered as career options for youngsters of both genders. By fostering the attractiveness of science-related subjects through exciting activities connected to the “CSI Theme” and by engaging teachers and pupils of different ages in a project held at international level, Euro4Science contributed to:a) build a dynamic network of schools in Europe b) decrease early school dropout and c) integrate pupils and teachers in a more motivating school environment.