The project aims to implement and transfer cultural and peer-learning approaches for successful integration of disadvantaged youth and refugees at school level.Learning with cultural youth groups from the SouthCulture and peer learning approaches become more important as pedagogical methods. The project introduces a special aspect: joint activities with cultural youth groups from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Their members often themselves are living in difficult conditions. They demonstrate the potential of cultural activities for developing and improving the own perspectives and for social integration. To support these approaches the project introduces the comprehensive learning offer CULPEER with different tools for applying and implementing culture and peer learning approaches – guidelines, an e-learning course, presenting seven modules about practical aspects of implementation, and an online portal with plenty OER, including interactive elements like audio tracks, video and internet films, web-links, chats, assessments, working groups, wikis, apps with special learning tools etc.Peer-learningPeer-learning is a central element of the project. Young people from Europe join the performances and participate in common workshops. Artistic and cultural events are developed together. The peer guests are hosted in pupils’ families, what enables an intensive exchange, also at informal level. The local partners and hosts of these events, especially the teachers, support the project, because they recognize the potential of this initiative for changing attitudes and for integration of disadvantaged youth and refugee children. Integration of disadvantaged youth Cultural and peer-learning approaches bring particular benefits for teachers, who educate pupils and students with difficulties. Groups/classes including children/youth with special needs (e.g. refugees, children with migrant background, children with developmental disorders, learning disabilities or social problems) get intensive and new experience apart from conventional patterns of learning and competing in classrooms. The exchange and common creative activities with disadvantage children and former street or homeless kids from so called “less developed” countries help teachers to show the kids new views on their own situation and to motivate them for own activities and problem solving strategies.The potential of culture and peer learning has been recognized as able to support key competences acquisition – social behaviour and interaction, intercultural skills, mother tongue, foreign languages, non-verbal communication, learning to learn through joint cultural and peer activities, social and civic competence, initiative taking and cultural awareness and expression. Integration of refugee childrenA special focus of the project will lay on the integration of refugee children and youth. Europe has to face the challenge to integrate a lot of refugees in the society. The participating countries are particular affected by refugee issues. Cultural and peer-learning approaches have high potential for teachers and pedagogues to facilitate the integration of refugee children. Peer learning allows refugee children to develop the skills needed to work well with others. Especially the common learning and work with young people from the South, who themselves are living in difficult social conditions, has innovative character and contributes to the improvement of social behaviour and interaction, intercultural, social and civic competences and supports thereby their social integration.Targeted groups and partnersTargeted groups are teachers, headmasters, pupils and refugee children from participating schools; their parents hosting the cultural youth groups; pedagogues, staff and young visitors of youth centers; audience of the performances, press and media involved in PR activities. The partnership consists of schools and educational organisations from Bulgaria, Greek, Italy, Slovenia and Germany. Involved are 3 schools, a regional school department linked to 22 schools and 6 NGOs, engaged in cultural and social activities and school education.Main results and outputs • Guidelines for CULPEER approach and OERs for schools (O1)• English pilot e-learning course CULPEER with 7 training modules (O2);• E-learning course CULPEER in 5 country versions (O3);• Online portal CULPEER with various OERs in all partner languages (O4);• Video documentation and tutorials on CULPEER (O5)• National workshops (national multiplier event) in all partner countries (E1-E6).• International short-term joint staff training events (C1) and short-term exchanges of groups of pupils (C2)• International network on CULPEERWith these activities and results the project aims to spread the CULPEER approach and online resources to schools, educational institutes and NGOs for improving the integration of social disadvantaged youth and refugee children.
In the Strategic Partnership “Cultural and peer-learning approaches for successful integration of disadvantaged youth and refugees at school level - CULPEER for integration” 10 partners from 5 countries developed the e-learning course and interactive online portal CULPEER. It offers learning materials and Open Educational Resources (OERs) for the implementation and transfer of cultural peer-learning approaches for successful integration of disadvantaged youth and refugee children at school level. Cultural peer-learning approaches become more and more important as pedagogical methods. The project introduced a special aspect: joint activities with cultural youth groups from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Their members often themselves are living under difficult conditions. They demonstrate the potential of cultural activities for developing and improving the own perspectives and for social integration. Peer-learning was a central element of the project. Young people from Europe joined the performances and participate in common workshops. Artistic and cultural events are developed together. Cultural peer-learning approaches bring particular benefits for teachers, who educate pupils and students with difficulties and special needs (e.g. refugees, children with migrant background, and children with developmental disorders, learning disabilities or social problems). They get intensive and new experience apart from conventional patterns of learning and competing in classrooms to support key competences acquisition – social behaviour and interaction, intercultural skills, mother tongue, foreign languages, non-verbal communication, learning to learn through joint cultural peer activities, social and civic competence, initiative taking and cultural awareness and expression. A special focus of the project laid on the integration of refugee children and youth. Cultural peer-learning approaches have high potential for teachers and pedagogues to facilitate the integration of refugee children. Peer learning allows refugee children to develop the skills needed to work well with others. Conversely the common learning and work with young people from the South, who themselves are living in difficult social conditions, has innovative character and contributes to the improvement of social behaviour and interaction, intercultural, social and civic competences of European youth and supports thereby their social integration. Targeted groups were teachers, headmasters, pupils and refugee children from participating schools; their parents hosting the cultural youth groups; pedagogues, staff and young visitors of youth centers; audience of the performances, press and media involved in PR activities. The partnership consisted of schools and educational organisations from Bulgaria, Greek, Italy, Slovenia and Germany. Involved were 3 schools, and the Athens’ school department linked to 187 schools, and 6 NGOs, engaged in cultural and social activities and school education. The first results of the project are “Guidelines for integration and application of CULPEER approaches in schools“ (IO1). The guidelines support teacher, pedagogues and youth center staffs to apply the teaching materials, the e-learning course and other learning tools and OERs of the portal. They are provided as PDF for download and print in all partner languages and English. The second result is the “English pilot e-learning course CULPEER“ (IO2) with 5 training modules for implementing cultural peer learning approaches in schools and youth centers. The course is based on learning materials and content developed and compiled in the first project phase. The course is provided at the online portal as OER and based on the Learning Management System Moodle. The third result comprises the “E-learning course CULPEER in 5 national versions” (IO3), adapted to all partner countries and languages, shaped according to their particular national conditions, requirements and needs. It consists of 5 modules. Based on a testing with national target groups and stakeholders revised final versions are published on national online portals in each partner country. The forth result is the “Online portal CULPEER” (IO4) with OERs on cultural peer learning, available in English and all partner languages. It comprises a broad spectrum of interactive educational resources - the e-learning course, additional training materials, as well as interactive tools like videos, audios, photo galleries, blogs, chats, forums, assessments, working groups etc. The fifth result comprises “Videos and tutorials on CULPEER” (IO5) with plenty films and instructions presenting practical materials, tips, examples and experiences. Further results are dissemination workshops (national multiplier event) in all partner countries (E1-E5), international short-term joint staff training events (C1) and short-term exchanges of groups of pupils (C2), and an international network on CULPEER.