Context and background of the project: All participating schools have a shared focus on international relations as well as a profound interest and expertise in natural sciences, languages and liberal arts. This is the context in which we see the opportunity and the use of a joint project enforcing the strategies to access higher eduation and the labour market internationally. The variety of participants provide vast fields of expertise addresssing challenges of high unemployment rates or international businesses. We intend to facilitate the knowledge and products regarding successful living, learning and working as well as carefully planning for a sustainable personal career by coping with the challenges of the globalized world. Also we will add more expertise from outside (representatives of businesses and career professionals) as well as learn from our (new) partners about their best practice.Objectives of our project: We will increase the students' motivation to access higher education and the labour market on an international level. The students will learn how to use the chances and tackle the challenges of a changing world to become successful professionals and life-long learners. Another major objective is the sustainable development of our schools, e.g. introducing new concepts of career guidance and methodes like peer tuition. All international participants will make their findings available to each other andwithin their own organsations in form of presenations, online documentations, video files and brochures. Resources for self-reliant and individualised learning will be developed for open access (OER).Number and profile of participants:At each school 10 teachers of various subjects will ensure a wide range of expersite and chances for synergetic use of the achievements during and after the project. About 40 students (aged between 15 and 19, because they will need to work on anadvanced level to be successful and being motivated to investigate their career options after school realistically) will participate directly at each of the six schools. Another taget group will be the about 180 younger students (9 - 15 yeras old) who participate within the peer tuition phases, thus including them on an appropriate level and starting to develop their openness towards transnational learning as well as fostering their interest in European partnership through motivating activities and personal contacts.The key activities of our project:Teaching and learning (peer tuition) each others' native languages and other subjects in bilingual classes with English as working language. In a limited number of lessons students will learn how to address learning styles by using different methods and develop an awareness of learning processes and promote deeper understanding of instruction processes for their own future. (Knowledge from the previous Comenius project 'Learning school' will be integrated in this effort.)The students will learn about the possibilities of schools to make students acquainted with the possibilities of career in a concept called ‘job-study-orientation’. They will develop ideas of how to improve their schools’ concepts of job-study-orientation by bringing their perspective to the task. Research, co-operation in international teams and presentation of own concepts will be learning factors of this topic.In what we call ‘Learning about each other’ and ‘learning by acting’ students do research to obtain knowledge of national differences and the importance of working successfully together and present their findings and ideas up for discussion in form of a theatre play. At the same time they experience the possibility of learning and thoroughly understanding complex topics such as such as values and norms as well as co-existing and co-operating in a fast developing, globalized world. All the students will work on the question of what it takes to be a European citizen.The crucial point of accessing the job market is not only influenced be skills and performance, but also by the testimony of certificates. While the regular certificates on each country are often completed by certificates according to specific profiles of each school, they often suffer from a lack of informative value. Therefore the students will investigate and use the options of the Europass (and perhaps other tools, e.g. electronic portfolio) to be able to have a certificate of their achievements when they leave school so that they can use it for applications abroad. As a concluding part for the students they will evaluate the results and outcomes of the project and prepare them for a sustainable use in school. Furthermore they get acquainted with forms of online documentation and international communication. eTwinning will be introduced so it can be used even after the project.
The context of our Erasmus+ project “Highway to Europe” has been a fortunate one. On the basis of a long-lasting partnership two schools with one other partner school each joined for two successive Comenius projects, which allowed them to profoundly deepen their cooperation and expand the range of topics. In the Erasmus+ project “Highway to Europe” the Spanish team joined Estonia, Finland, Germany and Sweden. They share enough characteristics – such as international exchanges, languages, liberal arts and vocational training – to fit together, but also have aspects that makes it challenging and promising to profit from those differences. We have students of slightly different age groups, contacts and co-operations with different local businesses, universities, cultural institutions and authorities, and of course our mentalities and cultural background. Furthermore there is a shared interest in school development and bringing new scientific approaches into the classroom. The major objective of our Erasmus+ project “Highway to Europe” is to further our students’ chances to access the international labour market and / or higher education after graduating from our schools. Students need to be well-educated, skilled in communication and motivated to contribute their uniqueness to benefit from the opportunities of a shared European job market. While our students quickly made contact, the first part of our project addressed the question of how to deal with disturbances, such as stereotypes in the labour market, populism endangering democracy, the role of the English language in Europe after a Brexit and dealing with the feeling of being disconnected due to different mentalities. Using English as lingua franca to communicate in international teams has been an integral part for the entire project. Also the use of different methods for presenting, not only with PowerPoint but also in form of a Parliamentary debate or a self-written mini play, at the conference and later at home, showed the relevance of individual learning in this project. Knowing individual sensory styles, learning techniques, how to avoid distractions, maintain motivation and organizing your desk, which was content of the second part, can improve your performance and achievements. Teaching their native language to younger peers gave our participants the chance to understand learning processes better. Despite the challenges, such as stage fright, the positive impact of working with enthusiastic children made them consider becoming a teacher themselves. Working in international teams, using English or working at a different pace, might lead to frictions. Free-time activities usually support social learning and bonding, creating cultural awareness and recognizing shared values. A sense of belonging to a joined Europe has been furthered by visiting the Herzog-Anton-Ulrich-Museum in Brunswick, where European art has been publicly displayed since 1754. The memorials between the Reichstag and Check Point Charlie in Berlin, on the other hand, remind us of the devastating consequences of ignorance, contempt, nationalism and discrimination, and Germany taking responsibility for the grief they have caused all over Europe. The focus in the third part was on higher education and requirements of the labour market. Representatives from university, employees of the job agency and self-employed business people gave insights from their professional point of view, highlighted the need for motivation, qualification and networking. Furthermore each student was given the chance to have a job interview with one of the business professionals. When working with the Europass, the students saw managers in local businesses. Learning that excellent degrees cannot guarantee good wages and job security has been an eye-opener for the students, warning as well as encouragement. The last step included summarizing, gathering of results and outcomes and discussing the development of OER. For the students, learning techniques, networking and being motivated to pursue their ideas for their prospective careers, are sustainable outcomes of the project. The teachers’ positive experience of bringing business professionals into school and sharing best practice of teaching methods, is also a benefit for the institution, because teachers will be able to use those insights for many generation of students to come.