The strategic partnership was formed given the comprehensive expertise, experience from similar projects and activities, goodcontacts with the target group and innovative and field-leading approaches adopted by each of the project partners in the area of Ethical Education. The partnership was formed to build the competences of teachers in primary and post primary schools in Ethical Education so as to contribute to the achievement of the Union's vision for an education which promotes citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination, strengthening social cohesion, and helping young people become responsible, open-minded and active members of our diverse and inclusive society.The specific objectives of the project are:1)To to promote innovative practices in school education in the field of Ethical Education through methodologies and pedagogies which support students' social, civic and intercultural competencies through an online interactive course2)To build the confidence of teachers to examine ethical issues in their own subject areas through guidance on how to develop teacher and student created ethical education content 3) To raise awareness of Ethical Education amongst politicians and policy makers as an inclusive approach to education for pluralist democracies as part of ET2020 in the lead up to the 2019 European electionsThe partnership will achieve these objectives through the development of an online Ethical Education methodologies course, Teachers Guide on the development of subject specific resources in the area of Ethical Education and the process of co-creating content with students, two five day teaching and learning events, and a series of 12 interactive workshops with teachers which will act as multiplier events, communicating the project messages and results and working through the methodologies and processes advocated for in the online course and teachers guide. The project also achieves its policy objectives through the publication of a policy paper on the position of Ethical Education in Europe and its relevance to wider education policies and the development of inclusive pluralist democracies. The project addresses ethics and values education utilizing the approach of critical thinking, including philosophy with children in order to strengthen the skills of school teachers in this field. Critical discussion, especially in the field of ethics and values is one of the most challenging tasks for teachers in increasingly diverse classrooms. The project will place an emphasis on EU values (human dignity, freedom, democracy, justice and rule of law, human rights, solidarity, pluralism, equality and tolerance) and their relation to European culture. Teachers are the primary beneficiaries of the project and it is expected that up to 900 teachers will through the project activities during the project period. The multiplier event interactive workshops will provide an opportunity to disseminate the project messages to teachers while at the same time providing a forum for them to share their own innovative practices with each other. Indirectly, students in primary and second-level schools and their parents/carers will also be exposed to the intended outcomes of the project. Key educational stakeholders such as teacher educators, ethical education experts and policy makers will be targeted through the multiplier events and advocacy initiatives. They will be invited to the events to hear more about the project and good practices around Ethical Education.As a result of the project activities, it is expected that the project will result in:Enhanced innovation and internationalisation across the Ethical Education sectorStrengthened professional profile of teachers and educators in the field of Ethical EducationImproved confidence by teachers to develop subject specific ethical education resourcesIncreased sharing by teachers of professional practices in Ethical Education Improved ability by teachers to co-create resources and content with students Enhanced skills by teachers to lead critical thinking in the classroom (including articulation, argumentation and rationality)Increased access to professional learning opportunities on Ethical Education methodologies by teachers in EuropeIncreased understanding by teachers of the types of methodologies that support students' critical and intercultural competenciesIncreased awareness by policy makers of the role of Ethical Education in inclusive pluralist societies and importance of Ethical Education in educational systemsIn achieving these results, it is expected that the project will enhance the professional profile of teachers in Ethical Education and improve their ability to deal with ethical issues in diverse classrooms. Ultimately it is expected that bringing the project target groups closer together positions them to foster ethical awareness, EU values, social inclusion and lifelong learning.
Context/Background of the project The LITTLE project set out to target primary and second-level teachers in four European countries who are engaged directly in Ethical Education or values based subjects. Teachers were identified as the primary project beneficiaries in response to a needs analysis (Schlenk & Meier 2013) which found that over 60% of the teachers surveyed indicated a lack of readiness to teach Ethical Education due to the absence of professional training in this area. In addition to meeting the needs of the primary target group, the project also sought to demonstrate the value of Ethical Education to the achievement of the European Union’s vision for education as outlined in the ET2020 report and specifically, “…to promote freedom of thought and expression, social inclusion and respect for others, as well as to prevent and tackle discrimination in all its forms, to reinforce the teaching and acceptance of these common fundamental values and laying the foundations for more inclusive societies through education…" (417/25). Objectives: The concept of the LITTLE project evolved from previous European projects (ETHIKA and Ethos) which focused on supporting the delivery of Ethical Education in primary and pre-primary schools through the development of teaching resources. The LITTLE Project built on these by shifting the focus away from developing resources to building teachers confidence and capacity in relevant pedagogies and methodologies. The specific objectives of the project were to: 1. Promote innovative practices in the field of Ethical Education through methodologies and pedagogies which support students’ social, civic and intercultural competencies through an online interactive course; 2. Build the confidence of teachers to examine ethical issues in their own subject areas through guidance on how to develop teacher and student created ethical education content; 3. Raise awareness of Ethical Education amongst politicians and policy makers as an inclusive approach to education for pluralist democracies as part of ET2020 in the lead up to the 2019 European elections. Number and profile of participating organisations There were 4 partners in the LITTLE project: 1. Educate Together (Ireland) were the lead partner. The organisation is a management and representative body for over 100 schools in the Republic of Ireland in which Ethical Education is taught to all students. As well as coordinating the LITTLE project, Educate Together led the development of the first intellectual output. 2. The University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) has over 42,000 students was represented by the Faculty of Theology owing to its strong connections in the field of Ethics and inclusive education. The Faculty previously was lead partner in large-scale international projects in the field of Ethical Education. The Faculty were the lead partners in the development of the second intellectual output. 3. Petit Philsophy (Croatia) is a not-for-profit NGO that has developed a specialism in experimental education programmes for developing critical thinking in elementary school and in formal and informal education. 4. STePS (Italy) brought a wealth of experience in European projects and programmes, including on-line teacher training to the LITTLE project. STePs were the lead partner in the development of the third intellectual output. Description of undertaken main activities - Development of a comprehensive e-learning course in methodologies for teaching Ethical Education - Development of Guidelines for teaching Ethical Education in a cross-discipline approach. - Development of a policy paper on the value of Ethical Education for Europe. - 2 Teacher Trainer Learner Events (Croatia and Slovenia) - 12 Multiplier Events - Numerous media features in each partner country - Partner collaboration and engagement through face to face and online meetings. Results and Impact Attained Fully piloted intellectual outputs that are increasing teacher capacity continuously. Impact is detailed in section 6 of this report and supported by dissemination logs and links to evidence of dissemination. Summaries of the results of the evaluation that ran alongside the project activities are also provided - with supporting documentation in the annex section.