The project ”Under the same sky” is a project that targets a topic quite often surfacing in the education systems of most of the European countries: the presence of pupils from troubled backgrounds, whose school results and acquisitions in the area of professional training are influenced by the characteristics of the social and family background they come from. Another aspect we are concerned with is the fact that within the majority of the education systems, the learning is achieved mostly through formal activities, in school, ignoring the formative side of education. This side is better approached and treated within the nonformal activities organized by the school or outside it. The target groups are:-students coming from disadvantaged families, with low motivation for learning because of the problems listed above;-teachers who are working with these students.The activities that we propose for this project will contribute to achieving the following objectives:- Use of non formal activities to develop basic and transversal key competences: communication, intercultural, scientific, ICT, learning to learn, social and civic entrepreneurial.- Socializing students and teachers with education systems and the civics requirements at European level by drafting a curriculum for an optional course on European civic education; here there will be included information about risky situations in the world that can generate migrations and ways to act in these cases.- Increasing the qualification of teachers by sharing ideas and best practices between partners by encouraging them to apply active teaching methods and means of improving the skills and working with pupils from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.-increasing students' motivation on their own training using by using student centered methods, equal opportunities, encouraging active involvement and creative activities. To this end, older students will be guided to design and write small business plans, raging from earning pocket money to more extensive business ideas.The project also include a pedagogic research concerning the impact of nonformal activities on the direct beneficiaries, the children. During the two years of the project, we will have various activities, which touch all sides of personal development: knowing the partners, the presentation of the most significant aspects related to their country, literary and musical creations, modern and traditional crafts, making video clips about social equity, magazine with the presentation of the social care systems from the partner countries meant to help the children with troubled backgrounds, school festivities in which the pupils will show the results of the activities and their personal abilities, fun Physics and Chemistry experiments, the definition of the model behavior of a European citizen, visiting some of the local care centers for children with troubled backgrounds in the region. All the activities and the results will be uploaded on the project website they will be advertised in school, in the community and at a regional/national level.Results: the pedagogic research on the role of the nonformal activities in social integration and the pupils’ school results, the curriculum of a European civic education elective course, a collection of tools and teaching methods centered on the student, with concrete examples and descriptions of applications available on the internet and OER, a brochure with business plans, photo albums, presentations on the topic chosen for the activities, video clips, calendars, exhibitions, the project website, booklets, literary creations and their dramatization, making new friends, setting up collaboration agreements with associations in charge of the issue of children from troubled backgrounds. As for a short term impact, we will highlight the school results of the pupils involved, the development of key competences, and the rise of self esteem. On the other hand, the parents and the community will be more involved and they will collaborate more efficiently with the teachers for the children’s education. The local authorities will be more receptive to the needs and difficulties that the school has. On long term, the experience acquired through the project will be used for solving the issue of school and social integration of future generations of children, for the selection and inclusion of the activities with maximum impact in the annual calendar of extracurricular activities. We predict a better collaboration with the parents and the local authorities. The disseminations of the project within the community and at a regional/national level will bring with it the awareness of the important role that the European projects play in improving the education process, will encourage other schools and associations to access these types of projects.
The project ”Under the same sky” targeted the students with low motivation for learning and self-confidence because they are coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project also targeted the teachers who are working with these students. Another aspect is the fact that within the majority of the education systems, the learning is achieved mostly through formal activities, in school, ignoring the formative side of education. This side is better approached and treated within the nonformal activities. The activities targeted to achieving the following objectives: - Use of non formal activities to develop basic and transversal key competences; - Socializing students and teachers with education systems and the civics requirements at European level; - Increasing the qualification of teachers by sharing ideas and best practices between partners, improving the skills and work with pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. -increasing students' motivation on their own training and self-confidence using equal opportunities, encouraging active involvement and creative activities. The project involved schools from: Denmark, Germany, Italy, Romania, Spain and Turkey. The school in Turkey is located in an isolated area with very few job opportunities and faces disadvantaged background of their pupils. The school in Spain is facing African and Easter European immigrant children. They must adapt to new living conditions and to school requirements. The school in Italy is located in a region with high unemployment and increasing number of migrants. Also, this is an economy and vocational school which helped with professional experience. The school in Denmark has experience in the education system where the students with special needs are grouped in separate classes and nonformal learning. Once a week the pupils have a chance of being involved in cross-curricular activities. School students from Germany are students with special educational needs and learning difficulties, to whom the school has a duty to train for social and professional integration. The main activities were: -Collecting data on the impact of nonformal activities on behavioral aspects of pupils; -Learning digital apps used in the educational process; -creating an eBook with culinary recipes and videos with the students cooking; -creating a story about a bird who travelled through the our countries and lives new experiences and discover new cultures; -social volunteering activities; -Students presented their countries, the most important turist sights; -students attended Physics and Chemistry experiments, which they have filmed and shared to the others. -during the meetings for LTTA and for some special occasions, students performed in spectacles. Intangible results: -developing basic skills: communication (pupils participated in dissemination activities, established relationships with foreign colleagues, written in English); sciences (students have performed original experiments); digital (they have learned new digital apps); cultural expression (their view of the ideal European society through theater and songs) - developing cross-curricular skills: social, civic and initiative (pupils have initiated and participated in volunteering, written materials about equality, respect and friendship) -Development of the personality: pupils have been put into new situations (contact with pupils from different cultures and lifestyles, accommodation in families, hosting, volunteering), so they have developed communication, adaptation skills and increased self-confidence, a key factor for success in life. Tangible results: - The pedagogical research on the role of non-formal activities on behavioral aspects of pupils' training, self-esteem and self-confidence. -The curriculum of a European civic education elective course. -an eBook of digital applications with examples and descriptions. Some of these digital apps started to be applied in our schools; -a brochure with business plans and the basic theory about how to write such plans and how to implement the entrepreneurial ideas. -eBook ”Sunshine Under the Sky” is a literature creation inspired by our cultures; -a booklet containing traditional culinary recipes; -A booklet gathering European concerns about the social care and volunteering activities. As impact, we mention the positive influence on the general attitude and behavior of the pupils, the development of key competences and the rise of self esteem. The experience acquired influences the school vision for the future and helps the teachers and staff to elaborate institutional development plans which include the concern for implementing new European projects. It is also a good example on applying equity and equality in education and providing solutions for school and social integration of future generations of children.