This project is based on a partnership between four schools – Portugal, Romania, Lithuania and Poland – and has its focus in vocational courses and subjects, which are mostly aimed at students who want to start their professional life after finishing secondary education. The participating students are from the vocational areas of Restaurant/Bar, Tourism and Social Entertainment. The participating schools have other similar or complementary contexts, which allows for the exchange and sharing of experiences among teachers and students. As many of the students involved are of low sociocultural an economic background, this project can be a means to promote their personal and cultural enrichment, facilitate learning in an international context, promote tolerance and cooperation in a diversified context, promote the development of competences and skills related to the world of work. We also intend to integrate students with special educational needs, as a means to foster inclusive education. Teacher will have the opportunity to improve their knowledge of different European education systems and pedagogical practices. For the two years of the development of the project we planned four short-term exchanges of students, one in each partner school. During these mobilities, students will be engaged in meetings and workshops where they will learn about traditional dishes and recipes, important tourist sights, including typical restaurants. They will also participate in visits to local companies in order to improve their knowledge about the different working contexts and skills and competences required for the related jobs. These activities will result in a Tourist Guide produced with all the material compiled during the exchanges, which can later be used by teachers in their classes. Teachers will have the opportunity to cooperate with their peers, share and discusses new practices, methodologies and strategies, which also be compiled in a Practical Guide for future use as resource for class development. By using online digital platforms, these materials will be available for a wider audience that goes beyond the participating schools.
This project is developed based on a contextualised partnership between four schools from Portugal, Romania, Lithuania and Poland, and has its background focus in vocational courses and subjects, which are mostly prepared for students who want to start their professional life after finishing secondary education. Those students are from the vocational areas of Restaurant and Bar, Tourism and Social Entertainment, so the activities could be prepared consistently. The objectives of this project include increasing the personal and cultural enrichment of students from low social-cultural backgrounds, facilitating learning in an international context, promoting tolerance and cooperation in a diversified context, developing competences and skills related to the world of work and integrating students with special educational needs, as a means to foster inclusive education. In these mobilities each country took between 6 and 8 students from vocational areas of restaurant, bar, tourism and social entertainment, accompanied by 2 or 3 teachers from those vocational areas and English language. Portugal also provided this experience for special educational needs students, accompanied by special education teachers as a means to foster inclusive education. The undertaken activities became underlined by the students engagement in meetings and workshops where they learned about traditional dishes and recipes. But they also prepared online cards with information about themselves, learned about food habits, attended practical cuisine courses, prepared some regional dishes, got acquainted with local products, were involved in planned social activities with a solidarity purpose, socialised with the school and surrounding community and performed some traditional music and dances, visited important tourist sights and local companies in order to improve their knowledge about the different working contexts and skills and competences required. Teachers were also engaged in various meetings and workshops and had the opportunity to improve their knowledge of different European education systems and pedagogical practices, stimulating new teaching strategies and producing various activities that were applied simultaneously in the classrooms of each partner country. The main impact of the project is the life changing probation offered to these students. Most of them had a unique opportunity to be abroad and to have a groundbreaking learning experience. As a result, different guides (recipe, cultural, English lessons...) were produced with all the material compiled during the exchanges by students and teachers. Furthermore, activities for dissemination of the results of the project in an open-session with local authorities and other members of the schools were carried out. All of this work will prevail on several online social media pages. Although, the most rewarding long-term benefits consist on the life changing response of the participating students and teachers, which became influencers concerning themes such as the acceptance of social differences and behaviours, learning and teaching, tolerance and solidarity, the importance of communicating and the widening of knowledge and curiosity.