Project is a result motivated for the benefits of international entrepreneurship between schools for students, teachers and local communities. We agreed Tales and Legends is a perfect way to incentivise European Cultural Heritage and participants could deepen in their own roots as European citizens. Tales are transmitted from generation to generation across cultures and civilisations, spontaneously, from the necessity of create explanations to natural phenomenons, enhance moral values, civic behaviour and express aspects of cultures. Even though original from places, have no borders and become universal over time. Through research, study and creation of tales and legends from every participant country, participants will realise that they should value their cultural backgrounds as well as others’. Cultural heritage broadens opportunities for education and lifelong learning, including a better understanding of history and present We are five participant schools with around 25 students and 8 teachers will actively participate on a regular basis. All schools are Secondary level with students aged 13 to 18, being all public except for Turkey IES Miguel Fernández from Melilla, Spain, is the coordinator school with near 1000 students. It has a unique location in the North of Africa and different cultures have been living together for generations Hof Skole from Hof, Norway has 130 students in secondary level with a high rate social welfare grants. Surrounded by nature they will study Scandinavian mythology based on their extraordinary natural phenomenons The Emelwerda College in Emmeloord, Netherlands, has over 1500 students from different ethnic backgrounds and situated in an agricultural area Wirral Grammar School For Boys is an all boys school near Liverpool, United Kingdom, of just over 1000 students who take an exam to enter school so they are gifted and talented coming from all social backgrounds İELEV Özel Anadolu Lisesi has 213 students. Situated in the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey, it offers International Baccalaureate with subjects taught in English, German and Turkish Schools from Norway, Holland and United Kingdom are experienced in European programs and Spanish and Turkish are implementing internationalisation with different programs Main goal is to promote European Cultural Heritage through research, study and creation of tales and legends from every participant country. Other objectives are: To provide students and teachers with valuable tools and experiences, training them in basic skills and key competences like IT, communication skills in foreign and own language, literacy, citizenship, social and civic responsibilities, critical thinking, understanding and acceptance of cultural and social diversity as part of their long life learning education To promote equity values through the study of male and female roles in stories Short term exchange of students and teachers to experience real life situations around new cultures To help inclusion integrating students in a cooperative project and giving students with low income the opportunity to travel abroad To open school to local community and organisations involving them in activities To produce results and end products significant to participants and useful in the long term Activities vary from video presentations, surveys, creation of padlets, Erasmus+ corners, chat events in Twinspace, visits to authorities and local organisations, workshops training in IT tools (Airtable, Twinspace, Comic apps, video and booklet edition), brainstorm activities and creation of Tales, rehearsal and performance of plays, storytelling conferences and field trips Methodologies will include cooperative mixed groups of students from different countries, workshops, field trips observations, communicative approach, group work, research and analysis, eclectic method, brainstorm and combination Expected results about Tales and Legends: Twinspace showing activities and results Airtable Database classifying tales and legends Storytelling and performance of plays Comics and art of chosen tales and legends and own created tales Comparative Study of Tales and Legends across Europe Booklets of Tales: “European Cultural Heritage through Tales and Legends” and “Tales of the 21st Century. European Cultural Heritage of the future”. Compilations of researched tales and legends and original tales from students We expect impacts in school, departments will include activities from project in their curriculum. In students and teachers, motivation, skills and competences, exchange of ideas and good practices which will be long term personal benefit. In local communities and authorities working with different organisations and offering results such as database, study and booklets for future reference. All will be accessible through websites for the wider public. It will be a continuity for some participant schools and a beginning for others in the process of internationalisation
To promote internationalization in our schools and to motivate students with exchanges, we decided to make a project related to European Cultural Heritage and we agreed Tales and Legends would be ideal for this purpose. We divided work into two parts: First research of local and national tales and legends and second, creation of our own tales. In both cases we created comics and performed them. Our Airtable database is also one of our main products and a basic tool for our Comparative Study of Tales and Legends across Europe This project meant a significant change in their lifelong learning education since for most of them it was the first time meeting and working with people from different countries, improving their literacy, English, IT, social, teamwork and leadership skills This project was intended to promote and incentivise European Cultural Heritage among students, school and community members through the research, study and creation of tales and legends from every participant country. They realised that they should value their cultural backgrounds as well as others’. Cultural heritage broadens opportunities for education and lifelong learning, including a better understanding of history. It encouraged students to become active European citizens with lifelong learning training through the knowledge of their cultural heritage and other European countries. It gave them the opportunity to meet other people and cultures with different backgrounds, enriching their personal experience and making them aware and open minded to world differences. The whole process made them more aware of their cultural heritage and promoted inclusion of students in risk of social exclusion, through the knowledge and participation in the different activities that promoted teamwork, cooperation and advantages of diversity. Social and civic responsibilities were present during local activities interacting with different organisations and diversity of communities to promote inclusion. Creating curiosity through different activities helped them learn about other cultures. Tales and legends celebrate diversity and by experiencing new cultures students could discover valuable insights about other cultures values, practices, customs and beliefs. Activities built strong relationships and cooperation among students. Learning from their peers was more effective and permanent and they gained new perspectives. It also helped students develop critical reading skills of phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension, study positive character traits and discover a love of stories. Students could see the importance of making effective decisions under difficult circumstances. Engaging students in discussions about the outcomes of “good” and “poor” decisions was a good way to raise awareness as goodness, honesty and unity are depicted as important virtues in tales. Mobilities gave the opportunity to participate in perfect activities to enhance all social and civic skills, communication, living the experience of visiting other countries, the real lifelong experience of living with a family from a different culture. It enabled all the participants to present the plays which they had prepared in advance in cooperative mixed groups We started with Twinspace to make contact among students and set up Erasmus+ corner in every school For research of Tales and Legends, students asked their older family members for local Tales and Legends and we also visited our libraries and an Elderly Care Centers to listen to their stories. Then students had to complete a form for our Airtable Database. 158 tales were registered and analyzed in the Comparative Study of Tales and Legends across Europe After researching, we selected different tales for rehearsals and performed in primary schools of every country During the second year we created new tales did rehearsals but performances were canceled due to COVID-19 Results: Twinspace and website Airtable Database Comics and performances of plays Comparative Study of Tales and Legends across Europe Two Booklets of Tales: “European Cultural Heritage through Tales and Legends” and “Tales of the 21st Century. European Cultural Heritage of the future” Main impact was reflected in students with the acknowledgment of European Cultural Heritage all the skills needed in order to carry them. Personal interactions, English skills, literacy, IT skills, team working. Activities including mobilities improved all those skills significantly and they really changed their lives in a very positive way. Feedback from students and parents were all positive and teachers were highly motivated watching on- site different methodologies and education systems to apply back in their school. In our community impact was also significant with visits to elder places and primary schools We expect activities will continue uploading more tales in our database and performing tales every year in nearby primary schools