At the center of recent education policy debate at both national and EU level are issues related to ways of better adapting European education and training systems to the needs of modern society. The focus has been on promoting competence based education that will lead to the development of teachers and students’ key competences which are vital for personal fulfillment, employability, active citizenship, social cohesion and further learning. The rationale for the CARE project is situated within the growing demands of supporting the development of key competences. It will offer useful guidance into the ways European education systems can improve in order to provide young Europeans with the skills required in our future societies. Project CARE is about enhancing visual arts education with education for sustainable development elements that will promote creative thinking, critical and systemic thinking, reflection and development of skills, attitudes and values. The project aims to develop & deliver teacher training programmes that will empower school teachers in visual arts teaching within the framework of ESD and thus strengthen their teaching profile. Emphasis will be given to undervalued pillars of ESD such as culture and society (not only environment). We aim at high quality education by responding to the increasingly diverse needs for active citizenship, acceptance of diversity, multiculturalism, ICT learning, and sustainable development and overall connecting education with pupils' real life needs. The CARE project also seeks to establish links and collaborations with local agencies and organizations (such as governmental organisations, museums, artists and others) in order to empower the educational program and connect learning with real life context and experiences. The objectives of the project are: - to report on teachers’ actual competences & needs in the identified marginalized aspects of VAE. - to meet these needs by developing and delivering training programs aligned to the principles of adult learning and enhanced by hybrid forms of e-learning (design & test teacher training programs) - to bridge the gap between theory & practice by supporting participants to implement teaching units in schools. - to create a culture of collaboration between educators by assisting the development of professional communities of learning. The project aims to strengthen the profile of primary school teachers (pre-service & in-service) on how to teach visual arts education in a meaningful way within the school curriculum and by setting European standards for their professional development. Through teachers the project aims to reach pupils and enhance their visual competencies. In total the project aims to reach more than 2200 participants; an average of 60 teachers and their classes (1200 pupils) and other key stakeholders through the disseminating activities (1000). All outputs will be freely available online to support teachers and other stakeholders (Higher Institutions, teacher educators, educational authorities, schools, art experts) to develop a more strategic approach in improving teachers’ and pupils’ competences (teaching context & materials, learning outcomes, etc.). The research will follow the methodological approach of an action research beginning with a needs assessment stage (O1) and proceeding with addressing the identified needs by designing targeted training programs/ curricula (O2), implementing teacher training/case studies (O3), providing further opportunities for teacher development through the implementation of visual arts units in schools/ case studies (O4), supporting the development of professional communities of learning (O5) and reaching practitioners and other key stakeholders (O6). CARE is a transnational project that seeks to strengthen common attributes and objectives between local/national policies for visual arts education and European common goals for visual literacy as described within the key competence Cultural awareness and expression. Through the project we seek to improve the competences of teachers, to promote visual competences, enhance their classes with real life situations, and promote transversal competences and inter-cultural values to their pupils. Simultaneously these activities will have an important impact on all participating and collaborating organizations, developing their way of teaching and research.
CARE aimed to develop and deliver innovative high-quality teacher training that would empower teachers in VAE within the framework of ESD and help them address contemporary educational challenges. We specifically aimed to: 1. Identify the competencies teachers needed to effectively address the marginalized aspects of VAE based on action research processes as an approach to teacher education (Ferreira et al. 2007). 2. Design a guide for policymakers and other relevant stakeholders, test its application and then design four localized training programs and accompanied resources/materials. 3. Evaluate the four local teacher training programs based on innovative educational practices emerging by the joint objectives of ESD & VAE. 4. Extend the training into schools and bridge the gap between theory and practice by supporting the participants to develop and implement art lesson units based on their recent training experiences. 5. Create a culture of collaboration to promote excellence between participants by establishing professional communities of learning as professional development. 6.Produce a handbook to support teachers in developing and implementing innovative art units in schools within the framework of SD.
Overwork and lack of support are leading teachers to neglecting essential and challenging aspects of education. This project aimed to support pre- &in-service primary school teachers by offering innovative training courses focusing on visual arts education (VAE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). The importance of visual arts in the lives & future of pupils is traditionally underestimated. VAE has the potential to make a profound and lasting impact on pupils, which is not only related to specific subject matter knowledge but also to the development of imperative for the 21st-century key competencies &skills, attitudes & values such as understanding & accepting diversity, active citizenship, and respect for nature and people, which will help to form socially engaged and responsible citizens. VAE provides people with equal opportunities to express their ideas and experiences and it connects to people’s lives & needs. The same qualities are important vital aspects of ESD. Even though their importance is acknowledged, teachers often fail to promote these as they feel unsure about how to do it.CARE focused on teachers’ needs and provided relevant training and materials, which had a snowball effect on learners.