Context/background of project The" Your Story is my Value, United in Diversity" project is a KA2 Strategic Partnership for School Education Exchange of Good Practices activity. The project is led in the Czech Rep with partners from Romania, the UK and Portugal. Eurobarometer surveys highlight a remarkably low level of knowledge of the Union. According to a 2011 survey, a relative majority feel they are not well informed about the European Union. The Erasmus+ programme shows that both the mobilities and partnerships are an efficient way to experience European identity. Education in all of its types and at all levels and from an early age plays a pivotal role in promoting European common values, active citizenship and ethics. The European and national authorities in education gave schools the topics and steer, but teachers lack knowledge in teaching method and tools related to the European themes. We aim to address this. Objectives Our 1st objective is to upskill teachers in teaching methods and tools which are: - creative and effective; - interactive and involving; - enriching and experience based. Our 2nd objective is to enable young people to experience: - what it is like to be European citizen (rights and responsibilities); - a foreign country (its language, culture); - learning with peers from other countries. Our 3rd objective is to develop an inspirational resource database using best practice across our partner countries. Our 4th objective is to create student films reflecting on their experiences. Finally we will produce a project website. Number and Profile of participants Our target groups include: teachers, school leaders and other school staff; pupils and students. Our indirect beneficiaries include: Local, Regional and National Authorities with involvement in Education, parents and the wider community. We propose to train up to 60 school related staff by upskilling them in promoting European values and diversity in their courses in a more attractive and effective way. We propose to provide student exchanges for 48 students to provide experiences in diverse European environments. Description of activities 4 Learning Teacher Training activities will be delivered. 4 student activities will take place. In addition there will be 6 Transnational Project Meetings. Methodology Our methodology will involve each objective being developed through a staged process: 1.Research: Each partner identifies good practice in their delivery 2.Development: establishing the content for training and exchanges 3.Testing and delivery: testing and then roll out training, student exchanges and resources 4.Validation: measuring participant responses, partner feedback and impact 5.Sustainability: A partner commitment to embedding/rolling out of activities 6.Dissemination: Communicating results to stakeholders and networks through training, events and through partner websites. Results and Impact The results we are aiming for are: -4 Teacher Training Activities one in each partner country with up to 60 school related staff upskilled in promoting European values and diversity in their courses in a more attractive and effective way. -4 Short-term exchanges of group of pupils with one exchange hosted in each partner country with up to 48 students experienced in European diverse environments. -An Inspirational resource database which is a collection of lesson plans (great ideas, lessons that go well and unusual ideas and approaches). A library of best practice resources will be available on the project website. - 4 Short films created by students. These films are to be used to promote and provide insight into the project for use by teachers and students - A website developed and maintained as a tool of promotion and information resource. The impact will be: Teachers/other professionals will be upskilled through the project. They will have access to greatly improved resources. They will have improved confidence levels. They will be better teachers. Superb teaching resources will empower teachers to improve and use techniques which are successful elsewhere. Those who undertake training will be catalysts in their region of superb practice. Teachers will be equipped further to deal with and promote pedagogy of citizenship and European values. Pupils will understand European values to a greater extent. They will improve language competences. They will improve softer skills including confidence and personal effectiveness. They will improve their communication skills. Potential longer term benefits The project will: • provide resources and methodology which will be available on line and in hard copies which will be delivered across Europe • train staff who will be expected to cascade the training and methodologies to others • enable young people to promote their experience • establish a network which will have the ability to grow and to realize new projects which can develop the topic of European values.
Objective 1 was to upskill teachers in teaching methods and tools which are creative and effective, interactive and involving and enriching and experience based. The above mentioned methods were focused on teaching European values, especially Freedom, Democracy, Equality and Human rights. We also intended to develop topics like Multicultural education, Cultural heritage and Creativity. Teachers were expected to observe and note best practices and to contribute to a Methodology of teaching European values. Objective 2 was to enable young people to experience being European citizen (with all the rights and responsibilities); to visit foreign country (its language, culture) for a different purpose than holidays; and how it is like to learn with peers from other countries. We wanted students to get knowledge of European values, of other cultures and languages, how to acknowledge and protect human rights of all regardless their cultural, social and ethnical background. Students were expected to mix and mingle and to learn and create things together. Objective 3 was to develop Methodology of teaching European values. Objective 4 was to create student films reflecting on their experiences. Finally we produced a website.
The partnership was addressing a topic which is essential for Europe and which institutions in many countries struggle with. Although the project partners report a wide range of national educational programmes, approaches and initiatives that promote European values, diversity, and cross-cultural understanding, we felt a need to strengthen the education about European Union, as the Eurobarometer survey 2017 suggested. (Eurobarometer surveys highlight a remarkably low level of knowledge of the Union. According to a 2011 survey, a relative majority feel they are not well informed about the European Union). The European and national authorities in education gave schools the topics, but teachers lack knowledge in teaching method and tools related to the European themes. We decided to explore the topic of methods of teaching and learning the subjects related to the European values. For teachers, we intended to find and define teaching methods and tools which are creative and effective, interactive and involving and enriching and experience based. For students, we wanted to provide them with knowledge and competence to know and preserve the European values.