Goals, expected results and effects as well as long-term benefits: - attainment of intercultural performance skills, including a positive long-term effect on the participant‘s (professional) personality - deepening of professional self-confidence and assurance how to act in various professional situations - getting to know different structural prerequisites in the partner institutions - actively participating in the organisation of the daily routine in the partner institutions - experiencing and reflecting different professional personalities (based on the respective concepts) - gaining experiences regarding the work with children, parents, colleagues, supervisors and agencies in the partner institutions - acquisition of a basic pedagogical vocabulary in the respective national language and/or English - getting to know the importance of bilingualism - comparing, reflecting, presenting and spreading of gained experiences - thus widening the willingness of other students to go abroad - widening the acceptance of German agencies to allow their interns to go abroad for four weeks
Since 2003 Helen-Keller-School in Weinheim has enabled students to go abroad for an internship during their last year of their apprenticeship to become educators and it was continued in 2019/2020, too. Due to the fact that interested students attended a (mandatory) preparatory course called “International Elementary pedagogics“, it was save to apply for seven “Erasmus+“-mobility scholarships. This year‘s project was titled "Supporting social-emotional development in early childhood at European child care iinstitutions“ and project partners were our long-term partners Fitzwilliam Nursery & Montessori School in Dublin (Ireland), Vestfold Fylkeskommune in Tonsberg (Norway), Solklintskolan, Slite (Gotland/Sweden) and the municipal creche "El Trenet", Cunit (Spain). Reasons for participation: - supporting the European initiative to promote mobility in vocational education - in accordance with § 39 of the Baden-Wuerttemberg exam regulations: offering the chance to fulfil parts of their final year in other European countries - putting contents of the Baden-Wuerttemberg kindergarten curriculum regarding „social-emotional development of children in early childhood“ into action - learning and/or improving language skills in the respective national language, plus improvement of English as link language - deepening of professionalism, subsequently leading to a higher professional standard in general