Our goal was to observe how the concepts of autonomy, citizenship and positive evaluation are defined and set up in our European partners’ schools. What pedagogies are used to foster autonomous student engagement? How do other school systems give more room to students? How do they relate to the standards, programs and school curriculum while giving each student the opportunity to evolve at their own pace? We also wanted to observe how other school systems manage to offer a school that highlights the well-being of both students and adults within the collective by relying on transversal skills and strong cultural and sports practices. Are there systems where all the student’s intelligences are recognized and valued, and how? We chose which European partners we would visit based on these criterias
Before we applied for our TAT project, five school principals, two counselors and four middle school teachers from the Roubaix Centre district had the opportunity to join an Eresmus + mobility in Finland. During this trip, questions were raised about student autonomy, kindness, trust, wellness and positive evaluation. This positive experiment generated curiosity among the participants, which, in turn, gave their teams the desire to join an Erasmus project. This experience was the stepping stone from which we brought together all the school principals, counselors and some teachers from the district to build an Erasmus project closer to our needs and goals.