The planning of the Erasmus+ project was strategically chosen for the benefit of the competence development of the participating staff, consisting of the GSC 20 policy team, school boards and staff members. We thought about pedagogy and the environment in which our children learned and lived, and how we made our school buildings important catalysts of the process of evolution and renewal we were shaping through our mission. We assumed that in addition to strong teachers didactically, a revamped pedagogical structure/organisation, a cooperative work culture and an enabling infrastructure would help support the intended innovation. GSC 20 and its schools had several professionalisation processes underway and had already committed to infrastructure changes, but at times we still encountered problems for which we sought solutions. It was important for principals and policy staff to understand and continue to develop their understanding of the interaction between the pedagogical concept and the material environment of the school. There was a clear need for more substantive knowledge at didactic level for the teams, in combination with the (re)design of the learning environment. In Flanders and the Netherlands, we already visited some schools with the necessary expertise. We were convinced that foreign inspiration with good practice examples would broaden our view and meet our needs. With this project we achieved the following goals: At the policy/school level: By following structured courses, our school group directors and policy staff deepened their knowledge of competences related to innovative thinking, creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking, systems thinking, information processing, perseverance and the ability to work together. During the project, we wanted them to learn about transition management at school level and what the prerequisites were for self-directed teams. At classroom/student level: We wanted to strengthen our school teams towards self-regulated learning and metacognition (relating, analysing, structuring, orienting, planning and evaluating). We wanted to put ownership of learning in the hands of the learner. We needed to develop the necessary skills for this among our teams. By offering our staff structured courses, we sharpened their skills. This project gave us the opportunity to realise that there were different contexts and opportunities to translate pedagogical ideas into environmental factors. Understanding how these ideas emerged was also an important part of the professionalisation process. After all, it provided an answer to the WHY question (Sinek) and increased entrepreneurial competence among the learners. The directors became more competent in terms of cultural awareness. During the course, they learned to understand and respect how pedagogical ideas and meaning are creatively translated into another culture. They were positively inspired, school visits always broadened the view. Consortium members became more competent thanks to the match between academic trainings and school visits that complemented the academic content of the trainings with social and emotional learning. Getting access to expertise and centres of expertise, knowledge of appropriate methodologies, materials and experiences broadened our view and made the participants more competent.
Since the arrival of general manager Isabelle Truyen on 1 September 2018, our school group underwent a genuine reorganisation. Together with all her schools, Isabelle Truyen has developed a vision that guides everything that happens in our organisation happens. This vision is the frame of reference for improving the quality of education, renewing our education and administrative optimisation. It was based on the policy power of the school teams in which our schools had to make pedagogical-didactical choices from their visions on education. Many of our teachers' teams were already familiar with these principles given that the school group had already spent two years strongly committed to adapted ways of teaching and didactics. Implementing transversal goals, 21st-century knowledge and skills we wanted to impart to our pupils, preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow made us want to approach our education differently, organise it differently. To achieve this, we needed to organise ourselves more flexibly and dynamically, support innovative approaches to learning and teaching, invest in a culture and school environment that helped our young people grow into happy adults. The old classroom arrangement where a group of pupils was taught daily by one teacher was no longer an issue in most of our schools. In 35% of our primary schools and 50% of our secondary schools, teachers worked in co-teaching or team teaching relationships. Classrooms were transformed into learning spaces with different learning functions. Instructional classrooms, quiet workspaces and collaboration spaces ensure that pupils are encouraged to complete assignments together or individually. Teachers can take on different roles within these spaces; as teachers, facilitators and coaches. During this innovative process, we still encountered problems for which we sought solutions. Since September 2020, for instance, we have been working with Artevelde Hogeschool on a scientific study into the preconditions for self-directed learning. More in-depth knowledge should enable us to aim for increased success in problem-solving thinking, academic performance, intrinsic motivation and task motivation among pupils. We needed know-how around didactics (what worked/not worked) and good practice examples to design flexible learning spaces that promoted social interaction and were a prerequisite for a healthy, safe and stimulating learning setting. We wanted to implement educational innovation in our schools using 2 focal points: FOCUS 1: transition management: at the policy level: making system analysis, the role of vision development, creating transition experiments, evaluating and monitoring the transition process FOCUS 2: self-directed learning: content course, deepening around the role of meta cognition, cognition and motivation, preconditions of self-directed learning, feedback and feedforward, importance of the learning environment. 'Good practice' examples: visitations, strong visions of other schools, conversations with principals and teachers were inspiring and motivating. We wanted to focus on school visits, job shadowing both at home and abroad. European contacts had the great advantage of bringing innovative approaches to learning, teaching and organising within reach. Contacts were built, collaborations emerged. Phase 1: 2012-2018: pilot projects: Erasmus+ projects - some schools of our school group submitted Erasmus KA1 projects for the first time. These projects were perceived as very valuable, in feedback reports at the Board of Directors, other colleagues became fascinated and showed interest in Erasmus+ projects as well. The quality of the professionalisation courses, school visits and European contacts were perceived as an absolute added value. Phase 2: 2018-2020: broadening the Erasmus projects. Several (secondary) schools applied for projects. Our school group joined a consortium of GO! This gave several principals and teams of teachers the opportunity to immerse themselves and professionalise in a European context. GO! KA Geraardsbergen, GO! KA Brakel and GO! KA Zottegem committed to KA2 projects. Teachers and pupils were more intensely involved in the projects. Phase 3: 2020-2022: strengthening partnerships in a European context. Further development of Erasmus projects with more emphasis on cooperation/learning from other European schools. Our secondary schools put even more effort into KA2 projects where pupils gain European Erasmus experience.