Through the “Progressing in Inclusion” project, an opportunity is given to a group of students who, due to their special characteristics, tend to be less favored by our educational systems, in particular, and society in general, to feel equal to their peers. This will provide the framework that makes possible for students with special educational needs (ACNEE) take part in a life experience that they would otherwise be unable to achieve. Furthermore, we must mention that we are talking about families that, in many cases, also have a disadvantaged socio-economic situation. There are about 40 students (between 14 and 19 years old), together with their teachers, who, directly, will have the opportunity to participate in this project, thus being the first recipients of its benefits. The participating schools are: - "IES Villa de Abarán", Abarán (Spain). - “Magistrale Statale G. Parini Institute”, Seregno (Italy). - "Colegio Sao José de Bairros", Lousada (Portugal). These students will be endowed with a series of skills that they could hardly develop otherwise. Some of its objectives, coinciding with the "Europe 2020" strategy, are: • Greater social insertion. • Acquisition of social skills. • Avoid dropping out of school. • Motivation of the student towards learning. • Peer learning, promoting collaborative teamwork. • Learn to cope in a new environment for them. •Attention to diversity. • Inclusive education In addition to it, working together with other colleagues will motivate them to achieve an improvement in their communication skills, their capacity for autonomy and resolution of adverse situations. A comprehensive improvement of student capacities is sought, supporting us in the promotion of European citizenship. As a final goal, all this will lead to a very important objective, which is the improvement of self-esteem, breaking pre-established barriers (for these students it means the possibility of participating in activities that, until now, they only saw colleagues with brilliant academic records develop). Furthermore, teachers will see some important areas covered in their career as teachers: • Greater professional development, greater motivation and satisfaction in their daily work. • Exchange of pedagogical strategies with other teachers. • Obtaining resources to achieve motivating work dynamics. The activities take 3 themes as axis: Gastronomy, Recycling and Self-esteem. Mobilities, in themselves, are a source of learning, since students must cope in new situations for them (use of public transport, payment in shops, ...), having to adapt to new cities, customs, languages,. .. During the mobilities, activities designed in order to: favor and improve interaction; improve attention, perception, memory and auditory discrimination; promote cooperative work; exercise basic cognitive abilities (perception, memory and discrimination). The activities promote equality and inclusion, attending to Diversity, obtaining better learning achievements and equipping them with skills that help them to better integrate. In addition to the activities during the mobility, others will be carried out in the centers themselves during the two years of the project (they will help to give continuity to the work of the students and will give content to an eTwinning project). The methodology will be active, the students will get involved taking part in the process of learning and acquiring competences, they will work together with the colleagues from the other centers, improving their communication skills and social skills. At the same time, they will be given autonomy for their development, thus reinforcing this capacity. Another activity will be the mobility of personnel in which the teachers will take part. This will allow conclusions to be drawn and materials to be developed that will help in working with ACNEEs, being very important to ensure the durability of results over time. The programmed activities, and the development of the same, suppose an innovative practice in which creativity is given greater relevance; they are an incentive for teachers and students by allowing the exit from the "routine" of day to day. The expected results and objectives will be obtained both in the short and long term. In the first place, they will fall on the students, who are expected to achieve the objectives indicated above, as well as those indicated for teachers. In the longer term, it will be the centers involved that will benefit from methodological innovation and management with these students. Likewise, through the synergies generated, other centers in the environment will benefit from dissemination meetings. On the other hand, the use of the eTwinning platform will be deepened through Twinspace, providing a new experience for students and teachers that will result in future collaborations.
Through the project "Advancing Inclusion", a group of pupils who, due to their special characteristics, are often less favoured by our educational systems, in particular, and society in general, have been given the opportunity to feel equal to their peers. The project has been the framework that has provided students with special educational needs (ACNEE) with a life experience that otherwise they would not have been able to achieve. A total of 58 pupils (aged between 14 and 19), together with their teachers, have had the opportunity to participate directly in the mobility activities (in addition to others who have participated in the centres). The participating schools were: - IES Villa de Abarán", Abarán (Spain) - "Istituto Magistrale Statale G. Parini", Seregno (Italy) - Sao José de Bairros College, Lousada (Portugal) The main objectives addressed have been: -Greater social inclusion -Acquisition of social skills Preventing school drop-out -Motivation of the learner towards learning -Peer learning, fostering collaborative teamwork. -Learning to cope in a new environment for them. -Attention to Diversity - Inclusive education Working together with other classmates has motivated them to improve their communication skills, their capacity for autonomy and their ability to resolve adverse situations. We have sought an integral improvement of the pupils' skills, based on the promotion of European citizenship. As a final aim, all of this has led to a very important objective, which has been the improvement of self-esteem, breaking down pre-established barriers (for these pupils it has meant the possibility of participating in activities which, until now, they had only seen developed by classmates with brilliant academic records). In addition, teachers have had some important areas covered as teachers: -Increased professional development, motivation and satisfaction in their daily work. -Exchange of pedagogical strategies with other teachers. -Obtaining resources to achieve motivating work dynamics. The activities have focused on the following themes: Gastronomy (healthy eating), Recycling, Self-esteem and Autonomy. The mobilities, in themselves, have been a source of learning, as the students have had to deal with new situations for them (use of public transport, payment in shops, responsibility for new timetables...), having to adapt to new cities, customs, languages,... During the mobilities, activities have been programmed with the aim of: favouring and improving interaction; improving attention, perception, memory and auditory discrimination; encouraging cooperative work; exercising basic cognitive skills (perception, memory and discrimination); ... The activities have promoted equality and inclusion, attending to Diversity, obtaining better learning achievements and providing them with skills that help them to a better integration. In addition to the activities during the mobilities, other activities have been carried out in the schools themselves during the two years of the project (helping to give continuity to the pupils' work and giving content to an eTwinning project). The methodology has been active, the pupils have been involved in the learning process and the acquisition of competences, working together with their classmates from other schools, improving their communication and social skills. At the same time, autonomy is encouraged for the development of these skills, thus reinforcing this capacity. Another activity has been staff mobility in which teachers have taken part. This allows to draw conclusions and to elaborate materials that help in the work with ELLSEs, being very important to ensure the sustainability of results over time. The programmed activities, and the development of the same, have meant an innovative practice in which creativity has been given greater relevance; they have been an incentive for teachers and students by allowing them to escape from the "routine" of everyday life. The results and objectives are achieved in both the short and long term. In the first place, they fall on the pupils, who are achieving the objectives indicated above, as well as those indicated for the teaching staff. In the longer term, the schools involved benefit thanks to methodological innovation and management with these pupils. Likewise, through the synergies generated, other schools in the surrounding area have benefited through dissemination meetings. Moreover, work has been done on the use of the eTwinning platform through Twinspace, providing a new experience for pupils and teachers that will result in future collaborations.