1. Context The project aims to deepen the theme of Guidance as a useful tool to prevent early school leaving and guide children to discover their talents. The Guidance, used at an early stage, stimulates young people to get to know themselves and their aptitudes and to know essential knowledge for the construction of their personal project for the future. The trainers / teachers / counselors use a leading role assisting their support to children and their families and involving other actors of the local community in the Orientation and choice education process. 2. Goals, Methodology and Target Audience TSpace promotes the exchange of good Guidance practices between institutions working in the field of education and VET. The general objective of the project is to promote the development of teachers' skills, so that they can start experimentations in their educational institutions and make guidance a participatory and collective activity, creating educational communities to support the educational success of young people. From a methodological point of view, the project intends to create physical and experimental spaces to accompany the search for individual talents and the development of a positive attitude towards the future. The target audience is made up of (1) trainers, teachers and counselors, with particular regard to the contexts of schools, (2) students, but also (3) institutions, companies, trade associations, local authorities, organizations and other interested parties who operate in the territories and who can collaborate in the orientation processes. 3. Participants and Activities The project is aimed at different categories of participants: 1. Trainers, teachers and counselors in the school field 2. Students aged 7-15 and families 3. Local stakeholders. TSpace foresees three different kinds of activities: - 2 Joint Training Events - 2 testing periods that aim at disseminating and implementing new good practices among the partner organisations - 5 Transnational Project Meetings 4. Project Management The project coordinator, in agreement with partners, is CFPCemon and will be responsible for deadlines and provide partners with all the information required for the development of the activities, to guarantee the achievement of the expected results. A working group, composed of one or two representative(s) for each partner will have in charge the implementation of the specific activities, the communication and the collaboration processes among partners. 5. Impact The expected impact of the project will directly affect at many levels (1) teachers, (2) students and families (3) territorial communities and other stakeholders that will indirectly be part of the project activities. Moreover, the presence of different kinds of organisations within the project will ensure an effective impact in different fields and at many different levels (local, regional, national and European/international). 6. Partnership TSpace involves 5 partners from 4 different countries, including Italy, Greece, Poland and Spain. The partnership is made up of schools, an IeFP institution, a non-profit banking Foundation.
TSpace achieved the objectives of - creating the T-Space rooms in which children undergo learning experiences in the form of games to detect their own attitudes. - strengthening the development of guidance and orientation skills within the school teaching workforce and support/promote the discovery of individuals’ potentials - train teachers and counselors to support children and families - identifying / experimenting good guidance practices to promote the discovery of talents by involving different actors in the implementation of the activities - promoting the concept of educating community (schools, VET, companies and local authorities) who can support each other and contribute to a more successful exploitation of resources, both human and financial. The in-depth study on Guidance and Orientation as well as the sharing of ideas and techniques by teachers from partner countries with different levels of ESL was very relevant because it allowed the strengthening of their background skills, the exchange of good practices and the construction of effective tools to be used internationally, with a view to disseminating the concept of European cohesion on the topic of promoting learning and educational success for young people.
Decision to apply for this project was focused on the opportunity to investigate the topic of guidance and orientation as a useful tool for preventing early school leaving and guiding children to discover their talents. Orientation, activated at an early stage, stimulates young people to get to know themselves and their attitudes and develops essential knowledge for the construction of their personal project for their future life. The trainers / teachers / counselors can play a leading role by offering their support to children and their families and by involving other actors of the local community in the Orientation and choice education process. The need arises from the finding that school dropouts or school failures are still of certain relevance in several educational contexts across Europe. Many European countries are still not in line with the EU objectives and fighting the phenomenon is a national priority . Therefore, regardless of the pre existing practices and activities that each school,or each individual teacher can put in place, there is a lack of theoretical and practical preparation based on the opportunity to let students detect and exploit their talents and attitudes.