3.4. Programmes et parcours éducatifs

The project partners designed and implemented a new anti-bullying programme in schools in five EU countries. It drew on the experiences of existing programmes and practices originated by the project partners working in different cultural contexts.  It provided further evidence of effective approaches to the reduction of bullying in schools that will inform the development of improved child centred, whole school strategies for adoption at European level.

Faire les bons choix de matières à étudier augmente les chances de réussite future des élèves. Ce projet fait participer les parents et les élèves au processus de prise de décision réfléchie vis-à-vis des matières scolaires. Il fournit des informations sur le système éducatif flamand.

UNICEF Serbia and the civil society organisation Centre for Education Policy with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development Republic of Serbia  implemented the project “Combating Early School Leaving in Serbia”.

This project aimed to contribute to decreasing drop-out and early school leaving of children and adolescents through development, establishment, and implementation of the school-based model for early identification of children at risk of dropping out and intervention in situations where dropping-out is taking place.

Combating drop-out and ESL in Serbia has been recognised as a policy priority area.  The Strategy for Education Development in Serbia 2020 (SEDS 2020) calls for the provision of high-quality education for all, an increase of students’ coverage and attainment at all levels of education by maintaining the relevance of education and increasing efficiency. The Strategy implementation is primarily focused on the development of human capital in Serbia, thus underlines importance of the inclusion of pupils from vulnerable and marginalised groups (Roma and children from poor families, children with disabilities and from rural areas etc.).

The Danish Production schools were created in the 1980s with the aim of combating youth unemployment. Production Schools offer alternative education opportunities to improve labour market integration. The fundamental aim of this type of school is to create a practical learning environment to support young people to complete and earn qualifications in general and vocational upper secondary education and/or maintain a job. The students are offered the opportunity to develop professional, social and personal skills through counselling, participation in practical work experience and production in different workshops ranging from areas such as metalwork, carpentry and textile work in theatre, media and music-based workshops. The focus is on social, personal and physical skills which are complemented by more formal knowledge and skills. Learning processes are organised through workshops and classroom teaching, but every young person is free to organise an individual course where they may challenge themselves and build their confidence.
The most significant challenge for production schools is to prepare and motivate “non-academic” students for the ordinary school system. The last legislative change in 2006focused the aims of Production Schools so that its most important task has been to build a bridge to vocational education and training through relevant practical and academic qualifications. In 2009, there were over 6,000 students in production schools. The student capacity at each school can vary from 20-25 to over 200. Generally speaking the schools are small, with half of the schools accepting fewer than 50 students. Today there are 78 Production Schools in Denmark.

In the school year 2015/16 the Schulzentrum Ybbs (a school center consisting of three vocational upper secondary schools) introduced a concept called IndY, which involves that 20% of the teaching time is intended for individualized learning. IndY aims at improving students’ expertise, motivation, self-responsibility, self-management, collaborative skills, emotional intelligence and learning methods.

InnoOmnia, in the city of Espoo, Finland, was founded in 2011. It is the first multi-sector vocational education centre in Finland where entrepreneurs may run their businesses jointly with students and teachers. Work and vocational education are part of a blended learning approach. One of the key aims of the programme is to improve the appeal of vocational education, and to offer “21st century learning” opportunities.
Services include:
1. Entrepreneurship support for current and aspiring entrepreneurs, primarily in arts and crafts or the service sectors.
2. Work-based/on-the-job learning programmes
3. Innovation and piloting of new teaching methods in the context of vocational education, g, e.g. gamification, mobile learning, entrepreneurial teaching methods
4. Teacher and school leader professional development for K-12 and vocational sectors

The Joaquim Ruyra Elementary School is located in a disadvantaged suburban district of Barcelona. In the 2016-2017 school year, 92% students were immigrants representing 28 different nationalities (including Pakistan, Morocco, Georgia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, the Philippines, China, Bangladesh, Senegal, and the USA) or from minority background (Romani). The school has a 40% mobility rate.  

National and international press have referred to the school as the miracle school as it had achieved academic outcomes above the average in the Catalan standardised tests, outperforming elite schools in the Catalonia region.

All classes in the school feature group work 40% to 60% of the time. The groups mix students of different abilities, genders and nationalities.  The small groups are designed to ensure that no one is left out, and students are encouraged to participate actively.  Each group is facilitated by an adult (e.g. a classroom assistants, a parent).  Psychologists and special education teachers may also work in the classrooms, and they support volunteer parents, teachers and the students.  The extra support and student interaction are considered as essential for supporting and reinforcing children’s learning. 

Afin de réduire le décrochage scolaire, la Finlande a travaillé à la mise au point de méthodes et de procédures pédagogiques innovantes pour répondre aux besoins individuels au moyen de l’apprentissage par l’activité, de l’enseignement en petits groupes, de l’apprentissage par la pratique professionnelle et de différents environnements d’apprentissage.

The learning hub was implemented at the TGM (an upper-level secondary technical college) as a school experiment in the school year 2016/17. It has been implemented in the school’s Information Technology (IT) Department in two of the four classes in the first year (i.e. grade 9).

In the learning hub students study self-regulated 20 hours per week. Of these 20 hours, 9 hours relate to general education subjects (German, English and Mathematics) and 11 hours involve vocational education subjects (Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Media Technology, Network Technology). The other 6 school subjects (Geography, History and Political Education, Natural Sciences, Religion, Sports, Computer Workshop), which encompass 13 hours per week, are still taught by using traditional methods of teaching.