1.3. Skolförvaltning

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.

The project goal is to provide a comprehensive analysis of best practices for preventing ESL in partner countries in the areas: of ESL monitoring systems; and, methods of counteracting ESL and reintegrating students.

Project partners were from Poland, the UK and Italy. Outputs include a report on ESL monitoring systems, a report on prevention and reintegration methods, and a training pack.

Essunga, a Swedish municipality, transformed the ranking of its schools from the bottom to the top of the national school league tables between 2007 to the top in 2010. Essunga has three elementary schools and one lower secondary school (grades 6-9). With 5,500 citizens, it is one of the smallest municipalities in the country. The increase in levels of achievement is attributed to a research-based approach of inclusive education. For years, the three elementary schools in Essunga had consistently experienced low educational levels. An increasing number of students were refugees or in “family placements”. In 2007, only 76% of students were eligible for upper secondary school and 20% of these were placed in special education classes. These results compelled political and school leaders and school staff to identify targeted measures to address these challenges. The municipality focused on interventions at school and in the local community to prevent school absence and increase attendance.

”Av de irländska erfarenheterna framgår tydligt att utbildningsinitiativ som är baserade i skolor kan höja utbildningsnivån hos de vuxna som är involverade, och leda till en större känsla av egenmakt i lokalsamhället i allmänhet. Föräldrars engagemang, särskilt i socialt och ekonomiskt utsatta områden, gynnar inte bara barnen och skolan – det är en avgörande faktor för livslångt lärande.” (Parents as Partners in Schooling, OECD 1997)

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.

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. 

The project focuses on the role of school leadership in actively structuring the educational process for learning and equity.

The project builds on the achievements of the Comenius Network “European Policy Network on School Leadership (EPNoSL, 2011-2014)”.

The project involved two intense job shadowing activities in Vienna and Berlin. Good practice and obstacles were identified though feedback forms, and solidified in collaborative analysis and evaluation.

Tools to support leadership action were developed and tested by the two school principals in everyday school life, and analysed through questionnaires/surveys and subsequently evaluated and summed up in bilateral groups.

The film produced by the partners can be found here:

https://youtu.be/UJR9Opwg4QM

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.

Manchester Communication Academy (MCA) works to improve outcomes for children, families and the community. This secondary academy opened in 2010 to serve one of the most disadvantaged inner-city neighbourhoods in England. From the outset, the academy’s sponsor, a large employer in the city, wanted the school to help to contribute to a vibrant and sustainable neighbourhood, and committed to addressing the many inter-related economic, social and physical challenges which characterise the neighbourhood. This mission has directly shaped the academy programme, which places equal importance on ‘teaching and learning’ and ‘social investment’. The school’s social investment department is a highly distinctive feature of its overall strategy for addressing the impacts of disadvantage on young people’s education and wider life chances.