CONTEXT/BACKGROUND OF PROJECT

"Our School - My Future" is an ESL project initiated within the framework of the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships for School Education, aiming at achieving cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices between schools from different countries across Europe.

ESL is typically caused by a cumulative process of disengagement as a result of personal, social, economic, geographical, education or family-related reasons. Part of the problem can also be attributed to lack of support and guidance, disengagement from schooling, and secondary-level curricula which too often do not offer enough options for varied courses, alternative teaching pedagogies, experiential and other hands-on learning opportunities or sufficient flexibility and support. Within this framework, the project is designed to focus mainly on in-schools ESL influencing factors such as teaching methods and curricular issues, positive/negative school climate, and the parents’ role as a contributing factor to ESL.

Project objectives and results will be evaluated constantly both during and after the completion of the project. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation concerning the impact of the planned educational and other activities will be applied.

The tools that will be used are:

• Written theme reports by each partner-organization.
• Oral interviews with the partners/participants (teachers, students), which will be monitored and analyzed (qualitative evaluation).
• Questionnaires filled in by all participants (quantitative evaluation), regarding their needs, interests and the expected/achieved outcomes of the project activities.

In general, the result of this project is expected to be the creation of an educational network dealing with the ESL problem, based on a holistic approach to the problem. The conclusions of the project as well as the educational material to be created are expected to contribute positively to the management and prevention of the ESL problem on a school and local level, primarily, as well as on a national and European level, eventually.

Results are listed analytically in the sections for the intellectual outputs, multiplier evens or learning, training, and teaching activities. Indicatively, the following are worth mentioning:

Our project is innovative in the following ways:

1. The participating schools, which are in direct contact and cooperation with other institutions, come from different backgrounds, allowing for a holistic approach to the ESL problem. Most studies conducted so far are mainly based on data that has been collected on a national level, disregarding its EU-wide repercussions.
2. Proposals that have been presented in the past to tackle the ESL problem in each partner’s country of origin will be taken into account and evaluated, in parallel with new proposals that will be put forward by the institutions participating in this project.
3. The interrelation of project activities involving students with their potential professional pursuits.

Coordinating school:

• Experimental Junior High School of the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Partners:

• IES Luis de Góngora, Córdoba, Spain.
• Zespół Szkół w Żychlinie, Żychlin, Poland.
• Colegiul Tehnic Mihai Bravu, Bucureşti, Romania.
• Hüseyin Okan Merzeci Anadolu Lisesi, Mersin, Turkey.

The aim of the project is the creation of an educational network dealing with the early school leaving problem (ESL) that a lot of European countries are facing.

According to CEDEFOPs’ relevant reports, ESL is typically caused by a cumulative process of disengagement as a result of personal, social, economic, geographical, education or family-related reasons. Such reasons can be external or internal to school processes and experiences. However, a significant part of the problem can be attributed to lack of support and guidance, disengagement from schooling, and secondary-level curricula which too often do not offer enough options for varied courses, alternative teaching pedagogies, experiential and other hands-on learning opportunities or sufficient flexibility and support. Indeed, for some young people, much of the school experience bears little relation to the world they encounter outside the school gates.

The objectives of our project are:

1. To collect information, exchange knowledge and transfer the experiences about the present stage of the educational approaches and good practices on dealing with ESL in secondary school education.
2. To identify, test and improve (when necessary) the types of teaching techniques for formal and non-formal secondary student learning, used by European and other organizations.
3. To promote healthy lifestyles through outdoor activities and activities offering practical entrepreneurial experiences to bring students closer to nature and a healthy lifestyle, as a means for getting in touch with young Europeans from different cultures, backgrounds and abilities.