Project

What we did

Phase 1: Research and Development of the Methodology

At the beginning of the project, a research was organised in order to identify the most important issues related with citizenship education in Europe and the needs of the teachers in relation with citizenship education. The results of this research were summarised in the Situational Analysis Reports. One situational analysis report was developed in each partner country and one in European level which summarised the results from all the countries.

Taking into account the results of the Situational Analysis Report and based on the principles of the Socratic Dialectics and Participative theatre methods, the project partners have developed the Guidance Book for teachers. The Guidance Book explains the principles and the main steps of the methodology to the teachers. It is translated in all partner languages. The Guidance Book for teachers is accompanied with a data basis of educational scenarios, ready to be used in the classroom and Competence Ladders that can be used for the evaluation of the progress of the students.

Phase 2: Training of Trainers

The second phase was related with the training of trainers. The training of trainers was organised in Bristol and lasted 3 days. Totally 21 trainers participated as trainees from Greece, Spain, UK, Portugal and Italy. These trainers after the completion of the face-to-face training course were responsible for the transfer of the method to the teachers at national level.

Phase 3: Training of Teachers

The third phase was the training of teachers. This phase was organised face to face in local and regional level as well as online in national and European level by the trainers that have participated in a training of trainers sessions. Because of the pandemic, many of these courses were organised online. Totally, more than 500 teachers have participated in the teacher training courses that have been organised in the framework of the project.

Phase 4: Implementation in the Classroom

The fourth phase was the phase of the practical implementation of the methodology based on the dialectical method inside the classroom. The trained teachers, within the framework of the training seminars organised in the previous phase and as a precondition in order to get their certification, applied in practice the techniques they have learned in the classroom and documented their application with a report and related evidences. The partners monitored the implementation of the method in school and provided support wherever this was needed. More than 9.000 students have benefited from the method in this way.

Project, Purpose

Purpose of EAR

The process of European integration has been based on key values such as peace, democracy, freedom and tolerance. However, these values are currently in risk because of socio-economic problems, violent extremism and a lack of trust in democratic processes. The role of education and training, and more specifically citizenship education is very important in addressing these challenges. However, as the Eurydice Report “Citizenship Education at School in Europe 2017” shows citizenship education is addressed mainly on a cognitive level as part of the curriculum both in relation with the teaching and in relation with the assessment (knowledge of the institutions of the political system, environmental awareness, analysis of issues discussed in the society etc).

This approach, as the report underlines, is mostly focusing on knowledge and skills rather than attitudes. However, in order to be able to address the deep challenges that Europe is currently facing is very important to focus on attitudes and engage the students actively and make them part of the whole process.

The project aims to introduce the dialectical method in school education as a key feature that promotes the active participation of students in a democratic society with the support of theatre techniques. The dialectical method is not only promoting the critical thinking of the students but it allows the connection of everyday life with wider concepts and notions (such as humanism, justice, freedom etc) that are fundamental. This is extremely important especially for today’s society that because of the social media is providing a great quantity of information together with a very limited capacity for the understanding and analysis of the information.

Innovation, Project

Innovation

The dialectical method has been established by Socrates and it is about posing critical questions in order to underline the social contradictions. This series of questions clarifies a more precise statement of a vague belief, logical consequences of that statement are explored, and a contradiction is discovered. Its ultimate goal is to free the people from false impressions related with social reality. In our time these false impressions are created through fake news etc. The dialectical method is at base a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to establish the truth through reasoned arguments. It may be contrasted with the didactic method where one side of the conversation teaches the other.

In modern times, Hegelian dialectic, usually presented in a threefold manner, is comprising three dialectical stages of development: a thesis, giving rise to its reaction; an antithesis, which contradicts or negates the thesis; and the tension between the two being resolved by means of a synthesis. Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educator and philosopher who was a leading advocate of critical pedagogy and best known for his influential work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, has tried to apply the dialectic method in the education. According to Freire, through the dialectical method, the students undertake from the beginning the role of the “creators” and they try to reach the essence of the knowledge through the help of critical thinking. Freire claims that the essence is not in learning knowledge by heart but in the process of acquiring the knowledge. The whole process of acquiring knowledge includes a dialectical movement from action to reasoning and from the reasoning related with the action to a new action. The acquisition of knowledge through the dialectical method requires two interdependent contexts:

i) The general context of authentic dialogue between the students and the teachers as equal subjects in relation to knowledge

ii) The specific social reality in which students and teachers are living

Expertise, Project

Expertise

The partnership had all the necessary expertise on the methods that are being transferred. All the partners are coordinators of other projects (in the framework of the Erasmus+ or the Creative Europe programme) related with social inclusion. Most of them have worked also in the field of citizenship education. The University of Florence which is going to coordinate the development of the part of the methodology related with the dialectical method has all the necessary expertise in order to develop a relevant and academically sound methodology. The Centre of Higher Education in Theatre Studies is a reputable organization in Greece experienced in the use of theatre in education and is able to transfer its expertise in the consortium.

Capacity in upscaling

The partnership included various stakeholders that were able to upscale the method in various levels. It included academic organisations (the University of Florence) which on the one hand works with teachers and schools and on the other hand is able to disseminate and upscale the methods on an academic level and through academic work and publications. Mentortec is an organization that is expert in the field of training of teachers and continuous professional development and able to transfer the method in a greater scale. WUSMED is also an organization that is specialized in innovation in training and the development of teachers’ competencies with networks not only in Spain but in the whole Mediterranean region. Acta theatre is also working in various levels for the promotion of social inclusion in education through theatre, it has already developed, through previous cooperations, methods and networks related with this objective which could be used for the upscaling. Action Synergy finally has a long record of cooperation with schools and development of networks for the promotion and upscaling of education practices.

Moreover, almost all the project partners were already coordinating other projects in the framework of Erasmus+ KA3 programme related with the upscaling of good practices, fact which gives them a significant expertise in this issue.
Finally, the list of the project associate partners includes public organisations, schools, regional authorities etc. which are key actors for the mainstreaming and upscaling of the results of the project.

Reaching the grass root level

The partners had substantial experience in reaching the grass root level. The University of Florence is constantly organizing teacher trainings and the Educational department is one of the greatest teacher training organisations in Italy. Mentortec and WUSMED are working as part of their regular work on the field with teachers that want to be trained in new and creative lessons. Acta works in the field of supporting the social inclusion in many levels including education. Action Synergy has successfully completed many projects related with innovation in teaching and training and has important networks with schools and teachers since they deliver teacher training as part of their normal activities. Also, many schools and “grass-roots” level organisations participated in the project as partners.

Make an impact on a larger scale

The project included organisations that are able to extend the impact of the project on a larger scale. The University of Florence is able to transfer the results of the project at a policy level being one of the main institutions responsible for teacher training. They can also transfer the results of the project in the academic level and in the scientific community. WUSMED is also able to transfer the project results through its networks throughout the Mediterranean region.