Soft skills OUtside of a school Learning environment Erasmus Project

Project Title

Soft skills OUtside of a school Learning environment

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Partnerships for Creativity

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Creativity and culture; Open and distance learning; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Soft skills OUtside of school Learning environment (SOUL Skills) is a project aimed at providing information about the effects of the current social isolation EU countries undertake as a measure to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 pandemic on children age 6-12. The partnership involves 7 entities from 6 countries (GR, ES, IT, FR IS, 2 from BG) with diverse, but complimentary, experiences, knowledge and qualification in training on different education levels. The main project idea is to give information about effects of social isolation due to Covid-19 on children’s behavior and socialization to educators and they to know how to evaluate the appearing deficits and to direct their overcome. The focus is on analyzing the development of soft (transferable) skills after relatively long and unexpected remote education. The project objectives are: 1) to identify lack of transferable skills development of children aged 6-12 years with focus on their development and proper assessment; 2) to create a mechanism (descriptors) for joint evaluation of transversal skills of children aged 6-12; 3) to design a set of methods – Toolbox for supporting development of these transversal skills. The attention is on transferable skills development as it is well known that these skills (creativity and critical thinking, curiosity, communication and collaboration skills, self-assessment and ability to evaluate social situations) are key element for children’s growth and maturity and have to be developed in parallel with acquired knowledge.
Engagement in creative and cultural activities during schooling improves a child’s attention and cognition; arts are tools to teach pupils to “envision”, that is, to think about what they can’t see. Remote education in crisis which duration is hard to predict creates lack of schooling culture and environment that reflect on deficits of development of these transferable skills. The 3 project intellectual outputs provide innovative approach to soften the negative effects of social isolation by creating a Joint Evaluation Methodology (IO2) and Toolbox with set of methods based on STEAM approach (IO3), which educators to use to stimulate development of soft skills. The skills that are in the focus of evaluation are revealed in a comparative analysis about effects of different measures taken by Governments to cope with pandemic (IO1). It provides a state-of-art picture about effects of social isolation due to Covid-19 to children socialization in 6 EU countries and the comparative information could be used also for policy and decision making to cope the with pandemic.
Innovative elements of the evaluation methodology are: measuring the development of transferable skills to be during non-formal training/activities outside of school during cultural and creatively oriented activities, the two educational processes: generating new academic knowledge and forming transferable skills to go in parallel but at different spaces and teaching/training to be provided by different educators, to establish long-term collaboration between schools and centers for non-formal education in order to multiply resources and acquired knowledge by children. Within the activity “SOUL Ambassadors” 14 partner organisations’ staff are trained to use the assessment methodology and work with the developed tools. The partnership will ensure free access to digital learning environment by publishing the 3 intellectual outputs on the Italian partners’ educational platform. Project branding and identity will be established, 4 newsletters published, materials on partner’s websites, social media and 6 national Multiplier events will be held with 175 attendees.
The SOUL partnership has established shared responsibilities between the partners. The cooperation mechanisms include: Quality and Evaluation Board; Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation Strategy, division of tasks according to experience and expertise of the partners for each project activity, setting of working groups, risk management and conflict resolution.
“Project management, organization and monitoring” will strengthen the strategic partnership among 4 non-profits (NGOs and foundations) in the non-formal educational sector and culture and 3 for profits (educational and research centers, SMSs) during four live or virtual project meetings.
The outputs of the SOUL project will have a long-term impact as the evaluation mechanism for soft skills and the educational Toolbox will be made available in the foreseeable future to all relevant stakeholder groups, teachers, educators in the creative and cultural sectors and parents. The capacity of the partners’ own solid networks of training and research centers, educational institutions, cultural organizations and authorities at local, regional and national level will be enhanced within the current partnership with the innovative methodology, approaches and tools.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 197916 Eur

Project Coordinator

AGORA Platform – Active Communities for Development Alternatives Association & Country: BG

Project Partners

• NORTH Consulting ehf
• J&M Synergie
• FONDAZIONE HALLGARTEN-FRANCHETTI CENTRO STUDI VILLA MONTESCA
• FORMACION PARA EL DESARROLLO E INSERCION, SOCIEDAD LIMITADA
• ATHENS NETWORK OF COLLABORATING EXPERTS ASTIKI ETAIRIA
• GIS-TRANSFERCENTER FOUNDATION