Participate!- How can school contribute to democratic education? Erasmus Project

Project Title

Participate!- How can school contribute to democratic education?

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 : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy)

Project Summary

Education for democracy is a task of growing social urgency. John Dewey already emphasized: “Without democracy in everyday life, representative democracy is undermined”. The rise of populist and right-wing extremist movements throughout Europe, globalization and migration, as well as digitalization, challenge our democracy. Democracy seems to us to be a normal part of everyday life in society. The younger generation is often not aware that the rights we have today were fought for. However, democracy must be “learned”. Schools must face up to this task by giving pupils the opportunity to experience participation, involvement and responsibility. It is also possible to identify competencies that promote democratic behaviour, such as empathy/change of perspective, openness, taking a standpoint, conflict management, etc. These should also be indirectly conveyed in the project. This project wants to inspire young people for democracy. It is intended to make them aware of the factors that determine democracy and to show them the possibilities of participation. The future pedagogues play an important role as multipliers. In this way, the foundations for democracy-promoting skills are already laid in kindergarten. The two-year project “Mach mit- Wie kann Schule zur Demokratiebildung beitragen” (Join in – How can schools contribute to democracy education) would first like to examine the concepts of “democracy” and “participation” theoretically and understand them in the history of ideas. The comparison of different developments and opportunities for participating in decision-making in the individual partner countries will sharpen one’s own judgement and help to better identify antidemocratic tendencies. The project, which is integrated into regular lessons, thus not only strengthens the European dimension of the school, but also aims to promote greater participation in school and civil society involvement as concrete results. Four secondary schools and one vocational school from five different countries (Poland, Romania, Belgium, Italy and Germany) are participating. The primary working languages will be English and French.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 72786 Eur

Project Coordinator

Edith-Stein-Schule, Akademie für Erzieher, Bischöfliche Fachschule für Sozialpädagogik & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Athénée Communal Maurice Destenay
• Istituto di Istruzione Secondaria Superiore “Luigi dell’Erba”
• V Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace z Oddzialami Dwujezycznymi im. K. J. Zamoyskiego w Dabrowie Gorniczej
• Scoala Superioara Comerciala Nicolae Kretzulescu