Dealing with stereotypes in education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Dealing with stereotypes in 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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

The Erasmus Plus Project with the title “Dealing with Stereotypes in Education” has had the objective to initiate a process of reflecting about our dealing with stereotypes in society in general and in the educational process in specific. It meant analyzing different situations and the thought patterns behind them and the consequences that result in these patterns.
It is the experience of all participating partners that our modern world has become highly complex in nature. This complex world shows a great variety of challenges for the people living in it, especially young people. Right from the beginning, it had become apparent that it was not about putting a moral blame on people who use stereotypes. Quite on the contrary, it was part of the basic understanding that stereotypes are something common and natural to the human psyche. It was also assured that stereotypes are not automatically negative in their connotation. However, it has been the overall aim to raise awareness that opinions, actions, and behaviors are indeed influenced by stereotypes. This realization was necessary to start the process.
The various activities in the participating countries were used to engross different aspects of the topic. Consequently, different types of stereotypes and the consequences for the people were on the agenda during activities in Italy, Bulgaria, and Poland. Those stereotypes were analyzed and compared in order to generate a clear understanding of the term and its definition. It was the intention to make participants aware of the stereotypes and especially of the problematic elements of those. The aim was to generate a change in behavior that originates in the understanding. The process was emphasized by the fact that the different participants came from different cultural backgrounds which made comparison all the more interesting. Through the activities, participating students were taken from their “comfort zones” of their homes and were enabled to come face to face (i.e., also virtually) with divergent opinions and different ideas. The discussion which followed was the beginning of a process of realization for many. The underlying goal was an understanding of and about the difference in people and the tolerance towards these differences, and even the value of them. Participants were able to experience that said differences do not pose a threat to their own identity but enrichen thought patterns and broaden people’s horizons.
During the physical activities which began with an organizational meeting hosted by our Turkish partners and which continued with our partners in Italy, Bulgaria, and Poland, the intercultural competences of the participants were trained and further improved. Through visits to the schools, excursions and the life with the host families, the students had the chance to see the different cultures close up. We consider these parts of the overall program also essential to the learning process.
It was unfortunate, but the last activity which was planned to take place in Germany in March 2020, first had to be rescheduled in the hope of being executed as well. It was finally put into effect with the help of a virtual platform. On the positive side, this enabled all partners to complete the project successfully in the end. And due to its virtual character, we were also able to include a larger number of students into the final activity.
Each of the activities generated their own results in the forms of posters, pictures, scenes, poems, stories, videos, presentations. Those dealt with the respective types of stereotypes. The final activity, albeit virtual, contributed to the success of the project with a manifesto that all participating partners could agree on. It not only gives a definition of the terms central to the topic i.e., stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination. It also includes strategies on how to deal with stereotypes and especially possible negative effects of those, both in society but also in the educational environment. It could be seen as a plan for educational institutions in general but especially for the partner schools.
It goes without saying that even a project which has lasted two and a half years cannot conclusively deal with the topic of stereotypes in our society. That is where we can see the long-term-synergy-effects. First of all, it has become obvious that the project has initiated a change in thought patterns among the participants. And secondly, the various results of the project can be used as possibilities to further work on the issue and therefore actively confront the challenges that arise from stereotypes.

Project Website

http://stereotypesineducation.altervista.org/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 111829,68 Eur

Project Coordinator

Berufliches Schulzentrum Wertheim & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Profesionalna gimnaziya po ikonomika “Aleko Konstantinov”
• Ozel Izmir Oguzhan Ozkaya Ortaokulu
• IIS CASSATA GATTAPONE
• Szkola Podstawowa im. ks. dr. Stanislawa Sychowskiego w Skrzeszewie