Promoting Young People’s Transition Pathways Through Engagement in European Self-Organised Learning Spaces Erasmus Project

Project Title

Promoting Young People’s Transition Pathways Through Engagement in European Self-Organised Learning Spaces

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 : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education

Project Summary

This project was developed by a cross-educational-sector partnership that united with the intention to ‘rethink education’ with a focus on ‘stimulating open and flexible learning’ in order to support the school education field in tackling Early School Leaving (ESL).

Working in and across the higher education, secondary school and community learning sectors, our response engages with the very heart of the learning process as experienced by young people across local, national and European levels. Young people’s engagement with what they are learning is a central aspect of how they are learning. The quality and relevance of skills and competences of young people who leave school is another urgent matter being addressed at European and national levels.

• We propose that the problem of lack of active involvement in one’s own learning is a key component in the high percentage of young people who do not go beyond lower secondary education in Europe.
• Our solution is long-term investment in the principles of Self-Organised Learning (SOL). SOL is a learner-centred approach in which the role of teacher is as facilitator rather than as transmitter of knowledge and learning content.

SOL supports a learner-driven identification and reflection on what is, could and should be learned and how. Learning to learn through SOL is an essential component in how it can specifically promote learner autonomy, engagement, and a disposition towards lifelong learning. We therefore propose that a change in the balance of control between teachers and students can promote engagement and reduce disengagement as a preventative measure towards tackling ESL, with a particular focus on basic and transversal skills.

Our main project aim has been the development of innovative forms of SOL that schools can use as preventative and intervention measures in tackling ESL.

We joined experience and capabilities to the delivery of the shared objectives of the project work at local, national and European levels. In doing so, we have straddled the spectrum of formal, informal and community learning situations in a number of basic (maths, reading, science) and transversal skill areas (foreign language skills, digital skills, entrepreneurship, social and civic skills).

The project was built around the shared objective to develop, test and implement four sustainable and alternative SOL spaces across Europe. The idea of a space originates from the notion that one cannot design for self-organised learning itself but create an environment for the learning to take place. In creating these spaces, we also produced a number of transferable outputs which can be used by those working in school education, including young people. Organisations interested in SOL as an approach to rethinking learning to address ESL can critically reflect on the outputs and plan for change in their own setting.

These materials include our main outputs:

1. a sustainable interactive digital platform for the authoring and sharing of learning content in the area of basic and transversal skills, which we have branded as the ‘Big Question Databank’;
2. a handbook for facilitators of the SOL spaces in different languages;
3. a handbook for student self-reflection and evaluation;
4. a handbook with links to accreditation for stakeholders creating the SOL spaces;
5. a guide on learning for change which others can use to implement change in their own settings;
6. practice-based evidence in the form of case studies about the different SOL spaces;
7. our online platform, which hosts the community of enquiry developed around self-organised learning.

Together, these outputs are designed to support schools to increase pupil engagement in learning basic and transversal skills and enhance their capacity for the incorporation of new and alternative forms of learning like SOL into the school education context to tackle ESL.

The existing adoption of SOL principles across our different sectors coupled with its potential for adaptation provides fertile ground for outcomes such as knowledge exchange relevant at local, national, regional and international levels. By disseminating the outcomes of our project and supporting the school education sector to enhance and transform the learning of basic and transversal skills through SOL, we aim to impact on national and European policy and to make a global contribution. The longer-term impact of the project will be evident in the continuing shift in policy and practice in relation to pedagogical innovation around self-organised learning. SOL is now an integral part of key educational institutions in four countries, with an academic and professional community of practice developing around its principles. SOL as a social pedagogy has been made famous by Professor Sugata Mitra’s ‘hole in the wall’ and ‘school in the cloud’ experiments. EUROSOL harnesses this approach learning to benefit the wider transnational education system.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 358854 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE & Country: UK

Project Partners

• George Stephenson High School
• LAHDEN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU OY
• cvo Toekomstonderwijs
• THE PROVOST, FELLOWS, FOUNDATION SCHOLARS & THE OTHER MEMBERS OF BOARD OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY & UNDIVIDED TRINITY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH NEAR DUBLIN
• Success4All Charitable Incorporated Organisation