Εκπαιδευτική YOGA για τη Γενιά YOLO (You Only Live Once) Erasmus Project

Project Title

Εκπαιδευτική YOGA για τη Γενιά YOLO (You Only Live Once)

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 Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Integration of refugees

Project Summary

Europe and the world is transforming so rapidly that some underprivileged children, for various reasons, are often not able to catch up with the developments and adapt accordingly so they fall behind and as a result they present low educational performance and are vulnerable as regards early school leaving. An important common need of the school partners of the YOYO Consortium and the schools across Europe is to tackle the educational needs of the refuge children arriving in the European schools with an unprecedented and unexpected massive influx of refugees. First of all we need to deal with the trauma that the war, the uprooting, the long and tough trip away from home through Turkey to Europe and whatever else they have experienced in a traumatic way for instance the loss of beloved ones have caused. The partner schools will develop and disseminate the good pedagogical practices for tackling this crucial situation that has been formed.
The project aims at bringing an alternative way to approach uunderprivileged students through the practices of educational yoga and the introduction of mindfulness in the learning process.

The “YOYO: Educational Yoga for the YOLO (You Only Live Once) Generation ” aims at:
– supporting educators and the schools to integrate educational yoga and mindfulness in the classrooms.
– promoting mental health and tolerance of the educational staff as well as students and ideally their families.
– complementing the Curricula with learning objectives about self-knowledge, understanding of the others and differentiation, understanding the ever changing world, sometimes violently, the development of a set of important skills for life which will allow people to grow happily, healthy and mindfulness.

Participants of the project are 15 teachers from Greece, Malta, Croatia and Turkey with the groups of students they teach and their families, if interested to join the effort.

During the first semester of the project life, the five partner schools will develop and implement scenarios on the basis of educational yoga and mindfulness. The Coordinator will also develop the evaluation and impact assessment tools. Then during the 1st training activity ,which will be held at Osnovna škola Tituša Brezovačkog School in Croatia, during the 6th month of the project’s life, teacher trainees will be engaged in experiential workshops for the review of the scenarios and the familiarization with the evaluation and impact assessment tools to be used during the 2nd phase of the school-based implementation on the basis of the improved scenarios. The 2nd training activity, which will be held at St. Paul’s Bay Primary School in Malta, during the 11th month of the project run, will aim at validating the intellectual outcomes of the project.

ΥΟΥΟ will support participants for living in the present moment. It is the art of bringing attention to our thoughts, feelings and actions as they arise from moment to moment. From a scientific point of view, the ability to focus our attention for a sustained period of time supports our emotional, mental, social and physical well being.
More specifically:
Teachers will cultivate mindfulness for themselves and then let the practice be their guide as they will begin to grow and cultivate a greater capacity for presence, attentiveness and mindfulness in any moment of the day both in the Classroom and in their School. Furthermore, they will learn how to teach any learning object using mindfulness and monitor the learning process under this aspect.
Students will use a taster of various mindfulness techniques to explore how they can calm, relax, concentrate and be aware of their brain functions even while breathing.
Families will learn how to manage stress and pressure that modern life as well as serious social challenges are causing. It can be of great benefits to offer parents an opportunity to come together to take some valuable time for themselves to relax and unwind learning how the practice of mindfulness can support them to be more present with their children, feel less stressed and more able cope and thrive in the midst of all the challenges of living in today’s world.
YOYO project will support the smooth integration of students at high risk and refugee students in the learning process, will support them to improve their school performance and in the long run reduce the possibilities of early school leaving by teaching them how to manage their stress levels, how to handle their intense feelings and concentrate on the achievement of positive social behavior and improved school performance.

The stakeholders following the proposed framework as developed in the Guide of Good Practices are expecting to enjoy the same benefits as the participants of the project.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 39500 Eur

Project Coordinator

1st Primary School of Rafina & Country: EL

Project Partners

• Osnovna skola Titusa Brezovackog
• Gerenkoy Ilkokulu
• 4th PRIMARY SCHOOL OF RAFINA
• Maria Regina College SPB Primary