YOUNG STUDENTS AS POLITICAL GAME CHANGERS DEVELOPING AN EASY-TO-USE MODEL FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO HELP ENGAGE YOUNG STUDENTS IN POLITICS BASED ON THEIR OWN INTERESTS AND THEIR 21ST CENTURY CULTURE Erasmus Project

Project Title

YOUNG STUDENTS AS POLITICAL GAME CHANGERS
DEVELOPING AN EASY-TO-USE MODEL FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO HELP ENGAGE YOUNG STUDENTS IN POLITICS BASED ON THEIR OWN INTERESTS AND THEIR 21ST CENTURY CULTURE

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

DEVELOPING AN EASY-TO-USE MODEL FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO HELP ENGAGE YOUNG STUDENTS IN POLITICS BASED ON THEIR OWN INTERESTS AND THEIR 21ST CENTURY CULTURE

Some years ago it would have been less understandable and perhaps even irrelevant for secondary schools to take initiatives to what we can call “politics engagement of youth”.

“Politics” in this project does not indicate any form of specific political preferences, but simply means “taking active part in local and global challenges as citizens”.
It therefore links strongly to the EU Commission’s long-standing call for active citizenship – and this needs to start in secondary school.

The Commission calls for systematic initiatives to re-engage youth in politics – based on their own understanding and voices.

M I S S I O N

The project will through innovative methods address the urgent challenge of young students increasing disengagement in politics.
Asking: how can open schooling in secondary schools contribute to engaging youth in politics, democracy and EU values?
Co-driven by young students, it will create innovative open schooling guidelines to schools on how to organise engagement in politics initiatives.

C H A L L E N G E

TO TACKLE THIS CHALLENGE, THE TRADITIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF POLITICS, DEMOCRACY AND EU VALUES MUST BE FUNDAMENTALLY QUESTIONED AND DECONSTRUCTED AND THE STUDENTS THEMSELVES MUST BE ALLOWED TO TAKE THE SCENE AND CO-CREATE WHAT POLITICS, DEMOCRACY AND EU VALUES MEAN IN THEIR WORLD AND HOW SCHOOLS CAN PROVIDE THE NECESSARY SPACE FOR SUCH YOUTH-DRIVEN INNOVATION.

R A T I O N A L E

The project will invite students to co-create attractive and practically useful guidance to secondary schools on how to prevent disinterest and foster engagement in politics, democracy and values.
The guidance will be developed through real-life/time open schooling and will be based on practical experience, not on theoretical assumptions.

M E T H O D O L O G I C A L

Based on intensive studies of recent critical youth participation research and based on the Commission’s innovation in education agenda it can be concluded that 3 work methods need to work together to bring about the expected innovation and results: preventing disinterest and fostering engagement in politics in early schooling.

Why these 3 methodologies and why must they work together?

There are 3 fundamental conditions for preventing disinterest and fostering engagement in politics in early schooling and in education in general:

1. Didactic methodology
Traditional didactics in secondary school must be changed into innovative open schooling didactics to bring about interest and engagement

2. Co-creation methodology
The principles and work forms of interest and engagement fostering politics and learning must be developed and co-created by the young students themselves, not deducted from whatever educational theory

3. Subjective engagement methodology
21st century youth is characterised by a number of subjective engagement conditions and criteria very different from earlier generations; if those engagement criteria are not met, they will not engage

W O R K P R O G R A M M E

It is a framework that might be adjusted by the student teams.

It responds to: what activities will lead to the creation of the open schooling guidance and to the outcomes in general?

It is defined by:

Phase 1: CAPACITY
– building consensus and implementation capacity among partners and student teams
3 months

Phase 2: DECONSTRUCTION
– wild youth-led dialogues: questioning and deconstructing key elements in traditional political discourse
3 months

Phase 3 A: OPEN SCHOOLING / COMMUNITY
– young students as politics detectives: What does politics mean locally? What needs to be changed locally? Learning on demand…
4 months+

Phase 3 B: OPEN SCHOOLING / VIRTUAL
– young students as politics detectives: What does politics mean globally, on the internet and in the social networks? Why are youth engaging and in what? Learning on demand…
4 months+

Phase 4: CONSTRUCTION
– youth-led construction of an alternative political discourse, based on the practical community and virtual detecting;
4 months

Phase 5: CONSTRUCTION+
– consultancy: feedback from teachers, schools, researchers and policy-makers to the youth-led construction
2 months

Phase 6: PRODUCING & SHARING
– production of final outcomes
– sharing in the 3 networks
4 months

O U T C O M E S

The Game Changer
– The school guide to engagement of young students in politics and democracy, including virtual scenarios

How we can change the political game
– Study of the reasons for the lack of interest in politics and democracy among the young generations

The video
– Student teams explain their engagement in the politics detectives missions and how they along the project developed an alternative understanding of and language for politics, democracy and EU values

EU, where are you going? – policy paper
– A reflexion based on why EU is losing its young generation

Project Website

http://gamechangernetwork.eu/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 173781 Eur

Project Coordinator

Lietuvos demokratiskumo ugdymo kolegija & Country: LT

Project Partners

• Pasvalio Levens pagrindine mokykla
• Szczecinska Szkola Wyzsza Collegium Balticum
• Osnovna sola Staneta Zagarja Lipnica
• Platon m.e.p.e.
• ELAZIG DOGA ANADOLU LISESI
• Working with Europe/Treballant amb Europa Associació
• Institut de Vilafant