UP2B – Boosting Up School Education towards European Citizenship and Labour Market Inclusion Erasmus Project

Project Title

UP2B – Boosting Up School Education towards European Citizenship and Labour Market Inclusion

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: EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; Gender equality / equal opportunities

Project Summary

The EU Education policies, lay down in Europe2020 Strategy and related documents*, addresses themes as important as “Education for Jobs and Growth” or “Early School Leaving” (ESL). In a recent Infographic, the Commission addressed the subject of ESL, by stating:

“Schools cannot effectively work alone. They need to move from isolated and short-term actions to engaging in a more holistic and systemic initiatives” **

UP2B is fully aligned with such vision of an integrated approach from an enlarged community of actors. Centered in Schools, UP2B is fed by a matrix of relevant subjects for the creation of a better School, consequently, better citizens and a brighter future. The project is a strategic partnership of School Education, created by Companies, Universities, NGOs, Education Local Authorities and Schools, from South, North, East and West of Europe, cooperating for promoting motivation at School (for students and teachers) and for preparing students for their future life as workers and Citizens. The project’s integrated approach of formats, contents and expertise was based in previous needs assessment during the partners’ regular activities and envisages to enhance School Education, aiming Social Cohesion.

UP2B objectives are:
-To enhance school attractiveness, diminishing rates of demotivation and absence and rates of early school leaving
-To facilitate the relationship and the transition between School and the Labour Market
-To increase students’ sense of citizenship by generating awareness about the labour market
-To increase the sense of European Citizenship and its core values of equity, namely concerning Gender, Minorities and Human Rights, as fundamental Educational aspects

While pursuing these objectives, UP2B is also tackling the growing social scourge of NEET youngsters, not dealing with its consequences but rather trying to eliminate some of its causes, as early school leaving and unawareness about the labour market and about VET possibilities.

Accordingly, UP2B target-groups are:
-Students aged 12-16 years old, because at those ages they have already been required to think about important life decisions, namely concerning education paths they wish to follow (regular secondary school, VET school,…) or they had equated/may equate an eventual school dropout (which will require them to look for a job in order to avoid a NEET situation); it is therefore of upmost importance to raise awareness about the labour market, but most of all, to increase school attractiveness near them;
-Teachers of such students, because they play a decisive role in raising awareness concerning Citizenship, facilitating them to better understand society and culture and supporting them to consciously claim their rights and be sure to fulfil their duties, within and beyond school;
-School communities (School as an Institution: managers, administrative staff, education counsellors, parents, surrounding communities);
-Teachers of teachers: by involving them, the project ensure that its effects start at the very early stage of school actors preparation, ensuring sustainability;
-Operators of other education domains (as VET and Higher Education) as they play a decisive role on careers’ training and guidance;
-Operators of the labour market (employers, employment agencies and career counsellors), as they need to provide their views, but also be ready to support demotivated youngsters, inclusively promoting their return to school in the all the applicable cases.

The methodology envisaged to target these groups and to achieve such objectives is to provide specific products, appellative in design, in content and in use, that they can reach as motivational devices in School and, at the same time, as educational resources of high added value from a cross-sectoral perspective (enhancement of school subjects, regardless of the subject – maths, languages, geography, history, sports, etc and of human values promotion – gender equity, equal opportunities, fighting bullying, environmental protection, human rights, etc). Those products are: (i) an online platform as a ‘School & Job Community of Practice (CoP) and Active Repository of Teaching Tools’, (ii) a ‘School & Job Matching Handbook’, (iii) a compendium of pedagogic activities ‘Boost Up your Class – Citizenship & Job – Pills Activities’ and (iv) a package of online pedagogic activities ‘Boost Up your Class – Citizenship & Job – e-Pills Activities’.

UP2B is structured in 6 work-packages accounting for management, evaluation, dissemination, stakeholders’ involvement, incorporation by 3rd parties and horizontal domains. It will also multiply results through the realization of 7 multiplier events targeting hundreds of participants from 6 countries.

* https://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/european-policy-cooperation/education-jobs-and-growth_en
** https://ec.europa.eu/education/resources-and-tools/document-library/a-whole-school-approach-to-reduce-early-school-leaving_en

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 200000 Eur

Project Coordinator

APLOAD Lda & Country: PT

Project Partners

• RIGAS PARDAUGAVAS PAMATSKOLA
• Cukurova Kaymakamligi
• BrainLog
• TERRAS DENTRO – Associação para o Desenvolvimento Integrado
• UNIVERSITY OF CUKUROVA
• ASOCIACION EMPRESARIAL DE INVESTIGACION CENTRO TECNOLOGICO DEL MUEBLE Y LA MADERA DE LA REGION DE MURCIA
• UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO