Key competencies for Lifelong Learning in education of seniors Erasmus Project

Project Title

Key competencies for Lifelong Learning in education of seniors

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 adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Inclusion – equity; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning

Project Summary

The Strategic Partnership Project Projekt Key competencies for Lifelong Learning in education of seniors (KEY) was carried out from 01.09.2014 to 31.08.2016.

The main goal of the project was the personal development of of older people and the acquisition of key competences for life in the information society.

Specific objectives were:
– To encourage elderly people to use networking ICT tools as well as mobile technologies and resources to take part in social community life.
– To create opportunities for older people to stay active.
– To contribute to the participation of older people in the current Information Society (InSoc).
– To strengthen relationships and increase social inclusion.
– To reduce the mistrust of networking ICT tools, resources and services and promote their benefits.
– To obtain good and demonstrative practices by carrying out pilot training experiences during the life of the project.
– To train trainers and management staff of adult and/or seniors training organizations and associations how to implement the outlines.

Project Partners

Three European organizations participated in the project. It was co-ordinated by the Pro Scientia Publica Foundation from Poland, and the other partners are Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Kairos Europe, Great Britain.

Why the project was created

The inspiration for the project was the fact that education is at the core of the modern information society. Lifelong learning is essential in the new dynamic reality, because only through continual education is it possible to keep up with constant social change. In developing the project, therefore, reference was made to the key competences required for lifelong learning designated by the European Union. On this basis, three key areas in the development of the education of seniors were identified. Elderly people are the target group, because it is they who are most vulnerable to social exclusion, especially in the age of the dominance of new technology.

Educational paramaters

Three series of workshops, developing the key competences for lifelong learning for seniors, were prepared for the KEY project – interpersonal, English language, and new technologies (creation of an internet blog). The element linking all these workshops was a personal biography of the participant. In the interpersonal section, each participant developed their own biography, which was then translated from English during the workshops. The next step was to post the biography on a blog, as part of the new technolgies workshop. 47 seniors took part in the project – 15 from Poland, 22 from Italy, and 10 from Great Britain.

Scientific aspect of the project

It is worth noting that, apart from the educational aspect, the KEY project also had a scientific dimension. Qualitative and quantative research was conducted during the duration of the project. Quantative reasearch was conducted by means of questionaires, both before and after the project, with the aim of assessing the effectiveness of the workshops. Focus groups were also organized at each stage in order to evaluate the workshops. During these focus groups, the seniors expressed their opinions about the workshops, indicating both their strong and weak points. On the basis of this, valuable feedback was obtained, which enabled the programme of activities to be adapted and improved.

On the basis of the experience gained during the project, it is possible too to apply practical conclusions for the education of elderly people.

Project experiences, its achievements, applications, as well as a developed program senior teaching has been published in the book “Key competences to Lifelong Learning in education of seniors”.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 59982 Eur

Project Coordinator

Fundacja Pro Scientia Publica & Country: PL

Project Partners

• UNIVERSITA CA’ FOSCARI VENEZIA
• Kairos Europe Limited