Back to School Erasmus Project

Project Title

Back to School

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: Inclusion – equity; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions; Health and wellbeing

Project Summary

Back to School project aims to create innovative tools to support the work of teachers at hospital schools and primary schools, working with students returning to school after hospitalization. In Poland, no population studies have been conducted so far concerning the needs of teachers working in hospital schools. The international research carried out as part of the project will allow to create an optimal model of working with the youth. The project is also aimed at equalizing the chances of children and youth studying in hospital schools and their adaptation in the school environment, preventing the exclusion of students and during and after an illness. According to data, every fifth student experiences long-term health problems. Part of this group are students who are regularly hospitalized. The results of studies carried out in the teen population with chronic diseases indicate that one of the most difficult stages in the social functioning of this group of students is the period of hospitalization and the return to primary school. At the same time, teenagers with chronic diseases declare that lessons at the hospital are a form of therapy for them and a factor that determines recovery. Metaphorically, a hospital school is treated as a bridge between a school and a hospital.
The specific objectives of the project:
1. Research on the needs of hospital teachers. Evaluation of the preparation of teachers working in hospital schools to work with children with special educational needs.
2. Creating a research report addressed to educational institutions and opinion leaders.
3. Creating a guide for teachers of hospital schools. Developing a model of working with chronically ill student.
4. Creating a guide for school teachers that supports the adaptation of students after leaving the hospital. The guide will contain examples of lessons scenarios.
5. Tutorials for parents and children containing information on supporting the adaptation process in the hospital school and in the primary school after leaving the hospital.
The international project Back to School is implemented as part of cooperation between four institutions: the Institute of Mother and Child Foundation, the University of Warsaw, the University of Turin and the Universidade Europeia in Lisbon. The research undertaken in the international partnership will enable determination of the strengths of system support in each country and will give the opportunity to imply that in other countries. The research will be carried out among 660 teachers from Poland, Portugal and Italy. The procedure of two-stage research using mix-methods research. The first step will be the implementation of quantitative research. On the basis of the analysis of the results of quantitative research, obtained in the first stage (it is planned to make a statistical analysis in the field of international differences), the research areas used in the second stage of the study (qualitative research) will be defined. Group interviews will have a structured form, ie. they will be conducted on the basis of pre-defined research areas. The next step will be to analyze the results of qualitative research by defining the quality codes and describing the results in accordance to these codes. At every stage of research, international comparisons are planned which will allow to adapt the research procedure to the specificity of functioning of hospital schools in partner countries. The next stage will be creating tutorials for teachers and an innovative series of tutorials (in the form of video) for parents and children.
Inclusion of partners in the project guarantees reliable substantive basis of the planned research, which will be embedded in the field of treatment pedagogy and special pedagogy. The results of population surveys conducted among teachers will allow to diagnose the needs of teachers of hospital schools and will be the basis for creating the educational materials. An important element of the project will be the creation of tools to strengthen cooperation of teachers from hospital and primary schools. The quality of life of a child with a chronic disease after returning from hospitalization depends on good cooperation of these teachers. Expected results are to develop the necessary tools for better optimization of the daily work of teachers in response to their needs, preparation of a list of useful publications and addresses of institutions in which parents can seek help in stressful situations for them and for children and a series of tutorials for teachers.
Expected impact of the project, among others through multiplier events and potential long-term benefits are: increasing teachers’ awareness of working with a hospitalized student, enabling faster and less stressful adaptation for hospital school children by improving the quality of cooperation between the school and the hospital, reducing the feeling of exclusion of this group and improving the adaptation of students.

Project Website

http://backtoschoolproject.eu

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 96946 Eur

Project Coordinator

FUNDACJA INSTYTUTU MATKI I DZIECKA & Country: PL

Project Partners

• UNIWERSYTET WARSZAWSKI
• Universidade Europeia – ENSILIS – Educação e Formação, Unipessoal LDA
• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI TORINO