Bridging the Dream Gap: Breaking Barriers, Building Futures Erasmus Project

Project Title

Bridging the Dream Gap: Breaking Barriers, Building Futures

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 : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Gender equality / equal opportunities

Project Summary

The project “Bridging the Dream Gap” aims to address the gender stereotypes that still exist in our world. PISA Study of 2015 and the study “Gender stereotypes about intellectual ability” developed by Brian, Leslie and Cimpian in 2017 reflect that gender stereotypes related to the intelligence and intelectual capacity of men and women appear around the age of 6. Girls stop thinking they can become and work in whatever they choose. This situaton is called Dream Gap and refers to the process in which the girls’ professional aspirations lower as they grow up. This situation is even more serious in those countries in which women access to education is very recent or limited by cultural or religious beliefs

The project includes schools from 3 different countries: IES Parque de Lisboa (Spain), Konak Sehit Ömer Halisdemir Bilim ve Sanat Merkezi (Turkey) and Convitto Canopoleno Scuole Annesse (Italy). This countries have experienced important advances in legal equity among men and women and female access to education but still have a long way to go to achieve real equity as gender stereotypes still exists in their societies.

Although, 36 students, between14-16 years old, from the 3 partner schools will benefit from the mobilities around 90 will be working in the project in the eTwinning TwinSpace.

The project focuses on researching the scientific and cultural heritage of European women from the past and facilitating communication and colaboration with professional women of our current world.

– Students will investigate European women that were able to think outside the box and sometimes had to go against convention. They will reflect about the role women have played in the creation of our European heritage and value their achievements as a essential things that shaped the world in which we live today.

– The other line of work consists of researching and interviewing women of today that are developing professional succesful careers in different fields (science, investigation, art, literature, media, sports, politics…) so that participating students have female positive role models that will enhance their personal and professional expectations. Discovering and sharing the examples of women in their own countries that have been able to develop succesful professional careers, comparing their own situation and expectations with the partner students and becoming aware of what women are acheiving in ohter countries will lead to an empowerment of female students.

Objectives:
1. To address the Dream Gap and the Gender Gap so that students get to know positive role models (female role models) that allow them to understand men and women have the same abilities and capacity to develop the profession they choose.
2. To strengthen the importance of effort as the key to success: effort vs gender
3. To increase the students self-esteem with activities in which they have to be creative and find common solutions.
4. To empower girls to enhance their personal and professional aspirations.
5. To develop the students ability to investigate and work collaboratively.
6. To increase the awareness of students in relation to other cultures and acquiring the ability to find common grounds with people from other countries and cultures so that they recognize themselves as European citizens sharing the same values of equality, democracy and peace.

It follows a Project Based Learning Methodology in which students are placed at the core of the learning proccess. Students collaborate in multinational groups that negotiate and work together through the eTwinning platform, TwinSpace, to get to agreements and develop the final products.
The PBL methodology will allow students strengthen and apply basic skills and competences that will help them in succeeding in their academic career but will improve their employability as well.

The work will be developed through the eTwinning TwinSpace, virtual exchanges, combined with physical mobilities (2 in each country) in which students will finish the products and learn from their partners culture and countries.

Final products: Digital ebook with biographies of European women of the past and the present who had or are having an impact in our world; digital magazine with interviews from professional women of today; posters with QR codes and enhance information; games about the partners countries. Other outcomes: increasing awereness among students and teachers in matters of gender inequality and European values so that they adopt active roles to achieve, preserve and maintain European values of gender equality, democracy, freedom, rights and solidarity.

Dissemination activities will be developed in the schools and through teachers associations and media. We expect a long term impact not only byincreasing awareness among our students but also providing other teachers with materials ready to be used to address this problems as our products will be available at a public web page.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 87392 Eur

Project Coordinator

IES PARQUE DE LISBOA & Country: ES

Project Partners

• CONVITTO NAZIONALE CANOPOLENO SASSARI
• Konak Sehit Ömer Halisdemir Bilim ve Sanat Merkezi