Customs and Traditions in Europe as an Educational Concept for Preschool and Primary Education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Customs and Traditions in Europe as an Educational Concept for Preschool and Primary Education

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 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Creativity and culture; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning

Project Summary

The project with the title Customs and Traditions in Europe as an Educational Concept for Preschool and Primary Education was a strategic partnership project and its goal was to encourage cooperation of different European regions, to present European traditions and customs and to develop professional competences of involved teachers in both countries which have a slightly different system of education. Partners on Czech side are represented by five kindergartens, two elementary schools and the educational institute of the Central Bohemian region. Partners on the Dutch side are represented by the municipality of Hoorn and its two schools and the educational institute Stichting Netwerk.

This project was based on the method of Artephiletics. Artephiletics is a modern educational approach concentrating on development of communication, reflection and critical thinking connected with active learning and experiences though artistic activities. The method of artephiletics was presented to project participants and 11 artephiletic workshops were realised for particular project partners. Besides that 6 seminars in the Czech Republic and 4 seminars in Holland focusing on artephiletics were organised for local teachers.

The main activities included practical celebrating of a festival organised every month during the three project years. The proper feast or celebration was made a public event accessible for everybody. The participating schools provided common implementation of the activities followed by an evaluation. Didactic materials, worksheets, reports, photo documentation, interviews, press releases and sharing of experience about the Waldorf pedagogy and artephiletics are seen as the most important outcomes.

The outcomes of this project also include a methodical reference book, reflecting the results of the project, based on the methods of Artephiletics and Waldorf pedagogy. The book compares and charts different and similar approaches and features. Both cities are part of the cultural history of Europe, but have their own regional history. Pribram and Hoorn are connected not only through common European values, but also through a long-term cooperation, which has been lasting for more than twenty years and started in the early nineties of the last century. In this book basic traditions and customs that are a part of the school curriculum in both cities are captured.

During 13 international meetings with 60 participants on each side, the participants had the opportunity to learn about the educational systems in partner regions. Besides that, this project deepened and developed pedagogical competences of all involved participants and helped to innovate the Educational frame programmes in pre-school and primary education, especially in the branch of art and culture, encouraging the personal, social and cultural developments of pupils through expressive and communication activities.

The impact of the project on project participants includes enhancing the quality and the amount of mobilities in Europe, supporting learning and teaching of foreign languages, promoting innovative approaches, encouraging long life learning and further education of pedagogical staff, emphasizing the European dimension in education and learning about European countries.

The impact of the project on indirect participants includes dissemination of educational outcomes in seminars organized by non-educational institutions involved in this project and the sharing of experience within the broader framework of the Central Bohemia Region and Westfriesland Region. The curriculum development and its validation and applicability in practice contributed to the development of pre-primary and elementary education in the European context and will help to strengthen friendly relations between teachers and education professionals from different regions.

All project results are available on the project web-site: http://www.customsandtraditions.webz.cz/index_en.html

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 123079,68 Eur

Project Coordinator

Mesto Pribram & Country: CZ

Project Partners

• municipality of Hoorn