Encouraging critical thinking and active citizenship locally and globally Erasmus Project

Project Title

Encouraging critical thinking and active citizenship locally and globally

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills

Project Summary

The project “Encouraging critical thinking and active citizenship locally and globally” is initiated by Narva Keeltelütseum (Estonia), Tarsus Borsa Istanbul Sehit Umut Sami Sensoy Anadolu Lisesi (Turkey), Klaipedos turizmo mokykla (Lithuania), Agrupamento de Escolas do Castêlo da Maia (Portugal) and Gimnazija Brezice (Slovenia).
Critical thinking and active citizenship are the essential competences for young people if we want them to take care of our society in the future, be responsible adults and contribute to development, prosperity and peaceful cooperation of our countries. This topic of the project is especially important now – during the isolation period connected with COVID-19. The social networks are full of fake news, which create panics. At the same time our communities need responsible citizens who stay at home or do volunteering activities.
Planning this strategic cooperation we have stated the following objectives:
1. To exchange best practices in the field of developing students’ critical thinking and active citizenship and to make a toolbox of possible methods and ways, so that other teachers and schools could use them with their students.
2. To arrange 1 short-term staff training event for teachers in the beginning of the project (10 teachers altogether) in order to collect the toolbox, plan students’ virtual cooperation in eTwinning, learn from each other and external experts.
3. To organise 4 students’ exchanges in the partner countries for developing their critical thinking and active citizenship globally (80 students in total). During four mobilities different methods and tools will be used. Evaluation after each exchange will help us improve every following programme and make it more effective.
4. To improve school teachers’ competences in international cooperation and allow our schools to develop as learning organisations (at least 20 teachers will be involved in the project activities).
We have two groups of participants in the project:
1. Teachers of participating schools. There will be always two teachers in international activities (they can change) and supportive teams locally, who are responsible for implementation of toolbox, testing the methods, dissemination on the local level. The teachers work on exchanging best practices, coordinating students’ cooperation in eTwinning, and collecting a toolbox.
2. Students of participating schools. Four students per country will take part in each exchange (different students each time). The age is 15-18 years old.
We believe that after the project our participants will be more critical, open minded, tolerant and active, they will be able to make positive impact on the parents and peers and also on the society in general.
We will use the project results for integrating the activities and tasks for development of students’ critical thinking and active citizenship in the school daily routine. We would also like to continue cooperation with the project partners after the end on the project either in other strategic partnerships or in youth exchanges or in virtual cooperation in eTwinning.
For implementation of the project results in the partner schools every partner has to organise a training for teachers from their schools and make toolbox available for every teacher. Participation in the international project will be useful for development of our activities, our publicity and finding new local and international partners and support for our further work. The results connected with development of key competences will influence the participants, but they will also have impact on the participating schools in the long-term: increased students’ and teachers’ competence in English; development of teachers’ and students’ key competences through international mobilities and local work outside the ordinary lessons routine (social competences, learning to learn, greater understanding and responsiveness to social, linguistic and cultural diversity); more competence in digital learning (we will strongly encourage teachers to make bigger part of the tasks in e-learning environment and use eTwinning opportunities); more positive attitude towards the European project and the EU values at the participating schools in general.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 100518 Eur

Project Coordinator

Narva Keeltelütseum & Country: EE

Project Partners

• Tarsus Borsa Istanbul Sehit Umut Sami Sensoy Anadolu Lisesi
• Klaipedos turizmo mokykla
• Gimnazija Brezice
• Agrupamento de Escolas do Castêlo da Maia