Enhanced Multi-Professional Working in areas experiencing Educational Resistance Erasmus Project

Project Title

Enhanced Multi-Professional Working in areas experiencing Educational Resistance

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: Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); Regional dimension and cooperation

Project Summary

In the partner regions Giessen-Vogelsberg (Hessen/Germany) as well as in North Lanarkshire (Scotland/UK) and Järfälla (Sweden) there is a great number of students who face challenges which impact on their school career which can lead to disengagement from school. These challenges can lead to poor performance, challenging behaviour, truancy and absenteeism.
In the partner regions involved in the EMPOWER project there are various legal regulations and frameworks of support and help. There are teachers with special responsibilities as well as social workers, psychologists and external partners to support the young people. In advance of the project we made the assumption that there are too many different partners dealing with school absenteeism without knowing sufficiently one from the other or not having an overview on external support systems.
It was also assumed that the knowledge of existing rules and legal regulations, an important factor for fighting absenteeism successfully, needs improvement among pedagogical stuff in schools
The main aim of the project was to fight school absenteeism by improving coordination and multi professional cooperation in school. It was agreed that the impact of partnership working is dependent on the quality of cooperation and coordination.
To prove the above mentioned assumptions, we conducted a survey with more than 400 participants in the three partner regions.
On the basis of the findings and results of this survey we created a three national versions and an international version of a handbook that gives headmasters and other stakeholders in school the possibility to improve steering of multi professional working in the frame of school absenteeism significantly.
The handbook was published in Mai/June 2016 and presented to and disseminated to headmasters and responsible persons in the partner regions. The evaluation of the use of the handbook is planned for autumn 2016.
The handbook describes action fields in schools which play a central role in fighting school absenteeism. This is based on the results of the surveys as well as on relevant data and recommendations of headmasters, teachers and social workers in the participating regions.
In addition, there are some examples that show good practice in the three European regions.
All used material, surveys, presentations etc. are published on the project website: www.giessen-nlc-jarfalla.de.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 120985,75 Eur

Project Coordinator

Staatliches Schulamt für den Landkreis Gießen und den Vogelsbergkreis & Country: DE

Project Partners

• North Lanarkshire Council
• Järfälla Utbildningsförvaltning