Europe : knowing, learning, acknowledging (2) Erasmus Project

Project Title

Europe : knowing, learning, acknowledging (2)

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: Pedagogy and didactics; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

For years now the Eurocar 2 project partners have had bilateral relations in education. During these exchanges the need to know better the education systems of partner countries was identified as well as the need to share education practices, specifically in foreign and second language teaching and in primary school. Foreign languages were chosen because they are a learning tool and a means of communication in international education. What is more, they facilitate the opening of oneself to the others, the building of European citizenship and professional skills development. To better respond to these needs, Eurocar 2 project unites university actors with education practitioners. More specifically, the project is aimed at carrying out a comparative analysis of the education systems of participating countries, along with a comparison of foreign and second language teaching practices. To this end, the project will be based on professional behaviour, which is a concept that allows for the better understanding the teacher’s work and puts education actions to practice.
The comparative analysis of education systems will contribute to identifying differences and similarities in the relevant ideological and pedagogical substrata and to shed further light on, among others, the actors and their roles, on organisation modes, the content taught, the frequency and distribution in time, on the place and role of foreign and second language teaching. Familiarity with the profession’s context leads to proper understanding of teachers’ practices, as they are always socially defined. The concept of professional behaviour encompasses the wider picture of the teacher’s leading role (preparation and organisation of teaching), the management of the atmosphere (pedagogical relation), connection-building (lending meaning to what is being taught, creating links between different teachings, links between the class and society, etc), support (types of assistance for those in training), as well as the content itself.
Thus the Eurocar 2 project will result in: i) establishing an overview of what exists in foreign and second language teaching in partner countries; this overview will be focuses on the methods, models, practices, tools and theory frameworks that form the basis of learning strategies; ii) analysing and comparing teachers’ practices, as well as the representations and views of students and practitioners on foreign and second languages (their roles, interests, ways of learning, etc). Gaining better understanding of those views is important as they have an impact on language teaching and learning; iii) developing common pedagogical resources to benefit from skills and enhance foreign and second language teaching and learning; lastly, iv) foster mobility in education and teaching in the project partner countries.
The project beneficiaries are future primary school teachers who are currently in training, primary school teachers from partner schools, education professionals (heads of institutions, inspectors, pedagogical councillors), researchers from universities, primary school students from the project partner schools, and, more generally, the entire education community, and political decision-makers.
The main activities envisaged under the Eurocar 2 project are transnational meetings, an intensive study programme, short-term trainings for staff, as well as mobility. The expected outcomes at the end of the project are: i) gaining a better knowledge of educational systems, contexts and foreign and second language teaching in partnering countries; ii) enhancing vocational skills of education professionals in general and particularly of those involved in the project; iii) developing common pedagogical resources accessible to all and exchanging best practices by creating a digital pedagogical platform and module for regular and distance training, as well as publishing materials on education as a crossing point between research and training, and iv) establishing an enhanced network and interactions in the wider framework of “pedagogy through exchanges”, which includes the mobility of researchers, teachers, trainers and students at university and school level.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 13635,14 Eur

Project Coordinator

17th School “Damian Gruev” & Country: BG

Project Partners

• OOUDimitar Miladinov
• Ecole de l’Enfant Jésus ASBL
• OOU “Naum Naumovski Borche”-Skopje
• Ss. CYRIL AND METHODIUS UNIVERSITY IN SKOPJE
• UNIVERSITE DE BORDEAUX
• SOFIA UNIVERSITY ST KLIMENT OHRIDSKI
• Ecole élémentaire Jean Cocteau