European Acts and Cooperation for Civic Education in Schools Erasmus Project

Project Title

European Acts and Cooperation for Civic Education in Schools

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

With the societal challenges young Europeans face, education plays a key role in forming capable citizens able to collectively answer today’s and tomorrow’s issues. Even though “the promotion of civic proficiency” is a European priority and developed by numerous schools on the continent, we observe strong disparities regarding civic education among member states. There is a real need for cooperation to reinforce European school’s ability to develop civic education programs.

To that effect, the strategic partnership European ACCES aims to share, transfer and develop innovative practices in civic education to:

1. Reinforce schools in the implementation of pedagogical tools for civic education.
– Develop expertise regarding the needs and practices existing in Europe regarding student participation
– Give the tools and train professors and actors of high school life to implement pedagogical projects on civic education in their schools.
– Reinforce cooperation in-between schools and youth actors to develop methods based in formal and non-formal learning.
– Encourage openness among faculty and students to their local community and the European educational space.

2. Develop democratic participation and civic expression for the 14 to18 year olds in the academic context.
– Reinforce participation and civic expression in the academic context
– Promote student access to democratic spaces fostering better understanding of today’s issues on the local, national and European level.
– Encourage the acquisition of civic and social skills for high school students in Europe (critical thinking, commitment, openness to European cultures, adaptability, linguistic practices)
– Encourage dialogue between faculty and students around common projects

Targeted groups:
– High school students aged 14 to 18 year old in Europe
– European high schools: professors and faculty
– Administrations participating in the construction of pedagogical policies

The project unites a consortium committed to civic education. Its members, four schools proposing varied devices of civic education, are complementary both in their geographic position and expertise. The European Youth Parliament develops exchange, expression and debate projects proposed by students for students. The Portuguese association ECOS accompanies schools in the implementation of non-formal civic education projects and relies on a large network of partner schools in Europe.

Throughout the project, consortium actors will coordinate 6 pilot group gathering students and faculty during 3 cycles of the “ACCES path”.
– At the start of the year: identification of actors and devices to implement
– Debate club on current events coordinated with a pedagogical project. Multilingual exchange with five other pilot groups through an online debate platform.
– Organisation of one or more activities open to the local community, also within a pedagogical project.
– Experimentation of high school democratic device
– At the end of the school year, formalisation of propositions for youth civic participation in Europe
– Valorisation of skills developed through the path

The consortium coordinates the production and publication of varied intellectual productions:
– Research, census of European practices and policies
– Method sheets, Resource sheets, pedagogical tools for online debate ExpressLAB
– Proposition guide for local, national and European leaders
– Formation kit facilitating the publication of resources through a network of instructors for European students and faculty.

Ultimately, the project participative high schools will have impacted:

25 countries, 120 new actors involving +30 000 persons who will have discovered the project through social networks +300 monthly visits on the web platform. 24 highschools, 500 high school students.

Through a broad diffusion, this project mobilises a great number of faculties, students but also youth organisations working with schools in Europe. The tools developed aim to be reused durably by formal and non-formal education actors in Europe though a large publication using:
– Events organised throughout the project
– The constitution of a network of instructors, resource capable persons for faculty and students in Europe
– The publication of those resources among the European networks of the EYP – France (40 countries with over 1000 students) ECOS (educational teams and actors of non-formal education Network of Democratic citizenship Schools) and through a network of associated actors.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 255848 Eur

Project Coordinator

Parlement Européen des Jeunes – France & Country: FR

Project Partners

• Sagrada Familia
• Özel İstek Belde Anadolu Lisesi
• ECOS – COOPERATIVA DE EDUCACAO, COOPERACAO E DESENVOLVIMENTO CRL
• Liceul Unitarian János Zsigmond
• Valkeakosken Tietotien lukio