International Teacher Artist Partnership – Professional Development Erasmus Project

Project Title

International Teacher Artist Partnership – Professional Development

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: Creativity and culture; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Research and innovation

Project Summary

International Teacher-Artist Partnership (I-TAP-PD) PD focuses on enabling teachers and artists to jointly develop their understanding, expertise and creativity in ‘arts in education’ work with children and young people in education, community and arts settings. It offers a unique opportunity for teachers and artists to explore the nature and educational value of partnerships in supporting arts education in early and Primary school education. The ultimate aim is to create innovative professional development (PD) opportunities, innovative intellectual outputs and resources to enable both teachers and artists to challenge, develop and potentially transform their practices for the benefit of the children they teach and the school communities in which they work at a trans-European level and beyond. The enhanced practices that will emerge as a result of this collaboration will be the subject of fresh international research and innovation.

Objectives are to develop an international model I-TAP-PD with a training programme and resource materials that are transferable across various jurisdictions, are adaptable to different contexts and incorporate the best practices from each of our participating countries. We will disseminate this practice across Europe and beyond by holding a number of Multiplier events. All materials and resources developed will be free, FAIR and openly available.
Selection of teachers and artists by partners (approximately 180) for inclusion in I-TAP-PD will be by open call and nomination. Participants in the project activities will be drawn from these members using criteria of diversity of regions of partners, focusing specifically in areas which struggle with socioeconomic issues, disadvantage and special need, but also the criterion of the diversity of students in the associated schools. A further 5,000+ participants will be involved, on average of 1,000 per partner, from progressively wider circles of target group members and associated professional and support staff who are not directly funded by the project but are likely to be involved in aspects of its delivery and dissemination within partner institutions and to target groups and stakeholders in local and regional networks.

We will draw upon the findings and conclusions from our trans-European exploration of I-TAP-PD best practice to produce a pragmatic I-TAP-PD Training Programme and associated handbook/manual with on-line and digital resources and dedicated DRP platform that can be used in conjunction with and compatible to any child centred curriculum at early and primary level. It will be sufficiently broad to be adaptable to different social, economic and cultural contexts.
The methodology will proceed through an “action-reflection cycle” of planning, action and reflection upon action. Gathering and analysing evidence about practical outcomes is central. It involves educators, artists/creative workers, researchers, managers and other day-day practitioners exploring and observing the effects of planned change in their practice. Each partner will research and report upon the “state of the art” on TAP strategies and initiatives adopted in their own institutions and local networks that inhibit the early years’ onset of educational disengagement and under-achievement, especially amongst more vulnerable groups of children. On the basis of these reports, partners will work with colleagues in their own and partner institutions to identify what is their own “best practice” in this field. We will then plan, implement, evaluate and report upon one or more case-studies of “best practice” and how the outcomes from it can be measured and assessed during and after the I-TAP-PD project’s lifetime.

The project will result in development of a final I-TAP-PD Programme with on-line Research and Evaluation Output & translated resources which will be accessible and down-loadable through the project’s public Digital Resources Platform for disseminating all the project’s outputs. It will include presentations and analysis of best I-TAP-PD practice, to target groups and stakeholders in all European countries. Target groups will be able to use all resource outputs on the DRP as a whole, or separate items from it independently of the final I-TAP-PD training programme and handbook or in association with them.

The I-TAP-PD project will enhance and positively impact three priority areas of 1) raising the quality and inclusiveness of schools, 2) supporting excellent teachers and school leaders through mutual innovative learning activities and 3) supporting a new support mechanism to help Member States design innovative education reforms. This will support children’s early years’ acquisition of fundamentally important social and education skills. The ultimate beneficiaries of our project are children at risk from social and economic disadvantage.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 360726 Eur

Project Coordinator

The Education Centre Tralee & Country: IE

Project Partners

• PAEDAGOGISCHE HOCHSCHULE NIEDERÖSTERREICH
• Panellinio Diktio Gia To Theatro Stin Ekpedefsi
• Stichting Kopa
• Center for Drama in Education and Art CEDEUM