LEARNING KNOWS NO BOUNDS Erasmus Project

Project Title

LEARNING KNOWS NO BOUNDS

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 Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; Disabilities – special needs

Project Summary

Students with mild mental disabilities who are named as “Inclusive / Special Education Student”(ISES) , mostly study in vocational high schools because of their low academic success. Our school is the first school these students prefer. Number of these students corresponds to %80 of the inclusive students in our city together with our local partner.
Inclusive students have been taking classes with students in normal developmental levels. First time in this academic year the units named “Support Education Rooms” were opened and also individualised lessons started. We are one of several schools in which this new practice is being implemented.
Moreover, our school is the only school that have a special education class between high schools in our city. The lessons intended for special education students are given in this class which is opened for the first time in this academic year.
“At the end of primary education, students who do well in the TEOG exam are canalized to the schools which they got enough points to be able to attend and the others are canalized to the vocational schools” is indicated in regulation on Secondary Education Institutions. Our school and our local partner appear as the institutions that have a clear majority of inclusive / special education students in the upcoming years.
We want to offer these students their fundamental right to be educated ideally. However, we are far away from getting expected results. We face different types of problems almost everyday and unfortunately they remain unresolved. Some of these students’ basic problems are: academic failure, continuous absenteeism or early school leaving, being ignored, exclusion, falling into contempt among their peers and not being able to adapt to school life, go on upper level education, find a job after graduation, get into social life.
We cannot take any support from majority of parents who should help us most in solving the problems. Parents who cannot accept their children’s condition don’t want to even come to school for different reasons. The ones that come, express that they have different problems at home too and cannot solve them. Besides, we view that some families have other disabled person(s) and they live under economic and social problems hardly.
We concluded that the teachers and schools have a key role in resolving these problems. On the other hand, insufficiency of equipment in schools and professional insufficiency of teachers take a stand against us indisputably. Teachers didn’t have training aimed at special education of these students. Under these circumstances, all studies cannot pass beyond trial and error. Every lesson taught without being able to recognize the differences between students, make right planning, use the time effectively, know effective methods and techniques, determine suitable material and most importantly establish healthy communication, accompanies failure and problems. Teachers who cannot see expected results of their efforts, get desperate and get used to have failure.
We prepared this project considering a school with suitable equipment and academically/ pedagogically equipped teachers as a key point. With this project firstly we aim at developing teachers’ equipment and sufficiency then training these students creating suitable learning atmosphere and helping their families. If we reach that goal, we will resolve or minimize the problems mentioned above. Moreover, we will be able to unite parents and school actively.
We contacted with many school in EU countries. We set partnership with 4 schools which are applying good practices for inclusive/special education students and will be role model to us. We planned the activities which of them are as follows
Examining diagnosis and guiding process of special education students.
Watching communication processes between teacher and student
Observing studies intended for families.
Examining ateliers, classes and life spaces.
Teaching a sample lesson and applying a practice together.
Examining Individualized Education Plans and Assessment and Evaluation systems
Examining methods of giving homework and checking them.
Observing methods, techniques and materials which are used.
Observing cultural and vocational lessons.
Observing working procedure of counseling service.
Getting information about employment rates and positive discriminations.

We planned to disseminate the acquirements first in our school then in our city and region. We aimed at reaching all institutions, individuals and parents using communication channels effectively. Dissemination process will be implemented by two institutions which are rich in terms of equipment and number of teachers thereby combining their forces. So, the scope of the project will be very wide and long-termed. We believe that the cooperation will increase in project process between two schools which struggle on their own and spread across the city and the region.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 66450 Eur

Project Coordinator

Zubeyde Hanim Mesleki ve Teknik Anadolu Lisesi & Country: TR

Project Partners

• Kauno buitiniu paslaugu ir verslo mokykla
• SABA
• Mugla Mesleki ve Teknik Anadolu Lisesi
• ISTITUTO D’ISTRUZIONE SECONDARIA SUPERIORE PALAZZOLO ACREIDE
• Colegiul Tehnic Energetic Dragomir Hurmuzescu