Polish school abroad. Supporting of the vocational training of Polish teachers abroad. Erasmus Project

Project Title

Polish school abroad. Supporting of the vocational training of Polish teachers abroad.

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 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Pedagogy and didactics

Project Summary

The project ‘Polish school abroad. Supporting in-service training for teachers of Polish overseas communities’ is based on experiences of the coordinator – Municipal Centre of Methodology Counselling in Białystok – in conducting in – service training for teachers working in Polish schools overseas (Project TROPER). The outcomes of the project indicated a great need of continuing and expanding these types of schemes. During the planning stage, the initial group, which included MODM in Bialystok and pre-school institution from Lithuania, was expanded by schools from Western European countries. In addition to aforementioned issues, those institutions struggle with rapid increase in the numbers of pupils, which result from the rise in economic emigration of Poles. The analysis of the needs of target groups of the project showed the following problems: insufficient methodological support, lack of access to new teaching methods, materials, technologies and up-to-date subject knowledge. The project ‘Polish school abroad’ answers the actual needs of Polish educationalinstitutions abroad.

Main aims of the project:
– to organize in-service training for Polish teachers abroad in terms of pre-school education and subjects taught in Polish; to improve teaching, psychological, intercultural skills and subject knowledge
– to improve skills of managers of the partner institutions in terms of the educational institution managment
– to create methodological resource pack for Polish overseas teachers, comprised of didactic materials
– to create an in-service teacher training programme that will contain methodological and subject knowledge
– to create methodical e-learning courses
– to promote the use of ICT in teaching, e.g. through e-learning
– to maintain the national identity of Poles living abroad

The participants of the project were teachers and managers of the partner institutions (75 participants in total). The project partners were: Municipal Centre of Methodology and Counselling in Białystok (Poland), Kindergartens in Maisiagalos (Lithuania), Polish School in Barcelona and Tarragona, Polish School in Geel (Belgium), Integrative Saturday School in Bristol (the UK), Polish Saturday School in Moss (Norway).
The participants took part in courses, workshops, exchange of experience and good practices, the results of intellectual work elaboration and creating didactic materials. On the part of the coordinator, the participants were employees responsible for preparing and carrying out of the in-service training. E-learning courses and didactic materials are available for all interested teachers of Polish schools abroad. The in-service teacher training programme can be used by institutions and associations active in the field of Polish overseas education. Indirectly, the project will impact around 400 recipients.
In order to achieve the aims of the project the partners made the following activities:
– transnational project meetings, for the management of the project and coordinating the work on the results
– transnational training activities consisting of courses, workshops, exchange of experience and elements of job shadowing
– joint activities of partners to produce intellectual work products of the project including:
* creating e-learning courses, available on Moodle platform administered by the coordinator of the project
* creating the in-service teacher training programme and the resource pack for teachers of Polish schools abroad
– creating the project website, where the products of the project will be made available as Open Educational Resources

Achieved results, especially the teacher training programme, the resource pack and e-learning courses, will be presented during the seminars and a conference organised at the end of the project. The events will be attended by teachers and employees of associations, organisations and institutions connected with Polish education abroad. The results are also disseminated through the project website.

The project have had significant impact on raising qualifications and developing knowledge and professional skills of the participants. This will increase the quality of work of the partner institutions and positively influence the Polish community abroad. Moreover, the resources created during the project will be of use to many teachers and institutions not included in the project. The resource pack, together with the system of e-learning courses, will assist teachers who have no access to materials designed especially for this type of didactic work. In the long term, after the project is finished, the partners plan to continue the work on the resources,and to expand the cooperation to other institutions.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 201970 Eur

Project Coordinator

Miejski Osrodek Doradztwa Metodycznego w Bialymstoku & Country: PL

Project Partners

• “ProPolonia” Poolse Vereniging voor Cultuur en Onderwijs
• Vilniaus r. Maisiagalos vaiku lopselis-darzelis
• Associació Cultural Escuela Polaca
• Integrative Saturday School Limited by Guarantee
• Foreningen Barna Polen