PROMOTING INCLUSION IN WORK-BASED LEARNING BY EQUIPPING VET TUTORS AND COMPANY MENTORS WITH INNOVATIVE APPROACHES AND METHODOLOGIES Erasmus Project

Project Title

PROMOTING INCLUSION IN WORK-BASED LEARNING BY EQUIPPING VET TUTORS AND COMPANY MENTORS WITH INNOVATIVE APPROACHES AND METHODOLOGIES

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 vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Disabilities – special needs; Inclusion – equity; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

The promotion of inclusive education and lifelong learning for students and learners with disabilities is one of the priority areas set up by the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020. Moreover, in the Bruges Communiqué the EC suggests to increase the possibilities for disadvantaged learners in VET by offering alternative pathways, innovative VET training formats, more Work-Based Learning (WBL) in the main forms present at EU level. Further, The European Agency for the Development of Special Needs Education has published a study on the competences of an inclusive teaching in 2012, where 4 main competences are requested: valuing learner diversity; supporting all learners; working with others and continuing professional development. These are competences required and which are by far not reflected in the VET training programmes. Students with learning disabilities (LD) need, therefore, to have a personal plan of study which includes WBL experience and tailored on them and the enterprises, on the other hand, need to be trained to support the envisaged target group.
The project objectives represented a reply to the above mentioned problems as it was inspired by the following factors:
– Train teachers and staff working with the target group to make WBL or internship experience more fruitful and aimed to future job insertion even in an European context;
– Develop flexible pathways which connect the VET formal school curriculum to WBL for students with learning disabilities;
– Foster the implementation of ECVET principles and tools and develop an innovative approach to Mobility in order to facilitate the access for students with learning disabilities;
– Support enterprise mentors and staff during the WBL/internship experience of students with learning disabilities.
The main project results were:
O1-INCLUVET Didactical Guidelines for training VET staff working with students with disabilities: they are a compact presentation of how didactical processes should be organised and implemented when dealing with students with disabilities/special needs; how to support them during the WBL/internship experience even at EU level in Mobility programmes; Three methodological stages were foreseen: 1) Preparation 2) Implementation 3) finalisation.
O2-INCLUVET Training Curriculum for VET Staff: it includes a theoretical part and the supply of concrete competences to the target group when dealing with students with LD. It is an exhaustive training model elaborated at EU level in order to have a much more exhaustive approach to the WBL thematic and increase the participation of students with LD to Mobility projects. Supported Employment that is one of the key assets of the non-exclusionary policy pursued by the EU has been considered. 1) Preparation 2) Implementation 3) finalisation.
O3-INCLUVET in-company Mentors Vademecum. It is a very practical tool to be distributed to Mentors in order to support students with LD during their WBL experience. Supported Employment has been also included. 1) Preparation 2) Implementation 3) finalisation.
O4-Mobility Vademecum for accompanying persons of students with learning disabilities. It is a practical tool to support the accompanying persons, usually teachers not expert in disabilities, and even the EU Enterprises during the mobility and how to implement and develop LOs acquired in a EU context and how to evaluate the students. 1) Preparation 2) Implementation 3) finalisation
These Intellectual Outputs were connected with Multiplier Events, in order to reach the widest range of target groups and stakeholders possible. In addition to these 4 core intellectual outputs the INCLUVET project developed a number of further outputs necessary to achieve the set objectives: website and Dissemination materials; Dissemination Strategy; Quality Management Handbook; Learning/Training Teaching Activities.
INCLUVET achieved an extended impact on:
– Direct participants in the project: INCLUVET provided concrete competences for the targets on how to deal with students with learning disabilities during WBL experiences; how to evaluate students during their in-company training; how to foster company motivation to deal with WBL paths for the envisaged target group;
– Partner Organizations: with the project they received an innovative approach for planning and managing flexible WBL experiences both at NA and EU level for the envisaged target with learning disabilities;
– Other stakeholders: they are labour market authorities, political decision makers and policy makers on regional, NA and EU level; target group associations/cooperatives for disabled persons; they received an innovative tool to use in their dayly work with disabled people.
On a long-term perspective, the benefits of the project will be on a systemic level with an increased quality of the VET system (renforced and updated skills of VET staff) which fosters the social and labour inclusion of students with learning disabilities.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 299223 Eur

Project Coordinator

FORMAZIONE CO&SO NETWORK – CONSORZIO DI COOPERATIVE SOCIALI SOCIETA COOPERATIVA SOCIALE & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Reattiva – Regione Europa Attiva
• Fundacion Docete Omnes
• SPOLECZNA AKADEMIA NAUK
• NORTH WEST REGIONAL COLLEGE
• INSTITUT NATIONAL SUPERIEUR DE FORMATION ET DE RECHERCHE POUR L’EDUCATION DES JEUNES HANDICAPES ET LES ENSEIGNEMENTS ADAPTES
• ISIS Leonardo da Vinci
• JUGEND AM WERK STEIERMARK GMBH