STUDENT PARLIAMENT – Empowering the school through the use Students´own ideas, interests, and their active involment Erasmus Project

Project Title

STUDENT PARLIAMENT – Empowering the school through the use Students´own ideas, interests, and their active involment

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 : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); Civic engagement / responsible citizenship

Project Summary

The aim of this project is to introduce or streamline the functional Student Parliament (SP) model in the participating schools.5 schools are involved in this project, whose motivation is very similar. All of the schools involved want to have an effective tool in their school in the process of democratizing the school environment, which is undoubtedly the SP. The SP brings joy to the pupils by enabling them to participate in the life of the school, and it allows the pupils to experience success from their own responsibility, and to strengthen their personal and civic competences. Many of the studies and experiences of schools that have had a SP in place have shown that in integrating SP into the school process the school climate, pupil relations, and pupil and teacher relationships are improved. Pupils feel good in a safe environment, concentrate better and obtain new knowledge more easily. One of the schools has not had a SP yet, the other schools have had SPs for only a few years, and there are schools where SP is a normal part of school life. The main coordinator of this project comes from the school that is responsible for coordinating SPs in the region and is involved in the School for Democracy in the Czech network, supporting over 250 schools within its region.
As part of the project, SP will be established at one school and the other schools will stabilize the functioning of their SP with the support of the established parliaments at the partner schools. An important part is also the sustainability of a functional parliament in the schools that already have SP. Parliament’s activities are also changing with the development and transformation of the life of society, school life and lifestyles. By exchanging experiences between different schools operating within different democracy systems, we can enrich each other and react more flexibly to change.
The main priorities of this project, which lead to the project goal, are as follows: Supporting individuals in acquiring and developing basic skills and key competences- Promoting parliaments involved in schools according to the level of functioning of a SP, establishment of a new SP, transition from formal to functional parliament, streamlining of parliamentary functionality through sharing of experience. Students meet and attend parliamentary sessions to see the workings of other parliaments, which they convey to other children on their return. We will thus link several functioning parliaments in Europe. Children will be the bearers of new information and inspiration for their classmates and parliamentarians.
Civic engagement/responsible citizenship – Parliament as a tool for the Introduction of democracy – for example, through the election of members to Parliament, we are preparing pupils to manifest themselves as free and responsible individuals, to exercise their rights and to fulfill their duties.They will become familiar with community politics and their representatives – a visit to the town hall, a debate with local politicians.
EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy – Raising awareness of European rights and obligations of EU countries – outings of involved pupils, SP together with teachers and project coordinators – compare the elections in the European Parliament of individual countries (May 2019) – make a presentation of candidates, participation in elections, and find out how the EU Parliament works and how the EU Parliament works with the Parliaments of those countries involved in this project.
Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods-Through the school environment mapping, we get information about school weaknesses-Parliament organizes the mapping of the school environment to which all school pupils participate – followed by evaluations and suggestions for improving the environment that Student Parliament then discusses with the school management, and subsequently help with the implementation.
As part of the project, we want to ensure that a single functional parliament is established, drawing on the experience of partner parliaments. Other parliaments will inspire each other, share their experiences and learn from their achievements and mistakes. At the same time, we will give these parliaments a chance to orient themselves in a rapidly changing society through the participation in an international project. A functioning parliament will be reflected in the safe climate of the school. The pupils will be better informed about school performance, involved in creating rules, motivated to become more involved in the learning process, will be responsible for their work. By sharing information, we identify the important issues related to the SP, on the basis of which we will create a Constitution that will facilitate the work of SP and other schools after end of the project. By involving schools with different levels of parliaments in the project, the Constitution will include information on the implementation and stabilization of SP.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 0 Eur

Project Coordinator

Zakladni skola, Uherske Hradiste, Za Aleji 1072, p. o. & Country: CZ

Project Partners

• Gozo College Rabat Primary
• Bodnant Community School
• COLEGIO NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL ROSARIO
• Pumpuru vidusskola