The common basis of our modern democracies Erasmus Project

Project Title

The common basis of our modern democracies

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: Pedagogy and didactics; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Overcoming skills mismatches (basic/transversal)

Project Summary

Description of the project

1 CONTEXT The Lycée de l’Escaut is an attractive school with a socially mixed student body from the outskirts of Valenciennes. The majority of the pupils come from middle classes and 30/100 of the students are grant holders. Our school at the beginning of its European and international opening abroad. Our partners are the TFG of Düsseldorf in GERMANY, this high school has a huge practice in the field of European and international partnerships. The LLG of Veszprèm in Hungary is presented as the best high school in Hungary, it inaugurates its European and international opening abroad with this project, this high school is particularly known for teaching foreign languages and digital skills. Both high schools have a rather privileged public. Democratic values are considered from the perspective of the migrants as a European and a national issue: the TFG welcomes migrant pupils in its Christian tradition of helping the disadvantaged, while Hungary is confronted with this issue because of its geographical situation.
The current project has results of two eTwinning former projects.
According to the high school ambitions, actions are cultural or scientific efforts are carried out: through the curricular or events, meetings or visits. Despite assets such as language trips, the teaching of biochemistry, physics, chemistry, history in English, the teaching of English, German, Spanish and Italian foreign languages, European or international partnerships weren’t considered for both the teaching teams and the students. This matches with the deficit of European and international mobilities observed in the area of Valenciennes but also in the Region.
Moreover, the final exam’s assessment changes and processes concerning guidance have motivated us to step up our efforts in terms of guidance and ambition, and motivation.
OBJECTIVES This first Erasmus project is an inclusive program. It aims to put in the position of an author of a motivating and ambitious project. Indeed, this Erasmus + project, based on the disciplines of the programme History¬-geography-geopolitics-political sciences (=HGGPSP), Humanity-Literature-Philosophy (= HLP), LLCE English, Economic and Social Sciences, allows the reinforcement of basic skills in (language, French and history) but also transversal skills. Collaborative and distance learning also requires digital skills. The interdisciplinary project makes the link between the courses and the students’ real-life and experiences.
The project is devoted to the development of autonomy and creativity in order to strengthen self-confidence and self-esteem.
The second objective of the project is a pedagogical reflection and pedagogical innovation in the fields of autonomy, oral participation, collaboration within the project and therefore in the classroom. Indeed, the project brings together schools with very different pedagogical traditions. The relations of students involved (oral participation, group work, research, preparatory work, learning a lesson) and the reception of a lesson (taking notes, or referring to a book or a website) are radically different. To sum up, our pupils tend to be waiting for a lesson (content validated by the teacher), for precise instructions leading them to step by step to final production. The pupils in our two partner schools are rather familiar with an approach based on questioning: from a situation or a document the pupil, alone or in a group, raise a paradox which he or she tries to formulate and clarify. They use their prior knowledge and progressively the resources made available by the teacher. The teacher’s interventions are mainly focused at helping the pupil to progress by providing resources: the teacher’s course, the book, or the website, or by directing him/her by his/her questions. The sequence is often completed by a final production made by the student alone or in a group. Moreover, these pupils have a great deal of autonomy in their lessons and in their personal lives.
Moreover, this project and the communication on this project and the European opening abroad contributes to the reflection on the orientation project. It, therefore, constitutes an “education ” in the field of mobility. Finally, it reinforces the European feeling by making more aware about we are located “at the crossroads of Europe”: Belgium/Luxembourg/Germany/Netherlands/the United Kingdom are located within a three-hour drive or train ride.
THE ACTIVITIES –
The drafting of the project had made it possible to define a relevant theme for each of the disciplines involved: “the common foundations of our modern democracies”. The aim is to get pupils to consider the particular ways in which common democratic principles are embodied in different legislative systems or cultural practices. In this way, pupils could observe that what seems self-evident or obvious at home can be surprising elsewhere and vice versa. A better knowledge of national history, institutions, great figures, as well as critical thinking and expression, are fostered.
The French group is mixed (girls/boys) and, like the Lycee’s students, includes 30/100 scholarship students. The panel of students corresponds to the group of students having in common within the same class the HLP speciality and the HGGPSP speciality. This criterion, established to guarantee equity
The activities are structured around 4 axes
Collaboration, communication, cohesion (1), learning and autonomy (2), human and intercultural aspects (3), dissemination and evaluation (4)
(1) collaboration: small international groups of 9 students (3 French, 3 German, 3 Hungarian) established on the basis of a common questionnaire (personality/ICT/skills/language skills/interests).
Within the small 4 groups, the students are complementary. For the English language, we’ve combined the weaker pupils with a stronger one. At the beginning of the first meeting, games (e.g. building bridges) made everyone aware Of the importance of communication and collaboration. For each step, the objective required a concerted effort, then a pooling of efforts in order to establish effective collaboration, whether in person or at a distance.

For learning and autonomy (2) The general format of the project corresponds to the desire of the teaching staff to give autonomy to the students. First, the students use what they know about democracy to draw up a mind map, the aim is to identify a theme that interests them. Then, the presentation to the referent teacher helps to identify a question. To clarify the question, the students will have to discuss and make researches They can be helped by the teachers, each one in his or her area. Visits in Germany or in Hungary were thus organised like a treasure hunt or a city game. Museum visits or meetings were considered as resources for the students’ investigations. But above all, the shape of the final production, the question the contents were free. At least, the students have to present a person, a place, and a theme embodying one or more democratic principles. The teachers provide tools to explain (remind) the expectation for the current session, and then other tools to cut out work sequences with more limited objectives and thus help the students to plan their work according to the global planning of the project. We could also be asked to provide resources or answer questions (on eTwinning). The parties or moments of conviviality, the preparations made within the national and international groups were always the occasion for discussions to establish a trade-off between what was possible (budget, time, regulations, objectives) and what was desirable (with regard to the project and the student’s expectations)
The human and intercultural aspects (3) are omnipresent but perhaps more so during the convivial moments (meals, parties, or visits) and of course within the volunteer families. Our students benefited from a preparation session on cultural habits (in particular the evening meal) and on the school system (the organisation of a school day, the organisation of the school system) before each mobility.
Dissemination and evaluation (4) Each important stage of the project is punctuated by a debriefing, which leads us to analyse our personal and common experience, within the international group but also within the French group. This is an opportunity for a qualitative evaluation as it allows us to measure the gap between the expectations and the experience of the participants. For example, after the Düsseldorf mobility, the students considered the experience as an opportunity and were very happy to be part of the project. However, autonomy was a source of concern because they’re not used to it. This allowed us to compare the pedagogy generally developed by us (see above) and that of the project. This work of reflection on the learner’s posture was an important aspect of the project, understanding that entering into a dynamic of change is not done without trouble or without a certain discomfort was very fruitful for the students afterwards. This contributes to (re)placing the students at the heart of his or her own project: taking a step back from the way he or she learns encourages him or her to consider his or her own journey as one of many possible paths. And therefore initiates a reflection on his or her needs, his or her expectations, his or her project and perhaps his or her personal ambition. These analyses are done either through formal presentations or a festive moment where everyone presents a word or an image and share a comment. The evaluation is done through questionnaires given and filled out in class, or via an application such as SurveyMonkey. These moments of feedback are valid for the national and international educational team.

RESULTS At first our pupils were very distressed by the autonomy they were given within the project and at the same time very eager to have more space for expression, whether in the classroom or in their personal lives. Gradually, the students who reached the final year of secondary school were able to demonstrate autonomy and creativity in the work they were asked to do, but they were also able to obtain more in the class and in the school through discussion and negotiation: “could we do it this way”, “could we change that”. Of course, such a change presupposes that both: teachers and students change. Such progress had effects within the class group, i.e. beyond the students directly concerned by the Erasmus project. This posture is generally very favourable to the class climate and to the climate within the school since it encourages students to speak up to express their needs or difficulties and it encourages listening, changes or dialogue on the part of both students and adults.
AMBITION and MOTIVATION The students who participated in the project had earlier and more assertive orientation projects than the average, and we also noted a greater number of applications for entry into preparatory classes and their projects were less concentrated in Valenciennes.

SKILLS: There was significant progress in English for the average students, and the good students became excellent. Pupils have learned to collaborate, making the most of their complementarity. This means that they have been able to identify strengths and build on them and focus their efforts. DIGITAL SKILLS the pupils and teachers involved in the project used to say that we knew how to do distance learning before the lockdown. Indeed, the team was able to identify relevant tools and methods (teachers), to communicate, collaborate and present. Following this project, a teacher participates in the digital and philosophy working group of the Lille Academy. The aim is to develop the use of digital tools devoted to the pedagogical needs of teaching: http://philosophie.discipline.ac-lille.fr/philosophie-et-numerique-educatif.
In the final year, the students were able to take advantage of their experience of project-based teaching to prepare the two questions for the Grand Oral and they felt better prepared for the Grand Oral since each stage of the project gave rise to an oral. The Grand Oral is an important part of the final exam.
PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATION the project was able to reinforce the innovative pedagogical practices already underway in disciplines such as HGGPSP and LLCE. But above all, this project has allowed real progress in teaching philosophy. The reflection on the involvement and autonomy of students led a colleague to become a trainer for the Grand Oral. Indeed, the Grand Oral asks students to choose two questions related to their specialities and then to do further enquiries by themselves. This shape corresponds to that of our project. Moreover, the Grand Oral gives rise to an oral presentation and the oral was a very important part of the Erasmus +project.
The project leads to two PARTNERSHIPS with our two partner institutions. The partnership with the TFG leads to an original interdisciplinary and linguistic (German) distance exchange project for next year.

HUMAN ASPECTS 2/3 of the French pupils have established lasting relationships with their host family in Germany or with a partner student, the students have gained confidence in their ability to carry out a project, whether personal or academic. This has deeply anchored the European feeling as revealed by the place occupied by the European flag on the communication elements established by the students and most of them consider an Erasmus mobility during their higher education.
Throughout the project, the French teacher’s team meets regularly (on average once a week) in order to prepare the next steps, to accompany the students, to agree on the communication to be made to the Management, the students, the families and the teacher teams. These meetings are preceded by an email announcing the agenda and proposing the useful documents, then the results of these discussions are sent by email. The process is the same for the meetings of the international teacher team, the meetings by video conference take place at a rate of one per month and always at least one before each mobility.
EXPECTED LONG-TERM BENEFITS
The project of European and international openness in general and this Erasmus project, in particular, have benefited from the full support of the management and the educational team from the start. It led the person in charge of this project to become the school’s European and International Relations Officer. This means that the European dimension of the school is now firmly anchored in the school. This function did not exist before. The presentations of the project to the teaching colleagues informed them about the opportunities available in terms of teaching mobilities KA1 and strategic partnerships KA2. This information made it possible to explain the expectations of the National Agency and the benefits for our students, whether it is through the evolution of our teaching practices or for the students’ motivation, self-esteem, or learning. These moments have stimulated the teams and two distance learning projects are currently being launched for September 2021: one with our German partner high school (in German with the Tandem platform of OFAJ) and the other with Spain and Portugal (in Spanish with eTwinning).
We believe that this dynamic will reinforce the results obtained in terms of motivation, involvement and guidance. Students already have the feeling that “something is possible” as soon as they are given good information. They know that they can rely on solid support, whether at the lycée or at the university.
The Erasmus + project has made it possible to finance the furniture and equipment of a small place located in the CDI. This Europe and International room is a dissemination tool because it provides information about current projects and about post-bac mobilities within and outside the studies. The physical posters link to more detailed information on the school’s “Euro and International Opening” blog. This small, friendly room is used for discussions in foreign languages and for playing board games in foreign languages. In addition, one of the CPE colleagues involved in the field of European opening abroad proposed that an educational assistant helps the small groups of students involved in European projects. Indeed, learning to be independent is not easy. The support would consist of helping the small group, planning all the sessions, formulating the goals for each session, dividing up the tasks, sharing and then reporting and disseminating. He/she could also assist the pupils in the field of foreign languages or ICT. This same education assistant will propose at the beginning of the school (Sept 2021) year a European and international “club” according to an annual programme. This club will also propose an eTwinning project for volunteer students. The management has already given its agreement. As we can see, this space allows the opening up of this project to a wide public for varied actions likely to affect a large number of people in the long term. In addition, the recruitment of a European volunteer, under the responsibility of the above-mentioned CPE colleague, is being considered.
If we consider how far we have come since 2018-2019: the period of construction and drafting of the project and this year, we can legitimately hope that better information for the students and the teams about what is being done in the lycee and what is possible in general will result in a normalisation of mobility, which was initially an unthinkable idea, and then in September 2019 something extraordinary in the literal sense. In fact, in 2018-2019, initial information on post-bac mobility showed that 5/100 of the students were considering post-bac mobility in an informed way, these students had someone in their very close environment who had done an Erasmus mobility. 30/100 dreamed of living abroad, without having any strategy: “I would like to…”. The vast majority of students had not considered it and after learning about the existing scholarships were very surprised, as they thought that “it was not for them”. Their opinion was either based on the belief that mobility was available to students engaged in a language or international course, the more modest students felt very deprived and thus faced with an impossibility. Today, this project, together with the presentation of post-baccalaureate opportunities has aroused the interest of the students, 30/100 of whom have integrated it into their thinking about their future careers. Some students have shown an interest in this topic since the second year of secondary school and wish to join the group, which is impossible at the moment, but which has motivated the creation of the Euro and Inter Club, which will be created at the beginning of the school year 2021. 2 families requested information in order to build a post-baccalaureate mobility project for their child: the parents declared themselves lost and unable to find the right information. They were directed to the CRIJ of Douai with which we have been in contact since the beginning of the opening project. They were referred to the CRIJ in Douai, our partner. As a result, they have defined a relevant project which should be realised in 2021:2022 if the health conditions allow it. It is therefore expected that this dynamic will result in greater motivation and therefore better involvement of the pupils in class as they will consider their educational and training pathway as being at the service of their project. It can already be seen that the pupils who took part in the Erasmus project have very largely invested in other schemes offered by the lycee in the field of cultural openness or ambition: such as the theatre option or the PEI scheme of Sciences Po Lille.
The implementation of support for the teams through the drafting of the vademecum on the one hand, and on the other hand, through the submission of an accreditation application that corresponds to the requirements of the establishment project, would guarantee the coherence of all future projects by emphasising inclusion and pedagogical reflection and should enable the European dimension to be deployed in a sustainable manner. The broad support of the teaching staff for this dynamic of openness leads us to hope that a project of the KA1 type will find a relevant audience; it would then be a powerful lever for our dynamic of openness and educational reflection. This would constitute a virtuous circle.
The management, but also the Inspectorate, is aware of the interest for the teaching of the discipline of such an initiative and has been able to observe its efficiency on the occasion of
distance learning: for example, in philosophy a lesson made available on a platform dedicated to students whose teacher was absent.
Furthermore, the success of this first project should help to win the confidence of parents and students.
Finally, this project has enabled us to strengthen links with the UPHF, with the CRIJ in Douai and also with the Phenix Scene Nationale. This gives us a network and enables us to refer students or families to the right people if they need to build a post-baccalaureate mobility project. It should be noted that the UPHF has become a European University since 2020, the only one in the Hauts de France. The partnership with the Phenix initially concerned the theatre option and speciality, but the Phenix Scène Nationale (after having been duly informed by a meeting and the sending of presentation documents) considered this Erasmus + project with great interest and has already sent us a proposal to take part in a meeting with the philosopher and playwright Camille Louis of the KOM collective on the theme of “the manufacture of the common” (this in a context that is very, very restricted because of the Covid crisis). the Phenix Scène Nationale is a European center for creation and that it develops inclusive projects.
Mr Michnick, the school’s digital referent, was able to provide support in terms of advice or digital tools. More radically, in 2019-2020 the school prepared for the possibility of distance learning by taking professional gmail account for each student and teacher. This gave us a more efficient workspace (in terms of the number of simultaneous connections). We agreed that a gmail address devoted to the further projects would be accessible to European colleagues, it would be respectful of the RGPD and it provides us with a common virtual office: drive, calendar, gmeet, etc.
Despite the difficulties (covid), we’re very happy with this first experience and we’re eager to go further.

Project Website

https://twinspace.etwinning.net/92560/home

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 46428 Eur

Project Coordinator

lycée de l’Escaut & Country: FR

Project Partners

• Lovassy László Gimnázium
• Theodor-Fliedner-Gymnasium