Project "UP2B"

Erasmus+
Project "UP2B" lv

Project "UP2B" en

 

 

 

 2015-1-LV01-KA219-013422

Project "UP2B"

 Boosting Up School Education towards European Citizenship

and Labour Market Inclusion

 

The EU Education policies, lay down in Europe2020 Strategy and related documents*, addresses themes as important as "Education for Jobs and Growth" or "Early School Leaving" (ESL). In a recent Infographic, the Commission addressed the subject of ESL, by stating: "Schools cannot effectively work alone. They need to move from isolated and short-term actions to engaging in a more holistic and systemic initiatives" **UP2B is fully aligned with such vision of an integrated approach from an enlarged community of actors. Centered in Schools, UP2B is fed by a matrix of relevant subjects for the creation of a better School, consequently, better citizens and a brighter future. The project is a strategic partnership of School Education, created by Companies, Universities, NGOs, Education Local Authorities and Schools, from South, North, East and West of Europe, cooperating for promoting motivation at School (for students and teachers) and for preparing students for their future life as workers and Citizens. The project’s integrated approach of formats, contents and expertise was based in previous needs assessment during the partners’ regular activities and envisages to enhance School Education, aiming Social Cohesion. UP2B objectives are:
- To enhance school attractiveness, diminishing rates of demotivation and absence and rates of early school leaving
- To facilitate the relationship and the transition between School and the Labour Market
- To increase students’ sense of citizenship by generating awareness about the labour market
- To increase the sense of European Citizenship and its core values of equity, namely concerning Gender, Minorities and Human Rights, as fundamental Educational aspects While pursuing these objectives, UP2B is also tackling the growing social scourge of NEET youngsters, not dealing with its consequences but rather trying to eliminate some of its causes, as early school leaving and unawareness about the labour market and about VET possibilities.
Accordingly, UP2B target-groups are:
- Students aged 12-16 years old, because at those ages they have already been required to think about important life decisions, namely concerning education paths they wish to follow (regular secondary school, VET school,...) or they had equated/may equate an eventual school dropout(which will require them to look for a job in order to avoid a NEET situation); it is therefore of upmost importance to raise awareness about the labour market, but most of all, to increase school attractiveness near them;
- eachers of such students, because they play a decisive role in raising awareness concerning
Citizenship, facilitating them to better understand society and culture and supporting them to consciously claim their rights and be sure to fulfill their duties, within and beyond school;
- School communities (School as an Institution: managers, administrative staff, education counsellors, parents, surrounding communities);
- Teachers of teachers: by involving
 

’…[youngsters, students, youth workers, career counselors] pointed out that schools’ curricula and schools’ performance tend to be absent or at least laconic on which concerns the forthcoming ‘life out of school’, or the forthcoming ‘life out of the Education System’, ‘life as a citizen’ and also the necessarily forthcoming ‘life in the labour market’ (application, page 99)

problems being addressed:

Demotivation at School (students and teachers)

Early school leaving

Mismatch between school and labour market’s needs

Need for a shift in teachers’ role in due regard for the current school context under fast technology development & easy access to information and miss-information by students

Need for supporting pedagogical tools, by teachers

Need to prepare students to face life outside/after school (both at the ‘job’ level as well as at the ‘citizenship’ level)

 

Target groups:

Students aged 12-16 years old

Teachers of students aged 12-16 years old

School communities (managers, administrative staff, education counsellors, students’ parents, surrounding communities)

Teachers of teachers

Operators of other school domains (VET and Higher Education)

Operators of the labour market

 

objectives:

To enhance school attractiveness to both students and teachers, diminishing rates of demotivation and absence and of early school leaving

To facilitate the relationship, but also the transition, between school and the labour market

To increase the students sense of citizenship by generating awareness about the labour market and its wide range of possibilities

To increase the sense of European Citizenship and its core values of equity, namely concerning Gender, Minorities and Human Rights, as fundamental aspects of Education

 

outputs:

IO1 – ‘School & Job’ Community of Practice (CoP) and Active Repository of Teaching Tools (networking platform and teaching tools repository)

IO2 – ‘School & Job’ Matching Handbook, covering the widest range possible of school subjects (STEM, Arts, Sports, Citizenship, and other)

IO3 – ‘Boost Up Your Class’ – Citizenship & Job Pills Activities (ready-made solutions to illustrate and to invigorate the subjects being taught)

IO4 – ‘Boost Up Your Class’ – Citizenship & Job e-Pills Activities (provision of IO3 as a digital solution and of additional ready-made only-digital activities to boost up the classroom environment)

 
outcomes:

Dozens of schools across Europe will be participating in the project and using its products

Hundreds of students will experience new activities in class

Dozens of non-school actors will be involved in the school life

Classes will become more attractive

Students engaging into VET education will be more prepared for such choice

Students ending compulsory education will be better prepared for job search & found

Students will be strongly prepared to exercise rights & duties in the society
 

working methodology/ results:

solidary methodology (1 partner leads/all partners actively participate)

dedicated work packages related to ‘project management’, ‘monitoring & evaluation and quality assurance’, ‘dissemination & visibility’, ‘stakeholders involvement’, ‘incorporatioin by 3rd parties & sustainability’ and ‘horizontal domains’

4 intellectual outputs

7 multiplier events (2 in PT (north+south) + 1 in each remaining country)

 

leading responsible for WPs:

Project management: APLOAD (PT)
Monitoring & Evaluation and Quality Assurance: CETEM (ES)
Dissemination and Visibility: Rigas Skola (LV)
Stakeholders Involvement: CK (TR)
Incorporation by 3rd Parties and Sustainability: BrainLog (DK)
Horizontal Domains: Terras Dentro (PT)

leading responsible for IOs:

IO1: ÇU (TR)
IO2: APLOAD (PT)
IO3: Know & Can (BG)
IO4: UPorto (PT)

 06.11.2022

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