Socrates The EU Education Programme

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SocratesThe EU Education Programme
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British Council

• Judith Hemery
• Director Schools and Teachers Division
• Sue Ling
• Director Socrates

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Different Players Socrates

• European Commission
• - Policy review and development
• - Evaluation
• - Liaison with National Agencies
• - Centralised actions

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Different Players Socrates

Technical Assistance Office Administration
relating to centralised projects excluding
finance
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Different Players Socrates

National Agencies - promotion -
guidance - dissemination - management of
decentralised actions
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AIMS

• Encourage co-operation in education across Europe
• Raise standards in education through the European
  dimension
• Support promote innovation the exchange of
  good practice
• Support foreign language learning

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An overview

• All levels and sectors of education
• 2000-2006

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An overview

• 31 countries
• 15 EU Member States and 3 EEA Countries
• 12 Accession countries
• Turkey preparatory measures 2003

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Activities

• Transnational projects
• Teaching training materials, methodologies and
  courses
• Training and mobility for educational staff
• Pupil/student mobility
• Awareness-raising activities

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Eight Actions

• Comenius - schools
• Erasmus - higher education
• Grundtvig - adult education and lifelong learning
• Lingua - foreign languages

• Minerva - ICT/ODL
• Observation Innovation (Arion)
• Accompanying Measures
• Joint Actions - with Leonardo and Youth

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Decentralised Actions

• Collaborative projects with the active
  involvement of learners
• Professional development opportunities
• short courses
• study visits
• work placements

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Decentralised Actions

• Managed by National Agencies
• advice
• selection
• contracts
• grants
• monitoring evaluation

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Centralised Actions

• Large scale collaborative projects
• Transferable outcomes
• Multiplier potential
• Managed by European Commission
• - selection
• - contracts
• - grants

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Comenius

• Comenius 1 - School Partnerships
• Comenius 2 - Training of teachers
• Comenius 3 - Networks

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School Projects

• Minimum 3 eligible countries
• Collaborative work on joint projects with
  cross-curricular focus
• Nursery schools to further education (ages 3-20)

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School Projects

• Up to 3 years
• Several class groups
• Active involvement of pupils in planning,
  organisation evaluation of the project

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Case Study - School and its natural environment

• UK, Spain, Finland, Flemish-speaking Belgium and
  Greece
• Exchange of information on their local
  environments by primary school pupils
• Whole-school approach
• 5-7 yr. old pupils - water in the home
• 8-10 yr. old pupils - seasonal changes, local
  animals plants, weather local geography.

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Language Projects

• 2 schools in partnership
• Joint project using target language(s)
• Pupils/students 14-25 years
• 2-week exchanges for face-to-face project work

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Language Projects

• 1 year
• Bilingual end product - e.g.magazine, drama
  production
• Priority to least widely used least taught
  languages (LWULT)

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Case Study - Trainee Journalists

• France and UK
• Students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds
  involved in international exchange for the first
  time
• Two-week exchange focussing on the production of
  a bilingual newspaper
• Dramatic improvement in language skills

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School Development Projects

• Aim - improve school management through sharing
  practice
• Minimum of 3 eligible countries
• All types of school covering the full age range

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School Development Projects

• School managers teaching staff
• Up to 3 years
• Topics - school management issues

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School Development Projects

• Examples
• Anti-bullying strategies
• Equal opportunities boys/girls
• Health education
• Pupils with special educational needs

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Case Study- Developing Modules for Citizenship

• UK, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Austria
• Schools with pupils aged 11-16
• Different cultural traditions, citizenship and
  ways of combating xenophobia explored
• Development of resource materials on video and
  CD-ROM to support the teaching of citizenship

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Benefits of Comenius Projects

• Communication Skills
• competence in literacy ICT
• language skills
• Confidence self esteem
• Motivation

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Benefits of Comenius Projects

• Awareness of citizenship issues and the wider
  Europe
• Enhancing the curriculum
• Cultural awareness
• Staff development

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Funding

• Preparatory visits
• Project development
• Project meetings
• Teacher exchange
• Headteacher study visits
• Pupil exchange - Language Projects

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Elements of Good Project Application

• Realistic objectives (not too ambitious!)
• Detailed workplan budget clearly related to
  workplan
• Integrated into curriculum
• Active involvement of pupils
• Support of school management

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Elements of Good Project Application

• Age-appropriate tasks for pupils
• Evidence of collaborative approach to partnership
  activity
• Effective co-ordination
• Clear monitoring, evaluation and dissemination
  plans

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Starting out..
Partner finding

• PartBase - http//partbase.eupro.se
• Windows on the World - http//www.wotw.org.uk
• Contact seminars

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Starting out..

• Preparatory Visits
• Deadline - 1 March
• Further details http//europa.eu.int/comm/educat
  ion/socrates.html

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Comenius 2.1Teacher Training - Joint Projects

• Partnerships minimum 3 countries
• Outcomes - Training materials
• - Courses
• - Curricula

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Comenius 2.2Training Courses

• Multilateral groups
• 1 - 4 weeks
• Grants travel, subsistence fees
• Language Courses
• Language Skills
• Methodology

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Comenius 2.2Training Courses

• General courses
• Developing a European Dimension
• Cultural Heritage Identity
• Environmental Education
• Mentoring as a learning tool
• Strategies for inclusion

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Comenius 2.2Training Courses

• Comenius Course Database
• http//europa.eu.int/comm/education/
• socrates/comenius/activities/comenius2.html

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Comenius 2.2Comenius Assistants

• Prospective language teachers
• Support for European dimension across curriculum
• Authentic presence from another European Country
  - culture, language, perspectives
• 3 - 8 Months
• Resource available free to schools

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Grundtvig

• Promotes co-operation between adult learners and
  their tutors
• Supports a range of co-operation projects and
  professional development opportunities
• Aims to improve availability, accessibility and
  quality of adult learning and teaching

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Adult Education

• Anyone over the age of 25
• Anyone between 16-24 not in initial education
• Any type of organisation working with these
  target groups

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Grundtvig 1

• Joint projects e.g.
• teaching and learning materials
• assessment tools
• awareness-raising activities
• Direct involvement of adult learners in project
  activity

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Case Study -Parent Education Programme

• 8 countries
• Improvement of parenting skills
• Learning materials - 10 modules in 5 languages
• Tested by 100 parents in each partner country

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Grundtvig 2

• Smaller-scale, grass roots projects
• Non-formal, community-based adult education
  sectors
• Centred on adult learners and trainers, enabling
  joint work on topics of shared interest
• Practical outcomes e.g. websites, newsletters,
  exhibitions, displays

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Case Study - Overcoming Social Exclusion through
Learning

• UK, Italy, Austria and Sweden
• Comparing and exchanging good practice in
  teaching and working with marginalised groups
• Targeting learners at risk of developing mental
  health difficulties

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Grundtvig 3

• Professional development opportunities for adult
  education staff
• Courses, placements, exchanges
• Themes include citizenship, foreign languages,
  Traveller education, European dimension

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Grundtvig 3

• Course duration 1-4 weeks
• Funding
• travel
• subsistence
• course fees

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Grundtvig 4

• Networks relating to lifelong learning sharing
  good practice, disseminating innovation and
  encouraging new projects
• At least 6 institutions in at least 6 countries
• No involvement of National Agencies

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Case Study - Collect and Share

• 12 partners across Europe
• Promotes good practice and innovation via museums
  and galleries, stimulating informal and
  autonomous learning
• Uses networks of museums to disseminate outcomes,
  runs conferences and is developing a website

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Lingua

• Lingua 1 - awareness-raising activities
  promoting access to language-learning
  opportunities
• Lingua 2 - development of language teaching and
  assessment tools

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Case Study - Language Resource Centres

• Develop network of Language Resource centres
  sharing expertise across 13 European countries
• Expand access to new languages new services
  e.g. ODL new media
• Produce Good Practice Guide support an
  electronic network of LRCs.

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Case Study -Bulgarian for Foreigners

• CD ROM, videos, audio cassettes, a text book and
  a web site as an integrated Bulgarian language
  package
• Aimed at speakers of English, German, French,
  Flemish and Czech

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Minerva

• Surveys and analysis of the use of ICT in
  education and ODL
• Developing ICT/ODL-based learning tools,
  materials curricula
• Assessing the impact of ICT-based learning / ODL

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Case Study - Virtual Environments in Schools

• Potential of Virtual Environments in Schools to
  enhance curricula in schools
• Teacher training modules produced
• Web site developed to disseminate outcomes
• Transnational network of teachers, trainees and
  researchers across Europe established

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Centralised Projects Application Cycle

• Partner finding
• Contact Seminar
• Arion Study Visit
• http//siu.no/socpart
• Preparatory Visits
• Pre-applications 1 November
• (except Comenius 2.1)
• Full application 1 March
• Project start 1 October

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Centralised ProjectsFeatures of a Good
Application

• Detailed planning
• Project aim clear and relevant to target group
• Needs analysis taken place
• Target group clearly defined

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Centralised ProjectsFeatures of a Good
Application

• Balanced partnerships
• geography
• expertise
• range of institutions
• allocation of tasks
• Budget consistent with work plan
• Costs appropriate to size of project

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Centralised ProjectsFeatures of a Good
Application

• Project management well-planned and sustainable
• Effective dissemination strategy
• Outcomes transferable to other users
• Strategy for monitoring evaluation

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Arion

• One week multinational study visits
• 22 set themes
• Exchange of knowledge, ideas, experience.
• Opportunity for contacts

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Arion

• Target group - multipliers
• headteachers (principals)
• inspectors
• local and national decision makers
• teacher trainers

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ArionExamples of Study Visit Themes

• School leadership
• Information communication technology
• Special educational needs
• Language teaching
• Quality assurance

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Other Actions

• Accompanying Measures activities supporting
  other Actions
• Joint Actions with Leonardo da Vinci and Youth