European teachers network

Participants:

• Käthe-Kollwitz-Schule (as the coordinating school)
• Tampere College - Institute of Health Care, Finland
• Cité Scolaire Erckmann Chatrian, France
• Institut Educacio Secundaria No. 27, Spain
• Colegio Aleman de Valencia, Spain

General objective:

Development of a curriculum for the implementation of European issues into the Social Care and Education training as well as the development of the necessary concepts and methods for the practical realization of this aim.

Project activities:

• Joint definition of European intercultural competence to make a draft curriculum with the main focus on "intercultural education" and to conduct internships in foreign countries within the area of social education or social care
• Definition of what the schools and the work places expect of the internship
• Presentation and documentation of "best practice projects" of the schools involved
• Drawing up an interdisciplinary curriculum for a "European course" in Marburg
• Development and establishment of "European courses in the participating schools in Phalsbourg and Tampere
• Development of "International tutoring groups" to support students working abroad in the host country
• Composing a phrasebook of basic vocabulary including every-day situations in English, German, French and Spanish, for students participating in internships in foreign countries (presentation at the project meeting in Tampere)
• Producing a CD "survival standards for trainees abroad" in 6 languages
• Developing a list of cultural "dos and don'ts" of the countries involved in the project
• Setting up an internet forum for all institutions involved, containing important reports, documents, project results and data
• Creating a COMENIUS page on the coordinating school's website
• Development of questionnaires for project evaluation. Conducting the self-evaluation with all those involved
• Producing a handout for teachers, instructors and students giving results and presenting material of the COMENIUS school development project

Leonardo Mobility project "Learning while doing in preschools and primary schools in Europe"

Since 2000 students of the "European course of the "Training Centre for Qualified Educators" (Two-year full-time course in care work and social work) have been able to apply for a 6 week internship abroad. During their internship in preschools and primary schools they explore concepts of early education in other European countries (so far in Italy, United Kingdom, France, Spain and Finland). The internship is prepared and evaluated in school, a supervising teacher visits the students during their practical time.
Below an "expectation guideline for students working abroad":

Bridge to Europe:

• " Write an application giving reasons for participating in an internship in a foreign location
• Improve your language skills ,e.g. through courses at school, 'Survival Trainer', language course outside school, CDs such as "Children's World" (Kinderwelt)
• Learn about the country/city of your destination (web pages, travel guide, city map)
• Get information about the institution (web pages, literature, talk to internship participants)
• Help to organize lodging, arrange your flight and insurance independently
• Get to know different systems, cultures and concepts of education and child care in Europe
• Get to know concepts of multilingual education
• Get information about the transition from preschool to primary school in European countries
• Be curious, outgoing and open towards the new situation and foreign people
• Plan and perform an intercultural activity with the children at your placement
• Improve your foreign language skills
• Learn to cope without your friends during the internship
• Stay in regular contact with your supervisor and your class in an internet platform (lo-net)
• Think about your experiences with the help of instructors
• Get help from your supervisor or instructor in case of conflicts and problems
• Bring along educational material from your country of origin and take home new material from your destination country
• Write your report for Leonardo for your course in "Competence in care work" and "Intercultural education" on time
• Write a report for the local newspaper
• Reflect on and evaluate your internship
• Present your experiences in front of a selected audience
• Be open to sharing your experience with future internship participants"

More international projects:

• Partnership Marburg (Käthe-Kollwitz-Schule)- Wisconsin (Technical College)
• Cooking in Europe - Regional cuisine (Participants: Wigan & Leigh College, Wigan, Great Britain/ Lycée Professionnel Hôtelier, Poitiers, France/ Käthe-Kollwitz-Schule)
• Comenius project foreign languages (Participants Käthe-Kollwitz-Schule and I.E.S. Valle de Turón, Spain)
• French-German on the job training for trainees in hotel management, catering and tourism (Participants Käthe-Kollwitz-Schule and Lycée Condorcet, Arcachon, France)
• "Special institutions and therapeutical concepts in Lithunia and Germany focussing on the region of Šilutés Rajonas and the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf" (Participants Käthe-Kollwitz-Schule Marburg and Vocational College Šiluté)