KURS21Nord
Start date: Sep 1, 2016,
End date: Feb 28, 2018
PROJECT
FINISHED
Dublin West Education Centre is one of a national network of twenty-one Full Time Education Centres that collaborate with the Irish Department of Education and Skills in providing Continuing Professional Development for teachers in all the Republic of Ireland’s schools. Locally Dublin West Education Centre itself is responsible for CPD in 210 schools in West Dublin at both primary and post primary level. CPD is delivered in a variety of ways – these include day release for teachers, evening classes and on-line resources. At national level DWEC serves 4000 schools and 70,000 teachers through its management of the PDST. Furthermore it initiates and leads innovative projects locally and nationally. The school leaders involved in this consortium have a particular interest in leadership, management and innovation in education with specific interest in integrating immigrant students, nurturing twenty-first century learning environments, integrating ICT into curricula and encouraging enterprise and entrepreneurship in education. They have developed European Development plans with a firm focus on school improvement in conjunction with DWEC. The consortium wishes to participate in the NOFO training event in Oulu, Finland in September 2016, to contribute to and to learn from the activities of the training event which will be focussed on leadership, management and innovation in the context of enterprise in schools and of school visits. Furthermore they will learn the mechanics of a NOFO event and will use the skills learned to organise a NOFO training event in Dublin in September 2017.The main areas of improvement for the consortium are as follows.- developing an understanding among the school leaders of international best practice in school leadership and management.- Supporting consortium schools to address challenges of inclusion and diversity by assisting them to observe good practice in Nordic countries in the areas of integrating immigrant students and also coping with the challenges inherent in socially and economically deprived school communities.- Enabling consortium schools to study cutting edge theory and practice in developing curricula in enterprise and entrepreneurship in education with a view to supporting their efforts to build bridges between school and the workplace. - supporting the professional development of staffs within each school in the consortium by enabling an international dimension.- examining new methods of teaching and learning including the use of ICT to enhance and enliven the curriculum. -exploring best practice in Nordic countries and disseminating this in a Irish context.- raising staff awareness and understanding of other cultures and countries, offering them the opportunity to build networks of international contacts.The consortium comprises DWEC as consortium leader and twelve school leaders who work in schools partnering with DWEC. Divine Word, Gaelscoil Uí Fhiaich, Sacred Heart SNS, St Mark's SNS, St Martin's NS, Talbot SNS, San Carlo SNS, St Mark's Community School, Colaiste Bríde, Mercy Secondary School, Templeogue College and Colaiste Pobail SetantaIt is envisaged that involvement in the consortium will enable participating school leaders to have access to a much wider variety of methodologies and approaches. The connection of Irish school leaders to the NOFO project will have many long term beneficial effects for the Irish education system. Irish school leaders will collaborate with Nordic school leaders where together they will explore and subsequently use the most modern twenty-first century leadership, management and innovative practices.