School&Work
Start date: Sep 1, 2014,
End date: Aug 31, 2016
PROJECT
FINISHED
The School&Work project aims at the prevention of early school leaving (ESL) making reference to the results of previous projects already successfully carried out by most of this project partners. The project will build on the experiences and results of existing projects, introducing an element of innovation based on the creation of a synergy between schools and world of work. The aim will be to motivate students to stay at school thanks to the feedbacks and support coming from the labour market. The feedbacks received from the world of work will make students at risk of dropping out aware of the full relevance of the skills acquired at schools for their future employability.
The strategy implemented in this project will be based on improving the professional profile of teachers and counsellors providing them with the skills and tools to:
- Offer a personalized guidance to each individual students, supporting the development of an individual educational path in line with their personal aptitudes and ability, hence, supporting their motivation to study.
- Foster equity and inclusion in education as the personalized guidance services will be provided, in particular, for the weaker students, i.e. those having educational difficulties, students with economic and social obstacles, immigrant students.
- Reinforce links between education and the world of work, making school students aware of which are the requirements and expectations of the labour market, underling how education provided at school will equip them with the skills to successfully access the labour market.
- Promote the development of an entrepreneurial spirit in students setting up for them effective links with innovative services that make it possible to carry out entrepreneurial projects at schools that can get funded through Crowdfunding platforms for education.
The project will therefore strengthen the capacity of school counselors and teachers, to cooperate with representatives from the labour market, so as to guide and support students from the beginning of their secondary school pathway.
The project will be organized in three main activities:
1) Creation two tool-kits for school counselors and teachers. The first one will help them to analyse and understand individual personal skills, interests and aptitudes of students and then to design and implement personalised guidance services to motivate students at risk of early school leaving to complete their studies and acquire the skills requested by the job market. The second one will help them to be aware of which are the job profiles required by the labour market and which are the necessary skills to fulfill them. Also, this second toolkit, will provide them with the skills to enhance the individual student’s entrepreneurial spirit.
2) Creation of the E-learning package that will guide teachers and counselors in using the Toolkits created in order to deal with students at risk of early school leaving and motivate them to continue and complete their education. The e-learning package will be organized in 6 main modules. The first and second one on how to understand students’ personal aptitudes so as to identify personalized their educational path that will enhance their motivation. The third one on the professional profiles searched by the labour market so as to raise students’ awareness of the importance of completing their school education to be prepared for the labour market. The fourth one on how to implement entrepreneurial initiatives at school so as to motivate students to transform their ideas into real projects in the school environment. The fifth module will focus on transnational mobility opportunities for school students that can also foster their motivation. The sixth one will focus on how to develop and implement effective guidance, counselling and support services for students in their early years of secondary education (i.e. for students aged 15-17 when they are most at risk of ESL).
3) Creation of Video gallery of Testimonials collecting interviews with successful entrepreneurs, successful employees and successful people to be used as reference with students to highlight the importance of completing school education for being successful at work and in life. Each of the testimonials collected will explain in a very direct, honest way, based on their personal history, that school education is very important and will encourage students to stay at school and complete their education.