Europe is becoming a learning society and citizens are required to constantly update their competences, not only with regard to the world of work but in an encompassing approach to participate in contemporary societies. Moreover, European societies face a rapid differentiation of educational pathways, opportunities and biographies. This increase in complexity from learners requires great effort into initiative taking, creativity, problem solving, risk assessment and decision taking, all of which requires learners to become stakeholders of their own learning process. It however has been demonstrated, that learner groups with a disadvantaged background or those remote from learning have great difficulties to take ownership of their learning, without being empowered. However, although a great deal of rhetoric about learner empowerment, adult education practice too often remains caught in traditional instruction methods, fixed curricula and pre-defined learning outcomes. It's in particular low achievers who suffer from this situation, because in the formal education system they often have made the experience that major parameters of their learning is out of their control, and thus never had the chance to develop a sense of ownership for their own learning. The PARTICIPATE partnership starts from the assumption that the impact on disadvantaged target groups can be greatly increased if education providers manage to adopt participatory approaches and methods, and this way support their learners to develop a sense of ownership of their learning and to become lifelong learners. The overall objective of the PARTICIPATE project is to promote participatory methods in adult education and, more specifically it will build a model for participatory design of learning outcomes. The PARTICIPATE project will identify and examine good practice in the field and, from them derive a generic model for the design of participatory evaluation and assessment of learning outcomes, whereby the adult learner is included in this process of setting their own outcomes and indicators. Instead of being initially presented with a final set of specific learning outcomes within an already agreed assessment framework, the learners are offered the opportunity to participate in determining how their course will be measured and evaluated. Complementary PARTICIPATE will promote participatory design of learning assessment, and support educators and practitioners on its implementation.The major target groups addressed in the framework of the PARTICIPATE project are migrants and refugees (Germany, Greece, Spain), traveller communities (Ireland) and Roma minorities (Romania) and adult education practitioners engaged with those target groups. A main result of the project will be the PARTICIPATE design model, which will reflect a) the elements and processes making a participatory approach, b) principles and guidelines for the participatory design of learning outcomes, c) recommendations on how the model can be integrated with existing adult education practice, as well as d) identification of capacities needed to effectively implement participatory design methods. The project will build a European community of practice, which shall help us a) to incubate the PARTICIPATE model in a collaborative setting and actively engage practitioners in the development process, b) to leverage the impact of the project through promotion and multiplying of project results, c) to continuously improve our work through critical debate with lifelong learning practitioners from outside the partnership, d) to identify and guide practitioners and organisations who would be interested in the application of our project results, and most importantly of all e) to ensure the sustainability of results. The partnership in all partner countries will organise focus groups, including adult learners from the different target groups. The purpose of the focus groups is to understand the perspective and needs of the target groups and involve them as stakeholders in the project design and implementation phase. The partnership in the course project will conduct 2 workshops, which will take place in Greece and Spain. The two workshops are described in detail, in Learning, Teaching, Training Activities.Last but not least the project will produce promotional materials and, promote the project and its results through a broad range of channels.The project is expected to have a significant impact on practices and attitudes of educational staff and practitioners. The participants in the course of the project will learn how to to include participatory approaches in course programmes for adults, and how to actively engage adult learners in the evaluation and assessment of learning outcomes. Moreover it is expected that the introduction of participatory methods positively affects the motivation of the target groups and, strengthens their sense of ownership for their learning.

The PULCHRA* project will explore the open schooling concept in the theme "Cities as urban ecosystems”, in view of creating new partnerships in local communities to foster science education for all citizens. Schools, in cooperation with other stakeholders will become agent of community well-being, taken that the theme to be explored encompasses the natural environment, the built environment and the socio-economic environment in cities. This is of great importance, taken that the urgency of cities to be approached as urban ecosystems is underestimated and limitedly linked to science education for all citizens. The methodology is based on pilot themes (termed as City Challenges) which create know-how, built trust in the science approach based on own experience, facilitate skilled use of tools and support community building as they are based upon the identity of the communities in which they take place. A City Challenges (technological) Platform is developed to bridge partners, schools and stakeholders; mixed Science Teams and students acting as City Reporters will explore and disseminate the City Challenges respectively. Our approach is situated in the own living environment. Engaging in environmental education has a direct impact upon the community and the personal lives of the participants. The benefit of international cooperation of the EU member states becomes obvious at the community level. The consortium is coherent and brings complementary expertise, whereas the project is supported by a wide variety of stakeholders in the participating countries, a fact which is considered an asset of the project and shows its replication potential. Finally the pilot themes to be explored within the project exhibit richness in science as they take note of several scientific fields as related to cities as urban ecosystems, they are supported by technology, bring in innovation and are directly linked to SDGs and the European policies for cities. *beautiful in Latin

The STRENGTh project will focus on increasing Social and Emotional competence in career counsellors. Due to the ongoing deep economic crisis with sharply rising unemployment, the European labour markets are expected to change profoundly and in this respect, lifelong guidance is increasingly considered as pivotal in assisting individuals to shape and manage their careers throughout their lives. Therefore the preparation of career guidance practitioners for dealing sufficiently with highly demanding labour market issues is considered vital for providing quality and effective services in career guidance and counselling. As career counselling, is the interaction between a career/guidance counsellor and a person, and is mostly based on understanding clients’ requests, communicating effectively and empathizing easily with others, showing sensitivity to their moods, feelings, temperaments, motivations, understanding and managing other people and developing healthy personal relationships, it’s absolutely necessary for the counselor to have improved social and interpersonal skills, Social Intelligence Skills, in order to establish a successful professional relationship with the clients and be effective professionals.The STRENGTh project will examine, analyse and measure the factors that define and form Social Intelligence, with a special focus in the field of career guidance professionals, who face enormous current and future challenges in converting knowledge and ideas into products and tailor made services according to their client’s diverse needs, for social and economic benefit. The aim of the project is to propose concrete solutions to train a new generation of socially aware career guidance professionals, able to develop and use interpersonal and social intelligence skills, in order to successfully build professional relationships and navigate diverse social environments. So the specific aims include the development of innovative methods and tools that enable career guidance practitioners in being more effective and improving their competences. The participants of the project are mainly guidance practitioners and their supervisors (700 persons) and other 200 experts and stakeholders in Career Guidance.The STRENGTh project will foresee the development of 5 Intellectual Outputs.The first intellectual output is a toolkit for developing Social and Emotional Intelligence skills, which will be developed according to a revision of the state of the art in International scientific literature and especially focusing in the research produced in partner countries regarding Social and Emotional Skills, and on other hand, presenting the most effective methods used for the improvement of those skills. The second intellectual output is a Report on Training Needs of Career Counselors, which will conclude on the main Social and Emotional skills that the practitioners need to develop so as to improve their efficacy as professionals. Based on the findings and conclusions reached by the Intellectual Output 1 ( Toolkit for developing S.E.I.skills) and Intellectual Output 2 (Handbook on needs), a program with specific techniques focusing on communication, persuasion, networking and several other skills that will evoke from the IO2 will be developed and later tested to Career guidance practitioners. The fourth IO will include an online program based on several strategies, exercises for improving 3 main social intelligence skills and additional information for counsellors. Lastly, the partnership will produce as IO5 a useful guide for career counsellors and trainers to improve their Social Intelligence Skills and to use it with the persons to whom they offer their services. The guide will be a practical, “how-to-do” guide for guidance practitioners so that they can implement the developed methodology and train themselves how to evaluate the level of Social and Emotional Skills and how to improve those skills so as to increase their efficacy as counsellors. The Project Coordinator will adopt a methodology based on participatory management approach in order to empower each partner and to comply with the commitments on which partners agreed during the project design phase and at the following check points. Each Intellectual Output will foresee a coordinator of the IO and the involvement of all partners.The STRENGTh project results will lead at improving competences and skills of guidance practitioners, so as to further assist their clients in better career decisions and career planning. Through the results of the project, the impact will be double : on the one hand the improvement of the competences and efficacy of professional practitioners and on the other hand the improvement of the employability and decision making of their clients.Regarding the general results, the project's expected results are in line with the strategic framework for education and training (Education & Training 2020 - ET2020) and with reference to othe

Global Local looks to explore and challenge the idea that outward mobility is only accessible to a minority of young people from privileged backgrounds. Whilst many opportunities for mobility exist within Erasmus and HE, the problem is that these experiences are far too daunting for students who have never left their local area. Indeed many teachers working in disadvantaged areas simply dismiss participation in mobility programmes as unsuitable for their students, since even encouraging them to travel to the next city presents a major challenge. For many leaving the familiarity of their (often quite small) local area for any kind of learning or work opportunity is a stumbling block with multiple barriers (financial, emotional, social) to overcome. Such attitudes usurp any of the career development, confidence building and growth opportunities of mobility, failing to acknowledge it as a key part of transition for all students. This can have a particularly great impact on young people considering their options for further education and future careers. Part of preparing school students for FE/HE or work means developing their readiness to move away from home, so that the full range of training and employment opportunities are available to them when they reach key transition points. Teachers and career professionals in school need support in addressing the issue from an early stage so that they are able to inform both the young people and their main influencers (parents etc) of the personal and professional benefits of being able to thrive in another city, region or potentially another country. A step-by-step approach is needed to guide young people through different degrees of mobility, from going to the next city for an FE Open Day to eventually taking part in an Erasmus exchange. To achieve the project’s aims, Global Local looks to engage with two main target groups: education and career professionals and the young people they work with. At the very least 96 participants will be involved across the project’s research, 200 participants during piloting and a further 200 attending the launch events. In terms of young people, the project will develop resources for them to use independently which both provide a new, challenging dimension to their learning and helps them to better understand the potential career options open to them in the future. Alongside this, the project will look to develop support tools for education and guidance professionals which help to improve these practitioners’ skills and confidence when it comes to engaging with digital resources and promoting outward mobility (regionally, nationally and internationally). This will have a positive impact on the quality of teaching, helping to improve the impact of guidance sessions on students’ overall aspirations and learning outcomes.Partners will look to harness digital advancements, in particular, in the use of game-based learning, to develop an interactive tool which allows young people to immerse themselves in mobility in a way they never have before, all in the safety of the school environment. This will include engaging with different ways of overcoming barriers to mobility (e.g. finances, transportation, social/emotional). It will also offer a fresh perspective and an entry point into discussions around broadening horizons and raising aspirations more generally – either by understanding local, regional, national or international labour markets (e.g. how) or looking at the benefits of mobility in terms of self-confidence and personal development.Whilst the project looks to produce an approach that can be used in a variety of locations across Europe, each partner will use a local region as a test case. These interactive games will be complemented by a series of offline resources (e.g. case studies, best practices, lesson plans, media, guidelines for engaging with parents etc), which will both add value to the learning process and make sure that project resources can be used in a variety of contexts. The experiences of developing these tools will also feed into a teacher toolkit, which will be designed to allow education and career professionals from across Europe to both make the most of the project’s outputs in a blended learning approach with young people, and understand how they can develop similar resources in their own context.Thus, the focus of project outputs will be on positively engaging with the idea of travel and mobility as a key part of career transitions. The project will challenge stereotypes and attitudes (I/our students/child would never leave my/their postcode) and, as a result, young people will be both more confident about employment opportunities outside of their local areas and be better informed to make career and education decisions that may involve moving to another city, region or country.

"The project aims to prevent early school leaving and school drop-out, through the development of career learning in primary schools and the improvement of teaching skills. Early School Leaving (ESL) is a serious and complex problem for Europe as it represents missed opportunities for young people and a loss of social and economic potential for the whole society. The idea of JOBLAND is to improve career learning at the first level of the school system in 6 Countries for preventing early school leaving, including schools, HE institutions and organisations involved in research and career guidance. The main aims of the Partnership were: To identify and develop teaching and learning approaches, methods and ICT resources that effectively support the development of Career Management Skills in primary schools, as transversal key competences; To develop evaluation methods and practices that improve the quality of Career Management Skills learning at school; To identify and develop training paths for teachers and school counsellors at European level. More than 110 schools were directly and indirectly involved in the project in 6 European countries. Beneficiaries of this project were:-912 teachers and school counsellors involved in the training paths and in the development and testing of the career guidance models and tools.-2461 pupils directly involved within 6 pilot actions for testing the models.-over 5000 teachers and stakeholders involved in events and on-line dissemination and exploitation activities.-over 450000 practitioners and teachers involved in wide open dissemination activities.The project fostered the idea of improving career education at school via an intervention to empower teachers with new skills, methodological resources and education materials (based on gamification and career learning theories), in order to prevent early school leaving and of educational disengagement.The main results of the project were to: 1 - Identify and develop teaching skills for teachers and coherent learning approaches, methods and ICT resources for the development of career education activities at school, within the European concept and framework of Career Management Skills (see Resolution on Lifelong Guidance 2008) as transversal key competences for managing lifelong study and work transitions; 2 - Develop assessment, evaluation methods and practices that improve the quality of learning of Career Management Skills; 3 - Identify skills and develop training paths in this field for teachers and school counsellors, transferable at European level; 4 - Provide coherent and ""user friendly"" tools for teachers and school counsellors in 6 languages.The set of tools and methodological documents of the JOBLAND project included: O1 - CAREER MANAGEMENT SKILLS - A methodological framework for career learning at school; O2 - CAREER TEACHING - Teaching and guidance skills for improving career learning at school; O3 - DESIGN MY FUTURE - Career Learning Units and Videotutorials; O4 - JOBLAND - Exploring careers - Educational game for schools; O5 - CAREER LEARNING AT SCHOOL - Handbook for teachers and practitioners; O6 - JOBLAND DAY - Career Learning in Europe - From theories to practice.The impact of project lies in the essential character of the JOBLAND consortium which enabled to gather institutional relationships and organisations that work at a national and international level in the education, training and guidance sectors, in each Country (Romania, Italy, Denmark, United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey).The impact of the project observed in the pilot actions revealed a great interest of students, teachers and practitioners for digital results, learning units with video tutorials and gamification. Assessment sheets completed by teachers and practitioners showed a great success of Jobland's intellectual results in school practice. 97% of the evaluations were very good, and the suggestions addressed subjective aspects of teaching. The project will certainly develop, in the coming years, a wide base of resources from each partner involved, which can be extended and combined to broaden the effect of the project at European level. In many countries participating in the project, these changes in teachers' mentality regarding the new educational strategy in career education are already being implemented starting with Jobland digital resources. In Romania, for example, the Jobland video tutorials and the Powtoon application, used to create these video tutorials, had a great impact in the context of the pandemic. Romanian Jobland experts have created many educational videos that have inspired the creation of videos throughout the Romanian counselling network. In the CMBRAE network, over 20 videos were created using PowToon, with a national impact on the education system. IO6-JOBLAND DAY, offered the greatest impact of the project at European level."