WHAT IS THE PROJECT ABOUT?

Challenges in Schools is an international project which we are undertaking between March 2008 and May 2009. It focuses on the social and economic issues facing education systems across Europe.

Rapid global and European change is placing huge demands on traditional educational structures as schools struggle to adapt to the challenges of living with diversity and fostering educational and community cohesion.

Schools can provide a safe environment in which young people can exchange experiences, ideas and aspirations and propose creative and innovative solutions to issues affecting their lives, thus enabling young people to become more active citizens.

The project involves 50 schools from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom, who in groups of 4 schools will aim to develop the students’ vision of the school of the future in two areas:

The safe school:

			dealing with bullying and violence,
			preventing drug and alcohol abuse,
			role of the school in the community,
			intercultural understanding,
			defusing violence in the school and at home,
			the healthy citizen – diet and fitness,
			fostering equity.

The knowledge economy:

			environmental awareness,
			entrepreneurship,
			promoting creativity, flexibility and risk-taking,
			the role of ICT in the learning process,
			making knowledge accessible to all.

In so doing we aim to:

			use ICT tools extensively,
			develop the skills of negotiation, co-operation, tolerance, and intercultural awareness that are needed in the new Europe,
			develop a participative, constructive and safe learning environment,
			develop leadership skills amongst teachers and senior students,

WHAT DO WE WANT TO ACHIEVE?

Involve school students, teachers, head teachers and educationalists in producing a set of blueprints of the school of the future focussing on the knowledge economy and the safe school.

We believe that the vision of the school of the future has the potential to influence positively the decision-making processes in ministries of education and that there will be opportunities for the principles of the ‘school of the future’ to be embedded in national education systems.

WHAT ARE THE KEY STAGES OF THE PROJECT?

	February 2008:			selection of schools
	March 2008:			contact seminar in Prague to establish school clusters and develop the themes
	June – September 2008:			planning of teacher /students school visits between clusters of schools
	October -November 2008:			school visits take place where students plan their activities over the next months
	Spring 2009:			students present their visions at a final regional conference to key decision makers and presentations to national experts/policy makers

WHICH SLOVENE SCHOOLS ARE INVOVLED?

Gimnazija Vič, Ljubljana – contact Helena Vičar

Gimnazija Franca Miklošiča, Ljutomer – contact Jernej Jakelj

Škofijska Gimnazija Antona Martina Slomška. Maribor – contact Bojana Panevski

If you have further questions, please contact Danila Beloglavec