Richard-von-Weizsäcker-Berufskolleg

The Richard-von-Weizsäcker-Berufskolleg (RvW-BK) is a vocational school of 2700 students and 133 teachers offering courses in a variety of different fields. The department of social studies in which our project is carried out consists of the following courses: > School for social pedagogy (leading to masters' or technicians' qualification)

Ø        School for social health care (leading to masters' or technicians' qualification)

Ø        Full-time Vocational Schools for social and health care with courses in child care, social

assistance and health care

Ø        School for social studies (leading to the entrance certificate for the university of applied

sciences)

Besides the schools concentrating on social studies, other departments of our school are business studies/administration. technology and home economics. It is this structure of our school which qualifies the applicant as a co-ordinating Institution for the project. The knowledge and skills of the other departments of our school, especially those of the department of technology will be relevant to the project as far as its Organisation and its content are concerned. In addition, the department which carries out the project (School for social pedagogy) is provided with rooms equipped with the latest technology and Computers which allow our students direct access to the Internet.

Moreover, the co-ordinating Institution has gathered experience of international projects in the context of LEONARDO DA VINCI II/Mobility since 1999. As a co-ordinating institution we receive support not only from the school's administration Offices but also from the logistics ofthe EU-Geschäftsstelle der Bezirksregienmg Münster (European Links Office, Regional Government of Münster).This is especially true for the support of the project and the spreading of its results, both on a national and international level.

In the context of the training of future pre-school teachers the application of audio-visual media in its largest sense will be developed and tested with regard to early technical education. This will be done by taking into account the specific characteristics of the socialisation of girls and boys and corresponds to the gender mainstreaming process. Dealing with this theme leads to a further development of inovative concepts the department and corresponds to the intentions of the school Programme.

Tasks: Co-ordination and evaluation of the project, development and testing of the pedagogic and didactic material applied in early technical education in the context of the training of pre-school and nursery teachers, development of a virtual database intended to spread the results of the projects continually, both on a national and international level, co-operation in the development oft he handbook.

Berufsbildende Schulen VII – Sozialwesen - Braunschweig

Braunschweig is the second largest city in Niedersachsen with a population of 250,000  and a regional cultural and economic centre

The Berufsbildenden Schulen VII (BBS VII) Braunschweig together form a vocational school for 540 young adults learning the German professions of ErzieherInnen und SozialassistentInnen, which allow the holders of these titles to work in kindergartens, youth centres and certain residential establishments, and give them the German school finishing certificates Fachhochschulreife, Fachgebundene Hochschulreife or Allgemeine Hochschulreife.

The following types of German school are included:

·          Berufsfachschule Sozialassistent/Sozialassistentin

·          Fachschule Sozialpädagogik with specialisms in

Intercultural work/Europe

Early technical education

Social networks

Youth cultures

·          Fachoberschule Sozialwesen

·          Berufsoberschule Sozialwesen

For the last 5 years the BBS VII has developed an overall European and intercultural profile. This manifests itself in various co-operation projects, as well as activities to prevent and to minimise right-wing extremism, xenophobia and violence. The school has won the right to call itself “Eine Schule ohne Rassismus” (“A school without racism”) which means that it has a continuous programme of initiatives to further understanding between cultures and individuals. It also won the first prize in the1999” Schülerfriedenpreis” (Peace Prize for Schools) competition for a project and exhibition on violence

In addition the school has supported a street children project in the town of Camiri in Southern Bolivia, by collecting 150 euro per month to allow 14 children aged from 5 to 13, who work as shoe cleaners or street hawkers, to have some schooling and a daily hot meal.

The school hosts an annual literature competition „die Eule“(„the owl“), and a project to help prevent violence called „Schritte gegen Tritte“ (“Steps against violence”)

It cooperates in the European Union programmes:

§          Socrates Comenius 2.1 on early technical education 2002-2004

§          Leonardo Da Vinci student mobility from 2001 onwards

§          Leonardo Da Vinci  teacher mobility from 2001 onwards

It also offers protection to those suffering fascist or racist attacks under the Aktion Braunschweiger Noteingang“ and gets involved in other projects on the themes of violence and racism in accordance with its political and social responsibilities.

Tasks: Development, testing and evaluation of pedagogical and didactic materials for nursery education and co-operation in the development of the handbook.

Volkswagen Coaching GmbH

Volkswagen Coaching Ltd. is a 100 % subsidiary of Volkswagen Inc. In December 2003 the 6 nationwide locations of business of VW-Coaching Ltd. employed 856 members of staff.  In 2003 the Company reached a turnover of 137 million and in the same year about 36.000 participants received training in about 4.100 training courses. Volkswagen Coaching organises the complete training of apprentices for Volkswagen Inc. At the moment apprentices can be found in 33 different jobs in the sectors of administration, technology and industry. Volkswagen Coaching Ltd. is working in the following fields: Apprentice & Further Training, Ideas Management, Management Development, Consulting, Coaching, AutoUni, Labour Market Projects. The main activity of Volkswagen Coaching lies in the vocational training of apprentices, in further education for staff members of Volkswagen and in development of a company. In the context of the vocational training of apprentices numerous international activities have been organised and carried out.

Tasks: Technical consulting/advice and support in the field of vocational training. Development, testing and evaluation of different experiments for the handbook. Co-operation in the development of the handbook.

Universitat de Barcelona

Staff members of the Universitat de Barcelona that take part in the realisation of this SOKRATES project belong to the Department of Didàctica de les Ciències Experimentals i de la Matemàtica (Science and Mathematics Education). The scientific background of these staff members lies above all in the field of physics, but the professional background relates to experimental sciences education.

The department concentrates mainly on the training of pre-school and primary teachers in the Faculty of Teachers Training. It takes also charge of the teaching of subjects involved in other studies as the Physics Education in the Curriculum of Physics at the Faculty of Physics.

In addition, the department offers an independent postgraduate programme named Informatics for teachers of primary and secondary schools, and a doctoral programme named Didàctica de les Ciències experimentals i de la Matemàtica, mainly addressed to science and mathematics secondary teachers.

Moreover, the staff members have gained experience in research on Experimental Sciences Education, ICT-based distance learning, advising primary and secondary schools relating sciences teaching, and in the creation of teaching materials.

In the context of the interrelationship between natural sciences, technology and society, the department of Science and Mathematics education contributes with its methodological and didactic knowledge and skills in order to reach the aims of the project.

Tasks: To cooperate in the provision of the didactic background of science and technical education, to develop and test didactic materials to improve early technical and scientific education and to cooperate in the development of the handbook.

Haagse Hoogeschool

The Haagse Hoogeschool (HHS) contributes the following knowledge and experiences to the SOKRATES project. For several years the Haagse Hoogeschool'has developed and produced technical modules and units which can be used by students for activities and work placements with children in order to create and realise a variety of products and applications. Guidelines and curricula support these activities. In the context of the preparation of their final exams, students deal more than 400 hours per year with subject-matters belonging to the field of technology. In the course of this phase in which some students also make use of the partner institutions of the university a variety of mechanical games, collections of teaching materials, ideas and didactic material are created. The HHS has fundamental knowledge in the field of the technical equipment of rooms at school and in activity centres in which students and children have the opportunity to learn about technical phenomena and apparatuses. The HHS co-operates with craftsmen and experts from electrical and metal industries which other courses and activities for teachers' training and education in the context of BTA-ME programmes. New forms of technical teaching are tested. During their work placements at school and in the courses students can develop and test technical materials.

Tasks: Development, construction and testing of mechanical-technical toys in order to support technical skills and creativity of children, co-operation in the development of the handbook.

University of Lisbon/Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education

The Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education of the University of Lisbon is a higher education school whose aims are teaching, research and community service in the areas of Psychology and Education.

The Faculty grants 5 years university degrees, masters and Ph. D in several branches of the Psychology and Education. It is a small school, with 104 teachers, most of them with Ph. D, and about 1000 students enrolled.

In what concerns psychological area, the Department of Psychology reaches a large rank of study and research areas, namelly in the clinical, counselling and social domains.

In what concerns its relations to the educational and vocational systems, the Department of Sciences of Education has a wide experience namely in pre-service adults education, in-service teacher training in connection to secondary schools and teacher training centres, post-degree of teachers and trainers in several areas of specialisation (such as adults education, teacher training, schools administration and curriculum development), and research in education area.

Concerning the research area, the Department Unit for Research and Development in Education has a long experience in international co-operation, being a partner or the responsible institution in several international research projects in subjects related to teacher training, vocational training, adults education, social exclusion and discrimination, TIC and educational multimedia, evaluation of teaching and training processes and school governance.

Among its students, the Faculty counts with some pre-school and basic school teachers providing the Faculty with their teaching experiences with children. Those experiences, being shared with all students and teachers, became research subjects and contribute for the production of knowledge in pre-school and basic school teaching and teacher training.



Tasks: Discussion about the state of early education and about the child, his characteristics and learning processes; development, testing and evaluation of the materials; development of experiments in order to be included in a virtual handbook for early technological education; pedagogical analysis of handbook contents."