Search for European Projects

Unterstützung der interkulturellen Öffnung der Erwachsenenbildung durch europäische Mobilität (We-Mobil)
Start date: Sep 1, 2014, End date: Aug 31, 2016 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Adult education colleges (VHS) quite often are the only institution to offer education for adults in rural areas. So they have a special role in establishing a “culture of welcome”. However, a comprehensive research study suggests that only about 10% of all VHS have already taken actions and tied them to their quality management processes. In rural areas, to which large parts of Hessia, Saxony and Thuringia belong, only about 0.1% of the VHS are actively involved. In many VHS only one person has the necessary competencies to work with newly arrived migrants. The other staff members of the institution feel quite often overwhelmed with the task of supporting migrants. They lack the necessary language skills as well as the necessary sensibility for the special situation newly arrived migrants are in. It is necessary to develop the potentials of the institution and of all staff members. In addition, underprivileged learners are not reached sufficiently. As examples, it is quite difficult to offer education courses that are attractive to migrants following their integration language courses. The pedagogical staff and teachers lack strategies and methods to interest them for further education chances or to address them in a successful way. The project planned to offer mobility chances for all staff of VHS and other institutions of adult education to encourage them to develop their intercultural understanding in order to allow for a better quality of adult education and to widen the provision with regard to new target groups. For that reason three groups of staff are addressed: 1. Permanently employed pedagogical staff of VHS who is responsible for planning provision, strategic development of the institution and to work with the teachers. 2. Staff in administration that are quite often the very first contact for potential participants in the education. 3. Freelancers who carry out the courses and trainings. The project gave all three groups the opportunity to develop their professional competencies and to learn about the different education systems in the different European countries. Further to learn about motivation of learners, educational biographies of multicultural groups of learners and to widen their repertoire of methods and strategies. Above all they would develop their social competencies with regard to reflection, empathy and their conflict solving strategies. The development of the competencies is evaluated in 7.1. 100 mobilities were carried out in the project. These took place in form of 83 trainings as well as 16 job shadowings for a more intensive immersion into the topics and to learn about innovative examples of good practice and one teaching acivity. The project also pursued mid- and long-term objectives. The project fostered to embed intercultural opening as cross-sectoral theme in all processes of quality management of adult education institutions within the project and well beyond the life time of the project. In the long run this would lead to an improvement of and attractiveness of provision. So the project contributes to the European objective of raising the participation in further education to at least 15% of the adult population. The project allows for professional exchange of experience between the participating European institutions which also contributes to the internationalization of adult education. The project offered great chances for transfer of learning experiences on all levels of the partners’ networks. That included all levels of society of which adult education colleges are a renowned part.
Up2Europe Ads

Coordinator

Details

Project Website

2 Partners Participants