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Comenius Journal l 1

JOURNALAssociation

de l´AssociationComeniusof the

September 2003

JOURNALAssociation

de l´AssociationComeniusof the

No. 15September 2006

2 l Comenius Journal


The scale of current economic andsocial change, the rapid transition to aknowledge-based society anddemographic pressures resulting froman ageing population in Europe are allchallenges which demand a newapproach to education and training.

At the European Council in Lisbon inMarch 2000, government leaders setthe EU a 10-year mission to become“the most competitive and dynamicknowledge-based economy in theworld, capable of sustained economicgrowth with more and better jobs andgreater social cohesion”. Lifelonglearning is a core element of thisambitious strategy, central not only tocompetitiveness and employability butalso to social inclusion, activecitizenship, tolerance and personaldevelopment.

On 21 November 2001, following theStockholm European Council of March2001, the Commission adopted aCommunication concerned withMaking a European Area of LifelongLearning a Reality. The purpose of theCommunication was “to identifycoherent strategies and practicalmeasures with a view to fosteringlifelong learning for all”. It proposed adefinition of lifelong learning,strategies and concrete proposals for

actions, and explained how theimplementation of the European areaof lifelong learning will be takenforward.

Lifelong learning is defined in theCommunication as “all learningactivity undertaken throughout life,with the aim of improving knowledge,skills and competence, within apersonal, civic, social and/oremployment-related perspective.” Itimplies raising investment in peopleand knowledge; promoting theacquisition of basic skills; andbroadening opportunities forinnovative, more flexible forms oflearning. The purpose of the StockholmCommunication is to provide peopleof all ages with equal and open accessto high-quality learning opportunities,and a variety of learning experiences.

Throughout Europe, educationsystems have a key role to play inmaking this vision a reality. Indeed, theCommunication stresses the need forMember States to transform formaleducation and training systems inorder to break down barriers betweenthe different forms of learning that maybe traditional within the MemberStates.

Lifelong learning is the guiding

principle for the Community actionprogrammes: Socrates, Leonardo daVinci and Youth. These offer a widerange of possibilities ranging fromsupport for school-businesspartnerships, teacher placements andexchanges, youth initiatives, studenttravel grants, adult education,language teaching and learning in orderfor there to be productive exchange ofideas, information and good practice.These programmes have been renewedover many years, with increasedfunding and with a re-design ofprogrammes requirements in order tomeet current needs of applicants. Theircentral message is to call upon thoseinvolved in education and training inEurope to take responsibility for thecreation of a European area of lifelonglearning.

The new Integrated ActionProgramme in the field of lifelonglearning 2007-2013 comprises sectoralprogrammes with regard to schooleducation (Comenius), highereducation (Erasmus), vocationaltraining (Leonardo da Vinci) and adulteducation (Grundtvig), and iscompleted by transversal measuresand an additional Jean Monnetprogramme focusing on European

Making a “European Area of LifelongLearning” a Reality

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE COMENIUS ASSOCIATION

”When planning for a year, plant corn.When planning for a decade, plant trees.

When planning for life, train and educate people.”Chinese proverb: Guanzi (c. 645BC)


integration. The purpose is to fosterinteraction, cooperation and mobilityacross and between education andtraining systems within theCommunity – thus generating a worldquality frame of reference .

Educators and trainers, together withthe other contributors (withingovernments, companies, researchinstitutions etc.), all need tocontribute, to the development of theCommunity as an advanced knowledgesociety. The recent and furtherenlargement of the European Unionpoints up the importance of the role oflife-long learning, if even moresustainable economic development,more and better jobs and greater socialcohesion is to be attained.

Following the European developmentsin (higher) education, the ComeniusAssociation decided to focus on anumber of high-priority topics: staffmobility (2005), internationalisation at

home (2006), curriculum development(2007). Those topics are at the centreof attention during the bi-annualmeetings of the Comenius Association.They are meant to inspire the memberinstitutions to jointly set up newinitiatives, facing the challenges ineducation and training and workingtowards a European area of lifelonglearning.

For the fifteenth edition of theComenius Journal, the central themesof ‘Staff Mobility for ProfessionalDevelopment’ and ‘Lifelong Learning’were chosen. I am convinced the readerwill learn from the contents of thecontributions. Because reading is“mental travelling” and “mentalmobility” is at least as important asphysical mobility for interculturalunderstanding.

Enjoy reading this journal, and goodluck in your lifelong learning career.

Inge Piryns


EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL


The Bologna Declaration signed in1999 by 29 countries started a far-reaching reform of EuropeanHigher Educational Systems. Thechanges initiated by the BolognaProcess in Universities and inrelated institutions like TechnicalUniversities, Colleges, ArtSchools, Schools of Education, etc.seem to have a greater impact inGerman speaking countries than inareas with an Anglo-Saxonuniversity tradition.

Before Bologna, German andAustrian universities operated inthe “Humboldt tradition”. Wilhelmvon Humboldt was a great reformerof his time. Through his reforms inthe early 19th century, universitiesbecame independent from politicaland religious (church) influence.He proclaimed freedom ofknowledge for the “world ofacademia”. Students were expectedto pursue their studies until theyknew all there was to know at theirtime. The actual length of studieswas not really an issue of anyimportance. At an Austrianuniversity it took, and still takes,students five or more years tocomplete a Master’s which used tobe the first degree to be awarded atuniversity level.

I would like to describe my ownpersonal experience when I was astudent of German and English

literature at the University of Viennain the early 1970ies. One of myprofessors was known to discuss nomore than three or four student papersper semester, even though each personin a group of 30 students had to writea paper and hand it in. My paper wasamong those not dealt with, eventhough I had handed it in well aheadof time. When I asked him about it, hegave me a fatherly look and thefollowing advice: “You are still veryyoung and you have lots of time topursue your studies until you know asmuch as Erasmus of Rotterdam knewat his time.” Students’ efforts countedlittle, professors were the dominantstars of the lecture halls.

Since Bologna all this is beingchanged. Universities have to altertheir system from two cycles (Master -PhD) to three-cycles (Bachelor –Master - PhD). Bachelor degrees arejust now being introduced in Austrianinstitutions of higher education. InDecember 2005 Austrian Universitiesoffered 191 Bachelor and 248 Masterdegrees, which shows that theBachelor award is not common in allfields of study. Technical Universities(Fachhochschulen) offered at the sametime 65 Bachelor and 13 Masterdegrees. These numbers would seemto indicate that Technical Universitiesfounded at the end of the 20th centuryare more flexible in adapting theircourse programmes to the new

situation, and a law enacted in 2005will change the status of TeacherEducation Academies toPädagogische Hochschulen andintroduce Bachelor of Educationdegrees for primary, secondary andspecial needs teachers.

Other changes may not be asspectacular, but they haveconsiderable impact.

Bologna focuses on the students’ - noton the teachers’ work. Even atuniversities a teacher’s role now is thatof an adviser and facilitator, rather thanthe sole source of knowledge.

The European Credit Transfer System(ECTS) was developed. Studentsreceive ECTS credits for their work, nomatter whether it means sitting in aroom listening to a lecture, attending aseminar, a workshop or a tutorial,studying for a test, preparing a paperor a speech, doing internet research,working in a library or in a lab, or justdoing menial work like copying ortyping. 25 – 30 hours of a student’swork are rewarded with one ECTScredit. It takes 180 ECTS credits toreach a Bachelor degree, 90 with 120ECTS credits on top of that to graduateat a university or at a related institutionon a Master’s programme.

Graduates are expected to continuetheir education in an on-going way.Life-long-learning and creditaccumulation are major issues for

The Impact of Bologna on HigherEducation in Austria

Maria Felberbauer

GUEST ARTICLE

Pädagogische AkademieVienna


future generations of Europeancitizens, who are expected to beresponsible for their own learning andto continue it throughout theirprofessional lives. Should theseoutcomes of Bologna become fullyimplemented, occupational andeconomic development will beenhanced.

The Bologna protocol aims attransparency and comparability ofeducational achievements. Togetherwith the academic title of an award, aso-called “Diploma Supplement” isissued free of charge. DiplomaSupplements provide information as tothe content of an academic award, adocument that promotes Europe-wideemployability and mobility.

Whilst student and teacher mobilityencourages dissemination ofknowledge and teaching technique,personal contacts with other countries,helps to promote interculturalunderstanding and can be an importantissue in the process of peace-keeping.Prejudices and stereotypes may bediminished if one gets the chance tomeet and work with people from anothercountry. Austrians are quick at puttingothers into boxes. The Germans are ….,the English are …….. , the French are………, the Turks are ……., used to be

the common opinion of the oldergeneration. Young Austrians are heardto say “I personally know Germans,English, French, Turks etc. who arecompletely different.” These are thefirst positive effects of student andtrainee exchange programmes. Mobilestudents, trainees and teachers receivegrants from the European Union.Austrian participants are heavilysupported with Austrian taxpayers’money. However, if the 21st century canbe kept free from military conflicts inEurope the money is well spent.

Some aspects of the Bologna processlend themselves to criticism: forinstance, measuring the work ofstudents by assuming how long ittakes them to complete it and at thesame time possibly disregarding thequality of their work may seem far-fetched. ECTS credits are based on anaverage workload defined by thedevelopers of course programmes and/or by the teachers, whose estimationsmay be correct or way off the mark.Modularisation of programmes tendsto make course programmes ratherrigid. Frequently international studyprogrammes are frequently only partlycomparable and/or compatible withcourse programmes in homeinstitutions, but students may receivecredits for them nevertheless. Last but


I have for many years had the pleasureof visiting several colleagues indifferent countries, mostly in meetingsbut also on a staff exchange. For methe weeks in other universities havebeen like treasure chambers of newinputs as a teacher education lecturer.Every time I meet the Swedisheducation students, I can mention anduse the different things I have seen,and discuss the topics that reallydifferent from my school system inSweden. Most of all, I have enjoyedbeing able to go on school visits.Having the possibility of seeingteachers in action or student teachersin action, helps me to widen my mind. Iwant to share with you an example ofthis from one of my visits abroad.,

I went to a country for a staffexchange, I have been in this countryseveral times so this experience wasnot new, but I felt that it was. Why?What did I see and what did I learn?Well, I saw an attitude towards thestudent teachers that was new for me!It was forcing, negative and brutalattitude. How could this help thestudent?

I followed a colleague to a school tovisit a second year student to observea lesson. I thought the lesson quitegood, but my colleague did not. Thelecturer showed through an angryattitude, and negative words and

behaviours, that this was “really bad”.I was so surprised that I thought that Ihad visited a different class to mycolleague.

I had seen a really nice warm studentteacher who gave attention to everychild in the classroom. Every child thatasked the student something, lookedat her or answered her, was met by thewarm face of a student teacher whoreally showed the children that she wasthere for them. I saw a student teacherwho was really trying to do the rightthing and who looked as if she tried tofind an approach that she thought wasgood for the children.

My colleague saw instead a studentthat failed, because she did not useextra inputs or methods, she justfollowed the book of what to do in thesubject.

What I did learn?

I learned that we see the student fromdifferent angles. I looked at the studentas a becoming colleague; my colleaguelooked at a student with a markingdocument in front of her. And we askourselves if there is a right or wronganswer? Is it the student, the teacheror the lecturer or is it possible that thesystems we work with are holding usback in developing better ways ofeducating? Is it possible that we visiteach other and compare differences

between our systems without thinkingor knowing what might be the core ofthe system?

Well, hopefully we do learn new thingsto add to our professional knowledge,but are we able to use this new learningfor change for the better? We workquite hard at using this knowledge tochange the structure of the curriculum- credits, modules, courses etc, butwhen it comes to attitudes, we so easilystay in the frame-work “of the rules”and what we think is normal in oursystem! So what can we actually bringhome after a staff exchange? Is itpossible to go away for a week andlearn for life? I believe that we can learnfrom other people’s attitudes and thesealso help us to understand why wehave the attitudes that we have. Thisinformal learning is as important as thestructured learning which we normallyassociate with teacher education.

Some of my colleagues think that theonly way to become a really goodteacher is to stay at home with in yourown system.. But when you talk withexchange students, they think theopposite. Many students believe thatan Erasmus exchange develops themand that it really is an important part oftheir lifelong learning also that ithelped them to find new approachestowards becoming better teachers.Perhaps, eventually, this might result

Staff Exchange – a Process for LifelongLearning

Kia Kimhag

University of GävleSweden

PERSPECTIVES


in subtle changes to their own schoolsystem..

Why can’t we as lecturers learn anduse the new experiences in our ownsystem?

Where is our power to develop andcreate a better teacher education?

Use your experience from yourexchange! For me this experience tovisit other colleagues, to have lessonsamong other students is a great feelingand a great possibility to learn. What Ithink I can give my students at homeis a small box of my experience from aSwedish point of view. A learning thathas been going on for nearly ten yearsas a part of the activities that changeme as a lecturer.


Teacher education in Denmark istraditionally nationally oriented and weeducate teachers in such a way as tocreate a feeling of national identity intheir pupils.

Some political parties in Denmark areof the opinion that national culture andtraditions can be transferredunchanged from one generation to thenext in spite of our increasinglymulticultural society. Politicians wouldseem to believe that increasedinternationalisation inevitably meansa loss of national identity. Asinternational coordinators we try tochange this view, particularly throughproviding opportunities for teachereducation students to travel abroad tostudy.

The current regulations for teachereducation to some extent preventinternationalisation and have made itvery difficult for our students to goabroad during their studies. Studentshave to study four subjects in fouryears, and these subjects are sointerwoven that it is difficult to leavefor an Erasmus stay and to get creditfor the study abroad. Because of theseconstraints we have only sent out twoout of 1700 students in the 2005/6period.

In the light of this, internationalisation“at home” becomes even moreimportant in preparing studentteachers for a global society. Attracting

foreign students to our Erasmuscourses and to the international week,brings about an international“atmosphere” and contributes to afeeling of “Internationalisation athome”.

In-coming teachers bring internationalperspectives to school and educationinto classrooms without it beingcontrived. Guest teachers may have agreat impact because of the number ofstudents and teachers they meetduring their stay (and indeed in ourexperience some of our own teachershave been motivated to undertake aperiod of study abroad). Host andguest can, and do , compare theirsystems and teaching approaches andbecome aware of strengths andweaknesses of each, and in some casesnew ideas will be passed on, exploredand developed.

In spring 2005 we had a visit fromVienna by Dr. Maria Felberbauer, whoparticipated in some English classesand presented the Austrian system ofteaching English from the first year inschool and the principles of CLIL(Content and Language IntegratedLearning). Both students and teachersgot very interested in this model. InDenmark there are no experiences ofusing CLIL – unusual for an Europeancountry. In turn in the autumn 2005Jette Laursen went to Vienna to explorethe Austrian system, visit classes ofearly English teaching and engage in

discussion with teachers.Additionally, one of the undergraduatestudents of English was inspired bythe Austrian guest teacher and usedthe information from the Austrian visitin her research, (resulting in anunusually innovative andexceptionally good paper on earlylanguage learning). Thus two verypositive outcomes from anInternational exchange.

Whilst we welcome exchanges andvisits, it is always helpful to have someprior advice!

· The school year in Denmark startsrather early compared with most ofEurope, already in the middle ofAugust. Holidays are in week 42and week 7.

· The period after Easter is not themost profitable as only very fewlessons will be offered and bothteachers and students are stressedbecause of examinations.

· Advance notice (possibly sixweeks ahead) is helpful in order tomake appropriate arrangements.

The stages of the process ofpreparation for a teacher visit arenormally as follows:-

· Background information as tosubject and area of particularinterest and topics for lessons.

· Discussion is preferred to a lengthy

Staff Mobility and Internationalisationat Home

Tove Heidemann and Jette LaursenUniversity College CVU SønderjyllandDenmark


lecture, but a

· presentation of the educationalsystem of the guest teacher’scountry is and a discussion ofsimilarities and differences isalways very welcome. (In generalour students understand English.)

· All teachers within our institutionare informed of the forthcomingvisit through our weekly internalnewsletter. (A direct mail withsupplementary information is sentto the specific Danish teachersassociated with the visit)

· Interested teachers engage with theInternational co-ordinator toproduce a working programme.

· Opportunities for informalexchanges (e.g. over lunch) arebuilt into the programme, to allowfor reflection and the generation ofopportunities for further exchangeand collaboration..

- ACCOMMODATION IS ORGANIZED(USUALLY AT THE “HOTELHARMONIEN”, www.harmonien.dk,which has special prices for ourguest and which is situated in thecentre of the town, 5 minutes’ walkfrom the university college).

· School visits can also be organized.

Whilst the “take-up” of visits abroad

for our teachers is satisfactory wewould like to extend this. The nationalComenius rules do not allow the sameteacher to get a grant every year soevery year we need new teachers toapply. The teachers are encouraged toengage in the exchanges and visits byreading the reports of former stayswhich are stored at our electronicconference system Black-Board and bytaking part in the in-house Englishcourses. Usually our teachers returnfrom a stay having had goodexperiences. They have felt welcomedby their hosts and well taken care of.(However, some of them are surprisedthat it can be so hard to communicatewith foreign students in English!)

In the end, the greater the co-operationbetween ourselves and our partners,the more confident and enthusiasticour teachers are likely to be aboutInternationalisation and exchange andstudy abroad.

The latest national news is that theGovernment has proposed a new lawon teacher education. It opens up forincreased student mobility andinternational cooperation. We are verymuch looking forward to the lawbecoming implemented, (which willprobably happen in 2007-08) and tofurther and extended Erasmus co-operations.


While, over the last few years, thenumber of students who participate inshort exchanges, intensiveprogrammes or longer periods of studyabroad has markedly increased, staffmobility within Europe still seems toneed stimulation and support.

Our conference at Klingenthal in May2006 was largely devoted to discussingreasons why many lecturers hesitateto travel abroad, and to findingsolutions and ways to promote staffmobility in general.

Besides language difficulties, timeproblems and lack of support fromhome universities, one of the obstaclesmentioned at the conference was thatit is often quite difficult for institutionsto fit a visiting lectureship into theirsyllabus. The colleague from abroadmight be genuinely welcome, his/herlecture or workshop of obviousinterest, but still – which of the homestaff will be ready to “sacrifice” theirprecious teaching time to give theirguest the opportunity to speak to thestudents? And will the students beinterested and willing to attend? Willthey appreciate the chance to listen tosomething that does not directlybelong to the course they are on, orwill they feel like they are wasting timein order to appear polite? As a possibleconsequence, being a guest lecturermight give you the feeling that you aremore or less a burden to your hostsand a nuisance to your audience.

Vienna’s “EUROPEAN VILLAGE“Staff Mobility and Internationalisation at Home

Brigitte Bruschek

Pädagogische AkademieVienna

While still at Klingenthal and strollingalong the romantic garden paths of thechateau, Maria Felberbauer and myselfdeveloped an idea that would approachthe matter from a different angle. Wewanted to give visiting staff thefeeling of being truly looked forwardto, both by colleagues and students,through integrating guest lectures intoour syllabuses.

Back in Vienna we started to realise theidea we had thought up at Klingenthal.We created an international course,called “European Village”, which wasto be run for 2nd and 3rd year studentsas an optional interdisciplinarysubject. And this is what we offered toour students:

“EUROPEAN VILLAGE”

Aims and objectives:This course will give you theopportunity to meet lecturers fromvarious European countries. You willtake part in discussions and workshopsand thereby have the chance of gettingflesh-and-blood experience of Europeat home. Come and improve yourinternational competence!

Contents:§ How to integrate the European

Dimension into the syllabus(topics, methods)

§ How to realise Europeaneducational programmes in school(school visits)

§ The Educational systems of otherEuropean countries

§ Typical features of some Europeancountries (culture, history,traditions)

Language ofcommunication: EnglishAssessment: PortfolioThe students who enrolled for our“European Village” in the autumn term,were people looking forward to gaininginsights into European matters aspresented by Europeans in person,gathering information and experienceconcerning how to integrate theEuropean dimension in their teachingat school, and listening to teachersfrom abroad talking about theircountries and their particular fields ofresearch. In addition, a symposiumwith prestigious experts both frompolitics and education was hosted byour institution, where our students hadthe opportunity to participate.

To put it in a nutshell – our “EuropeanVillage” turned out to be a hugesuccess! We had three visitors – JetteLarsen from Haderslev, Denmark, PaulStephens from Stavanger, Norway and


Gerry O’Reilly from Dublin, Ireland –who gave outstanding lectures, whichwere highly appreciated and acclaimedby our students.

Jette, Paul and Gerry very muchenjoyed their stay in Vienna (at leastthis is what they said!), feeling part ofthe system rather than possiblyupsetting it. After all it makes adifference whether you have beenwarmly invited to come or just beentolerated politely, doesn’t it?

At the end of the course we askedstudents for their feedback. This iswhat some of them wrote:

… a really good idea to invite lecturersfrom abroad…/ …very interesting firsthand experiences…/ …I really enjoyedit…/…I don’t regret having picked the

course…/ …I knew it would be a goodchoice…/ …please do this type ofcourse again…/ …I got to know a lotabout the countries…/…invitingvisiting lecturers is the best thingabout the course…/ …thank you forthe organisation and the variety oftopics…

I think we can be quite satisfied withthe result of our first “EuropeanVillage” and I would like to thank ourguest lecturers Jette, Paul and Gerryfor their visits. After all they havesomehow brought their countries toAustria and thereby contributed to ourstudents’ “internationalisation athome”. For those who, for one reasonor another, can’t spend an Erasmusterm in a foreign country, the“European Village” is a convenient andrewarding alternative.


Dr. Joan Maria Senent

Professeur Titulaire d’EducationComparée

Université de Valencia (Espagne)

ABSTRACT

This article presents an analysis ofacademic mobility in the EuropeanUnion since the beginning of theErasmus program. The evolution ofstudent mobility is analyzedquantitatively for the period of the lastten years, and the progression of suchmobility is charted graphically. Thearticle examines the patterns ofmobility in their varying cycles, andconcludes that in spite of the increasein absolute numbers of Erasmusstudents, the rate of increase in take-up has been falling in later years. Thismight suggest that there is somestagnation of the programme.

The article finishes with somesuggestions that might help overcomethis stagnation and promote themobility of teachers and students. Inthe light of the words of JacquesDelors, in the report to the UNESCOCommission on Education for 21stcentury, the Comenius Association isin a position to facilitate greater co-

operation between our institutionswith regard to mobility, and to providean excellent vehicle to enhancepersonal and intercultural relations –elements which are key for theadvancement of a European HigherEducation Area.

LES PROCESSUS DE MOBILITEDANS LE NOUVEAU MARC DEL’EEES

Si un des objectifs du processus deBologne est de renforcer la mobilitéentre les universités européennes,nous nous devons nécessairementdemander dans quelle mesure les sixannées passées depuis la Déclarationde Bologne ont accentué cette mobilité

et quelle a été l’évolution générale decette dernière depuis le début duprogramme ERASMUS, qui marquesans doute la première pierre de cephénomène. Si nous observons lesnuméros de mobilité d’étudiantsERASMUS espagnols et européens quise déduisent du graphique, nousvoyons qu’il existe une fortecroissance dans le nombre d’étudiantsdepuis le début du programme tantdans le cas européen que dansl’espagnol (fig. 1).

Toutefois si nous analysons enprofondeur le rythme de croissance,nous voyons que dans les quatretriennats considérés il a clairementdiminué et se maintient dans une

LES PROCESSUS DE MOBILITE DANS LENOUVEAU MARC DE L’EEES

Abbildung 1


situation de diminution en ce quiconcerne les six dernières années, cequi est clairement observé suivant surle pourcentage du rythme de croissance(fig 2).

Ce qui nous confirme la similitude dela tendance entre les étudiantsespagnols et ses homologues del’Union Européenne et par conséquentle fait du ralentissement du rythme decroissance de la mobilité, tandis qu’ilnous montre que ce rythme a été unpeu inférieur dans le cas espagnol ence qui concerne la moyenne de l’UE.Cette diminution du rythme decroissance de la mobilité est aussipareille si nous analysons la mobilitéde professeurs. Encore avec desdonnées seulement des dernières sixannées, le graphique du rythme enpourcentage de croissance estsuffisamment éloquente comme pourassurer que la tendance est semblableà celle des étudiants et la diminutiondu rythme est plus accusé dans le casde ceux-là, ce qui a forcé à la directiondu programme ERASMUS a pénaliséaux universités qui n’accomplissentpas avec la mobilité initialementsollicitée et à celles-ci à devoir établirdes stimulants pour parvenir àaugmenter leurs numéros de mobilitéd’enseignants.(fig 3)

Même s’il est évidente d’une part quele rythme de croissance doit être

descendant dans la mesure que semultiplient le total d’effectifs de lamobilité, encore ainsi, le rythme baisseexcessivement, ce qui est encore plusremarquable quand nous observons

les efforts pour créer un espaced’éducation dans lequel la mobilité estune des bases fondamentales.

Notre expérience propre, nous faitpenser à quelques lignes de recherchepour analyser et mieux connaître lasituation et l’avenir de la mobilitéacadémique en Europe, qui impliquentla réponse aux suivantes questions :

a) Dans quelle mesure les montantséconomiques des boursesERASMUS (125 •/mois en grandeslignes) sont suffisants pourcompenser les frais que produit lamobilité ? Réduisons-nous lamobilité seulement pour lesétudiants avec un niveau

économique moyen ou haut ?

b) Le programme ERASMUS espèreque les états, les régions, lesuniversités ou les organismesprivés complètent les quantitésprévues pour la bourse. Ceci adonné lieu à ce que les étudiantseuropéens disposent desquantités assez différentes, plushautes dans les universités du nordque dans celles du sud. Commentse conçoit cette situation, point devue de l’égalité, justement quandles niveaux de vie sont plus hautsdans le nord que dans le sud ?

c) Sommes-nous arrivés à unesituation d’applicationautomatique des équivalencesdérivées des contrats d’études oul’étudiant sort encore sans avoir lacertitude de l’équivalence desqualifications qu’il obtient àl’université de destin ?

d) Puisque les calendriersuniversitaires diffèrent et parfois sesuperposent, existe-t-il réellementune souplesse pour les périodes deséjour des étudiants ?

g) Les universités stimulent-ellesréellement la mobilité au moyen decampagnes de promotion, facilitésd’immatriculation, accélération del’équivalence, orientation etinformation en ce qui concerne lesuniversités et les logements dedestin, etc. ?

h) Quelle est la perception sociale desétudiants ERASMUS ? Dans quellemesure son effort suppose-t-il

Abbildung 2

Diagram 3


DOCUMENTACIÓN· Delors, J (1989):”L’Education: un trésor est caché” . Rapport à l’ UNESCO de

la Comission pour l’éducation au XXIe si‘cle. Pag. 17. http://www.unesco.org/delors/delors_f.pdf.

· Valle, J : “El “Proceso de Bolonia”, ¿Punto de partida o línea de llegada?Historia de la política educativa de la Unión Europea en materia de EducaciónSuperior” en Revue electronique “Quaderns Digitals”, mayo de 2005.

· Conseil Européen de Lisbonne. 23-24 marzo 2000. Cfr. en http://europa.eu.int/abc/doc/off/bull/es/200003/i1001.htm

· Comisión Europea: (2003): “El papel de las Universidades en la Europa delConocimiento”. Comunicación del 5/2/2003. Cfr. en http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/es/com/cnc/2003/com2003_0058es01.pdf

· MECD: El Sistema Universitario Español y el Espacio Europeo de EducaciónSuperior. Documento Marco. Febrero 2003

· Comisión Europea: Erasmus en Cifras y estadísticas. Cfr. http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/programmes/socrates/erasmus/million/facts_es.html

réellement une amélioration de leurcurricula?

i) Marchons-nous vers une mobilitépolyglotte ou de plus en plus lesuniversités produisent desprogrammes en anglais pour lesétudiants ERASMUS accueillis ?Quel est le modèle linguistique visépour la mobilité européenne?

j) Dans quelle mesure les universitésstimulent aux professeurs et auxcoordinateurs de programmes demobilité pour augmenter leurdéveloppement ?

k) Jusqu’à quel point les périodes demobilité peuvent-ils être deséléments exigés dans la conceptiondes diplômes de l’enseignementsupérieurs européens de l’avenir ?

Si comme on attend du Processus deBologne, il doit constituer un deséléments clef pour renforcer ladimension européenne, la mobilité desétudiants et des professeurs avecl’intégration socioculturelle qu’ellesuppose et le rapprochement vers lesformes de faire et penser des autres,

devrait être sans doute l’instrumentfondamental pour l’obtenir.

L’Association Comeniuset la mobilité européenneJacques Delors nous disait il y a déjàquinze ans, en parlant des piliers del’éducation, que «il s’agit d’apprendreà vivre ensemble en développant laconnaissance des autres, de leurhistoire, de leurs traditions et de leurspiritualité. Utopie, penserait-on, maisutopie nécessaire, utopie vitale poursortir du cycle dangereux nourri par lecynisme ou la résignation «1 . Celui-ciest, justement, le grand défi que lacréation des EEES nous pose déjà auxcitoyens et les états, aux étudiants lesprofesseurs des universitéseuropéennes dans ce début du siècleXXI.

L’ Association Comenius depuis sanaissance il y a déjà 18 ans, a établi lebut des échanges dans ledéveloppement des relationspersonnelles qui n’améliorent pas

seulement la connaissance de l’autre,mais aussi de sa culture et de soncontexte. C’est justement pour cela quenous avons commencé par la structuredes échanges courts avant decontinuer avec les échanges Erasmuset c’est aussi pour cela que nous avonsles moyens et la possibilité de romprece rythme descendant de la mobilité,mais aussi de renforcer l’intercultureldans une Europe qui soulève trop desbarrières dans ce terrain qui devait êtrecelui de notre espace commun. Trouverla meilleure façon d’agir pour atteindrecet objectif, sera sans doute notre défidurant les prochaines années.

1 Delors, J (1989):”L’Éducation:untrésor est caché”. Rapport à l’UNESCO de la Comisión pourl’Education au XXIe siècle. Page. 17Cfr. en http://www.unesco.org/delors/delors_f.pdf


AbstractMOST is a Comenius 2.1. projectdirected at European teacher traineesand teacher educators. The projectlinks teacher trainee mobility withapplied research. The need foracademic recognition of teachertrainee mobility was the driving forcefor this project, which aims at thedevelopment of a European standardfor the starting teacher. This standardwill be the result of mobility actionon the one hand, together withthorough reflection, comparison anddiscussion on the other hand. Thearticle deals with the origins of theproject and its link to the ComeniusAssociation, which is a very importantplatform on the road to more qualityinside teacher training in Europe.

A project is a ‘problem’ turned into anissue

The idea behind MOST was to turn anexisting ‘problem’ into an issue for aEuropean project. In that way the issuewas made into a challenge with a rangeof opportunities for some Europeanhigher education institutions toactively contribute to a possiblesolution for a shared issue.

All members of the ComeniusAssociation know the ‘problems’related to student mobility particularlyhow to evaluate the “mobile student”and to guarantee the academicrecognition of activities carried out atthe host institution. One significantdifficulty associated with mobility, isthat teacher trainees in their home

institutions are trained to teach thenational curriculum, simply becausethere is seldom a European curriculumfor which they can be prepared;likewise a further difficulty is that theyare evaluated upon nationalcompetencies, because there no oneEuropean standard for teachers.

Linking the issue to the right scholar

The idea for the project arose in 2002(in Bonn, Germany) at a contactseminar organised to promote mobilitywithin Initial Teacher Training.Combining centralized Europeanfunding in a Comenius 2.2.a projectfor training of educational staff, withdecentralized funding by the NationalAgencies for the mobility of teachertrainees seemed the right recipe totackle a tasty ‘problem’. Then, for theArteveldehogeschool (Gent,Belgium)it was a matter of finding theright partners. Some of these werefound within the ComeniusAssociation, others in the new memberstates of the European Union.

Finding partners sharing the sameissue and ready to do something about it

In January 2004 a preliminary meetingwas organized in Gent with colleaguesfrom Høgskolen i Stavanger (Norway),Escola Superior de Educação deSantarém (Portugal), Högskolan i Gävle(Sweden) and the Modern DidacticsCenter (Vilnius, Lithuania). The sixthpartner, the University of Malta, hadhad to excuse themselves from theprogramme. ESES (Santarém) haswithdrawn after the start and has been

replaced by University Ramon Llull,(Barcelona, Spain). The six partnercountries are not only geographicallydifferent, they also differ in terms ofthe workings of their educationalsystems. Differences in the use ofECTS and in terms of standards forteacher education are just two of theways in which they differed.

The six teacher training institutionsclearly realized that they all haddifferent approaches to practicaltraining. Different origins and contextsof their teacher training programmesand the different backgrounds of theinstitutions themselves presentedissues for discussion.

The aim of the MOST project was thatteacher trainees and teacher educatorswould experience teaching and teachertraining first hand in the participatingcountries and help to promote it allover Europe. The different systems ofthe partners and countries would becompared and acknowledged.

During the preparatory meeting itbecame very clear that all partners wereworking to optimise their practicaltraining in order to prepare their teachertrainees for the future challenges inschools and society at large. Allpartners recognized that the problemsof assessment were connected with theneed of a clear European standard forthe starting teacher. The evaluationand academic recognition of thetraining period abroad became adriving force to reach a consensusabout a European standard.

Rationale and background to theproject

The aim of the MOST project is tocontribute to the development of aEuropean standard for the startingteachers. This standard will beinformed by the action researchactivities engaged in by the “mobileteacher trainees”. Within the MOSTstructure, the teacher trainee will beinvolved both as “evaluator” and“evaluated” thus allowing the

Walter Baeten, Pedro De Bruyckere & Inge Piryns

MOST: Mobility Framework and StandardDevelopment for Teacher Trainees

This project is funded by the European Commission


articulation of the processes of self-reflection and self-evaluation as to howto develop as a good teacher.

This model will also be used by theteacher educators also through the useof an action research methodology.The teacher educators start withcomparative analyses of the final goalsand methods of assessment. Theresults of these analyses will be testedwithin the exchange programme thusfacilitating the development oftechniques to permanently advancethis proposed standard for teachers.Further development of this newEuropean standard for the beginningteacher will occur within the teachertraining institutions themselves. Theoutcomes of this research can thenimpact and inspire the educationaldecision makers of Europe.

The ultimate aim of the project is toraise the quality of teacher training.This will be done through target-oriented training, using the Europeanstandard as a qualitative tool for thebeginning teacher to reach basiccompetencies and as a guide for theteacher educator to facilitate studentprogress.

Pedagogical and didactical approaches

The pedagogical and didacticalapproaches in the project have a dualfocus.

One concerns the teacher trainees,who undertake practical training in aschool (pupils aged 10 – 18 years) inanother European country.

The second concerns the teachereducator, whose role is to develop andtest a joint evaluation of assessmentand working with others, to develop atransparent European standard.

In order to achieve successfuloutcomes for these concerns, thesestrategies can be used:

· Comparative analyses of themethods of evaluation during thedifferent stages of the project by

the teacher educators

· Outcomes of the comparativeanalyses will be linked to thedevelopment of a dynamicevaluation system for the Europeanstandard for the starting teacher

· Generation of Portfolio and self-reflective work (evaluation by theteacher trainees)

· Project weeks in schools in orderto teach specific European topicsas part of the activities of theteacher trainees on their exchange.

Outcomes

The direct outcome of the project willbe a structured framework for theorganization of mobility activities ofteacher trainees including the practicaltraining and the recognition of theseactivities. All project partners willcontribute by sending three teachertrainees to each partner and byreceiving in total fifteen incomingteacher trainees each time during aperiod of five weeks.

Each partner will organise a five weeks’training period for a mixed group of 15incoming and 15 local students. Thestructure of each training period willbe: two weeks of intensive training,two weeks of practice in schools andone week for reflection and evaluation.This will also lead to the enhancementof the professional competencies of allactors involved in the project (teacher

trainees, teacher educators, mentors).

The final outcome of the MOST projectwill be the publication of a Europeanstandard for the starting teacher. ThisEuropean standard will be a workabletool for the evaluation of mobileteacher trainees. The standard will havea common European section and willalso have specific sections for eachcountry thus allowing a rapid updatingas necessitated by rapid societal andeducational change. The Europeanstandard will promote the mobility ofteacher trainees (including practicaltraining under the Erasmus programme)because there will be a common basisfor evaluation and assessment. MOSThas the ambition to make a valuablecontribution to the future of teachertraining in Europe.

Conclusion

The Comenius project MOST is basedon praxis, which is a key element inteacher training programmes. MOSTintegrates praxis within the mobility ofteacher training, so that teachertrainers and teacher trainees of the sixparticipating European countriescooperate effectively to create aEuropean standard for the beginningteacher. This common standard will bean excellent tool for the academicrecognition of teacher trainee mobilityunder Erasmus and will contribute tomore quality in teacher training atnational and European level.


Online Courses: Towards a More Creative and DynamicInteraction between Students and Instructors, and amongStudents Themselves.

Nowadays, people demand a differentkind of education, one that iscompatible with the hectic pace ofmodern life, as it is not always possiblefor them to physically attendeducational institutions. Onlinecourses are perhaps the answer forstudents who want to work and studyat the same time, or for those who areinterested in studying in a differenttown or even in a different country.Furthermore, such courses are veryuseful because they have their ownpeculiarities and present positivefeatures that may not be found in faceto face learning environments.

Some learners are reluctant to takeonline courses because they think theywill not find the support needed forthe challenge of earning a universitydegree. It is sometimes wronglybelieved that following one of thesecourses is similar to buying materialsover the Internet, but an online or half-online course has little to do with this.Posting interesting documents abouta topic on the Internet is quite differentfrom providing students with thematerials, support and feedback theycould find in face to face education.‘True e-learning attempts to recreate,as far as possible, more traditional faceto face learning environments, whilstsimultaneously trying to leverage theobvious differences between the bricksand mortar classroom and the virtual

one.’ (Hockly and Dudene). And thisis the key for a successful onlinecourse - being able to emulate theexchange of ideas and contact betweenstudents and teachers of traditionalcourses.

Advantages of OnlineCoursesOnline courses are not only useful forthose who cannot attend face to faceclasses, but also for students lookingfor something beyond the teacher’snotes. To mention some of theadvantages of using this type of coursewe could say that:

§ Anyone with a computer & Internetconnection can follow an onlinecourse from anywhere in the world;therefore, people with limited accessto higher education in traditionalinstruction can take courses andhand in assignments over theInternet. The virtual classroom isopen 24 hours a day, seven days aweek, so students can choose thetime of day convenient for them toattend classes.

§ Students become responsible fortheir own pace of work, and takecontrol of their own learningexperience (they can concentrateon the most difficult or interestingareas, and skip the parts they mightalready know). Not all the students

require the same kind ofinformation. Online coursesprovide learners with theopportunity of choosing what tofocus on in order to obtain theinformation that they need‘

§ Instructors may include links todifferent types of information –vocabulary, bibliography, Internet,connections to previous sections.All these will serve as very usefulresources for students´ progress.Links are available to answerstudents´ questions, or to presentthem with further information abouta particular matter, but only if theychoose to click on them. This way,online teaching has the advantageof being tailored to every singlestudent’s needs. Technology canhelp us to provide individualizedlearning approaches, and this willbenefit each and every student inour online courses. One of the bestaspects of online courses is thepossibility of differentiating workto suit students’ different levels ofexpertise, and learning styles.

§ Students can receive personalizedfeedback from their instructors. It’svery important to make them feelcomfortable with the course as wellas with this new (to most of them)learning context. We, as teachers,have to make sure our students

Martínez Suárez, Susana Marqués Calderón, Eva, Dr

CSEU La SalleMadrid, Spain

CSEU La SalleMadrid, Spain


make the most of the course, andthat’s why dynamic interactionbetween instructors and learners -and amongst learners themselves-is so essential.

§ Instructors can design customisedapplications, with different typesof contents and tools (such asvideo, audio, discussion forums,etc.); and this helps to highlight thecreative part of the learningprocess. This more appealingformat of presenting the materialsis highly motivating and can elicitparticipation from students.

Advantages of Half-OnlineCourses over 100%Distance Ones

§ We believe that human contact isimportant; when students attendour in-class sessions, they feel and“see” that they are part of a learningcommunity; and this is vital to theirmotivation, personal satisfactionand progress. They also meet theinstructors who will beencouraging and give themfeedback throughout the learningprocess.

§ When students attend thesesessions, we make sure theyunderstand that they have to takeresponsibility for their own learning(we also remind them of thisthrough a video that we put on theInternet even before the coursestarts). This type of course mightbe new to most of them, and they

feel they have so much freedom towork at their own pace that eitherthey tend to leave things till thevery last minute, or they may feellost, because the whole concept isalien to them.

§ This is why it’s essential to “followa continuous assessment process”that substitutes for the midterm andfinal examinations of the traditionalcourses. This, of course, means alot of work for the teachers. Sincestudents don’t see us face to faceevery week, we have to provideinstantaneous feedback to eachand every student who needs help(in our case, CSEU La Salleguarantees a response to students’input within 48 hours).

§ We provide this feedback throughe-mails, but also through forums,and information that we post on theInternet (such as quizzes, self-assessment activities, papers thathave to be sent in over the Internet,etc.). It’s important to let studentsknow that there is always someonethere (either via e-mail or in in-classsessions) to help and guide themwhenever they have a problem, orwhen they get stuck in a specific

section or area of the programme.Students receive feedback notonly from instructors but also fromtheir peers, since they cancommunicate with each other andshare information.

§ At CSEU La Salle, we can alsocheck on students´ progress bygoing to a page inside theprogramme which shows us thetime each student has spent oneach unit, if s/he has printed outmaterials, how often they haverevised the programme, and so on.In this way, we can keep track ofevery student.

There is a new educational style thatcan offer a solution to the modern day,globalised world. We believe it possiblethat in the not too distant future therewill be a European or even worldcommunity of learners linked by theirparticipation in online courses.Therefore it will not be so strange, forinstance, to live in Germany and attenda virtual class in Spain. Learners allover the world are increasingly joiningthis educational trend. They are optingfor online and half–online courses asthey realize that e-learning can offer ahigh-quality education.

BibliographyHockly, N. and G. Dudeney (2005). “Teaching Online” British TeachingEnglish, 15th June 2005. (http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/etutor.shtml)

Dudeney, G. (2003). The Internet and the Language Classroom. A PracticalGuide for Teachers. UK: Cambridge University Press.


Prof. Carla Giovannelli - supervisor ofthe English course of SSIS (SpecialistSchool for Secondary Teaching) inFlorence - established the relationshipwith the Centre for Higher Educationof South Jutland (CVU Sønderjylland)in Denmark and organised aneducational trip in the framework ofthe Comenius project for the period of12th to the 19th March 2006.

For the first time, a group of 4 ItalianSSIS studentteachers had theopportunity to participate in theseminar “Language Across Borders”organised by the CVU Sønderjyllandin its seat of Haderslev. We spent aweek taking part in many differentlessons and activities aimed atcomparing the school systems inEurope and presenting some of themost effective teaching strategies.

We focused our attention on two mainareas:

1. The use of an interculturalapproach;

2. The use of aesthetic learningstrategies.

Inter-cultural approaches formed the“basis” of the seminar. We attendedtwo lessons with “intercultural”topics: “Stereotypes and NationalCharacteristics” by Karen L. Bruntt,and “Language and Identity” by KarenAaroe. As we were students from sixdifferent countries, we had the

opportunity to exchange opinions andpoints of view throughout the weekabout this topic. Using an interculturalapproach in a class does not only meanbeing curious about what is differentand “exotic”. Effective interculturaldidactics, is based on comparison, ondialogue, on listening to differences,on searching for the common elementsbetween culture. Interculturaleducation should get the studentsused to look for comparison, fordialogue and for mediation and itshould be based on an accurate anddeep examination of the values of thecultures involved.

A useful strategy for this, is throughgroup work and the stimulation ofcooperative learning –this facilitatescommunication. One of the maincharacteristics of group works is thepossibility to activate collaborationand reciprocal help, through whichstudents discover the existence ofdifferent points of view, learn tochange (or sustain) their own ideasthrough reasoning and argument.

When we arrived in Denmark, we didnot know any of the other participants,but at the end of the week we had builtan extremely cohesive group whoworked well together - mostly due toall the activities we had experienced.During all the classes we attendedthere were some group work where wewere asked to reflect upon a topic, andthen discuss it in a group for instance,

discussion about the lesson after thevisits to the schools, when we had tothink of the points that had mostlystruck us as being important, or thelast lesson, when each of us had firstto reflect on his/her week and prepareand present a portfolio to the group.

The two lessons led by Ms Bruntt andMs Aaroe were also based aroundgroup works, but their aim wasdifferent from the other lessons. Wewere asked to reflect on ourselves, bothas individuals (in the first lesson) andas part of a nation, (in the secondlesson). In particular, in the secondlesson we had the opportunity torealize how people see us as a nationand compare this to how we seeourselves.

The second area of study during thevisit concerned the use of aestheticlearning strategies. We had theopportunity to observe how to usethem effectively during the activitypresented the first day by the musicteacher Else Marie Okkels and duringthe two lessons presented by JohanneLarsen, lecturer in general didacticsand pedagogy. We did not know a lotabout the aesthetic learning process,and this is the reason why what welearnt was for us so exciting andchallenging.

Aesthetic learning means learningthrough the arts, and throughparticipation in the arts. During our

Aesthetic Learning Strategies and Life Long Learning“Language across Borders”International Week in Haderslev, Denmark, March 2006

This report is written by four Italian students from the University of Toscana, a potential new partner in the ComeniusAssociation. (Contributed by Jette Laursen, International Coordinator, College of Teacher Education, Haderslev.)[email protected]


visit we learnt to value, evaluate,challenge, discriminate, feel, respondand enjoy artistic experiences. Duringour Danish experience we dealt inparticular with singing and dancing.Singing is one of the most ancient artforms and a significant part ofcontemporary culture, and singing isan art form through which therelationship between feelings,imagination and intellect can beexpressed. We experienced directlyhow singing can lead to thedevelopment not only of musicalconcepts and skills but also to moregeneral skills, such as: listening,playing, experimenting andimprovising. Dancing is, generallyspeaking, a physical activity, which isaccompanied by music, and one wayto approach dancing is to understandit as movement stimulated by sound.We understood very clearly to whatextent dancing can be defined as“kinaesthetically transformed music”,and how a reflective self-participationin dancing can help not only inovercoming one’s fears andinhibitions, but also in promoting self-esteem and self-confidence. Thestrategies presented by teachers andstudent-teacher were really interesting.We passed from classical “presentingmeaningful units of song lyrics andmake students repeat them” learningprocesses, to a more complicated“repeating bigger units of text startingwith the last sentence to be sung andworking back to the beginning by

adding on preceding units (back-chaining)”. The most enjoyabletechniques were “beating rhythm withhands/percussions to show pitch ofhigh/low tones” and “invitingstudents to follow the rhythm withbody parts or other instruments (hands,feet, pens, etc.) in order to stimulatetotal physical response” andeventually “singing the whole songtogether”. Nobody is going to forgeteasily “Joan petit quan balla, balla,balla, balla…”!

This short but intensive week was notonly stimulating, but it also gave usthe chance to fully appreciate themeaning of lifelong learning. We hadthe opportunity to exchange ourpersonal and teaching experiences withpeople from all over Europe andexperience and reflect on a different andinteresting school reality - the Danishone – that was centred on thepromotion of communicative andsocio-emotional skills.

WRITTEN BYRiccardo Gazzarri(SSIS Siena - English II year)

Marina Longinotti(SSIS Firenze - English II year)

Alice Manna(SSIS Pisa - English II year)

Marco Stefani(SSIS Firenze - English II year)


International week – Haderslev DenmarkMarch 2006

I met a lot of people from differentcountries around Europe. I met peoplefrom Spain, Italy, Northern Ireland, theCzech Republic and from theNetherlands. It was great because weare still in touch and we will probablysee each other again, as we planned togo to each other’s country…

I discovered a lot about the way of lifeof Danish people, their habits, whattheir country look like, the landscapeand what their government does forthem.

As for teaching, I learned how to workwith songs and rhymes – this is a very

interesting way to teach languagefunctions, because through songs youhave fun, the rhythm can help you andfurthermore it’s motivating for thepupils.

I also learned how to work with poemsin the target language as well as withportfolios.

I discovered new ideas, techniques towork with my pupils that can beinteresting in order to develop theircommunication skill. (like a languageportrait)

I spent one week in Haderslev(Denmark), it was a very enriching weekthat I will never forget! I learned somany things, not only as far as myfuture job is concerned but also interms of my personal development aswell.

Sophie Ellange3rd Year - Bachelor - Teacher training - LanguagesHENaC - Département Pédagogique Champion, Belgium


Learning from Each Other?!

We are two students from Belgium whoare studying to become preschoolteachers. It’s our last year and we arenow in Stavanger, Norway, for threemonths to see how the Norwegianpreschool system works. We must saythat there are a lot of differences andthat makes the experience veryinteresting. We will try to describe theBelgian school system and why it’s aninteresting comparison to Norway.How can we learn from each other?Why should for example Belgians andNorwegians make study exchanges?

We always assume that we have to goto Africa, China or somewhere far awayto see a totally different school systemand school history. But that’s notnecessarily true. Every country, hasit’s own school history and system.The preschool education in Belgiumseems very different when comparedto Norwegian preschool education.First of all, Belgian children startschool at the age of 2.5 or 3 years old.It’s not a legal obligation for childrento go to school until they are 6 yearsold and start primary school, but 98%of the children in Belgium go topreschools. For the younger childrenthere are different types of day carecentre. The traditional way to organizethe preschools, and the most usedway, is in a three year grouping. Thefirst year is for the 2,5 – 3 year olds,the second year are the 4 year olds andthe third and last year of preschool isfor the 5 year olds. After those threeyears the children start primary school.

Every class has one teacher; theamount of pupils in one class varyingfrom class to class. It can go from 15(which is quite few) up until 30 (whichis a great many for pre-school groups).Normally class size is about 20 pupils.

If there are a great many children inthe preschool, the school can employa teaching assistant who helps for acouple of hours a week This assistanthas taken an education about ‘theyoung child’ for one year. Theseassistants have undertaken a year-long course which qualifies to workwith younger children (i.e. under 3years old)

On our visit to Norway, we had oneweek of practical experience in aNorwegian preschool ‘barnehage’ andin another preschool we’ve had onefull day plus three hours of observationtime`The organization of Norwegianpre-school activity is very different tothat of Belgium. Children are dividedinto two groups, a group for theyounger children (0 to 3 years old)and a group for the older children (3-6years old). This type of organization(all ages in one group) occurssometimes in Belgium but not veryoften.

This raises the question what is thebebetter organization? What are thepros and cons of every type? There isno clear answer on this question, butwe have to realize that there are morepossibilities then the one we‘re usedto.

Another big difference is the fact thatevery group has 3 adults for 9 childrenin the youngest age group and 3adults for 18 children in the oldergroup. Every group has 1 teacher and2 assistants (here the teachingassistants don’t need to have anyspecific pre-school training).. Theteacher, who of course has a diplomaas preschool teacher, guides them andencourages them to do the best theycan. We found this very strange; we’reused to one teacher for the whole class.And here we see people with no formalor specific pre-school educationhelping the teacher?? Maybe that’s noproblem, maybe it is…

After some observation time we sawthat people who don’t have any pre-school training about ‘the young child’make crucial mistakes. They didn’tappear to understand the toddlerculture, they didn’t appear to knowhow to stimulate the children fully.

Through using common sense andafter some experience they learn moreabout ‘the young child’. We howeverfeel that it would be very good to givethe assistants some kind of training.This isn’t the case now, so teacherguidance is very important in order toget the best from the teachingassistant.

After seeing so many differencesbetween the Belgian and theNorwegian school system and hearingeven more differences from the otherstudents from our class we’ve realizedthat there are a lot of differentapproaches, visions and methodswhen it comes to providing preschooleducation. As we said before it’s notclear what the best organization andvision is Primera Edición del IPOS(Intensive Programme on OutdoorSports Education): una ExperienciaMultidisciplinar entorno a lasActividades en el Medio Natural

but it’s important to have an openmind, realize that there are differentapproaches and that we always canlearn from each other.

Lisa VerschuerenLieselot De WildeErasmus students Stavanger University, Faculty of Arts andEducation, NorwayHome institution: Artevelde Hogeschool, Gent, Belgium


Primera Edición del IPOS(Intensive Programme on Outdoor Sports Education):una Experiencia Multidisciplinar entorno a las Actividades en el Medio Natural

Sixte Abadía i Naudí Facultat de Psicologia, Ciències de l’Educació i l’Esport Blanquerna(Universidad Ramón Llull), Spain

AbstractDuring the academic year 2005/2006 anIntensive Programme concerned withOutdoor Sports Education (IPOS) wasinitiated as part of the Socratesframework. The Arteveldehogeschoolin Gent (Belgium) was the venue forthe inauguration of the course and thetwo weeks of intensive work andsharing together ran from the 20thMarch to the 2nd April 2006 .

The first days of the IntensiveProgramme were used for work ondynamics of group interaction, andlater the participating group moved tothe Ardennes to undertake thepractical activities of climbing andcanoeing. The second phase of IPOSwas concerned with discussionbetween tutors and evaluations ofcourse participant’s experiences.

All the evaluations were very positiveand praiseworthy and very encouraging for future developments inthis area.Con el objetivo de reflexionar sobre lasdiferentes estrategias metodológicaspara dirigir y dinamizar actividades enel medio natural de manera segura, esteaño se inició el IPOS, un programaintensivo en el marco del SocratesProgramme que reúne a seisuniversidades europeas y que sedesarrolla durante tres añosconsecutivos.1

La primera edición se celebró en lalocalidad belga de Gent del 20 de marzoal 2 de abril del 2006, con una

participación de 42 alumnos y 9profesores. Fueron dos semanas detrabajo y convivencia intensa que,además de profundizar en la seguridadde las actividades en el medio naturalen diversos contextos geológicos yartificiales de manera multidisciplinar,favorecieron en gran medida lainteracción y el aprendizaje recíprocoentre los diferentes participantes.

Los primeros días de programaintensivo se aprovecharon paratrabajar la dinámica grupal y lainteracción, así como para que elprofesorado de la StavangerUniversity –sede de la segundaedición del IPOS- realizase suintervención. A mediados de semana,la totalidad de participantes se trasladóa Ardennes, paraje donde se realizaronactividades tales como escalada,canoa, espeleología y un trophy, de lamano del profesorado del ArteveldeInstitute. Cabe destacar las enormesposibilidades del emplazamientoescogido para realizarlas, lo cualpermitió disfrutar, aprender iexperimentar múltiples sensaciones porparte de todos los participantes.

En el transcurso de la segunda semanase sucedieron las aportaciones delprofesorado de la LinköpingUniversity, Kingston University,University of Pitesti y Ramon LlullUniversity, hecho que complementólos contenidos trabajados anteriormente, contemplando diferentesposicionamientos y puntos de vistaentorno a las actividades en el medio

natural. Fue durante estos días cuandotuvieron cabida actividades de tipo máspráctico –mountainboarden,orientación-, otras centradas en elmedio natural como recurso oestrategia educativa, o las queteorizaron sobre los aspectos médicos,de seguridad y de planificación de lasactividades en el medio natural.

Las múltiples propuestas que se dieronen esta primera edición del IPOS, juntocon la buena interacción ycompañerismo que la caracterizó, invitaa hacer una valoración muy positivade esta experiencia, del todorecomendable y que anima a seguirtrabajando en las posteriores edicionesde este programa intensivo.

Mención aparte merece el alumnado yprofesorado del Artevelde Instituteque se implicó en la excelenteorganización de esta primera edición.Sin la complicidad, hospitalidad yesfuerzo, este motivador y a menudocomplejo proyecto, no habría sidorealidad.

1 Artevelde Institute for Higher Education(Gent-Bélgica), Ramon LlullUniversity (Barcelona-España),University of Stavanger (Stavanger-Noruega), Linköping University(Suecia), Kingston University(Kingston-Reino Unido) y Universityof Pitesti (Rumanía).


Jordanas de Aproximación al PatrimonioEuropeo y a sus Oficios TradicionalesPrograma intensivo en Louvain-la-Neuve,Bélgica

AbstractThe period of the 20th to the 30th March2006, saw the Intensive ProgrammeEuropean Heritage: a door tointercultural discovery and a tool toappreciate traditional crafts takeplace at the Haute Ecole Léonard deVinci. During this period, theparticipants reflected on how we useour European heritage to promote theconcepts of multiculturalism andtolerance in all its different forms -cultural, artistic, traditional andcreative. The different countries takingpart in the programme, created an activeand dynamic atmosphere throughlively discussion of different ideas andconcepts.

The conferences and workshops weredynamic and creative, and participantsfound these, and the visits to museumsand schools both interesting andenjoyable.

During the last two days the students(working in groups) analyzed anddebated different aspects of ideas ofHeritage.

Throughout the 10 days, theprogramme was conducted in a verywell-organized and friendlyatmosphere.

Durante los días 20 al 30 de marzodel 2006 tuvo lugar en la Haute EcoleLéonard de Vinci en Louvain-la-Neuve(Bélgica) el programa intensivo“Descubrir nuevamente el patrimonioeuropeo a través de sus oficiostradicionales“.Fueron unas jornadasdonde se plantearon interrogantes delcómo y de qué manera tratamosnuestro patrimonio europeo parafomentar el concepto demulticulturalidad en el espectro másamplio posible: cultural, artístico,tradicional; de manera abierta, creativay tolerante. Los diferentes paísespropusieron ideas y conceptosparticulares, creando así un ritmointenso, activo y muy ameno. Losparticipantes provenían de escuelasuniversitarias de Bélgica (Valonia yFlandes), Canadá (Québec),Dinamarca, España (Barcelona,Valencia y Madrid ), Noruega, Portugaly Rumania.

Fueron sumamente interesantes lasvisitas que se efectuaron a museos,escuelas de formación profesional,ciudades, etc. Cabe destacar la visitaal museo de Louvain-la-Neuve, dondese propuso un debate acerca de la ideade restauración y conservación delpatrimonio artístico-cultural de lasciudades y sus museos. La visita almuseo MAC’s, particularmente, fue la

más sugerente y enriquecedora, allípudimos disfrutar del bello ensamblajede la arquitectura histórica, el viejoedificio, y la arquitectura moderna, elnuevo edificio, conocimos también elambicioso proyecto pedagógico quehan iniciado con el fin de hacer llegar alos escolares y a sus maestros lasnuevas tendencias del arte actual, elrecorrido concluyó con una minuciosainformación de las diferentes obras deartistas locales e internacionales allíexpuestas.

Las conferencias y tallerespropuestos eran dinámicos, creativosy lúdicos, destacaría la conferencia“Descubierta y observación deantiguas herramientas” donde seexpusieron un gran número deherramientas antiguas, pudiendo asíconocerlas, tocarlas y jugar con ellas.Los talleres fueron muy bienacogidos por todos los participantes. En el taller de esgrafiados y en el deescultura en madera los estudiantesconocieron las técnicas y oficiosartísticos tradicionales .

Los dos últimos días losestudiantes se dedicaron areflexionar, analizar y debatir losdiferentes aspectos del patrimonio ,preparando en pequeños grupos unaunidad didáctica .Por ultimo se efectuóuna puesta en común de todo elmaterial elaborado .

Las jornadas transcurrieron en unclima de amistad y buen humor, laorganización estuvo siempre y en todomomento pendiente del más mínimodetalle, recordamos con cariño lasSoirées nacionales, la degustación delos productos autóctonos de cada país,sus músicas, bailes, costumbres…

Núria Batlle, ProfesoraNúria Faig y Tanit Salvadó, EstudiantesBlanquerna, Barcelona, Spain


International and Austrian Students onStageA drama project at the Pädagogishe Akademie derErzdiözese Wien

This article is about a drama projectat the Pädagogische Akademie EDWien which took place in the springsemester 2006. Eight internationaland two Austrian students preparedand performed a play in English,enjoying the process of creatingcharacters and dramatizing scenesand at the same time experiencing thepotential of drama as a learningmethod in the classroom.

In the spring semester of 2006, thePädagogische Akademie ED Wienbecame the scene of an Englishlanguage drama project co-ordinatedby Egon Turecek, lecturer in Englishand Drama. Participants were twoAustrian students and eight Erasmusstudents from Belgium, France, theNetherlands, Northern Ireland, andSpain.

The aim of the project was to givestudents the opportunity to experiencedrama as a creative method of learning,which helps students to acquire a widerange of skills and which is trulyinternational. Used as a teachingmethod in the classroom (as well as incross-curricular or extra-curricularprojects) it is a method which is naturaland true to life and points up theinterdependence of cognitive and

emotional process and content.

Drama extends communication andinteraction through the ways in whichit works across linguistic and culturalbarriers. This is largely because:

· Drama activities take place withina relaxed and playful atmosphereand therefore reduces inhibitions.

· The emphasis is on the auditory,visual, and kinaesthetic mode,which enables multi-sensorylearning.

· Drama requires (and thus improves)co-operation, mutual support, andthe skills of working in a team.

· The opportunity for drama to belinked with the rest of thecurriculum

The project team had six afternoonsessions of three to four hours each.At the beginning, considerable timewas devoted to the creation of apositive and relaxed atmospherethrough the use of “ice-breakers” andwarm –ups, they also enhancedconfidence and the “team spirit”. Thecourse was then continued with bodyawareness and miming exercises tomake the participants more aware oftheir senses and to get rid of tensionsand distractions. In the improvisationswhich followed, students shaped their

bodies into sculptures and “freeze-frame” photographs. At this stage ofthe work, a decision had to be madewhether to continue with variousworkshop activities for the rest of thecourse or whether to tackle a “realplay”. The students voted for thesecond option in spite of the fact thatthis would mean putting extra work intothe project. All the participants werelooking forward to the challenge ofworking intensively on a role andperforming a little play at the end ofthe course.

After this, the play “A Feeling in MyBones” by Lin Coghlan wasintroduced to the group. It is the storyof a mother and her son who live in acottage on a hill in Cumbria and whohave to leave their home because theplace is to be converted into a holidayresort. At first, in little groups, theindividual scenes of the play wereanalysed, to become familiar with theplot and the themes of the play, suchas the problem of outsiders, growingup, oppression and power, identity,etc.

In the next phase of the project,students worked towards theexpression of feelings and emotions ofthe different characters of theplay.using specific elements andtechniques of drama work: freeze frame,hot seating, thought tracking,conscience alley, interior monologue,etc. The characters and theirrelationships were thus established.Roles were not allocated to individualstudents, which gave students achance to identify with more than onecharacter! Students enjoyed climbinginto the skins of different characters.Each student played a different

Egon TurecekPädagogische AkademieVienna


character (could be distinguished fromone another through props that wereused) in each scene. The emphasis wason the actors and actresses and whatthey expressed with their bodies, theirmimes and gestures, the tone of theirvoices, etc.

Work on individual scenes andindividual roles was very creative andoften spontaneous and students werelargely autonomous in this process.The teacher did not function as adirector but rather as a facilitator. Hedid not give instructions but ratherprovided stimuli and littleprovocations.

All the participants had to work veryhard in the last two or three sessionsin order to achieve a good result. Allstudents involved in the project werefully committed to it, learning theirroles, contributing ideas, preparingprops, helping with music and lighting.

The final performance, which tookplace immediately after a stunningdress rehearsal, gained a lot ofapplause and was highly acclaimed byfellow-students and teachers who hadbeen invited to the show.

The result of the project was anincreased understanding of drama asa tool in education, an increasedlanguage competence in English, andan increased understanding ofdifferent cultures within Europe.

Moreover, the practical experiencesmade in this little project helped theparticipating teacher trainees to see thepotential of school drama with regardto such educational purposes ascommunication skills, reflective skills,observation skills, personality trainingand social learning, creativity, andaesthetic understanding.

The success of the project is bestsummed up by these two studentresponses:

“It was a great experience to workwith all the Erasmus students in acommonproject related to a play. Weare all people from different countrieswho like to exchange ideas and workfor something as a group. All of uswere very keen on taking part in thisproject; we needed a lot ofimagination to play some of the scenes,which gave us many funny momentsand anecdotes. In my opinion it was a

shame that just two of the Austrianstudents wanted to join us becausewe came here wishing to meet andwork with new people. Neverthelesswe all had a lovely time together andthe show was brilliant.” (Althea)

“As I was told, I could follow a dramacourse. I was interested in it but didnot exactly know what it consisted of.The play we interpreted with Erasmusstudents and a few Austrian ones hada considerable impact on me. Besidesbeing an enriching experiment thatallowed us to get each other betterknown, this play developed myimagination, creativity and self-confidence…Thank you to all of you.An enriching experience that engagedour interests and that was quite funand motivating. It will remain imprintedin my mind. This play offered us sucha good time. Joyce, Mother, Sean, Mat,Snailman… I will never forget you.”(Marie)


Studying in Vienna - Students’ Impressions

Hajnalka from HungaryIch habe mich über die Möglichkeit,ein Semester an der PÄDAK in Wienzu verbringen, sehr gefreut. Die 3Monate vergingen ziemlich schnell,aber mein Aufenthalt war interessantund nützlich, außerdem konnte ichmich auch entspannen. Ich kannteWien noch nicht, aber ich habe gehört,dass es eine wunderschöne Stadt sei.Einerseits wollte ich nach Wienkommen, um die Stadt kennen zu lernen,anderseits wollte ich andere Leute undmich selbst ausprobieren, wie ich aneiner ausländischen Hochschulezurecht komme.

Was ich noch besonders gut finde ist,dass die Übungsschulen und diePÄDAK im gleichen Gebäude sind.Wahrscheinlich ist es normal, aber ander Hochschule in Esztergom (Ungarn)ist es leider nicht so.

Es freut mich auch, dass im Gästehausder De La Salle Schule, wo wiruntergebracht wurden, auch andereErasmus-Studierende wohnten. Sohatte ich Möglichkeit, Jugendliche ausBelgien, Spanien, Irland und aus denNiederlanden kennen zu lernen.

Wien ist wirklich eine schöne,sympathische Stadt, ich möchte gernnoch mehrmals zurück kehren.

Katinka from HollandWhat it is like being an Erasmusstudent!

This was the question they asked us!

Well, the first thing I would say is: It’sso relaxed!!

We could choose our own classes andthe teachers were very kind!

We took a lot of sport and it was reallyfun.

The practical work in school was veryinteresting to see. It’s so different fromin Holland, for example, Austrianchildren go to a secondary schoolwhen they are 10 years old. In Hollandit is when they are 12 or 13.

Jeanette from HollandWhen we had to start visiting schools,it took a little getting used to gettingup early! The school is much morerelaxed than our school in Holland. Wetook a lot of sports because we likesports very much. In Holland you can’tchoose what you want to follow, youjust have to follow it all.

We don’t have so many subjects andthe subjects here are much more fun!!

I really enjoyed the teaching practice,especially the Physical educationlessons that we had to give.

Evelien from BelgiumWhen last year in Belgium I was offeredthe chance to study abroad for a fewmonths through the Erasmusprogramme, I was really excited aboutthe idea. I’d heard positive storiesfrom friends who had already taken partin such a programme.

The sense of distance from the citycentre among the Erasmus students inStrebersdorf caused us to becomegood friends, but we all felt difficultiesin establishing a real contact with thelocal students. Back home, we wereused to the last year ’s studentsorganizing a lot of activities for thevisiting Erasmus people, which Ithought was a good way to get to knoweach other. However, in the classes Idid feel that there was greatappreciation for our participation in theErasmus programme, both fromteachers and students - but still Ifound it very hard to make contact withthe local students outside of theirschool environment.

One of the goals I had in mind when


leaving Holland, was developing mylanguage skills. I’m really glad to havesucceeded in that. Though my primarylanguage of study is my nativelanguage Dutch, my stay here hasprovided me with a good chance ofspeaking English and German with allmy fellow Erasmus students and thelocal people.

What I also liked in the school systemhere is the ability you get to choosefrom different subjects, such asgraphical arts and music. This makesfor a nice combination of practical andtheoretical classes. This is not reallyan option in Belgium.

As mentioned before, I really likeVienna as a city. Also, my stay herehas been personally challenging. Ilearned a lot about living on my own,which is a good preparation for theprofessional life I’m about to live. Andalthough I learned a lot in the schoolhere, it’s distance to the city centremade it a bit hard to totally immersemyself in the atmosphere of the city,which was something I had really beenlooking forward to…

Jochen from BelgiumHow to be an Erasmus student (andnot to die) – a practical guide byJochen

Get wild and get drunk! That was themotto of Marlene, a German girl whowas an Erasmus student in my schoolin Belgium. With such a motto, it was

obvious that we became friends andstayed friends, even after she left mycountry and went back to Germany. Sowith the same motto I left Belgium onthe 12th of February, ready to have thetime of my life…

There’re 10 pretty women in Vienna…

For some guys it may be their wildestdream living together with 11 girls inthe same house. Enough girls to cookfor you, do your dishes, keep youwarm during the cold winter nights,showering together to economizewater… I’m very sorry guys but believeme, it’s nicer in your dreams.

In real life you have to do everythingon your own. And sometimes, forexample when you’re doing yourdishes, you have to do theirs as well.And there is more. You have to listento their stories about their boy friends,about how much they miss them andhow they are looking forward to seethem again in 59 days, 15 hours, 36minutes and 28 seconds to be precisely.Had enough? Well, there’s still more.you have to cope with the fact thatthey think you’re a complete assholebecause you told them you don’t reallymiss your girl friend that much.

And, while you are really having a goodtime here with some people you methere, you have to listen to theircomplaints about the unfriendly peoplein Vienna, about the fact that we are sofar from the centre and that they don’twant to pay for a cab every night…

But, in the end, I will remember them

for the rest of my life because I had agreat time with them. Going outtogether (always to Charlie P’s), eatingall together, reading brainless gossipmagazines together and givingcomment upon stupid celebrities…

Of course you have to go to schoolwhen you’re an Erasmus student!Why? Because that’s what going onErasmus is all about; studying abroad.Only studying? Of course not! Youhave enough free time to explore thecity, visit all the beautiful museums,going to the opera (I’ve already been 5times!), concerts and the mostimportant thing for beautiful youngpeople like me (us), explore the nightlife in Vienna!

And the Pädak? It’s a nice school, withnice students, nice professors and nicelessons (like language skills, Kunst inÖsterreich, Grafik und Malerei …). Abit small compared with my school inMechelen, but I think it’s nicer to studyat a smaller school. It looks to me thatevery professor knows all his studentsby name, always says “hi” when he orshe sees one of his or her students…which is completely different in myschool in Mechelen. Some professorstill call me Jeroen or Jasper, orJurgen…

Sometimes it snows in April in Vienna…

The Austrian weather, shall I ever getused to it? Sometimes on Monday it’snice; nice temperature, some sun, someice-cream. And than suddenly, onTuesday, it’s snowing again! Good bye


sun glasses, hello winter jacket!

I’ve never seen so much snow asduring my Erasmus time here in Vienna.That’s nice, but if you’re like me, notreally used to snow, it’s verydangerous. Just walking to the Pädakcan kill you. And what about poorAlthea? The little girl from Spain wasalmost frozen to death! But, I also hadnice weather here, lots of sun, hightemperatures… I think, for the first timein my life, I’m going to have a little suntan when I go back to Belgium…

Conclusion…

I really had the time of my life (my lifeuntil now) here in Vienna. But I thinkyou already realised that while youwere reading this text or when youtalked with me at the Pädak. I was,together with the girls from TheNetherlands, the only one of theErasmus students who enjoyed hisstay here from the minute I arrived atthe Westbahnhof until the day I willleave Vienna. Every day here in Vienna,I live with the motto “Carpe Diem”.Every day I had fun, even when I waspreparing for school or doing thedishes. Every day was a day toremember! So, in 3 weeks I will leaveVienna, but not without stopping in

Köln, where Marlene lives, to tell herthe rest of my Erasmus (get wild andget drunk) experience.

Get wild and get drunk in Vienna? Hellyeah…

Hajnalka from HungaryIch bin nach Österr

journal - association comenius · 2012. 5. 23. · comenius journall 3 the scale of current...

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