Heart of Communities

İlköğretim ve Yaygın Öğrenme İş birliği - İngiltere, İspanya, İtalya, Finlandiya, Türkiye

About the Project

This project brought together students, teachers, community members, and education professionals (us) in a shared space that fosters openness and curiosity toward others. The core group of 35 students leading the project included a wide age range, with the youngest being KS2 students at a Turkish school and the oldest being 18+ students attending a public vocational training center in Valencia. Students shared knowledge and project goals with other students from different age groups and backgrounds.

A core group of 8 dedicated teachers with varying levels of Erasmus+ experience carried out the project. While some of them have been involved in Erasmus projects for many years, for others this was their first project. Some of their own staff also supported the leader teachers.

The roles were reversed so that young people took ownership of what they felt was necessary for their learning in this context, while teachers gained knowledge and developed skills on how to facilitate student-led initiatives.

Education experts moved away from their role as 'expert' and into the role of 'facilitator', thus becoming inquisitive rather than instructive. Community members interacted with their local schools rather than viewing them as separate entities over which they had no say. All of this is underpinned by the desire to make the local community a better place through global methodology and perspective.