“The voice of parents in Europe” www.epa-parents.eu
EPA NEWSLETTER 4/2012November 18th, 2012
Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues and friends of EPA!
This Newsletter delivers a compilation of recent activities and announces the last EPA-invitation for 2012 and the first for 2013. You might be surprised about an additional invitation as we had an-nounced the PASS-conference as “the last” EPA-event 2012 in our last newsletter. This conference came to an end just yesterday. But we are happy that we still can announce additional activities. -f
This newsletter also contains three reports from conferences contributed by Eszter SALAMON who had attended them on behalf of the European Parents’ Association.
Please mark your agenda and save the date(s) and register in time if you are able and willing to par-ticipate: lttititi
November 27th, 2012, at 16:30: “Parents – pivot in lifelong learning” Workshop in Brussels, 25 Rue d’Arlon (Aarlenstraat) titiliflli
As a part of the Lifelong Learning-Week 2013 organised by the network-platform EUCIS-LLL we will present and discuss this year’s Alcuin-Award winner and explain the tradition of this trophy as well as the potential role of parents in education. Registration to this event is open up to November 24th, 2012. Places are limited! ifli-I-li-
The event is announced on the EPA-website as well as on the site of EUCIS-LLL. You are also encouraged to register to other events of this activity-week and forward the invitation to representatives in Brussels that have a relation to your association.
You can also use the direct Link to the registration website:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?pli=1&formkey=dENUMEF1LUxrbG13THIydXY2TDF6aXc6MQ#gid=0 EPA – The Voice of Parents in Europe Newsletter 4/2012 page 2 of 10
December 6th, 2012: Launch of the 8th European Citizens Initiative “High Quality European Education for All” European Economic and Social Committee, 99-101 Rue Belliard, Brussels ilittifll
The Movement for a European Education Trust (MEET) was already introduced to EPA-members at the GA in Liechtenstein. EPA is represented in the Citizens’ Committee by Presi-dent Johannes Theiner who will speak at the launch event. tftit
EPA members are encouraged to link into this campaign in an appropriate way. Visit the website of the campaign http://www.EuroEdTrust.eu/ and find your way to support the ECI beyond signing.
January 25th/26th, 2013: “Lehrerbildung” Meeting of German-speaking EPA-members in Munich il
The LandesElternVereinigung der Bayrischen Gymnasien (LEV) is preparing this event.
We want to learn more about developments in teacher-education in Bavaria and other Ger-man-speaking countries. During our discussion we intend to develop the parental point of view and declare priorities from our side. It is also important to meet the members of LEV to an exchange of mind and experience.
As a side effect we hope to attract parents from the German-speaking part of Italy (Southern Tyrol) and Switzerland and open them a door into EPA.
May 24th/25th, 2013: “2013 – The European Year of Citizens” (tbc)
The Slovak EPA-member SRRZ agreed to prepare a conference to be held in Košice, one of the Cultural Capitals 2013. The preparative discussions are going on so the definite title and date are to be confirmed later.
June 14th/15th, 2013: General Assembly in Dublin/Ireland ll
The GA was officially announced in Paris and will be organised by the Irish National Parents’ Council Primary (NPC-P). Organisational details are in discussion and will be made available as soon as possible. < strong>–
Submission of the programme to be part of the Irish Presidency’s education-related activities is intended.
According to the plans there will be a second GA in November 2013. The board agreed to make it a meeting point with partners and European representatives. The place will most probably be Brussels.
An additional Conference in Marseille, the second Cultural Capital 2013, is planned and shall address Early School Leaving, migration, drug problems and violence as well as multi-cultural and plurilingual aspects. Discussions with potential partners in the region have already start-ed. fiill
EPA – The Voice of Parents in Europe Newsletter 4/2012 page 3 of 10
European Policy Network on School Leadership
Peer Learning Event in Berlin 27-29 June 2012
EPA became involved in the activities of the EU-funded network in June when I attended the peer learning event in Berlin on Structuring and Culturing Schools for Comprehensive Learning.
The event’s theme was founded on the principle that the main purpose of School Leadership is to further student comprehensive learning and equity. As leadership, however, refers not only to indi-vidual leaders or to senior leadership, it can also be understood as the outcome of many actions and interactions involving teachers, students and other stakeholders (like parents) who contribute to school leadership.
During the event we explored in what ways leadership can provide both a structural framework and shape school cultures that establish a context in which successful, comprehensive learning can take place within a commitment to equity. The influence of technology as an agent of cultural change was also addressed.
The peer-learning event was be structured on three sub-themes
Structuring Schools Between a rock and a soft place: Exploring
leadership practice for equality and justice
Leading school cultures and aims to increase understanding on the outcomes of the interac-tions between the School Leadership ‘actors’ as contributors to effective School Leadership.
The basis of the work done was a research and policy paper on the Network’s Reflections on the Cur-rent Academic Practice and Policy Orientation on School Leadership prepared by the network part-ners. The paper that can be found on the network’s website (http://www.schoolleadership.eu) gives a summary of the network’s position on the topic of school leadership, a country by country evalua-tion of what they do on and for school leadership, the ways of sharing knowledge between actors and countries as well as a comparison showing similarities and differences. As of the date of the re-port (June 2012) only a few countries have involved parents in the country networks so we have a lot to do in joining network members and our members on national levels.
The meeting provided an insight into recent trends and existing good practice in educational leader-ship. Participants were to have a deeper understanding of the changing framework and the changes in the everyday life of school leaders. Workshops offered practical guidance. National networks will be strengthened by sharing ideas, developing friendships and establishing informal networks. This was an occasion to join the network in a national or European context – establishing a formal or in-formal cooperation.
I had the opportunity not only to participate in three different working groups but also to present EPA in one of them. The topic of one workshop was creating organizational and communication cul-ture as well as ensuring transparent decision-making that includes the involvement of parents in the process. This was a research-led and oriented working group where we also discussed the possibili-ties of involving parents’ groups in research. The second working group was reflecting state of art structuring and culturing schools with focus on redefining school leadership roles for improving learning, creating equal appropriate conditions for distributing leadership task involving distributing some of them to parents) and ensuring leadership succession. The latest can also be a useful topic for parental organizations themselves. The third working group was dedicated to sharing experiences, ideas and results of national networks. One of its focuses was stakeholders’ interaction. This was the EPA – The Voice of Parents in Europe Newsletter 4/2012 page 4 of 10
working group with an opportunity to present EPA and our aims. There were representatives from more than 15 countries in this working group and it turned out that so far only Poland and Bulgaria started involving parents in the network formally. It is our task to inform our members about the network and provide them with contact information as well as network material.
EPNoSL’s main objectives: Effective School Leadership is highly acknowledged to have a central role in the quality of educational outcomes. EPNoSL aims at stimulating discussion and reflection on the professional development under the scope of facilitating policy articulation based on current trends in the network’s member states across Europe.
The broad objectives of the network are:
To develop and manage a platform for the stimulation of high level cooperation between
policy makers and practitioners under the scope of facilitating the development and imple-mentation of national policies on school leadership
To put in place, monitor and assess the process of Networking based on principles of
< span style="font-size: 11pt; color: windowtext"> collaborative and reflective learning, under the scope of managing knowledge from a
comprehensive perspective on issues pertaining to School Leadership, with the engagement of policy, practice, research and social partners
To inform policy and practice on the base of empirical evidence of the current and emerging
trends on good practices on the selection and preparation of school leaders
To conduct empirical research on pertinent issues relating to school leadership under the scope of comprehensiveness and coherence of policies and its implementation
To develop tools and define processes for supporting the development and / or implementa-tion of national / regional / local policies on the selection and preparation of
school leaders
To design, test and validate a European Framework on core competencies required by people in different kinds of School Leadership roles
To disseminate and exploit the Network’s acquired knowledge on processes of collaborative networking, and the derived indicators on effective policy design for School Leadership at decision making centres in Europe and beyond.
Other network partners:
Ministries and Educational Agencies
Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, National Centre for Innovation and Cultural Re-search, Spain
Niedersächsisches Landesinstitut für schulische Qualitätsentwicklung (NQL), Germany
Ministry of Education, Pedagogical Institute, Cyprus
Ministry of Education and Research, Estonia
Education and Teacher Training Agency (ETTA), Croatia
Ministry of Education and Research Sweden
EPA – The Voice of Parents in Europe Newsletter 4/2012 page 5 of 10
Educational Research Institute (IBE), Ministry of Education, Poland
Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Ministry of Education, France
Ministry of Education , State Education Centre (NEC), Latvia
General Teaching Council for Scotland – UK
Associations
Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE)
The European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE)
European School Heads Association (ESHA)
European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE)
European Network for Improving Research and Development in Educational Leadership and Management (ENIRDELM)
Research
Netherlands School for Educational Management (NSO), the Netherlands
Vilnius Pedagogical University, Latvia
University of Innsbruck, Dept. of Teacher Education and School Research – Austria
Centre for Principal Development, UMEÅ University, Sweden
The Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark
National Institute for Leadership in Education (NSLE), Slovenia
Institute of Educational Leadership, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Portugal
Durham University, United Kingdom
Paideia Foundation (FP), Bulgaria
Tempus Public Foundation (TPF), Hunga
ry
University of Debrecen (TEK, UD), Hungary
University of Primorska, Faculty of Education Koper (UP PEF), Slovenia
University of Tartu, Estonia
Other
Audiovisual Technology, Informatics and Telecommunications (ATiT), Belgium
Wissenschaftsladen Wien – Science Shop Vienna, Austria
Eszter SALAMON EPA – The Voice of Parents in Europe Newsletter 4/2012 page 6 of 10
European Education and Training Forum 2012
Workshop: Learning in non-formal and informal settings to support employability and youth participa-tion
At the Education, Training and Youth Forum held in Brussels 18-19 October 2012 I had the opportuni-ty to attend this workshop. For the achievement of employment and growth targets of Europe 2020 it is essential to support non-formal and informal learning since skills acquired this way is essential for personal success and development.
There was a diverse group of experts from all fields of education as well as youth work in this work-shop. Since this was the first forum where the topic of youth was involved, there was a large empha-sis on the role of youth organizations and youth work in non-formal learning in this workshop.
The participants were quite satisfied with the discussion but not so much so with the presentation of workshop results at the plenary. It was a really lively and active working group mostly tackling ques-tions of non-formal and informal learning mostly underlining topics of
funding opportunities
quality assurance of non-formal learning
acceptance and certification of skills learnt informally or in non-formal education.
Participants agreed that for a successful career skills acquired informally or non-formally are equally important to formal learning, but tools to rate skill levels and their evaluation are to be developed. It is essential to have a framework in a European level to give an account of these skills that can help employability and mobility. The crucially important role of parents in non-formal education and in-formal learning was acknowledged by workshop participants.
The workshop’s results were in line with the on-line consultation of EUCIS-LLL on the topic before the Forum as follows:
Question 17: Non‐formal and informal learning, through e.g. participation in youth organisations or volunteering, can contribute to the acquisition of i.e. horizontal skills which are necessary in the labour market. How can non‐formal and informal learning best be shaped to improve the future employability prospects of young people? ti:
Develop European tools to use non‐formal and informal learning outcomes for employa-bility: few national validation procedures have been implemented so far while recogni-tion of non-formal and informal learning is seen as essential by all respondents for young people’s employability. Validation systems shall be set up in every Member State while respecting the intrinsic added‐value of non‐formal and informal learning and not over‐formalise it (loss of flexibility).
Raise awareness on how crucial non‐formal and informal learning are for employability and youth participation: awareness‐raising measures should accompany the implementa-tion of validation practices through campaigns targeted first at employers and social partners, to convince them that those types of learning can match the skills they need from an employee; then at young people themselves to encourage them to engage in non‐formal learning experiences as a good way to increase their chances to find a job. They also need assistance to value this experience in front of a potential employer.
Recognise volunteering as a valuable learning pathway: a European document (future EU Skills Passport?) has to be created to recognise and validate volunteer experiences across
EPA – The Voice of Parents in Europe Newsletter 4/2012 page 7 of 10
Europe and the skills acquired. A common certification is needed for volunteer work to be valued equally to other types of education and lead to more employment. Valuing volunteering at the national level is therefore essential and could be based on the new European Charter on the Rights and Responsibilities of Volunteers. Youth and volunteer-ing organisations also need support in recruiting, training and retaining young volunteers.
Improve quality assurance of non‐formal learning: quality and recognition of the quality of non‐formal learning should be recognised across Europe. Cooperation between rele-vant stakeholders through exchange of best practices is needed to define a common quality assurance framework including the identification and assessment of quality standards.
Broaden the target group: non‐formal and informal learning do not only concern young people and those types of experiences should be valued at all ages in a lifelong learning perspective to increase one’s employability and civic participation, but also personal de-velopment and well‐being. Besides, in a lifewide approach and to create more comple-mentarities between all ty
pes of education, all learners involved in formal education should be informed about the benefits of acquiring transversal skills through non‐formal and informal experiences.
Question 18: How to best promote non‐formal and informal learning and how best to ensure recog-nition of its value among employers, policy‐makers and young people? ti:
Campaign to raise awareness on the benefits of non‐formal and informal learning: sensi-tising employers, policy‐makers and young people but also social partners, human re-sources staff and the broader public is an important way to foster more support for non‐formal and informal learning social recognition. Quality research is needed upstream to demonstrate the impact of those types of learning for society. Formal education insti-tutions should also collaborate with non‐formal education providers and officially recog-nise the benefits of this type of education.
Promote EU and national tools for the validation of non‐formal and informal learning outcomes: while disseminating information on the benefits on non‐formal and informal learning, validation tools should be promoted at the same time so that stakeholders are aware of the usefulness of engaging into those learning experiences. Information on vali-dation should be accessible, affordable and transparent for people of all ages and from all backgrounds. The EQF for instance includes qualifications acquired outside formal ed-ucation but it is often not applied in practice in NQFs because of a lack of awareness.
Support associations providing non‐formal and informal learning: civil society organisa-tions can be reliable partners of policy‐makers to raise awareness on the importance to recognise non‐formal and informal learning outcomes. A genuine dialogue shall be im-plemented so that civil society can give a valuable feedback on their grassroots experi-ence in a bottom‐up approach. Horizontal cooperation between them is also needed for an exchange of good practices and information. Appropriate financial support (especially grants) and capacity‐building should also be provided to those associations as they are the best ambassadors of non‐formal and informal learning.
Focus on quality assurance of non‐formal learning and informal learning: ensuring the quality of the learning opportunities provided outside formal education is the best way to make their value recognised by employers.
EPA – The Voice of Parents in Europe Newsletter 4/2012 page 8 of 10
Question 19: Which actions and activities in the area of non‐formal and informal learning should be supported at European level under Erasmus for All in view of enhancing the employability and active participation of young people in society? ti:
Support youth exchanges and volunteering: develop mobility opportunities for young people, be them within formal, non‐formal and informal settings (Erasmus for all, Euro-pean Voluntary Service, summer schools, community service days in schools, training and seminars for youth workers, other forms of cultural and linguistic exchanges); mobility should also be supported at an organisational level by supporting joint projects between formal and non‐formal education providers and among youth organisations.
Support sustainable activities through grants for civil society organisations: youth organi-sations are beneficial for the personal development, active citizenship and employability of young people. To this purpose they lead long‐term projects including multiple activi-ties that need administrative and financial support from EU level (Erasmus for All) and national levels through operating grants. Once they have proven the quality of their work, easier ways for them to receive grants should be created so that they spend more time on carrying out their activities than on bureaucratic work.
Support citizenship education: education to civic rights and responsibilities should not be neglected in developing a sense of active citizenship among young people in particular. Social engagement in the community like volunteering is the best vector to develop transversal skills such as motivation, creativity, sense of responsibility and solidarity among young people.
Question 20: How to best ensure inclusiveness of non‐formal and informal learning activities sup-ported by Erasmus for All, so that they are successful in reaching out to young people with fewer opportunities? ti:
Target a vulnerable audience at risk of educational disadvantage: non‐formal learning opportunities should be accessible and free to people with fewer opportunities, meaning also taking place in deprived areas in cooperation with families. Organisers should active-ly try to target and involve them. Activities should be oriented to talents and not skills and be recognised through fair and transparent validation tools.
Cooperate with local community organisations: the work of grassroots organisations car-rying out small‐scale projects is highly valuable because adapted to the reality of local conditions and needs. Those organisations therefore need to be empowered through ca-pacity‐building and financial support; they are the multipliers of EU and national levels policy action and the producers of best practices.
Focus strategies and policies on inclusion: inclusion shall be enhanced as a top priority in EU and national policy‐making with sufficient resources allocated. Young people with fewer opportunities should be essentially targeted to identify and remove barriers to learning. Standardised documentation for non‐formal learning providers should be made available to promote social inclusion.
Eszter SALAMON EPA – The Voice of Parents in Europe Newsletter 4/2012 page 9 of 10
ISSA-DETEC Conference – Opatija 15-17 October 2012-11-02
The International Step by Step Association (ISSA) and DECET – Diversity in Early Childhood Education and Training organized a joint conference in Opatija (Croatia) on Pathways towards Quality, Equity and Respect for Diversity in ECEC.
The conference explored in an interactive manner innovative ways of professional learning that can empower ECEC workers in their search for quality, equity, and respect for diversity. In this context we had a look at examples of interesting practices that illustrate innovative approaches to profes-sional learning that empowers ECEC practitioners working with children in increasingly challenging, diverse, and uncertain contexts.
The conference format itself was modelling the principles of a learning community by actively involv-ing participants in discussion, encouraging critical reflection and creating knowledge through the exchange of diverse experiences and expertise.
The starting point of the conference was the growing demands on the ECEC professionals working with young children and their families: from dealing with increasing diversity to facing the conse-quences of families living in poverty, from expanding their competences beyond teaching to reaching communities and building professional networks, from investing in their professional growth to ad-vocating for the reputation of their profession.
The questions that the conference was trying to find answers to:
what is really expected from ECEC professionals to know and be ready to do in a changing world that re-defines childhood and puts increasing pressure on professionals’ roles
how a competent system supports individuals in realizing their capabilities for developing re-sponsible and responsive practices that meet the needs of children and parents, especially those who live in difficult circumstances.
The conference participants agreed that empowering learning communities can play a key role in increasing the competences of professionals, parents, and children on different levels. They can be places where pedagogical theory and practice are critically analysed and where new pedagogical knowledge and practice are constructed by empowering different voices and views to contribute to the dialogue. Learning communities can be the open learning space where governmental and non-governmental agencies can work together, where practitioners, parents, experts, policymakers, and researchers can build on their specific expertise to create better chances for young children and their families to access and benefit from high quality ECEC.
In line with the framework of the conference I replaced our president, Johannes Theiner to hold a workshop on Supporting Parents makes Parents Supporting. Preceding my workshop I attended an-other one on Professional Reflective Methodologies: Building a stronger bond between Parents and Practitioners introducing research and experiences from different projects in Belgium and Croatia. The workshop referred to a research paper of Jinnah and Walters, 2008 stating that in ECEC parents are happy with programmes but not satisfied with the intensity of their involvement. It also stated that the reason for not involving parents in programme development and execution is the assump-tion that they are not interested or they do not have time.
It was not a surprise that right after this workshop I had to alter the workshop I planned because the participants were interested in practical issues and best practices. I had the opportunity to share a number of initiatives presented at the Parents’ Bazaar and workshops of previous EPA events. In line with the main topics of the conference the interest was higher in case of parental involvement in EPA – The Voice of Parents in Europe Newsletter 4/2012 page 10 of 10
culturally or otherwise diverse groups of children and parents. We were lucky to have a 90-minutes workshop instead of a 60-minutes one because the other speaker could not attend the conference.
We all agreed that in ECEC parental involvement and day-to-day communication between parents and professionals is better on group or classroom level than on the level of the institution or higher (local, regional, national), but it should also be developed – only parents of children with special needs tend to be active on these levels, but it causes the above mentioned research results. The one and the half hours made it possible to introduce EPA and its aims to the participants and well as in-troducing the MEET Initiative.
Eszter SALAMON
Due to the budget constraints caused by the lack of EU-funding our announced participation and con-tribution to the ISSA-Conference was questioned. During a meeting with Ana Gorey, President of EPA’s Member-association Interparents, we discussed the issue and the need to co-operate on the dissemination of MEET – an initiative that was triggered by Ana.
EPA gratefully acknowledges the financial support by MEET which funded Eszter’s travel and partici-pation at the ISSA-conference.
Johannes THEINER
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