Erasmus + KA 3 project Teachers4Europe – Setting an Agora for Democratic Culture
In the last article, we introduced the Handbook for Teachers – Teaching European Values, a text created by the Erasmus + KA 3 project Teachers4Europe – Setting an Agora for Democratic Culture.
The handbook is specifically designed to give you as a teacher a compact knowledge of the origins, functions, policies and strategies of the European Union.
In addition, methods are included that aim, on the one hand, to enhance students’ knowledge about the EU and, on the other hand, to support an understanding of and a connection with basic European values.
This manual was developed with suggestions for learning for and through European values using student-centred pedagogies that are fit for upholding a democratic culture in classrooms and schools.
In addition, this handbook provides accompanying material with resources for teaching about the European Union and European values.
In today’s article we will deepen the structure of the Handbook to give you a more precise idea of how to use it and how to introduce it with your students.
This handbook is intended to help you gain an overview about European values and the basic functioning of the EU as well as inspire you with twelve teaching units that focus on the European Union and European values.
Sections 3 and 4, and the appendices, present general information and facts that teachers need to be aware of in order to lead activities on the topic: the result of the Teachers4Europe survey and needs analysis, the list and definition of values, a brief summary of the main EU institutions and their functioning.
Section 5 to 7 focus on the pedagogical approaches needed to teach and learn on the topic of EU values. Section 5 offers a comprehensive presentation of pedagogical principles, practices and methods that are conducive to the development of students’ competences regarding EU values. These methods and practices will support the planning of teaching and learning activities in the classroom. Section 6 presents advice for whole school approaches; this is important because we believe that such topics as democratic values and human rights merit being part of children’s learning on a day-to-day basis. Further, it is beneficial to start from a very young age and whole school approaches are most suited for younger children, so that they may experience democratic culture and its impact on their life on a day-to-day basis. Section 7 is a collection of 12 activities selected for their relevance regarding the topic and their innovation potential. For each activity, you will find a list of components of competences (the main attitudes, skills, knowledge and understanding) that the activity helps develop. For ease of search, in section 9, activities are classified in an index, according to their timing, school level/ age of target group and theme.
«What method is suitable for the time I have?»
An index of the activities is provided at the end of the document to help you quickly find what you are looking for:
A major part of the T4E project is the establishment of an international network for teachers to exchange best practices and methods on the teaching of EU values.
In addition, the network also aims to ensure that national structures may change and that European values are given even greater weight in national educational standards.
You are cordially invited to incorporate your own methods into the network. Please use the template in the following section and submit to the network: https://www.teachers4europe.eu/en/about.
Download the Handbook for free from our website
In this article we answer some questions regarding the decision to transform Learn to Change from an association to a collective.
In this article, we talk about what we mean by Collective – the new form chosen by L2C – and how you can join it.
Learn to Change’s members held a General Assembly in fall 2022, in which the decision was taken to transform the association into a less formal, and more agile entity. Therefore, we will change status, going from an ‘organization’ to a less formal entity that we name “The collective”
If you feel you are committed to the vision and mission of the association, then your place is here.
We are sure that becoming a member will benefit you in many ways. Read the product description for more details or click sign up now.
