The Pestalozzi Programme Le Programme Pestalozzi

“Pestalozzi” In-Service Training Programme for Education Professionals

CoE 2012 1003-1006 Finland

Democracy in Basic Education

Dates and place: 3 – 6 October 2012, Helsinki Finland

FINAL REPORT

Pestalozzi workshop: Democracy in basic education

General approach and framework: The general aim of the training activities of the Pestalozzi Programme is to train education professionals to become multipliers for Council of Europe standards and values in education. The work is based on three main pillars  Content : standards and principles as well as project results of the Council of Europe  Methodology : learner-centered, peer-training, collaborative work on issues of common concerns to find fit solutions for diverse contexts  Four-fold concept of competences development : Developing sensitivity and awareness, knowledge and understanding, individual practice & societal practice.

Related Council of Europe Project:  Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)7 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education  Recommendation 1849 (2008) of the Parliamentary Assembly for the promotion of a culture of democracy and human rights through teacher education  ‘Learning and Living Democracy For All’.

The objective to the Pestalozzi workshop in Helsinki 3. – 6.10.2011 was working and sharing professional experiences together. The workshop focused on the best practices and activities in teaching and learning about democracy, the different forms of democracy in every day’s schooling life especially from the following points of views:  Children’s rights and participation in school’s operational culture  Different cases on how the Rights of the Child are promoted all around Europe  The role of student boards and student associations in basic education.

Expected results were:  To strengthen democracy as a basic value in education  To implement the participation practices and activities in everyday school life in basic education  To get innovative ideas and share best practices between the participating countries concerning child activating philosophy and appropriate methods on active participation in school’s operational culture  Co-operation on fostering democracy and child participation with NGO’s and other outof-school networks.

The programme consisted of introductory lectures and visits to local school. Co-operative learning was the working method throughout the workshop: the participants shared their experiences and professional practices with peers from other participating countries.

Programme

Wednesday 3 October Arrival of the participants Check-in at Hotel Cumulus Hakaniemi (address: Siltasaarenkatu 14, 00530 Helsinki) 15.45 Meeting with Mr Matti Pietilä, Ms Najat Ouakrim-Soivio and Mr Marko van den Berg at the hotel reception. Walk together to the course venue: Finnish National Board of Education (Address: Hakaniemenranta 6, 00531 Helsinki) 16.00 – 18.00 Workshop opening & Workshop Mr Matti Pietilä, Ms Najat Ouakrim-Soivio and Mr Marko van den Berg Experiences in Module training and the objectives of workshop working (Marko and Najat) To start with:  The members of the group will present their own practices according to the pre-task they have prepared  While working and discussing the group will raise three similarities and three differences they have found.  Common discussion together 18.00 ‘Get together’ -dinner at Bridges (Hotel Hilton Strand, Stenberginranta 4) …with a bit of planned and a lot of free socializing.

Thursday 4 October 8.45 Meeting at the hotel reception. Walk together to the course venue: Finnish National Board of Education (address: Hakaniemenranta 6, 00531 Helsinki) 9.00 – 9.15 Orientation for Wednesday’s workshop Ms Najat Ouakrim-Soivio and Mr Marko van den Berg

9.15-10.15 Democracy in Finnish Basic Education report (based on report published in March, 2012) Ms Kristina Kaihari, Counsellor of Education, Finnish National Board of Education Discussion and reflection 10.15 - 11.30 Introduction to the Pestalozzi programme, the Council of Europe and the Finnish Education System Mr Jorma Kauppinen, Director, General Education, Finnish National Board of Education, Chairman of Steering Committee for Educational Policy and Practice (CDPPE) Discussion and reflection 11.30 – 12.30 Lunch at restaurant Lasiranta (FNBE) 12.30 – 14.00 Children’s rights and safe learning environment KiVa - a national anti-bullying programme for Finnish schools Ms Kristiina Laitinen, Counsellor of Education, Finnish National Board of Education Discussion and reflection 14.00 - 14.30 Refreshments (FNBE) 14.30 – 16.00 Cooperation and examples fostering pupils’ active participation in schools  Daniel Sazonov and Claudia Gonzalez, Nuva – Suomen Nuorisovaltuustojen liitto (The National association of the Municipal Youth Councils)  Juuso Peura, Mannerheim League for Child Welfare  Hannu Niemelä, UNICEF Finland  Maija Gellin, Finnish Forum for Mediation Ms Kristina Kaihari, Counsellor of Education, Finnish National Board of Education Discussion and reflection 16.00-16.30 Reflection of the day 19.00 Departure for dinner from Hotel reception 19.15 Dinner at restaurant Juttutupa (address: Säästöpankinranta 6)

Friday 5 October 8.30 Departure from hotel 9.00 - 12.00 School visit to Helsingin normaalilyseo  Introduction of the school  Pupil’s association  Meeting with pupil’s & teachers  Possibility to visit the school lessons  parents’ representative parents’ role in Helsingin normaalilyseo 12.00 – 13.00 School lunch 13.00 - 14.30 The school visit continues 14.30 – 15.30 Summary discussion of school visit 16.00 – Free time for shopping etc. 18.00 – Meeting with Mr Matti Pietilä, Ms Najat Ouakrim-Soivio and Mr Marko van den Berg at the hotel reception. Walk to the restaurant. 19.00 – Finnish evening at restaurant Saaga (address: Bulevardi 34)

Saturday 6 October 9.00 - 11.00 Workshop Ms Najat Ouakrim-Soivio and Mr Marko van den Berg Democracy and participation across Europe  Group work continues

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While you have been working, discussing, listening and visiting you may have formed your opinion on how democracy and participation are taken into

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consideration in everyday school life: Would you take some Finnish or other countries’ practices home with you? Which ones and why? Which of your own practices might be valuable to the other counties/schools/participants? Why? Summary  Groups presentations on fore-mentioned topics

11.00 - 12.00 Presentations and conclusions Report on the European Workshop Mr Matti Pietilä, Counsellor of Education, Finnish National Board of Education

Closing of the seminar

Farewell

Departures

List of participants and workshop organizers Participants: Austria

Ms Daniela Longhino

Belarus

Ms Aliona Paliy

Croatia

Ms Visnja Rajic

Finland

Ms Kaarina Haapala Ms Anna-Leea Asumalahti

France

Mr Olivier Masse

Greece

Ms Eirini Veroni

Hungary

Ms Ildiko Czegledi

Lithuania

Ms Ruta Dadeliene

Poland

Ms Marta Malek

Portugal

Mr Pedro Lopes

Romania

Ms Gabriela Istrate

Serbia

Ms Isidora Korac

Spain

Ms Macarena Bello

Workshop organizers: Trainers Ms Najat Ouakrim-Soivio, FL, University of Helsinki Mr Marko van den Berg, Ph.D, University of Helsinki Finnish National Board of Education -staff Mr Jorma Kauppinen, Director, General Education, Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE) Chairman of Steering Committee for Educational Policy and Practice (CDPPE) Ms Kristina Kaihari, Counsellor of Education, FNBE Ms Kristiina Laitinen, Counsellor of Education, FNBE Mr Veli-Matti Malinen, Head of Development of General Education Unit, FNBE Ms Paula Mattila, Counsellor of Education, FNBE Ms Jaana Järventausta, secretary, FNBE Ms Mirja Kuorttinen, assistant, FNBE Ms Inkeri Gröhn, secretary, FNBE Mr Hannu Ylilehto, Head of Information, FNBE Mr Matti Pietilä, Counsellor of Education, FNBE (Pestalozzi NLO of Finland) NGO representatives Mr Daniel Sazonov and Ms Claudia Gonzalez, Nuva – Suomen Nuorisovaltuustojen liitto (The National association of the Municipal Youth Councils) Mr Juuso Peura (Mannerheim League for Child Welfare) Mr Hannu Niemelä (UNICEF Finland) Ms Maija Gellin (Finnish Forum for Mediation) Helsingin Normaalilyseo Leading Principle Markku Pyysiäinen (Helsingin Normaalilyseo) Primary school Principle Juha-Pekka Husso (Helsingin Normaalilyseo)

Pretasks Pretask for participants The title and some descriptions of it needed to be sent to Mr Marko van den Berg and to Ms Najat Ouakrim-Soivio before 24th September by e-mail. The pre-task was to be written in English (word–document, font: Calibri 12), and the optimal length of the work was 1 500 words. Pretask was expected to be ready and sent to trainers before the participants came to Finland (before the 3th of October). Participants were to choose from one of the following pretask options: Option number 1: Give us some examples of the best practices and activities in teaching and learning about school democracy. You can also bring out a project that you have been involved. You can also describe the best practices from your country.

OR Option number 2: How the children’s participation or the children's rights are shown in practice in your school’s or your country’s everyday life? You can also bring out a project that you have been involved or you can describe the best practices from your country.

OR Option number 3: The role of student boards or student associations in your school or in your country. Bring us some examples or your personal experiences how the student boards works in everyday schooling life.

Option number 1: Give us some examples of the best practices and activities in teaching and learning about school democracy. You can also bring out a project that you have been involved. You can also describe the best practices from your country.

Croatia_Visnja Rajic Teaching and learning about democracy in general education 1. General information about Croatian education system and students’ role in decision making in educational system

General information: Croatian educational system is organized in the following way:

Source: http://www.euraxess.hr/sitegenius/topic.php?id=280

Croatian education system is organized in the Central European tradition. The major flaw of this way of organizing education can be recognized in the organization of primary education lasting only 4 years and not 6. The next 4 years are equivalent to lower secondary education. At the moment only primary and lower secondary education is obligatory (8 years of schooling) meaning that Croatia is one of the countries in Europe where compulsory education lasts the least. There is much talk about prolonging compulsory education to the first two years of secondary

education, but certain material and financial standards need to be met. Sadly, there is no talk of prolonging primary education to 6 years. Student role in educational process Upon entering compulsory education students are introduced to school student councils. The student council representatives are elected every year in a manner that each class in the school has a representative. The way the representatives are chosen differs from school to school depending on the School constitution. It is recognised in many occasions that neither teachers nor students really know how to practice their democracy in the school. The latest legislation on education: Act on primary and secondary education in Croatia (2008) article 71 states that the representatives of student council take part in school activities which discuss students rights and obligations, but do NOT have a decision making abilities. Their advice can – but does not have to be taken in to account. Student representatives have an informative and consultative role with no voting rights. Representatives from different school student council meet in a County student council and discuss topics that are actual in their county. A student representative from each county meets in a National student council (21 members). This body is active since 2005 (more info at: http://nvurh.skole.hr/nvurh) and has reacted to legislation changes in the new Education act (2008). The mandate for the representative lasts two years. In a meeting held in June 2012 with the representative of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport further cooperation has been confirmed. Student representatives will continue to attend Agency and Ministry meetings on topics of compulsory and secondary education. Levels of student participation:

National student council a representative of each county 21 members

County student council a representative of each school

School student council a student representative of each class

This is a general picture of the state of student participation and organisation of student bodies. Although much improvement can be made in this area, my major interest on the topic of democracy in basic education is the: ability and opportunity of students in active participation in

the learning process and school curricula. The issue that I would like to address is how can teaching and learning processes influence development of democracy and student active participation. Democracy on classroom level – choosing what when and how to learn The much talked about shift in focus from teaching to learning in education leaves an open question: how much democracy is practiced in everyday situations in school and how much influence students have on their learning. Following the philosophy behind progressive and reform pedagogies from the start of 20th century student interest and internal motivation seem to be the key aspects of quality education. A current situation in compulsory education in Croatia does not reflect this philosophy. In the words of Dewey (1913) boredom and effort occurs when child’s interests are not met. A child that works and learns something that he feels he/she is interested in does not get bored nor tiered, does not need extra effort to learn. Due to the strict legislation and centralized curricula with not much autonomy in curricula planning there is not much diversity practiced on national and local level. This leaves schools almost totally unconcerned about student’s interest and their voice in learning process. Implementing elements of reform and progressive education can make an impact on democracy in educational processes in the school. If we know the basic characteristic of reform and progressive education (individualized education, competence based education, intrinsically based education, respecting children’s rights to express and choose their activities and in the same time making the child responsible for the outcomes of the activities that he/she has chosen). For my PhD thesis I have conducted action research in 6 primary school classes (grade 2 – 4) in 4 different schools, 3 counties. The aim of the research was to undergo a process of change and teacher reflexion on the possibilities of implementation of pedagogical ideas of philosophers and pedagouges such as Maria Montessori, John Dewey, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Rudolf Steiner, and Celestine Freinet. Many of the elements implemented were strongly connected to the idea of student autonomy, right and the responsibility to learn and developing the sense of community. Attention was given to already existing student councils (parliament) that already existed in school. To make their work more relevant weekly meetings were organized. Usually, students feel like members of a certain class and not feeling a great connection to the rest of the students in the school. That is why we have implemented student meetings (not just student representatives) on Monday morning when students met their peers from different classes and discussed their ideas and problems as a first lesson. Different workshops and activities that develop social competence were organized and a big effort was given to building social networks within students from different classes. In this way students had a direct connection and influence on planned activities or the situations they wanted to discuss with each other. One of the best examples that represents real shift in focus in educational process is individualized weekly plan for children.

This is an element of Freinet pedagogy often used in Montessori schools as well. In accordance to the curricula and students choices teacher and student plane an individualised weekly plan per a student. During the following week students try and work/play through the activities in their plan. Making the choice of When? What? With whom? How? What the research has showed that even with much of the scepticism of the teachers in the beginning even the student in second grade (age 7 – 8) were able to take accountability for the organisation of the work in the school and successfully finish activities in their plan.

France_Olivier Masse Education for human rights and democracy The school must prepare each student to his life as a citizen. Education in human rights in general and children's rights in particular is part of the curriculum. It is the basis of the fight against intolerance, racism and antisemitism. In addition to teaching, educational activities supported on moments (days or weeks of awareness) or in the form of awards or contests is the preferred means for conducting this educational work. Their characteristics involve different institutions and associations. School is a place where students acquire the necessary skills that will be throughout life beyond their school to continue their education, build their future personal and professional, successful life in society and freely exercise their citizenship: autonomy, responsibility, openness to others, respect for self and others, exercise critical thinking. They learn to live together in a democratic and republican. The common base accepts the social and civic competences to be acquired: sense of dialogue, negotiation, consensus, teamwork, the rules of collective life, whether the operation of the class or the internal regulations of the institution, the sense of responsibility, individual and collective safety, health, sexuality, respect for others, civility, the denial of stereotypes and discrimination. A structuring element of school life In general, learning responsibility is inseparable from the teaching mission and the work of teachers in their classrooms. It is supported by specific lessons: civics and ethics of primary school, civic education college. Beyond teaching, learning is a structural element of school life, including through respect for the rule preventing antisocial behavior, violence and risky behavior, education, health, education security. It also involves educational activities that engage students in practical situations around group activities addressing such issues as culture, sport... Involvement in athletic associations such as scholar trips includes the opportunity to practice leadership, autonomy and sense of responsibility. The goal is to cross disciplinary knowledge acquisition and training of social and civic competences. Learning responsibility and autonomy mobilizes all stakeholders in the educational community. It urges particularly the committee of health education and citizenship (CESC).

Some benchmarks Civic course Two measures in the framework of the law and policy agenda for the future of the School from 2005 are particularly in the service of education accountability: civic course and note of school life. They mark a complementary manner the importance of the issue in terms of training. The course allows civic follow students' progress in learning responsibility: it evaluates throughout the school each progressive appropriation of the basic rules of democratic life, respectful behavior toward peers and itself, constructive participation in community life, the rejection of violence. Note of school life Note evaluates school life attendance, the rules of procedure, the student participation in school life and activities organized or recognized by the institution, obtaining the certificate of school safety Road and training certificate in first aid. It is an integral part of student assessment, including graduation national patent. It covers the entire middle school. Global awareness days A number of awareness days are held worldwide. These events are an excellent opportunity to broaden students' horizons, in conjunction with associations and institutions invested in advocacy. Educational teams are encouraged to develop educational projects and implement awareness: external interventions qualified, film screenings, exhibitions, etc.. November 20: World Day of the Rights of the Child December 2: World Day for the Abolition of Slavery December 10: World Day for Human Rights March 8: World Day for Women's Rights March 21: World Day of fight against racism

Prize for Human Rights - René Cassin The Price of Rights René Cassin-reward work and actions carried out on human rights in schools and colleges. Established in 1988, this award is named after a man exceptional and exemplary career: René Cassin, Nobel peace, was the principal drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. A local experiment : the college of Mimizan It all started with an observation: "I saw too many students marching in my office, remembers the principal, Anthony Olivares. So I asked the CPE to consider a system of dialogue more constructive than simply to be dragged kicking and screaming into the principal's office. It is also the inefficiency hours of restraint that led to the process. they were useless, the same students were always found. After discussion, the suppression of hours used was approved by the Board of Directors. It was that

teachers were ready, and finally developed a common modus vivendi'''', a way of living together through verbal explanation. The new school project therefore is based on "listening", "exchange" and "sharing". Since the last entry, systematic interviews with the student and his family are led by teachers, or CPE management staff as soon as a problem is detected. Two priorities came the new color school project: "Respect and work," , for not being accused of laxity. If the student does not work, he will see his schoolboy rights diminished. Instead of ending at 15 h 30, for example, it must remain in the facility to do this work. The positive point is that there is no delay between the completion of the incident and punishment. There is an immediate sense given the transgression. In case of more serious, the case goes before the board of school life, established ten years ago. It's like a board of discipline but it is still within the dialogue, and advocating accountability. It sometimes leads to constraints, as a work of general interest in the case of non-compliance places, for example. reminding the student's duties and obligations. This commission has been proven since ten years, one disciplinary board met. Finally, there are warning letters and exclusions when needed. FROM Sylvie Ayral, teacher and researcher : Students worked under constant threat. They were punished for not doing their job if they do not call in time, they had inappropriate behavior. It seemed that the only solution was punishment. Punishment has never led a student to work , at most to copy his friends not to be punished. You never learn under threat, you only submit. You learn when you want to learn and certainly not under threat. If a student insults me, I do it alone, not to the group class that is a public, and grows to save face. I try to work with him on what he felt his emotion, and he gave the word, which in general is sexist. He has the right to be angry, but you try to make him understand that he can express other than insults. We must try, try again ... It is sometimes very, very long. This can sometimes take several months or even a year, but our job is to try and try again until you get to create a bridge, a hook. Knowing that some very serious cases are not within our jurisdiction, and have an external support (psychiatric or educational). If this is done throughout the years of schooling, it has extremely positive effects. And it relieves tension, because it prevents overbuilding of masculinity or femininity during puberty. I think the vulnerability of boys comes from the construction of their sexual identity. That is to say, they must always, in the eyes of one and all, to prove their manhood, and especially heterosexuality. That is to say, to stand for everything that is associated with women, including within the category boy. Where narcissism is extremely fragile and linked to peer approval Over 80% of students punished are boys. It allows a symbolic passage, entry into the dominant

group of boys. There's a bit of suffering: admonitions of CPE [Senior Advisor Education] parents, but that's part of the ritual. And finally, it is a consecration. The boys admit also immense pleasure, they speak of "adrenaline", "excitement". All this serves them stand out from the female, and within the group of boys, to steer clear of "weak". This serves them to show that they are dominant and heterosexual. This ritual allows them to be in conformity with the standards, to be a "real" boy. There are also contests the one with the most hours of glue. When a boy is excluded from school the next day, it is outside the building with his friends huddled around him. As a hero. Like a little boss halo of glory. All thanks to the penalty The problem is that they reinforce what they claim to fight. They are supposed to teach the student that there is a law that applies to everyone, it is a future citizen. In fact, the disciplinary action as practiced is the opposite of that. It establishes and reinforces masculine identities. Instead of talking about zero tolerance, we would do well to soften things. A look at the relationship between boys and girls: do workshops speech, work on an active mix in kindergarten, analyze how insults are built and train teachers for this. Otherwise, it will continue to rot the daily classes and reproduce a society dominated by masculine values.

Serbia_Isidora Korac Student’s parliament – ABC of democracy In Serbia, according by low, members of student’s parliament are elected each school year by students from each class. The structure of student parliament is: two representatives of each class, three representatives of each grade/year.

Student parliament give opinions and suggestions to school bodies concerning:    

school rules of conduct, student safety measures, annual plan of school activities, sports and other activities, they discuss the relationship and cooperation between students and teachers, and the school environment, they actively participate in the development planning process and school’s self-evaluation and extracurricular activities.

There are differences between student’s parliament in elementary school and high school. School board activities in elementary schools are: attendance, participation in activities, no right to vote during decision-making. School board activities in high schools are attendance and participation in board activities:     

when proposals for financial plans are being prepared and being adopted, when management report, financial statements and excursion report are being adopted, when applicants for the position of school principal are being invited, adoption of bylaws: statutes, rules of conduct, manuals, act. preparation and adoption of: school curriculum, development plan, annual plan of school activities, evaluation and self-evaluation.

There are lots of examples of good practice, how the student’s parliament works in everyday schooling life. For example, a get-together of primary and high school students from different schools has been organized within one of the Projects about Human rights. A lot of topics, such as human rights, getting to know civil society, encouraging activism according to Convention on the Rights of the Child, children’s activism in a local community, have been dealt with through peer education and through workshops which organized by school teachers and experts in different fields. A new extra-curricular activity has been introduced after that. I was one of the experts who organized the Workshop about human rights, stereotypes and prejudices. The workshop consisted of five activities. The aim of the first activity was to introduce the topic of human rights to young pupils. They were divided into groups and each group was given a card with one human right described on it and the task to come up with a role-play, sketch or an art piece, which would represent exercising or breaking that right. After the preparation, each group gives a presentation without saying which right it is, so the rest of the students have a task to recognize and guess the right in question. The trainer writes down the rights on the flip chart after each performance, so at the end there is a list of key rights of every human. Afterwards, students are invited to discuss other issues related to human rights - if there are some more, why they are needed, what happens when people break them, whether they have some limitations, and if yes, where those limitations are… The aim of the second activity was to introduce students with the terms: prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination, and to point out the connection among them. Each group was given an envelope with the beginning of a sentence written on it- „Punkers are...”, “Politicians are…”, “Blondes are…”, “Doctors are…”, “The rich are…” Students’ task was to write down an association to these on a sticker and put the sticker in the envelope. They should write down as many associations as they can think of. When they finished, they were given a few big papers where they were supposed to put the beginnings of those sentences as headlines and then put the stickers below them, thus creating big posters with descriptions and characteristics of the groups (stereotypes, prejudices). The posters are then read out loud. The trainer than kicks off the discussion: How can we call these attitudes? Is each and every blonde really stupid? Is each and every shoemaker hardworking? Then they move on to talking about prejudices and stereotypes. Afterwards, each student is given a text about prejudices and stereotypes and a chart to fill in (column: what I learnt, what is still unclear, what is the most interesting) individually. Then, they discuss it in small groups focusing on the unclear parts, so they could help, clarify and explain these to each other. They present that in groups. The third activity: Gradation of negative behavior, discrimination Students are divided into groups and each group gets cut out descriptions and names of various kinds of negative behaviour which they should match with each other and rank. One senior student, a member of the parliament, joins each group to help students with the task. While one group reads out the rest of the students give comments and agree or disagree. The host then asks

the question: What leads to discrimination? Why do you think we did this exercise? What can we learn from this? The fourth activity: film “Balablok” Students first watch the whole film, and then the host instructs students to make a check list with the following questions: Who showed discrimination and intolerance in their behaviour? What were the causes and grounds for the intolerance? How is discrimination manifested? What emotions can I recognize in the behaviour of the actors? Then, they watch the film again, and students fill in the check lists individually. After exchanging opinions inside the groups, they have a discussion: How did they experience the film? What is the key idea and message of the film? What do they think of the way the film ends? What could be the other way to end it…? The fifth activity: Working in experts groups “If we could, we would say it this way…” Students are divided into groups and each group has a senior representative of school parliament. They are told to imagine they are a group of experts for creating commercials, artistic pieces, billboards, performances… who should come up with a poster, commercial, sketch… which would point to the problems in society, such as discrimination (religious, gender, ethnic…), prejudices, stereotypes… The groups get to choose on their own whether their commercial, sketch, or billboard would present a possible solution to the problem, point out that there is such a problem in society, or both of these. Finally, posters are put on the walls, sketches are performed, and groups comment on the very process of making it, ideas they got during the process, results… Second examples: The Public Achievement Team has been set up in one primary school, whose task is to plan the project of connecting students from Bulgaria, Poland and Serbia. Students’ parliaments from three schools have been involved in the project activities. They worked on the topic “Customs characteristic of the people and countries schools are from”. The aim of the project is getting to know different cultures and people, developing the spirit of openness and cooperation, exchange of good practice, peer education (inter-cultural education). The project “Together to Film”: The competition was announced for an essay with the topic Trust, Prejudices and Nation, after which a group of students was selected to participate in multimedia workshops and workshops for professional and practical work on film making, script writing (topics suggested by students), introduction to film and television, final design of projects, preparation for production, film editing, promotion of films. Why is it important to include students in decision-making process?    

It improves discipline - if students participate in adoption of rules, it is more likely they will comply with the rules; it improves students’ learning and achievement - motivation is greater if they are given the possibility to choose what and how to learn; students take responsibility - it is useless to talk of democracy, if we do not practice it; students gain experience in creating a democratic environment...

A successful student parliament is a parliament which enables the students to experience democracy in school!

What do we want and hope for?    

that, by taking part in decision-making process, students will influence the improvement in quality and fairness of their own education that, by taking part in school’s development planning, they would contribute to the school being more suited to their needs that, by taking part in school evaluation, they would have the chance to point out the mistakes and request that such mistakes be corrected that, through all these activities, they would gain experience in creating a democratic environment, which is an important experience for their life after they finish school.

Spain_Macarena Bello Martin DEMOCRACY AND COEXISTENCE IN EDUCATION INTRODUCTION School life in general has become quite a concern due to constant conflicts within the school. This in turn affects all people involved, including teachers, students and parents. For a better coexistence in basic education and education in general, it is necessary to provide a constructive atmosphere and vision where behaviour leads to a more suitable coexistence. This project is aimed to look at the Basic Social and Citizen cooperation, where students should learn different methods of coexistence, cooperation, decision making and being responsible for the decisions taken; They must able to put themselves in the place of others, and understand and respect others points of view; be able to manage basic social skills and accept differences in others and respect the rights of others, especially between genders. It is also important they learn how to resolve conflicts through dialogue. Even though coexistence problems may be irrelevant in some cases, we consider that it’s necessary to provide measures of behaviour which promote a positive atmosphere. Taking this into consideration, we don’t believe that coexistence is purely a matter of organization, but rather, the integration of certain contents which provide the formation of both teachers and students. Prevention is the best way to reduce future behavioural problems. The attitudes to develop and the organization within the school should be based on certain conduct rules. These rules should be applied in each school year: * A debate on the yearly coexistence project between teachers, parents and students at the beginning of each new school year. And, the rules that should be applied to uphold these. * The creation of a coexistence committee. * The circulation of conduct rules within the educational community. * Analyse during weekly tutorials, the current conduct of the class and report the findings to the orientator, who in turn will report to the coexistence committee. *The orientator will give teachers certain activities to complete in the class on the different difficulties that could occur.

* The formation of democratic values such as: Tolerance, equality, political correctness, peaceful resolving of conflicts etc… *To promote outside involvement by inviting professionals from different sectors to come to schools and talk about the importance of a democratic coexistence. These may include professional from the Red Cross, Government agencies and charities. * To celebrate on January 30th, the official “Non violence and peace day”. JUSTIFICATION Nowadays, the society which we live in, affects every and each stage of our lives, and leads us to continue the practice of certain conducts which better our coexistence. It is important that we realise that it is up to all of us to take part and maintain and revise regularly. There are different focuses to resolve conflictive situations such as: Authoritarian focus (no dialogue, ferrous discipline and expulsion from class) or preventive focus (adapting to context and global intervention. Our coexistence plan is based on dialogue and the analysis of each situation. All solutions should be preventative and operable, trying to adapt to why certain situations happen. In Spain the LOE (Education law) proposes, the exercise of tolerance and liberty, within the democratic principles and the prevention of conflicts and a peaceful solution, an idea which supports the school. For this reason, we would like to point out that this plan of coexistence hopes to be the framework for the whole school and at the same time we believe in this viability depends on the compromise of everyone, because coexistence is the responsibility of all. CHARACTERISICS OF SCHOOL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS The public school is situated in the Ofra suburb of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It was opened in 1982. It has a student body of 218. The surroundings are mainly made up of public housing in apartment blocks, the local church, and a sports centre. It lacks parks and recreational zones. This area is mostly made up of lower class families who are unemployed. There are some youth gangs and absence from school is very common which leads to school failure. This leads to the high level of drug abuse and delinquency. The parents are usually very young themselves and the grandparents are the main care providers. It is difficult to get parents to attend parent/teacher meetings and they have to be contacted several times before they actually come. Teachers have been involved a three year programme on conduct and some are on the coexistence committee. We have the support of the social worker who works week by week with the orientator and the headmaster. We also count on anexternal resource called CAF (Family Attention Centre). This is made up of a multi discipline team (social workers, educators and pyscologists ) who are permanantly in contact with the school orientator and the school social worker and also a team of workers from the town hall. Design of preventative measures to better the coexistence in schools Teachers  Knowledge of regulations

 Provide tools to teacher for the resolution of conflicts  Promote teacher awareness of the importance of the coexistence plan Students  Knowledge of regulations  Make students aware of their part in the recognizing and preventing conflicts.  The development of personal abilities  Promote the involvement of students in the school coexistence programme. Parents  Knowledge of regulations  Provide parents tools to cope with conflicts through the PTA of the school.  Commit and participate in both the conduct and school activities. School  Promote the formation of the whole community; Parents, teachers, students and social workers. Actions to take  Create a coexistence committee formed by the following: Headmaster, orientator, social worker, volunteer teachers, volunteer students, volunteer parents.  Committees goals  Create appropiate atmosphere where students feel free to express their thoughts.  Provide students with preventive strategies and solutions for conflicts.  Develop personal relationships through dialogue and role play of real situations.  Be the channel of the communication between parents, teachers and students.  Analyse and resolve conflictive situations. (the final decision in case of expulsion is taken by the principle).  Refer non solved conflicts to the headmaster.  The meetings will be weekly and the cases will be worked and solved.  The rules clearly expose what the teacher or tutor of each student should do in regard to minor conflicts.  When minor conflicts are continuous and unable to be resolved, they should be referred to the coexistence committee. Instruments to deal with or resolve conflicts     

Class role call and activity agenda The tutor must revise the class agenda and weekly report to the school orientator, and together look for a solution to any problems that may arise. Disciplinary measures Every teacher has a sanction document to inform parents of the bad behaviour of their son or daughter. If the bad behaviour continues the next step is to supply the student with a special teacher who will keep an eye on the student and will revise a daily conduct sheet. Conduct sheet The conduct measure is taken for reason of control of the student’s behaviour.The responsibility of this measure is undertaken by teacher, parents and student who will follow the student’s behaviour on a daily basis and will be signed by teachers and parents. This consists of a file that informs of the student’s punctuality, conduct, homework and exams.

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Referral Form: This form is used when a teacher considers it necessary to send a student to the coexistence committee due to his or hers bad conduct. School agenda control is used a communication means with the parents on a daily basis. Special conduct teacher: The member of the commission with the headmaster will decide which student will be given a special conduct teacher who will be in charge of the following the student’s conduct sheet. The teacher will also have weekly meetings with the student’s parents and will provide the student with the necessary tools to workout conflicts in a positive manner. The teacher may also be a mediator between students in conflict. Agreement between parents and the coexistence commission. Agreement between students, parents, orientator and social worker, and juvenile court officer. These are for students who have police records. Tutorial action plan: These are the programmed activities by the orientator to work on weekly the necessities of each group in matters concerning various conflictive situations.

Breaking the coexistence rules When these conduct rules are broken and they are minor, the students will go to dentention at school in the afternoon. Or they may be given extra work by helping teachers with various projects. Repair broken material, they are not allowed to attend after school activities and if a student has a problem with one or more students from the same class, they will be put into a higher level class with exercises to do for up to one week. This will end when the conflict is resolved through mediation.

Option number 2: How the children’s participation or the children's rights are shown in practice in your school’s or your country’s everyday life? You can also bring out a project that you have been involved or you can describe the best practices from your country.

FINLAND_Kaarina Haapala & Anna-Leea Asumalahti Children´s rights at school in the Finnish educational context Briefly about Hyökkälä school Hyökkälä school in Tuusula is a basic education school. The pre-primary education, instruction preparing for basic education, basic education (grade 1 - 9), 2 special needs classes, flexible basic education and after school activities are all under the same roof. In the school year 2012 – 2013 there are 653 pupils studying at Hyökkälä school. There are four small primary schools nearby Hyökkälä school. Those primary schools send pupils to secondary school (grade 7 - 9) to Hyökkälä school.

The Finnish school system in the light of the children´s rights The Finnish nine-year comprehensive school for all was created during the 1970´s. The school system is based on educational equality and there are a lot of similarities between schools. It is typical that children go to the nearest local school. Even though there are many municipalities and cities, the children have the same rights despite of their living area or their background. The learning material, books, school meals (since 1948) and welfare services (school nurse, school psychologist, school social worker and school welfare team) are free of charge. There are no school fees. Travel to and from school are arranged by the local education provider if the distance is more than three kilometers (grade 1 - 6) and more than five kilometers (grade 7 - 9). The Finns have a positive attitude towards education. Structures that support children´s rights at school The basis is determined by law Education is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education. Both the Basic Constitutional Act and the Basic Education Act are very important for the rights of the children. The Act of Civil Servants in Local Covernment guarantees that there are qualified teachers. The role of curriculum The curriculum determines a plenty of issues which have a connection to the rights of the children. The national core curriculum by the Finnish National Board of Education includes guidelines like objectives, assessment criteria and special needs plan that every school has to follow. In addition there can be some local variations e.g. language programs and ITC-programs determined by the local authorities. The schools themselves usually make for example their own school rules as well as safety and security plans. There is trust that local decisions are wise. The latest national core curriculum from 2004 highlights co-operation with homes. Schools are expected to co-operate actively with parents/carers. The parent-teacher-pupil-meetings are held at Hyökkälä school in both the lower and the upper grades every year. School organizes different kinds of parent evenings, evaluations and feedback questionnaires and parent´s association. The contacts between school and homes are taken by phone, e-mail and the internet based Wilmasystem on a regular basis. Through the internet based Wilma-system the pupils in the upper grades are able to follow their progress in different subjects and they can easily contact their teachers. The teacher- pupil assessment discussion is a part of the daily life at school. All pupils also make self- evaluation and afterwards compare their own opinions to their teacher´s comments. It is both the pupil´s and their parent´s right to get enough information about progress during the school year. Grading is based on the description of good performance. The same kind of final assessment is very essential for the pupil´s rights. It is important, because we have a joint application system in Finland. Plan for the student welfare team is part of the school specific curriculum. All children have a right to get extra support at school if they have learning difficulties, emotional disorder, illness or disability. The planning is always done together with pupils, parents/carers and staff members. If it is necessary, pupils will be provided support like help of the special needs assistant, remedial teaching or learning in a small group with a special needs teacher as a part of mainstream

education. In the case of difficult learning or other problems, teaching is arranged in special needs classes with individual study plans by the special class teacher. The right to have a safe school environment includes for example anti-bullying program (KiVa). This anti-bullying program consists of lessons where the focus is on a positive interaction and good ways of working and living in a group. There is in addition a procedure solving the bullying cases that rise. At Hyökkälä school we are now after three- year experience convinced, that this program is useful for basic education. We have also a lot of interactive discussions between teachers and pupils instead of detention (KaKe). Welfare at school is very important value at Hyökkälä school. The tutor student system means that the older pupils in the form six and nine help, guide and give their support to the younger ones in the form one and seven. The pupils themselves have this way a remarkable anti-bullying role at school. There is also a safety and security plan for unexpected situations at school. Every year Hyökkälä school publishes a booklet for pupils and their families to clarify common routine at school, evaluation criteria, pupil´ s rights, duties and school rules. The very same information and updated information about current events can be found at the school website. The role of the National quality program for the basic education The National quality program for the basic education was approved by the Ministry of Education in 2010. The aim is to support the high quality of teaching and secure the educational and cultural basic rights of the children. It is a question about recommendations which can help to find the weak points in the system and make it easier to improve them. Children´s rights and possibilities to influence issues As described before, very many things come from the law and the curriculum (national core curriculum/municipality-specific curriculum/school-specific curriculum). There are recommendations as well. However, it is planning and organization of education at school level and human capacity, that plays a big role. It is essential and the right of the children that there is a qualified staff at school. The Finnish university level teacher education system produces teachers with higher academic degree. Teachers are usually very competent and devoted to their jobs. There is every year a lot of young people applying to the universities to start the teacher education program after they have taken their matriculation examination. Only the most motivated and suitable applicants (about every tenth) are able to start their studies, which will last about five years. Individual teachers follow the curriculum quite independently in Finland. Planning of the lessons with different sort of decisions relies on the proficiency of teachers. Competent teachers can follow the curriculum and probably take care of children´s rights better than persons with poor or without any qualification. The pupil´s point of view is taken in to consideration if possible when the teachers are doing their planning work.

The main channel for the pupils to convey their ideas and comments and practice democracy at school is the student association. The representatives of each class at school are chosen by election. Active members of the student association can be very different kind of persons what comes to their success at school. It is important that there is a forum where pupils and/or their representatives can practice sharing and collaboration without subject related pressure or assessment. The election for the Municipal youth Council of Tuusula (Nuva) is organized in co-operation with the school and the Municipality Youth Department and there is no political connection in it. The aim is to find and encourage young persons who can as voted representatives bring children´s and youngster´s opinions into the municipality level decision making. This is one example of an active citizenship that schools try to support. Concrete examples of the children´s participation in everyday life at school Pupils are not only the objects at school. They have also a right to be active members of the school community, who can act for the enjoyable learning environment and atmosphere. The task for the school is to provide an enabling and supportive organizational context. This means that we should support children and give them the sense of being valued. Some examples of the activities organized by the student association in Hyökkälä school Tuusula: - annual events (Halloween, Christmas, Valentine´s Day, Easter, the first of May, the Day for different activities) - “cafeteria” (coffee and buns) at parent evenings - information on safety and traffic together with the police - activities for the pupils during the breaks (billiard, ping pong, cames) - suggestions to increase comfort of the learning environment - evaluation of the Work and developing plan of the school - election (Municipal Youth Council) - party with dance and dinner for the pupils in form nine - co-operation with the Red Cross, Unicef and charity foundations (The student association of Hyökkälä school has a godchild in Kenya through the Plan Organization) - small scholarships (20 – 50 euros) for the pupils The way an individual pupil knows or feels about his/her rights probably varies despite of the fact that they all are members of the very same community. It can also be that when there are no bigger problems, neither the adults at school nor the children realize how many rights there are. At the moment there is national concern about the young people, who don´t find their place in society. All young people should have a chance to start their studies at vocational education or at upper secondary education after they have finished their basic education. Limited financial resources is a challenge. The discussion around the rights of the children is an important ongoing process. Finland is “getting old”. We need our youngsters to make the future.

Greece_Eirini Veroni Schools and society are reflections of one another. What a society values and sees as ideal often gets taught in schools, ideals and values which these children, once they are adults, work to perpetuate in society and schools (such values or beliefs include a competitive ethos and firm conviction that a meritocracy exists in our society, a view that instrumental/extrinsic motivations are more important than intrinsic motivations, an excess valuing of academics over social or emotional development, etc.). Specifically, the primary education can contribute to the development of citizenship of students to: a) live in a tolerant multicultural society b) develop a positive attitude and action on environmental issues c) work for gender equality in family and society live as Europeans. Participation can support children emotionally and socially by building their knowledge, personal and social skills and a positive attitude to citizenship and decisionmaking. The children and young people consulted in the development of this briefing described the benefits of participation as follows: The children’s participation generates motivation, ownership and a sense of being independent, trusted and responsible. Full participation in learning can only occur when each pupil is genuinely accepted and knows that she or he is accepted by the whole group. This can be achieved by ensuring that the school culture is inviting and encourages listening, especially to those who find it difficult to join in or have trouble communicating. Relationships and cooperation inside the staff will be enforced by working together and sharing pedagogical experiences. Democracy is primarily participation and therefore education for democracy actually means qualification for the role of a competent participant (Schnack, 2000). Authentic student participation in school processes is also an essential element of personally meaningful learning. The quality of learning that takes place through students’ participation could be best described with the term appropriation, as it is used in ecological dynamic psychology, inspired by the ideas of holism of Lewin (Lewin, 1926) and the sociocultural theory of Vigotsky (Vigotsky, 1978), among others. This sociocultural perspective suggests that processes of learning and development should draw attention to how personal efforts, interpersonal relationships and culturally structured activities constitute each other. This means that it would not be sufficient to focus on individual learning or competence development without any concern for the interpersonal relationships as cultural activities in which learning and development are taking place. Rogoff (1993), argues that appropriation is a process that occurs in the context of engagement (often with others) in sociocultural activity, but focuses on personal processes of transformation that are part of an individual’s participation. While personal processes are treated as a foreground, the purpose is to analyze them without losing track of the interdependence of other individuals, social relations, historical traditions and cultural contexts. The importance of interpersonal relationships in facilitating is relevant with student participation in school learning (p.138) Particularly important are relationships with teachers and other adults, or ‘more experienced participants’, as they play important roles as facilitators of learning in the zone of proximal development (ZPD) (Vigotsky, 1978). Such relationships based on which school experiences build (Pianta, 1999). Experience must be related before it can be conceptualized. Therefore, teachers need to be aware of educationally critical aspects of students’ experiences and build participatory situations around them. The young children are powerful, active, competent protagonists of their

own growth: actors in their shared history, participants in society and culture, with the right (and obligation) to speak from their own perspective, and to act with others on the basis of their own particular experience and level of consciousness…this intrinsically social view of children- as protagonists with unique personal, historical, and cultural identities- involves parallel expectations and possibilities for adults.” (p. 180). In considering how a teacher should encourage a child’s intellectual development and attempt to understand the child’s perspectives on the world. Rinaldi (2006) claimed that “listening” is the key practice of the educator. As Edwards (1998) stated, “Listening means seeking to follow and enter into the active learning that is taking place” with children (p. 181). Mostly, however, the discussion between the educational staff enable them to understand how they can be creative involvement of students in the learning process and how students can understand the cultural continuity and experience the culture as a source of inspiration and creativity that is constantly renewed. Therefore, through respect for national culture, children can be led to respect for human civilization with democratic learning and teamwork and interactive activities. The teachers can participate in the learning process, to treat each student depending on their diversity, to creating a learning environment for everyone to work together with other teachers, and other stakeholders, and to use student-centered methods. Furthermore, the new curriculum is based on the principle of differentiation as required by the mixed-ability classes through activities must:     

To develop social skills combined with language skills as a means of effective communication. To know and respect the students the rich cultural heritage they share with other young Europeans matched harmoniously with the national and personal consciousness with the consciousness of European citizenship in a multicultural society. To organize dynamic learning environments to facilitate learning for all students. To integrate technology in the teaching process. To strengthen the European dimension in education at all levels.

The educational team of our Special school has prepared a project showing the children’s participation, in practice. This interesting project which takes place in our school, is the visit to Museum of Acropolis and the discussion about this project in which students express their opinions and in this way communicate and understand the value of Greek cultural heritage. This project enabled the students and teachers to use modern technologies in a functional way, to communicate, to build and share work. Therefore, it enabled teachers to share pedagogical experiences, to develop an awareness of being European citizens and to enrich teachers' educational and pedagogic competence. Also, it gives the opportunity to children to develop the cultural awareness and expression, researching by themselves, of understanding and respecting the culture of our country. Our project, also, shows to others, how children with special needs can work together very successfully to the benefit of all. The children participate in this project with enthusiasm and they are very motivated by the practical nature of the activities.

The most successful activities are practical e.g making handcrafts, playing games, playing performance. We strive to build up their self-esteem, and to develop their emotional, inter personal and life skills in preparation for adulthood. Students with autism spectrum disorders, mental and physical disabilities, histories of behavioral problems, are equally included and expected to participate in the work of the classroom. Providing opportunities for students’ participation in school life and broadening the scope of action experiences, promotes a more respectful environment and positive relationships and it has a positive effect on achievement and learning. REFERENCES Clarke, A. (2007), ‘Early childhood spaces, involving young children and practitioners in the design process,’ The Netherlands,The Bernard Van Leer Foundation. Cunningham, J. (2004). Giving children a voice: Accessing the views and interests of three- four year old children in playgroup. Belfast: Stranmillis University College. Dewey, J. (1916). ‘Democracy and education’. New York, MacMillan Company Edwards, C. (1998), ‘Partner, nurturer, and guide: The role of the teacher. In Edwards, C., Gandini, L., and Forman, G. (Eds.), The hundred languages of children, the Reggio Emilia approach- advanced reflections. Westport, Ablex Publishing Corporation. Rinaldi, C. (2006), ‘ In dialogue with Reggio Emilia- listening, researching and learning’, New York, Routledge. Hart, R. (1998), ‘Children’s right to participate: some tools to stimulate the discussion on the issues in different cultures. Understanding children’s rights: Ghent papers on children’s rights’, No. 3, Belgium, University of Ghent. Hart, R. (1997), ‘Children Participation: The Theory and Practice of Involving Young Citizens in Community Development and Environmental Care’, London,Earthscan, Lewin, K. (1926), ‘Environmental forces in child behavior and development’ in Murchinson, C. (ed.), Handbook of Child Psychology, Worcester, Clark University Press, Pianta, R. (1999), ‘Enhancing Relationships between Children and Teachers’, Washington , American Psychological Association. Polan, A. (1989) School: the inevitable democracy? In Harber, C. and Meighan, R. (eds), The Democratic School: Educational Management in the Practice of Democracy. Education Now Books, Nottingham. Rogoff, B. (1993), ‘Children’s guided participation and participatory appropriation in sociocultural activity’ in Wozniak, R. and Fisher, K. (eds), Development in context – Acting and Thinking in Specific Environments, Hillsdale, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Schnack, K. (2000), ‘Action competence as a curriculum perspective’ in Jensen, B., Schnack, K. and Simovska, V. (eds), Critical Environmental and Health Education: Research Issues and Challenges, Research Centre for Environmental and Health Education, Danish University of Education. Vigotsky, L. (1978), ‘Mind in Society’, Cambridge, Harvard University Press.

POLAND_Marta Malek I work in a primary state school, where students are from 5 to 12 years old. There are about 280 children in our school. Children’s active participation as well as knowledge and understanding of their rights have a significant role in our everyday school life. I would like to mention some aspects connected with these issues: 1.) The work of school boards and class boards and other elements of every day school life connected with democracy at school. 2.) Various ways of learning about children’s rights presented in Convention of the Rights of the Child. 3.) Projects connected with these topics in which students are actively involved. The main document in my school which regulates all aspects of our school life is called the School Statutes. In this document there are also several detailed paragraphs about students’ rights and duties, a students’ school board, assessment criteria etc. In my school, similar to majority schools in Poland, students have their representation at the class and school levels. These boards play a significant role in everyday life at school. At the beginning of each school year all pupils choose representatives in their classes, so called “class boards”. At this early stage of their education they learn how to vote and what are reasons and aims to choose their representatives. Of course the ballot is secret. They also have to think about features needed to be a good representative of the whole class if they want to vote for a right and responsible person. They learn duties and rights of the members of a class board, e.g. they represent their class outside, they are responsible for contacts with teachers, they provide information etc. All students choose a school board, the representation of all students. Candidates prepare posters, where they show their programs and display them at school. Then, one day the whole school votes. The students vote not only for their representation, but also for the teacher who they want to take care of the board. There is a returning committee to count votes, and results are immediately shown. The school students board holds regular meetings. Among the rights of the school board are: - co-organizing of school life, for example events such as festivals, sports events, discos; - co-deciding about participation in projects; - collecting money during charities, picnics; - right to discuss topics concerning students rights with the headteacher and teachers; - they represent school at the local level, e.g. during national holidays; - right to edit and issue a school magazine. We want our students to know their rights, so they learn about rights collected in Convention on the Rights of a Child. Teachers usually present this document with all needed explanations during lessons, explain how it was created and what it importance is. We use special booklets, prepared by UNICEF, which present this document in an appropriate, simplified way suitable for the age of

our pupils, using funny and interesting cartoons and pictures. During such lessons children learn what exactly their rights are, how long they have them, who is responsible for obeying them etc. Once they have this general knowledge we choose some of the rights and start talking about them in detail, so children can understand their meaning, compare the paragraphs with real life, think wider – about other children, living in other countries and in different circumstances. They are aware they have rights, they know their rights should be respected. But they learn that they not only have rights, but also duties, the same as adults. Teachers can do it in two ways – they can either prepare their own lessons, or use booklets and other educational materials with ready lesson plans, games, stories, for example issued by Polish branch of UNICEF. Personally, my favourite source of ideas and educational materials is a book called “Together for Children’s Rights” edited by UNICEF. I use it frequently with students of various ages to introduce and talk about these important and sometimes difficult topics. The most popular topics among teachers and students in my school are rights talking about equal treatment, forming children’s own views, the right to express these views freely, the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the right of privacy, the right to education and to rest and leisure. We want pupils to realize that all children all over the world have the same rights, although in some countries theses rights are not obeyed. We not only use methods such us discussion, teachers explanation, brain storming but also appropriate to our students’ age poems, projects, role plays, pictures, paintings etc. In my school we also talk with pupils about what they can do if they think their rights, or the rights of other children are not respected. The school psychologist is also so called Ombudsman for Children Rights at a school level. So, if a child thinks her or his rights are not respected in a proper way, they may contact him and ask for help. Children are also informed about phone lines they can use, such as Children's Helpline Ombudsman for Children, so called “blue line” where they can phone to report acts of family abuse, or numbers where they can report cyber-abuse or crimes connected with Internet and electronic media. Personally I think the most valuable and interesting way for children to learn and understand their rights is participating in various projects. In the last school year I was a class teacher of children aged 10-11 and we together took part in 4 such undertakings. The first one was organized by Polish UNICEF and was called “All Colours of the World”. The aim of this project was not only to make children familiar with their rights but also to shape attitudes of tolerance and openness to other cultures. Children had to create dolls, representing their peers from other countries. They could do it either at school or at home with their families. To be able to do that, they had to find out information about everyday life of children in other countries. They could compare their life with sometimes much harder conditions children have in some regions of the world. They realized that not everywhere the children rights are equally respected. Another project we did was about the famous Polish educator, children’s author and pediatrician, a director of the orphanage, the man who had great respect for children’s rights - Janusz Korczak. Year 2012 is in Poland the Year of Janusz Korczak. Children learnt about this brave man, the author of books such as “The Child's Right to Respect” or “How to Love a Child” using various materials, some of them taken from official site of this project (http://2012korczak.pl/). Older students looked for the information about Korczak in the Internet and prepared presentations about his life

and ideas. We read together Korczak’s books for children, such as “King Matt I” or watched films based on Korczak’s books. Children also took part in an art contest entitled “When a child laughs the whole world laughs”. Our next project was based on the right that says children should have such protection and care as it is necessary for their well-being taking into account the rights and duties of their parents, legal guardians, or other individuals legally responsible for them. The project was called “Play and Be Safe”. Children learnt how to play in a safe way – they actively responded to interactive presentations connected with this issue and filled in questionnaires. Then they prepared special presentations with role plays for their parents – the aim was “to teach” adults safety rules. The children also thought about measures that can be undertaken by local authorities to improve the level of safety. They learnt that their voice also is valid and important. As I teach ICT to students aged 6-12 I usually involve them in projects that are based on problems such as cyber bullying, safety while using the Internet or stalking. Students learn that their rights to privacy and respect should also be obeyed in electronic media. We usually work on a special educational platform with e-learning programs created for separate age groups (http://dzieckowsieci.fdn.pl/) or I prepare lessons using some materials presented on this site. The aim is to teach young surfers what are benefits and disadvantages of using the Internet, and what even can be dangerous while using it. They learn about threats and also find out how to protect themselves and what to do in cases of abuse, including possible sexual abuse. They are taught that they should never give personal details to strangers, and report any acts of abuse or illegal or disturbing content immediately etc.

PORTUGAL_Pedro Lopes From my own experience, and the opinions of some of my colleagues on this subject, I have identified the following two major problems in terms of school democracy. I consider these problems to be common to most schools / students in Portugal: 1. Young people are not motivated / do not value participation in school democracy and have no interest in political participation in general; 2. Students nowadays are quite aware of their rights but tend to ignore their duties, both at school and in their everyday life. In Portugal, all classes (grades 5 to 12) elect a class delegate and a sub-delegate (substitute) by secret vote. Class delegates at secondary level (grades 10 to 12) also elect their representatives to the school’s General Council (the highest body in the school management system). The Pedagogical Council also used to include students and parents, but a very recent law has changed things in this matter. Students may also constitute candidate lists to the Students Association, which is elected by all students at school.

The fact is students do not take advantage of all these opportunities they have to participate in the school’s management. A civic conscience is not rooted in this generation as it was not in their parents’ generation. And that’s a very serious problem. Just to mention one or two examples, in the election of class delegates, which is guided and supervised by the class director, it is very clear to us, teachers, that students keep choosing those schoolmates that are more introverted or the ones that are not an example at all, because they don’t have any sense of responsibility, and their behaviour is usually problematic. Successful students don’t usually want to take that responsibility, which is quite strange. This shows a great lack of maturity and responsibility. As to the Students Association, I feel the students don’t have an idea of what its real job in school should be. They aren’t engaged in making things better, and leaders aren’t usually good examples either. Most students in Portugal are not very conscious of the political system they live in: democracy. Unlike other countries of Europe, where children seem very aware and active in this matter, being helped to understand the political system they live in and their role in it, and being taught how to speak in public defending their ideas, in Portugal most students are quite far from doing that. Even in classroom situations, it is very difficult to organise a debate, both because they don’t want to speak in public (to their schoolmates and teacher) and because they aren’t used to thinking deeply about the problems of the present world. Or maybe they simply aren’t aware of them... Sometimes it seems they live in a virtual world, alienated from reality, and think problems are virtual, too. Problem 2 reflects another reality. For the last five years I have been teaching groups of students belonging to families with multiple social problems. Most of them live on the social insertion income, a support provided by social security to families with problems of long-term unemployment and very low or no income at all. The problem is this kind of social measures lacks control and a higher demand level, if we want it to be really effective. As with other social measures, also here the problem becomes eternal and families get accustomed to having their monthly income without having to worry about working. And children grow up in this reality. These students do very often miss classes and, in some cases, end up dropping out school by the age of 15 or 16. They aren’t motivated to attend classes, but in most cases they like coming to school and just want to hang around with their friends. In this group we often find pregnant teenagers - whose babies end up being taken from them and put in institutions - young people with absolutely no parental control, who go out at night, get drunk, take drugs, have casual sex without taking the necessary precautions, girls who repeatedly take the morning after pill, etc. The fact is these students keep missing classes and nothing happens to them or to their parents, in terms of accountability for their failure. They have duties, they know it, but they also know nothing will happen, and that’s the main reason why they keep doing whatever they want. This is probably the worst problem with the Portuguese democracy. Everyday the media bring out stories about people in important positions that have in some way broken the rules. And those

matters remain unsolved until people “forget” them. There’s great impunity. What we’re teaching this generation is that there’s no problem if you don’t fulfill your duties, there’s no problem if you break the rules, because nothing will happen to you. Examples of good practices 1. Civic Education as a subject Civic Education has been a school subject for several years, with a weekly schedule of 45 minutes (grades 5 to 9) until this year it was removed from the national curriculum (as a subject) and from now on civic education is to be handled only transversally to all school subjects. As a subject, it didn’t actually have a syllabus, and teachers/schools were free to choose from a list of topics indicated by law, according to the particular characteristics of the class they were teaching and their age /maturity level. Human rights, sexual education, environmental education, educational and vocational guidance, citizenship, consumer education, education for health, road safety education and the world of work are some of the topics it dealt with. It was also very important for the class director to convey information regarding the class direction and to solve problems within the class, such as behavioural problems, relationship problems, among others. In that sense it was a place of democracy, a place for sharing and discussing ideas. Some class directors even organized “formal” class assemblies with written record of all sessions. Although Civic Education as a school subject was necessary - and very useful for the class as a group - the best way to teach about democracy is by doing it integrated in other subjects, contextualized with History, Geography, a foreign language, etc. It certainly makes more sense if you understand when, how and why “it” happened. Besides, we are no longer simply citizens of our own country; we are citizens of Europe, and of the whole world as a small village, where everything - and everyone - is interconnected. It is urgent to train students to develop their sense of constructive criticism; to be able to criticise they need to know the world around them, including how the political system works. I remember my own school experience. If I hadn’t chosen Law as an optional subject in the 10th grade, I wouldn’t have had a chance in my entire school life to understand the Portuguese political system or to have any contact to the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, and other fundamental legal documents. Students are not aware or motivated to exercise citizenship - there’s great political apathy, people consider politics to be something that concerns only politicians, and these have fallen into discredit.

2. School club “Jovem@Jovem” (inspired in American Youth2Youth programme) Jovem@Jovem was an extracurricular activity, whose main goal was to foster personal and social development of teenage students through positive peer pressure, with an emphasis on school life participation, namely understanding school democracy and taking active part in it. The club had a weekly session and it worked like a discussion group, in which both the teacher and the students were allowed to suggest topics they considered interesting or urgent for the group to talk about. People with relevant life or work experiences were often invited to come and talk to the group. We organised activities in crucial moments of the school year, like the end of term or the end of the school year. The goal was always to dissuade other students from drinking too much (or even going out to cafés near the school) and, instead, take part in extreme activities in the school grounds, make / have a alcohol-free cocktail, decorate a t-shirt with a healthy message, etc. At the end of the school year, there was a summer course. Right after classes ended - in June - the school, together with local partners, organised this special event many students dreamed of all year round. The students that took part in the club’s activities during the school year would then invite their schoolmates and friends to come to the summer course and learn with them and from them about assertiveness, prevention of drug use, sexual education, environmental education, consumer education, debating about current issues, preparing and delivering a speech, and so on. The week would end with a special show prepared by the participants for their families who came to see the show and enjoy some time together. Although the club isn’t working anymore, the summer courses still take place every year, and have been an unforgettable experience for many students. 3. Intergenerational activities Intergenerational activities have proven to be very effective in many ways. With such strategies we can foster responsibility and maturity in the young and help the old to feel - and actually be useful to others. Together with the local university of the third age (people over 50 years of age) we have organised several activities. The first one was a round table discussion on the Convention of the Rights of the Child, particularly the right to education. Its goals were to compare access to education and students’ motivation “in the past” and “now”, and to foster solidarity between generations and awareness of the important role of both in society. I consider this activity a good practice as it involved our students, another class of students from a professional secondary course, a school employee who had lived in Africa until the war in the former Portuguese colonies broke out, and came to Portugal losing everything she had in Africa,

teachers and students from the university of the third age and other social partners (two social workers and a policeman). The school director was present, too. The debate took place in my school and consisted of several parts: a general introduction to the topic, then two testimonies, by a teacher and a student of the university of the third age, and the school employee I mentioned before. The students prepared some questions for this debate and had an active role in it, too. Two poems alluding to the attitude towards school were read during the session, by students from both classes. The activity ended around a different table: with cakes, juice, tea, coffee, etc. and yet another opportunity for people to interact and communicate. It was a very pleasant and - I think - useful afternoon. Shortly after that, and mixing generations once more, we organised another moment of reflection, introducing the European Year of Active Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity. We invited a geriatric nurse to come to the school and talk to us, teachers and students, about the phenomenon of ageing, and the challenge of active ageing. This time, the young students dedicated a song to the seniors that were present. After this session, a physical activity took place in the school gym. Both the school students and the senior students took part in this kind of aerobics class suitable for all ages and at the end they even danced in pairs. In February once more school and university were together, this time for a conference, organized by the latter, to discuss the topic “Active Ageing: What challenges? What opportunities?”. People of all ages and experiences came to take part in it. And our students were there, too. As a conclusion, I consider school has a difficult but unavoidable challenge before it: to help students understand they have a role to fulfill in the present and future of the society they belong to, having in mind they live in a global village where what one does may influence everyone else’s lives, resources are scarce and honest, truthful and hard-working men and women are needed. This great challenge will also include some work with their families, too, and an involvement of the community as a whole. In order to do that, we may have to change our opinion about our role as teachers a little bit...

Option number 3: The role of student boards or student associations in your school or in your country. Bring us some examples or your personal experiences how the student boards works in everyday schooling life.

AUSTRIA_Daniela Longhino

The role of student boards in my school St. Oswald/Plankenwarth in Styria,Austria and my personal experiences in how student boards work in everyday schooling life General information about the school: The primary school St. Oswald/Plankenwarth is located in a rural area about 20 km north of Graz, which is the capital city of the province Styria, with about 300.000 inhabitants. About 80 pupils attend the school in 5 classes. 2 classes are age-heterogeneous from 6-8 years (preschool-, 1st and 2nd grade), one is also age-heterogeneous from 6-10 years (preschool- and 1st to 4th grade), and a 3rd and a 4th class are age-homogeneous. All classes are taught in the concept of Jenaplan, with materials from Maria Montessori and some elements of Freinet pedagogy, like the student boards (or class boards: see below).

Process of a class board: We do not use the term “student board” in our school, but we say “class board”, which is the direct translation from the German word “Klassenrat”, which Celestin Freinet uses in his papers. I will use this term in the following text.1 The class board is a regular content of the weekly timetable in every class. There is a wall newspaper2 with the categories “I compliment”, “I wish” and “I offer”. There the pupils can 1

2

It was very difficult for me to translate the pedagogical terms I am used to into English. I used the online dictionaries www.leo.org and www.dict.cc , where pedagogical terms are not translated very well. For this reason, I decided to translate the terms on my own and describe them briefly in the text. Again a term which Celestin Freinet uses in his books (German: “Wandzeitung”)

publish their thoughts whenever they want in a written form with Post-its in different colours for each category. They have to write their name on it too. The advantage of the Post-its is that the whole class can read the suggestions and think about them. In addition, the child who has posted something can remove the paper if there is no more need for it. The different colours make it easy for the children to distinguish between the categories. Once a week the class board takes place in the classroom. The pupils arrange their chairs in a circle and a special candle which is only used during the class board is lit. Every week there are two kids responsible for the class board, and this responsibility changes weekly. One opens and closes the discussions, looks after the talking rules and calls the others by name when they want to say something. The other one takes the Post-its from the wall and reads out the different topics, ordered by categories. The teacher (or another pupil in higher classes) writes the journal during the talks and is also allowed to pipe up. When all participants are ready, the class board is opened. After that the teacher reads out the decisions of the last week and ticks off whether the agreements were kept or not. When a topic is read out, the child who has published it is called by name and explains briefly what he or she means. Then a discussion starts, in which everybody is allowed to bring in his or her opinion on the topic. After the class has listened to every opinion there are three options: 1. The whole class agrees about the topic and makes a decision on it. 2. In the discussions several proposals are carved out followed by a vote. A two third majority for one proposal is necessary to make a decision. 3. The children hold off on the decision about a topic if they need more external information, if they agree that they want to think about it for some more time or a two third majority is failed. The topic and the decision about it are written down in the journal (just catchwords). This process is repeated until all topics are discussed. After that the class board is closed and the journal is signed by the whole class. Every member of the class can look at the journal book at any time.

Important rules for the class board:  The teacher is an equal member of the class board, he or she doesn’t have a leading role.  Every member has to follow the talking rules very strictly, otherwise he or she has to leave the room for some time. If there are too many pupils who cannot keep the conditions or if the discussion is running out of control, the class board is interrupted.  Talking rules: o Only one person speaks at a time, and the others must listen actively. o Everybody has the same right to say his or her opinion.

o We speak to each other in a friendly way; there is no shouting and no laughing at each other. o Everybody has to follow the instructions of the child who is responsible for the talking rules. o If anybody needs a break outside the class because he or she cannot pay attention anymore, he or she pipes up, tells his or her needs and leaves the classroom for a few minutes. o We try not to double the requests of speaking.  No external interferences (shield on the door of the class).  A subject is only treated if the child who has posted it or who is involved in it is attending the class board.  If somebody from outside is involved into a topic, he or she is invited to the class board (e.g. pupils of other classes or a whole class)  The class board is limited to one hour. If there are topics left, they will be put off until the next week.  The agreements which were decided in a class board are binding; all class members have to stick to them, they have to be kept.

Preconditions and preparations before starting a class board:  The talking rules have to be determined by the whole class. The children practice them in role plays and in normal classroom-situations.  The general climate in a class has to be open minded, safe and friendly. The children can accept other opinions. This has also to be practiced before. To philosophize with the children can be a good opportunity to show them that every topic has at least two sides.  Democratic processes have to be tried before, and the children need to understand why they are used. Natural conflicts in the class can be a good option to try out votes and discussions. All members have to learn strategies to deal with the situation of being overruled.  The teacher has to work out the individual time limits together with the children by trying it out.  The teacher has to know which subjects and topics are his or her responsibility and has to inform the pupils, why this is the case. For example the curriculum, the number of lessons per subject and the legal basis have to be kept.

Advantages and impacts of the democratic processes: For the pupils:  If children are allowed to take part in decision-making, they will take responsibility for the climate in the class, the processes of learning and the social context.  The class community will be strengthened by taking part in decision-making. Everybody is an important member of the community, everybody is allowed to tell his or her opinion and the others will listen to him or her.

 The pupils are forced to think about other opinions and many different topics. They have to find their individual way to deal with conflicts and controversies. They will also learn the difference between a struggle and a discussion.  The children will learn that there are situations in which one has to make compromises to be on good terms.  The pupils get to know that it makes sense and is necessary to tell their own opinion and to explain it clearly and precisely.  Everybody realizes that it is necessary to write clearly, so that the others can read his or her Post-its. For the teachers:  The teacher is getting discharged, because he or she does not have to decide everything on his or her own.  The teacher loses responsibility. It is important to trust the pupils to make good decisions and commit to them, even if the teacher would do things differently. That is not an easy process!  You as a teacher will get strong children who will discuss with you, who will question the things you do into and who will tell their own opinion without asking if you want to hear it or not. You have to ask yourself if you can deal with that!

My personal opinion: Starting with my first day in a class, I began to work with the class board according to Celestin Freinet. I tried it out with different classes of different ages in different schools. My experiences were consistently very good. The relationship between my pupils and me increased, and the children liked to go to school and liked learning, because they were also responsible for it and they made their own decisions. It’s not always easy to deal with the outcome of this method: Strong and self-confident young people involved in democratic processes, but it is really a good feeling to help them become adequate members of a community and be independent. It was also a difficult process for me to trust the children and to give them so much responsibility. But I tried to be patient, focussed on the results in class and then I was absolutely convinced.

BELARUS_Aliona Paliy School Board and Youth Organizations: Goals, Structure, Functions and Activities To begin with, I should say I have always taken students’ self-government for granted without considering much what functions it serves or what it is aimed at. However, thinking over the pretask options and taking into account that the workshop deals with democracy in basic education, I gave school boards and youth organizations another thought. Then I realized clearly that creating their own government and participating in youth associations, students get an

opportunity not only for socializing with classmates, schoolmates, teachers or school officials in addition to a wide range of various extra-class activities to achieve success, but teenagers also learn how to arrange their school life all by themselves, exercise control, work through problems together, protest or approve of ideas and tasks which are supposed to be fulfilled at school and do it in a civilized way etc. Self-government stimulates managerial abilities, tolerance to different opinions, creativity, responsibility, skills of team-work, self-concept and leadership. To a certain extent, a school board reminds of public or state governing authorities and young men transform into organizers or leaders of so-called “political” and public events which are of significance for an establishment of education. I have browsed sites of various Belarusian schools and colleges which represent such modifications of the school board as a students’ parliament, a republic of youngsters, a future leaders’ organization and so on. The establishment of education “Polotsk State Gymnasia №1 named after Francisk Skoryna” is not an exception as it houses three youth organizations as well as its own selfgovernment bodies. Every class is subdivided into several committees which are in charge of certain chores, for instance, sport competitions, volunteer work, entertainment and so on. A class leader heads activists of class committees and performs as a messenger of his or her class needs at the sessions of the school board and as a link between the class and the whole school. Classleaders are united into the union and they elect Chairman of the school board who can be invited to the teachers’ assembly when essential concerns of school life are under discussion as well as takes part in the meetings of the Council of Preventive Measures which deals with cases of misbehavior and has the right to vote there. The union of class leaders is coordinated by the pedagogue-organizer who also invites class activists from various class committees to special courses which are aimed at assisting them sort out and solve routine problems of daily school life. I should add that twice a year every class is supposed to be on duty. It means they are in charge of observing school discipline rules, laying the tables in the school canteen, representing news bulletins and so on. At the end of the term which is usually a week or sometimes two they make a report of the events that have happened during the week and hand over the chores to the class in turn. Every class is responsible for its students and in case someone is late for school, has poor academic results, gets into trouble with police, is noticed bullying etc., then the whole class loses its points in the competition where the best class of a month and subsequently of a school year is defined. On the other hand, winning various sport competitions, contests, school-city-regioncountry and international Olympiads, taking an active part in school life, doing well in different school subjects, successful coping with duties brings every class additional points and gives an opportunity for being awarded the prize “The Best Class of a Month/ School Year”. The prizes include monthly diplomas and pies made in the school canteen, excursions round the city or trips about Belarus. I would also like to mention another school tradition which has been observed. Teachers’ Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of October in Belarus, though the main school events take place on the first Friday of October, just before days off. Students of the 11 th form (school-leavers) replace pedagogues, giving lessons and carrying out administrative work in our school. Teachers, at the same time, transform into pupils who participate in a concert and are supposed to be present at quiz-lessons where they answer intellectual questions, do curious tasks, act out different scenes of

school life and so on. On the one hand, Self-Government Day is a source of amusement. On the other hand, it gives both students and teachers an opportunity for changing a role model. Teachers look back on their school days, can see reasons for students’ misbehavior or causes of misunderstanding as well as their own unwarranted strictness. Students take up teaching, arrange work in class with junior pupils and act as officials, cope with discipline problems and others. In such a way school-leavers live through a day of adult life, serve social functions, face difficulties of teaching and administrative work, arrange the whole day of school life on their own etc. As you see, school life and students’ activities are eventful and are intended for making this life diverse and entertaining in addition to regulating and keeping everything in order. It's quite natural that young people want to socialize with their equals so as to express their views on several political and social issues. They join youth organizations and take part in the formation of the state policy in respect of youth. These activities are managed by the State Committee on the Affairs of Youth. I have already mentioned that three youth organizations perform their functions in the gymnasia, including octobrist and pioneer movements and BRSM. The octobrist and pioneer movements are organizations for primary school children and junior class pupils. Some basic features of the pioneer association remind of the Scout movement ideas. The two organizations share such principles as preparedness and promotion of outdoor activities. Many features made the pioneer movement different from Scouts, for example, its dependence on government control and no separation for boys and girls. Members of the movement are known as pioneers, and a scarf is traditionally worn by them. The pioneer organization used to be named after a party member who was considered a role model for young communists. In the Soviet Union it was Lenin, however, today no communist ideas are adopted In Belarus, the activities are directed at patriotism, volunteering, team work, social and ecological projects.

The former Pioneer Movement member's pin, depicting Lenin, inscribed "Always Prepared". The Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM) is the most numerous youth organization in our country which works in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus. The main objectives of the organization are: - to express, defend and realize the rights and legal interests of its members; - to form the world outlook, based on moral and spiritual, as well as Christian, values; - to foster patriotism as the main social value; - to express devotion to the country, its people and its state symbols; - to give assistance to every member of the organization in realization of abilities and creative potential; - to take part in preparation of young people for the defense of their motherland. The BRSM members accomplish their goals and objectives in the following activities:

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participating in formation of youth policy; supporting the initiatives of the youth, directed at self-perfection; helping young people to become integrated members of society; accomplishing different educational, social and other youth programs; rendering assistance in finding employment; attracting the attention of the mass media and the authorities to the problems and initiatives of the youth; arranging entertaining activities for young people etc.

The BRSM was created on the 6th of September in 2002, after the merger of the Belarusian Youth Union and the Belarusian Patriotic Youth Union. In order to join the BRSM, the applicant must be between the ages of 14 and 31. The national leadership of the BRSM is controlled by the central committee, which is headed by the first secretary. Below the first secretary are the second secretary of the central committee, the chairman of the central investigation commission, and three secretaries of the central committee. Collectively, these leaders are referred to as the secretariat of the BRSM. The BRSM has two official symbols: an emblem and a flag modelled on the national symbols.

The emblem of the BRSM The main activities of the BRSM involve caring about war veterans and wreath-laying ceremonies at various memorials around the country to honour the heroes on Victory Day or Independence Day. The memorial visits and support of the veterans give BRSM members an idea of what sacrifices their ancestors made. They also assist the elderly, the handicapped and orphans, carry out ecological projects and do volunteer work in hospitals etc. The BRSM participates in outdoor activities and sport competitions as the idea of leading a healthy way of life is propagated. Social events, such as concerts or contests for the youth, are hosted by the BRSM. For instance, they organize the national beauty contest "Miss Belarus", the winner of which later competes in Miss Universe. BRSM organizes student construction brigades and other ways to provide students with summer and part-time jobs. It’s evident that the main principles of youth movements are of great social significance, though the interference of the state policy is undeniable.

HUNGARY_ Ildiko Czegledi Introduction, general things The student board can play an important role in learning and teaching about democracy and preparing students for active citizenship. Students can practise their rights both in a micro (class, student meeting) and a macro environment (school assembly, media).

The active participation in the student board can help to develop a number of skills such as communication, empathy, self-confidence, cooperation, interdependence, taking responsibilty and creativity. The student board in our school works on the basis of the Organizational and Operational Rules accepted by the students and the teachers of the school. This document contains the most important principles: the organization of the student board, the distribution of the tasks, the forms of contact and the rights of the student board. The forum for informing the students is the school assembly which is normally organised three times a year- at the beginning of the school year, at the end of the first semester and at the end of the school year. All the students take part in it where they can share their suggestions, opinions and decide about the questions related to them. The assembly is convened by the teacher(s) supporting the work of the student board and the head teacher of the school. Its time is fixed in the work plan of the whole school. There is an opportunity to call together an extraordinary assembly if it is needed. At each school assembly a record has to be taken. On the first assembly the managerial and other posts are elected: the student leader of the student board, his/her deputy, a student responsible for sports/ cultural/eco programmes. The other essential task of the first assembly to discuss and finally accept the year programme of the student board. Before the election the candidates can campaign with their programmes, they can make posters or speeches to convince the others that they are the most appropriate students for the posts. They are elected for one year. On the second assembly the leaders of the student board evaluate the the first term and share their plans for the next term. On the last assembly they evaluate the work of the whole school year, what they managed to achieve, what programmes proved to be the most successful ones, what is needed to be improved. The leading students of the student board, so called management and one representative of each class, the secretary, two teachers supporting their work and the management of the school take part in a monthly meeting. On this occasion they can discuss the details of the forthcoming programmes and express their opinion related to their school life. The secretaries of the classes insure the continuous information flow between the classes/students and the management of the school board. The student board has the rights to decide about its programme, the management, the ways of information flow and there is one working day the programme of which they can determine. When the school modifies its basic documents such School Rules, Pedagogical Programme, the school board has the right to express its opinion about it. Sometimes the members of the student board management have an opportunity to take part in a town or country level conference where they can share their experience and learn new ideas they can implement into their every days school life.

1. A programme of a year What did our school board do during the last school year? They carried out the following programmes: September First meeting of the school board management, putting together the plan for the year School assembly: election of the new management, accepting the programme of the year Familiarizing the programme with the board of parents Making an eco-calendar which can be seen at two points of the school and contains the eco programmes of the year. Yo-yo show in the school yard. October Autumn old paper collection- old newspapers are collected and bought by a company. In this way the student board can have money. The classes collecting the most paper are rewarded by sporting goods. Meeting- news, current affairs Pumpkin carving competition with 52 contestants Swap market- students can change their old books, toys, sporting goods, etc. November Game show- sharing their favourite games (eg: board games, origami, etc.) December Santa Claus comes and brings presents for the students, it is organised and financed by the student board Organizing a school buffet with the help of the parents to make money for the student board Publishing the first issue of the school magazine called Sulititok. This magazine is made by the students of the school: they make reports, interviews, they take photographs, draw pictures, look for crossword puzzles, collect jokes, etc. January Evaluation of the work of the first semester: meeting with the parents and the management, school assembly. February Photo exhibition of pets Circus perfomance Mask- making competition March Spring sports championships- football, basketball, handball, athletics April Spring paper collection

On the occasion of the day of poetry- reading out poems, commemorating one of our most talented poets whose birthday, 11 April is the Day of Poetry. May Asphalt drawing competition ont he occasion of the day of birds and trees Swap market Meeting with the parents’board Publishing the second issue of school magazine June End-term school assembly Student Board Day- trip to Lake Vekeri with sports programmes and games Reverse day- students are the teachers and a student head teacher is elected for the alst day of the school year. School buffet 2. Financial background During the school year students carry out programmes with the help of which in certain cases they can make money. However, they are under age that is why it is the responsibilty of the parents’ board to handle this money which is kept on a bank account. The students can have a say what to do with that but the final decision is made together with the parents. In this way students can learn the value of work and the value of money. In most cases this money is devoted for organising common programmes, rewarding students or helping them. 3. School magazine With the help of the so called „student board” teachers two issues of the school magazine is published each year: usually one in autumn and another one in spring. It contains the news of the school life and the products of the students. It is an interesting fact that each issue has got a coupon which is very valuable for the students because they can use it in a lesson when they don’t want to give an oral presentation. The magazine is printed in a printing house so its „appearance” is really attractive. Our school celebrated its 50th anniversary two years ago when we published the festive issue of our school magazine. Our school was founded in 1960 in the heart of the second largest town of Hungary. We celebrated our 50th anniversary with different programmes. We opened a school museum to show the history of the institution. We invited the representatives of our sister schools -Romania, Serbia, Croatia accepted our invitation and joined our celebration. We also had a chance to meet the representatives of the local authorities, our „old” students and colleagues to celebrate this special occasion together. What did our school magazine include?  The greetings of the present headmistress  One of the ex-principals

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Some retired teachers- and „old” students of the school- for example the headmistress of Dózsa György Primary School, and Kocsis brothers who live and study in Manchester recalled their memories about the school and the years spent here. One of our colleagues, Máténé Szabó Ágnes wrote about the school as a teacher and as a mother since both of her daughters attended this school. There is also a mother, Kielkopf Erzsébet who attended our school as a child and now she shares with us why she has chosen our school for her daughter. Then there is some information about the history of the region and the surroundings of the school. In the second half of the magazine you can find articles and photographs of the pioneer movement, Our work as a „Tehetségpont” (Talent Centre)- our school became a registered Talent Centre in June 2009. English language education- in 2008 our school got the opportunity to teach English language at a higher number of lessons which means 5 lessons per week from the 4th to the 8th grades. The symbols and the logo of the school: pupils wear a tie with the logo of the school on special occasions, competitions. The logo was designed by one of our students in 2005. You can also find this logo on the school leavers’ haversacks. The eco-programme- our school has been working as an eco-school since 2006. The forest school project- the 6th graders can spend five days in the mountains, in a small village called Pusztafalu where they can get to know with the natural, cultural, historical values and beauties of the region. The foundations- two foundations support the different school programmes, competitions and our every day work providing financial background of purchasing modern furniture, equipment, etc. The school board helps our educational work and the cooperation between the staff and the parents Our school in the mirror of the media- Szénási Miklós, journalist, the editor of Debrecen weekly paper writes about our frequent occurance in the press. The physiotherapy- three teachers give special remedial lessons for hundreds of primary and secondary school students in Debrecen. The complex competitons are part of our traditions The international English reading competition (Engread) – we organised it in 2010 for the first time involving 656 students from all over Hungary, Romania and Latvia. Last but not least you can find the list of our sister schools in the order of getting to know each other and two beautiful photos taken during our visits to Latvia and Croatia.

4. Summary The student board of our school is not a formal organisation, just because it is compulsory to have one. The active work of the student board in our school provides a platform for students to practise their personal rights, to develop their civic competencies, to learn about democracy in an age appropriate way, to encourage them to become a responsible citizen and last but not least to make their free time acivities more colourful, useful and creative.

LITHUANIA_ Ruta Dadeliene There are over 10000 students at the University presently. The University teaching staff consists of 564 employees: 52 of them are Professors, 229 Associate Professors and doctors and 247 Lecturers and Assistant Lecturers. There are 9 faculties, namely: Physics and Technologies, Social Sciences, Philology, Natural sciences, Education, Sports and Health Education. The aim of Lithuanian University of Education Science Student Union is a motivation of students to develop a democratic, legal and civil society in Lithuania, an active contribution to development of a democratic educational system, as well as defense of University students’ rights and interests. The Student Union defines the issues of importance and raises questions to the University’s administrative staff. Our students began to unite a very long time ago, after two years when our university was established in 1937. University Student Union has a parliament of 20 students (2 from each faculty, President and Wise President). They have meetings each second week. They also have a meeting with University Rector and Chairman of Senate every second week. Every faculty has got their own Student Union which solves actual issues in the faculty. The Student Union of University has got different comities, such as:  Human Recourses Committee, which objectives are to motivate and invite students to take part in Students’ Union activities.  Academic and Social Work Committee. Students participate in distribution of scholarships; deal with issues related to the living in the dormitory. This committee has achieved more students’ representatives (20 percent) in University Senate and Faculty Councils. It has effected changes in Educational Act of Ministry of Education about students’ rotation during study process. They have achieved that students are not expelled from the university when they have one (two or three credits) academic debt as it was before, but for six credit academic debt.  Marketing Committee, which objectives are to communicate with different public institutions and private companies, and to collect information about practice and working places.  Project Committee, which is an informal youth organization involved in writing projects for different activities: trainings, volunteering, international co-operation, etc.  Public Relations Committee, which objectives are to write articles to university and other public press, as well as organize different meetings with community and specialists.  International Committee, which objective in its beginning stage is to cooperate with Erasmus students.  Lithuanian Student Card Committee,which is involved in producing, extending and changing Lithuanian Student Cards for university students) Moreover, Student Union is active in organizing leisure activities. First of all, they organize four-day summertime camp for the first year students, as well as the traditional celebrations of the University’s lecturers and students: the Fresher Matriculation Party, Days of University, Faculty Days, Poetry Spring and the University Olympic Games. In addition, among the most

memorable events the Student Union organizes, are Indian, Russian and Turkish cultural evenings, and scientific conferences. Furthermore, the Student Union co-operates with Lithuanian student organizations both on the national level and internationally and organizes a number of various events. They have a meeting with Lithuanian Student Association every second month. Recently Lithuanian students have initiated the proposal to the Government to change the Labor Code (LC) to more flexible working hours, and give a possibility to work different number of hours a day, which is very important for students. Student Union of Lithuanian Education Science University is very active in different student events among all Lithuanian Universities, such as Days of Students, STUDY 12 (exhibition for pupils), etc. In conclusion, the broad participation of Student Union not only within the frame of Education Science University, but also in the whole spectrum of Lithuanian Universities life, help make a lot of significant changes that improve the quality of education according to the needs of modern society.

ROMANIA_ Gabriela Istrate Student board-actively involved in a Romanian high-school’s life After 1990, in each Romanian institution of pre-university education works a student board. For universities, we can talk about student associations. The activity of these student boards is not independent. For a better understanding, in the next diagram I present the relationships between committees involved in pupils’ activity. National Student Board

Class Student board 1

County Student Board 1

County Student Board 2

School/High-school Student Board 1

School/High-school Student Board 2

…School/High-school Student Board for each school of the country

Class Student Board 2

…Class Student Board for each class of the school

…County Student Board 42

In Romania, there are 41 counties, plus the capital Bucharest. For each school from Romania there is a School student board, which is formed by the representatives of all classes of that institution. All School student boards from a county are met in County student board. All the County student boards from the 41 counties and Bucharest form National student board. The members of the student boards (at each level) are elected by their colleagues using the secret vote. Each student board has a management committee, formed by a president, one or more vicepresidents and a secretary. The role of each student board is to set up the statute for organization and operation, the rights and duties for the members, the activity plan and so on. All the students from an institution are informed about it by their representatives. The National Student Board is an advisory forum of the Ministry of Education; its members meet once or twice during a year. The activity of a student board is not an independent one. The members of a student board cooperate very often with a teacher of the school appointed as an educative counselor. The role of this counselor is to coordinate the activity of the student board. The Students board has a very important role in a school. I will give some examples: -its members help to the democratization of the teacher-student relationship in a school -the members of the board may have proposals for improving the quality of the school life -the board has representatives in school’s management bodies (according to the law) -the members of the board involve in proposal, development, implementation of different programs for students (projects, partnerships, extracurricular activities, etc). I will detail, for example, the role of the Student board in school’s management. Each school or high-school from Romania is managed by a headmaster, helped by a deputy manager (it depends on the school’s size) and an executive board / administration board. This body is formed by representatives of the teachers from the school, representatives of the parents, representatives of the City Hall and of the Local Council, representative of the syndicate (trade union) and a representative of the Student board of the school. As a rule, this representative is the president of the Student board from that institution. It is the duty of the Student board’s exponent to take part at each meeting of the executive board, to make proposals related to the students’ activity, to inform the members of the executive board about students’ problems or wishes, about projects or partnership developed by them. As I wrote before, another role of the Student board is to contribute at the improving the quality of the school life. According to the law (laws no. 87/2006 and 75/2005 concerning quality assurance in education), in every education institution from Romania there is a Committee for evaluation and assurance of the education. This committee is formed by representatives of teachers, of the parents, of the local community and also of the students. The representative of the students is a member of the Student board of the school. Some roles of this Committee for quality are to realize an internal assessment of the quality in school, to elaborate an activity plan which can help at improving the quality of the school’s activity. Good practice examples In this section, I will present some aspects of the Student board’s activity from my institution.

a) A short description of the National College “Mihai Viteazul” Slobozia The institution where I work is situated in Slobozia, county of Ialomita. My town is situated in the south-eastern part of Romania, at about 120 km from the capital, Bucharest. It has a population of about 60,000 of inhabitants. The main activities of the people are services, food industry, agriculture. Slobozia is the biggest town of the Ialomita county, being its residence. The National College “Mihai Viteazul” is a representative education institution for our county. It was founded in 1952 and it is a general secondary school. Every school year, we have about 950 pupils of 11 to 19 years old, organized in 32 classes/grades (5th grade to 12th grade). They study Romanian language, foreign languages (French, English, German), Mathematics, Sciences (Chemistry, Biology, Physics), Social sciences, History, Geography, arts, sports, ICT. Most of the students, after graduating, continue their studies at the universities. The teachers’ staff has about 50 persons. Every school year, our students get very good results at different national school contests. They also involve in many extracurricular activities; for example, we have a theatre body where there are presented plays in French language. The members of this body take part every year at different international theatre festivals. b)The Student board’s activity at National College “Mihai Viteazul” Starting with ’90 years, the Student board began to develop a very interesting activity. It consists of 32 members, representatives of the 32 classes from the school. It is managed by a committee consisting of a president, one or two vice-presidents and a secretary. They are elected by vote by all the students of the school. The president of the Student board represents the students’ interests in the executive board of the school. The members of the Student board of our school developed many activities during the years. will give some examples:

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Organizing different traditional parties for the school Every year there are organized parties (which contains and contests, too) for two categories of pupils: those who are in the first year of high-school (9th grade) and those who are in the last year of high-school (12th grade); the party for the first category is called Freshmen Prom, and for the second one-Senior Prom. The members of the Student board are involved in organizing these activities: buying presents for the participants, preparing contests, finding sponsors for the parties, for the location, for the prizes. Developing different projects Every year, the members of the Student board, in cooperation with some teachers of the school, develop different projects, on different themes. In these projects are involved not only the members of the Student board, but also the pupils from each class of the school. Here are some projects developed along the years: -“For keeping our planet blue”-the theme of the project was about ecology and environment. The project was financed by the Ministry of Education; the project team had teachers of Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Physics and students of 11-17 years old, some of them being members of the Student board.

-partnership with students from Silistra, Bulgaria. This partnership was initiated by the Local Council of Slobozia, in cooperation with the local community from Silistra. The theme was related to exchanges in different fields (education, culture, politics, etc) between the two towns. For education section, members of the Student board went to Silistra for visiting some schools, for discussing with their colleagues and teachers. Similar, groups of teachers and students from Bulgaria came and visited our school. -“European Youth Parliament”- developed by EYP Romania. Founded in 1987, the European Youth Parliament (EYP) is an international, non-partisan organization, accessible to young people all over Europe. They are encouraged to express their personal opinion concerning a united Europe. EYP promotes the European dimension in education. The European Youth Parliament consists in a forum where young people can express their own opinions without any political connotations. Students are encouraged to take an interest in current affairs and in the democratic process, practice independent thinking and take personal initiative. Every year, members of the Student board participate at EYP actions; in 2012, the president of our Student board participated at an international activity of EYP at Istanbul, Turkey. -volunteering activities developed for National Strategy for Community Action; our students are involved in different volunteering projects; for example, this year they took care of the children who live at the orphanage (care center). The students helped them with homework, organized shows for Christmas and Easter, went with them at the public library, organized for them birthday parties. Participation at the school’s activities Every year our school organizes “Open days”, when students from our county come to visit our school. They are welcome and offered information by the members of the Student board. The offered information refers to our students’ results, our curriculum, the extracurricular activities, etc. These are only few examples of activities developed by Student board from a Romanian school.

Workshop -results Task on the first workshop session 3.10.2012: 1) 2)

3)

Every group member was to present their pre-task to the other members of the group While presenting pretasks they were asked to tell the others at least:  The theme/ subject you were working with?  Why did you choose this theme/subject?  What kind of experiences you have had in your school and/or in your country?  What would you think that’ll be valuable to the others to know and to understand about your school/ your country about democratic school? While discussing and listening the presentations the group was asked to raise three similarities and three differences they had found.

ANSWERS WERE…

Differences Group 1  Structure  Management  The range of extra-class activities Group 2  Different understanding of democracy by students, parents and teachers  School timetables  History of countries, attitude to religion Group 3  Participation in different ways  Charity work

Similarities Group 1  Structure  A limited choice  The level of students involvement depends on teachers Group 2  Student boards  In each country there is a person who is responsible for respecting student’s rights and mediations between students, parents, teachers etc.  Projects about Rights of the Child

Group 3  Active participation  Elections  Decision making  Ideals/opinions → work plan of the school

 Values (family values, values of the society)  Freedom & Responsibility  Different societies, schools, teachers

Final workshop session 6.10.2012: Democratic School in Basic Education During the workshop in Helsinki 2012 participants had been working, discussing, listening and looking how democratic school, children’s rights and participation are taking in consideration in everyday school life. Now it was time for reflections! Participants were asked to think and reflect the questions below first individually: 1) 2) 3) Then with your group: 4) 5)

Would you take some Finnish or other countries practices at home with you? Which ones and why? Which of your own practices might be valuable to the other countries/schools/participants? Why? Summary of what is left on the trip. Discuss with your group members of your reflections. Team discussion from previous issues.

Answers on the final session were… Group 1: Would you take some Finnish or other countries practices at home with you? Which ones and why?     

invest into the future ‘ethos of trust’ respect for teachers high quality teacher training co-operation (teachers, teachers-students, teacher-parents…).

Which of your own practices might be valuable to the other countries/schools/participants? Why?  Activities e.g. Day of pupils  Teaching democracy through history  European survey → suitable topics for students e.g. environmental, welfare and future-related issues. Group 2: Would you take some Finnish or other countries practices at home with you? Which ones and why?      

KiVa flexible schedule on curriculum the 10th grade approbation & implementation of research results teacher education + ‘trust-culture’ + strong trade union co-operation on different levels + free food.

Which of your own practices might be valuable to the other countries/schools/participants? Why?  A week of exams after a period  Students participation in every country. Group 3: Would you take some Finnish or other countries practices at home with you? Which ones and why?     

The system of Peer mediation Teacher training system Co-operation with NGO’s, local community, parents etc. Principals system (time resourced for administrative work) The position of teachers in society.

Which of your own practices might be valuable to the other countries/schools/participants? Why?  Enthusiasm of teachers  Teacher’s day 5.10.2012  Different events to the actors in schools.

Feedback Feedback of the workshop was asked on saturday 6th October on workshop summary by the following questions. Participants marked their opinion by the following scale: 5 = excellent, 4 = good, 3 = satisfactory, 2 = below average, 1 = poor Average mark The pretasks were

4,53

Did the content of the workshop meet your expectations

4,73

Did the content of the workshop meet your needs

4,60

Overall planning

4,86

General quality of lecturers

4,93

General atmosphere of the workshop

4,86

Documents and teaching materials

4,86

Accomodation

4,80

Food

4,80

Social activities

4,73

Organization of the workshop

4,93

On feedback participants were also given the possibility to express their ’roses and twigs’ of workshop. Personal comments and opinions of Helsinki 2012 workshop: 

“Lots of roses! What a journey! The experience was so personal that at the moment it is difficult to put it into words. Lots of detailed information, examples and also an experience on how a good and warm-spirited team works. I would have liked to hear a little bit more about the situation in other countries. It was nice to hear in the end of workshop that we shall have all pretasks from 13 nations to our use in the Final Report.”

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“I would like to talk with other teachers at the school (in the way we did with the pupils). It has been a very good experience. I want to make a mention for the organization…it was very good! Thanks you a lot!”

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“I would have really appreciated a visit to a primary school as well (grades 1-6). Thank you very much for the effort and EXTRA effort of showing me classrooms and school (art, home-economics). Great organization and excellent facilities. I loved the Lapland dinner.”

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“There were different elements; information, discussions, excursion. Good combination. Thank you. It was a great pleasure to have the opportunity to take part in this Pestalozzi programme. All presentations on Thursday were good.”

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“The participants were great – I could learn so much of the exhanges. The workshop was very well organized – I liked the short distances and the program was very well balanced (theory and practice). For me personally there was a too strong focus on secondary school (students). I would have liked short presentations from all participants pretasks for the whole group – maybe with PowerPoint or something like that. The hosts were friendly and welcomed us so nice – I was feeling very comfortable here in Helsinki. Thanks!”

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“Thank you very much for the hospitality. It was a marvelous experience for me. I will transfer all these beautiful experiences to my staff of my school. Many thanks to all of you! All the best for you!”

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“Thank you very much for everything. It was a very great experience for me to participate at this event. I met very nice people! The activities were very well organized and I learned a lot of interesting things which will be useful for my activity. Thank you very much again! Congratulations for your work!”

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“I am really glad that I was able to take part in this workshop. It was very useful, full of new ideas. I expected a bit more of practical activities than lectures.”

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“The workshop was a fantastic experience. Actually, it was even better than I had expected! You really helped us to get a very clear idea of what education is like in Finland and the opportunity to discuss among colleagues and education experts from all over Europe was one of a kind. Thank you very much for your kindness and dedication!”

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“I should say the words of my gratitude to the organizers of the workshop & their assistance.”

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“Everything was excellent. Thank you very much for possibility to participate and great work!"

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“First of all I would like to express my thanks for your hard work to organize this workshop for us. It provided on excellent platform to change ideas and learn a lot of good practices. I really admire the Finnish system of education and I hope in my school we can implement at least some elements of your system. It was a great idea to take us to a school where we could experience what we had been introduced beforehand by experts. The workshop met my expectations to the greatest extent. Congratulations!”

Thank you all!

Pestalozzi Helsinki presentation materials on Finnish National Board of Education web-pages: http://www.oph.fi/english/sources_of_information/conferences/pestalozzi_workshops_in_helsinki

Let’s keep in touch! We are active in Facebook by the name of PESTALOZZI HELSINKI: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/176973499050964/

Opetushallitus Finnish National Board of Education PO Box 380, FI-00531 Helsinki, FINLAND puh./tel. +358 29 533 1000, faksi/fax +358 29 533 1035 [email protected] • [email protected] www.oph.fi www.edu.fi