Description
The project is a response to insufficient competencies of persons training school teachers in the field of counteracting and reacting to manifestations of homophobia, as a result of which school teachers are not well prepared to combat manifestations of violence motivated by homophobia in schools. The project activities include developing of a training model and a handbook to be used in preparing and conducting trainings for teachers in the field of counteracting and reacting to school homophobia, preparing 40 persons from all over the country to conduct trainings for teachers in this field, and disseminating the results of the project in the form of a conference for persons conducting trainings for teachers and school heads, and articles in specialist periodicals. One of the partner organisations - Unesco Initiatives Centre is obliged to recruit trainers that train teachers for the trainings organised for them. The other partner is obliged to test the training scripts that are to be used to prepare teachers to counteract homophobia at school.
Summary of project results
"Research carried out by Campaign Against Homophobia, Lambda Warsaw, and the Transfusion Foundation (Warsaw, 2012) shows that 1/3 acts of psycho-sexual orientation-based discrimination were committed by school or university classmates, and that 31% of these acts actually occurred at school. While some schools declare commitment to activities preventing school-based homophobia, such activities are frequently inefficient, as proven by Campaign Against Homophobia's report. A study by the Society for Anti-Discrimination Education (Warsaw, 2011) shows that Poland has no homophobia-related educational offer for teachers. The project purpose was to improve qualifications of staff training schoolteachers by delivering training sessions focusing on the prevention of and reacting to homophobic behaviours. Teacher training staff were trained in preventing school-based homophobia while becoming a group of LGBT allies at formal education institutions. Project activities comprised the design of a training model and textbook (circulation: just under 300 copies). Twenty-four “good practices"" in the field of preventing school-based homophobia were collected; a new training model was tested; 3 training courses prepared 43 persons from throughout Poland to deliver classroom sessions. The project closed with a conference involving a presentation of the training model and textbook alike. Project results were published on the organisation's website. Forty-three teacher training staff were duly trained. Project results were presented to 24 conference participants and 300 recipients of the textbook. The organisation collaborated with the Warsaw Centre for Educational-and-Social Innovation and Training, responsible for training course recruitment and topical consulting for the teaching script, training programme, publication, and conference agenda. The UNESCO Initiatives Centre was the other partner, also engaging in the recruitment process for training course purposes."
Summary of bilateral results