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Description
Greece is ranked very low in EU & international comparative studies on Active Citizenship (AC).Despite AC being part of school curricula for many years, its impact is not reflected in citizens’ attitudes. Behaviors & attitudes cannot be taught as a school subject with traditional teaching techniques. The educational program "Acting as a Citizens" addresses the need for a holistic pedagogical intervention covering all aspects of AC, with the introduction of an appropriate methodology for forming life attitudes. It aims at shaping 5-18year-old students as active citizens. It offers an appropriate context for implementation in schools & enables the connection & engagement with the family, the community & the world. Educational resources in the form of manuals for teachers & family are being created. The project is implemented in 48 Greek schools, with participating teachers being trained & supported live & remotely during a school year for the implementation of the program with their students. The program’s approach is hands-on, student-centered, inquiry-based & collaborative, ignited by the student''s own experience & surroundings. The students invite their families, social partners, competent authorities, civil society organizations & the media to take part in their activities. 3,700 students & 192 teachers are being trained to inform, raise awareness & call to action another 4,800 students, 336 teachers & 1,000 parents. 24 highly qualified teachers are trained to act as counselors, trainers & facilitators to the teachers. The Lambrakis Foundation has the responsibility of the development, coordination & implementation of the program and the A.C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation is responsible for the dissemination of its results.
Summary of project results
Greece is ranked very low in EU & international comparative studies on Active Citizenship (AC).Despite AC being part of school curricula for many years, its impact is not reflected in citizens’ attitudes. Behaviors & attitudes cannot be taught as a school subject with traditional teaching techniques. The educational program "Acting as a Citizens" addresses the need for a holistic pedagogical intervention covering all aspects of AC, with the introduction of an appropriate methodology for forming life attitudes.
The educational program "Acting as Citizens" offers citizenship training to K-12 students, by instilling in them active citizens’ values and behaviors. This program proposes a holistic pedagogical intervention, while integrating all aspects of active citizenship (AC) in a structured and systematic manner in schools, thereby filling a significant gap in the curricula. Over the course of its 3-year implementation, "Acting as Citizens" created a critical mass of trained educators, education executives, leaders, and students who gained ownership over citizenship education and adopted practices that promote participatory democracy and a cohesive society. These individuals are part of a nationwide interconnected learning community, who leverage the content, the methodology, the tools and the platform, made available to them. They thereby develop collaborations and exchange good practice for cultivating AC, while also acting as multipliers within the Greek school system. The program has been approved by the Ministry of Education to be implemented not only interdisciplinarily, in flexible school hours and in extra-curricular programs for K-12 students, but also as an elective workshop within the weekly school timetable for K-15.
The "Acting as Citizen," offers a Teacher’s Handbook that proposes teaching scenarios, hands-on learning activities and projects, that have been developed with student-centered, inquiry-based, learning-by-doing, methodologies that enhance teamwork both inside and outside the classroom/school. The content of the handbook is tagged by age and grade and directly linked to the curricula.Participating educators were trained in-person and remotely, and received ongoing counseling and guidance by trained Facilitators.
As citizens, the children evaluated situations, faced dilemmas and made conscious and well-documented choices, planned their initiatives and took action, thereby creating a positive impact in their respective contexts. They critically approached issues such as identity, coexistence, diversity, rights, obligations, individual and collective responsibility, rule of law, participatory democracy, the ability to seek out valid information, the responsibility in creating and disseminating information, the ability to see the big picture, fruitful forms of struggle, advocacy and public positioning (by adding value), volunteering, activism, participation in public policy, etc. Within this context, children developed initiatives and took action on local and global issues regarding fellow humans, community life, the environment, animals, etc., and called their classmates from the same or other schools, their families, the local community, social partners etc. to action.
In total, 14,513 individuals systematically participated in "Acting as Citizen" and were trained in active citizenship over 3 years, significantly surpassing the program''s quantitative goals. 29 Facilitators and 1.021 educators were trained, and 13,465 students from 212 schools were educated. However, due to the nature of the educational intervention - closely linked to the broader social context - the dissemination and impact of the project are undoubtedly much greater. The program was implemented in all 13 regions (prefectures) of the country, as follows: Argolida, Arcadia, Attica, Boeotia, Dodecanese, Evia, Zakynthos, Ilia, Imathia, Heraklion, Thessaloniki, Ioannina, Kavala, Karditsa, Corfu, Kozani, Corinth, Cyclades, Larissa, Lasithi, Lesbos, Magnesia, Messinia, Pella, Pieria, Rethymno, Serres, Trikala, Phthiotis, Chalkidiki, Chania, and Chios