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Description
General objective of the project is to increase the capacity of 6 schools situated in disadvantaged rural areas in Cluj county to develop an inclusive environment for their school population of rroma nationality by developing the necessary competences in the teachers working with these students and by implementing a series of diverse activities with a sistematic involvement of the families of the rroma and non rroma students in order to promote acceptance and mutual respect.
O1:-Developing for 66 teachers in our partner schools new competences: student centred approaches in an inclusive and multicultural learning environment.
O2:- Developing social, civic, cultural and emotional awareness in rroma and non rroma students in order to facilitate social inclusion and cooperation based on acceptance and mutual respect.
O3:- Increasing responsibility and active involvement of 96 rroma and non rroma parents who are going to develop competences related to communication and relationships based on respect and acceptance.
O4:- Elaborating 2 curricula and 6 sets of materials to ensure and support learning and implementing new concepts (centred learning process in an inclusive environment; design and organize efficient inclusive extracurricular activities; organize curricular and extracurricular activities which promote inclusion, student-centred learning, non-discrimination , acceptance and cooperation; suggestions for activities to improve and consolidate school- family relationships and a good and active communication between them.
The impact of this project shall be visible in an increased level of participation and involvement of the members of the target groups especially (teachers, students, parents), in a reduced rate of school drop and absenteeism, as well as in building some solid relationships based on good communication between school and family which shall last after the end of the project.
Summary of project results
According to the reports prepared by the zonal inspectors in the Cluj County, six educational institutions (schools with with 25% -73% Roma children) were facing high dropout rates, low or sporadic school attendance, poor and very poor academic results. These problematic situations are due to the low interest of students and their families in education, the social, material, and financial needs they face - lack of jobs, large families, unhealthy housing or housing that cannot provide the necessary comfort, factors that have serious consequences for the integration of students belonging to these families in the educational process.
Under these conditions, there was a need to identify opportunities that would remove them from this isolation and stigmatization and allow these children both access to quality education and school life as well as interaction and social inclusion in the school and local environment. Strengthening relationships and connections with the families of these children by involving families in certain school activities and contexts, extracurricular socialization and interrelationships with representatives of the school environment, with other students of other ethnicities and with their families that would lay the foundations for a relationship of mutual support, understanding and acceptance are defining directions for improving the existing situation.
In order to put into practice these steps of inclusion and facilitation, it is also necessary for the teaching staff and the managements of the educational institutions involved to benefit from the opportunity to develop the necessary skills in the field of inclusion, European citizenship and human rights.
The six rural schools with 25% -73% Roma children, identified in the Cluj County, created a consortium coordinated by the County School Inspectorate in Cluj (ISJ Cluj). For them, the Promotor: ISJ Cluj, created a complex intervention for their teachers working with Roma children, for their Roma parents and children, involving in the activities dedicated to Roma parents and Roma children, non-Roma parents, respectively children. In this respect:
- more than 85 teachers participated in 3 training courses organized, which facilitated the development of an inclusive framework and increased the capacity of institutions to implement and maintain Roma inclusion practices in the future.
- 2 curricula and 6 sets of materials were elaborated for partner schools. They contained examples of good practice activities focused on promoting and creating inclusive environments based on collaboration and mutual respect that support teachers, students and their parents in raising awareness of the phenomenon of discrimination and assuming human rights.
- non-formal extracurricular collaborative and interactive activities were organized for 228 Roma and Non-Roma students to promote inclusion, tolerance and mutual respect.
- six learning - sessions were organised for the Roma and Non-Roma parents belonging to the partner schools on inclusion: "Inclusion starts at home" and on "School-Family Relationship".
The project increased the capacity of six educational institutions from disadvantaged rural areas in Cluj County to develop an inclusive environment for the Roma school population by developing the necessary skills among teachers involved in the instructional-educational process and by implementing various activities with the systematic involvement of the families of Roma and non-Roma students that promote mutual acceptance and respect.
66 teachers from partner schools developed their skills in disciplinary/transdisciplinary curricular and extracurricular approaches centered on the student, creating an inclusive and multicultural work environment.
Development of social, civic, cultural and emotional awareness skills in Roma and non-Roma students that facilitate social inclusion, collaboration based on acceptance and mutual respect by involving a number of 228 Roma and non-Roma students (in balanced proportion) in school, student-centered teaching-learning and extracurricular activities that promote and encourage non-discrimination and respect for human rights organized by teachers involved in the training process within the project as well as by participating in a socio-emotional development camp and excursions. The teachers involved had as support 2 curricula and 4 sets of materials developed within the project.
Increased accountability and active involvement of over 95 Roma and non-Roma parents, who developed communication and relationship skills based on respect and acceptance by participating in awareness-raising activities. The activities, which promoted an inclusive environment without discrimination and socio-emotional inclusion, were coordinated by educational experts and teachers who, within the project, benefited of training programs.