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Description
APS, which has existed for nearly 100 years, educates students who will in the future perform professions of public trust. The mission of the academy is to prepare special educators, teachers or social workers to work on behalf of individuals and groups requiring specialized support (e.g. in relation to the experience of disability, poverty, cultural differences), while respecting their full rights, acceptance and inclusion in life as equal citizens. In connection with dynamically occurring social changes (including an increasing number of migrants coming to Poland), we consider it necessary to raise the level of education and competences of APS academics and didactic staff in order to implement them to work with students coming from culturally diverse backgrounds.
The aim of the presented project is to establish an institutional partnership between APS and OsloMet. It will enable the development and implementation of pilot solutions (strategies and educational programmes related to social innovation in the field of inclusion), based on Norwegian experiences concerning acceptance, participation and support of people with different cultural patterns and codes. The project also aims to implement Norwegian proxemic solutions in the newly constructed fourth building at the APS campus in Szczęśliwicka Street in Warsaw. We assume that thanks to the cooperation with OsloMet and the study visit, APS will create an environment taking into account the needs of all students, including those with disabilities of different gender and cultural backgrounds.
Summary of project results
Study visit passed as following:
Day1. We met at the OsloMet campus Anette Antonsen and other departmental colleagues to exchange information about our universities, departments and courses.We learnt about the
differences between Polish and Norwegian social pedagogy and social education, it increased our knowledge about the
Norwegian system.
We learnt about your Bachelor programme in social education, its content and schedule with the practical part of the curriculum. We met the human rights lawyer, the International Relations coordinator and other colleagues.
Day 2. We were guided to Kapellveien Habilitation Centre and met the key staff. It was very helpful to compare the services available in Poland at different stages as well as facilities and the quality of service. After, we returned to OsloMet to explore the campus. Meeting the canteens’ area manager and discussing the food practices and the sustainability of supporting students within the catering environment was an eyeopener for us. The zero-waste food economy, we will try to
showcase in our setting. We observed the meeting areas, students’ hanging around areas, reduced fees for food at the end of the day, ‘recycling’ some food items. We saw the effects of production of signs from second-hand materials and furniture.
We met Tom Syvertsen who takes care about the bee hives at OsloMet.
We took a lot of photographs of the buildings and how the accessibility is assured.
Day 3. We took independent visits to local nurseries and kindergartens. At the last study day at OsloMet we enjoyed a number of presentations about cooperation. Opportunities, both in student and staff exchange, but also in regard to joint research. We felt we fit in across diverse departments at OsloMet but mostly to Behavioural Science Department. Katarzyna Krus prepared the interinstitutional Erasmus + agreement draft. After the visit we shared the outcomes at our university according to the plan.
Summary of bilateral results
Cooperation with the host institution was at the highest level in terms of content and organization. The institution appointed a person to coordinate the course of the study visit and to be responsible for the pre-arrival contact - Rolf Magnus. The contact was smooth, we worked together to develop the schedule of the visit, then the representative picked us up at the designated place accompanying us in all activities each day. In addition to his participation, OsloMet provided all the declared meetings, involving a number of administrative and scientific staff, which resulted in the identification of joint research directions, the initiation of a bilateral agreement, and the drawing of good practices in the field of sustainable development, but also in the support and therapy of children with special educational needs from multilingual and multicultural backgrounds. Cooperation with the finance department and the international cooperation coordinator was also very positive. The main channel of contact was e-mail, the partners quickly consulted, wrote back, and in case of doubts referred matters to other people quickly obtaining answers. The schedule of the visit was carried out on schedule, and the OsloMet cooperating institution was also involved in the course of the visit as planned, which also fulfilled the visit fully leaving us impressed with the arrangement of the therapy space and the organization of the work. We received support not only during the visit, but also in the organization of transportation and accommodation recommendations. The cooperation was sustained after the implementation of the visit, we defined common goals, the partner received a report on the visit from us, and also provides consultative assistance in implementing possible changes at our university.