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Description
The project "Modern approaches to internships in economics" aims to strengthen collaboration with local businesses to maximize their offer of internships and at the same time, the professional development of teachers and tutors to improve the learning process at work place of our students.
The general objective of the project: Improving the quality of internships carried out at economic agents.
Specific objectives: improving the skills and knowledge of teachers and staff of the economic agent on the organization of internships; creating the connection between the economic environment and the educational environment from the perspective of training qualified human resources, through initial professional training, corresponding to the requirements of the labor market; the practical approach of learning and the correlation of the acquired skills with the requirements of the labor market, respectively of the economic agent, in order to increase the socio-professional insertion rate of the graduates in the economic field.
The project will include a 5-day study visit to the similar high school "Anglo - nemecka obchodni akademie a.s." from Prague and companies: Subterra, Kuehne + Nagel, Yonix logistics.
In the local project activities will be involved 17 teachers who teach economic subjects, 216 students from the ninth and tenth grades, the qualification of Technician in economic activities and 5 employees of the partner economic agent. The study visit will be attended by 8 teachers from the high school who teach the specialized modules for the qualification Technician in economic activities and 3 tutors responsible for internships from the partner company.
The main activities of the project: setting up the project team; information and promotion activities; selection of participants; study visit; project monitoring and evaluation; dissemination and valorization of the results at the unit level and in other profile high schools in the county.
Summary of project results
The project "Modern Approaches to Internships in Economic Education" aimed to strengthen collaboration with local economic agents in order to maximize the availability of internship opportunities for students, while also enhancing the professional development of teachers and mentors to improve the on-the-job learning process for our students. Challenges faced by the school: Finding economic partners who can provide relevant opportunities for students, especially considering that the town is very small and the socio-economic development of Teleorman County is precarious; Ensuring a strong connection between what is taught in school and what is practiced during internships.
n response to this challenge, the project proposed planning and integrating internship activities into the existing curriculum by identifying dedicated practice modules within the school programs and developing, together with the practice mentors. Designated by the partnering company, project products are : a course support for the training of practice mentors; a practice mentor''s guide; improving existing CDLs; and developing Learning Agreements as annexes to the three internship contracts concluded.Training of teachers and practice mentors: It is necessary for teachers and practice mentors to be trained and prepared to guide students during internships, ensuring that they understand the connection between the curriculum and practical experience. The mixed-team study visit of VET teachers and practice mentors contributed to the professional development and broadening of knowledge for the participants.A common challenge for both the school and the economic agent is: Adequate supervision and evaluation Internships require careful supervision and proper evaluation to ensure that students gain real benefits from these experiences. Finding the resources and time needed for monitoring and evaluation is a challenge for both the school and the partnering economic agent, as there is no unified national evaluation system with a question base that ensures a unified and market-demanding assessment.
As part of this project, a 5-day study visit took place from November 28 to December 2, 2022, at "Anglo-nemecka obchodni akademie a.s." in Prague, Czech Republic, and at the partnering internship companies: Subterra, Kuehne+Nagel, Yonix logistics. The study visit involved 8 teaching staff members from the high school and 3 mentors responsible for the internships from the partner company. During the study visit, participants visited the workshops and laboratories of the host school, the internship companies, attended lessons and practical activities of the students, analyzed specific internship documents in the visited companies, and held discussions with teachers and practice mentors regarding the organization of internships.As a result of the study visit, in which both teachers and practice mentors from the partnering economic agent participated, collaboration with the latter improved, leading to an increased number of internship contracts concluded for the following school year and an increased number of students assigned for internships at this company.
The teaching staff from the Technological Curricular Area, in partnership with the practice mentors from the economic agent, developed project products: a course support for the training of practice mentors from economic agents;3 locally developed curricula for the qualification of Technician in Economic Activities, 9th, 10th, and 11th grades: "Firm Resource Management", "Entrepreneurial Innovation and Digitalization in the Practice Firm", and "Practical Use of Modern Tools in Primary Accounting";3 ECVET learning agreements for the qualification of Technician in Economic Activities for 3 specialized modules: Business Administration, Marketing, Computer Use in Accounting - annexes to the contracts with the economic agent;1 set of alternative assessment methods, adapted to the skills necessary for labor market integration in the Economic field;6 specialized tests for the Economic field;2 questionnaires for the evaluation of internships at the economic agent;1 practice mentor''s guide;These products are valuable for the teaching activity in the school because they supplement the lack of modern teaching materials and are used in the teaching of specialized modules and in the practical preparation of students during internships. They contribute to aligning practical experiences with the curriculum content.As a result of the project, the teaching staff acquired communication and negotiation skills with economic agents for establishing higher-quality internship partnerships. Practice mentors observed practical training methods and ways of organizing practice in the companies in the Czech Republic. At the school level, modernized CDLs will be introduced, improved in collaboration with the economic agent. Practice mentors will have access to a mentor''s guide and course support to harmonize theory with practice, strengthening the connection between curriculum and practical experience.
As a result of closer collaboration with the partner company, the school was designated to organize the first edition of the National Competition on Culture and Financial Education 2023 for the Economic, Administrative, Commerce fields, for the professional qualification of Technician in Economic Activities, aimed at 11th-grade students, in partnership with the Teleorman County School Inspectorate (IȘJ) and CECAR (The Body of Chartered Accountants and Authorized Accountants of Romania) – Teleorman branch.