The aim of this project was to develop teachers’ competences to implement democratic citizenship education programmes to prevent and reduce violence in schools and to identify the obstacles that prevent schools and teachers to implement such programs. The project offered schools around Europe the opportunity to adopt and adapt the European Charter for Democratic Schools without Violence.
In Romania, according to the procedures agreed in the European Network, IIT identified 5 pilot schools in Timisoara and developed a local training partnership with the Teacher Training Institution (CCD Timis) and with the Resource and Special Education Centre “Speranta”. The collaboration included Timis County School Inspectorate and the Ministry of Education in the process of facilitating and acknowledging the contribution of the project to the implementation of the National Strategy for Combatting Violence in Schools, adopted in 2007.
VISTA methodology – Violence in Schools Training Action was used to develop and adapt the training programmes. The key element of VISTA is the whole-school approach, which takes into account not only the problem (violence in schools), but also the context, the school and the community (students, parents, teachers, local authorities and other members of the school community) and the procedures for school change and development that are followed when a group of teachers makes a proposal for school development.
The main outcome at European level was the development of the European Network “European Safer School Partnership through Education for Democratic Citizenship”. In Romania, IIT and its partners accredited in 2010 the training course “Democratic Citizenship and Combatting Violence”. Teachers can register for this course with CCD Timis.
Duration: 2006-2009
Partners:
Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), Great Britain – coordinator
Intercultural Institute Timisoara, Romania
School Association for Global Education SAGE, Bulgaria
Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, Finland
Lycee Professionnel Marcel Dassault, France
Istituto Tecnico Commerciale Statale, Italy
Donegal Education Centre , Ireland
A consortium of schools from Wojkowice, Poland
Pedagogical Centre, Sweden Technical University Yildiz, Turkey