The Erasmus+ programme aims to promote equity and inclusion by facilitating access for participants with disadvantaged backgrounds and fewer opportunities. This includes individuals with disabilities, educational difficulties, economic obstacles, cultural differences, health problems, and social obstacles.
The development process of the toolkit included four steps:
- Research: Partners conducted a skill gap analysis through surveys and interviews to assess competence levels.
- Training: Luovi Vocational College organised a three-day-training seminar on social inclusion for VET staff from Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Italy and Spain.
- Updating teaching methodologies and testing: VET staff in the Western Balkans introduced new elements in their teaching methodology and tested them with students.
Feedback and finalization: The final step involved analyzing the results of the testing and integrating them into the final version of the toolkit.
1. RESEARCH PHASE
The first phase was implemented with a Webropol questionnaire. We received 80 responses to the questionnaire which was shared through project partners. Most respondents are from Albania (31.2%), followed by Montenegro (20%) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (16.2%). Most respondents (87.5%) were from VET schools, with a smaller percentage (12.5%) from other organizations like lifelong learning centers and NGOs. The majority of respondents were in teaching positions. (56.3%), followed by those in other roles such as project coordinators and mobility project coordinators (18.7%).
One of the aims of the questionnaire was to get information on how students with fewer opportunities are understood. According to respondents, the term is generally understood to include students facing various barriers such as disabilities, economic challenges, social and cultural disadvantages, and discrimination.
According to the results, a significant majority (90%) of respondents have students with fewer opportunities in their schools or classes, with examples including students with ADHD, intellectual disabilities, and those from low-income families.
To plan the training, it was also important to focus on the legislation and autonomy of the schools and teachers. Most respondents (83.6%) indicated that there is national legislation defining social inclusion in their countries, with specific laws and strategies mentioned for different regions. Schools have varying levels of autonomy in organizing inclusion, with some having specific plans and support systems in place, while others follow national guidelines and legislation.
The main purpose of the skills gap analysis was to define the needs and specific topics for the training. Respondents expressed a need for more information on alternative teaching methods (67.5%), making individual study plans (37.5%), and interaction with students with fewer opportunities (43.8%).
We also collected data on existing good practices by the questionnaire.
2. TRAINING PHASE
After completing the report on the findings from the questionnaire we moved to the second phase, planning and implementing the training. Luovi organised a three-day workshop in Helsinki, Finland on June 10th to 14th , 2024. The training included ice-breaking activities, workshops on making an individual study plan for a student and working together with the network of the students, plain language communication, alternative teaching methods, and interactions with students with fewer opportunities as well as brainstorming sessions. The topics were chosen based on the skills gap analysis and the practises were chosen to meet the needs of teachers.
The training included ice-breaking activities, workshops on making an individual study plan for a student and working together with the network of the students, plain language communication, alternative teaching methods, and interactions with students with fewer opportunities as well as brainstorming sessions. We had a student-centered focus on the training, by focusing on the needs and interests of the students we can aim for more inclusive learning environments.
We focused on innovative approaches to practices that could be adapted to various classroom settings in Western Balkans. The aim was giving inspiration for teachers to think creatively and implement new ideas in their lesson plans. The practices demonstrated real-world situations and success stories, they have been proven effective through implementation. Adaptability of the practices is important, showing how they can be tailored to fit different educational contexts, student needs, and learning environments.
The training was a launch for collaborative learning, aiming at encouraging teachers to share ideas, resources, and experiences with their peers. This fosters a supportive community of educators who can learn from each other and continuously improve their teaching methods.
3. UPDATING TEACHING METHODOLOGIES AND TESTING
The third step in the development of the toolkit was to update teaching methodologies and testing. The VET teachers from Western Balkans who participated in the training seminar developed the practices based on the training seminar in Helsinki and their own experiences.
They introduced new elements in their teaching methodology and tested them with students during the autumn period 2024. The piloting phase included online seminars with the participants of the Helsinki seminar.
The practices for the toolkit were collected using the same format for all. The practices vary from general level pedagogical methodologies to very practical tips and events, how to include everybody in activities and learning. The practices are introduced according to the countries involved in the project. The practices are described in a way that others can implement and adjust them to their teaching. They explain the target group during the piloting phase, but the practices can be implemented with other groups, the purpose is to encourage teachers to enrich teaching and pilot new approaches in teaching and involving students with fewer opportunities.
| Country | Number of teachers involved in training | Number of good practices | Number of teachers involved in piloting | Number of students involved in piloting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 3 | 3 | 19 | 74 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3 | 29 | 25 | 470 |
| Kosovo | 3 | 3 | 18 | 43 |
| Montenegro | 3 | 3 | 18 | 49 |
| Finland | 5 | 2 | 6 | 60 |
| Italy | 3 | – | – | – |
| Spain | 3 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
| Total | 23 | 42 | 88 | 731 |
4. FEEDBACK AND FINALIZATION
The final step consisted of evaluating the testing results (the best practices in the next section) and incorporating them into the finalized version of the toolkit.
