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Implementing internationalization (international projects) at schools |
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All around Europe schools are trying
to implement and carry out internationalization and to be involved in
international projects. These are undoubtedly features that are becoming
more and more common and popular nowadays in schools, when compared to
some years ago. There are, however, different concepts on how these international projects should be carried out, what consequently leads to different levels of involvement and different approaches towards this idea of internationalization. These concepts and ways of acting in what concerns the involvement of a school in international projects, differ not only from country to country but also from school to school in the same country. There are however some simple and clear ideas which are common sense and about which most of those who have been carrying out these projects tend to agree upon. We’ll try to summarise some of these ideas. We should never forget, however, that each school has its own identity, what means we need to adapt these general ideas to our schools own "personalities". 1. Internationalization should be a school task with the support and involvement of the head teacher and of all the other teachers at school. It should, by no means, be a lonely project of a single teacher, as it sometimes happens in many schools where this task tends to be a one woman / man job. International projects involve a lot of work and they are time consuming, in other words, it is a too demanding task for one single teacher or even for a small group of teachers. 2. Everybody at school, teachers and students alike, must feel the project as their own and they should not have the feeling it is only one teacher’s project.
3. It is important to organise a committee, that is a group of teachers,
responsible for finding and implementing international projects in which
the whole school and all the teachers can be involved according to their
needs and wishes. These projects should always have the support both of
the head-teacher and of the pedagogical committees at school. 4. Students’ motivation is essential. On the one hand it helps students to get deeply involved in the project and on the other hand it makes them feel this is their own project. Both aspects will contribute in a great measure to a stronger collaboration between all the participants. 5. The parents’ support is also very important for the good development of an international project. A possible way of accomplishing this is to inform parents about everything that is happening within the project and to get them involved in it by showing them how important internationalization is for the school development and for their children’s growth as citizens of the world. 6. The support from the whole school community is also desirable. This can be achieved if you keep everybody informed about what you are doing, either through the school magazine / newspaper, the school webpage, local newspapers or whatever other media possibilities you can figure out. 7. International projects should be integrated in the curriculum, in other words they should be part of the goals of the schools. 8. Every detail concerning the project should be discussed with the other partners and everybody should be aware of the goals and deadlines established. 9. The advisable number of partners involved in an international project should be at least three, or four if it is a Comenius 1 project, since there is always the possibility of one of the original three needed, for some specific reason, having to drop out before the conclusion of project . |
Some Tips - Keep it as simple as possible, don’t be too ambitious. - Get the support of the head-teachers and all the other teachers at school, in other words, get the school support. - Keep the head-teacher and the pedagogical committees at school involved and informed about everything that happens within the projects so that they can support you and the project. - Involve other teachers, the whole school if possible, in international projects. - Everybody must feel the project as their own and not have the feeling that it is just one teacher’s project - Organise a team / group of teachers who will be responsible for implementing international projects in your school - Motivate your pupils / students so that they can be involved and collaborative. - Get the parents’ support through their involvement in the project, if possible. - Show what you are doing to the whole school community. - Try to integrate the project in the teaching units. - Discuss everything deeply with the other partners so that everybody is aware of the goals and deadlines established and commits to them. - Try to find funds near the school authorities (city councils) for the development of your projects.
Where to find partners to become international? |