EUMOSCHOOL – Emotional Education for Early School Leaving Prevention is a European project funded by the ERASMUS + programme, Strategic Partnership for School Education, which aims to; develop, test and implement a new coherent methodology and innovative curricula of emotional education within school environments involving 6 countries (Italy, UK, Hungary, Romania, Turkey and Austria), providing an effective intervention model to reduce the phenomenon of Early School Leaving (ESL).
The project is based on the EU level adaptation of the Italian methodology Didattica delle Emozioni© (Didactic of Emotions, DoE), developed from 18 years of experience and investigation into emotional education, in order to improve the wellbeing and transversal key competencies of pupils with a view to reducing ESL whilst supporting the professional development of teachers and pedagogical staff.
The specific EUMOSCHOOL objectives are:
- To contribute to effective ESL strategies through the integration of emotional education intervention methodology into school curricula for all students, impacting on the reduction of ESL.
- To foster the development and assessment of transversal skills and competences among students to develop well-being and diminish emotional discomfort and associated risk factors through emotional education.
- To increase the professional skills of teachers and practitioners by equipping them with an accessible ESL intervention methodology, utilized through an Online Educational Resource (OER) combined with practical techniques and assessment tools, adapted for classroom learning at any level.
- To support holistic collaborative approaches to teaching through networking and events to promote dialogue with stakeholders in school education across Europe. Exchange good practice to address and support children and young people at risk of ESL and disadvantage.
What is Didactics of Emotions?
A new generation educational format, orientated to both promoting wellness in class and preventing discomfort in children and teenagers, especially the ones characterized by pathologic addition. It’s part of of early preventions practices and it’s based on the scientific assumption which says that, a good mastery of one’s own emotional world constitutes an excellent protection factor. The format meets the guiding rules recommended by the Health World Organization and it has been tested on a very vast sample of students. It is composed by several techniques which can be implemented by teachers during their lessons at school, mainly with students from 4 to 16 years old.
(Schiralli R., Mariani, U 2006)
What are the main outputs developed by the project?
Comparative Research Report
The report includes:
- literature review of the educational contexts and systems involved inthe project;
- primary research on schools and teachers’ needs in; Italy, Austria, Romania, Hungary and Turkey, regarding the prevention of ESL and emotional education.
The Comparative Research has provided an evidence-based need analysis at the school education level, including several actors working on the educational field as well as a country-specific research deepening the state of Emotional Education and the data concerning the Early School Leaving. In this way, the results of this research/analysis have provided a strong basis on which to develop the other intellectual outputs.
EUMOSCHOOL OER
A self-learning OER adapted from the Didacticts of Emotions (DoE) for teachers, accessed via Moodle (moodle.org).
The EUMOSCHOOL OER is available in 6 different languages (English, Italian, Romanian, Hungarian, German, Turkish) and is divided in 4 modules with specific objectives, for a total duration estimated in 40 hours of self-learning (including reading of resources, tasks and exercises).
Here an overview of the content of the EUMOSCHOOL e-course.
- Module 1 – Why Didactics of Emotions?
The module explores the relationship between children and adolescents’ emotional well-being and early school leaving as well as the current situation of school, family & education - Module 2 – From Emotional Intelligence to Emotional Education: scientific basis of Didactics of Emotions
The module facilitates the understanding of the major theories underpinning emotional education - Module 3 – Practical tools to use in class and scientific evidence: training for activities with students
The module illustrates the 18 DoE techniques to be used in classroom with pupils - Module 4 – DoE Planning & Management
The module trains teachers on how to plan and manage the interventions of Didactics of Emotions in the classrooms.
Guidelines for EUMOSCHOOL implementation as an holistic approach to Early School Leaving
A document in two versions – printed and digital – which summarizes the partnership experiences during its second year of implementation and introduces important tools and step-by-step instructions about how to implement Didactics of Emotions in schools. The product gives the reader a complex and complete overview of what has been done and – most of all – concrete suggestions and recommendations for all those teachers who want to integrate the Didactics of Emotions techniques in their lessons’ flow, as a holistic approach, in order to guarantee a positive emotional climate in their classroom and wellbeing to their students.
Main contents of the Guidelines:
- Introduction to the project, the methodology and the EUMOSCHOOL approach;
- Practical suggestions for the implementation of an holistic approach;
- A step-by-step guide, with videos and descriptions of the experience of students and teachers who implemented the DoE 18 techniques during the scholar year 2016/2017;
- Case Studies e testimonies related to 1) how DoE helped the pupils; 2) How a teacher felt and thought during the implementation; 3) How the atmosphere of the class has changed due to using the techniques; 4) How to involve the wider environment in implementing the methodology (parents, colleagues, the community).
- FAQ, links and further readings.
Policy Recommendations
A document to guide policy-makers and other relevant school stakeholders in their ESL strategies at a local, national and European level.
The two main recommendations emerged in a shared way from all partner countries are:
- Integrate emotional education into new teacher training and professional development for current teachers
- Integrate a component of emotional education into the curriculum.
Thanks to EUMOSCHOOL, the experimentation on the effectiveness of this method and its positive impact on the wellbeing of students arrived in Europe.
In its two years of implementation, during the scholar years 2016/2017 and 2017/2018, the project has involved in total:
1033 students | 132 teachers | 58 schools | 5 European countries
By far overcoming the objectives foreseen by the project.
Do you also want to discover how to introduce the emotional education in your class?
All the project’s outcomes developed during these 3 years are available in our website eumoschool.eu!
EUMOSCHOOL- Emotional Education for Early School Leaving Prevention is funded by Erasmus+ programme KA2 – Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices: Strategic Partnership SCHOOL.
The partnership holds together 7 organisations:
- Centro per lo Sviluppo Creativo “Danilo Dolci” (Italy, coordinator);
- Emotional Training Center (Italy);
- CILSDGC (Romania);
- DOGA School (Turkey);
- Verain Multiculturelle (Austria);
- Rogers School Foundation (Hungary);
- University of Gloucestershire (United Kingdom).
For further information, visit the website eumoschool.eu or contact antonella.alessi@danilodolci.org.