Identified problem

European schools struggle with fast-changing socio-economical environment and challenges of the exponential improvement of digitalization and its impact of the pupils' life. Amongst these circumstances, those skills and competencies are highlighted what makes students able to adapt to the needs of society and the labour market. Young generation faces fast-changing environment and unpredictable challenges, but at the same time, well-known life crisis situations also appear during the teenage years. They need to make choices every day and make decisions what have sometimes a huge influence on their life. Choosing career path, future profession, or only a sport- or free time activity needs background knowledge and a kind of structured thinking what demands many skills what we define as life-management skills.

Aim

Our initiation aims to assist pupils through the support of schools, teachers and also parents to improve students' life management skills to achieve optimal results in their life. We find it essential to focus on career-choice as a critical factor and prepare students and parents for that difficult phase of life.

Added values reflecting on the actualized initiatives of ET2020:

• Helping teachers to transform traditional teaching using more creatíve and innovatíve methods (e.g.project-based, inquiry-based, problem-based, work-based, flipped classroom methods);
• Teacher competencies to embrace the potential of Open Educational Resources (OERs) within the rapid development of short up-skilling training;
• Fostering creativity and entrepreneurship in education, and enhancing the continuing professional development of the teaching staff;
• Strengthening the ability of teachers to collaborate effectively, both inside and outside the school;
• Enhancing the responsibility of students for their own learning performance and learning processes;
• Development of 21st-century skills and key competencies within students;
• Fostering more effectíve activities for tracking the working careers of the graduates by developing systematic and supportive alumni processes.

Project summary

The SUPREM (Successful Preparation Model for Schools) project was originally planned for 26 months, from 1 November 2019 to 31 December 2021. Later, due to the obstacles caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, we extended the project by additional 6 months. In the end, we extended the project term by another 2 months in order to be able to publish all the professional materials of the project at the highest possible professional level. Thus, in the end, the duration of the SUPREM project became 34 months and will end on 31 August 2022.

The aim of our project is to help students with the support of schools, teachers, and parents to develop their life skills in order to achieve optimal results in their lives.

After all, European schools are struggling with the rapidly changing socio-economic environment, the exponential growth of digitalization, and its impact on students' lives. The young generation faces a rapidly changing environment and unpredictable challenges, and at the same time, they encounter well-known life crisis situations. Every day they are faced with choices and decisions that sometimes have a huge impact on their lives. Choosing a career, a future profession, or just a sport or leisure activity requires background knowledge and a kind of structured thinking that requires many skills, which we define as life skills. We also wanted to help the 3 target groups of the project (students, teachers, and parents). That is why we created a student project portfolio consisting of 10 modules, for each of which we also created a student workbook and a teachers’ handbook. We organized a teacher training course, for which we also prepared a manual consisting of 4 modules so that the professional content of the training program can be mastered even through self-training. We created a manual for parents presenting 18 case studies. As a supplement to the previous 3 intellectual products, we created an online self-assessment tool that can be used by students, teachers, and parents alike and gives them the opportunity to receive information about the child's life skills.

In order to support the project results, we held five international partner meetings. The first (kick-off meeting) was in December 2019, in Szeged. The plan discussed there and the agreed dates were rewritten by COVID-19. During this period, we held monthly Skype meetings to get information about health and travel conditions in each country. We continuously updated our risk analysis. In the end, it was necessary to redesign the project.

The teacher training (Joint-staff training), originally based on personal attendance, was implemented online in February 2021. Here, 4 teachers from all three schools (Maroslelei Primary School, Școala Gimnazială "József Attila" din Miercurea Ciuc, Istituio Comprensivo Perugia 2) participated in the 3-day sessions.

Professional work and the development of intellectual products could not stop, so we held continuous discussions online in small and large groups. After the online discussions, we had the opportunity to meet each other again in person for the first time in the autumn of 2021. Thus, the dates of the international partner meetings of the project were determined and implemented according to the following schedule:

2nd international partner meeting: 20-21 September 2021, The Netherlands, Garderen;
3rd international partner meeting: 13-14 December 2021, Perugia, Italy;
4th international partner meeting: 6-7 April 2022, Csíkszereda, Romania;
5th final international partner meeting: 26-27 May 2022, Szeged, Hungary.

We were also unable to hold the student mobility in 2020, and unfortunately not even in 2021, so the schools had to reorganize the selection of students, as some students had moved on to a higher grade in the meantime. Finally, two camps for 6 students from 3 schools took place at the end of the project, at the end of the school year: 2-6 May 2022 in Garderen, the Netherlands, and 6-10 June 2022, in Perugia, Italy.

Before closing the project, we also held multiplier events presenting the project results. The five events (in 4 countries) took place as follows:

19 May 2022, Italy, Perugia (organized by Cooperativa Sociale Borgorete in collaboration with Istituio Comprensivo Perugia 2)
21 May 2022, Csíkszereda, Romania (organized by Școala Gimnazială "József Attila" din Miercurea Ciuc)
26 May 2022, Hungary, Szeged (organized by Qualitas T&G Kft. with the involvement of all partners to create an international event)
16 June 2022, Hungary, Szeged (organized by M-Around Kft. in cooperation with Maroslelei Primary School)
30 June 2022, The Netherlands, Garderen (organized by Menat B.V.)

Overall, we fulfilled all the tasks and activities undertaken in the project, we realized the 5 partner meetings, we prepared the 4 intellectual products, 1 teacher and 2 student mobilities, and we also held the 5 multiplier events. We are closing a really successful project rich in results.

All partners unanimously stated that the project is worth further utilization, we are looking for opportunities for further joint work, and we are sincerely happy that we were able to contribute to the development of the life skills of 12-14-year-olds.