Training sessions for Romanian teachers working in schools with high dropout rates
72 Romanian teachers involved in projects financed under the Local Development Programme follow to be selected in view of participating, during the autumn of the year 2021, in 3 training sessions provided by the Norwegian organization European Wergeland Center (EWC), on inclusive education and competencies for democratic culture. The trainings are financed from the Bilateral Fund of the Local Development Programme.
EWC is a Norwegian organization jointly set up by the Council of Europe (CoE) and Norway, with a vast experience in using CoE’s working tools, including the Framework for Competencies in Democratic Culture (CCD) and in providing trainings for teachers from several European states, in the mentioned areas.
The three training sessions will take place over four days each and will aim to strengthen the capacity of the teachers to promote inclusive and democratic teaching and learning in the classrooms and schools where they teach. The participants will have access to new approaches and methods in working with students at risk of school dropout and shall develop skills to promote dialogue, critical thinking and respect for differences.
The courses will bring a welcome change in the schools and communities where the teachers to participate in these training sessions are teaching, considers Gabriela Popescu, RSDF’s Deputy Director, who emphasizes that “along with strengthening the necessary knowledge to integrate the concepts of democratic citizenship in the educational process, a very important element will also be to make the trained teachers aware of the fact that they can become vectors of absolutely necessary changes in the schools where they work and in the communities in which they live. Thus, they will know how to choose and use the teaching methodologies that respect the democratic values, that address and are appropriate for all students, to create an environment that encourages all students to express their opinions and to participate in decision-making regarding the learning process, but not only. And, very important, they will be able t disseminate the benefits of this process to other fellow teachers or directors of educational institutions, thus facilitating the extension of this approach and contributing to the fight against discrimination”.
The training sessions are planned to take place in Oslo, Norway, when the travel conditions will allow.