History: Year One. September 2004 - June 2005

Kick-off conference at Strabrecht College

The Comenius School Development Project "Basic Values" was launched at the kick-off conference at Strabrecht College in Geldrop (13-16 October 2004).

All nine schools were represented. Second Lyceum of Kalamaria and Danderyds Gymnasium also participated in the conference.
Click here for the report of the kick-off conference

Focus in the first year on Investigation on the opinions : CASE STUDIES

Examples of cases:

- A student is constantly being laughed at because he shows a certain learning deficit.
- A teacher is furious with a student because he has been found cheating in an important exam.
- Students keep misbehaving on buses and other means of public transport. They ignore the most basic rules of conduct.
- How to deal with pupils who do not answer the standard?
- After a party you find out that the friend who is supposed to drive you home has drunk too much. How do you behave?
- You realise a student has often forged his parents' signature, especially on written excuses and often stays away from school.
- Bullying
- Copied homework
- A classmate observes a student preparing cheating material and tells it to a teacher

Click a school below to read about their cases.

Instituto de Educación Secundaria 'Miguel Catalán'	Danderyds Gymnasium
Lycée Hubert Clément	Strabrecht College
Polo Liceale di Imola "Rambaldi - Valeriani" e "Alessandro da Imola"	Lycée Michel-Rodange
Escola Secundária de Francisco Rodrigues Lobo	Ramsgrange Community School
Bundesrealgymnasium Wien 19	Heilige-Maagdcollege

Results of the investigation on basic values

The methodology of case studies was found to be useful. The students had concrete situations to discuss. Examining real life situations provided an opportunity for the application of theory. It helped students to understand that there can be more than one right answer. Through case studies they could internalise the study even better.

Many of the basic values are common to all schools.
Students agree with basic values but these basic values are a process of education and not self-evident. While students are aware of basic values, there is a big difference between the theory and the practice. The challenge is to make the "practice happen".

Evaluation meeting at Heilige-Maagcollege (Dendermonde, Belgium)

Participants mainly discussed the experiences of working with the case studies on Basic Values.

Participants have realised that schools have more or less similar challenges because the students and their educational problems are similar all over Europe. The added value of the project is sharing ideas and learning from what people in other countries do and what works for them.

The evaluation meeting coincided with the Conference of the Europroject Network 'Education without frontiers'.

IDE@S (International Drama Experience at School)

The overall theme of the conference was IDE@S.
Students from 13 European countries adapted parts from Homer's Odyssey and presented the result of their work in an ambitious, European drama project at Heilige-Maagdcollege in Dendermonde in April 2005.
Basic values must be learned and are part of Education. A project like Ideas proved to be a good means for young people to learn basic values if you leave them on their own to decide, to find compromises and to come to a common end.
Basic values like understanding, tolerance, agreement and accepting others' opinions are self-evident in such a process.

Promethean e-learning award for school collaboration

The theatre project has won an e-learning award! We won the Promethean e-learning award for school collaboration. This prize was awarded at the EMINENT conference on the 8th of December 2005 in Paris.

Click here to be directed to the IDE@S website
Click here for the photo album of the theatre performance

Evaluation and reporting on the second year activities

Click here for the collection of the reports of the schools
Click here for the Joint Activity Report year one