Practices

RETAIN – a course dealing with student drop-out
Comenius In-Service Training
Thematic Field: ESL
Institutions involved:
City of Gothenburg, Education Administration, (Sweden in co-operation with project
partners and placed in Bled, (Slovenia).
Key words: Disadvantaged groups, Motivation, Absenteeism
Description:
Maria Noghi is a primary teacher at Scoala Generala nr. 2, Pecica. The school
population contains 92% Roma pupils. From the first years of teaching there, she
noticed that Roma pupils were not at all motivated to come to school and most of
them left the school long before finishing the compulsory education.
Therefore, she started to look for diverse methods to reduce school absenteeism and
ultimately school failure. She discovered that these pupils were willing to undergo
activities which involved them directly and had practical aspects. Hence, the teacher
participated at the training activity called "Outdoor environmental learning"
which took place in Sweden. The objective of the training was to give the participants’
tools and methods how to prevent students dropping out from education and training.
This course gave her the opportunity to learn multiple games and diverse practical
activities which she could apply to her class. Moreover, she realized the importance of
these activities and the positive impact they have on raising the motivation of her
pupils to come to school.
Since her return back home, the teacher has already used most of the activities learnt
and she could notice that the pupils were extremely enthusiastic to participate with
their whole being. For example, she went on a short trip with the pupils in order to
observe nature and the changes undergone in autumn. On this occasion they
organized a team contest, where each group of pupils represented a season of the
year and had to present the changes that take place in nature in the respective
season. She could notice their joy and the way they worked in teams, which brought
them closer and more interested in school. This In-Service training had an immediate
impact on the pupils: the number of school absences was reduced by 20% for
her class and the teachers' professional development as they were motivated and
encouraged to participate to the course.
Duration:
15-20 May 2011
Webpage:
www.retainproject.net
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