tulosta

Leonardo Project

Spring 2003

Partners
Katedralskolan I Uppsala , Sweden
Moray College , Scotland
ODERSTRASSE 8, Germany
Kreisjugendring Mittleres Erzgebirge e.V. , Germany
Vilnius Pedagogical University , Lithuania

The aim of the project is to help to improve students’ ability  to work in other European countries and give them better vocational readiness by working in a culturally different setting. Through the exchange project the students will better understand youth and leisure system in partner countries and intercultural aspects in work place communication and become aware of cultural differences concerning values, interaction and communication as well as  improve their ability to develop empathy for a person from another culture

The three weeks’ exchange is part of the students curriculum. The students will spend their first week at the host institution getting acquainted with their training system and participating the classes. The two following weeks they will spend in local enterprises, youth clubs and youth centres learning practices and skills of their own field. Before going to the exchange the students will have a preparation period including videoconferencing sessions and correspondence (mainly by e-mail). At the home institution will be briefing meetings to familiarise students with the customs and practice of the host country and to explore the exchange project itself. A special emphasis will be given  to language and cultural training  and intercultural skills so that the students could communicate adequately in cross-cultural situations. After the exchange there will be a post-working period and evaluation.  During the exchange the students will have various learning tasks like diary, log books and reports.

The common language of the exchange will be English but the students will get also some survival skills in the other languages (German, Swedish and Lithuanian) before and during the exchange, so the students will have an excellent opportunity  to improve also their language skills.

Some of the partner institutions have cooperated for a couple of years in the field of on-the-job-learning comparing the good practices of work placement in each country and by the end of March 2002 they will complete a multicultural handbook of   work placement for the use of all partner institutions. The handbook will include principles of the work training, student and tutor guidance, work assignments, agreements etc. During this exchange this handbook will be tested in practice and both the students and their tutors will asses the first version of the handbook and make proposals for improvement.