peace in class,

peace IN SCHOOL

This guide aims at empowering high school teachers to develop peaceful attitudes, values and skills in students through the use of non-violent communication strategies, coaching tools and peer mediation.

All rights reserved for reproduction, translation and adaptation

©2020-1-TR01-KA229-093716_1_2_3_4_5

Colegiul Național “Grigore Moisil” Onești, Romania

Leading school: 1st LTT - Learning, Teaching and Training

Erasmus+ 2020-1-TR01-KA229-093716_4


Romanian Project Coordinator:

Teacher Virginia-Smărăndița BRĂESCU


Translation: Teacher Mariana BERECZKI



Tipografie: Editura karta.ro Onești Tehnoredactare computerizată: Autorii / Authors

Coperta / Cover: Autorii / Authors; Canva free image

http://www.peaceinclasspeaceinschool.org

https://peaceinclasspeaceinschool.wordpress.com


All rights reserved for reproduction, translation and adaptation

©Erasmus+ project 2020-1-TR01-KA229-093716_1_2_3_4_5


Kirkkonaklar Anadolu Lisesi in Ankara Turkey

Project coordinator, Teacher Bülent HACOGULLARI

School principal, Teacher Sinan Aydın YANIK


Colegiul Național “Grigore Moisil” Onești, Romania

Project coordinator, Teacher Virginia-Smărăndița BRĂESCU

School principal, Teacher Irina-Livia ENACHE


Istituto Superiore San Pellegrino, Italy

Project coordinator, Teacher Giuseppina ARZUFFI

School principal, Teacher Giovanna LEIDI

Zespol Szkol Nr 1 in Rzeszów, Poland

Project coordinator, Teacher Anna MORAWIEC-SUSLO

School principal, Teacher Tadeusz BAJDA


Vocational School for Transport and Agrarian Technologies

“N. Y. Vaptzarov” din Haskovo, Bulgaria

Project coordinator, Teacher Krasimira DAMYANOVA

School principal, Teacher Donka STANCHEVA


Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naţionale a României

Colegiul Naţional "Grigore Moisil" (Oneşti)

Peace in class, peace in school : a teacher's guide to introduce PEER mediation and peace education strategies in schools / Colegiul Naţional "Grigore Moisil" Oneşti. - Oneşti : karta.ro, 2023

Conţine bibliografie

ISBN 978-630-6579-05-1


Applicant

KIRKKONAKLAR ANADOLU LISESI, ANKARA, TURKEY

Partners:

  • COLEGIUL NAŢIONAL “GRIGORE MOISIL” ONEŞTI, ROMANIA
  • ISTITUTO SUPERIORE SAN PELLEGRINO, ITALY
  • ZESPOL SZKOL NR 1, RZESZÓW, POLAND
  • VOCATIONAL SCHOOL FOR TRANSPORT AND AGRARIAN TECHNOLOGIES “N. Y. VAPTZAROV” HASKOVO, BULGARIA

The project has received funding from the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme under grant agreement No ©2020-1-TR01-KA229-093716_1_2_3_4_5.

This eBook reflects only the view of the author(s) and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

"The map is not the territory."

Alfred Korzybski, Polish-American scientist and philosopher

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

II. MEDIATION IN SCHOOL

III. OUR JOURNEY TO PEACE

Learning, Teaching and Training Activities

ROMANIA ITALY


TURKEY

BULGARIA POLAND




IV. IMPLEMENTING AN INTEGRATED SCHOOL CURRICULUM: DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS

V. INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM - MEDIATION IN SCHOOL AND OTHER DISSEMINATION EVENTS


INTRODUCTION


School violence is a problem educational systems all around the world are confronting with. In many European countries, school violence is recognized as being a major social problem which affects the well-being and academic success of the students and which, in the long run, can reach democratic values, that is why it is found on the work agenda of the different social actors. The prevention of violence is a fundamental dimension of education for democratic citizenship.


School-family-community partnerships are based on the idea that teachers, students and parents, as well as the other members of the community are partners in education. If in the past these partnerships used to be optional activities and were more connected to the public relations domain, at present they have an essential role in the students’ educational process, as they help them to develop skills and social abilities ever since early childhood, preparing them to be successful in school and, later on, in life as well as in their future career.


Although not homogeneous in the educational system, in Europe the mediation model confirms the idea that mediation cannot be reduced to a simple conflict resolution technique and that it fully contributes to social regulation and integration. Mediation is needed to create and understand the connections between knowledge, events, generations, members of a community and the neighbouring ones.


The Erasmus+ project team

" Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace." Confucius, Chinese professor, publisher, politician and philosopher


INNOVATION, MEDIATION

AND LEADERSHIP


The partnership represents

a key concept that enables schools to adapt themselves to the new context, develop the human resource and participate in the democratic reconstruction of a fragmentary society, both from a cultural and a social point of view.



Strategic partnerships are built on a new socio-educational paradigm consisting of alternative methods of conflict resolution such as negotiation, mediation and problem-solving. By its catalytic value in solving problems and discovering innovation, conflict is an essential element of this new paradigm.


Thus, mediation represents an instrument in leadership which means a change in the order of things, with a view to achieving extraordinary results in the management of transition and change.


From this perspective, the relationship between innovation and leadership is made possible through the use of mediation which both unites and separates at the same time for a long-lasting social development.


The Erasmus+ project team


“Happiness doesn't result from what we get, but from what we give.”

Dr. Ben Carson, renowned American neurosurgeon

MEDIATION IN SCHOOL

by Teacher Virginia-Smărăndița Brăescu

Romanian Project Coordinator

The motivation and preparation of the teachers and students in high school for change represent a complex phenomenon. Under the given pandemic circumstances, changing direction toward the real needs of students and teachers has become a major priority.


We surveyed to check out the teachers' opinions in what concerns the initiation, through this project, of an innovative educational alternative which consists of developing and implementing in our schools a training program for teachers and students through a school-based "peer mediation" program.


The relationship with others is a dimension that gives assets for the future of the school because a new pedagogy of mediation is outlined to make teaching more adapted to the needs of learners and to introduce in the class a link between what the student does and encounters on the outside and what he/she is as a person.


The role of the teacher-mediator is an object of current study and research because the teacher is increasingly supposed to identify the cognitive and behavioral dysfunctions of the students, to create the educational tools adapted to the objectives to be achieved. The active and nondirective listening of the teacher is close to the “here and now” of Gestalt therapy (Dr. André Moreau, "Psychotherapy. Methods and techniques", Trei Publishing House, Bucuresti, 2007) and mediation insofar as it focuses its attention on the process underway now without systematically returning to the past. If the teacher genuinely wants to pay attention to the immediate experience of the student, paradoxically he will be led to pay attention to himself and his experience. The relationship is alive when everyone, the student and the teacher, dares to ask, give, receive and refuse. The creative relationship implies that everyone can assert themselves while respecting the points of view of the other.


Dr. André Moreau (2007) considers that all the discoveries on the effectiveness of communication in therapy or coaching, also occur in several areas of human activity, including teaching where the teacher can be compared to the therapist or the coach and the student to the client. The personality of the teacher, his way of seeing students' behaviors at school, the communication he establishes with the students, the dimension, and the extent he gives to the subject taught contribute to the success of learning.


"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people

where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be."

Rosalynn Carter, American writer, the first Lady of the United States

Playing an intermediary role between the content of the teaching and the person who receives this teaching, the teacher-mediator acts as a catalyst, leading the learner to discover his own learning mechanisms. These mediated situations have a particular impact on the development of intelligence and the ability to learn. However, no master, even an excellent one, will be able to make someone progress, provided that the learner is fully involved in the learning process (Annie Cardinet, Pratiquer la médiation en pédagogie, Dunod, 1995). The most immediate result of these educational actions is to restore confidence in students because they are based on listening and respect, and aim at autonomy. The learner regains the right to think, reflect, and the opportunity to use the intellectual is at his disposal. By giving his actions meaning and a goal, the teacher-mediator can include the learner in a social project, empowering him and leading him towards autonomy.


In her book School and mediations (École et médiations, Eres, 2000), the author Annie Cardinet structures what mediation can bring to education, particularly in pedagogy. It distinguishes between interpersonal mediation (aiming at the construction of solutions in the face of conflicts between people or human groups) and intrapersonal mediation (aiming at the development of the child as an individual, cultural transmission).


The main functions of mediation identified by Annie Cardinet are:

a communicative function;

an educational function;

a function of social regulation;

a value transmission function;

the function of preparing for the future.


Vygotski and Bruner, in addition to Feuerstein's IEP (Instrumental Enrichment Programme), have mainly contributed to establishing mediation as a decisive factor in the child's cognitive development. Through social interaction, the child appropriates the two functions of language: a communicative function and a planning function, structuring thought and action. By showing the limits of mediation and adult collaboration, Vygotski explains that there is no point in teaching the child what his or her current stage of development does not allow. To be effective, the intervention of the adult educator (teachers, parents, etc.) must be situated in the ZPD-the zone of proximal development (L.S. Vygotski, Pensée et langage, 1985, Messidor-Éditions sociales, Paris), which represents the disparity between the mental age, or present level of development, which is determined with the help of problems solved autonomously, and the level reached by the child when he or she solves problems not on his or her own, but in collaboration. Therefore, to be considered a mediator, the teacher must intervene in such a way as to provoke cognitive conflict in the learner.


“Mediation means dissolving the invisible walls that unaware has built” Sadhguru, Indian spiritual teacher





Vygotski's definition of the zone of proximal development is as follows: "it is the distance between the current level of development as determined by the way the child solves problems alone and the level of potential development as determined by the way the child solves problems when assisted by the adult or when collaborating with other more advanced children." (cf. Alain Moal, La médiation pédagogique, 1999). The teacher-mediator must therefore allow the internalisation of procedures acquired in social interaction so that the learner can implement them autonomously, in order to integrate them into current development.


According to Jean Piaget (Psychology and pedagogy, Paris, Denoël-Gonthier, 1969), the teacher proposes to the child to overcome an epistemic obstacle, the possibility of which he or she has finely evaluated, in order to provoke a cognitive conflict, a factor in the internal construction of knowledge. It is important for teachers to have a solid training in subject matter, didactics, pedagogy and in the field of child and adolescent development and psychology, because it is thanks to this knowledge that the teacher can determine the components of the mediation:


material supports for mediation (a book, an exercise, an object to be made, etc.)

non-material supports (debate, group work, etc.);

mediation tools (verbalisation, writing, drawing, schematisation, manipulation, etc.)

cognitive mediations without which no learning is possible: the resolution of a cognitive conflict, the socio-cognitive conflict,

metacognition and project pedagogy which allow the pupil to understand the meaning of the construction of knowledge, provided that the pupil is truly an actor of his project.


Apart from the transmission of knowledge and his own development, the teacher is therefore responsible for the development of the students. This presupposes adherence to “a certain ideology of humanity and moral values” (Annie Cardinet, École et médiations, Editions Eres, 2000, p. 193), to a positive vision of the other’s capacities to assess and develop, to a new position as a teacher-mediator.


“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

Viktor E. Frankl, Austrian psychiatrist who founded logotherapy




Mediation gives the teacher the necessary freedom to implement and develop in students:

active attitudes (concentration, internalization, communication, projection in time);

cognitive skills (classification, organization, planning);

social skills (emotional intelligence, human warmth, empathy) that promote learning, understanding and connection.


The coronavirus epidemic has made us experience the urgency of becoming more and more a facilitator of virtual classes, which requires skills in relational communication and group dynamics. This is why mediation brings about a new relationship to learning, with the teacher also being invited to learn new things for the preparation of lessons.


This is the reason why we approach the notion of mediation in relation to the concept of didactic transposition, the objective that we have set ourselves is to determine how pedagogical intervention can simplify scholarly knowledge so that it becomes operational for learners in practice, thus contributing to the development of social-emotional intelligence in adolescents for adapting to change and overcoming conflict situations and to the progress of their learning.


Each person has their own way of selecting information, decoding it and communicating according to their socio-professional relationships. We learn new things every day, but we are not always aware of it. What matters is what we learn, whether we know what to do with what we have learned or discovered, whether we know how to direct our knowledge to a constructive purpose.


According to Jacobson & Lombard (Effective school climate: Roles for peers, practitioners, and principals, Rural Research Report, v3 n4 Spr, 1992) the five elements usually found in a school based mediation program are:


1. Say what happened and how you feel without blaming;

2. Listen to the other person;

3. Say what you want from the other person;

4. Think and search together about possible solutions;

5. Mutually agree to a solution.


From the discussions we had with our students, we understood that they want to learn how to communicate more effectively to make it easier and better understood by parents and teachers, and even to learn how it might help their parents and teachers to communicate better with them.


“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” Albert Einstein, renowned physicist, author of the theory of relativity



The questions that students ask themselves and their desire to have harmonious relationships with parents and teachers are positive aspects that confirm:

their need for mutual understanding, recognition and acceptance;

the desire to do something, to be co-authors of their relationships;

the desire to take responsibility and become emotionally autonomous.


For a deeper understanding of the importance of affectivity and assertiveness in didactic communication, we consider necessary a definition and a comparison between the conflicting relationship and the pedagogical relationship of reciprocity.

Learning assertive communication allows students to:

to acquire some basic relational principles;

to develop their emotional intelligence (the ability to feel and be aware of their feelings and sensations, to express them, to control and postpone his impulses for a greater and more important benefit, to recognize what depends on oneself and what belongs to the other, to integrate his needs incoherent behaviors adapted to the external reality, to observe and intuit the feelings and needs of others in order to develop harmonious relationships, of appreciation and mutual respect);

to develop and use constructively the strengths of their personality;

to overcome the blockages in interpersonal relationships and to assert themselves in a responsible manner, by assuming the consequences of their own attitudes and behaviors

to fulfill their needs through cooperation, not through competition;

to heal from painful or unsuccessful experiences and relationships;

to resolve their conflicts peacefully and efficiently.


“When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.”

Stephen R. Covey, author, educator, speaker




Active listening, empathy and assertive communication can contribute to obtaining these benefits in all types of relationships: parent-child relationship, couple relationships, professional relationships (teacher-student, teacher-teacher, student-student, teachers-parents etc).


The mediator Jean Louis Lascoux, author of the SIC model - Strategies and Interactions in Communication (The Practice of Mediation - An Alternative Method to Conflict Resolution, ESF, Issy-les-Moulineaux cedex, 2004), emphasizes the essential role of communication rules in order not to fall into the trap of the DIC model - Disruptions, Interpretations, Constraints. This idea is also supported by the psychosociologist and author Jacques Salomé, who writes about the rules of relational hygiene and advocates the introduction of communication as a teaching subject in schools. Author of the ESPERE method, a pedagogy of nonviolent communication, Jacques Salomé encourages us to discover our relational needs and to learn to communicate, because “humans are fundamentally beings of the relationship”. Despite the desire to communicate better, people are resistant to change, because “any approach to real communication destabilizes, unbalances the entourage, the relationship.” (Jacques Salomé, Pour ne plus vivre sur la planète TAIRE, Albin Michel, 2004)


The communication skills acquired in the family and at school prove to be insufficient to develop harmonious relationships. Violence and aggression towards ourselves, others and the environment occur as a result of non-compliance with relational needs.


Respecting fundamental relationships helps us to know the world and to be better partners for ourselves and those around us:

  • the relationship with ourselves and our body;
  • the relationship with our parents;
  • couple relationship;
  • professional relationship;
  • the relationship with the environment, with the planet Earth,
  • the relationship with the Divinity.


In the school environment, conflict situations between students are common. In order to manage a conflict situation between students with the help of empathy, it is important to prepare tools that support the development of teachers' and students' skills to manage conflict situations and to use peer mediation.




“Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution.

It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it.”

Niels Bohr, renowned Danish physicist, author of the atomic model




The process of peer mediation:

  1. Parties agree to mediate.
  2. Parties tell their stories.
  3. Parties focus on interests and needs.
  4. Mediators work on creating win-win situations.
  5. Parties evaluate options.
  6. Parties create an agreement.


Peer mediation is a process by which students themselves help their peers resolve conflict in a constructive, non-violent way. It involves two trained mediators helping their peers deal with conflict through a series of mediation steps. It can be used for children and young people of all ages.


Step 1: We can start with a general list of questions

1. What happened? Who was involved?

2. How do you feel about the situation?

3. How do you think the other person feels?

4. What do you want? What else do you want?

5. What do you think the other person wants? Why?

6. How did you react to the conflict? ( soft, hard or principled reaction )

7. How did the other person react? (soft, hard or principled reaction)


Step 2: We ask each party to the conflict to give their point of view on the situation (one at a time).


  • Please take turns to state your views;
  • Please tell each of you, in turn, what happened.


Step 3: We listen, then summarise what everyone says.


Step 4: Give everyone the opportunity to clarify their situation by asking questions:


  • Do you have anything else to add?
  • How did you feel when this happened?



"Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers who can cut through argument, debate and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand." Gen. Colin Powell

Step 5: We listen and summarise, asking questions if we think additional information is needed.

Additional questions:

- How did you feel about your colleague?

- What did you do?

- What were you thinking at the time?

- How long has this problem existed?

- What do you think is the main problem?

- What did you want your colleague to do that he/she did not do?

- What did you want to do that you didn't do?

- What can you do about it now?

- Has your relationship changed?


Step 6: Search for common interests

1. Determine the interests of each party to the conflict. Ask:

- What do you want? Why do you want this?

2. Listen and summarise. To clarify, ask:

- What would happen if you did not reach an agreement?

- What would you think if you were in the other person's shoes?

- What do you really want?

- Is (e.g. arguing) a way to get what you want?

- Why didn't the other opponent live up to your expectations?

3. Summarise your interests. Say:

- You both seem to agree that _____________

- Your interests are __________________


Step 7: Evaluating options

1. Ask everyone to choose ideas or parts of ideas that they agree with that could solve the problem. Circle their answers on a Brainstorming Worksheet.

2. Evaluate the options circled and think of ways to improve the ideas using questions like:

- Is this option correct?

- Can you do this?

- Do you think it will work?

- Does the option relate to each of your interests? Or of others?

- What are the consequences of this decision?

- What if one of you ________________? Could you also_______?

- What would you like to try?

"Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace."

Dalai Lama

Step 8: Make an agreement:


1. Help the parties create an action plan. Get concrete ideas from each: Who, what, where, when, how. Ask:


- How do you want to help solve the problem?

- Is the problem solved?

- What have you agreed to do?


2. Write the School Mediation Agreement. To complete it, ask each party to summarise what they promised: "What did you agree to do?"


3. Conclude the mediation:


- Check what was written in the agreement with both parties and make any necessary changes;

- Sign and ask each party to sign;

- Thank them for participating in the mediation, congratulate each for reaching the agreement, and invite them to mediation again in the future if new problems arise;

- Shake hands with each party and invite them to do the same.


We consider that the school is one of the privileged places where solidarity is exercised, autonomy and a sense of responsibility are developed, and it is possible to learn to live together in a climate of understanding, support and mutual respect.


A new role for the teacher could be that of "mediator of time", one who is capable of "breaking with instantaneity", who can introduce time where immediacy is prevalent. The immediate is what is 'unmediated', and students are often in the immediate. It's what's reactionary, what's emotional.


These are all choices that teachers have to navigate from day to day throughout the year, trying to take enough time to allow pupils to build up their knowledge, to change their practices without turning everything upside down, to make young people and their parents understand that one direction is preferable to another, to train themselves even if it seems to them that they are wasting pupils' time, and to change their attitudes towards pupils.


The Erasmus+ project team

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Ralph Waldo Emerson

OUR JOURNEY TO PEACE

1. Case studies - Description of the problems faced by each partner school in the project

KIRKKONAKLAR ANADOLU LISESI, ANKARA, TURKEY

Our school is a public institution providing high school education in Ankara-Çankaya. Especially in the last 2 years, due to the increase in our student size due to the fact that we are a school that accepts students without exams, weak students who have low scores and grade point averages have been factors in the negative change of the climate, time and student structure of our school. As a result of the overlap of educational, social, and economic factors triggered by this change with the identity searches of our adolescent students, they lead to undesirable conflicts between them, and these conflicts, which are usually seen in 9 and 10 grades are increasing, cause the academic success of our students and then the quality of education of our school decrease.


Therefore, we believe that in order to resolve these conflicts we are experiencing, the "Peer Mediation Program" should be implemented, which is implemented in many countries and which reveals a peaceful school culture in which conflicts are reduced by 60-80% in the schools where it is put into practice.


The goal of our Erasmus+ KA229 project, which we want to realize with this belief, is to create a peaceful school culture through the Leader Mediator students we will develop, to reduce conflicts by enabling our students who have conflict problems in our school to solve their problems through reconciliation and agreement without resorting to verbal and physical violence, and to increase the academic success of our students and the quality of education of our school.

" It seems that nothing changes at school… and yet everything changes! " François Dubet, sociologist, university professor and author

"GRIGORE MOISIL" NATIONAL COLLEGE , ONEȘTI, ROMANIA


The "Grigore Moisil" National College is an educational institution located in Onești, Romania, in an economically disadvantaged area because of the shutting down of the industrial platform and the disappearance of jobs, which has led to the reduction of the active population.


The profile of pupils has changed a lot in recent years and the number of rural pupils commuting to our high school has increased, some of them even from distances of 15-20 km.


More than 250 pupils in our high school come from socially and economically disadvantaged families, with parents working abroad, divorced parents, single-parent families and even pupils in foster care. Also, after 2 school years online, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, when students physically returned to school, we were confronted with multiple conflictive, even problematic situations: increased absenteeism, decreased attention and concentration in class, lack of motivation for learning, aggressive, disrespectful behaviour towards classmates and teachers in the school.


Through this Erasmus+ KA229 strategic partnership project, our school aims to help teachers, students and their parents to adapt to change and new contexts by developing and strengthening the socio-emotional intelligence of adolescents to overcome conflict situations, increase motivation and improve school results, to prevent absenteeism and dropout as key aspects of institutional management and educational leadership.




"Nothing is More Powerful than an Idea Whose Time has Come"

Victor Hugo, French Romantic writer and politician


ISTITUTO SUPERIORE SAN PELLEGRINO, ITALY

The economic, social and cultural tissue influences student education both at an individual level, due to the impact that personal background has on the results of each student, and at an aggregate class and school level.


The pandemic has had a detonator/multiplier effect on psychological and even economic inconvenience and damage. In fact, the presence among students of fragility, even important ones, is increasing. In the last three years we have gone from 20% generic of the total enrolled to 24.8% internally, the cases of PDP (personalized school plan) due to psychological discomfort have increased.


Families show little attention to their children's difficulties, delays in understanding learning disabilities and in producing the relative certification regarding the diagnosis.


The problems highlighted by the students often concern not only the aspects related to behavior, but also the lack of tenacity, motivation, method to achieve academic success.


Parents, faced with the first failures due to insufficient teaching, are often unable to support their children and to collaborate with the school, with consequent abandonment and/or dispersion.


The first signs of this reading came immediately upon returning to the lessons. Intolerance of the rules, increased quarrels, panic attacks, psychological discomfort. At the first difficulty they ask to change schools, not understanding that the discomfort must be addressed. In this case peer to peer with students and professors who act as tutors, mentoring coaches are extremely important. Increasing learning through doing also helps tremendously.


“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.”

Phil Collins, English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor

VOCATIONAL SCHOOL FOR TRANSPORT AND AGRARIAN TECHNOLOGIES “N. Y. VAPTZAROV” HASKOVO, BULGARIA

Over the past years, the profile and status of students from PGTAT Haskovo has changed as a result of the Covid measures and long online training, as well as due to economic problems.


The share of those who went abroad with parents who work there has increased. The share of those whose parents went to work abroad and who were raised by relatives also increased.


The share of students from families with increased social problems has increased - due to unemployment caused by the Covid crisis or other problems. A large part of our students used to be from poor families, with a lower social status, from remote, poor and rural areas, from vulnerable ethnic and other groups, from settlements with difficult access, but in the last 2 years this share has increased .


There are problems with transportation to school. A large part of the students are from poor families from the villages and travel from there to the school. Public transport suffered a lot during the Covid crisis. The possibility of transportation to small settlements has drastically decreased.

Student absences have increased. Online learning has contributed a lot to this. Students get tired more quickly, lose concentration and attention span more easily, their interest in schoolwork quickly fades.


Students react faster, it is more difficult to refrain from conflicts, they get stressed more easily. It is more difficult for them to express and recognize their emotions and those of others.


It is observed to "blend" with phones and other devices. Even during class, face-to-face learning can hardly be torn away from the phones.

Their motivation to learn, to participate in school and extracurricular activities decreases.

“Any man can learn anything he will, but no man can teach except to those

who want to learn.” Henri Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company

ZESPOL SZKOL NR 1, RZESZÓW, POLAND

Zespół Szkół in Rzeszów is a complex of General secondary high schooland technical. More than 60% of our students commute to school more than 20 km every day and their families have to face economic obstacles. It sometimes leads to depression or conflicts among students.

Also the last two years were the period of isolation due to pandemic situations and distant learning which resulted in difficulties in working as a group in classroom environment and more and more common phone and internet addiction.


Due to fact that we currently realizing KA229 project which concerns critical thinking to the great extent our students gained self esteem, found it easier to adapt to new situation and resolve peer conflicts thanks to materials which are tangible project results. Joining an Erasmus + project is also a motivation for students who had no chance to travel and cooperate in the international environment.


The reason to start Erasmus+ projects was to evoke our students who come from the rural region of SubCarpathia to take initiative and not to follow their parents footsteps who are often unemployed and discouraged, to develop and exchange ideas and good practice.


What is more, our region is next to the Ukrainian border so we gained refugee students who also need to acquire skills connected with starting life in new environment, but a lot of even modern education is badly disconnected from life, or at least that students are lacking in the critical faculties to connect school learning to their lives, so our informal E+ group decides to “get out of the box”. We cooperate with Youth City Council of Rzeszów and our students are active members.


In the future we’d like to organise youth exchanges about entrepreneurship but focusing on cultural diversity and using different cultural perspectives to learn how to start social enterprise as the first step in a career and make their own money.

“Mediation is conflict’s way of looking at itself.”

Jeff Cohen, American attorney

Reflecting Journal

What is changing in our classrooms and in school?

What can we do to increase students' motivation for learning and prevent conflicts and absenteeism while preparing them for the future?

“If we want to see a more socially just society for all, we must first undo racism.

We must start in the classroom, and teachers must indeed teach to change the world.”

Tauheedah Baker, Visionary Leader and Innovative Strategist


Examples of presentations made by students

Andreea Alexandra Tudorache

Colegiul Național “Grigore Moisil “

Onești, Romania

Selection of students

to participate in the project


"Peace education alone will not achieve the changes necessary for peace:

it prepares learners to achieve change."

Alicia Cabezudo and Magnus Haavelsrud



DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS


2. Aims and objectives

What did we concretely propose to do together through this Erasmus+ KA229 project to solve problematic situations in our schools and prepare students for the future?


Through the formative and educational activities that we implement at secondary high school level, we aim to create innovative learning contexts for students, parents and teachers through counselling for personal and professional development, small group work, the use of active-participatory methods, effective for the development of initiative, responsibility, creativity, motivation for learning, as well as a school peer mediation program to allow students to become actively involved in transforming school climate by becoming agents of change as mediators, peacemakers and leaders wherever they go, helping to make their homes, their schools, their community and their world a better place to live.


How can I become a better learning mediator without

teaching mediation?


3. Aim of personal development counselling in group dynamics through a school-based mediation program

To develop the social-emotional intelligence of adolescents for the prevention of violence, bullying and cyberbullying, effective management of emotions, management of stressful, mediation of interpersonal conflicts, increased motivation for learning, adaptation to new contexts, balance, personal fulfilment and academic success.

"Recognizing the positive aspects of conflict implies a profound change of perspective:

it involves appreciating differences, enjoying controversies, and embracing complexity." Cecile Barbeito,

trainer and researcher at the Autonomous University of Barcelona's School for a Culture of Peace.

4. Objectives



O1. To develop knowledge and self-awareness skills;

O2. To develop knowledge and skills of active,

empathetic listening and assertive, relational communication;

O3. To be aware of and prioritise their personal values in order to achieve their goals;

O4. To develop attitudes and behaviours for healthy, creative leisure planning and spending;

O5. To develop knowledge and skills for optimal decision making;

O6. To develop knowledge, attitudes and skills for managing emotions and creatively resolving problematic, conflictual situations;

O7. To develop knowledge, attitudes and skills for leadership and team management.

O8. To develop self-esteem, self-confidence, mediation and public speaking skills.


5. Action/implementation plan




5.1 Weekly group counselling modules for personal development of adolescents in our high schools (15 - 18 years old)


M1. Self-awareness (relationship with self, self-image, self-esteem, self-confidence)

M2. Interpersonal and group communication (relationship with others, empathy and assertiveness)

M3. Identification of specific personal development needs (to express oneself, to be listened to and understood, to be aware of and prioritise personal values, to manage time and set goals, to make decisions and take action, to contribute and affirm potential, to recognise and value merits/talents/achievements, etc.).

M4. Time management and setting short-term learning/personal development goals (school, family, friends, leisure, etc.);

M5. Information management and learning strategies;

Treat yourself as you are, and you will remain as you are. Treat yourself

as you could be, and you will become what you should be.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, lecturer, philosopher

Variety and creativity are the best ways to ensure learning stays fun.

M6: Teamwork and decision making;

M7. Managing emotions and conflict situations;

M8: Personal branding and public speaking strategies;

M9: Evaluation, integrating feedback and ending counselling in group dynamics.:

What did we learn?

How have we evolved?

How have my relationships at home/ school/ friends/ community developed? Where/what area of life do I feel I still have to learn/practice?

How could I optimise?

Setting goals and a medium and long-term personal development plan.


5.2. Methods and tools for conducting counselling activities in group dynamics:


  • Energising and ice-breaking exercises;
  • Self- and inter-discovery games;
  • Work in dyads, triads and small groups;
  • Relaxation and active listening techniques;
  • Relational exercises; Active listening, Open-Ended Questions;
  • Coaching Tools (SWOT Analysis, Wheel of Life, Talking about myself, not the other, Profile of the emotionally intelligent person, Personal values, My SMART goals, Daily Motivation and Meditation, Practice of Gratitude, Reflective Journal, GROW Model, WOOP: Gabriele Oettingen's Scientifically Validated Dream-Realization;
  • Public speaking in the practice lab, etc.);
  • Case studies, Debates, Role-Plays;
  • Quizzes (learning styles, assertiveness, team roles, etc.);
  • Action plan for developing assertiveness, empathy, emotional intelligence and skills for mediation of conflicts, public speaking and leadership;
  • Peer Teaching, Peer Learning and Peer Mediation;
  • Feedback/evaluation questionnaires at the end of each module.




DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS


5.3. Practice workbook - Reflective journal for adolescents in the target group


PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, A LIFESTYLE


PRACTICE NOTEBOOK


Name and first name: ________________________


Reflective journal - Analysis of personal development group activity


Step 1.1: Briefly write down those experiences in the personal development group that you consider achievements.


Step 1.2: Write briefly what are those experiences/aspects in the personal development group that you feel you still need to work on/optimise.


Step 2.1: Read each accomplishment individually and write down the lesson learned and the inner resources that supported you to achieve what you did.


Step 2.2: Read each experience/aspect that you feel you still need to work on/optimize and write down the lessons you learned or still need to learn, the limiting beliefs that sabotaged you, what resources could have helped you transform the experience to be as successful as you want it to be.


"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery."

Mark Van Doren, American poet, writer and critic


DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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Step 3: SWOT ANALYSIS


Doing the activity in step 3 involves taking a realistic look at where you are today and where you want to be. Look carefully at the worksheet in the attached image. In the HIGH POINTS box, write down the attitudes, skills, experiences or behaviours that will help you achieve what you want, and in the WEEK POINTS box, write down the things you still need to work on that you want to improve. OPPORTUNITIES are external factors that you have no control over but that could help you, and THREATS are obstacles, those things that could prevent you from getting what you want.


"When you know yourself you become FREE,

when you know others you become a LEADER ."

Andy SzeKely, Romanian trainer, author and public speaker


DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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Step 4: THE WHEEL OF LIFE - HOW TO KEEP LIFE BALANCED

A SELF - ASSESSMENT AND COACHING TOOL


1.1. Imagine that, in this life, you are travelling with a Wheel of Life. Depending on the size of the spokes, your life is running smoothly, or stumbling at every step. At worst, this wheel may be completely deflated, and will prevent you from progressing any further.


To get the best results from this spoke size identification exercise, keep in mind these suggestions:

  • be alone in a quiet room;
  • relax while listening to a song;
  • sit comfortably and prepare your notebook


1.2. Imagine a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates that things are not going very well in a particular area and 10 indicates that things are working great.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.3. Concentrate on your breathing and be aware of every inhale and exhale for a few minutes. Start applying the steps to each of life's areas. In turn, for each of the areas of life, read the questions that follow slowly and carefully. Then, on a scale of 0 to 10, what number best represents your level for each of the life areas?


1.4. On a scale of 0 to 10, which number best represents your level of life:

  • My current level of health and fitness?
  • My level of personal development at this time?
  • Level of my relationship with my friends at this time?
  • Level of my school/career/work performance at this time?
  • Level of spirituality at the moment?
  • Level of time I am giving to relaxation/entertainment at this time?
  • My financial level (money/finance) at this time?
  • Level of my relationship with my family at this time?


“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” - Jane Goodall, English primatologist and anthropologist, UN Messenger of Peace



DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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Congratulations! You just found out some important numbers for you. Determine the average of these figures, i.e. add them up and divide by 8. Then draw your Wheel of Life at this point and analyse what it reveals to you, using the attached picture.


Which are those minor changes that you could make in order to optimize / embetter your situation in every part of your life?

Step 6: DAILY MEDITATION – PRACTICE OF GRATITUDE


In your personal journal or in a notebook, write down 10 reasons you feel grateful for every day.

How does the practice of gratitude help you optimize your well-being?

In January, start the year with an empty jar and add a note each week writing down the good things that have happened to you. On New Year's Eve, empty the jar and read what a good year you had.




“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.” Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher


DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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Step 5: PERSONAL VALUES


In order to live in accordance with what is important to you in life, the essential condition is to be congruent with your own personal values. Because you are committed to personal development, it is absolutely necessary to identify and respect your values as much as possible. They are one of the factors that lead you to make decisions and have different attitudes and behaviours.

To determine your personal values, follow these steps:

Step 1: Choose from the attached list the values that represent you (minimum 3; maximum 10)

Step 2: Rank them according to their importance to you. Validate the values by using the question:


How/how important is this value (name the value) for me?

“Your core values are the deeply held beliefs that authentically describe your soul.”

John C. Maxwell, author and expert trainer in leadership



DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS


Examples:

LIBERTY/FREEDOM

How important is liberty to me?

I like to make decisions and act as I feel and think.

How/to what extent is it important for me to make decisions and act as I feel and think?

This is how I feel confident and empowered and responsible for achieving the desired results.

How/to what extent is it important for me to trust myself and feel strong and responsible for achieving the desired results?

This is how I feel competent and successful.

How/to what extent is it important for me to feel competent and successful.

When I feel competent and successful, I know I can be a good leader.

How/to what extent is it important for me to be a good leader?

When I am a good leader, I can inspire others through the power of personal example and, if they want it, I can support them to develop personally.


FRIENDSHIP

How important is friendship to me?

I like to communicate, listen to others and feel listened to.

How important is it for me to communicate, listen to others and feel listened to?

This is how I feel my person is important and matters to others.

How/to what extent is it important for me to be a person who is important and matters to others?

In this way I feel respected, appreciated and loved.

How/to what extent is it important for me to feel respected, appreciated and loved?

When I feel respected, appreciated and loved, I feel fulfilled.

How important is it for me to feel fulfilled?

When I feel fulfilled, I feel full of enthusiasm and positive energy, I feel full of life and I feel that I am a pleasant and beneficial presence for myself and for others.



“Personal leadership is the process of keeping your vision and values

before you and aligning your life to be congruent with them.”

Stephen Covey, educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker




DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS


CONFIDENCE

How important is trust to me?

I like to keep my word when I promise something and do what I say I will do.

How/how important is it for me to keep my word and do what I say I will do?

I like people to be able to rely on me and recognise my decision-making authority.

How/to what extent is it important to me that people can rely on me and recognise my decision-making authority?

That way others will trust me, respect me for who I am and work with me as a team.

How/to what extent is it important for me that others trust me, respect me for who I am and work with me as a team?

This makes me feel respected and recognized as a leader.

How/how important is it for me to feel respected and recognised as a leader?

This is what I want to be in my life.



EDUCATION

How important is education to me?

I like to educate myself and develop personally and professionally.

How/to what extent is it important for me to educate myself and develop personally and professionally?

This is how I feel I am as an educated, spiritually and spiritually rich person.

How/to what extent is it important for me to be an educated, spiritually and spiritually rich person?

In this way I feel beautiful and human.

How/to what extent is it important for me to feel beautiful and human.

When I feel beautiful and human, I know that I am an empathetic, relational person.

How/to what extent is it important for me to be an empathetic, relational person?

When I am an empathetic, relational person, I am an authentic person and others feel that they can trust me to open up and be influenced with integrity for being guided/counselled.


“Open your arms to change but don’t let go of your values.”

Dalai Lama, renowned Tibetan Buddhist monk



DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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Step 7: SETTING OBJECTIVES


This is the stage in which:

you will set up your wishes;

you will transform them in SMART objectives ;

you will make the action plan for the following months.


The steps you need to follow:


1. Write what you discovered in Step 2 – the lessons you have to learn and apply, the convinctions you have to change etc.

2. Write what you discovered in Step 3 – the domains you have to work in.

3. Make up your wishes so that you can cover your points written in Steps 1 and 2.

4. Turn every wish into an objective, following the example below.


An example of a SMART formulated objective:

SMART: Specific, Measurable, Accessible, Relevant, Time due


I. Positive: An objective is positively formulated, at present time.

"I show more attention to myself and to personal development needs."


II. Specific: A specific objective is very clearly stated, it doesn’t allow any doubts. It is attached to a certain behaviour, a certain action.

"I set aside some time for reflection and setting up the priorities."


III. Measurable: A measurable objective is one that allows the precise determination of whether or not, or to what extent, it has been achieved.


"I set aside an hour a day for exercise."

"I set aside 15 minutes a day for meditation."

"I set aside 1 hour a day for pleasure reading."

"I set aside 30 minutes a day for writing in the reflexive journal."


"The great danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."

Michelangelo, sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance


DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS


IV. Accessible: It can be achieved by the person who aims for

it and does not depend on the actions of another person.


"I set aside 30 minutes a day to read about effective nonviolent communication."

"I set aside 15 minutes a day for meditation and gratitude practice."


V. Relevant: The relevance of an objective is assessed in relation to personal values. If you set a goal that is not in line with your personal values, you are unlikely to succeed because you will trigger an inner conflict. So check whether your goals are in line with your personal values!


VI. Time-bound: It means that the objective contains the date by which it is expected to be achieved.


"From September to December 2022, I set aside 30 minutes a day for writing in the reflexive journal."

"Between September and December 2022, I set aside 15 minutes a day to meditate and practise gratitude."


5.4. Set up the action plan! Write in the agenda of every day, week or month what you have to do!


Example:

1. In the first week of september 2022, the action plan for the above objectives look like this:

1st of September 2022

15 minutes for reflection or meditation and gratitude practice, morning time, between 7:00 - 7:15.

30 minutes for writing in the reflexive journal, evening time, between 20:30 – 21:00 etc.


2. Evaluate, at the end of every day, what you have succeeded to do or not.

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

Maya Angelou, American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist

3. Congratulate yourself for what you’ve done!

4. Reschedule, for the next day, what is left to be done!

5. Evaluate, at the end of every week / month, what you’ve succeeded in doing or not!

6. Congratulate yourself for everything you’ve done!

7. Change or restate the objectives / goals you haven’t managed to reach!

8. Apply the above steps and set up your goals and action plan!


If you want to get feedback for what you’ve worked, you can share your results with the other colleagues / classmates !


BONUS: Whoever formulates at least 3 SMART goals and the corresponding action plan, receives an individual counselling session with the psychologist on the topic of the exercise or another aspect that needs improvement.


IMPORTANT! In order to receive the bonus, everyone must email what they have worked on in their workbook for all stages/group counselling activities.


Inspiration and good luck with your work!


Step 8. EFFICIENT COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AND TEAM WORK


What is the goal of communication? Why do we communicate?


To be received: heard, seen;

To be understood, accepted;

To challenge a reaction – change in attitude/behaviour;

To give and to receive feedback;

Active listening, empathy, assertiveness;

Mediation of conflicts;

Teamwork and Leadership.









“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company




DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS


QUESTIONNAIRE: AM I AN ASSERTIVE PERSON?

Read the situations below carefully and, depending on how comfortable you feel in each case, give yourself the following score:

1 (for uncomfortable), 2 (reasonable), 3 (very comfortable)

Score:

Over 55: you are a very assertive person.

46 – 55: you are almost an assertive person. You still have to work for the issues where your score was lower.

36 – 45: your assertiveness is at an average level.

26 – 35: You need to improve your assertive communication skills.

Less than 26: Lack of assertiveness can be a source of stress.

“Communication is the solvent of all problems and is the foundation for

personal development.” Peter Shepherd, psychologist, author



DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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ACTION PLAN FOR DEVELOPING ASSERTIVENESS


Take a few minutes to think about where you can be assertive and where you still struggle.


1. What do you think are the benefits for you when you behave assertively with different people in your life (at home, at school, on the street, etc.) Try to write down as many examples as possible.

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2. What exactly do you need when it is difficult for you to behave assertively? Try to write down as many examples as possible!

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3. How do you think you will get helped by developing assertiveness?

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Developing assertiveness is a way of coping effectively with interpersonal conflict situations and has multiple benefits for improving social relationships, developing self-confidence, respecting personal rights, forming a healthy lifestyle, improving responsible decision-making skills, stress management and conflict mediation.

“There is only one rule for being a good talker — learn to listen.”

Christopher Morley, author and journalist



DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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ACTIVE LISTENING AND EMPATHETIC COMMUNICATION

Effective and empathic communication consists of both active listening and speaking.

Active listening involves giving full attention to the speaker as well as listening with all senses.

Empathy is the ability to actively listen in order to accurately understand and respond respectfully and skillfully to the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of others.

Key words: emotional awareness, cooperation, understanding, compassion, active and empathetic listening, respect, affection, emotional closeness, support, creating harmony, detachment, balance.

Functions of empathy:

adaptive value, having a major role in knowing the emotional state, developing and maintaining interpersonal relationships.

stimulates level of tolerance and ability to listen actively and empathetically.

supports developing the ability to understand and respond respectfully to the feelings, thoughts, behaviours and needs of others.

“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t being said. The art of reading between the lines is a lifelong quest of the wise.”

Shannon L. Alder, author




DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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HOW DO WE PROCESS THE INFORMATION?


Peace of mind and joy at heart we have together when there is harmony between our inner and outer state, because what we want for our own good we also want for our loved ones. When we can respect, appreciate and listen to others as we respect, appreciate and listen to ourselves, with the same patience and equal attention, wanting them to be happy as we are happy, then it releases the positive and creative energy that circulates in the relationship and helps us to quickly and intuitively discover what our needs, desires and interests are in order to support each other in building communication and relational harmony.


Time and Space exist for all people, but they are not the same for everyone. What makes the difference? Why is it that some people can see and hear new things and understand the inner and outer worlds differently, while others cannot? If we are lost in time and space, what can we do to find our center and feel safe?

“Use time and space; grow slowly into your dreams,

infinity will fill you with peace.”

Sir Kristian Goldmund Aumann, Austrian author, filmmaker and actor




DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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Coaching Models

G - Goal: What do you want?

R - Reality: Where are you now?

O - Options & Obstacles: What could you do?

W - Will: What will you do?

WOOP: Gabriele Oettingen's Scientifically Validated Dream-Realization

W- Wish: What do you want?

O - Outcomes: What results do you want to achieve?

O - Options & Obstacles: What could you do?

P - Plan: What will you do?

“We are stronger when we listen and smarter when we share.”

Rania Al-Abdullah, Queen of Jordan



DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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“Keep a diary, and someday it'll keep you.”

Mae West, American stage and film actress





DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS


“Permit yourself to change your mind when something is no longer

working for you.”

Nedra Glover Tawwab, American mental health therapist and writer


DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS


“Invariably, collaboration leads to new forms of self-expression

and to the things that move you.” Rodney Crowell, musician




DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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“When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.”

Stephen R. Covey, author, educator, speaker





DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS



“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle

or the mirror that reflects it.”

Edith Wharton, American novelist, short story writer, and interior designer






DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

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METHODOLOGY FOR WORKING WITH STUDENTS AND EVALUATING ROLE PLAYS ABOUT PEER BULLYING

Pedagogical support: script and video recording for each role-play


Aim: To create evaluation methods and tools for the teaching activity with students based on the role-play script and the video recording made by the students.


Teachers can consider the following approach:


Peer Evaluation:


• Implement a peer evaluation system where students provide feedback to their fellow actors based on their understanding of the characters and performance delivery.

• Encourage constructive criticism and positive reinforcement to foster a supportive learning environment.

Self-Assessment Reflections:

• Assign individual reflection papers where students analyze their own performance, highlighting their strengths and areas for improvement.

• Encourage students to assess how well they portrayed their assigned roles and what they could have done differently to enhance their performance.


Teacher Observation:


• Document specific observations of each student's performance during the role-play.

• Focus on their ability to communicate emotions, their understanding of the character's motivations, and their engagement with other actors during the scene.


Character Analysis Worksheets:


Provide worksheets that require students to analyze the traits, behaviors, and motivations of the characters they portrayed.

• Encourage students to delve deeper into understanding the psychological aspects of the characters and how they influenced the plot.



“When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.”

Stephen R. Covey, author, educator, speaker





DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS


METHODOLOGY FOR WORKING WITH STUDENTS AND EVALUATING ROLE PLAYS ABOUT PEER BULLYING

Group Discussion and Analysis:


• Conduct a group discussion where students can collectively analyze the role-play, discussing the characters' behaviors and motivations.

• Encourage critical thinking and empathy-building discussions around the underlying themes and moral lessons portrayed in the script.


Video Analysis and Feedback:


· Utilize the video recording of the performance as a tool for detailed analysis and feedback.

· Encourage students to watch their own performances and provide self-critique, identifying areas for improvement and recognizing effective aspects of their portrayal.


Interactive Quizzes or Worksheets:


· Create interactive quizzes or worksheets based on the scenes to test students' comprehension of the characters, plot, and the moral of the play.

· Include questions that encourage critical thinking and analysis of the characters' actions and their consequences.


By incorporating these evaluation methods and tools, teachers can provide a comprehensive assessment of the students' understanding, performance, and engagement in the teaching activity based on the role-play script and the video recording.



“When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.”

Stephen R. Covey, author, educator, speaker





DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS


“Permit yourself to change your mind when something is no longer

working for you.”

Nedra Glover Tawwab, American mental health therapist and writer


DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS



“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle

or the mirror that reflects it.”

Edith Wharton, American novelist, short story writer, and interior designer






DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS



“Be patient with yourself. You are growing stronger every day. The weight of the world will become lighter…and you will begin to shine brighter. Don’t give up.” Robert Tew, former professional rugby league footballer





DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS


“Happiness doesn't result from what we get, but from what we give.”

Dr. Ben Carson, renowned American neurosurgeon


DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADOLESCENTS

FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND OVERCOMING CONFLICT SITUATIONS



“When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.”

Stephen R. Covey, author, educator, speaker




6. Description of the expected results for the

socio-emotional development of students

  • Awareness;
  • Increased self-confidence and self-esteem;
  • Optimized self-image;
  • Self-motivation for learning;
  • Increased ability to make decisions, to make better choices, to clarity of goals;
  • Commitment and responsibility;
  • Increased ability to mediate conflicts;
  • Asertive and empathetic communication;
  • Effective teamwork,
  • Medium and long-term planned action.


7. Description of estimated impact





  • Developing assertiveness and empathy to improve communication and teamwork;
  • Increased ability to manage conflict situations effectively;
  • Relational balance and harmony.
  • To make communication and teamwork more effective by ensuring that the following skills are demonstrated in school:


Active listening – the capacity to perceive both the contents of the message and the interlocutor’s emotions, in order to ensure the most faithful understanding of the message;

Assertive & empathetic transmission of the message;

Identifying the causes / conflict sources and the use of specific strategies for solving conflicts;

Using these skills in different communication contexts (dialogue, group communication, peer mediation, direct or mediated communication etc.).


“Great communication begins with connection.”

Oprah Winfrey, television producer and host, author, philanthropist





8. Benefits and new targeted action lines


  • Optimising the well-being of students and teachers in all partner schools in the project;
  • Action plan for the personal development of students and teachers in the long term, in all partner schools in the project;
  • Organise annual counselling modules/activities for the personal development of teenagers ;
  • Organisation of case studies, focus groups, relational communication workshops for the personal development of adolescents, teachers and parents;
  • Inviting specialists/ experts from the community to the Guidance/ Counselling and Vocational Guidance classes.

The relationship with time is a key factor in teaching. The more complex an education system is, the more uncertain it becomes, and teachers have to get used to uncertainty and train their students to deal with it. This margin of uncertainty linked to the reforms of the school system and the curriculum, with all that this entails in terms of choices and responsibilities, is difficult to live with.


While focusing on the needs of the pupil, the teacher-mediator also focuses on the needs of the teacher to adapt to the changing external world. In this way, there is a correspondence between the two visions and a harmony between the two people. The teacher becomes personally involved in the educational relationship and allows himself to express his opinions, emotions and feelings insofar as these are conducive to the pupil's expression and growth. At the same time, students grow in their awareness of who they are. If the teacher genuinely wants to pay attention to the pupil's immediate experience, paradoxically enough, he will have to focus his attention on himself, his experience and his own person, in relation to others.

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.

John C. Maxwell, American author, speaker and expert in leadership

ROMANIA

SCHOOL DAY OF NON-VIOLENCE AND PEACE


THE TEACHER’S JOURNEY

"Leadership is the capacity to translate a vision into reality."

Warren Bennis, one of the world's leading experts on leadership, an advisor to four U.S. presidents, including John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan

AGENDA

10:00– 10:30 Welcome word - Speeches

• Moderator of the event: Teacher Virginia – Smărăndița Brăescu, Romanian project coordinator

• Teacher Irina – Livia Enache, Principal, “Grigore Moisil” National College, Onesti, Romania

• Teacher Ida Vlad, General School Inspector, Bacau County School Inspectorate

• Teacher Lavinia Misăilă, Deputy General School Inspector, Bacau County School Inspectorate

• Teacher Ana-Maria Rotaru, School Inspector for European programs and projects, Bacau County School Inspectorate

• Teacher Mariana Ifrim, Head of the “Grigore Tabacaru” Teaching Staff House, Bacau

10:30– 14:00 GUEST INTERVENTIONS AND Q &A SESSION

Conf. univ. dr. Nadia MorărașuLinguistic Mediation in European Education

Prof. dr. Daniela Munca – AftenevPedagogical Mediation using the Virtual Learning Environment.

Prof. dr. Gabriela GîrmaceaThe Transition from a Culture of War to a Culture of Peace

Prof. dr. Oana – Paula Zaharia Education Adolescents for Conflict Management

Dr. Mara – Adriana Priceputu, Psychosociologist – Ethics and Competence in Education for the World Diversity of the Future

Ing. Anca Ciucă, Mediator: Mediation – Potential To Be Used in Schools

Dr. Zeno – Daniel Șuștac, Mediator & Lawyer – Mediation During the Pandemic

Răzvan Curcubătă, Trainer & Professional Counselor – How to Prevent Bullying in Schools

Bruno Demaille, Mediator & Negotiator: School Mediation is a necessity, especially in a pandemic period

Virginia – Smărăndița Brăescu, Teacher, Trainer, Mediator, Project manager: Innovation, Mediation and Leadership

Facebook Live: https://web.facebook.com/Mediationinschool/videos/622647775686415

Many other interventions of teachers from Romania and other partner schools took place during the 1st LTT activities in Onești, Romania.

ROMANIA

"Leadership is the capacity to translate a vision into reality."

Warren Bennis, one of the world's leading experts on leadership, an advisor to four U.S. presidents, including John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM - MEDIATION IN SCHOOL

and DISSEMINATION EVENTS

ROMANIA

THE STUDENT’S JOURNEY

"As we look ahead into the next century,

leaders will be those who empower others."

Bill Gates is an American business magnate

DISSEMINATION EVENTS - ERASMUS DAYS

ROMANIA

"The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership." Harvey S. Firestone

DISSEMINATION EVENTS - ERASMUS DAYS

ROMANIA

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more

and become more, you are a leader." John Quincy Adams

OTHER EVENTS AND DISSEMINATION CONTEXTS

ROMANIA

"Leadership cannot just go along to get along.

Leadership must meet the moral challenge of the day."

Jesse Jackson, American civil rights leader


OTHER EVENTS AND DISSEMINATION CONTEXTS

ROMANIA

GLOBAL EDUCATION WEEK and INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS' DAY

"The only way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them."

Keisha Knight Pulliam


BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • Annie Cardinet, Pratiquer la médiation en pédagogie, Dunod, 1995;
  • Annie Cardinet, Ecole et médiations, Editions Eres, 2000;
  • Babeth Diaz & Brigitte Liatard-Dulac, Contre violence et mal-être. La médiation par les élèves, Nathan, 1998;
  • Daniel Golman, Inteligenta emotionala (2001), Emotiile distructive. In dialog cu Dalai lama (2005), Inteligenta emotionala in Leadership (2005), editura Curtea Veche, Bucuresti;
  • Tara Goleman, Alchimia emotionala, editura Curtea Veche, Bucuresti, 2002;
  • Michael G. Jacobson & Robert H. Lombard, Effective school climate: Roles for peers, practitioners, and principals, Rural Research Report, v3 n4 Spr, 1992;
  • Jean Louis Lascoux, Pratique de la médiation: Une méthode alternative à la résolution des conflits, ESF, Issy-les-Moulineaux cedex, 2004;
  • André Moreau, Viata mea aici si acum. Gestalt terapia, drumul vietii (2005), Psihoterapie. Metode si tehnici (2005), ed. Trei, Bucuresti, books translated from French into Romanian by teacher Virginia-Smarandita Braescu;
  • Mirela Oprea, Dream Management, Ed. Cartex, ediția a III a, 2023
  • Jean Piaget, Psychologie et pédagogie, Paris, Denoël-Gonthier, 1969;
  • Jacques Salomé, Pour ne plus vivre sur la planète TAIRE, Albin Michel; 2004;
  • Jean-Pierre Bonafé-Schmitt, La médiation scolaire par les élèves, ESF, 2000;
  • Lev Semionovici Vygotski, „Pensée et langage”, Messidor-Éditions sociales, Paris, 1985


“Document your dreams. Sketch that shape you saw.

Write those lyrics before they fade out.”

Michael Bassey Johnson, The Oneironaut’s Diary




ABOUT THE METHODOLOGICAL GUIDE

The PEACE IN CLASS, PEACE IN SCHOOL methodological guide was developed within the Erasmus+ project 2020-1-TR01-KA229-093716 and includes project results correlated with the activities carried out and the achievement of the proposed objectives, in order to disseminate the experiences lived, during the implementation period of the project, by the teachers and students from the target group, the direct beneficiaries of the project and the active participants in the transnational mobilities - Learning, Teaching and Training activities abroad. These mobilities were organized and hosted by each of the partner schools in the project, in order to highlight the lessons learned and the skills acquired by teachers and students, as well as for the transfer of experience, the promotion of examples of good practices, the strengthening of the school-family-community partnership and the future development of new projects and strategic partnerships to ensure the sustainability of the project.

The methodological guide contributes to multiplying the results of the activities carried out within the Erasmus+ project in all partner schools and in the community and is available in printed format with ISBN and in electronic format posted on the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform website, on the project website and blog, on the official web pages of the schools partners, as well as on other digital platforms with pedagogical materials useful for educators.


“Scientific studies show that anyone can achieve their dreams if

they treat them as if they were the manager of an important project.”

Mirela Oprea, Dream manager, PhD in international cooperation and sustainable development policies




The publication of this methodological guide of good practices entitled PEACE IN CLASS, PEACE IN SCHOOL is ensured by the co-financing obtained by the "Grigore Moisil" Onești National College for the project 2020-1-TR01-KA229-093716_4 through the Erasmus+ program of the European Union and does not represent necessarily the official position of the Erasmus+ program. The entire responsibility for the correctness and consistency of the information and materials presented belongs to the initiators, authors and partners of this project.


This methodical guide of good practices is registered with ISBN at the National Library of Romania, ensuring the sustainability of the project, the promotion and visibility of the pedagogical research activity of the teaching staff, as well as of the special results obtained with the students.


All rights for the materials and photos published in this guide belong to the authors and partner schools in the project. Photos and screenshots reflect real situations during the activities carried out within the project. Their multiplication and use by other persons and/or in other contexts is not permitted except with the consent of the authors and partner institutions.


All rights reserved for reproduction, translation and adaptation

©2020-1-TR01-KA229-093716_1_2_3_4_5

Group of teenagers high school students hug and laugh, enjoy being friends with peers and classmates

ISBN: 978-630-6579-05-1

The European Commission’s support for the Erasmus+ project

2020-1-TR01-KA229-093716_1_2_3_4_5 does not constitute an endorsement of the contents of this website, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.