Erasmus+ KA2 – Strategic partnerships (31.12.2015 - 31.12.2017)
The project deals with the subject "intercultural competence in vocational training" from a transnational perspective. It is based on a partnership of 10 partners from 8 countries that has emerged from a transnational project in Brandenburg about mobility, opennes and tolerance on the European labour market. In this project a framework for teaching intercultural competences in vocational training (in German and English) was developed which is made for additional lessons and training in vocational schools and for companies in the Dual System. The concept is not yet tested in practice and not very well prepared for the use in different countries.
Intercultural competences are getting more and more important due to the increasing internationalization of the economy, the integration of the European labor market and the resulting mobility of workers also on the level of technical and executive work. Not all of the vocational training systems in the different European countries are well prepared to this challenge the focus in this area up to now was far closer to academics and management executives.
The objective of the project is to test existing and newly created learning modules for teaching intercultural competences as additional units in vocational training and to make them available for other vocational schools and stakeholders in vocational training.
The core activity and central methodology is an exchange of teachers and students between the partner organisations and partner countries to test the learning modules in an intercutural context. A study group of 1 teacher and 2 students will go for a short time teaching and study period of 7 days to a partner country. So each study group will create an intercultural setting at the hosting organisation which allows to apply and test the learning modules under “real intercultural conditions”. Contents of intercultural teaching like stereotypes, other traditions, food, religion or everyday life can be directly experienced, scrutinized and discussed from both sides.
One of the results will be the creation of E-Learning contents on a "moodle" platform with free access in connection with the project website where all project materials will be uploaded, including additional pedagogic input . A chamber certification for the course is planned. The general result of the project will be the availability of a set of applicable and tested learning modules to teach intercultural competences in vocational training. It will improve the quality of vocational training and enable teachers at vocational schools and instructors in vocational training to use and firther develop these materials.
The project is lead by WEQUA (Wirtschafts- und Qualifizierungsgesellschaft mbH) in Lauchhammer/Germany. Most of the partners are vocational schools with practical experience in producing learning modules and teaching materials and in organizing school projects and other additional activities to the regular school tasks (organisation of internships in companies, study - business activities etc.).
