Staffordshire University has created new online resources for teachers to help tackle bullying and discrimination in classrooms across Europe.
The free training includes an online course, toolkit and didactic manual, and was developed following research carried out with educational partners in Turkey, Greece, Germany, Spain and Italy as part of the @Mindset project, a two year initiative co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
Amongst other things, Janet Hetherington from the Creative Communities Unit worked with colleagues to develop, train and evaluate the training materials.
The course content and format was developed with feedback from educational professionals dealing with issues of discrimination on a day-to-day basis. In addition to online user-testing, over 30 teachers and youth workers from across Europe came to Stoke-on-Trent in March 2016 to take part in a successful trial of the course, which received excellent feedback.
Bobbie Fletcher, Head of Games Design at Staffordshire University, has been leading the project. She said: “We’re really pleased with the positive feedback we’ve received about the online course. Working with our counterparts across Europe has been both inspiring and insightful.
“We have all increased our knowledge and understanding by sharing our good practice and learning from others. The final result is an excellent training course which will be of interest to anyone working within an educational setting.”
The course is made up of 5 units and includes presentations, case studies, resources and interactive activities that can be adapted for different learning environments. It can be accessed for free online via the project website .
Rezzan Balcilar, English Teacher and Teacher Trainer at Haci Nazim Turgut Primary School, Turkey added: “I’m proud to be a member of the @Mindset project because managing social relationships in the classroom is one of the greatest challenges I have faced in my teaching career. This course was a great opportunity for teachers, directors and members of the community to share our experiences.”
For more information, please contact the project lead, Bobbie Fletcher, Head of Games Design, Staffordshire University Email: B.D.Fletcher@staffs.ac.uk Phone: (0)1785 353204
