ELOS BASQUE COUNTRY-EVALUATION REPORT

ELOS EVALUATION report

THE BASQUE COUNTRY FEBRUARY 2013 Ies aniturri bhi Ies Antigua-luberri bhi Ies botikazar bhi Ies ekialdea bhi Ies urola ikastola azpeitia-azkoitia bhi

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ELOS EVALUATION IES ANITURRI BHI agurain

THE BASQUE COUNTRY FEBRUARY 2013

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Name of school

IES ANITURRI BHI

Brief description*: Aniturri BHI is the only post16 school located in the administrative village of Agurain and it is 20km away from Gasteiz, the capital city. The school gathers 270 students (aged 12-18) from nearby small rural villages. There are no drop-outs. Basque is the main teaching language, although Spanish is their mother tongue and the school is in an area where Basque is recovering from its lost. More than half of the students (52.8%) come from socio-economically deprived families and they receive a grant from the Basque Government towards attending school. Being in a rural area, languages have not had any relevance in their daily lives. However, we have seen that the use of a foreign language for a real communicative purpose in such projects can change their perception and broaden their low expectations.

We joined the ELOS European Schoolnet 6 years ago and the European Studies programme four years ago as a result of an innovative project on European Dimension. We teach Citizenship and Civic Education in English implementing Content and Language Integrated Learning approach (CLIL/AICLE). and some other subjects' units of work are taught in English. Apart from European innovative projects, the schools is an ICT School and the schools runs projects such as Applying ICTs at the science lab, Agenda21 environmental project, Basque Language Normalization Project, The Coordinated Approach to Teach Languages and Improving the Quality in Teaching Management, all of which help us improve students’ motivation to learn and learning to learn skills as well as to ensure that all pupils succeed in completing their education. *rural

Total number of students:

270

Number of students involved in Elos classes:

114

Number of staff involved in Elos classes:

6

Number of students who contributed to the evaluation:

15

Number of staff who contributed to the evaluation:

5

Start date:

04/10/12

Total number of staff:

End date:

36

21/03/13

The evaluation questionnaire was answered by fifteen students of IES Aniturri BHI who took part in different Comenius projects and Elos activities during 2010-2012 and five teachers who have a fixed post at school. The questionnaire was published at the Elos blog http://elosaniturri.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/elos-questionnaire/ and filled online in February 2013. The main goal of these questions was to evaluate how processes and content of the ELOS programme could be improved.

Therefore, students and were asked about their participation and assessment of the European activities carried out at school.

4 Our school is a small (Post)-Secondary state school in a rural area. There are 270 students and 36 teachers. We cover compulsory Secondary Education (12-16 years old) and post- compulsory education (16-18 years old), both in Arts and Science. When we started the project, we only had 200 students, so the impact of the project has been very big as it is the only school which offers Post-Secondary education in this area and most of the students that age study at Aniturri.

The students who answered the questions of this survey were 16-17 year- old girls and boys Post- Secondary education who took part in exchanges with students from Châteauroux (France) and Öhringen (Germany), and hosted students from those countries. During the mobilities they also worked with students from Redditch (England) and Cookstown (N Ireland), but due to the Child Protection law, they couldn’t be accommodated in families.

These students also took part in the European Studies programme while they were in Year 3 and Year 4 with J15 group, which includes schools from Ireland as well as from Wales, Romania and Denmark.

The students in Year 4 of Secondary Education aged 13-14 will answer this questionnaire at the end of March after their first mobility to N Ireland. They will also complete the ELOS portfolio at the end of the school year.

The Elos team at Aniturri BHI hopes this questionnaire, will give them a feedback to improve their ELOS project so that our students gain the communicative, social and cultural skills as well as the required knowledge and attitude described in the Elos Common Framework for Europe Competence (CFEC) to learn, work and live as European citizens.

Summary of the students’ answers A. BILATERAL OR MULTILATERAL PROJECT According to the questionnaire, most students value their experience in a positive way. They feel they have learnt about the importance of respecting deadlines, especially when working in groups, and they feel more autonomous after taking part in the project. Most students have stated they are more aware of other cultures and have learnt about rules in other countries.

5 Have you learnt anything in the following areas as a result of the ELOS project? - Autonomy

100% affirmed that the project improved their autonomy Have you learnt anything in the following areas as a result of the ELOS project? - Team work

87% said that they learnt something on team work Have you learnt anything in the following areas as a result of the ELOS project? – Awareness of other cultures

100% said that they gained cultural awareness Have you learnt anything in the following areas as a result of the ELOS project? – Different rules (new school & families)

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100% learnt about different rules in different countries.

B. PORTFOLIO Have you learnt anything in the following areas as a result of the ELOS project? – Foreign language learning.

100% affirmed their language learning was improved.

Have you learnt anything in the following areas as a result of the ELOS project? – Knowledge about Europe

93% said that they improved their knowledge about Europe Have you learnt anything in the following areas as a result of the ELOS project? - Presence of Europe in your academic life

93% said that they gained knowledge on topics related to Europe in their academic life.

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Have you learnt anything in the following areas as a result of the ELOS project? – European Union culture and problems

93% stated that they gained knowledge on European Union culture and problems.

UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES Has the project improved your language skills in general? - Has the project improved your language skills in general?

All the answers show a positive outcome. As a result of the programmes the students involved in the project improved their language skills quite a lot or a lot.

Has the project improved your language skills in general? - Do you feel more confident using English after participating in this project?

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Students feel more confident at different levels after taking part in the project.

There is no negative answer.

Has the project improved your language skills in general? - Do you feel your social skills have improved as a result of the contact with other European schools?

93% said that they improved their social skills.

Has the project improved your language skills in general? - Do you feel your ICT skills have improved as a result of the contact with other European schools?

9 Most of them improved their ICT skills, although not all them meaningfully.

Has the project improved your language skills in general? - Did participating in this ELOS project make you more motivated for school work and language studies?

We found one negative answer to this question.

What is your dearest memory from the visit to your exchange partner’s country?

Speaking English in front of people that I didn’t know was something new I had never done before.

The local people were very friendly. German people are social and nice, very friendly.

I met new people and new cultures. I made new friends We had fun and we learnt the culture of another country. We also met people from other countries.

I remember Germany and parties with partners.

Trying new food and learning from different lifestyles.

I had a good time and I learnt to be more independent.

It was very enjoyable to meet new people and live with them.

Meeting new friends The time when we were all the members together was awesome.

The German family and my partner were great The visits, the families, the new experience‌ I liked it all.

The host family I stayed in was very friendly. I did lot of activities with them and I enjoyed it a lot. I also enjoyed working with my friends. We did lot of activities about sports, and we played some sports too.

Knowing different sports and playing them.

10 Meeting other people and different types of families was great.

Learning and teaching dances and teaching others our rural sports.

The videos we recorded Grade from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much) how much you enjoyed… - Project activity

Everybody enjoyed the activities Grade from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much) how much you enjoyed… - Group work

Grade from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much) how much you enjoyed… Exchange

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Grade from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much) how much you enjoyed‌ - Staying in a family

How would you define your participation in the project?

Participation varies among very intense, intense and middle. Nobody considers low participation.

12 Would you recommend others to take part in a similar activity to this one?

100% said they would recommend the project.

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Elos Teachers Evaluation The questionnaire was shared with the ELOS team and Quality Team at Aniturri BHI to register the evaluation questionnaire as a formal document to be used again at the end of each school year. The coordinator acted as a facilitator and brought together the members of the ELOS team, which includes the Principal, the account manager of the school and three English teachers, to fill in the questions online.

Not all the members who have taken part in the project were able to answer the questionnaire because some of them were supply teachers that are no longer with us. However, at the end of the school year, two more teachers will answer the questionnaire: the PE teacher and the Science Lab teacher.

The ELOS team considers that the ELOS project has changed the school orientation for the last years a lot.  

 

 

In 2005-2006 we got involved in a Comenius 1 project called Education through Sports with SZ Silesia, a school in Poland.

Since 2006-2007 we have developed an innovative project on European Dimension which includes a trip to London, a European Studies syllabus and the celebration of Europe Day (former Spring Day for Europe).

We joined the ELOS net in 2007 and we have started our third multilateral Comenius project.

As a result of the implementation of the new Basque Curriculum and being an ELOS school, we teach Citizenship and Ethics in English. The subjects are taught

by English teachers who are members of the ELOS team.

We share an exchange programme with Richard-von-Weizsäcker-Schule, Öhringen.

Thanks to the English language assistants’ programme, we have met Robert, Nathan, Curtis and Julie, from the USA, England and Australia, who help us with the CLIL approach. (CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning)

The following responses show the positive impact that teachers think the project has had in our school.

At personal level, all the members state that it helped them learn about different cultures from a professional point of view as teachers, and especially, about European education systems. As a result, Basque teachers were able to compare weak and strong points of their own system and other European countries.

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UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES Being a small school, it is clear that more students benefit from the project.

Students don’t leave their area to go to the capital city to continue studying after their finish Secondary. On the contrary, each year new students come to our school because they know that we have a European curriculum.

Another big impact has been the change of attitude towards foreign languages and other cultures in this rural area. English didn’t use to be one the students and parents priorities, but nowadays, the school community, including the School Council, backs up the project, whereas some years ago, it was something new and was out of place.

Broadening horizons is something that was stated in the outcomes. Our students think about travelling, living and working in Europe now. Most of them take a plane for the first time as a result of the European programmes.

What’s more, most of them travel abroad with school for the first time.

Teachers agree that the programme has broadened the minds of the families a lot and helped them increase interest in learning new languages.

16 The ELOS team also remarks the work done interdisciplinary. These projects have opened ways to work on topics among different departments and it has been very enriching and rewarding.

How we disseminate our work The team agrees that the Elos blog http://elosaniturri.wordpress.com/ is a very valuable tool to disseminate our work. e- twinning is spreading throughout different department and it is becoming a tool used by different departments.

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ELOS EVALUATION IES Antigua-luberri BHI donostia

THE BASQUE COUNTRY FEBRUARY 2013

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Name of school:

IES Antigua Luberri BHI

Brief description*: ANTIGUA-LUBERRI is a General Secondary Education School with 835 students. One of our main characteristics is the diversity of students. Most students come from urban areas but we also have some from rural ones. Although many of them belong to the middle class, a significant number of them come from disadvantaged families and they have a variety of learning problems. We also have integrated disabled students and a few late immigrants.

One of our main strengths is the multilingual teaching, in English and French, and the long experience on European projects. The teaching language is Basque, apart from the Spanish. The first foreign language is English which is compulsory and the second one French. A substantial number of the 12-14 year old students have a subject in French and the 25 % of the 14-16 year old students have two subjects in French.

A sizeable percentage of the 16-18 year old students of Bachillerato study the 20 % of the curriculum in English. We have had Comenius School projects, bilateral and multilateral ones, Language Assistants, student exchanges and for the last two years we are involved in the Individual Pupil Mobility programme.

We are an "ELOS" school since 2008. We have integrated in the curriculum the subject called: ”European and International Studies”. *Urban

Total number of students:

835

Number of students involved in Elos classes:

52

Number of staff involved in Elos classes:

12

Number of students who contributed to the evaluation:

17

Number of staff who contributed to the evaluation:

5

Start date:

04/10/12

Total number of staff:

End date:

101

21/03/13

Elos Students Evaluation The purpose of this procedure is to offer teachers feedback through the systematic collection of students’ views regarding Elos project. This is a way to ensure that we are giving students the opportunity to comment on the education they receive.

This questionnaire was given to a group of 17 years old students in their second year of ‘batxiler’ (sixth form). Once it was done we realized it had been made a year later than it should have been, so the feedback is not as reliable as it could be and it was too late for any modification. Next time we will be doing it at the end of the academic year, this way students will feel that they can benefit more directly from actions taken in response to their comments.

Students were asked to help choosing some questions. The questionnaire begins with a preamble to explain its purpose and it is completed anonymously.

Once they filled it we discussed in groups the main issues. It helped teachers to have a broader view, so the questionnaire is not a mere quantitative summary.

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A. Summary of the answers to Elos Project According to the questionnaire, students consider in a majority of cases that being part of the project helped them in a personal level. They feel they are more autonomous, that they have learnt to work as a team, also that they are aware of the different cultures and of the variety of norms and rules in the different families and schools they visited. They marked the experience as very positive. A couple of exceptions were more critic but failed to give a clear explanation of their reasons.

Questions and results Do you think you have learnt anything in the following areas as a result of taking part in the ELOS project? – Autonomy

Yes

15

79%

No

4

21%

Team Work Yes

17

89%

No

2

11%

Awareness of other cultures Yes No

18

95%

1

5%

Different rules (New school & Family) Yes

17

89%

No

2

11%

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B. Portfolio A very similar response was given in relation to learning languages, knowledge about Europe or European Union culture and problems. They showed in their answers that they were very happy with the idea of being part of the project.

It came as a surprise that they considered that ‘Europe’ was not sufficiently present in their academic life. They felt they deal more with the Basque Country or Spain but not so much with Europe.

Questions and results Do you think you have learnt anything in the following areas as a result of taking part in the ELOS project?

- Foreign languages Yes

17

89%

No

2

11%

- Knowledge about Europe Yes

16

84%

No

3

16%

- Presence of Europe in your academic life Yes

7

37%

No

12

63%

- European Union Cultures & Problems Yes

15

79%

No

4

21%

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C. OUTCOMES In the case of the outcomes they are more reserved toward their personal improvement in languages, in the use of English, the use of ICT or their social skills improvements. There is a majority of students that consider they learnt quite a lot but next group in importance is those that consider it ‘to some extent’. They do not feel very confident on themselves; it is due to a critical point of view, they feel they could have done it better.

- Has the project improved your language skills in general?

Not at all

0 0%

To some extent

6 32%

Quite a lot

9 47%

A lot

4 21%

- Do you feel more confident using English after participating in this project?

Not at all

0

0%

To some extent

7

37%

Quite a lot

9

47%

A lot

3

16%

- Do you feel your social skills have improved as a result of the contact with other European schools?

Not at all

0

0%

To some extent

5

26%

Quite a lot

11

58%

A lot

3

16%

22 - Do you feel your ICT skills have improved as a result of the contact with other European schools?

Not at all

2

11%

To some extent

6

32%

Quite a lot

9

47%

A lot

2

11%

- Did participating in this ELOS project make you more motivated for school work and language studies?

Not at all

1

5%

To some extent

5

26%

Quite a lot

10 53%

A lot

3

16%

What is your dearest memory from the visit to your exchange partner’s country?

They answered differently but they basically referred to personal activities with their partners.

What is your favourite memory from the project activities?

They mainly named outdoor and ITC activities.

When they are asked about how much they enjoyed the project, they show a positive response about the work they have done regarding the activities and the team work but it is when evaluating the exchange and the stay with the family when they show a complete agreement on how enjoyable it was.

23 How much you enjoyed?

- Project activity 1

2

11%

2

4

21%

3

12

63%

4

1

5%

- Group work 1

0

0%

2

5

26%

3

8

42%

4

6

32%

- Exchange 1

0

0%

2

0

0%

3

2

11%

4

17 89%

- Staying in a Family 1

0

0%

2

1

5%

3

2

11%

4

16

84%

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Regarding their involvement in the project and if they would recommend the experience, a vast majority agrees in the intensity and interest of the experience.

How would you define your participation in the project?

Very intense

3

16%

Intense

11

58%

Middle

5

26%

0

0%

Low

Would you recommend others to take part in a similar activity to this one?

Yes

17

89%

No

0

0%

Depend

2

11%

Not to this country

0

0%

The questionnaire was answered by 17 students of the multilingual project in a class period in January 2013.

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Elos Teachers Evaluation The purpose of this procedure is to offer us teachers feedback, a second thought on our work regarding the Elos project. We can discuss our different points of view and ideas on the subject. In this case the questionnaire was proposed to five teachers, those closer to the foreign exchanges, languages and the Comenius projects. As it is a low number of individuals it is not worth to follow the graphics because they are not very significant. As all teachers were involved in the different projects we commented on the questions and discussed the main issues. Approaches and strategies were suggested for developing our manners of evaluation.

Considering the impact of the Elos project in our school we agreed in its interest. The project gives us the consciousness of the importance of integrating Elos 'European and international dimension' in the curriculum.

We also appreciate it as a marketing instrument, so parents can rely on the label to know we fulfil Elos principles.

We all consider the project as an interesting way to be connected with Europe, a way for our students to learn about their partners’ habits, to be more aware of the global reality they live and they will be living in.

All the teachers agree on the main points about how Elos students will benefit from the project; not only in their knowledge of different cultures and languages but also on a personal and social level. Some doubts appear though, when we consider the way the project can help on their interest in learning new languages, it is a very personal matter.

When we consider our involvement in the project, the perception on it varies according to the teacher’s reality, but (in general) we can say it is intense.

About our personal benefits on taking part in the project, we agree it is very interesting for us, on the one hand as a practice on our foreign language skills and cultural knowledge, on the other from a professional point of view, we can learn from the teaching practices in other schools of Europe.

We do not consider any unexpected outcome, but some people missed more contact with the rest of the schools involved in the Elos project.

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ELOS EVALUATION IES botikazar BHI bilbao

THE BASQUE COUNTRY FEBRUARY 2013

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Name of school:

IES BOTIKAZAR BHI

Brief description*: IT IS A SCHOOL PLACED IN THE MIDDLE OF BILBAO THAT RECEIVES STUDENTS FROM VERY DIFFERENT NEIGHBOURHOODS AND THAT OFFERS DIFFERENT LINGUISTIC MODELS. IT OFFERS POST-COMPULSORY SECONDARY EDUCATION (SPECIALITIES IN HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, TECHNOLOGY AND HEALTH SCIENCE) AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING (SOCIAL INTEGRATION AND LANGUAGE OF SIGNES). *Urban

Any special features? Trilingual Baccalaureate

Total number of students:

700

Number of students involved in Elos classes:

90

Number of staff involved in Elos classes:

10

Number of students who contributed to the evaluation:

85

Number of staff who contributed to the evaluation:

5

Start date:

04/10/12

Total number of staff:

End date:

65

21/03/13

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1. ELOS EVALUATION FOR STUDENTS 1.1. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS Evaluation questionnaire for students Explanatory note: This brief questionnaire is part of the External Evaluation of the Elos Quality Review project (bilateral and multilateral exchanges and portfolios).

IMPACT AND IMPROVEMENT Do you think you have learned anything in the following areas as a result of taking part in the Elos project?

A.       B.     

BILATERAL /MULTILATERAL PROJECT Respect deadlines ◊YES ◊NO (WHY?) Autonomy ◊YES ◊NO (WHY?) Team work ◊YES ◊NO (WHY?) Incorporate what you learned in different subjects (e.g. Psychology, History, Economics, English) in a common project ◊YES ◊NO (WHY?) Awareness of other cultures ◊YES ◊NO (WHY?) Accept (even for a short time) different school and family rules and cultural uses ◊YES ◊NO (WHY?) PORTFOLIO Reflect on language learning ◊YES ◊NO (WHY?) Reflect on knowledge about Europe ◊YES ◊NO (WHY?) Awareness of how much Europe is /is not present in your academic life ◊YES ◊NO (WHY?) Could European issues have more presence in some of the subjects? If yes, which subjects?

Suggest some activities regarding Europe that could be organized in your school

UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES Where there any unexpected outcomes (positive and / or negative) related to the following?   

Host families Your final presentation of the project Your team workers

And what (if anything) has been learned from these

Name of school and country:

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1.2. RESULTS First of all, it is necessary to say that our school has a lot of students in the trilingual model who are involved in ELOS project.

They study in different specialities (Human and Social Sciences, Technology and Health Sciences) with several situations:  Different English teachers.  Different subjects studied in English.  Different teachers involved in the previous teaching process.

Therefore, we considered that taking into account all these factors, the evaluation could be more interesting if we differenced the evaluated groups. So, we present the different results in the three trilingual groups of second degree:

2HL (HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES) Last year, in first degree all this group took part in one exchange with a high school of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Some of these students also took part in a multilateral exchange in Hoyanger, Norway.

The questionnaire was answered by 28 students who offered next results: IMPACT AND IMPROVEMENT A. BILATERAL / MULTILATERAL PROJECT. 

RESPECT DEADLINES RESPECT DEADLINES 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 YES

NO

 A lot of the students who consider that thanks to this project they learned to respect deadline relate this aspect to a higher responsibility that they had to assume in order to carry out the corresponding bilateral/multilateral exchange.  A lot of students who consider that they did not learn to respect deadlines with this project argue that they respected this aspect before the exchange.

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

AUTONOMY AUTONOMY 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES

NO

 The arguments for this positive answer are related to next aspects: more freedom, stay in a foreign country, need to interact with foreigners, stay out of the own family with unknown people and the need to take their own decisions. 

TEAM WORK TEAM WORK 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES

NO

 There is no mention of relevant arguments.  INCORPORATE WHAT YOU LEARNED IN DIFFERENT SUBJECTS IN A INCORPORATE WHAT YOU LEARNED IN A COMMON PROJECT 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES

NO

COMMON PROJECT   A lot of students mention next subjects according to the order of importance: English, History and Economics. One student also mentions Computing.



AWARENESS OF OTHER CULTURES

31  Most of the students mention the Danish culture and the Danish families´ style of life.

AWARENESS OF OTHER CULTURES 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES



NO

ACCEPT DIFFERENT SCHOOL AND FAMILY RULES AND CULTURAL USES ACCEPT DIFFERENT RULES AND CULTURAL USES 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES

NO

 In general, they accepted all the different rules without any problem because it is a question of respect. Only some students had problems related to the timetables and the food.

B. PORTFOLIO 

REFLECT ON LANGUAGE LEARNING REFLECT ON LANGUAGE LEARNING 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 YES

NO

 A lot of students with a positive answer relate the portfolio to a better organization and a better process of self-evaluation.  Some students with a negative answer do not give importance to the development of the portfolio.

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

REFLECT ON KNOWLEDGE ABOUT EUROPE REFLECT ON KNOWLEDGE ABOUT EUROPE 25

20

15

10

5

0 YES

NO

 Some students with a negative answer consider that the portfolio is mainly related to English, and therefore, they have no more knowledge about Europe thanks to it. 

REFLECT OF HOW MUCH EUROPE IS/IS NOT PRESENT IN YOUR ACADEMIC LIFE AWARENESS OF HOW MUCH EUROPE 25

20

15

10

5

0 YES

NO

 A lot of students with a positive answer consider that it is because they are in the trilingual model.  Some of the students with a negative answer consider that they do not receive more information about Europe than in other linguistic models (Spanish or Basque). 

COULD EUROPEAN ISSUES HAVE MORE PRESENCE IN SOME OF THE SUBJECTS?

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MORE PRESENCE OF EUROPEAN ISSUES? 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 YES

NO

NOTHING

 The students with a positive answer mention next subjects according to the number of answers: Economics, Geography, English and History. There are two single references to Law and Administration.  Among the activities related to Europe, they mention:  Orientation about European studies.  Receive useful information to go to Europe.  Expositions about other European cultures.  More agreements with other schools in order to develop more common activities.  More communications with other European countries.  More news about Europe.  A new subject related to Europe.  Celebrate the European Day of languages.  Dance European dances.  Watch European films.  More communications after the exchange.  Celebrate festivals with different European clothes, food...

UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES 

HOST FAMILIES

 In general, there are very good commentaries about the host families: nice, full of hospitality and so on. There are only few cases who mention problems in the communication with his/her partner and one case of lack of adaptation of the partner when he/she came to the Basque Country.  In some cases they comment problems related to the accommodation in Denmark. 

YOUR FINAL PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

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 Although a lot of students were very nervous with the final presentation, they consider that the result was much better than they expected. In general, they think that it was a very helpful and useful experience. 

YOUR TEAM WORKERS

 It was a challenge, an opportunity to work with different people. They are very satisfied with their corresponding team workers. 

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

 A lot of students comment that it was a very positive experience (exchange) because of next reasons:       

An opportunity to know themselves in a better way.

An opportunity to know other cultures.

An opportunity to be more mature, to be stronger.

An opportunity to meet interesting people, to make new friends.

An opportunity to be more independent.

An opportunity to improve English and other languages.

An opportunity to reflect about the prejudices.

2HT (TECHNOLOGY) Last year, in first degree all this group took part in one exchange with a high school of Lübeck, Germany.

The questionnaire was answered by 27 students who offered next results: IMPACT AND IMPROVEMENT A. BILATERAL / MULTILATERAL PROJECT. 

RESPECT DEADLINES RESPECT DEADLINES 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 YES

NO

35  A lot of students with a positive answer mention the responsibility, the need of punctuality for a common work and the consequence on the final marks.  A lot of students who consider that they did not learn to respect deadlines with this project argue that they respected this aspect before the exchange. 

AUTONOMY

 A lot of students with a positive answer talk about the autonomy from their own AUTONOMY 25

20

15

10

5

0 YES

NO

families and the independence to afford new situations.  Some students with a negative answer comment that they were independent before the exchange. 

TEAM WORK TEAM WORK 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES

NO

 Some students comment that they have learned to work with unknown people and to trust people in a better way. 

INCORPORATE WHAT YOU LEARNED IN DIFFERENT SUBJECTS IN A COMMON PROJECT INCORPORATE WHAT YOU LEARNED IN A COMMON PROJECT 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 YES

NO

36  Few students mention next subjects according to their importance related to this question: English, History, Ecology and Psychology. 

AWARENESS OF OTHER CULTURES

 In general, they comment the respect and the better knowledge about Germany AWARENESS OF OTHER CULTURES 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES

NO

that they have achieved thanks to the exchange. 

ACCEPT DIFFERENT SCHOOL AND FAMILY RULES AND CULTURAL USES

-

According to a lot of students, the exchange has been very useful in order to live in a bigger diversity, to develop better relationships and to get a better ACCEPT DIFFERENT RULES AND CULTURAL USES 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES

knowledge about Northern Europe.

NO

37 B. PORTFOLIO 

REFLECT ON LANGUAGE LEARNING

 Some students with a positive answer consider that it is a good option to reflect their skills and their level of languages.  Some students with a negative answer consider that the portfolio is not REFLECT ON LANGUAGE LEARNING 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 YES

NO

necessary and not important for them. 

REFLECT ON KNOWLEDGE ABOUT EUROPE REFLECT ON KNOWLEDGE ABOUT EUROPE 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 YES

NO

 Some students with a positive answer consider that the combination of the exchange and the portfolio is a good opportunity to realize about the different European cultures.  Some students with a negative answer consider that they learn more with TV, friends and so on. 

REFLECT OF HOW MUCH EUROPE IS/IS NOT PRESENT IN YOUR ACADEMIC LIFE

38 AWARENESS OF HOW MUCH EUROPE 25

20

15

10

5

0 YES

NO

 Few students with a positive answer consider that in this area it is very useful to have different subjects in English. 

COULD EUROPEAN ISSUES HAVE MORE PRESENCE IN SOME OF THE SUBJECTS? MORE PRESENCE OF EUROPEAN ISSUES 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 YES

NO

NOTHING

 Some students with a positive answer consider that it would be possible in subjects such as History and English, or in a lower proportion in subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, Technology or Drawing. Some of them talk about a new subject, European issues. Finally, one student mentions the need of having a higher relationship among some subjects.  Some students with a negative answer mention the pressure of Selectivity (the necessary exam to be passed before the University).  Among the activities related to Europe, they mention:  Orientation about European studies.  More communications with other European countries.  More news about Europe.  A new subject related to Europe.  Celebrate the International Day of languages.  Celebrate European Day.  Celebrate festivals with different European clothes, food...

39

UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES 

HOST FAMILIES

 In general, there are very good commentaries about the host families: nice, full of hospitality and so on. There are only few cases who mention problems in the communication with his/her partner and in one case, lack of adaptation of the partner when he/she came to the Basque Country. 

YOUR FINAL PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

 In general, they comment that it was very useful, although sometimes they were very nervous. 

YOUR TEAM WORKERS

 A lot of students comment that it was a very good opportunity to work with different people. 

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

 Among the general conclusions it is possible to say:  It was an opportunity to overcome and to adapt to difficult situations.  It was an opportunity to increase their self-confidence.  It was an opportunity to improve their English.  It was an opportunity to know different cultures and to increase their respect towards them.  It was an opportunity to make new friends.  Some of the students feel that “Europe is nearer”.

2HZ (HEALTH SCIENCES) Last year, in first degree all this group took part in one exchange with a high school of Altdorf, Germany.

The questionnaire was answered by 29 students who offered next results: IMPACT AND IMPROVEMENT A. BILATERAL / MULTILATERAL PROJECT. 

RESPECT DEADLINES

40 RESPECT DEADLINES 30

25

20

15

10

5

0 YES

NO

 No commentaries about this aspect. 

AUTONOMY

 No commentaries about this aspect.

AUTONOMY 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES



NO

TEAM WORK TEAM WORK 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES

NO

 No commentaries about this aspect.

41 

INCORPORATE WHAT YOU LEARNED IN DIFFERENT SUBJECTS IN A COMMON PROJECT INCORPORATE WHAT YOU LEARNED IN A COMMON PROJECT 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES

NO

 No commentaries about this aspect. 

AWARENESS OF OTHER CULTURES AWARENESS OF OTHER CULTURES 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES

NO

 No commentaries about this aspect. 

ACCEPT DIFFERENT SCHOOL AND FAMILY RULES AND CULTURAL USES ACCEPT DIFFERENT RULES AND CULTURAL USES 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES

NO

42

 No commentaries about this aspect.

B. PORTFOLIO 

REFLECT ON LANGUAGE LEARNING REFLECT ON LANGUAGE LEARNING 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES

NO

 No commentaries about this aspect. 

REFLECT ON KNOWLEDGE ABOUT EUROPE REFLECT ON KNOWLEDGE ABOUT EUROPE 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES

 No commentaries about this aspect.

NO

43 

REFLECT OF HOW MUCH EUROPE IS/IS NOT PRESENT IN YOUR ACADEMIC LIFE

 No commentaries about this aspect.

AWARENESS OF HOW MUCH EUROPE 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 YES



NO

COULD EUROPEAN ISSUES HAVE MORE PRESENCE IN SOME OF THE SUBJECTS? PRESENCE OF MORE EUROPEAN ISSUES? 10,2 10 9,8 9,6 9,4 9,2 9 8,8 8,6 8,4 YES

NO

NOTHING

 Some students with a negative answer consider that it is not necessary.  A lot of students with a positive answer consider that it could be in subjects such as History, Geography or English.  They make some suggestions to have more presence:  More contact with European students.  One transversal subject about Europe.  Visit the European institutions.  Send letters to European students.  Prepare sports or quiz competitions related to this subject.

UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES 

HOST FAMILIES

 In general they offer very good commentaries about their host families, except few students who say that their host families did not organize any special activity

44 for their free time. 

YOUR FINAL PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

 They talk about the usefulness of this experience. 

YOUR TEAM WORKERS

 In spite of some difficulties, it was a very good experience and opportunity for them. 

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

 The most important conclusions would be:  It was an opportunity to have an experience abroad and to know other cultures.  It was an opportunity to know more about European history, economy or gastronomy.  It was an opportunity to practice languages, mainly English.  It was an opportunity to take global conscience.  It was an opportunity to work in teams.

45

2.1. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS Evaluation questionnaire for teachers IMPACT AND IMPROVEMENT What do you think has been the most important impact of the Elos project in your school?

You could mention the impact on the students (their learning and motivation for example), your own professional development or the impact on the school as a whole.

From the point of view of a teacher do you think the processes of the Quality Review project could be improved? You could comment on: - The self- assessment process - Lesson observation (if applicable in your school) - The school visit (if applicable in your school) - The interviews (face to face or by phone)

From the point of view of a teacher do you think the structure of the Elos programme could be improved? You could comment on: The key Elos documents: - Elos International School Standard - Common Framework of European Competence You could also comment on: - The content of lessons required to attain Elos status - The activities with partner schools - The activities in your own school - The student portfolio or any other aspect of the programme as a whole

UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES Where there any unexpected outcomes (positive and / or negative) related to the following?  Colleagues (at your school / partner schools)  Your students (behavior / performance) And what (if anything) has been learned from these

Name of school and country:

46

2.2. RESULTS We have made questionnaires to five teachers directly involved in the trilingual model.

They take part into ELOS project and they teach in English. They teach English, Economics, Drawing and World Science.

These would be the results: IMPACT AND IMPROVEMENT Related to the impact, they comment: -

Thanks to it, students’ motivation increases in order to learn English and more aspects about Europe.

It has been a very good opportunity to introduce a European perspective in the school.

For the teachers, it has been a good opportunity to establish professional contact with other European teachers.

It has improved the prestige of the school.

Talking about the processes of the Quality Review, there are no relevant commentaries except the need to make more visits or interviews to introduce more improvements.

Related to the structure of the ELOS programme, the most important commentaries are related to next aspects: -

It would be necessary to simplify the documents to be more practical for everybody.

English can sometimes be an obstacle to carry out new activities.

Sometimes, it is quite difficult to find a common point of view with partner schools in order to develop the same type of projects.

It should be interesting to spread this project in other linguistic models.

UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES Among the positive outcomes, they comment: -

Students feel more motivated to learn different subjects.

Big opportunity to work with other European schools.

Students are more conscious about the cultural diversity of Europe.

Teachers have learned a lot how to manage all the diversity they have.

Among the negative outcomes, they comment: - More teachers should be involved in the project to become a real school project.

47 -

More students from other linguistic models should also be involved.

48

ELOS EVALUATION IES ekialdea BHI Vitoria-gasteiz

THE BASQUE COUNTRY FEBRUARY 2013

49

Name of school:

IES EKIALDEA BHI

Brief description*: EKIALDEA BHI is a public secondary school located in Vitoria-Gasteiz, capital city of the Basque Country. The school has nearly 1,000 students, aged 12-18, and over 100 teachers. Most of our students live in the city but we have an increasing number of students from nearby villages.

Regarding languages, all the students learn English (it is compulsory at all levels), and both German and French are taught as optional second foreign languages.

In the last years, the school has been involved in different European projects and international exchanges. Every year students from our school are offered the chance to take part in one of the exchanges we organise with different schools in The Netherlands, Germany and France.

All the different projects and activities carried out at our school are published at the end of every school year in EKIBERRI, our school magazine. It's on display on our website www.ekialdea.hezkuntza.net. *Urban

Any special features?

Total number of students:

947

Number of students involved in Elos classes:

100

Number of staff involved in Elos classes:

8

Number of students who contributed to the evaluation:

50

Number of staff who contributed to the evaluation:

10*

Start date:

04/10/12

End date:

Total number of staff:

105

21/03/13

* The evaluation for teachers was carried out by 10 teachers, those directly involved in Elos activities and some members of the management team.

-

This questionnaire was given to a group of students aged 15-18 who have participated in the different Comenius projects and Elos activities Ekialdea B.H.I. has carried out for the last three years. We know that the reliability of the results is not the same as if we had done the questionnaire at the end of each activity. Results might be considered positive for this reason, as we tend to forget about the bad things and keep only the best memories. We have learnt from this that we should ask students at the end of each project to get more reliable feedback and improve the weak points for the following years.

50 -

If we were to carry out an assessment, students' participation was absolutely necessary. The questionnaire was filled in anonymously to let students feel free to express their feelings.

- The fifty students who answered the questionnaire were 15-18 year old girls and boys currently studying the last year of Compulsory Secondary Education and first and second year of Upper Secondary Education.

They have worked and exchanged with students from Arnhem (The Netherlands), Belin, Carquefou (France), Tallinn (Estonia), Eskisehir (Turkey) and Rome.

51 Summary of Students answers A. BILATERAL OR MULTILATERAL PROJECT According to the questionnaire, most students value their experience in a positive way.

They feel they have learnt about the importance of respecting deadlines, especially when working in groups, and they feel more autonomous after taking part in the project. Most students have stated they are more aware of other cultures different from their own's and only one student had problems with the new rules in the host family and at the school.

52

B. PORTFOLIO As a result of taking part in the ELOS project most students think that the project has contributed to their learning of the foreign language. Three out four students think that they know now more about Europe. They are more aware of the European Union, their different cultures and problems.

But on the other hand, more than forty per cent of the students think that the presence of Europe in their school life is not enough. If they want to know more about Europe school should help.

53 C. OUTCOMES All the students think that their language skills have improved to some extent and half of them think that they have improved quite a lot. There are seven students who think they are not more confident when speaking in English than they were before the project. What may be put down to shyness or lack of feedback with the host family. Most students think that their social and ICT skills have improved at least to some extent as a result of the contact with another European school. Most students consider that their participation in the project has had an impact on their motivation for school work and they are more aware of the importance of learning other foreign languages.

54

55

Summary of Teachers answers

56

This questionnaire was given to ten teachers. Some of them from the different languages departments we have at Ekialdea (English, German, French and Basque languages) , as these teachers are more actively involved in the Elos project -they usually take part in Comenius projects, school exchanges or any other Elos activities. The feedback we can get from these teachers is very relevant to assess the work done so far and it offers us a good opportunity to improve the weak points for further bilateral or multilateral projects.

We thought it could also be interesting to ask some members of the management team as they may offer a different insight about the project. The Headmistress and the Head of Studies have a close relation with parents, students, all the staff in the school and with other schools. They may not be so directly involved in the project but their contribution in supporting the project is really helpful.

IMPACT AND IMPROVEMENT What do you think has been the most important impact of the Elos project in your school?

According to the questionnaire, this project has been really helpful for both students and teachers. Students have the opportunity of living, even if it is for a short period of time, in another European country with a different language, culture, gastronomy, education, rules, etc., they communicate in a foreign language in real situations and they become more aware of the importance of learning languages. Students participation in projects makes them more autonomous and tolerant.

All the teachers think that students are more motivated to learn a foreign language once they have taken part in a project.

The school as a whole benefits from the Elos project. Students and parents are aware of our experience in international projects and this is sometimes a key fact when it comes to choose a secondary school for their sons and daughters.

57

58

59 From the point of view of a teacher do you think you think the structure of the ELOS programme could be improved?

Most teachers consider that the programme should reach all the school community. They think that more resources from the institutions, more teachers involved, (at least one teacher from each department) and more time to devote to the project are essential to reach the aim of integrating and developing the European and international dimension in the curricula. If more teachers were involved in the project, European issues would be more present in our school life.

60

61

ELOS EVALUATION IES urola ikastola azkoitia-azpeitia BHI Azkoitia-azpeitia

THE BASQUE COUNTRY FEBRUARY 2013

62 Name of school:

IES UROLA IKASTOLA BHI

Brief description*: General secondary school. Located in a basically industrial area. Our school has always paid special attention to pedagogical innovation. For the last few years we have hosted Conversation Assistants from the USA who help us in a Speaking Workshop. We are also involved in Innovation Projects targeting at the content based learning-teaching of languages and the reinforcement of speaking skills.

*Urban/suburban/rural?

Any special features?

Total number of students:

401

Number of students involved in Elos classes:

46

Number of staff involved in Elos classes:

10

Number of students who contributed to the evaluation:

41

Number of staff who contributed to the evaluation:

8

Start date:

04/10/13

Total number of staff:

End date:

75

21/03/13

ELOS EVALUATION BY THE STUDENTS OF I.E.S. UROLA IKASTOLA AZKOITIA-AZPEITIA B.H.I. THE BASQUE COUNTRY 25th FEBRUARY 2013

This survey was conducted with forty-one students of IES Urola Ikastola Azkoitia-Azpeitia BHI who have participated in different Comenius projects and Elos activities. The survey took about thirty minutes and was done through the school’s Moodle application. The main goal of this survey is to gain a better insight of the students’ participation and their assessment of the Elos and European activities carried out in our school for the last three school years.

The forty-one students who answered the questions of this survey were 1617 year- old girls and boys currently studying the first and second year of High School prior to go on to university or upper vocational training. They have worked and exchanged with students from Newport (Essex, UK), Lyon (F) and Landgraaf (NL).

63 Some of the students in the first year are also involved in a new project and a similar survey will be passed to them and their new project partners. The Elos portfolio mentioned in the questionnaire is also being currently completed by younger students aged 13-14 in the second year of Compulsory Secondary Education (DBH).

The Elos committee members at school hope this survey, and similar ones conducted in the future, will be a valuable feedback to improve our approach to the Elos main goal of helping our students to gain the communicative, social and cultural skills as well as the required knowledge and attitude described in the Elos Common Framework for Europe Competence (CFEC) to learn, work and live as European citizens with a sound opinion and critical approach to the European Union.

64 A. BILATERAL OR MULTILATERAL EUROPEAN PROJECTS

65

66

67

68 SUMMARY OF SECTION A “BILATERAL OR MULTILATERAL EUROPEAN PROJECTS” Although project deadlines have been respected and group work is mostly regarded successful -and so is assessed by a majority of students- there is a significant number of participants (around 15%) who do not seem to be so happy about their collaboration with their European partners. This can be put down to communication problems and different school habits and cultural background. However, that is precisely one of the goals of the Elos project, i.e. to gain European competence and practical skills from failure or success so as to learn and work in different European contexts. Some other aspects to develop, such as tolerance, autonomy or confidence to address an audience, also have a significant percentage (about 20%) of “not much”. This can be due to the fact that some already felt quite confident or autonomous beforehand. As for specifically talking to a foreign audience, being a stressful situation not so easy to overcome, there is about a 25 % who affirm not have learnt to be much more confident.

Those who think that have been unable to incorporate what they learnt into curriculum school subjects surpass those who affirm they did.

Nonetheless 100% of the surveyed students think that developing European competences and knowledge at school is very or quite important.

Finally a significant number affirms they did not learn much about the diversity of Europe although they admit becoming more tolerant to other lifestyles and other school and family rule after their experience abroad.

69

B. ELOS PORTFOLIO

70

71 6.B- If “a lot” or “quite a lot”, in which subjects? Suggest some activities regarding Europe that could be organized in your school.

Most students suggest that present day problems should be discussed in History, Geography, Science, Economics, Languages etc. History is more often mentioned than any other school subjects. Languages and ICT skills are second and third to History. However, there are a few students who hold that European topics should be present up to some extent in every school subject.

Students also affirm that European Projects should continue mainly through exchanges and mobilities but also by using ICT tools to do regular European activities with students from other European schools. Language subjects are mentioned several times as suitable classes to hold ICT contacts with European partners.

Some students also propose bringing in visiting speakers to talk about current European issues. Some special dates such as a European Day, or alike, are mentioned by a few students for occasions in which European issues should be more closely dealt with and, therefore, invite people to contribute with their expertise. Anyway, how the European competences should be integrated and assessed (“marked”) in their curriculum is still something that somehow escapes their grasp.

7.B- If “not much” or “nothing” why not?

Those very few, 4 students out of 41, who think that European subjects should “not much” be present in the curricula of school subjects mainly adduce that “firstly we should concentrate in our local issues”. There are three other students who think it would be difficult to organize.

SUMMARY OF SECTION B “Elos PORTFOLIO” A majority of students think that an Elos Portfolio may be very useful to show their participation and competence achievement in European projects and activities according to the Common Framework for European Competences. There is almost an equal score between those who think Europe is “present enough” and “not enough” in their academic life, although a majority agree it should definitely be.

72 C. UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES

73

74

75

8.C- What is your dearest memory of the project(s) in which you participated?

When asked about what they enjoyed best in the projects they participated in, students overwhelmingly refer to their travelling and sightseeing new places. Alongside, or close second to knowing new places abroad, meeting new people and having a nice time with their partners and their families, who in several cases they describe as “lovely�, is rated as a very dear memory.

9.C- What is your worst memory of the project(s) in which you participated?

76 Out of forty-one students ten of them affirm “I don't have any bad memories”. Six students complain they did not get on well with their partners, either abroad or when acting as hosts. Some of them also mention they had a hard time when they first arrived at their families abroad, but they put it down to their own shyness or even a shortage in social skills.

Only two students say they had a bad time when addressing in a foreign language to an audience abroad. This is a very small percentage taking into account the situation might have certainly been stressing. They seem happy though for having overcome their fears. It should be pointed out that in question 10 A there were ten students who said they did not learn to feel more confident to address a foreign audience.

Four students also complain of food or mention different mealtimes and family rules. This might basically be regarded as a learning aspect of their training in social competences and the knowledge and acceptance of cultural diversity. However, quite a significant number of students said they did not learn much about cultural diversity in question 5A. Some apparent contradictions can be spotted and should require further clarification.

10.C- Would you recommend others to take part in the European projects? Why YES or why NOT? Nobody said “no”. All the contributions are very positive. We could summarize the reiterated reasons why they would recommend European projects in the following representative statements:  “Yes. It is a very good way to make new friends and know about a European school and how they live in their families.”  “Yes, because you learn new things and I think it's important to learn to socialize and the use of new languages.”  “Yes, I would because it is a wonderful experience in which you can learn more about yourself and Europe.”  “Yes. Because you learn to do things by yourself and also to work and live with foreign partners.”  “Of course, I would, since it is a good experience and a great opportunity to improve your English. But I would prepare longer projects.”

77

ELOS PARENTS: further views ELOS schools should never forget the relevant role of parents in our commitment to Europe oriented activities.

We certainly haven’t asked our parents to fill in a questionnaire or write down a couple of ideas about their own Elos experience but all through these years we have kept a close contact with them, particularly for exchanges and school visits in our Comenius projects.

Informal evaluation can also be a useful tool to measure the impact of our work on all members of our school community and parents definitely make decisions as to whether support or not different kinds of Elos steps.

First of all, we should mention we have enjoyed warm thanks from most parents, who really appreciate our efforts to include projects and exchanges in our regular curriculum. Some of them even mention the fact that the Europe oriented approach of our schools had influenced their choosing our school for their sons and daughters, searching for a good choice to take part in an exchange or learn foreign languages (French or German) as optional subjects.

They all value highly getting to know other cultures and systems of education and consider fluency in English as a main goal for their children.

French and German are also seen as new chances for better qualifications and the key to know other countries with potential interest for their children´s future careers.

78 A fairly common comment deals with the gap in learning languages in most parents’ professional abilities, unlike their foreign counterparts, used to speaking foreign languages and always ready to learn new words in Basque. They most envy the chance to be able to make yourself understood and share so many ideas about life and social matters. Most parents enjoy having a guest student from another country and do their best to communicate with them and make their stay comfortable and interesting. Some parents complain that their lack of languages was a problem for them and made them feel uneasy and embarrassed. Some other parents point out that their guests had turned out to be much kinder and better behaved than their own children and regret having spoilt their children so much. The exchange, though, was a profitable experience with so much to learn for the whole family. Eventually a few English and French speaking parents could also make friends with their partner parents and in some cases the relation still goes on with trips to their partners’ countries.

One of our students decided to spend three months on his own in Berlin and could attend classes in our partner school there. Parents welcomed his decision and it proved to be a great experience. Another student attended the wedding of her Comenius Polish partner and they meet once a year in London.

In general parents state that they see their children have grown more mature and autonomous and more motivated to travel and even think of further studies in another country. They have lost their fear to make mistakes in English or other languages and their world has become wider and more tolerant to different kinds of culture, food, beliefs, etc.

But we have occasionally had negative comments from some parents disappointed with the “side-effects” of an Elos exchange or project trip. In general parents of high achieving students enjoyed the activities thoroughly but some weaker students got sometimes too motivated by the social part and excitement of making new friends and forgot to make all efforts to study for final exams. Sometimes the dates to host foreign partners were not on our side and we have tried to agree on the best days to travel or host other students not to have problems with our own academic schedule .

We have even had a few “drop outs” going back to lessons when their

79 partners were around to try to cope with the academic demands and pass all their exams at the end of the year. This fact has to do with some parents’ attitude: they consider an exchange or a study trip abroad as a prize or punishment for their children’s academic score and don’t really value the intrinsically positive side of taking part in such a project. We have tried to educate parents with this short sighted view and make them part of the enthusiastic Elos school stream.

Parents have always taken part in the project enthutiastically. For example, they have organized visits, offered to give us a ride to save money on buses and cooked dinners . This means that all negative aspects faded when we needed them and got a positive answer from them.

Last but not least, parents who enjoyed official money support from the Basque Government for exchanges think it a must to promote this kind of activities for families with poor incomes and the will to take part in the rewarding Elos open world.

80

Evaluation Report (project partners) Basque national coordinator Explanatory note: This evaluation report is part of the External Evaluation of the Elos Quality Review project. As you know I have been appointed as the External Evaluator by the project to provide impartial advice and guidance as the project proceeds plus some more formal reports. Evaluation of the Elos project is an on-going process that can suggest changes and modifications to the original plan and so make for a better project in the end. I am asking you to contribute to the evaluation process by compiling a short report based on your work with pilot schools. This will be use evaluative data you obtain from your pilot schools plus your own impressions. There is a short quantitative section but the emphasis for this report is on the qualitative material - not so much ‘what took place’ but ‘how it went’ and how both the processes and the content of the Elos programme could be improved.

Thank you very much for your contribution

81 Quantitative data - please complete a new table for each school Name of school:

See table for each school. Pages: 3, 18, 27, 49, 62

Brief description*: *Urban/suburban/rural? Any special features?

Total number of students:

Total number of staff:

Number of students involved in Elos classes:

Number of staff involved in Elos classes:

Number of students who contributed to the evaluation:

Number of staff who contributed to the evaluation:

Start date:

End date:

Qualitative data This is in 3 sections: 1 Data obtained from students 2 Data obtained from staff (and others, for example the head) 3 Your own evaluative material Collecting information: For the first two sections please use the forms supplied as a means of collecting information. It is up to you to decide how many students and staff to survey across your pilot group, how you record the results and what language you use on these forms.

Completing this report form: It is perfectly acceptable to group together similar comments and views with a number in brackets to indicate the frequency of this reply. There is no need to complete a separate record for each school for the qualitative data but each school involved should contribute to both the staff and student survey. The report form should be completed in English.

1

Summary of student responses from all of the pilot schools

IMPACT AND IMPROVEMENT What have students learned as a result of taking part in the Elos project?

See each school’s report How did students think the project could be improved?

Their comments might be on the content of lessons, the activities with partner schools, the student portfolio or any other aspect of the project.

82

See each school’s report

UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES What unexpected outcomes (positive and / or negative) were mentioned by students?

See each school’s report What (if anything) has been learned from these unexpected outcomes?

See each school’s report

2

Summary of teacher responses from all of the pilot schools

IMPACT AND IMPROVEMENT What did teachers think was the most important impact of the Elos project in their schools?

Teachers might have mentioned the impact on the students (their learning and motivation for example), their own professional development or the impact on the school as a whole.

See each school’s report How did teachers think that the processes of the Quality Review project could be improved? Teachers might have commented on: - The self- assessment process - Lesson observation (if applicable in their school) - The school visit (if applicable in their school) - The interviews (face to face or by phone)

How did teachers think the structure of the Elos programme could be improved? Teachers might have commented on the key Elos documents: - Elos International School Standard - Common Framework of European Competence Teachers might also have commented on: - The content of lessons required to attain Elos status - The activities with partner schools - The activities in their own school

83 - The student portfolio or any other aspect of the programme as a whole

UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES Did teachers mention any unexpected outcomes (positive and / or negative)?

See each school’s report What (if anything) has been learned from these unexpected outcomes?

See each school’s report 3

Evaluation report from the project partner

IMPACT AND IMPROVEMENT As a result of your experiences with your pilot schools do you think the processes of the Quality Review project could be improved?

Here there are some aspects:  Extending the evaluation to more teachers in each school when possible  A better level of English in non English teachers  Bigger stability of teachers in each school  Adequate changes in the official curriculum amplifying the presence of European dimension contents.

As a result of your experiences with your pilot schools do you think the Elos programme itself could be improved?

Here there are some aspects:  Elos portfolio should be simplified  Elos web page should be, as it was thought for, an active and effective communication platform with updated materials for Elos European schools.

UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES Were there any unexpected outcomes (positive and / or negative) from your work with the pilot schools?

Some reflections coming from an informal evaluation to parents:  Being an Elos school is a reason to choose that out of other school options  European exchanges are a profitable experience with so much to learn for the whole family  They see their children have grown more mature, autonomous and more motivated to travel and even think of further studies in another country. They have lost their fear to make mistakes in English or other languages and their world has become wider and more tolerant to different kinds of culture, food, beliefs, etc  Parents who enjoyed official money support from the Basque Government for exchanges think it is a must to promote this kind of activities for families with poor incomes and the will to take part

84 in the rewarding Elos open world.

And what (if anything) has been learned from these: Elos is a multi-dimensional concept in a multi-dimensional social context to prepare our students to deal constructively with a future in which the importance of the European and international dimension is growing and becoming more evident

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS Please add any further evaluative comments: Our schools and I, as National coordinator are learning a lot from this process.

NEXT STEPS The material you have provided will be incorporated into the evaluation reports required by the Project Co-ordinator. This will be achieved without reference to individual schools or to particular project partners. Thank you very much for your help.

Ray Kirtley – External Evaluator September 2012 (R.Kirtley@hull.ac.uk)

ELOS BASQUE COUNTRY MARCH 2013