Brussels, 11/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - A new study published on 11 December by the European Commission reveals the impact of school partnerships on the personal and school development of pupils and teachers. Partnerships between schools in different countries, financed by the Comenius exchange programme, have a very strong impact on secondary pupils in particular, such as a significant improvement in their skills, including cultural and social skills, IT and foreign languages. “School partnerships enable young people to acquire the basic life skills and competences necessary for personal development, future employment and active citizenship. Comenius also helps pupils and staff to get to know different European cultures and languages. These partnerships will continue to receive support under our new Erasmus for All programme in 2014-2020”, said Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education and Training.
According to the study, the positive impact of school partnerships was strongest on pupils who visited partner schools. Seven out of ten schools said that the partnerships had a strong to very strong impact on pupils' cultural awareness and expression as well as social and civic competences. This was followed by computer skills (54%) and communication in foreign languages (52%). The study also found that the scheme benefits teachers.
Exchanges with a school in another country allowed teachers to improve their knowledge of other educational systems and their social skills, and also to develop their linguistic skills. In two schools out of three, the partnership is said to have improved the school's image and 80% said it strengthened their European dimension. Teaming up with schools abroad also helped develop closer ties both within the school and with local authorities.
Comenius partnerships have a comparatively greater impact on teachers and on schools and their environments in pre-primary and primary schools because it is easier to mobilise and involve an entire school and to integrate new ideas and activities into curricula at this level. In contrast, the impact on pupil skills is stronger at secondary level. In many schools in remote parts of the European Union, partnerships financed from EU funds are the only opportunity for pupils and teachers to get involved in a project abroad, and 85% of schools covered by the study said they intended to apply for funding for future partnerships.
The study covered 50 schools in some 15 European countries (Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom), which received subsidies granted by the Comenius programme for setting up partnerships between autumn 2009 and 2011. (IL/transl.jl)