Developing models based on the “life skills” for preventing and fighting early school leaving: stakeholders forum in Perugia

The “stakeholders forum” of the  SCHOOL STILL PLAYS  project will take place in Perugia (Italy) on 07 April 2017 hosted by Provincia di Perugia – P.zza Italia, Sala Pagliacci II Piano . The project is an initiative funded by the European Commission under Lifelearning Programme  and it aims to develop specific experimental actions in order to overcome this problem through the realization of research, training, evaluation and school activities focused on life skills.

Starting from the outcomes reached by the project, the meeting aims to share and evaluate the best practices and to open a discussion on new models based on emotional competences and life skills  to be included in the educational policies to fight ESL and school dropout.

The project partnership has experimented a  territorial actions to encourage and thinning the dynamics of contact between the school system and youth population (11/18 years old) in order to reduce the phenomenon of school dropouts.
The aim is thus to consolidate the role played by all the educational actors and stakeholder by:

contributing to the redefinition of school curricula with specific reference to life skills by testing of non-formal education methodologies;

experimenting new didactic approach and guidance services at all educational levels, based on emotional competences and life skills;

experimenting training paths addressed to school teachers;

experimenting mentoring and counselling services through the strengthening of local partnership networks in education and training;

developing models for preventing and fighting early school leaving to be replicated and exploited, focusing on inclusion;

establishing a network of “process facilitators,” to be made available to the institutions for consultation, proposal, design, monitoring and evaluation of curricula and training programs in relation to stakeholders’ needs and wishes (young people, teachers, employers, local authorities, universities , etc.);

transferring methodologies and effective tools for realising policy recommendations to fight ESL and school dropout

The “life skills” is considered the innovative element in the world of education, they represent “the emotional dimension of the curriculum“. Recognising them means establishing a model for the update, the qualification and the permanent training of educators; to develop a shared dialogue among the institutions and the labor market in order to ensure the continual adaptation of curricula to the work processes for maintaining and developing the employability levels.