Address: Varketili 3, District 1, Sukhishvili Str.

Country: Georgia

Facebook page of the LEPL Tbilisi Public School N105, Georgia

Project: Developing democracy competences at school

Working language during the project:

Georgian and English
 

Themes of the Council of Europe campaign “FREE to SPEAK, SAFE to LEARN - Democratic Schools for All” covered:

Making children’s and students’ voices heard
Preventing violence and bullying
Improving well-being at school

Competences from the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (CDC) addressed and where / how they were integrated:

Empathy
Conflict-resolution skills
Knowledge and critical understanding of the self
Valuing human dignity and human rights
Respect
Responsibility;
  Autonomous learning skills
Valuing democracy, justice, fairness, equality and the rule of the law;
Valuing cultural diversity;
Co-operation skills;
Knowledge and critical understanding of the world: politics, law, human rights, culture, cultures, religions, history, media, economies, environment, sustainability
 

Target group age range:

5 - 11 and 11 - 15
 

Level of education:

Primary

Lower secondary education

Short description of the project:

The project developing democracy competences at school was a 2-week project held in October 2019. During the project teachers planned and implemented the formal education activities on the following topics: Human Rights, equality, conflict and bullying and democracy – achievements and challenges, a healthy way of living, protection of the environment. The teachers also planned and implemented the activities which developed the strategies for teaching the students effective communication in conflict situations, critical and analytical thinking skills and computer literacy skills. Project activities aimed to raise student awareness of the following issues: respect, empathy, responsibility, cultural diversity, civic mindedness and tolerance. Finally, the project served to foster a democratic culture at school.

Approximately 25 teachers from the primary school and lower secondary school and 400 students participated in it. Teachers planned the activities in groups, discussed the challenges that could arise and worked on the recommendations for successfully implementing the project. Teachers were on the lookout for best practices and shared their experiences with their colleagues. The project was beneficial not only for students, but also for teachers and for the school, as it served to build a positive school culture and democracy at school.

The first activity was implemented in the primary school students (class 4).
Topic: Bullying
Objectives: to understand the meaning of bullying; find out positive ways of conflict resolution; raise awareness of students about the importance of the tolerance at school.
Steps: video watching, role play, discussion, making comics, creating brochures including recommendations on bullying prevention and delivering among peers.

The second activity was implemented in the primary school students (class 3).
Topic: Healthy ways of life
Objectives: to understand the meaning of a healthy way of life; understand the difference between healthy food and junk food; raise students’ awareness of the importance of a healthy way of life; draw up guidelines for the family on healthy living.
Steps: video watching, discussion, presentations, producing brochures with guidelines on healthy ways of living and disseminating these among peers and family members.

The third activity was implemented in the lower secondary school students (class 7).
Topic: Human rights / Children’s rights
Objectives: to understand the meaning of human rights and children’s rights; raise students’ awareness of the importance of human rights protection; make recommendations on human rights protection; develop cooperation and communication skills.
Steps: story reading, debates, group role play, group presentations presented and reflected on in class, creating dioramas and making exhibitions at school.

Aims/objectives

• To create a positive environment at school;
• To raise the motivation of teachers and students;
• To build a student-centred environment;
• To develop democratic competences at school.
   

Expected results/outcomes

As the result of this project, about 400 students from the primary and lower secondary schools:

• Developed critical and analytical skills;
• Developed observation and empathy skills;
• Developed flexibility and adaptability skills;
• Developed communication and conflict resolution skills;
• Were made aware of cultural diversity and human rights;
• Became more tolerant and responsible;
• Gained knowledge of other related issues.

Changes

The only changes dealt with were the dates of certain activities.

Challenges you faced
 

Some teachers lacked the competences at the very first stage of the project, but we overcame this difficulty through cooperation and providing targeted support.
 

Time-frame of the project:

  01.10.2019 – 15.01.2019
 

Council of Europe materials on citizenship and human rights education used while preparing or implementing your practice:

Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture

Living Democracy - manuals for teachers

Human Rights and Democracy Start with Us – Charter for All