Schools without homophobia
How to become an effective change maker in your school and more successful in mobilizing your team in combating homophobia
Date and location
15-18 April 2015 (indicative), Rome, Italy
For who?
This course is intended for all teachers, school managers and activists who want to act as change maker in order to mobilize the school of their own or schools in the region.
What is it about?
This course prepares you to inspire and support a school to take responsibility for a real social inclusive teaching and learning environment. In this course we focus on the case of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender school safety, but the principles and methods of this course are applicable to any form of social inclusion. We will learn from the insight that homophobia and transphobia cannot be eliminated if the school is not a safe school at all, but also that already quite safe schools are not necessarily safe for LGBT students too. We operate from the perspective that making a school more safe is (1) a unique path for each school and (2) that real change implies a school policy mix which includes planning, anti-bullying strategies, updating education content, raising competences of teachers as well as adequate student care and participation. In this course, the change maker plans his or her strategy for mobilization. She or he creates a high impact mix of methods for the school and carefully implements a strategy to gradually enlarge the support of the management, the staff and the students.
What is the program?
This is a 4-day program. You will learn the scientific facts about what constitutes a "safe and inclusive" school, the theories about organizational change and explore how to implement a structural change at a school. You will analyze the situation of your own school or - if you are an activist or advisor - you will coach an internal change maker to do this. You will close the course with a personal and organizational action plan. We will give attention to how to deal with resistance and failures as these will happen inevitably. But we will also help you to celebrate your successes, which will empower you and others tremendously.
What will you learn?
You will learn the scientific facts about what constitutes a "safe and inclusive" school, the theories about organizational change and you will explore how to implement a structural change in a school. You will be trained in how to engage in dialogue with teachers and school managers and stimulate them to take a next step. You will learn to reflect on your own successes and failures and how not to get de-motivated by failures.
How does this link into the Erasmus+ priorities?
- This course will support learners to acquire expertise regarding organizational change of schools to improve those with respect to equity and inclusion.
- This course will support the professional development of educators and activists to improve the teaching environment they are involved in, by a holistic change approach, which is tailored to the specific characteristics of a school organization and to sexual diversity.
- This course will enhance the participants competence of English by learning and discussing theory, strategies and interventions with others.
- This course will raise the participants awareness and understanding of the unique context and characteristics of schools in other countries and cultures, by which they will learn what is specific for their own situation and what will contribute to an transnational understanding of positive social change in education systems, by which they develop a sense of European citizenship and identity.
- This course will reinforce the participants awareness of the synergy between the different elements of a school system and how they can intervene on them to make them work better for the sake of a learning environment which is friendly to equity and inclusion.
How will it build your organization's capacity?
As the course will be focused on how school organizations can be empowered for ongoing positive change, your organization will increase its capacity to continue change in its culture and system to be a social inclusive learning environment. For such a process your organization will being well informed by the participants who will get the tools to empower your organization into such a direction. Your organization will also increase its capacity to inform and consult other learning organizations in how to strategically being transformed into more inclusive learning environments.
What to do now?
- Send us a note of interest so we can support you and your management in making an application
- Make sure your management submits an application on behalf of the organization (deadline 17 March).
- Register formally by filling in the GALE Erasmus+ course registration form, signing and scanning it and sending/mailing it to us.