This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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Understanding Early School Leaving
An overview of the current situation of early school leaving in Europe
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Methodological and Pedagogical Aspects
A definition of what experiential education is
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Theatre as Experiential Learning Tool
The role of theatre as a site for learning in a community context
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Practical Examples of Theatrical Laboratories
15 proposals of theatrical laboratories
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Contractual Partners
From this section it is possible to access to a description of each contractual partner of OFF-Book Project. There are 8 partners from 3 different European countries.
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Schools
From this section it is possible to access to the information about the schools involved in the OFF-Book Project in the 3 European countries participating in the project. The school teachers and students contribute to the testing of all the intellectual outputs.
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Associated Partners
As a result of the exploitation activity a number of associated partners officially joined the project in order to contribute to the improvement of the project impact on their target groups and to ensure the project sustainability by continuing using the project deliverables in the next years.
Information & Events
Latest News
The students have to deal with maltreatment, possible neglect, bullying and discrimination issues in the...Events
The OFF-Book project has been promoted trough conferences and articles.
Conferences
The OFF-Book project was presented in a number of events in order to report about the activities carried out and the results achieved
Press Review
The OFF-Book project partnership made contacts with web sites focusing on the fields of educationThis section of the OFF-Book portal provides administrative information for the project contractual partners and for the European Commission and it is password protected.
Teachers’ Guidelines
Homepage > Teachers’ Guidelines > Theatre as Experiential Learning Tool
The role of theatre as a site for learning in a community context and how it can provide informal learning opportunities for young people experiencing social difficulty
Theatre as Experiential Learning Tool:
Step by Step Process to Implement Theatrical Laboratories in Classroom
2. Examples of Existing Projects in the Past and Selection of the Best Practices
Good examples of existing projects come from Europe. In Denmark, the Minister for Culture has set up the Network for Children and Culture. The purpose is to coordinate activities in the area of children, culture and the arts, and act as an advisory board to the Ministry of Culture. The network brings together representatives from four of the ministry's institutions and three ministries: the Danish Agency for Libraries and Media, the National Cultural Heritage Agency, The Arts Council, the Danish Film Institute, The Ministry of Culture, The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Welfare. The agency provides advice to the Danish minister of culture and is involved in setting and achieving the government’s cultural policy goals. Another task involves allocating funds for individuals, organizations and institutions as well as collecting, processing and disseminating information and findings to promote cultural development.
The agency is always looking for professional and innovative approaches to optimize the use of resources in achieving the goals under the government’s cultural policy and it ensures that all government grants for children, culture and the arts are spent in the most effective and efficient way. The network also has its own website offering a publication service and featuring examples of arts and cultural activities currently undertaken with children in daycare centers, schools and cultural institutions and designed to encourage others to emulate the agency’s practice.
In Malta, an organization called Heritage Malta has set up an Education Unit. The Education Programs Department within Heritage Malta strives to create such a learning environment by means of various programs, thematic events and other activities to support the education of Maltese and foreign students, as well as visitors of all ages. The Department is constantly striving to create innovative means of informal education conscientious of the current policies of Outdoor Learning and Lifelong Learning. The main responsibilities include: the provision of specialized educational heritage-related resources; the consolidation and creation of partnerships with local educational institutions and assisting with cultural education activities.
In Europe we can also find those small organizations which remain and bring Tie idea ‘alive’ to nowadays. There are companies which still acknowledge the need for an authentic teaching approach. For example, in United Kingdom we have Big Brum founded in 1982. This Company continues to develop praxis within schools though under constant pressure from funders and perceived educational priorities. On the other hand there is Leeds TIE. It was founded in 1993. The Company currently consists of three full time staff, which create and deliver programmes and a part-time Administrator. They devise their own projects and pieces and frequently work in collaboration with other theatre companies, drama therapists and a range of specialists working with people living in challenging circumstances – providing a high impact intervention to support organizations tackling social exclusion. Programmes are delivered in the participants’ own place or in professional space. Leeds TIE work with homeless people, parents‘ groups, women‘s groups, bail and probation hostel residents, refugees, excluded pupils, pupils/ young people at risk, mainstream school pupils, professionals as part of CPD programmes and anyone who would benefit from their services. But mushrooms organization problem is still unsolved. We still don’t have scientific proves that the program is good and effective. But we can be like R. Wooster and believe that in the future there will be a strong and successful programme which will give us tools to teach children how to think critically, analyse, question everything, see negative things in positive ways by understanding the results of their decisions and know that they are not powerless. Let’s be optimistic and believe that those children will have colourful imagination, creativity and bravery to act and participate. And there will be a chance if we do the same thing.
In Norway, the national Norwegian center for the arts and culture in education, established in 2007 and located in Bodø University College. The center is professionally positioned under the auspices of The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training and administratively hosted by the University of Nordland. The center reports directly to The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training which has been given the responsibility for the national centers by The Ministry of Education and Research.
The aim is to facilitate higher quality in art and culture subjects in kindergartens, primary and secondary education. The activity as a national center is aimed at achieving more involvement and greater interest in education, in art and culture subjects. The activity of the center is meant to offer kindergarten and school leaders, teachers, and pre-school teachers support and competence in order to strengthen their work on art and culture subjects in education. Furthermore the center is to co-operate with relevant environments in these subjects at national and international levels.
A good example of this network effect is the project against bullying.
In Norway, there is an Education Law which aims at providing pupils with a positive school environment. According to this law, children and young people have the right to grow up and learn in a secure environment, which is free from bullying. Schools therefore have a duty to take action whenever bullying occurs. This is the reason why the project Zero was born. Zero is an anti-bullying program which schools can use to prevent and reduce bullying. The Centre for Behavioral Research at the University of Stavanger has developed the program supported by the National center of Art and Education. Zero tolerance of bullying is one of the main principles of the program, and it is the schools employees who possess the responsibility to execute this zero-tolerance principle in an authoritative, but not authoritarian way. Zero gives school employees the knowledge and skills they need in order to:
In Zero, pupils participate actively in the school’s work to create a bullying-free environment. Pupil representatives from each year group have a special responsibility and parents are also actively involved. The initial implementation of the Zero program lasts for one year. During this period, the school receives support from one or two advisors. In addition to the teachers’ book, Zero provides an Ideas Book for student councils, an action plan and films.
Experience shows that a clearly focused, systematic program, aimed at individuals and systems within schools, is effective in preventing bullying. A long-term commitment gives the best and most lasting results.
The agency is always looking for professional and innovative approaches to optimize the use of resources in achieving the goals under the government’s cultural policy and it ensures that all government grants for children, culture and the arts are spent in the most effective and efficient way. The network also has its own website offering a publication service and featuring examples of arts and cultural activities currently undertaken with children in daycare centers, schools and cultural institutions and designed to encourage others to emulate the agency’s practice.
In Malta, an organization called Heritage Malta has set up an Education Unit. The Education Programs Department within Heritage Malta strives to create such a learning environment by means of various programs, thematic events and other activities to support the education of Maltese and foreign students, as well as visitors of all ages. The Department is constantly striving to create innovative means of informal education conscientious of the current policies of Outdoor Learning and Lifelong Learning. The main responsibilities include: the provision of specialized educational heritage-related resources; the consolidation and creation of partnerships with local educational institutions and assisting with cultural education activities.
In Europe we can also find those small organizations which remain and bring Tie idea ‘alive’ to nowadays. There are companies which still acknowledge the need for an authentic teaching approach. For example, in United Kingdom we have Big Brum founded in 1982. This Company continues to develop praxis within schools though under constant pressure from funders and perceived educational priorities. On the other hand there is Leeds TIE. It was founded in 1993. The Company currently consists of three full time staff, which create and deliver programmes and a part-time Administrator. They devise their own projects and pieces and frequently work in collaboration with other theatre companies, drama therapists and a range of specialists working with people living in challenging circumstances – providing a high impact intervention to support organizations tackling social exclusion. Programmes are delivered in the participants’ own place or in professional space. Leeds TIE work with homeless people, parents‘ groups, women‘s groups, bail and probation hostel residents, refugees, excluded pupils, pupils/ young people at risk, mainstream school pupils, professionals as part of CPD programmes and anyone who would benefit from their services. But mushrooms organization problem is still unsolved. We still don’t have scientific proves that the program is good and effective. But we can be like R. Wooster and believe that in the future there will be a strong and successful programme which will give us tools to teach children how to think critically, analyse, question everything, see negative things in positive ways by understanding the results of their decisions and know that they are not powerless. Let’s be optimistic and believe that those children will have colourful imagination, creativity and bravery to act and participate. And there will be a chance if we do the same thing.
In Norway, the national Norwegian center for the arts and culture in education, established in 2007 and located in Bodø University College. The center is professionally positioned under the auspices of The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training and administratively hosted by the University of Nordland. The center reports directly to The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training which has been given the responsibility for the national centers by The Ministry of Education and Research.
The aim is to facilitate higher quality in art and culture subjects in kindergartens, primary and secondary education. The activity as a national center is aimed at achieving more involvement and greater interest in education, in art and culture subjects. The activity of the center is meant to offer kindergarten and school leaders, teachers, and pre-school teachers support and competence in order to strengthen their work on art and culture subjects in education. Furthermore the center is to co-operate with relevant environments in these subjects at national and international levels.
A good example of this network effect is the project against bullying.
In Norway, there is an Education Law which aims at providing pupils with a positive school environment. According to this law, children and young people have the right to grow up and learn in a secure environment, which is free from bullying. Schools therefore have a duty to take action whenever bullying occurs. This is the reason why the project Zero was born. Zero is an anti-bullying program which schools can use to prevent and reduce bullying. The Centre for Behavioral Research at the University of Stavanger has developed the program supported by the National center of Art and Education. Zero tolerance of bullying is one of the main principles of the program, and it is the schools employees who possess the responsibility to execute this zero-tolerance principle in an authoritative, but not authoritarian way. Zero gives school employees the knowledge and skills they need in order to:
- recognize bullying
- solve issues in bullying
- prevent future bullying
- make prevention of bullying an integrated part of the school’s everyday work
In Zero, pupils participate actively in the school’s work to create a bullying-free environment. Pupil representatives from each year group have a special responsibility and parents are also actively involved. The initial implementation of the Zero program lasts for one year. During this period, the school receives support from one or two advisors. In addition to the teachers’ book, Zero provides an Ideas Book for student councils, an action plan and films.
Experience shows that a clearly focused, systematic program, aimed at individuals and systems within schools, is effective in preventing bullying. A long-term commitment gives the best and most lasting results.
Online Resources
- The Agency for Culture and PalacesThe agency provides advice to the Danish minister of culture and is involved in setting and achieving the government’s cultural policy goals. The website offers a publication service and featuring examples of arts and cultural activities currently undertaken in Denmark with children in daycare centres, schools and cultural institutions and designed to encourage others to emulate the agency’s practice.
- Eurydice NetworkEurydice is a network of 42 national units based in all 38 countries of the Erasmus+ program. The task is to explain how education systems are organized in Europe and how they work. Eurydice publishes descriptions of national education systems, comparative reports devoted to specific topics, indicators and statistics, as well as news and articles related to the field of education
- Focus on: Do we need music education in schools?Sometimes countries view music and arts education as a luxury addition in the curriculum rather than an integral cornerstone. Indeed, in some parts of Europe the responsibility for musical education has been taken out of schools and is offered only as an optional extra-curricular activity. While the compulsory school curricula ensures more equal educational opportunities, this approach of placing music education outside the school setting may lead to unequal take-up of provision and may reinforce social inequity.
- LeedstieA website of a successful project nowadays.
- Big Brum theatre in educationA website of a successful project nowadays.
