evoc handbook 24022012 - ecvet toolkitomnia, the joint authority of education in espoo region maarit...

HANDBOOK

EVOC • LEONARDO DA VINCI • TRANSFER INNOVATION HANDBOOK

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FINNISH STEERING GROUP CONSISTED OF MEMBERS FROM THE FOLLOWING ORGANISATIONS

Finnish Union of Practical Nurses

Omnia, the Joint Authority of Education in Espoo Region

Finnish National Board of Education

City of Espoo, Director of a day care centre

Palmenia, Helsinki University Centre for Continuing Education

GERMAN STEERING GROUP CONSISTED OF MEMBERS FROM THE FOLLOWING ORGANISATIONS

City of Munich, Board of Education,

Head of departement for vocational education

City of Munich, Board of Education

Head of departement for preschool education

and after school care


Head of Fachakademie für Sozialpädagogik


Head of School for Practical Nurses

City of Nürnberg, Head of B7

Ministery of Education, representative

for the field of education and health

ISB, Staatsinstitut für Schulqualität und

Bildungsforschung

Hochschule München, Munich University for applied

sciences, Representative for the field of ECE

THE SWEDISH STEERING GROUP CONSISTED OF THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS

Director Studium Göteborgs Stad

Principal Studium Göteborgs Stad

Principal assistance Göteborgs Stad

Teacher Studium Göteborgs Stad

Göteborgs university, pedagogical inst.

International Co-ordinator, Göteborg Stad

Principal pre-school Göteborgs Stad

Principal pre-school Göteborgs Stad

VFL-co-ordinator, pre-school teacher Göteborgs Stad

This handbook was produced with funding from the Leonardo da Vinci -programme

Centre for International Mobility CIMO PO Box 343, FI-00531 Helsinki, Finland

CONTACT INFORMATION

Omnia, the Joint Authority of Education in Espoo Region Maarit Saarenkylä International Co-ordinator P.O. Box 77710 02070 City of Espoo Finland E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +358 46 851 50 22

Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Fakultät 11 Claudia M. Ueffing Am Stadtpark 20 81243 München Germany E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +49 (0)89 1265-2369

Vocational School Center 7 – City of Nürnberg Michael Kölbl Second Headmaster Pilotystr 4 90408 Nürnberg Germany E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +49 911 231 4195

Göteborg Stad, utbildning Studium Maria Eriksson Assintant Manager Styrmansgatan 21 41458 Gothenburg Sweden E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +46 702 53 99 63

www.evoc.fi


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Content

1. INFORMATION OF ECVET 5

1.1. What is ECVET? 5

1.2. Learning outcomes 5

1.3. Transparency of qualifications 5

1.4 . Mutual trust 6

1.5. The implementation stages of ECVET 6

2. IMPLEMENTATION OF ECVET IN EVOC PROJECT 9

2.1. The establishment of partnerships 9

2.2. Partners in EVOC project 9

2.3. Preparation of Partnership Agreement

(Memorandum of Understanding) 11

2.4. Learning Agreement 21

2.5. ECVET credits in EVOC project 18

2.6. Student’s assessment 18

3. TEACHER AND INSTRUCTOR PROGRAMME 23

4. TESTING AND PILOTING – STUDENT MOBILITY 24

4.1. The mobility process 24

4.2. Students in EVOC - testing and piloting 24

4.3. The placements - Kindergartens 25

5. EVALUATION 27

6. RESULTS – FUTURE WORDS 31

ANNEXES

ANNEX 1 – Memorandum of understanstanding 34

ANNEX 2 – Learning agreement 35


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Foreword

Vocational Education and training in Europe contains a large number of

levels, diplomas, certificates and qualifications. The mobility among people

has increased and today many students want to undertake studies outside

their own country. It is very important that the learning outcomes they have

achieved will be recognised and accepted as a part of their qualification.

European Credit Transfer System for Vocational Education and Training

(ECVET) is designed to facilitate the transfer, accumulation and recognition of

these learning outcomes. The European Commission has developed this

system and it has been widely agreed by European countries.

EVOC – “ECVET-unit for Vocational Studies in Child Care” is a transfer of

innovation project (2007 – 2009) under the Lifelong Learning Programme

(2007 – 2013). The partners involved in the project; Finland, Germany and

Sweden, all have differences in their national systems of qualifications. The

aim of EVOC project was to develop a study unit for child care field, which

could be transferred from one country to another.

This handbook presents the results of the EVOC project. Apart from providing

a theoretical background of the ECVET principles, the handbook also offers

practical assistance to those who will work in future with ECVET projects.

This handbook contains the main principles of ECVET and its implementation

in child care studies. The handbook presents the Unit, the process of

developing the Unit and the assessment forms. The handbook also contains

information of the evaluation of the whole process. The comments of the

students, teachers and instructors are essential part of the testing and the

piloting and give important information about the application of ECVET.

EVOC project has increased the transparency of qualifications and mutual

trust between the partners. It has strengthened the cooperation in student

mobility between the partners in Sweden, Germany and Finland. It has

helped us to understand the importance of ECVET system and proved the

importance of developing the Vocational Education and training in Europe.

In Espoo 30.11.2009


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1. Information on ECVET

1.1. WHAT IS ECVET?

ECVET is a system for the accumulation and transfer of credit points in

vocational education and training. It enables documentation and certification

of learning outcomes gained during Vocational Education and Training

abroad.

• ECVET will improve transparency of qualifications

• A person has an opportunity for a learning period abroad

• A person can transfer “home” his/her new learning

outcomes and include them in their qualifications.

ECVET helps removing these barriers. The competent body at each country

validates and recognises learning outcomes. Learners having spent certain

training periods in another European country will thus be given the

opportunity to have them recognised as part of their training in their home

country.

ECVET should be developed and implemented gradually on a voluntary basis

without any legal obligation, since it does not have a regulatory mission.

When ECVET is applied in the countries which decide to implement it,

national or regional legislation and/or current sectoral rules on qualifications

should be taken into account.

1.2. LEARNING OUTCOMES

KNOWLEDGE-SKILLS-COMPETENCES

It is considered beneficial that ECVET is based on learning outcomes, i.e.

descriptions and comparisons of the competence produced by a qualification.

This should be defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competences.

System based on learning outcomes makes it possible to recognise and

validate competence acquired outside the formal system of education and

training. The system should be d–eveloped so that it clearly defines the

principles of recognising both non-formal and informal competence. In this

way it would provide better support for lifelong learning.

1.3 TRANSPARENCY OF QUALIFICATIONS

Vocational education and training in Europe contains a large number of

qualifications, diplomas, levels, certificates, etc. Many countries have a

national framework defining the levels of qualifications or a classification for

these levels.

BARRIERS THAT

PREVENT THE

TRANSFER OF

QUALIFICATIONS

AT THE MOMENT:

• No transparency

• No mutual trust

• No validation

• No accumulation of

learning outcomes

• No recognition


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Moreover, depending on the system, qualifications may be obtained either

after only one type of formal training programme or following several kinds of

programmes, regardless of whether the learning pathway is formal, non-

formal or informal. Furthermore, depending on the country, there are many

ways of using learning credits in vocational education and training.

Against this background of diversity, several Community initiatives have

recently made significant progress, in particular concerning increasingly easy

access to tools for ensuring the transparency of qualifications, for example

Europass, the certificate supplement.

Greater transparency of qualifications is required to enable the transfer of

learning outcomes to be implemented effectively during mobility.

1.4. MUTUAL TRUST

The success of ECVET relies on mutual trust. Mutual trust can be increased

by describing learning outcomes in uniform and transparent ways. This gives

representatives of different countries a shared understanding of competence

and learning outcomes acquired abroad. It is good that ECVET intends to use

the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) in describing the competence

produced by a qualification as a whole, as well as the competence produced

by a unit of a qualification. The use of a common framework will increase

transparency and shared understanding, which in turn increases mutual trust.

However, the persisting lack of mutual trust and cooperation between the

competent bodies and other actors involved in training and qualification

systems impedes and even prevents the development of initiatives to resolve

the various problems posed by the transfer and validation of learning

outcomes.

1.5. THE IMPLEMENTATION STAGES OF ECVET

Stage 1: the establishment of partnerships

In order to facilitate the implementation of ECVET, VET providers and/or

competent bodies at the relevant level could establish partnership

agreements or Memorandum of understanding (MoU). During this phase of

initialisation, the memorandum of understanding could contribute to creating

the climate of trust which is necessary for insuring the durability of the

system, its operational characteristic and the effective credit transfer.

THE MUTUAL TRUST

CAN BE CREATED BY:

• Round table

discussions about

qualifications,

structures of curricula

etc.

• Student and teacher

mobility

• Memorandum of

Understanding

• Definitions of concepts

as units, modules,

credit points, etc.


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IN THE MOU, PARTNERS COULD SPECIFY:

• Correspondence between qualifications (units and credit points)

and/or learning outcomes concerned by transfer. The EQF levels

could contribute to the establishment of the correspondence.

• The assessment, transfer and validation processes

(units or parts of units)

• The specifications for quality assurance.

The key point of the MoU is that the learning outcomes for which credits are

awarded by one or the other of the partners can be recognised irrefutably.

Partnership agreements could be established between different authorities or

organisations, according to the type and desired degree of co-operation. A

model of memorandum of understanding could be developed at European

level.

Stage 2: the learning agreement

It could be necessary to draw up an individual learning agreement for each

person, notably in the formal learning context. This document would specify

the learning outcomes expected at the end of a period of mobility (units or

parts of units) and the associated points of credit. This individual learning

agreement should be drawn up between the person and the two partners. A

model learning agreement could be developed at European level.

Stage 3: award ECVET credits

ECVET credits are awarded (units or parts of units and associated ECVET

credit points) after the assessment of the learning outcomes. Credits are

recorded in a transcript of record which gives details on:

• knowledge, skills and competence which are acquired

• the credit points which are associated with the achieved learning outcomes.

A template of the transcript of record could be designed at European level.

Moreover, the Europass documents could be used to record credits and

assure their transparency.

Stage 4: transfer, validation and accumulation of credits

In accordance with the MoU and the learning agreement, credits should be

transferred, then validated by the sending organisation and recognised for

obtaining the qualification concerned, by accumulation, according to the rules.


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THE GREATEST VALUE ADDED BY ECVET lies in the fact that the system

can facilitate the transfer, accumulation and validation between different

countries of training modules and learning outcomes. Education and training

providers from different countries have already agreed on some credit

transfer systems, for the purposes for instance of student exchange. Even

after the implementation of ECVET, credit transfer requires a bilateral

agreement, knowledge of the other country’s education and training system

and mutual trust. Mutually agreed procedures and tools facilitate cooperation,

save time and effort and thus promote mobility. It is important that ECVET

increase mobility not only during studies, but also more widely, e.g. when

looking for work in a foreign country. In order for ECVET to be implemented, it

must be interesting, easy to understand and sufficiently simple and it must

offer clear benefits from the point of view of employers and the individual

alike.

Reference: Commission staff working document SEC(2006)1431, Brussels 31.10.2006: European Credit system for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET)


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2. Implementation of ECVET

in EVOC project

2.1. ESTABLISHMENT OF PARTNERSHIPS

The Partners are institutes from three countries (Finland, Germany, Sweden)

and they are specialised in vocational training in many sectors, also for child

care workers. The partnership is based on earlier connections between the

partners. Germany and Finland have experience in teacher and student LdV

mobility programmes. The Swedish partner is an adult education institute.

They have recently started the cooperation with Finland and Germany. All

partners also worked together in FINECVET 2 project coordinated by National

Board of Education in Finland. The aim of FINECVET projects was to test

ECVET in five vocational qualifications and to define applicable concepts for

Finnish Education system.

FINECVET1 project gave the recommendation that there should be a

common transferable European system not only nationally decided. Based on

the positive and constructive feedback from the FINECVET projects gave a

direct way to develop the idea of transferring the studies between EU

countries. This led to the process of submitting LdV project application. The

information collected in the meeting was essential when finalizing the LdV

project application. There was a clear need for a project where ECVET

principles could be tested in practical way.

2.2. PARTNERS IN EVOC PROJECT

Finnish Partner; Omnia, the joint Authority

of Education in Espoo Region

The Joint Authority of Education in Espoo Region, Omnia is an educational

federation of municipalities of Espoo, Kauniainen and Kirkkonummi. It

organizes Upper Secondary Vocational Education of 120 credits (3 yrs) and

Preparatory Training for Competence-Based Qualifications.

Omnia functions at four different institutes; Omnia Vocational College and

Omnia Adult education Centre, Omnia Apprenticeship Training Centre and

Omnia Youth Workshops.

There are five different branches of vocational training at Omnia: Culture,

Business and Management, Technics, Social and Health, Catering, Tourism

and Economy. Students can be certificated in 22 different examinations and

there are 39 different study programmes to choose from. Apprenticeship

contracts are possible on any of these branches.


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The total amount of Students at Omnia is about 7000 and the personnel of

600 persons. There are both full-day and part – time studies and studies at

multiform basis. There is a possibility to acquire a vocation by being

indentured for some years. A student may study upper secondary studies and

pass the matriculation examination together with the vocational studies, too.

Link: www.omnia.fi

German Partners

There are two German partners; one from Munich and one from Nuremberg,

as described below:

Landeshauptstadt München: Schul- und Kultusreferat

Schul- und Kultusreferat is the municipal education authority within Munich

city. It covers several branches of education under one umbrella such as the

department for vocational education and the department for preschool

education and after-school-care together. Both departments work closely

together in the field of European projects and have one of their offices in

charge. The European office in the department for vocational education has

supported the vocational schools in mobility and pilot projects under

Leonardo and Comenius. In 2003 the department for day-care and after-

school-care started its activities in the field. Since 2007 both departments

support their schools and day-care centres in München under the

programmes for life-long learning, 2007-2013 special focus on Leonardo and

Comenius, counselling and supervision regarding applications for Leonardo

da Vinci / Comenius projects, etc.

In the year 2006/2007 the School department-vocational education was

responsible for 82 municipal schools, 40 000 students and 2000 teachers.

Two of the schools are responsible for the education of the preschool-

teachers and practical Nurses.

The city of München/School department-preschool education has the biggest

net in municipal kindergartens in Germany with staff of approx. 4000 persons

and approx. 36 000 children attending municipal day-care facilities.

The mobility of the students was arranged in Staedtische Berufsfachschule für

Kinderpflege. The mobility within EVOC has been arranged by both

departments.

Links: www.europa.musin.de

Berufliche Schule, Direktorat 7 der Stadt Nürnberg, Bavaria, Germany

The institution consists of six departments comprising three Vocational

Extension Schools, two Vocational Schools of Further Education and one

Upper Vocational School, all of them related to the field of social work. The

total number of personnel is 122 teachers and 1105 students.


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Berufsfachschule für Kinderpflege (Kinderpfleger/in)Vocational Extension

School for Child Care (nursery nurse, ISCED level 3). It means two years full

time studies for students. Usually the study week consists of four days studies

at School and one day in Kindergarten per week.

Link: www.shp153.kubiss.de/

Swedish partner

Göteborgs Stad utbildning Studium

The Education Authority of Gothenburg is responsible for Municipal Upper

Secondary education and for adult education (Studium). The organization has

17 000 students and 2000 employees.

Studium has approximately 3000 students and 200 personnel (total assets:

140 million SEK/year) and offers Swedish for Immigrants, Basic Adult

Education, Upper Secondary Adult Education, Post Secondary Adult

Education and Advanced vocational education.

Programme sectors are Business and Economics, Child recreation, Health

care, Hotel and Tourism, Media and Technical and IT programmes.

Studium offers both full-time and part-time studies. Students also do parts of

the Vocational educations on a student work placement.

Link: www.studium.goteborg.se

2.3 PREPARATION OF PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING)

Development of the Unit

The aim of EVOC project was to develop a unit which is a part of qualification

in child care worker’s education. This unit can be accepted by partners and

can be transferred from one country to another.

A unit is a set of knowledge, skills and competence and it constitutes a part of

a qualification. The unit can be the smallest part of a qualification that can be

assessed, validated and certified. A unit can be specific to a single

qualification or common to several qualifications. The unit should give

information about the title, the knowledge, skills and competence which are

contained in it. The unit also needs to have criteria for assessment of the

corresponding learning outcomes.

The partners prepared the unit with learning outcomes together. This work

was based on national curricula of partner countries. The unit with learning

outcomes and assessment forms are attached into Partner Agreement,

(MoU).


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In the national curricula of partners the way to organize the education and

training was different and so was the number of requested working hours for

student training. The most important work specified in MoU was to focus on

the learning outcomes instead of the curricula. In order to find out the

contents and the length of the unit the partners started to think in a very

practical way. Partners ended up specifying the skills, knowledge and

competences which the student needs to have during the on-the-job learning

studies in kindergarten. The partners noticed that it was the easiest way to

find a common understanding of the unit in this way. In EVOC project most of

the project time was used for Unit preparation.

To make the unit acceptable it was necessary to define the amount of working

hours, as well as producing a description of the learning outcomes.

Detailed Learning outcomes and assessment forms were prepared and

agreed. Learning outcomes are based on the key skills in child care

profession. After finalizing learning outcomes partners were able to make

partnership agreement.

The preparation of Partnership Agreement with Unit is the most important

stage of the implementation of ECVET to create transparency and mutual

trust among partners and to secure that project can be implemented properly.

The preparation of the study unit is a crucial part of the implementation. It

took many hours from the partner’s team to understand ECVET and to turn

the way of thinking towards the competences instead of curricula.

AFTER INTENSIVE

WORKING SESSIONS

THE PARTNERS

AGREED THAT THE

EVOC UNIT IS CONSIS-

TING OF FOUR PARTS,

I.E.

• Play in early

childhood, 40h

• Language support in

early childhood, 40h

• Inclusive approach in

early childhood, 40h

• Intercultural approach

in early childhood, 40h


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EVOC-UNIT for Social- and Health Care studies

in early childhood education

160h Students work (6 study points)

The project ended up to follow the pattern of transferring 1 study week

(40h) to 1.5 study points. In this UNIT 160 hours student work will be

transferred to study points.

Student’s work process

Student should plan, implement and evaluate activity/activities which suits

well to the target group. There should be seen how the age, developmental

stage and environmental issues have been taken into account as well as

ergonomic, ethics, laws and regulations are respected.

Activity’s objectives, content and implementation should be based on the

promotion of play including the three special pedagogical topics: intercultural

education, language and inclusive approach. Throughout the four study

weeks each student should cover all the fields.

The written and oral plan is prepared before activity and is shown to the

person who is doing the assessment.

Learning environment is prepared to support all these contents. Team

members are informed of the activity and assessment.

Assessment

Student assessment should be done during the last week. All four contents in

students work process should be assessed as a whole and from a holistic

point of view.

Student’s self evaluation is constructive, based on the work process.

Student’s Learning Diary/Logbook is supporting the student’s learning

process and evaluation, but will not be assessed.

PLAY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 40h

INCLUSIVE APPROACH IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 40h

INTERCULTURAL APPROACH IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 40h

LANGUAGE SUPPORT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 40h

TARGETS

To test how this content

works during on-the-job-

learning studies

To earn credit points when

finishing this Unit

To develop students’ own

learning process

To widen personal working

methods

To gain extra skills while

studying in a foreign

country and culture


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PLAY

KNOWLEDGE

SKILLS

COMPETENCES

Work safety, laws, regulations

Stages of play

Importance of play; Child’s

development

Support parenting

Guide, advise playing

Environmental issues

Work materials

Work methods

Self evaluation

Safety

Uses task based on versatile materials

Takes into account environment in physical,

emotional and social way during the work

Uses creative, child based working

methods independently

Evaluates own working process as a team

member

or individual worker

Takes into account ergonomically issues

Ensures client’s safety

Interactive and communication

skills:

– Communication in

the work group

– Communication with

the customers

Ethical and

aesthetic skills:

Responsible work

Planning, implementing, evaluating play

as a

learning method

When working independently takes

environmental and health risks into

account in work process

Giving guidance and supports the

child´s independent and individual play

Family based approach

Works as a team member

Uses initiative to find out laws,

regulations and rules linked to the work

process to ensure safe environment,

materials in social, physical and

emotional way

Pays attention in professional ethics and

all contents from the client´s point of

view

Expresses oneself in oral and in written

form

Team working skills and with the family

and other network people

Open communication with the family

members and other clients

Works according social and health care

ethics, aesthetically appropriate working


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LANGUAGE

KNOWLEDGE

SKILLS

COMPETENCES

Knowledge of the function of

language: communication, building

up relationships, expression,

knowledge of the whole

developmental process of language

(memory, cognition, perception)

language as active competence in

relationships (self confidence)

Knowledge of language and other

developmental areas (development of

perception / motor skills, social

behaviour / cultural development)

Knowledge about the opportunities for

holistic language teaching of children

from 3 to 6 years

of age

Opportunities to stimulate language

development

(e.g. Spiki, finger games, role play)

Knowledge about literacy (written

language culture)

Knowledge about services specialized

in language learning (co-operation

with these services)

Application of the developmental

psychological findings in consideration of

individual factors

Consider relationship between motor and

language development and apply it in

everyday routine

Application of motivation techniques (Spiki,

finger games). Using possibilities for

expanding vocabulary. Use of social

(language oriented) role plays. Paying

attention to language culture and language

understanding. Teaching language in

everyday routine of kindergarten.

Conveying a feeling of fun when working

with the language, stimulating children to

play language games using their bodies.

Creating surroundings that encourage

literacy (literacy center)

Recognizing and using community

orientation in language education

Registering language competence of

the children.

Acting according to children’s needs in

professional situations. Judging and

appraising individual language

development.

Recognizing the significance of the

complete language development.

Key competencies for teaching

language

Openness for understanding. Actively

looking for understanding.

Building from pre-competence to

reading competence

Willingness to work with everybody

participating in the educational process


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INCLUSIVE APPROACH

KNOWLEDGE

SKILLS

COMPETENCES

Knowledge about fields of action and

their develop-ment together with

methods of work in the respective field

of action, carry out and evaluate

pedagogical activities that are relevant

for the field of action.

Be able to plan and carry out work in a

child group from a relevant perspective

according to the field of action.

Understand the value of and have

experience from meeting parents and staff

in the field of action.

The student cooperates with children,

parents and staff from a relevant

pedagogical method in according to the

field of action.

Knowledge about the legislations

which regulate societies’ different kind

of support for children, teenagers and

adults. Knowledge about organized

special support together with

responsibility of the society in the

field.

Know how to act and behave on the base

of legislation for the well-being of each

child.

Working according to the laws and

regulations, notice and understand

special needs in case of inadequate

situations.

Be able to stimulate children’s

development and learning through

different ways of pedagogical

approach, for example in play,

creativity, exercise and rhythmic.

Knowledge about how inner and

external facts, can lead to that people

in different situations and

environments are in need of special

support.

Understand the meaning of an inclusive

attitude and a supporting environment for

the development of the identity of children

and teenagers.

Plan and carry out activities and

minimize obstacles in the environment

for children in need of special support.

Knowledge about different ways of

support for children in need of special

support.

Understand the value of methods and have

experience of different methods of

observations in the pedagogical work.

When organizing activities consider

individual needs. Be able to stimulate

children´s development and learning

through different ways of pedagogical

approach, for example in play,

creativity, exercise and rhythmic.


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INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION

KNOWLEDGE

SKILLS

COMPETENCES

In general: to be able to plan and carry out various activities in day-care centres

To be able to reflect their own attitude towards any expression of human life

To have knowledge about the basic needs of the child related to condition of health, resources of the family and family back-ground, e.g. immigrant background

To be able to produce educational and learning settings taking into account basic needs of children related to the diversity in day-care centres

Competence to provide education aiming for peace, respect and understanding

To have a basic under-standing of the legal position of children and youth in the country in question

To take into account children’s and youth's legal position in practise

To be able to cope with different legal positions and their effects and children’s and youth’s behaviour in day-care

To gain basic knowledge about values and norms and how they develop as foundation for educational aims, e.g.: – Stereotypes – Prejudice – Anti-bias approach

To be able to create an atmosphere from which especially immigrant children can profit; e.g. children’s conferences, etc.

To encourage children to be aware of their cultural roots and their mother tongue

To develop an awareness that perception and the ways and means of expression are influenced by culture

To have a basic understanding of bilingualism and multilingualism

Flexible use of the language and style of language, appropriate to the situation

To develop curiosity about foreign languages and to regard multilingualism as an enrichment and way of life

If possible to be bilingual/multilingual

To know about art and music of different cultures, nations and religions

To provide settings to strengthen children’s identity and process of becoming an individual and part of society

To provide settings to develop child’ ability to express himself by art and music; e.g. exercise dances, interactive games; songs from different culture

Perception of one’s own world;

To develop awareness and sensitivity for aesthetics;

Understanding of other cultures

To know about the important role of parents and the significance of ways of parent participation in the educational and upbringing process

To take into account the diversity of parental upbringing of their children in the world and the diversity of children’s life conditions in planning educational settings

To develop an attitude towards parents to appreciate their way of upbringing in any case

To be open towards other cultures and upbringing which includes consideration of the religions of children from varying cultural circles


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2.4. LEARNING AGREEMENT

Partner’s next step was to create Learning Agreements between student,

sending and receiving organizations. It is important to add into learning

agreement the learning outcomes expected at the end of mobility, in terms of

knowledge, skills and competence. The learning agreement also includes

points of credit acquired and assessment forms. (See annexes).

2.5. ECVET CREDITS IN EVOC PROJECT

EVOC unit is a small part of the whole qualification of child care workers. The

partners have used Europass documents in assessing the number of credits.

When starting the project there was no credit transfer system for vocational

education. EVOC project decided to use the following guideline when

tranferring the studies: Full academic year is each parter country is about 40

weeks, which signifies 60 credits. I the EVOC project the partners agreed

that 4 weeks studies mean 6 credits

Partnership requests that each receiving partner will assess the student’s

performance and the sending partner will accept the assessment. The

Europass is an official document to notify the implementation of the study

unit.

The partners have agreed in the Partnership Agreement to transfer, validate

and accumulate the credits. How it is done in reality, is not studied in this

project.

2.6. STUDENT’S ASSESSMENT

As mentioned earlier for the content of the UNIT, for each four parts, the

partners had agreed the assessment criteria and documentation forms. The

structure for each assessment part follows the standardized idea – it includes

observation, planning, implementation and self evaluation sections. In the

assessment forms there are spaces for yes/no tick and comments. It has

been taken to consideration in the assessment forms that the student

placements/Kindergartens vary from each other. Every single assessment

form should have been signed by the student, the placement instructor and

the teacher.


19

ASSESSEMENT CHART PLAY

YES NO COMMENTS

OBSERVATION

Children’s age is taken into consideration in the written observation.

Child observation is accurate compared to the observation time.

Written and oral observation is done.

Upbringing environment is taken into consideration in the

written/oral observation.

During observation inventiveness is seen and it is done

independently.

PLANNING

Planning is done independently.

Written plan is prepared and presented before activity.

In the plan student respects the regulations and placements’ rules.

IMPLEMENTATION

Work process is based on the knowledge of the child´s needs

compared to the child´s age, stage of development, basic needs and

demands of the learning environment

During the work process there is team work with the staff members

and the families.

During the work process the child´s individual self determination is

respected according to the ethical principles

Safety, hygiene and sustainable development is a part of the work

process.

Supportive and child based approach during work process.

Communication and interaction is child based and polite.

SELF EVALUATION

Gives reasons to own work process

Is open to the feedback and asks independently for it.

Is able to modify own work based on the given feedback


20

ASSESSEMENT CHART LANGUAGE

YES NO COMMENTS

OBSERVATION

Children’s developmental stage is taken into consideration in the




During observation inventiveness is seen and it is done

independently.

Showing and awareness that perception and expression are

influenced by language

PLANNING

Planning is done as a part of the daily routines.



IMPLEMENTATION

Work process is based on the knowledge of the child’s needs

compared to the child’s age, stage of development, basic needs and

demands of the learning environment

Work process takes into account the children’s mother tongue

In carrying out is seen patience, inventiveness and support to

children’s language expressions


Communication and interaction is child based and polite.

SELF EVALUATION



Asks for feedback from team members and children.

Gives ideas how to develop further own work.


21

ASSESSEMENT CHART INCLUSIVE APPROACH

YES NO COMMENTS

OBSERVATION

Plan and carry our activities

Logbook.

Reflection about meeting parents and staff.

Notes written in a logbook / Learning Diary

PLANNING

Plan and carry out activities



IMPLEMENTATION

Reflection about the meaning of an inclusive attitude and a

supporting environment.


Ergonomics existing in the work process.


and the families.

During the work process the child´s individual self determination is


SELF EVALUATION




Asks for feedback from team members and children.

Gives ideas how to develop further own work.


22

ASSESSEMENT CHART INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION

YES NO COMMENTS

OBSERVATION

Children’s developmental stage is taken into consideration in the

written/oral observation


written/oral observation

Understands how cultural background affects to the persons

manners, habits and expressions

PLANNING

In planning inventiveness is seen and it is done independently

Planning is done as a part of the daily routines

Planning is prepared before implementation and presented to the

staff members

IMPLEMENTATION

Reflection about the meaning of an inclusive attitude and a

supporting environment.


Ergonomics existing in the work process.


and the families.

Polite manners and get in contact with parents in a friendly way

During the work process the child’s individual self determination is


Supportive and child based approach during work process

Communication and interaction is child related and polite

Appreciate all children’s expression of life and showing

understanding and coping strategies

SELF EVALUATION


Is open to the feedback and asks independently for it


Asks for feedback from team members and children


23

3. Teacher and instructor

programme

The teacher and instructor programme (PowerPoint presentation) is a short

general information package about the ECVET principles, the idea of learning

outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills and competence and the point of

transparency of qualifications and mutual trust. It also contains information

about the aims of the project and information about the Europass documents

in terms of student mobility.

The teachers and workplace instructors were informed beforehand about

EVOC-project, ECVET principles and student mobility. The partners took care

of the training programme for the Kindergarten staff and teachers involved. All

four partners carried out the training program slightly different ways and at

different times, but the content of training program was the same. Often it was

the same teachers who were instructing the placement staff and the foreign

students and also were involved with the teaching of theoretical subjects in

Colleges. All together this helped the Kindergarten staff, students and the

teachers themselves to better understand the whole process. The

dissemination of the training programme and EVOC project will also continue

later and more and more teachers and instructors will be trained.

To make the project easier to understand for everyone involved, the training

programme proved to be very helpful.


24

4. Testing and piloting

– student mobility

4.1. THE MOBILITY PROCESS

Testing and piloting of the EVOC unit were done during Leonardo da Vinci

Mobility programmes. Finnish and German partner from Munich have had

several Leonardo da Vinci student mobility programmes in action in previous

years. For Swedish partner and German Nurnberg partner this was the first

experience. The whole process usually starts already a year before the

mobility project starts. The Schools are in contact with the placements, Day

Care Centres, informing them how many students will arrive, on what

level/year they are and when the students will start their internship. In EVOC

project there was more training to do with the placements, because the UNIT

and its testing was in a very important role.

4.2. STUDENTS IN EVOC TESTING AND PILOTING

All together 15 students from Finland and Germany, two males, 13 females,

were involved in the testing and piloting process. The age range of the

student was 16-40 years. The four Finnish students had their internship in

Germany, two in Munich and two in Nurnberg. One Finnish student went to

Sweden for her placement. German students, 10 of them had their

placements in Finland. The students were on different phases in their studies.

German students in Finland. Practical nurse students in Finland have longer on-the-job learning periods than in Germany. Picture taken by Practical Nurse Union Finland. Super Magazine 5/2009


25

The four Finnish students were already in their last period, near the

graduating time. Some of the German students were in their first year, some

in their second year of studies. The reason why the Swedish partner didn’t

participate in the mobility was because they had not applied student mobility

project. The Swedish students are adults with families.

The added values. Students developed their language skills, intercultural

knowledge, self-esteem and self confidence during the mobility. They could

also share their experiences and their knowledge at home country. The

programme made it possible also for disadvantaged students to participate in

mobility project abroad. In students certificates there is a reference to student

mobility programme abroad. The informal learning is not so far recognized in

to the credits.

The learning outcomes were assessed with a separate charts which were

formed in the project together with the UNIT. Logbook was used during the

mobility to support the students self evaluation. All the students taking part in

mobility had face to face feedback and evaluation discussions back home.

The main target of the project was to develop a UNIT and to test it. According

to the discussion in EVOC project final meeting the UNIT turned out to be too

wide to be implemented in four weeks.

4.3. THE PLACEMENTS - KINDERGARTENS

In Finland – all together seven English speaking Day Care Centres in Capital

area, mostly private ones, welcomed the piloting students to work with them

for four weeks. The children in Kindergartens are either from Finnish families

or international families who live and work in Finland. Some of the

Kindergartens are very multicultural. In Kindergartens they apply early

language immersion techniques where the personnel uses only English. The

children are from 2 to 6 years old. The Kindergartens usually provide

playschool activities for 3-5 years old and preschool for 6 years old children.

The staff is mostly international.

In each of the Kindergartens there were 1-2 students. Each student had a

named/responsible instructor to guide her/him. The same teachers in Omnia

Vocational College, who had been involved with the UNIT and whole EVOC

project, acted as tutors for the students. During the internship of piloting the

students and the teachers visited the Kindergartens once or twice. Phone and

email contacts were in use. In the end of the internship an assessment were

done together with the Kindergarten instructor, student and teacher from

Omnia. The documents were signed.

In Nurnberg – the Kindergarten is privately owned by a registered society. All

together more than a hundred children are in this Kindergarten. There are


26

four groups for pre-schoolers, children from 3 to 6 years. One group is for

school pupils, age 6-10. The Kindergarten is situated in an area of Nurnberg,

where there are a lot of migrant families and working families. The main

language used in Kindergarten is German, because the children need to get

language competences, especially in the German language. Also the social

competences like tolerance and manners are highlighted. To learn how to

learn is emphasised too.

Practical nurse students from Finland had lovely time in Nurnberg. Picture taken by Practical Nurse Union Finland. Super Magazine 5/2009

In Munich – The day-care-centre Lucia-Popp-Bogen is a municipal day care

centre run by the City of Munich, School Department. It is located in the west

of the city of Munich. In this area you will mainly find family houses, it is an

area which looks quite rural.

The building of the day-care centre is huge, has got two levels and is located

in a spacious garden with lots of outdoor facilities for the children to play or to

exercise. Children can also grow flowers, vegetables and fruit in the garden.

The indoor rooms do all have a special function. e.g. a room for crafts, a room

for painting, for music, for construction, for role-play and theatre, etc. and are

very well equipped. Opening hours are 7 a.m. till 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

The personnel covers 26 persons all in all, which do have different

professional backgrounds like practical nurses, kindergarten teachers or

special teachers. The staff also includes a cook and housekeeping personnel.


27

All in all approx. 136 children aged 0 to 7 can sign up in the day-care centre.

Different programs are carried out by the staff to cover the age-range.

Children aged 3 and more may choose their daily activities themselves and

their development is carefully monitored by the staff. Regular meetings with

the parents make sure, that children develop as well as possible. A high range

of parents has an academic education, quite a number of them do have jobs

in international companies. The language used in day care centre is German.

In Sweden – The Kindergarten is city owned. It locates in a very multicultural

area. The age groups of children are between 1-5 years. There are 38

children in the Kindergarten and the personnel work inspired by Reggio

Emilia pedagogic/approach. The Swedish curricula guide the daily situations

and action moments. The language used in Kindergarten is Swedish. Many of

the children have another home language, that’s why the personnel

emphasize many types of alternative communication methods. One of the

ground principles is individualism – all children are treated equal regardless

children’s background.


28

5. Evaluation

This project, which partners from Espoo (Finland), Gothenburg (Sweden),

Nuremberg and Munich took part in, was evaluated in four steps by means of

a questionnaire. The first evaluation took place in Nuremberg in October,

2008, following the meeting there; the second took place after the meeting in

Gothenburg in April 2009. Both of the questionnaires for this were designed

to be parallel so that the results could be compared and possible

development tendencies be registered. The third component of the evaluation

is the ‘staff’ questionnaire, which was aimed at the coordinators, the

participating teachers and day care nurses. The fourth evaluation step was to

allow the participating students to assess this project. Part of this was to use

the learning agreement. This wasn’t filled out by all of the participating

partners, however, and therefore could hardly be used for the evaluation,

even though this would have been very useful as later seen in the ‘staff’

questionnaire. So there was an evaluation via Rap4leo, which the Finnish and

German students carried out. In this questionnaire there were specific

questions which the participants were to answer with five given answer

categories These categories ranged from ‘very easy’ to ‘very difficult’, from

‘very good’ to ‘very bad’, and from ‘ too much’, ‘very much’, ‘a lot’, ‘sufficient’,

to ‘too little’. In this last set of categories it is rather difficult to produce a

meaningful evaluation, as the middle category, that is ‘ a lot’ and ‘sufficient’

could be seen as best, as they showed no deficit. There were partly open

questions as well, however, in which the participants could give their own

evaluations without pre-written formulations. Especially in the given

international context these proved to be very meaningful, as cultural

discrepancies could be recognized in the way the other closed questions

were answered. It was possible to compare and check the answers to the

closed questions against the comments to the open questions, and use these

for interpreting the whole.

All four partners did the first evaluation, whereas in the second the

questionnaire from Gothenburg was missing. The result of this is that a

comparison isn’t possible in every case. These questionnaire were each filled

in by the participating partners only once by a central figure. In this way it

wasn’t clear who was doing the evaluation and if there had been agreement

amongst all of the participants from the different partner organisations. The

result of this is that the following feedback to the evaluation can’t claim to

completely evaluate the project, as it is not obvious if an answer represents

the opinion of all of the participants or to what extent it represents the opinion

of just one individual. Through this evaluation, however, tendencies can be

seen, which can be useful for the improvement of projects like this. In both of

these questionnaires, questions about general project management, the

homepage and virtual platform of the project, the individual meetings, the


29

preparation of the ECVET unit and the financial support were dealt with.

Although the project management received a very positive rating in both

evaluations, a development in how the homepage was viewed is noticeable.

The first time, the general overview was seen as more difficult to understand.

One of the reasons for this could have been that in the length of the project, a

learning effect took place. To increase clarity of the homepage it was

suggested that this be designed in a more appealing way. The homepage

was seen in both cases as up to date enough for the most part, although both

wished for even more improvement in this respect - e.g. through publication

of results even though they are still provisional. In the first evaluation the

German partners found access to the virtual platform, which is to provide

information about the organization of the project, more difficult than both of

the other partners. This was not the case any longer, however, in the second

evaluation. A possible explanation given for the difference in the first

evaluation was that the Finnish participants had been familiar with the use of

platforms like this already before the project. Because of this they didn’t have

to learn how to deal with it. Even though the use of the platform was found

difficult by some new users, all participants agreed that it was totally essential

for communication. For further development there was the suggestion that

synchronic discussions and freer access for all of the participants could

improve communication through help of the platform.

In the first evaluation the kick-off meeting (on 10 Dec 2007) and the meeting

in Nuremberg (from 8-10 October 2008) were to be assessed. For both

events encouragement of individual participation was judged as very positive.

The same was true for the organisation. . For the kick-off meeting several

suggestions for improvement were made. It was wished that all of the

participants be present for the whole time of the meeting. It was also

mentioned that better preparation would make it possible to include more

ideas; this was verified by the excellent cooperation during the meeting in

Nuremberg, which was often commented on. At the kick-off meeting it was

difficult to process the great amount of information, and because of this it was

felt that more discussions and presentations would have been useful. More

meetings would also help in this respect. In the second evaluation the

meeting in Gothenburg (from 1 – 4 April 2009) could be judged. Like the two

meetings before it, this one was seen as very positive. There was the

comment, however, as with the kick-off meeting, that it would have been

helpful if the participants had been better prepared. It was also assumed that

fewer people per team would have made the process more effective.

As reason for participation in the project, as asked in the first questionnaire,

the wish for improvement in education in Europe, nation-wide and in one’s

own school, was named. Further reasons were the broadening of own

horizons in regard to knowledge of other educational systems and one’s own

skills, and building up international networks. For the German participants

best practice transfer was in the foreground, whereas the Finns wanted to

further develop their own work in an international context, in order to create a


30

greater opportunities in other European countries for their students. All of the

participants were satisfied with the financial support for the project. However,

it was mentioned, that it would be helpful if all of the EU guidelines were

known, as this would lead to great transparency.

In the third questionnaire, the „staff” questionnaire, individual motivation for

participation in this project was asked about, and the introduction of EVOC

and the ECVET systems were evaluated. For this questionnaire, Sweden

filled out only one copy, whereas in Nuremberg, Munich and Omnia each

participant filled in an individual form. Similar to the organizational level

above, interest in international comparisons and Europe-wide networking

were named as motivation for participation. Some participants said that they

had been motivated to participate by their colleagues. The EVOC training was

give a more moderate rating. Corresponding to this there were several

suggestions for improvement. More time was wished for. Occasionally a

communication problem was mentioned, that did not stem from language

difficulties. As already mentioned above, information should have been made

more available for other participants. The work could also be made easier by

using more examples from previous projects. Filling in the forms was seen as

difficult as well. Two points that were emphasized as especially positive were

the clear information about the organization and the possibility to meet

international colleagues.

The information about the ECVET system was perceived in very different

ways. The participants from Sweden had no problems at all with it and

evaluated the information about skills, competences and knowledge as very

good. This could be due to the fact that in Sweden a similar system is already

being used. With the German partners, especially in Nuremberg , information

about the ECVET system was felt to be severely lacking. There were some

participants who had received no information at all. Some also had difficulties

defining it. For this reason there could be no concrete evaluation about

information on the contents.

The student evaluations by means of Rap4leo were filled in by the German

and Finnish students. In looking at the answers in the evaluations, however,

the following difficulty became obvious: the marks of 1 to 5 were required, but

it was not said whether 1 was a negative or positive evaluation. So it seems

safe to assume that the Finnish students regarded 5 as the most positive

mark, and the Germans saw 1 as the best. As this is not absolutely sure

looking at the final evaluation afterwards, however, only the most obvious and

important points will be dealt with in this summary. Interpretation of these can

be confirmed with the help of the comments to the open questions.

Now and then more information about the contact person was desired. Most

of the students said that they always received help if they needed it. However,

there were individual cases when the contact person wasn’t known until the

very end of the stay abroad. Here sometimes the German students wished for


31

more feedback. For the Finnish students it proved to be difficult that German

was spoken in the kindergarten rather than English, as they had expected

before the start of the internship. The wish for better language preparation as

essential was repeatedly expressed. Consequently it was not easy for them

to achieve their internship goals. More time, especially in the kindergarten,

would also have been necessary for this, as students from both nationalities

mentioned. Concerning the transfer impact on their education in their own

countries, especially the German students felt there was the possibility to

utilize newly acquired knowledge in their work. The Finnish students for the

most part saw little opportunity for transfer, but this could be due to the fact

that, as previously mentioned, they found it difficult to work in a German-

speaking kindergarten without any knowledge of German. Therefore they said

they would have liked an introductory course to the German language as part

of the preparation for the stay abroad. In these preparations, the Finns also

would have welcomed more information about the surroundings and the

culture in the host country. Both groups of students would have seen it as

very positive to be accommodated with host families. The students said

repeatedly that the number of forms to fill in was too great and should be

reduced.


32

6. Results – future words

The EVOC project produced concrete models, documents and practice when

implementing the ECVET principles for child care studies in Germany, Finland

and Sweden. It also produced new material and practice for student mobility.

1. The project developed the Memorandum of understanding. The

four partners agreed to develop a UNIT of qualification in child

care. This unit can be transferred between German, Finland

and Sweden.

2. The project created a Learning Agreement. In this agreement

the student, the sending partner and the receiving partner

agree the general arrangements of the mobility, the use of unit,

the assessment and the recognition.

3. The project prepared the four weeks UNIT in terms of know-

ledge, skills and competence.

4. The project prepared and partners agreed the assessment

criteria and documentation charts. Thirteen students out of fif-

teen were assessed with the commonly agreed assessment

documents.

5. In the project 15 students tested and piloted the UNIT in

Germany, Sweden and Finland.

6. The students used the Europass Mobility documents (CV and

Mobility pass). In Finland the students’ credits (6) were marked

in their certificates.

7. The training program for teachers and instructors were deve-

loped and used.

The general knowledge of child care studies and education in partner

countries has increased.

The cooperation shall continue with the partners and new countries need to

be invited to work with ECVET principles.

In the final EVOC project meeting the partners described their experiences

and feelings by the SWOT analysis (an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses,

Opportunities and Threats). The majority of participants felt that the greatest


33

threats have been the limited financing from the beginning compared to the

work load. Also the changes in participants have affected the results.

Some of the weaknesses the participants mentioned; lack of experience, poor

time allocation, language problems, changes in educational organisations,

limited knowledge of platform technology.

But the EVOC project gave a great number of opportunities, too.The whole

cooperation and bridge building between partner countries was remarkable.

The project offered a chance to build mutual trust, sharing, staff mobility and

learning opportunity by experiences from partners.

The strengths the project and partners had described rises from good team

work, student mobility, different viewpoints, mixture of competences in the

group and most of all the fruitful pedagogic discussions.

The decision on validation and recognition of studies completed abroad is still

taken by individual education providers.

All the partner countries should draw up national guidelines when

implementing the ECVET system.

There are some necessary changes that need to be done in EVOC unit in the

future. Mostly it concerns the unit part “language support in early childhood”.

There are new study programmes to start the implementation of ECVET. It is

still a long way before the entire qualification of Child Care studies can be

described in terms of knowledge, skills and competence.

EVOC project is a reasonably small project with few partners, but an

important and valuable beginning to implement the ECVET principles

inpractice.


34

Memorandum of Understanding

BETWEEN

• Omnia, The Joint Authority of Education in Espoo Region, Finland

• Landeshauptstadt München Schul- und Kultusreferat, Germany

• Berufliche Schule - Direktorat 7, Nürnberg, Germany

• Göteborgs Stad Utbildning Studium, Sweden

With this Memorandum the partners have agreed following

– To develop a unit of qualification in child care, this will be accepted by

partner institutes and will be transferred from one country to another.

– The unit will be defined according to learning outcomes, in terms of

knowledge, skills and competence.

– The unit will be tested by the students, who will participate in ongoing LdV

mobility projects.

– EVOC Unit consists of following sub-units; Play (40h), Intercultural (40h),

Inclusive (40h), Language (40h) totally 160 hour students’ work

– Learning outcomes for the EVOC unit are specified in attachment 1

– Receiving partner will assess the student learning outcomes

– Sending partner will accept the credits given by receiving partner

This memorandum is valid until the completion of EVOC project by

31.10.2009

This Memorandum of Understanding is signed by the official persons from

each partner.

Made in four copies, one for each partner.

Espoo ……/…… 20…… ……/…… 20……

………………………………………. ……………………………………….

………………………………………. ……………………………………….

ANNEX 1


35

Learning agreement

1. STUDENT

Student’s name

Date of birth Tel. E-mail

Address

Post code Postal Town

Name of the school

Vocational qualification to be obtained/ stage of studies

2. SENDING PARTNER

Partner’s name

Contact person Tel.

Address

E-mail

The role of the partner

2a. RECEIVING PARTNER College

Partner’s name

Contact person Tel.

Address

E-mail


2b. RECEIVING PARTNER- Work placement

Partner’s name

Contact person Tel.

Address

E-mail


ANNEX 2


36

3. ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE MOBILITY

Beginning of mobility

End of mobility Weekly/ daily working times

Supervising teacher if not the contact person

Tel. E-mail

Student must have the following documents:

1. Europass, 2. Criminal record, 3. Medical certificate (Vaccinations) 4. Insurance document

4. LEARNING OUTCOMES EXPECTED AT THE END OF MOBILITY, in terms of Knowledge, Skills, Competence see attachment 1

Points of credit acquired: 6

5. ASSESSMENT, attachment 2

The assessment procedure is presented in attachment 2

6. VALIDATION

Sending partner _________________recognises the learning outcomes as part of the qualification

7. SIGNATURES

We have agreed upon the goals, duration, schedules and organization concerning mobility and the assessment Done in four copies, one for each party Place and date

Student

Sending partner Receiving partner Receiving partner

ANNEX 2


37

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