THINKIDS

SUSTAINABILITY, AUTHENTIC LEARNING AND THINKING FROM EARLY CHILDHOOD: THINKIDS

THINKIDS is proposing to design and test a practical “authentic learning approach” based on the EU key competences for lifelong learning and the UN Sustainable Development Goals to support educators and children (ages from 3 to 11) find coherence between what they think, what they want or feel, and what they do.

Project information

Project website

N/A

Funding program

Erasmus+ KA2. KA220-SCH - Cooperation partnerships in school education

Project funding

35.595€

Project duration

01/01/2022 - 31/03/2025

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The key competences for lifelong learning and its development have been an important policy imperative for EU Member States. The European Reference Framework of key competences (2006) built on previous developments by the OECD, UNESCO and Member States themselves. More recently the 2018 Council of the European Union Recommendation of 22 May 2018 on key competences for lifelong learning (2018/C 189/01) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs from now on) of the 2030 Agenda have placed the focus on EU members to update and adapt their education provision.

However, the variety of approaches taken in the different member states reflects the history of those states, the prevalent education philosophy and the educational structures already established (KeyCoNet, 2014). As a result, there is no single model followed in European member states for integrating the key competences and SDGs into national curricula.

In this frame, THINKIDS is proposing to design and test a practical “authentic learning approach” based on the EU key competences for lifelong learning and the UN Sustainable Development Goals to support educators and children (ages from 3 to 11) find coherence between what they think, what they want or feel, and what they do. Its objectives are:

  1. 1. Implement a Transnational curriculum for Early childhood and primary education teachers in the partners’ countries to integrate key competences for lifelong learning and Sustainable Development Goals using an authentic learning approach in Early Childhood Education, complemented with a short review of the current provision for 3-11 teachers
  1. 2. Design and test innovative materials and open educational resources (OER) for 3-11 school education teachers and educators focusing on the 8 key competences for lifelong learning and the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals;
  1. 3. Support 3-11 teachers integrating the key competences for lifelong learning and the Sustainable Development Goals in their daily work, from an authentic learning approach, with an aim to enhance their professional development and increasing the quality and range of initial and continuing training. This will involve proposing guidelines to teachers based on their national contexts to integrate key competences for lifelong learning and Sustainable Development Goals using an authentic learning approach in preschools and primary schools
  1. 4. Create an Innovative Knowledge Hub for informing, uploading, and downloading OER materials aimed at increasing their awareness to strengthen the educational foundations in a system of competences and sustainability supported by all relevant stakeholders.

the partners are: