Project KEEP - Key Engaging Educational Practices

The Erasmus+ programme aims to support actions in the fields of education, training, youth and sport for the period 2021-2027. It helps organisations work in international partnerships and share innovative practices. In 2021-2023, the P&V Foundation took part in the Erasmus+ KEEP project with 6 partners from 4 countries in order to pool the good practices put in place by secondary school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain contact with young people and combat the risk of dropping out of school.

Context

As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, access to education is more essential than ever for a speedy recovery, promoting equal opportunities for all. As part of this recovery process, the Erasmus+ program is taking its inclusive dimension to a new level by promoting personal, socio-educational and professional development opportunities in Europe and beyond, with the aim of leaving no one behind. Supporting and facilitating transnational and international cooperation between education, training, youth and sport organizations is crucial to empower citizens with key competences, combat early school leaving and enable the recognition of competences generated through formal, informal and non-formal learning are acquired. This cooperation facilitates the dissemination of ideas, the transfer of good practices and expertise, and digital capacity building, thus contributing to high-quality education and strengthening social cohesion.

The KEEP project

The P&V Foundation participates in a consortium of 6 institutions coordinated by France Education International from 4 countries (France, Belgium, Poland and Greece) in the framework of an Erasmus+ project. The title of the two-year project is: "Key Engaging Educational Practices used by secondary school teachers to keep connected with their students following the COVID-19 pandemic" (KEEP).

The Goal

The aim is to share the good practices implemented by secondary school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to maintain contact with young people and combat the risk of dropping out of school.

The P&V Foundation is in charge of Lot 1- 'Situational Review', with the aim of providing an overview of the evolution and impact of education policy and digital strategy in the four partner countries since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, in order to identify the factors and obstacles to effective distance learning for all.

The work will culminate in a European report setting out best practice in innovative methodologies used by teachers to maintain links with pupils at a distance, in the fight against school drop-out and in a context of digital divide.

Project progress and outcomes

Phase I

Led by Foundation P&V in Belgium, this report presents the national measures that enabled education systems to adapt and maintain quality education during the COVID-19 pandemic in France, Belgium, Poland and Greece.

It is the result of the first year of project implementation. During this year, the partners collected data and analysed the state, regional and local measures implemented in schools. This first deliverable of the consortium identifies the main challenges faced by the education systems of the partner countries in recent years, including truancy, learning gaps and remedial programmes in distance learning situations.

Download the report: Education and the Covid-19 pandemic a situational review of five Regions

Phase II

Surveys were carried out with secondary school teachers as well as with groups of pupils, families and school heads in each country. Using these surveys, we collected innovative practices for keeping in touch with pupils at a distance. These testimonies were contextualised in an ecosystem report (Work Package 2), while the teachers' practices were developed in 20 teacher portraits (Work Package 3). A transnational analysis of the teaching practices collected was carried out by the project partners (Work Package 4), with a view to drawing up recommendations to support the development of digital education and prevent the risk of dropping out of school (Work Package 5).

Download 20 teachers' portraits that identify innovative practices in 5 European countries!

Phase III

Phase III was devoted to finalising the Work Packages and organising events to publicise the results of the KEEP project. A conference was organised in each participating country. The 20 portraits, created to highlight the educational practices, challenges and opportunities encountered in the four participating countries, were presented at conferences in each of the partner countries with the participation of teachers, experts, representatives of research institutes, etc.

The Belgian national conference was held in Brussels on 15 February 2023 under the title: "The impact of Covid 19 on young people in and out of school. Factors and obstacles to maintaining the link with young people", where we presented both the results of the KEEP project and those of our national Linking Youth Up project. We wanted to answer the following questions: What can we learn from (long-term) experiences in different countries and how can we align short-term emergency responses with investment in long-term (educational) goals, in order to take full advantage of the opportunities of the COVID-19 pandemic and learn from it?

We gave the floor to a number of people, experts in different areas of young people's lives, on the impact of Covid-19 on young people (in school). What conclusions can be drawn from the different strategies adopted by schools, teachers, social organisations and institutional players .... ? What more needs to be done to reduce the digital divide? What are the challenges ahead? Conference with the participation of Kristof De Witte (KULeuven), Sara Lou (Molengeek), Jessy Siongers (VUB-UGent), Olivier Servais (UCLouvain) and Margaux Pyls (VUB).

The project came to a close on 24 and 25 May 2023 at a conference in Paris, held at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM), which showcased the project's final results and recommendations to national and European education stakeholders.

Download the Results of the KEEP projec t

Listen to the "Online teaching: KEEP it up!" podcast series dedicated to teacher profiles on YouTube.