‘Values in Our Lives Always’ – The V.I.O.L.A. Project and the Promotion of Values-Based Education across Europe
Values-based Education, as a concept within schools, has had a growing profile as teachers are increasingly seen within society as being responsible for not only the intellectual development of children but also for their moral, social and personal development. Of course, many teachers have always seen themselves in this role. However, increasing pressure from government, parents and society as a whole means that teaching children values such as empathy, compassion, courage to challenge themselves is now an integrated part of the ethos and educational programme of many schools, taking their responsibility for the development of the ‘whole’ child beyond the PSHCE curriculum as dictated by the Department for Education.
In 2008, Dr Neil Hawkes founded the UK charity International Values-based Education Trust (IVET) to promote Values-based Education (VbE) internationally. Research has found a wide range of benefits to adopting such a programme.
According to the IVET website,
‘Studies find that VbE improves student and teacher wellbeing, academic diligence, the teaching and learning environment, student-teacher relationships and partial parental and family participation.’
Furthermore, Head Teachers report that ‘students gain self-esteem and self-worth, their behaviour improves, they become more willing to get involved with decision making, they become more engaged with the school and they learn better self-control through thinking more intelligently. Relationships improve, with people in the school valuing each other more universally, students gaining a better understanding of themselves and the world around them, and reduced friction amongst pupils, and between pupils and teachers. In general, the school becomes a more pleasant place to work and learn; and there is a noticeable reduction in stress, anxiety and pressures on mental health for teachers and students.’
One school in Hertfordshire is leading a European-wide project to promote values education. Set up in 2008 with assistance from Neil Hawkes, The Royal Masonic School for Girls now has a well-integrated programme of Values education that runs through the school.
Since 2013, in an effort to promote the international profile and benefits of Values education and share the Values programme that the Royal Masonic School for Girls set up, the school has been working on a joint European Comenius project entitled V.I.O.L.A. – Values In Our Lives Always. Comenius is a European Union initiative to encourage schools across Europe to work together. A successful project submission in 2012 resulted in the total funding of 175,000 Euros to six co-applicant schools, with RMS partners being based in the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, France, Denmark and Austria. The funding provides travel expenses for members of the each school community, both students and staff, to travel to participating partner schools in order to develop the project. A minimum of 3000 students will benefit from the project.
The project builds upon the tremendous values-based education programme that is now so firmly embedded at RMS. Upon their first visit to the UK in February 2014, one representative of Danish school Selsmoseskolen was so impressed with the work he saw at RMS that when he returned to Copenhagen, he immediately set about incorporating Values education into his own school curriculum.
Thus far, staff and students from RMS have taken part in visits to our partner schools in Vienna in Austria, Le Beausset in France, Copenhagen in Denmark and Crotone in Italy. After 1 ½ years of the project, each of the partners now has a well-established system for promoting values in their schools, adapting the values chosen and means for promotion to their own culture and education system.
The Comenius staff and students visit RMS
On Wednesday 21st January 2015, 23 students and 20 staff from our Six European Comenius partner schools arrived at RMS. The visiting students were greeted by their RMS host families. During their 4-day stay, the visiting staff and students had varied experiences in and out of school. On Thursday, they visited local tourist attraction Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio, which was a big hit. After lunch, the students were led by RMS sports leaders in some fun, physical activities in the sports centre.
On Friday, the visiting staff had the opportunity to visit the BETT show, an annual trade show in London that showcases the use of information technology in education. The V.I.O.L.A. project was publicised in a Teach Meet at the BETT show. The Teachmeet, led by RMS teacher Drew Buddie, involved over 500 teachers listening to colleagues share two- or seven-minute presentations on teaching techniques and ideas for the classroom.
Meanwhile, the students were able to experience a day in the life of an English school student at RMS, shadowing their RMS host students. They had opportunities to experience a range of lessons and even assisted to lead some language lessons! The visiting Comenius students from our 6 partner schools were able to share knowledge about their countries, regions and school through presentations which involved singing and dance and excellent English public speaking skills. The Friday whole school assembly had a Comenius focus with a Values-based presentation from the staff and students who had participated in the Comenius visit to Italy in November 2014.
As well as the participating schools developing their own unique Values programmes, the project has produced useful teaching resources for Values-based work, including a European Art project, songs and music linked to Values and the use of Open Badges. A Values-based Top Trumps-style card game featuring heroes and cultural figures from each of the participating countries has also been created. The project will also be developing an on-line manifesto for V.I.O.L.A. that can be signed by students and school around the world.
The next stage of the Comenius Project is to plan the visit to our Spanish partners in Murcia, Spain in March 2015. This will be the 7th visit of the project, with the final one hosted by our partner school in Prague, Czech Republic in May 2015.