Work Package 2 – Needs Analysis, Motivation Survey & Curricula Mapping

In WP2 the most important milestone of the project happens: Motivation Survey Report, which intends to gather information via a synthesis of methods on training, learning and motivational needs of in-service teachers regarding the EU. Afterwards, there will be the Mapping of all the existing curricula within Universities’ Pedagogical/Teachers’ Departments which will give more exact elements for the need of the project. The scope of this WP is:

  • to diagnose the intercultural competences, relevant skills, knowledge gap and appropriate pedagogical and methodological approaches on teaching EU matters, which school leaders, in-service and pre-service teachers need in order to design teaching and learning contexts;
  • to record the way(s) and the extent to which school leaders, in-service and pre-service teachers, parents and relevant stakeholders can ensure required knowledge and positive attitudes towards fundamental European values;
  • to detect the different profiles of in-service teachers regarding their willingness and readiness to integrate EU subjects in their teaching curricula and to engage with EU issues actively;
  • to trace the reasons behind the reluctance of University Departments of prospective teachers to incorporate EU-related courses into their curricula.

In the Motivating Teachers 4 Europe (MOTIVATE) project, a mapping of EU courses was carried out in twenty-three university departments of pedagogical education and corresponding undergraduate programs in nine Greek universities. The teaching of EU-related courses contributes to the preparation of primary and secondary school teachers in understanding the complexity, functioning and impact of the EU on the daily life of citizens. However, the mapping has shown the limited number of courses on the EU and European Education Policy. In parallel, it was found that a very small number of students in pedagogical departments know what the European Education Area, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) are. In contrast, many students pointed out the need to learn more about the EU from the department they are studying and that they consider teaching the EU to their future students as very important.