Parents – Pivot in Lifelong Learning
Presentation at the LLL Week 2012
During this workshop on November 27th at Lifelong Learning Week 2012 organized by EUCIS-LLL, EPA will present its activities and look at parents as providers of informal learning and partners of the formal education system that progress in parallel by non-formal learning.
Parents – Pivot in Lifelong Learning
Presentation and Discussion
Date: Tuesday, November 27th, 2012
Time: 16:30 to 18:00
Location: EUCIS-LLL -Meeting room, Rue d’Arlon 25, 1050 Brussels
Presenters: Johannes Theiner, EPA-PresidentIngrid Wallner, PEG-Coordinator
Registration: mailto:office@epa-parents.eu
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dENUMEF1LUxrbG13THIydXY2TDF6aXc6MQ
Extended Abstract
Parents as primary educators act as main providers of informal learning from pre-birth throughout adolescence of the children. During schooling they engage as partners with professional educators to support the formal learning of their children. A lot of informal and non-formal learning of these parents accompanies their lifetime.
Parents’ Associations throughout Europe go beyond and provide their members with a variety of programmes to proceed in their lifelong learning. These programmes cover simple parenting support as well as training of competences of delegates and representatives. Still the scope of possible engagement is wider and could develop to reach teacher education on one end stretching out to support the basic competences of less educated, deprived parents and families. The realisation of a good partnership of all educators to give a sheltered learning environment to children is a goal.
EPA President Johannes Theiner will present the EPA’s basic concepts and refer to members’ activities. The development of guidelines for quality assured programmes is a mid term goal that shall be developed in co-operation with EUCIS-LLL-members and the European Youth-Forum.
Every year EPA calls for submission of programmes to disseminate successful examples for parental involvement in education. EPA’s Alcuin-Award is rewarded only if five tight criteria are matched. But in general all candidate projects were found interesting and encouraging.
2012 EPA rewarded the project Plattform Elterngesundheit ( PEG , Parents’ Health Platform) with the Award. Ingrid Wallner, the initiator of this programme will present the basic idea, current activities and plans.
The platform is run by parents and collaborates with representatives of several Austrian Federal Ministries and seeks partners among public service providers in the field of health promotion and volunteer associations . The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water management have so far been involved in PEG-activities . Thus the project bridges the gaps between sectors of political responsibility. In many discussions about demands of modern education this kind of co-operation has been identified as key to improvement. Realisation of holistic learning as well as the development of more inclusive and open schools demand the trans-sectorial support and networks.
EPA together with EUCIS-LLL calls for Lifelong Learning as tool to realise Active (European) Citizenship . PEG is a participation platform for parents and gives them a voice in contacts with experts, research, service providers in health promotion and policy makers. So it marks a step forward towards the recognition of parental involvement not only in relation to schools but in a wide field of civil society.
EUCIS-LLL in all its diversity is held together by many shared principles. Several of these are found in the concept of PEG . Thus we hope to get into a fruitful discussion to develop the ideas even further and talk about potential future co-operation.
Download the text as a pdf here
Visit the official site for Lifelong Learning Week here
