Η αίτηση του Γυμνασίου Βεύης υποβλήθηκε εξολοκλήρου στην αγγλική γλώσσα με τον τίτλο «Peer mediation in schools: the benefits of peaceful conflict resolution for students and teachers». Ακολουθεί η επίσημη περίληψη του σχεδίου η οποία μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί στο σύνολό της ή εν μέρει σε εκδόσεις της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής, της Εκτελεστικής Υπηρεσίας ή των Εθνικών Μονάδων Συντονισμού /Εθνικών Υπηρεσιών αλλά και στην Πλατφόρμα Διάδοσης Αποτελεσμάτων τουΠρογράμματος Erasmus+.
Gymnasio Vevis is a small school situated in a neglected rural area on the Northwestern Border of Greece with FYROM. We have been practising peer mediation as a conflict resolution method since 2015. This started as an extracurricular Health Education intervention but has evolved into an integral part of our school's schedule as the students who are in racial, social, economical and ethnic-minority-related disparity consciously choose to alleviate their differences and resolve their disputes resorting to peer mediation. The school community has reinvented its identity into a group of people living, learning and flourishing in peace and tolerance, undermining thus the importance of the traditional ways of discipline and the imposition of strict punishments on a regular basis.
The teacher of English was the first one to initiate the intervention in her school and has since worked hard towards disseminating the results by opening the school to the local community and making presentations at the beginning and the end of each year. Our target audience have not only been the parents whose consent is required, but also the teachers and students of our adjacent primary school. Questionnaires to students and parents suggest that they were both enthusiastic with the programme's content; so much so that the enrolling students outnumber the policy restriction of 35 students each year. Furthermore, the teacher of English has worked in collaboration with the local Youth Counselling Centre to promote the benefits of the peer mediation programme on an even larger scale delivering teacher training seminars to fellow colleagues in the region of Florina as well as presenting the programme to Education Conferences nationwide.
However, our school has never taken part in an international project of any kind so far. We need this European experience because we are seeking a boost in our training to further and expand our skills in peer mediation. Moreover a staff mobility project endorses the European dimension we need to not only promote multilingualism but also empower and give impetus to our teachers in terms of curriculum innovation and lifelong learning.
Our project involves 5 out of the 6 permanent teachers in our school. Most of them have received little or no training in peer mediation as of today. We opted for a teacher training course offered in Barcelona by a distinguished partner with 10-year experience on the field. The course is a 6-day rigorous teacher training seminar on conflict management and peer mediation introducing staff to the principles of group dynamics and team empowerment. The use of reflection, role play and hands-on, practical activities on a daily basis promotes the development of self awareness, empathy and active listening. Our partner offers a certificate of competence after the final day assessment.
We envision a significant impact on the school staff and students as far as their individual growth and progress is concerned but also a long-term improvement of the local community cohesion. Above all however, we pursue an enhanced status for our school and distinction at a national and European level.
The results of our project will be disseminated through seminars and talks delivered to fellow colleagues. Last but not least, they will travel far and wide via the internet and the tools offered by the educational platforms of Etwinning, European School Gateway, Greek School Network and the social media platforms of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.