The Strategic Partnership (SP) consists of three secondary schools, two universities, an environmental NGO, a teachers’ association and a private foundation. The partners are from four European countries: Italy, Finland, Iceland and the United Kingdom. The SP grounds on two well-established and effective school-university partnerships: one between the Liceo A. Einstein in Rimini (Italy) and the Department of Physics of the University of Bologna (UNIBO), and the other between Helsinki Normal Lyceum and the Department of Physics of the University of Helsinki (UH). The Icelandic Environment Association (IEA) brings to the SP their expertise in environmental and sustainability education and the action competence approach. Hamrahlid College in Iceland adds to the cultural diversity of students and teachers participating in the project. The partnership between the three schools in Helsinki, Reykjavik and Rimini is projected to be fruitful in terms of cultural exchange and the generalisability of the results. Both aspects are boosted also by the Association for Science Education (ASE) who brings added value through their extensive school and teacher network in the UK. In order to connect school science to competences needed in the labour market, the Fondazione Golinelli (FG) in Bologna, Italy, joins the partnership.
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Olivia Levrini (project coordinator, associate professor), Giulia Tasquier (post-doc), Laura Branchetti (post-doc), Eleonora Barelli (PhD student), Giovanni Ravaioli (PhD student), Michael Lodi (PhD student), Barbara Pecori (associate professor) |
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Antti Laherto (local coordinator, post-doctoral researcher), Elina Palmgren (PhD student) |
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Normal Lyceum, Helsinki, Finland Timo Kärkkäinen (local coordinator, teacher), Johanna Jauhiainen (teacher), Nelly Heiskanen (teacher) |
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Caitlin Wilson (local coordinator, Director of Eco-Schools Iceland) |
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Michela Clementi (local coordinator, teacher), Fabio Filippi (teacher), Paola Fantini (teacher) |
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Sigurkarl Stefánsson (local coordinator, teacher), Auður Ingimarsdóttir (teacher) |
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Giorgia Bellentani (local coordinator, Coordinator of Educare a educare, area for teacher training) Raffaella Spagnuolo (Coordinator of Scienze in pratica, area for high school students) |
Marianne Cutler (local coordinator, Director Curriculum Innovation)
If you can dream it up, you can team it up.
Story of the Strategic Partnerships (SP)
The SP was established on the grounds of two well-established and effective school-university partnerships: one between the Liceo A. Einstein and the Department of Physics of the University of Bologna (UNIBO), and the other between the Helsinki Normal Lyceum and the Department of Physics of the University of Helsinki (UH). Both partnerships have a long experience in close collaboration in teacher training, educational research, development and implementation of learning innovations and mutual sharing of ideas. The SP also builds on the existing research collaboration in science education between the UNIBO and UH. Their joint research efforts focus on the concepts of authenticity and relevance of science education, and aim at finding way to make school science more future-oriented. In addition, both the UH and UNIBO have a strong research expertise in climate change research and other cutting-edge science content that will be adapted in the modules. Furthermore, the LUMA Centre of the University of Helsinki runs the broadest network of Finnish school teachers, and is thereby the optimal channel for dissemination and engagement of schools and teachers.
The SP was enriched with the partners in Iceland in order to complement the expertise of the partners in Italy and Finland and to find novel approaches for addressing the needs outlined above in an effective, versatile and innovative way.
The Icelandic Environment Association brings to the SP their expertise in environmental and sustainability education, and in engaging students to more relevant science education through socio-scientific issues and the action competence approach, which they have developed in the Eco-Schools program they run in about half of Icelandic schools. Such an approach will bring added value to our pursuit for pushing students’ imagination towards the future. The Icelandic Environment Association also has deep practical experience in effective education on climate change education. Their close contact with Icelandic schools will bring added value to the SP.
Hamrahlid College in Iceland adds to the cultural diversity of students and teachers participating in the project, and thereby supports the aim of developing inclusiveness of science education. It is one of the most diverse upper secondary schools in Iceland due to its long tradition of inclusive education as well as the establishment of the International Baccalaureate program in Iceland at the College. The partnership between the three schools in Reykjavik, Helsinki and Rimini, all embedded in very different cultural and geographical contexts as well as educational systems, was projected to be fruitful in terms of cultural exchange and also useful for the generalizability of the results.
In order to strengthen the connection between schools, society and the entrepreneurial realm, Fondazione Golinelli joins the partnership. The SP can draw upon their activities and experience in order to design new modules. FG will organize the I SEE summer school for all partners and disseminate the outcomes among schools and enterprises through their network.
The Association for Science Education (ASE) in the U.K. represents a high added value for their large experience in European projects and their expertise in testing, evaluating and disseminating teaching/learning products. They have strong experience in multicultural contexts and will provide another cultural perspective from which modules can be evaluated. Besides a national dissemination event, ASE will organize an international dissemination event as part of their Annual Conference with its International Day.