http://www.fotel-project.eu/

The aim of the FOTEL project is to examine the extent to which the application of the Teatro Foro methodology by teachers, combined with practical knowledge of intercultural relations, can reduce the risk of early school leaving among 13- to 16-year-olds.

In recent years, early school leaving (ESL) has become one of the most important social problems facing the European Union. The scope of the problem is growing, and currently affects more than 14.4% of students in the Member States, in particular young people from ethnic and national minorities, including immigrants and gypsies.

The causes of ESL are complex and in order to find an effective solution, more research is required to establish an optimal preventive measure. The Fotel project focuses on the discovery and examination of the causes and mechanisms of ESL, including:

• teacher-student problems and teacher-family relationships connected to different social and cultural expectations of the sides;

• the lack of teachers with the skills needed to work with unaffected students from diverse ethnic and migrant backgrounds;

• students' problems with self-esteem, self-confidence, stress management and previous negative experiences (school failure, discrimination) and others.

In order to meet the objectives of the project, research, as well as comprehensive education and awareness activities will be carried out in selected schools in Hungary, Spain, Italy, France and Poland, including:

• pilot workshops with selected groups of students, which consists of the preparation of a performance at the Teatro Foro on the subject of school dropout, based on their personal stories;

• research (critical incident workshops with teachers, interviews with parents, teachers and youth, cases);

• A handbook will be developed for teachers and other education professionals working with young people susceptible to ESL based on research;

• Experience gained during the research and experimentation workshops was used to prepare an agenda for an international course for teachers, to be included in the Comenius program catalog.

Fotel project is an international initiative created by organizations that use and promote theater as a preventive and educational method in working with children, youth and adults:

• Elan Interculturel (France), www.elaninterculturel.com ;

• La Xixa Teatre (Spain), www.laxixateatre.org ;

• Giolli Società Cooperativa Sociale (Italy), www.giollicoop.it ;

• Artemisszio Foundation (Hungary), www.artemisszio.hu ;

• The Association of Drama Specialists Stop-Klatka (Poland), www.stop-klatka.org.pl .

Each partner is responsible for project implementation tasks:

Management:
Artemisszió Fundación as the main coordinator is responsible for the management part of the project. As a bridge, the organization has the function of connecting the associated organizations and the European Commission, in general and monitoring the professional quality of the work, to monitor the activities throughout the project period and to prepare interim and final reports towards the. Dissemination committee: Fundación Artemisszió is responsible for disseminating the project, supervising and supporting the dissemination processes of the partners. During the project period each partner will organize a screening of the film in which they invite various teachers, school subjects, principals, actors. Number of operators: minimum of 50 people per country.

Research:

Elan Interculturel is responsible for directing the research to analyze the context of ESL using the critical incident method. Read more about the research here .

In addition Elan Interculturel will do the following:

• train teachers to use critical incident methodology in their schools,

• organize forum theater workshops in collaboration with partner schools,

• participate in the development of the international teacher training course,

• contribute to the handbook on how to reduce ESL through the use of theater methods,

• monitor and evaluate the project.

Theater pilots forum in schools:

Giolli is coordinating "FT" pilots who will integrate factors from interviews and case studies into a course with students, co-facilitating with a local teacher, who can learn a lot from that process. The course aims to build a play where ESL factors analyze and finally show a mixed audience: students, parents and teachers form the same school. The technique used, Forum-theater allows participants to propose solutions by acting directly on stage. The results of this phase will be shared with school partners and stakeholders and posted in the final online handbook. FT operates by creating a safe space where students can express their views on the issue. While using the Forum-Theater method we will focus only on the problem of school dropout problem. Although theater pedagogy is often used in schools, we have no knowledge of any experience in the two topics were so closely related. Each partner organization will cooperate with a vocational or high school where there is a high dropout rate and especially immigrant and gypsy students studying there.

Evaluation of pilot workshops:

The Theater Association STOP-Klatka practitioners is responsible for developing a method of evaluation of pilot workshops for youth concluded with a performance Theater Forum. The method will be shared with other project partners, which will be used in the evaluation of pilot workshops conducted in their countries. The evaluation will serve to examine the effectiveness of the Forum theater methodology as a preventive measure in working with young participants in the workshop and the play. STOP-Klatka will then present a comparative report on the basis of evaluations carried out in all participating countries.

Website:

The STOP-Klatka Practitioners Theater Association is responsible for creating and updating the project website throughout its duration. The website will serve as a source of information on current issues, as well as a source of knowledge and materials created and collected during project activities, which will be made available to teachers, educators, educators, educational institutions and organizations.