Study visits
Due to Covid-19 pandemic, study visits had to be postponed from Spring to Autumn of 2020, and finally, they happened virtually. The online events were held in November and December 2020 with over 30 experts from 6 partner countries. The focus of the Study Visits was to get familiar with the Irish (Mary Immaculate College) and Portuguese (Universidade Lusófona) good practices in the field of inclusive education.
Before the virtual study visits, experts from so-called „Learning countries” (Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia) have analysed their countries’ education system with the focus on social inclusion in the research phase of the project. The identified needs and demands have been summarised in the Country Reports. The Study visits’ aim was to analyse and discuss good practices collected and presented by the “Sharing countries.” The preparation for the study visits was supported by a document providing methodology to process information gained during the learning events and how to prepare to adaptation phase. A public version of this document has been produced by the partnership to support other project participants across Europe who are planning a study visit as well. Please find the Users’ Guide to Prepare for a Study Visit and the Adaptation Process in the Field of Social Inclusion here.
During the online study visits, experts from Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia had the opportunity to ask questions on the presentations of the good practices then the participants worked in their country’s experts’ group. They collected adaptable ideas that have a potential to be used in their country context.
After the virtual study visits, participants created their Learning Diaries and Self-Reflection Questionnaires that enabled reflection and deep learning about the good practices. These outputs served as a basis for the national study visit summaries. Please find the templates of the Learning Diary and the Self-reflection Questionnaire here.
Also, the experts summarised their conclusions and lessons learned in their National Summaries of Study Visits. These summaries provided a basis for compiling the National Adaptation Plans which were essential outputs of the project. Please find the National Summaries below.