Project Partners
Academic Institutions
University of Osnabrück
The University of Osnabrück was founded in 1973 from a previous Teacher Training College. Meanwhile, about 10.000 students are now registered in ten different schools such as humanities and social studies, natural science, economics and law. Special research projects and interdisciplinary programmes and projects are part of the University’s research and teaching profile. Cooperation plays an important role, which is reflected by the work of many institutions and research projects. The University of Osnabrück places high value on relation with foreign universities and participates in over 230 exchange programmes with universities and technical colleges all over the world. Intra-European student exchanges have increased with the introduction of the SOCRATES/ERASMUS programme, and in July 2006 the university was awarded European Quality Label “E-Quality“ for its good practice in mobility in this field. One focus of Osnabrück University is also the wide area of teacher training with more than one quarter of all students studying to become teachers at general and vocational schools.
The students can choose among a wide range of subjects, in the field of languages there are German, English, French, Italian, Spanish and Latin. At present all studies are being remodelled to bachelor and master studies. Referring to the teacher training, the University aims at a much stronger connection between teaching and research, and it will continue to commit itself to teacher training.
Contacts: Ingrid Kunze, Susanne Müller-Using
Pedagogical Institute for the German Ethnic Group Bozen
The Pedagogical Institute is responsible for school development and for the improvement of the quality of school in the South Tyrol. The PI
- stimulates, tutors or carries out surveys with regard to methods of teaching and general education, analyses organisational issues and questions of educational policy which are of special interest for the school and pre-school in the South Tyrol;
- initiates and promotes pilot projects at school level and offers academic support and monitoring
- develops and revises the curriculum / syllabus for the various school years and for the specialised secondary schools and monitors the implementation of the curricular contents.
- develops and designs text books for schools in accordance with the new curricular programmes and with latest research results in education and publishes them in cooperation with publishing houses;
- collects and works out teaching material and recommendations for teachers;
- develops concepts for in-service and advanced training according to teachers’ needs, plans and organizes training courses and counsels schools and pre-schools; documents and publishes the results of research, school pilot schemes and in-service training.
Contacts: Harald Angerer, Christian Laner
Apáczai-Csere-János - West Hungarian University
The faculty is over 200 years old and trains teachers for the primary school sector. Due to the National Basic Curriculum (in effect since 1995) the students choose at least one out of ten training fields where they specialize and enhance their education. This specialization is assigned to the professorships. The training at the faculty lies in the hands of 83 full-time teachers and of several external lecturers. The number of enrolled students is about 4,000; around 1,800 of them are studying fulltime. In the department of foreign languages and literature students are trained in German, English, and French as foreign languages. The study course has a duration of 8 terms. In the academic year 2006/2007 Hungary began with the linear training according to the Bologna process, beginning with the BA level, and then going on the to MA level. Our diploma enables the graduates to teach the elementary classes 1 to 6.
From the former status of an independent college, the faculty developed to become an integrated part of the West Hungarian University in the year 2000.
Contact: Magdolna Szilagyi
The Netherlands - Hengelo/Nijmegen
Hogeschool Edith Stein / Onderwijs Centrum Twente
The “Hogeschool Edith Stein / Onderwijscentrum Twente” is a university training teachers for elementary schools (for pupils aged 4 to 12). There are 1,200 students in the basic training courses and 80 teachers and other staff. Our institution cooperates with 450 elementary schools in the region of Twente. The training of teachers is part of “Expertis”, an institute for school counselling. Our main attention concerning e-learning lies on
- the integration of e-learning environments into open learning situations
- the construction of multiple learning environment situations to allow every-day practice to be integrated into the teacher training (in-service teacher training), and on the development of an elementary school that is geared toward the real needs of students.
The teaching staff at Hogeschool comprises lectures who are specialized in the field of e-learning as well as about strategies of innovation and implementation.
Contact: Jan Dekker, Froukje Bakker
Radboud Universiteit , Expertisecentrum Nederlands
The main task of the Expertisecentrum Nederlands/Radboud Universiteit is to guarantee an improvement of quality of the teaching of the mother tongue in the pre-school sector and in elementary school on a national level, based on the approach of interactive language teaching. As this concept is being constantly reviewed and developed on the basis of latest research result in this area, this also involves projects of development, implementation and research. ICT is integrated; its effects on language development are analysed. The institute produces special digital learning environments for children, for teacher training and for the teachers. Development and research are carried out in close cooperation among university, Expertisecentrum, pre-school / elementary school and others. The results are published at national and international level. Together with the teacher training department and other institutes new findings are implemented at national level.
Contacts: Anni van der Beek
University of Graz
The Institute of Educational Sciences at the University of Graz takes a critical approach to topical questions of education and schooling, as well as to carry out systematic and reality-oriented research and teaching of the various sectors of work. The interrelation of society and education, life-long learning, intercultural aspects and social participation offer new challenges, the same can be said for the resulting new professional areas.
University of Graz - Austria
Contact: Gerhild Bachmann
University of Vaasa
Faculty of industrial management within Vaasa State University; faculty size approx. 25 persons; qualifications for this project: in the first place quality management, research in the fields of learning while working and in-service training experience.
Contact: Tauno Kekäle
Ingrid Kunze