Scholé is a school in the city of Matosinhos (Portugal) with kids from 3 to 12 years old. They have been learning (theorectical and practically) from different schools and learning projects across the world (e.g. Kaospilot, Lego Foundation, Billund Municipality, Jesuites educació, University of Cambridge, etc.) in order to implement new pedagogical models. Thus, project based learning is their core learning approach.

ADi and Scholé get in touch through the Seminario ADI 2018 and started collaborating, toghether with Advancis, a a company devoted to research& development and services in the areas of Education, Training and People Management to the design of a new Erasmus+ project, whose aim is to create a board-game for Leadership Education of primary and secondary school children (6 to 15 years old) and to raise their interest over XXI century values (e.g. respect, responsibility, integrity, care, resilience, harmony), in formal, non-formal and informal learning contexts.

The project has been proposed and approved in Denmark by UCL (University College of Lillebealt), that is the project coordinator, and the chosen title is “Play to lead: a board game for leadership education”.
To complement the board game, which will also have a digital version, partners will produce a Facilitator’s Guide for teachers/trainers and parents. This Guide will help capacitating educators to use the board game and explore different learning opportunities from the characteristics of the servant leadership model.

As stated by the latest report from OECD (2018), “the children entering education in 2018 will be young adults in 2030. Schools can prepare them for jobs that have not yet been created, for technologies that have not yet been invented, to solve problems that have not yet been anticipated.”

As the future leaders are growing now with socially, politically and economically uncertainties it is urgent to develop in them servant leadership characteristics, namely because this model offers a “focus on caring for people, integrity, trustworthiness and serving the good of the whole” (van Dierendonck & Patterson, 2015).

“Research in human development clearly shows that the seeds of empathy, caring, and compassion are present from early in life, but that to become caring, ethical people, children need adults to help them at every stage of childhood to nurture these seeds into full development” (Harvard Graduate School of Education).

The first project meeting was held in Odense, Danmark on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 of October. Participants for ADi were Daniela Averna & Romina Papa and there were members from Advancis, Projeto Scholé, Tabasalu Gymnasium, an Estonian school, and UCL.

Advancis has developed a tool-kit that explores the six characteristics servant leadership model (Robert Greenleaf). Understand the model and adapt the model to childhood education is the porpouse of the collaboration. During the meeting all partners agreed that the agegroup should be 6-15 (the main game for 10-15 and simplifications for the younger agegroup), the game will be in English and will be translated into national languages from each partner. Beside, ADI is in charge for the Quality Plan.

The main goals of the project highlighted during the meeting are: developing 21-skills, containing open tasks and/or open solutions, prompting ownership and social responsibility and last but not least having fun!

There will be other transnational meetings in 2019/2020 in Portugal, Estonia and Italy and Multiplier events in all the involved countries. Stay tuned with our newsletter to find out more!