During the Kids for Change programme, the main topic will be children’s rights in education. There will be a focus on pedagogical skills, didactical skills and more generic professional skills such as flexibility, creativity, citizenship, social entrepreneurship education and striving for equal opportunities.
The theoretic deepening is illustrated and processed based on practical experiences and small scale educational research. The theoretic framework will focus on children’s rights, citizenship, the sustainable development goals (SDG’s), social entrepreneurship (SE) and social entrepreneurship education (SEE).
Every student will do an internship at a Dutch school ànd every student will participate in a project at a different Dutch primary school. This will enable students to adequately and adaptively learn about the Dutch educational system and differences between schools. During both practices the student will develop the skills as mentioned above.
Students will conduct a research into the starting point of children’s rights at the primary school of their internship. The students will subsequently do a research on the (further) implementation of children’s rights at this primary school. As will become evident during the execution of the minor, children’s rights can be implemented in a number of ways at primary schools. At the end of the programme students will be able to see these links, make activity plans and act on them as they have become experts in children’s rights at primary schools.
The programme has an international character: the minor will be taught in English and students will also learn to communicate in intercultural groups with foreign students. The students will learn about aspects of multiculturism and (in)equality. They will get acquainted with different international educational visions, education systems and didactical concepts, which will enable them to expand and improve their own education in a more differentiated, sustainable and responsible manner. Plus this international aspect will also automatically link into specific teaching competencies. Based on the international and intercultural aspects they will be able to form an educational vision and practically convert these to future primary education.
Semester Program minor Kids for Change
You will have to study at the Marnix Academie in Utrecht during the Spring semester.
Nomination deadline: November 1st.
This exchange programme is open to you if you meet the following requirements:
• You are in your second year or higher of a teacher training college.
• Your English language skills are at CEFR-level B2 or higher.
This programme focusses on children’s rights in education. Students learn about all aspects of children’s rights and perform a practice based small scale research and educational design on this topic.
Students will focus on the position of children’s rights in education and look for (small) improvements which can be made. Students will develop skills as a teacher to guide and challenge learners to use their voice and be a changemaker!
The focus will be on topics such as equal opportunities, citizenship and inclusivity. During the internship students will conduct a small scale research into the starting situation of children’s rights at their internship school. This will be followed by making an educational design, based on literature, to improve the position of children’s rights at their internship school.
To get further acquainted and gain experience with the theme, students will also participate in an project at a different school (not the internship school) as part of the programme. This project is called Move. The strategy of this project is based on social entrepreneurship education. Students will be part of an international group and with this group they will guide learners at the primary school to use their voice, create ideas and become changemakers.
Through this programme students will continue to develop themselves towards becoming world citizens and developing an idea of what that means in their education, so that their learners can become responsible world citizens as well.
Objectives are:
-The students can carry out a practical research based on theoretical sources and findings from practice to contribute to or improve children’s rights in education.
-The students can carry out an educational design in which they show that they can contribute to children’s rights in education in an inspiring way.
-The students can make use of related didactics in their educational design and explain their choices.
-The students can develop a vision on children’s rights in education and show how they act accordingly.
The programme consists of 14 weeks of classes at the Marnix Academie, alternated by internship weeks and holidays. Classes are two to three days a week, with a total of 6 to 8 hours a week. Students will also have at least one day a week at their internship school. Besides classes at the Marnix Academie and the internship students have time to participate in the Move-project and to work on their research and educational design.
Assessment
- Part 1: Presenting your findings of the starting situation regarding children’s rights at your primary school.
- Part 2A: Vlog of a group project.
- Part 2B: Individual reflection.
- Part 3: The assessment of an individual research, in which a student examines literature and translates these theoretical results into practice
The students will go to a Dutch primary school for their internship. They will go there at least one day a week. The students are able to see the Dutch education system in practice and teach children about citizenship, but also English language, arts and crafts, sports and music. For these four subjects international students will attend additional classes at the Marnix Academie. This way students will get ideas and develop skills to include these subjects into their internship practice.
The educational design is closely related to the internship and the students perform their educational design at the internship school.
Assessment
Students make a report on their internship and have an assessment conversation with the teacher and the coordinator of teacher training in the school of internship.
The students are encouraged to investigate aspects of Dutch culture and share information with fellow students. Discussion about these aspects is an important part of the Dutch Culture classes. Students are stimulated to visit places of interest in the Netherlands for example museums in the area of Utrecht. The students will take Dutch lessons.
In this small course (14 education weeks, one hour a week) students will learn to introduce themselves in Dutch and understand and participate in a small conversation during their internship. Reading aloud a children’s book is trained in class and performed in the internship school. Part of the language course is self-study with DuoLingo. (Students may propose alternative apps, please contact the teacher about this.)
Assessment
Students make a digital assessment-file of several parts of the Dutch Language and Culture assignment.
In the coaching sessions we will discuss the progress of minor activities and internship. The expectations of studying in the Netherlands and the well-being of the students is often a conversation topic. Together we reflect on experiences in internship.
Assessment
Students make a digital assessment-file of several parts of the Study coaching assignment.