This month, STEP participated in the final meeting of the IE3 project in Belgium, where the participating organizations presented the final results.
In the project we were working together to reduce early school leaving by introducing Emotional Intelligence (EI) in different aspects of curricular and extracurricular activities.
Dropping out of school is a persistent phenomenon in Europe and is considered a real challenge. Personal frustration, actual loss of potential employees for the job market and the relation between emotional growth and dropping out of school were the main incentives for the participating partners to take part in this exchange. They all agree that it is of the utmost importance to embed emotional intelligence in school curriculums and guidance programs. In time, this will have a positive effect on the reduction of early school leaving, a positive effect on students and it will improve the quality of their time at school as well as opportunities in the job market.
STEP was in charge of the train-the trainer program which provided practical techniques for teaching emotional intelligence. Teachers and counsellors from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands attended the training sessions. Schools then used these tools in a very creative way. They found different approaches to implement EI in their schools, adjusting them to their abilities and adapting them to their culture and environment. But what they all have in common is that they recognise the importance of EI in education and spread the knowledge even further.
