Duration: 01. 09. 2025 – 28. 02. 2027
Reference: 2025-1-SE01-KA210-SCH-000363696
The project is driven by increased globalization and migration, which have created more diverse classrooms across Europe. While this enriches learning environments, it also requires intentional efforts to ensure that every student feels welcomed and valued. In addition, the rise of digital communication and technology has reduced face-to-face interactions, affecting children’s empathy and interpersonal skills. Teachers have noted a decline in social engagement, highlighting the need for structured social inclusion initiatives to improve wellbeing and better prepare students for success in life.
This project seeks to address social exclusion through social-emotional learning, recognizing that fostering empathy, respect, and mutual support among students, teachers, and parents is key to a positive school climate where all students feel safe and valued (CASEL, 2019a; European Commission, 2023). By developing students’ SEL skills, such as self-awareness, emotional regulation, and empathy, the project aims to create inclusive learning environments and instil core values of kindness, compassion, responsibility, and respect for diversity. Investing in SEL supports both students’ wellbeing and contributes to the creation of safer, more inclusive school environments where all students can thrive academically and emotionally. The project’s long-term impact extends beyond schools, as positive school climates have ripple effects on communities and society.
The project’s main objectives are to:
– Enhance students’ social-emotional learning (SEL) skills and wellbeing: By integrating structured SEL activities into classrooms, we aim to improve students’ empathy, compassion, and respect of the (individual and common) values. This will contribute to wellbeing, positive relationships, and mutual respect and understanding among peers with diverse characteristics, backgrounds, and experiences, creating a safer, more positive learning environment with higher level of
inclusion and lower level of bullying and discrimination.
– Improve teachers’ knowledge and skills to address the topic of inclusion and wellbeing: Teachers have a key role in fostering inclusion, wellbeing and strengthening SEL skills of students. We aim to equip them with knowledge, skills, and educational materials to address the specific challenges linked to the lack of empathy, cooperation, mutual understanding and respect that can arise in diverse classrooms.
– Strengthen students’ engagement in creating more inclusive classroom/school communities where values for inclusion are respected: By actively involving students as creators of their own peer-to-peer inclusion projects (both in the physical and online environment) we support a holistic approach, encouraging them to collaboratively establish and respect common values that support a more inclusive, safe, and positive atmosphere. Building student-teacher partnerships will contribute to better relationships and a shared understanding of everyone’s role in creating an inclusive, supportive environment.
– Develop multilingual materials that guide teachers in encouraging, creating, and supporting empathy, inclusion, and wellbeing in their classrooms/schools.
– Facilitate peer learning opportunities and foster collaboration and the exchange of practices among teachers in the EU for strengthening inclusion.
– Empower project partners to provide further training on inclusion to teachers.
Main results:
– Increased empathy, emotional intelligence, and wellbeing of students.
– Clear values established within classrooms that promote respect and cooperation. Better understanding and mutual respect for individual and common values, and diversity.
– Improved classroom atmosphere and more inclusive learning environments where all students feel valued and supported.
– Better equipped teachers with strategies to handle diverse classrooms and promote inclusion.
– Stronger engagement between teachers and students (and parents) in fostering empathy and inclusion.
The project aligns with the priority of promoting wellbeing at school by creating more empathic and supportive environments and supporting teachers in their professional development related to diversity and inclusion. By addressing the values in diverse classrooms, the project directly contributes to building socially responsible individuals as well as educational institutions that prioritise the wellbeing and inclusion of all students.
We are partnering in the project with Erasmus+ courses by Primera and our venture Primera – Zentrum für pädagogische Fortbildung Wien.
