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Let’s initiate change together!

On 19-21 April 2024, in the premises of the Family Wellness Hotel Marina in Patince, the training of educators took place within the framework of the international project Inclusion4Schools, which was supported by the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme of the European Union under the contract number 101004653. The three-day training was held under the title “Let’s initiate change together!” 4K – Examples of good practice in education – Communication, critical, creative and community supporting examples of good practice. The training was oriented towards developing inclusive and communicative attitudes. The programme consisted of seminars, workshops, practicing examples of good practice, on the topics mentioned in the title of the training.

The implementation of the individual exercises and workshops was divided over the entire duration of the training, i.e. over three days. The first day started with the official opening of the program and the presentation of the project and education by Dr. habil. PaedDr. Melinda Nagy, PhD., Vice Rector of J. Selye University and coordinator of the Inclusion4Schools project for the Slovak Republic and Dr. Éva Thun, PhD., Assistant Professor and Senior Researcher of the Department of Education of the John Wesley Theological College (J. Wesley Theological College). After the start of the training, the participants attended a workshop on “Teamwork and community development” – Examples of good practice in the spirit of positive psychology and inclusive education. The training programme on the second day was divided into a morning and an afternoon programme. In the morning, exercises and workshops were held on “Self-evaluation and self-development” – Examples of good practice using reframing, re-evaluation techniques, and “Reflective thinking and creative approach” – Examples of good practice in reflective thinking and creative educational approach. After the lunch break, the participants completed situational exercises on “The 4K – Pedagogical and Situational Exercises”- Examples of good practice in the spirit of critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration. Participants were able to try out good practice exercises in different forms, in small and large groups, presenting the creative process and demonstrating communication approaches and rich interpersonal relationships. The training, workshops and exercises also included rich discussions, exchange of experiences, joint reflections, which the participants had the opportunity to express both throughout the programme and during the afternoon seminar. Space was available for exploring opinions, reflections, evaluations and conclusions on the last day of the training, which was also the final act of the three-day programme.

The three-day training entitled “Let’s Initiate Change Together” within the Inclusion4Schools project, organised and attended by the Slovak side of the international project, was a success. The training took place with the participation of forty registered teachers from different parts of the Slovak Republic. University lecturers were responsible for mentoring and conducting workshops, seminars and exercises, namely: dr. univ. Agáta Csehiová, PhD., Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education UJS, Mgr. Anita Tóth-Bakos, PhD., assistant professor at the Faculty of Education UJS, and a senior researcher in the School of Education at J. Wesley Catholic College, Eva Thun, PhD. Based on the feedback and opinions expressed by the training participants, it can be concluded that the training fulfilled its objectives, namely to offer educators training to develop inclusive and communicative attitudes, adaptable to educational practice.

Photo documentation – from the training illustrating the individual exercises, seminars, workshops and products created within the individual activities.