Report for C2 (LTTA) Hungary on Traditional Arts and Crafts by RICHeS

By RICHeS

Contents

criteria to assess the transversal key competence acquisition approach of cultural heritage education initiatives for fighting early school leaving and dropout;
collect and analyze aspects amongst early-school leavers fighting the phenomeno through Traditional Arts and Crafts;
a range of approaches to teaching and learning to support creativity in education.

Report for C2, LTTA, short term staff training events

Hungary December 2019

T.A.C.K.E.D.“Traditional Arts and Crafts to Keep away Early Drop-out”.

Project code: 2018-1-EL01-KA201-047659

PART 2 by RICHeS on :

criteria to assess the transversal key competence acquisition approach of cultural heritage education initiatives for fighting early school leaving and dropout; collect and analyze aspects amongst early-school leavers fighting the phenomeno through Traditional Arts and Crafts; a range of approaches to teaching and learning to support creativity in education.

Introduction:

For the needs of the Erasmus+ program TACKED the NGO RICHeS ( Rhodes International Culture and Heritage Society) was invited to be one of the 3 Greek partners involved in this program.

The subject traditional arts and crafts became a research project for RICHeS in order to give support and background information to the other 2 partners the Directorate of Secondary Education in Dodecanese and Secondary School of Gennadi

Conclusions and advice based on the research carried out in Rhodes from the years 2018-2019 and school visits in Italy and Hungary

Written from a cultural point of view, RICHeS is an NGO, we are not educators, the comments we give are therefore of an advisory and idealistic nature.
Last year’s approach was a study of the traditional professions and arts are still practiced in Rhodes.
Which traditional professions are still viable and offer a future and which are only suitable for folklore?
The results of this research and the conclusions that emerge from it are to support and advise educators and management.
Policy-making is not for us but for the schools and management.

To find information on traditional professions we have been interviewing artists and craftsmen based in Rhodes. These professionals were surveyed and photos and video recordings were made.

It is up to the management and the educators of the schools to find ways to implement the know-how of these artisans and craftsmen and involve them in the realisation of the program.

Here I would like to mention 2 other Erasmus+ programs that can be of interest:

Social inclusion
A Role Model in the class.

First task was to define what are these traditional arts and crafts and are they taught at school. The answer is NO, these are not taught at school and the knowledge is passed on from generation to generation by practical education. What emerged most during the conversations with these professionals was the fact that they started to learn the profession at a very young age, very practical, usually in the family’s workshop.

IMPORTANT CONCLUSION: here is a paradox with regard to the TACKeD project, which seeks to prevent early school leaving. These professionals are often low theoretical educated, but highly trained in their field due to years of practical experience. They all indicated that only many hours in the workplace is the way to master the profession.

Actually these old school traditional artists and craftsmen are not at all the appropriate “role models” for completing the school education, but very good “role models” in relation to the craftsmanship obtained.

For them, the early “dropping out” of school gave them time needed to develop the necessary craftsmanship.

The challenge for the modern school system is how to bridge the gap between formal, theoretical education at school with the apprentice based education in the workshop.

How can this be translated into a recommendation for the modern Greek school system where vocational training is limited available and not popular. The school system in which secondary school is taught in a fairly homogeneous way and with hardly any differentiation.

How to advice? seen from the point of view of the pupil and especially the pupil who is threatened in his development and is therefore prone to leave school early.?

Seen from the point of view of the traditional arts and crafts professionals?

Do we take in account the students that are the “odd balls” the ADHD, high functioning but Autistic spectrum etc. the students from poor areas, minority backgrounds. And Roma and immigrants? They have their own traditional arts and crafts, can educators tap into their interests and use these arts and crafts?

In any case, the situation is different for each student, for which person-oriented, individualized, differentiated education should be applied.

And then the question of when the impending drop out will be signaled, if that is during high school, in Greece, TACKED has nothing to offer. The traditional and artistic professions cannot be found in the educational system at high school level.

Indeed, a personal trajectory per pupil could be worked out, in which the school has a supporting role, with only a limited time for theoretical education at the pupil level and a large amount of practice-oriented education, in the workplace, in the workplace or work area .

Idealistically a team of teachers, mentors and social workers that work together with the artist – craftsmen on a personalized educational program for a longer period of time say, 3- 4 years, for each student on their personal interests and talents and capabilities.

These professionals are experts in their field of expertise and can explain the practical lessons in detail without being educated theoretically. Just as they learned the trade by doing it a lot. So a system where practice is paramount, apprentice-targeted.

One-to-one lessons so that the student is offered the subject material in person, so that the impending dropout can be turned around or avoided.

In Greece, vocational training can be started after high school, the students are then around 17 years old. In Hungary this is from the age of 14 and in Italy we have visited the art school where the students from the age of 12 are taught in 7 different subject areas and where they will make a choice over the years to eventually choose a subject of their choice, to obtain a professional diploma.

Compared to Italy and Hungary, Greek pupils have already fallen behind by 3 to 5 years in professional skills.

The schools we visited in Hungary had a big variety in the artistic and crafts professions. To add a course or direction within the traditional arts and crafts is rather easy to implement because it seems the facilities are already there.

What would be specific to Rhodes or Greece in general?

The architecture of Rhodes with its many architectural styles, historic monuments and traditional villages offers many possibilities.

A school that is practically focused on the subject areas of, for example, brickwork, ironwork, woodwork, wood and stone sculpture, traditional building techniques, restoration and maintenance could certainly be viable and provide a place for pupils who are more focused on practical education instead of theoretical education.

The implementation is idealistic, in the past an effort was made in 2006 with the creation of the “Το Χειροτεχνικό Κέντρο Ρόδου” which failed due to the stop of financial support.

Also the K.E.K., an initiative of the Periphery South Aegean. The aim of these courses is to inform and educate students in a variety of traditional arts and crafts. It was only partial effective and seen more as a hobby then professional education.

The group of students that are prone to drop out are from rural areas in Greece. Also Rhodes has an agricultural background.

The practical know how that was passed on through tradition and generations is no longer evident. Youth goes to school and no longer works on the land. Much of the traditional knowledge of agriculture is likely to be lost fairly soon.

Actually due to the crisis and the trend that local produce is promoted, there is a returning interest amongst the young generations into farming

A vocational school in the field of agriculture and gardening could be an opportunity to connect this group of students with a, for them, meaningful education.

Would it then be possible to design a new high school where the pupils from 14 years like in Hungary come into contact with different subject areas? More practice-oriented education and theoretical education at different levels adapted to the individual possibilities of the students.

Or does it become a practice-oriented school as a follow-up course after high school.

The discussions have shown that something needs to be done the craftsmen who are still there do not have eternal life, most are the last who still have the expertise. Successors are not always present, and the financial means to hire someone paid are not evident. The apprentice in training is more a burden than an added value.

So indeed from the view of the arts and crafts men there is certainly a role for the school. The school can take over the task of the craftsmen as educator and secure the knowledge and to pass it on to the next generations. However, this is a policy decision that must be taken by many layers of the school system.