Revista Internacional de Educación para la Justicia Social (Jun 2013)
The Project “Eu Participo”. A Strategy of Local Educational Policy for Education in Citizenship
Abstract
Our paper intends to describe the main pedagogical assumptions underlying the attainment of a pilot project on the theme of participation and its consequences in the education of children more socially responsible. This project is framed by two movements that inspired these kind of processes which promote and articulate citizenship participation: “Educating Cities” and “Child Friendly Cities”. The team set as starting point the exploration and reflection of the document “Convention of the Children's Rights” betting further on the rights regarding their participation.The project was held at the Primary School of Batudes (Palmela, 2011/2012) having as main objectives the following: to promote spaces where children could experience the intrinsic values of participatory democracy and, with their creativity (de)construct social relationships and community intervention; bring children closer to existing participation mechanisms and local authorities. In conclusion, the desired objectives have been achieved. However, the pilot project allowed teachers' critical reflection about their educational practice and with it the potential involvement of children in school management processes. It became apparent that the ability to work the curriculum from the point of view of the involvement of students in enhancing the process of teaching and learning, dialogically (de)constructed, is a necessary reality for motivation and stimulation of children to the world of school.
