Aims, methodology and outcomes of the project
GENERAL AIMS
Raising Teachers' Critical Self and social Awareness,
promoting Intercultural Communication and the creation of
Democratic Structures through Active European Citizenship.
Two fundamental aims of SYNTHESI are the promotion of
Intercultural Communication and Active European Citizenship.
Citizens should actively intervene in Institutions so that they
contribute to their more effective and democratic functioning.
However, a citizen who is not characterized by self acceptance
and does not have a high self esteem will not have the courage
to proceed to such interventions. This constitutes the objective
of Critical Self Awareness necessary in the context of SYNTHESI.
Critical Self awareness in no way implies the individual’s
isolation from the social milieu in order to concentrate on
her/his self in a kind of narcissistic way. It rather means
–among other things- that the person makes the important life
decision to proceed to the critical deconstruction and
reconstruction of the personal recognizing the fact that s/he
has a high potential for personal development through self
acceptance, as well as acceptance of otherness since her/his
identity is constructed through intersubjective relations.
Because identities are constructed in a complex social context
it is important to realize the ways in which this context
influences the individual and the possibility that what s/he
usually sees as the autonomous and free self may actually be an
alienated self or a ‘false consciousness’. Critical Social
Awareness –the other basic objective of SYNTHESI- can help the
person critically read the social and its influences on the
personal through a process of critical deconstruction but can
also help her/him to proceed to a process of critical
reconstruction of the social. The assumption made here is that
there is a dialectic relationship between the individual and the
social and this is the reason why there is also a dialectic
relationship between Critical Self and Social Awareness.
Education has a central role for such a project and this makes
the role of the teacher very important in the context of
SYNTHESI. In order to help pupils and students develop Critical
Self and Social Awareness which promotes Intercultural
Communication and Active European Citizenship, we first of all
need to help the teacher develop her/his own critical self and
social awareness. This is the reason why the emphasis in the
context of SYNTHESI is on the teacher and her/his central role
in the educational/social ‘theatre’.
Top of the page OBJECTIVES
to promote:
- teachers' critical self awareness and development;
- their critical social awareness
- acceptance of self and others
- active and critical social interventions
- intercultural communication and co-operative projects for
the creation of a genuinely democratic Europe
Top of the page APPROACH
The approach will be based theoretically on the following
fields:
Psycology - (The Greek approach will be based mainly on the
theory of Psycosynthesis developed by the Italian Roberto
Assagioli. Psycosynthesis is well known for its applications
to Education. Communication - (models and skills) and Media
studies (with emphasis on the communication as performance.
This means that communication is not viewed as simply a linear
process of trasmission and passive reception of information,
but emphasis is given on communication as performance in
different social and cultural contexts, through the conscious
and/or anconscious playing of roles which the subject plays ,
usually posing as an object in order to become a subject. The
enphasis and the aim of the project will be on analyzing our
performances in order to give more conscious ones aiming to
personal, cultural and intercultural synthesis and genuine,
democratic communication). This means that, among other
activities, a theatrical performance will be included.
Theatre performance is based on the theoretical background
informing the project of SYNTHESI. In the context of this rich
and interdisciplinary theoretical background the fundamental
role of communication is recognized and emphasis is given to
the fact that:
a) the person is to a large degree the product of
communication, and
b) that performance (and not the transmission and reception of
messages) is the most important element in communication,
especially in today’s globalised world.
Cultural studies and the way in which the person is formed
under the influence of cultural contexts, but can also
contributes to the cultural development of the narrower and
broader community in which s/he is situated, with emphasis on
the European Community.
Theatre, music (and perhaps chorotherapy) will be used as
sectors involved in the trasmission and the production of
culture and identities, as well as educational methods which
can promote personal, cultural and social development in a
process which is - at an interpersonal level - eco-logical.
Qualitative research with emphasis on Critical action
research. The basic aim of this approach will be the
promotion of teachers, and citizens in general, to active
and critical researchers of their internal and external
world, the development of their part of research and
evaluation skills with a final target the social
intervention through informed and strategic action
projects.
Top of the page METHODOLOGY
The program which will be developed will be based on an
interdisciplinarity approach and experiential learnign. It
will be student centred, with the role of teacher as critical
facilitato.
OUTCOMES
- Self and socially aware teachers
- Material (theretical and practical, e.g. simulation
exercises, videos, etc. - for use in teacher education
and/or training institutions
- Website
- Self and socially aware european citizens
- Development of projects aiming at critical social
intervention and development
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