Evaluation

Evaluation Ubeda – students in SPAIN

Students who were in Ubeda answer the questionnaire about the visit.

Thirty five students filled the questionnaire. Large majority of the students have had opportunity of speaking English with other people, 77,15% claim that it was enough for them and some of them 25,71 % (9 students) claim they have had the opportunity but not too much None of the students were too ashamed to speak with other people or haven’t had opportunity of speaking English.

Students have found out a lot of information. They have learnt about the culture (77,15%), they have tasted the traditional dishes (74,3%). Large majority of the students have learnt new words in Spanish language (80%!!!) it is more students than in any other visit !!!. Students  learnt about history (34,3%) and monuments (48,5%). Less than a half (40%) have found out the tradition of other countries. Few students have found out about the educational system (22,8%) and famous people (11,4%).

Like always the most important thing for the students during mobility was to make friends with other teenagers(91,4%!!!), for a half of them the most important thing was to get to know new country (51,4%) and for one third 34,3% it was important to taste new dishes.

Large majority of the students (80%) found the stay in Ubeda as a very satisfying experience. Staying in Ubeda was stressful at the beginning for 20% of students. It was probably because the stayed at the host families for the first time. Only one student did not like staying in Ubeda but he/she was glad she/he could come.

Most of the students are going to keep in touch with their new friends (85,7%), Only 11,42% are not sure about it. Any student is not interested in keeping in touch with new friends. One of them aren’t sure and said “maybe”

The students like both sightseeing Ubeda more than team – work  54,3% and 71,43%, three students answered that it was something else but they didn’t explain.

Large majority of the  students think that they have improved their English (74,3 %), because they  :

·         talked to other people

·         Spoke a lot

·         Talked to other teenagers from the project

·         Had the chance to speak  English to other people

·         Used English in practice

·         Talked a lot

·         Learnt thousand of different accents

·         Spoke English all the time with friends

Some of the students 20% think they didn’t improve they English because they:

·         Can speak English

·         Didn’t learn new words

·         Use a lot English at school

·         Talked with only few students

Some of the students have add comments. They think that:

·         He/she wanted to eat with less olive oil

·         Everybody should have eaten together

·         She/he could have had more free time and more time to sleep but she/he had a great time in Spain

·         We had a great time

·         She/he had best week of her/his life

·         This week was a once in a life time experience and he/she is glad he/she could be there

·         She/he made so many friends, Spanish people are very nice and friendly, he/she hopes to come back

·         She/he had a lot of fun and it was nice to visit other country and talked to people from different countries,

·         She/he wish the trip had been longer

·         She/he learnt to speak a little Spanish, made a lot of new friends. All the people were friendly and spoke English well

·         She/he thinks it was an amazing trip, he/she met a lot of people and made a lot of friends. The school has an interesting design and he/she liked it a lot

·         It was a nice experience in Spain and she/he hopes to came back to Spain again

·         The trip was a great experience and she/he liked the Spanish people

·         Everybody was so friendly, everybody wanted to help

·         Thank you for everything

Evaluation Plovdiv – students in Bulgaria

Thirty three students who have been in Plovdiv filled the questionnaire. More than a half of the students have had opportunity of speaking English with other people, 54,55% claim that it was enough for them, 33,3% students have had the opportunity but not too much, One the students was too ashamed to speak with other people or and three students think they haven’t had any opportunity of speaking English.

Students have found out a lot of information. They have learnt the most about the traditions of other countries  (78,79%), because of the topic of the meeting they have found out about the culture (69,7%) tasted the traditional dishes (48,48%). More than  half of the students have learnt new words in Bulgarian language (54,55%). One third have learnt about history (33,33%) and monuments (24,24%). A few of the students have found out about the educational system (12,12%) and famous people (15,15%).

The most important thing for the students during mobility was to get to know new country (78,79%) and on the second place make friends with other teenagers (66,67%), for 33,33% it was important to taste new dishes.

Most of the students (72,73%) found the stay in Bulgaria as a very satisfying experience, for some of them 21,21% it was stressful at the beginning but they were content to be there. Three students did not like the stay in Bulgaria but they were glad they could come.

Most of the students are going to keep in touch with their new friends (78,79%), 21,21% are not sure about it. Any student is not interested in keeping in touch with new friends.

The students like sightseeing Bulgaria most (69,7%) and more than a half (51,52%) like team work most, 24,24% of students like other things the most. They didn’t mention what it was.

A large majority of the students (81,82 % ) think they have improved their English, but 18,18% students don’t think so.

Many students have add comments. They think that:

·         She/he wants to come back to Plovdiv

·         She/he will miss Bulgaria

·         It was a very beautiful place and she/he wants to come there again

·         All things were fantastic

·         She/he made new friends and she/he loved staying there

·         The mobility was perfect

·         It was a very fun experience and she/he wish she would be able to come again without the stress concerning with introducing new people

·         The people were very friendly, she/he made many friends

·         It was a beautiful experience

·         The people were very friendly and she/he wants to have more experiences like that

·         It was  wonderful

·         She/he liked everything

·         This experience was very interesting and wonderful

·         Bulgaria is a beautiful country

·         She/he liked a black swan

·         She/he didn’t find the supermarket near the hotel

·         She/he liked the rose oil factory

·         Bulgaria is an unique country and she/he liked mosque

·         The food prices are low

Evaluation Izmir – students

Students who were in Izmir answer the questionnaire about the visit.

Forty two students filled the questionnaire. More than a half of the students have had opportunity of speaking English with other people, 33,33% claim that it was enough for them. None of the students were too ashamed to speak with other people or haven’t had opportunity of speaking English.

Students have found out a lot of information. They have learnt about the culture (66,67%), they have tasted the traditional dishes (52,38%). Large majority of the students have learnt new words in Turkish language (69,05%) it is much more than in any other visit. It might be because all the students stayed at the host families. Students  learnt about history (38,1%) and monuments (21,43%). Less than a half (35,71%) have found out the tradition of other countries. Few students have found out about the educational system (14,28%) and famous people (9,52%). One student mentioned that he learned about Turkish personality.

Like always the most important thing for the students during mobility was to make friends with other teenagers (73,81%), for more than a half of them the most important thing was to get to know new country (59,52%) and for one third 38,1% it was important to taste new dishes. One student add that the most important was to get to know about the culture.

Most of the students (57,14%) found the stay in Turkey as a very satisfying experience. Staying in Izmir was stressful at the beginning for one third of students. It was probably because the stayed at the host families for the first time. Nether less they thought it was worth staying at the host families. Only 4,76% of did not like the stay in Izmir but they were glad they could come.

Students added that they liked Turkey a lot and found out that people were nice. Other student wrote that he/she had been scared at the beginning but later he wished to stay longer there, third student added that it had been really nice.

Most of the students are going to keep in touch with their new friends (71,43%), 28,57% are not sure about it. Any student is not interested in keeping in touch with new friends.

The students like both sightseeing Izmir and team work  47,62% and 42,68%, eight students added that they liked making friends the most.

More than a half students think that they have improve their English (57,14 %), because :

• They had to speak English all the time
• They spoke a lot in English
• They learned new words
• Some students from Finland know English very well so they improved their English speaking with them
• They had to talk about different thing in many ways
• They had to speak with many different people in the way they could understand

One third of the students (33,3%) think they don’t improved their English, as a reason for that they wrote:

• They know English very well, so they don’t need it
• They spoke in Turkish because they know it
• They didn’t speak with other people

Some of the students have add comments. They think that:

• He/she learned a lot about the culture by staying with a family
• He/she ate good food
• They laughed a lot
• He/she think it was very funny
• The mobility and the people were great
• Although the people in Turkey don’t know English very well they are wonderful people, very kind and he/she wish to see them again
• He/she loves Turkey and Izmir. He/she likes all these people there. He/she will visit Turkey again
• Huge love
• The people were nice and it was funny
• The people were kind and it was funny to speak other language

Evaluation Larissa – students

Thirty nine students who have been in Larissa filled the questionnaire. Large majority of the students have had opportunity of speaking English with other people, 69% claim that it was enough for them, 30% students have had the opportunity but not too much, None of the students were too ashamed to speak with other people or haven’t had opportunity of speaking English.

Students have found out a lot of information. They have learnt about the culture (71%), they have tasted the traditional dishes (69%). More than  half of the students have learnt new words in Greek language (64%) and learnt about history (61%) and monuments (58%). Less than a half (43%) have found out the tradition of other countries. One third of the students have found out about the educational system (33%) and famous people (35%). About 7% found out something more during the meeting. The students mentioned f.e. dances.

The most important thing for the students during mobility was to make friends with other teenagers (87%), for some of them the most important thing was to get to know new culture (25%) and for 12% it was important to taste new dishes.

Most of the students (76%) found the stay in Greece as a very satisfying experience, only 7% of the students think it was stressful at the beginning but they were content to be there. Three students did not like the stay in Romania but they were glad they could come.

Most of the students are going to keep in touch with their new friends (82%), 20% are not sure about it. Any student is not interested in keeping in touch with new friends.

The students like sightseeing Greece most (79%) and less than a half (43%) like team work most, 7% of students like sports activities and other things for example meeting new people who are like them (17%).

A large majority of the students (69 % ) think they have improved their English, but 28% students don’t think so.

Many students have add comments. They think that:

• it was great and thanks for giving the opportunity to improve his/her English, to socialize and make new friends,
• Greece is very beautiful,
• Comenius is a great experience, he/she had a  chance to meet a lot of wonderful people and travel to other place,
• Everything was perfect and he/she doesn’t think it need any comments,
• The student would like to keep in touch with new friends and promise to try to talk to them on facebook,
• The Greek people are very funny and they can speak English very well,
• Thanks for the opportunity,
• Thank you for this experience, the student will remember it for a long time,
• Thanks for the opportunity,

Evaluation questionnaire – Students / all project teams in Bucharest/

Thirty six students who have been in Bucharest filled in the questionnaire. Most of the students (69,44 %) have had enough opportunity to speak English with other people, 25% have had the opportunity but according to them they did not speak  much, two of the students were too shy/ashamed to speak with other people.

Students have found out a lot of information. They have learnt about Romanian culture (66,67%) and  have tasted  traditional dishes (61,11%). More than  half of the students have learnt new words in Romanian  (55,56%). Some of them (41,67%) have found out facts about the history of other countries. One third of the students have found out about the monuments of other countries and  have learnt about the educational system and the traditions of other countries. About 20% have learnt about famous people (22,22%) and found out something more (16,67%) during the meeting.

The most important thing for the students during the mobility was to make friends with other teenagers (91,67%), for some of them the most important thing was to get to know new culture (36,11%) and for 11,11% it was important to taste new dishes.

Most of the students (83,33%) found the stay in Romania  a very satisfying experience, only 11,11% of the students think it was stressful at the beginning but they were content to be there. Two students did not like the stay in Romania but they were glad they could come.

Most of the students are going to keep in touch with their new friends (72,22%), 22,22% are not sure about it. Only one student is not interested in keeping in touch with new friends.

The students like sightseeing Bucharest most (58,33%) and one  third like sport activities, team – work and others like meeting boys.

Most of the students (94,44 % ) think they have improved their English. Only two students don’t think so.

Seven students have added comments. They would like to repeat the visit and see their friends from other countries again. Three students had a great time in Romania and they want to visit Romania again. One of the students is thankful to teachers for the visit and new friends for friendship. 

                                  / joint product of the partnership, prepared by the Polish team/

Analysis of questionnaires and survey, carried out to evaluate the 2^nd working meeting to Romania,24-28th March,2014

Parents` and local community members` viewpoint

   The visit has been discussed in detail with family members, relatives, friends and neighbours . According to them , the students have been strongly impressed and influenced by what they  experienced – crossing borders, the extremely warm and well-organised reception , the good relationships among partners, the interesting and meaningful events and activities. The general conclusion is that students` participation in international projects is of great benefit.

Students` opinions

  All the students are extremely satisfied that they have succeeded in dealing with unusual situations alone, taking responsibility, “handling themselves”, that they have learned to work with people from other cultures ,ethnic groups and religions, people with different viewpoints and way of life. They have also learned to respect differences, to be more tolerant and work in international teams.

Most of them answered that they have practised all the skills mentioned in the questionnaire, namely English, communicative and artistic, as well as athletic ones. They all find the visit Beneficial, Exciting and touching and Unforgettable. They liked all the events and would like to participate in other activities like that.

Teachers` viewpoint

  Teachers` opinion coincides with that of students and their parents, relatives and friends. Despite the workload and many responsibilities, they have also improved communicative and IT skills, exchanged useful experience with colleagues from other countries and education systems. Relationships with their students improved, moving on to higher, more productive levels and they are convinced in the benefits of such projects.

Analysis of questionnaires and survey, carried out to evaluate project ideas, project activities so far and the 1st working meeting in Lapeenranta, 7-11^th October, 2013

Parents` and local community members` viewpoint

   The visit has been discussed in detail with  students, teachers, family members, relatives, friends and neighbours .    The participants in the survey and especially the parents are introduced to the main ideas and aims of the project. They regularly read the information in both the project and the school websites.

  The general conclusion is that students` participation in international projects is of great benefit for mainly:

-         Improving speaking skills in English and communicative skills in general;

-         Enriching students` general culture, broadening their minds and horizons;

-         Overcoming communication difficulties – students speak more openly to parents, teachers, classmates and will speak more easily to people from other countries, ethnic groups and religions;

-         Raising students` responsibility to tasks assigned;

-         Students` ability to deal with unusual situations, alone, without their parents/ incl. dealing with their budget/.

-         Enhancement of motivation and initiative, participation in activities, striving for improvement and self-expression;

-         Openness to the world and the European initiatives.

Students` opinions

More and more students express regret they didn`t enroll in the team and willingness to participate in the project activities – Sofroniada, Sofronivision,etc.    As for the advantages and shortcomings of working in a team, despite differences at times, they are learning to understand and respect others` opinions and mutual work is giving them satisfaction.

 They found out the Bulgarian slogan “Unity means power” to be true. And though a team needs time to become a good one, they all think that if everybody follows the motto/maxim/ “One for all, all for one”, they can climb mountains together. Everybody agrees that it is necessary to learn foreign languages as they help communicate better with the rest of the members on the international team. Everybody should have at least language competences at working level, especially knowledge of the working language of the project, English in our case.

Teachers` viewpoint

  Teachers` opinion coincides with that of students and their parents, relatives and friends. Relationships with their students improved, moving on to higher, more productive levels and they are convinced in the benefits of such projects.

Evaluation report 1

                                         Analysis

                    of the results from the survey

         The analysis was made on the basis of 22 questionnaire forms, chosen at random from all the forms, completed by members of the school team. The analysis covered all the answers given per each question separately.

           The survey was meant to find out whether the activities were related to the project topic and whether students find participation in such projects useful.        

1.     Have you taken part in any of the events of YOU IN EU project so far?

Yes -82% - 18 people; No – 0%; In some of them – 18% - 4 people. 

It is obvious that all who filled in the questionnaire have taken part in the events, the active participation being prevalent.

2.     Did you take part in the preparation and organization of events?

Yes – 82% -18 people; No – 9% - 2 people; In some of them– 9% - 2 people. Results show that students in general are interested in the project and want to be a part of it.

3.     Do you find such projects useful?

Yes – 100% - 22 people.

The unanimity does not state the reasons for finding the project useful but it clearly shows that the general opinion is cooperation is better than confrontation

4. Which skills and competences do you think you can practice and apply  during all the activities?

More than one answer was given.

English – 32% - 11answers; Communicative skills – 29% - 10 answers; Creative skills – 9% - 3 answers; None of them - 9% - 3 answers;

 All of them – 21% - 7 answers.

It is clearly seen that 91% - 19 people have practiced or hope to practice the basic skills set to be developed by the project aims, only 3 people attending the events for other reasons.

5. Will communication with peers from other countries break stereotypes and help you get rid of prejudice and lack of confidence?

Yes - 41% - 9 people; No – 18 % - 4 people; To a certain extent – 41 % - 9 people.

6. Will the future meetings make you more tolerant to cultural diversity and other people` s differences?

Yes – 68% - 15 people; No – 0%; To a certain extent – 32% - 7 people.

It is clearly seen that all participants have changed their attitude or at least thought about tolerance and international cooperation, which shows the project is worth doing and its goals are achievable.

8. Would you like to take part in a Comenius meeting?

Yes – 91% - 20 people; No – 0%; Maybe – 9% - 2 people.

 This is also evidence in favour of the above made conclusions. Even those who have declared it boring hope or secretly wish to take part in a visit.

9. Do you think such projects are worth doing?

Yes – 100% - 22 people.

Complete accord. The result confirms the need of more projects like that and the conclusion that kids want to work and be involved in projects but they have to be organized. Besides, projects should involve as many students as possible.

10. Do you think young people should know more about the EU and that they are the ones to make things happen, the ones to change relationships and things in general for the better? Do you think European values should be promoted by various means?

Yes – 50% - 11 people; No – 5% - 1 person; To a certain extent – 45% -10 people.

The conclusion to be made here is that through projects like this, the common European values will get people closer to each other and will bring about more tolerance, understanding, willingness to work together for the future of the EU and a better life together.

Evaluation of 1st working meeting

The first full project meeting was held at Kesämäenrinteen koulu in Finland from October 7^th-11^th 2013.

       There were teams from all eight partner countries present and, as this was the first time that all partners were together, time was spent on introductions and group-building exercises.

       The formal agenda items and discussion centred on organization of the project over the next two years. The proposed project structure was reviewed and amended to maximize student mobilities within the limits of the budget. Another issue raised was the importance of travelling students having the possibility to stay with host families in order to deepen the educational/cultural experience. The project website was established at www.youthineurope.webs.com and each partner country agreed to make their own national blog which would be linked to this website.

        In the discussions, Poland and Bulgaria said that they would have problems finding enough host families, while Romania asked to be included in the programme of visits. The Finnish team said that it would make a maximum of three visits because of its extra travelling costs (Northern location!)

         Effectively, Romania took the activities connected to the cancelled visit to Poland, while Poland took the activities previously allocated to Romania. Specific dates were made for the first three mobilities.

                  Romania 24.3-28.3.14

                  Greece 5.5-9.5.14

                  Turkey 29.10-3.11.14

and provisional dates for the last two 

                   Bulgaria 23.3-27.3.15

                   Spain 4.5-8.5.15

It was agreed that the host country would chair the respective project meetings.

          The overall atmosphere of discussion and joint decision making was
very positive.