Promoting Self-confidence, Motivation and Sustainable Learning Skills in Basic Education

Abstract

Even though learning demands on individuals are expanding, a basic education concept is yet missing taking this into account and which is neither content nor target group specific. The main questions to evaluate in our project were therefore, what basic competences are necessary to participate in a European society, and how can they be acquired in a sustainable manner.In the course of a two year period, the Be(coming) European (BeE) project developed a comprehensive workshop concept for staff in basic education which would be adaptable to different target groups, content areas and educational settings. The concept would give support to basic education teachers in promoting their students’ self-confidence, learning skills and motivation to learn.At the beginning of the project, an analysis was undertaken regarding existing basic education concepts and necessary competences in seven different countries. These theoretical findings lead to a workshop concept for educational staff. This was subsequently tested and evaluated in pilot workshops at three different project partner institutions. Due to the close collaboration with teachers and learners, this work is to be considered action research.The project's undertakings revealed that self-regulated learning (SRL) skills are at the heart of sustainable adult learning processes and that it is essential for lifelong learning and inclusion. Nonetheless, SRL strategies are only randomly taught. The examinations further revealed that, to promote motivation, it is important to focus on already acquired competences and to incorporate daily life issues into learning.A contemporary concept of basic education has to fulfill many requirements (adaptability to different content areas, and the demands of variable target groups and stakeholders). As no single concept can fulfill all those requirements, it is necessary to focus on competencies which enable learners to become more autonomous. This concept should be competence-oriented, adjusted and personalized to the learner, and foster self-regulated learning competences.