PreMed Bullying Residential Training Programme (RTP) on Participatory Action Research and Life Skills held within the framework of the European ERASMUS+ project: “PreMed Bullying: Preventing Bullying in Primary Schools at the Mediterranean Region” under the lead of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens has been successfully completed.
The RTP, delivered by ARCOLA RESEARCH-Portugal, was a three-day immersive residential training programme aimed to support key actors (teachers, parents and other stakeholders) within the school system to recognise, explore and apply their creativity and talent to innovative anti-bullying solutions. It involved critical reflection, collaborative dialogue, action learning, and co-creation, structured through a three-stage ‘design thinking’ process.
22 teachers, headmasters and parents from Greece, Italy, Spain and Croatia participated in the programme, which contained experiential activities (mountain trek and visit to the ‘Ecumenical Temple’, Visit to ‘Cascata d’ Albarrol’ waterfall and natural pool, Visit to Parc Biologico and stables to get up close with horses), structured co-design workshops (Confronting conflicts, Storyboard creation, Development of an implementation plan to deliver and evaluate the proposed action research projects, including use of relevant digital tools), review and reflection (Key learning points from the day and the programme as a whole). Very interesting were also the optional evening activities, such as the kung-fu and the poetry session.
The experience was unique, and the participants acquired knowledge and reinforced competences. The next steps involve transferring the knowledge back to our countries and develop school anti-bullying action plans and anti-bullying policies.