Instruments

Intellectual outputs

The four Intellectual Outputs to be developed will be included in the key project findings.
Two important pillars of these are diagnostic tools and the resulting support framework for the social and emotional development of young adults with cognitive impairments undergoing vocational training.
This takes the shift towards learning outcomes into account and allows tailored learning and teaching methods to be created.
This education concept includes training opportunities for teachers and professionals as well as a handbook. Due to the complexity of the topics, these will be broken down into modules.

The modules are flexible and can be individually implemented.

1. Diagnostic tools (standardised diagnosis with self-assessment and external assessment for the cognitively impaired)

2. Handbook on the importance of social and emotional skills (for trainers, teachers, etc.)

3. Method for promoting social and emotional skills
The method includes different styles and topics of support from various skill sets (self-awareness, self-management and relationship management). These styles and topics are described as complex support areas. The main principles of the concept are introduced in the method.

4. Training modules for teaching staff and professionals involved
Module 1: Diagnostic tools
Module 2: Creating action plans
Module 3: Professional pedagogical professionalism and personal social and emotional skills
Module 4: Organisational development in terms of developing social and emotional skills
Module 5: Integrating the development of social and emotional skills into everyday training activities

Numerous soft factors count towards the findings anticipated in the SEC4VET project Target group-specific tools contribute to the further development and guarantee of quality in various vocational teaching and professional contexts as well as supporting a work culture that promotes learning and reflection for young people with cognitive impairments undergoing vocational training. A knowledge network has been created through the initial European collaboration on this project and additional stakeholders are included on the project advisory board.

Partnership is based on a European collaboration. Partners believe in a united Europe, in which different countries learn from one another and grow together. European project partners are working together to counteract the many anti-European movements. Project meetings and learning/teaching/training activities provide opportunities for intercultural exchange. These promote cultural contact and reflection of own and others’ cultures. Intercultural skills are an important key skill in today’s globalised world of work. Students and trainees as well as teaching staff and professionals participating in the project activities have the opportunity to develop professionally and personally as part of a European collaboration.

Students with social and emotional strengths also form part of the project’s focus. Combined with a learning difficulty, these participants often have problems finding a job even though they can be very valuable workers in times of a skills shortage due to their social and emotional skills, such as services for the elderly and disabled, for example. The project aims to explain why, despite a skills shortage, care homes and hospitals reject these young people who have cognitive impairments but strong social and emotional skills and who could offer a valuable addition to a team. This issue is to be addressed through public work and communication with employers to raise positive awareness of this target group and the need for their inclusion. Another expected outcome is increased employee satisfaction for teaching staff and professionals in participating vocational training institutions since they have a target group-specific tool that they can implement in daily educational and school life.
Teachers’ health is also expected to improve through seminars and the use of methods such as video-supported supervision when dealing with disadvantaged target groups.
A handbook and seminars discuss behavioural and experience prevention for trainers, teachers and professionals. At an institutional level, teaching staff and professionals as well as students and trainees will have learning outcomes to accept more responsibility for themselves and others.