CHOICE
Practices against Internet, drugs and gambling addiction
What is CHOICE?
It is an ethic project: involving experts in different fields of specializations, such as teachers, actors, doctors, psychologists, philosophers, educators, life coaches and social workers who will interact and support students throughout the activity. Learners participate in several theatrical workshops and through stagecraft methodology, they first will have the opportunity to increase their self-esteem which is the essential tool to make the right choice. The project focuses on the ethical choice as a constructive one; it means to choose positive behaviours in the face of situations, maintaining self-esteem even when external pressures would incline towards it down to risk.
At the end of the educational training, students will have acquired more knowledge on the theoretical problem related to the use of drugs, technology and internet, gambling; moreover, they will also have gained great self-knowledge and self-esteem. The importance that the project appoint to the theatrical performance is in the response that it gives to the missing link between good information and students’ world: it is essential to convey knowledge involving emotionally, as well as supporting the individual.
Project influence
This project benefits the following main target groups:
- youth attending secondary school;
- teachers and school staff;
- teachers association and school which want to improve the quality of their learning offer;
- organizations training teachers;
- other parties interested in school policies and development of policies for preventing addiction.
How we make it accessible for everyone?
The project provides the involvement of participants facing cultural differences, social obstacles and educational difficulties.
With reference to participants facing cultural differences, the project provides to realise guidance individual meetings, in order to allow the full understanding of the project objectives and activities by each person. Moreover, during the activities, the CHOICE project provides the participation of a cultural mediator in the training activities in order to support the participants by overcoming potential communicational, linguistic, intercultural problems/misunderstandings.
About participants facing social obstacles and educational difficulties, the project staff adopted an individualised approach which can allow people to participate in the project activities: a specific support at didactic, organisational and logistical level by specific experts appointed by the several partners was planned and provided according to the users' needs (people with disabilities or people not autonomous, economically disadvantaged people, people at risk of social exclusion, students at risk of early school leaving).
Methodologies of the project
CHOICE is made up of a non-formal educational path based on drama, playing real-life situations with the support of experts, essential in supporting the correct growth of the individual development. The main project activity will see learners participating in training activities carried out through stagecraft methodology and using drama they will learn how to make choices in situations that could lead to addiction, understanding that everyone can be at risk.
The CHOICE project focuses on the improvement/acquisition of emotional competences to make a constructive choice; it means to choose positive behaviours in the face of situations, maintaining self-esteem even when external pressures would incline towards it down to risk (choosing employment opportunities, education, sport and healthy living as examples of addiction prevention).
At the end of the educational path, students will have acquired more knowledge on the theoretical problem related to the use of technology, drugs and gambling; moreover they will also have gained great self-knowledge and self-esteem, they will have learnt how to manage their emotions and actively participate in the society by interacting with institutions and other community actors.
The importance that the project appoints to the theatre pedagogy and drama is in the response that it gives to the missing link between good information and youth world: it is essential to convey knowledge, involving emotionally, as well as supporting the individual. The project relies on drama as emotional experience to prevent young people’s harm, to know their own resources and put them at disposal of the community instead of wasting them.
Prevention is evidence-based socialisation where the primary focus is individual decision making with respect to socially appropriate behaviours. Its aim is not solely to prevent addiction, but also to avoid initiation, reduce its intensification or prevent escalation. Socialisation is a process of transferring culturally acceptable attitudes, norms, beliefs and behaviours and of responding to such cues in an appropriate
The project will see the participation in the activities of the main education actors: learners, teachers and teachers' trainers whose competences will be enhanced to build a systemic action aimed at preventing technology, drugs and gambling addiction according to a sustainability perspective.
These are stages of project activities implemented or to be implemented soon:
CHOICE CONTEXT ANALYSIS - preliminary field analysis involving students and aimed at defining which are the main situations and factors that could lead to addiction and abuse in participating countries. The analysis has been carried out through a qualitative questionnaire aimed at studying youth management of emotions in specific situations of the daily life, using the model of incidental case, and evaluating which are the main factors, situations and emotions that could increase the risk of addiction. The questionnaire has been administrated to students in all participating countries and the results will be elaborated both at national and at the transnational level.
PRELIMINARY TRAINING FOR PROJECT STAFF- design and development of a training experience addressed to teachers and professionals who will work in implementing the CHOICE educational model, in order to plan an educational path aimed at improving self-awareness and emotional management in youth so to prevent addiction using drama. During the training teachers and professionals have been acquired competencies to integrate their skills and implement the CHOICE model in each project country. The training was carried out in Spain and it has been attended by 5 participants from each country involved in the project.
CHOICE DRAMA EDUCATIONAL MODEL - educational path aimed at improving self-awareness and emotional management in secondary school students so to prevent addiction. The path has been planned involving teachers/experts in different fields of specializations through a transnational preliminary training. The model consists of a set of competencies to be acquired by secondary school students, shared contents and methodologies based on theatre pedagogy to be implemented at the transnational level. The model has been tested in Denmark (beta testing of 3 meetings) so to have the first feedback about its efficacy and adequateness, and define its last version to be implemented in each participating countries.
CHOICE EDUCATIONAL PATH - training experience addressed to secondary school students according to the planned educational model based on emotional management through theatre pedagogy. Training will be held in each participating country from people trained on the previous meeting. The training will be addressed to about 40 participants for each country. A specific toolkit online will be created and educational resources will be made available to all the organisations interested in implementing the new learning experience.
CURRICULUM FOR TEACHERS - on the basis of the CHOICE educational path piloting, elaboration and testing of a specific curriculum addressed to teachers and aimed at making them able to plan and lead educational paths aimed at improving self-awareness and emotional management in youth through theatre pedagogy so to prevent addiction.
Asociacíon Cultural Euroaccion Murcia
Euroaccion is an active member of UNIQUE Network (http://www.unique-network.org/ ) and HREYN (www.hreyn.org).
Our vision is the personal change for social change.
Our mission is to inspire and stimulate the human potential through experiential learning, volunteering and social inclusion projects.
Email: info@euroaccion.com
Website: http://www.euroaccion.com/
Location: Murcia, Spain
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