Includ-ed, red europea de educación inclusiva

Resumen

M-CARE provides the training framework and content for unemployed and low-qualified people to become personal assistants. The direct effect is twofold: low skilled people will gain knowledge, skills and competencies required to undertake the personal caregivers (PCG) work, while the beneficiaries (people with disabilities and older people) will benefit from improved PCG service provision. The project will also establish a strict assessment to ensure that the candidates are competent and can meet the requirements of a PCG job.

M-CARE will deliver a blended innovative training approach, embracing:

• - face-to-face,
• - virtual (using online learning environment),
• - on the job training (using mobile training support), with a gaming component.
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Each of these modes will be supported with text, audio and video, thus allowing the trainee to improve their PCGs skills at any desired moment and also while being at the workplace. The results will be optimised on an EU level through the involvement of key stakeholders and gatekeepers.

Objetivo del proyecto:

• - Design and development of a specific PCG curriculum taking into account individual needs/different disabilities;

• - Customisation the curriculum and adapt it nationally (pilots in TR, BE, DE, GR);
• - Publishing the training materials as both traditional paper version & exchangeable SCORM compliant learning objects based on learning outcomes (ECVET).
• - Development of a supporting trainer’s handbook that will accompany the PCG curriculum.
• - Deployment of a multilingual accessible online/mobile learning platform that will enrich the learning experience;
• - Support the development of innovative and fully accessible PCG content, services (both mobile and online), supporting pedagogies and practice for lifelong learning easily and freely available, taking onboard a mobile gaming component;
• - Availability of all learning objects for free under a creative commons license.
• - Provision of a VET centre oriented portal/community (fully accessible and multilingual);
• - Establishment of an online community for PCG trainers, and learners to exchange experiences with the beneficiaries (PwD).
• - Enabling new job opportunity for low skilled people:
• - Offering the PCG curriculum to local VET centres and employment centres, but also end-user organisations of PwD;
• - Increasement of the employability of low skilled people by teaching them new skills for new jobs (PCG), while pre- and post-assessing their suitability and competences.

Metodología

On the basis of collected data from the needs analysis in the partners’ countries, the M-CARE curriculum, training courses and materials, as well as online and mobile tools are designed and developed. The Personal Caregivers (PCG) curriculum, pre- and post-assessment methods and associated handbook aims at trainers and trainees to improve their PCG training practice in relation to more efficiently supporting the needs of the beneficiaries (PwD, older people), as well as providing the trainees with increased competences that enlarge their chances to enter successfully the regular labour market as PCGs, to the full satisfaction of their employers (individual PwD or older people, as well as service providers that provide PCG services). The project is enhancing the quality of work-based training using the mobile training material. At present it develops pilot versions of the M-CARE curriculum and handbook, training courses and materials ready for testing by trainers, learners and beneficiaries, both via online, mobile as well as text books.

Part of the methodology is aimed to deploy online community platform, with portal facilities which provides also info on local legislation regarding PCG financial support for beneficiaries, exchange of best practices, etc.

Important advantage of the methodology is the production of training materials in paper version format and alternative formats (provided locally if needed and desired by end-users/beneficiaries (e.g. Braille output files, video and audio format (Daisy)). The dedicated PCG’s training material embraces a variety of ICT based media (online video tutorials, testimonials, practical videos on PCG support, audio commentaries, etc.) in a SCORM compliant format for easy transferability across different learning platforms.

Público objetivo

• Unemployed and / or low skilled adults (18+) who want to obtain up-to-date knowledge, skills and competencies through innovative mobile Personal Care (VET) training.

• Current employees in Personal Care and Social service sectors who are seeking to improve their competences and skills. 

• VET training centres that can extend their training portfolio by offering such innovative training resources.

• People with disabilities and older people who will be direct beneficiaries of reliable and qualitative services provided by well-trained practitioners.

Innovaciones de la buena práctica

M-CARE is fully in line with Europe’s Disability Strategy that aims to increase personal assistance, thus lowering inequality among EU citizens. It furthermore can offer a direct impact on the employment of low skilled people, and provide VET centres with additional tools to extend their service provision. The project is in full compliance with EU 2020 strategy thus creating new skills for new jobs (i.e. creating of white jobs) as the job of PCG nowadays occurs in an informal unstructured and uncontrolled manner. The creation of a unified EU curriculum on personal assistance is leading to transparency of the knowledge; skills and competencies gained and also can ensure quality and the level of competences of the trainees through pre- and post-assessment. Last but not least it has a direct contribution towards facilitating and improving of mobility in the EU both for the PCGs to be trained in the project and the direct beneficiaries (elderly people and people with disabilities). Its impact beyond the partner countries is measurable, in the sense that PCGs are needed in every European member state where the needs remain everywhere the same and can be easily transferred.

Logros de la buena práctica

• - Executive summary of the need analysis findings in partners’ countries
• - PCG curriculum: understanding the job of PCGs; how people recover and the idea of resilience, important issues in delivering PCG services; coaching, collaborating and managing crises and actual core tasks (e.g. housework, shopping, preparing meals,  maintaining of personal hygiene, etc.).
• - Pre-/post-assessment of the competences and the suitability (legal and health checks) of PCG candidate.
• - PCG online accessible training portal - a portal that fully embeds social media to propagate the training modules.
• - Mobile learning application using an educational gaming experience (for Android mobiles and tabs) which will allow the user to learn in a flexible manner, also when being on the workplace.
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Socios y otros actores que participan en el proyecto

Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey – Project Coordinator

Gazi University is one of the biggest universities of Turkey with over 68.000 students including 56.000 undergraduate and 12.000 postgraduate students currently studying in its 171 academic departments.

Contact persons: Prof. Dr. Seyhan FIRAT

Email:

PhoenixKM BVBA, Belgium

PhoenixKM is a consultancy with extensive expertise in the field of education and training that targets people with disabilities, but also their stakeholders, while making use of the benefits offered by ICT.

Contact person: Mr. Karel Van Isacker

Email:

INTERPROJECTS Ltd., Bulgaria

INTERPROJECTS is a training provider, having its activities fully directed towards people with

disabilities and older people. Their team consists of experts in the field of accessibility issues, career orientation and guidance, employment, mentoring, e-games and networks of employers of disability etc.

Contact person: Mrs. Vasilka Sabeva

Email:

Ministry of family and social policy, General Directorate of services for elderly and disabled people, Turkey

The General Directorate coordinates the activities on preparing national policies and strategies aimed at prevention, education, employment and rehabilitation services, ensuring that people with disabilities fully and equally participate in social life without facing any discrimination.

Contact person: Mr. Tayyar Kuz

Email:

University of Athens, Greece

The Laboratory of New Technologies in Communication, Education and the Mass Media operates within the Faculty of Communication and Mass Media Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. The Laboratory serves research and educational needs in the domain of new technologies and their applications in communication, education and the mass media.

Contact person: Prof. Constantinos Mourlas

Email:

Europäischer Verband Beruflicher Bildungsträger, Germany

EVBB (Europäischer Verband Beruflicher Bildungsträger) is an Umbrella-Organisation of 50 Vocational Training Centres in 21 European and International countries and is based in Germany. In 2012 EVBB set up a “Quality Charter”, taking into account the actual developments in European Quality Policy such as EQAVET and EQARF.

Contact person: Mr. Fritz-Gerhard KUHN

Email:

Testimonios de participantes

“I need someone to guide me and support my learning and social contacts.”

“I need support for my movements in taking a shower, toilet, social adaptation and travel assistance.”

“I really need adequate rehabilitation of my disease - a training program adequate to the current status and medical adequate assistance.”

“I have living difficulties and need someone qualified to support me.”

Evaluación

• - Peer review among the partners
• - National Advisory boards meetings and feedback
• - External evaluation reports
• - Iterative testing and piloting with beneficiaries