Erasmus+ KA1 project „Stress free teacher= stress free school“ summary
With this project, the Industrial-Vocational School Virovitica wants to develop and improve
techniques for reducing stress in the classroom and beyond, to facilitate the acquisition of learning
objectives, nurture healthy living habits and build better relationships in school and the wider
community by developing empathy and thus preventing conflict. It also strives to nurture critical andpositive thinking among students and teachers in order to improve students' motivation and results,and thus their competitiveness in the labor market, as well as to increase the European dimension of
the school. The goals also include developing the language skills of English, Spanish and Italian formobility participants, learning about the educational systems of other European countries, learningfrom the examples of good practices, and adopting methods that will be applicable for our school
curriculum.
By analyzing the school's need for improving the quality of teaching, teachers are sent to mobilites
on emotional and communication competences in order to create a less stressed and a more
comfortable and relaxed classroom climate, better cooperation and better relations between
teachers and students and among students themselves, and to develop personally in their businessand private environments. The project activities will involve 1 chemistry teacher, 1 biology teacher, 1teacher of vocational subjects, 1 language teacher and 1 psychology teacher of the IndustrialVocational School Virovitica. The activities of teacher mobility include the following courses: "Healthand Emotional Education" that will be held in Nicosia, Cyprus by the StandOut Edu Organization, thestructured course "Stress Management and Recognition" organised by the Europass Teacher
Academy in Florence, Italy, a structured course "Conflict Management, Emotional Intelligence andBullying Prevention" taught by the Europass Teacher Academy in Dublin, Ireland and "The Art ofConnecting: Communication Skills Training for Teachers, School Counselors, and Education
Administrators" held by Europass Teacher Academy in Barcelona, Spain.
Mobility participants will develop their communication skills, learn how to apply empathy ininterpersonal relationships in work and private settings, identify and manage stressful situations,adopt relaxation techniques and healthier living habits. The dissemination beneficiaries are about
800 students and teachers in 4 different schools where mobility participants work. The expectedlong-term impact on students includes a greater student motivation in their work because of better
human relationships, a more comfortable classroom climate and better communication based on
empathy and positive emotions, and thus greater acceptability of learning content, which will
improve their final success and allow them greater choice in employment and better placement in
the labor market. Students will learn how to handle conflict situations assertively and to mutualsatisfaction; they will approach business and private relationships authentically and with empathy;
they will be critical to health choices and they will learn to live in the present moment by adopting
relaxation techniques to reduce stress. The expected long-term impact on all teachers includes betterbusiness and private relations, healthier life choices, greater job satisfaction, and greater
involvement of teaching staff in the creation of new projects in a wider network of schools as well asa sense of belonging to EU citizenship. The expected long-term impact on mobility participants is togain experience in project implementation and to generate new ideas for developing a larger-scale
project plan for the the next school year in cooperation with newly made contacts from Europeancountries. The expected long-term impact on the school is greater visibility of the school in the local
and wider community as an example of good practice in implementing Erasmus+ projects, advancing
the personal and professional development of its participants and adapting the development plan to
the EU education strategy. A good quality dissemination and evaluation of the project at a local andregional level will encourage other teachers to become involved in the activities offered by theErasmus+ program.