students+(English)

>>> **Greek** <<< An initial communication letter

To students as researchers Dear Students,

The studentresearcher is a net intending to bring together mainly students but also educationalists or any other active citizen interested in educational-social issues. It is an effort to promote a different learning and development profile of the student as well as a different approach in the teaching-learning relationship. This profile needs to be more innovative and in response to the surrounding environment. In contrast with the past when the environment was characterized by stability, today’s environment is chaotic, unstable, in a state of flux. However, ministries of education, theoreticians and academics –even economists- seem to be anchored in the past. Their approaches are related to linear, behavioral models of learning and to bureaucratic organization of administration, which is of a pyramid form characteristic of power relations and in dissonance with today’s changing world.

In 1999, as a team of educationalists from Greece, Italy, Spain and the U.K. aiming to contribute to the development of ‘liberating’ education, we started our efforts in the context of the European Project entitled SY.N.TH.E.SI. (Synergetic New THesis of European education SImera –Greek word for the word ‘today’) This was a three-year project. In its context we established a Transnational, Interdisciplinary Society entitled SY.N.TH.E.SI.: The Heuristic Teachers’ Society with its base in Athens, Greece in 2001. The Society, up to today, has managed to do a lot of work with positive results and enthusiastic comments in conferences and seminars in Greece and abroad.

As is clear from the title of the Society, our target audience has been educators. Of course, the work developed for teachers always had as its main theme the student and her or his learning and development. Yet, we discussed issues FOR students and not WITH them with the exception of a limited number of projects. Such a project was the one we organized in Greece with Athens University and the Ministry of Education for Intercultural Education in 1997. We promoted the student as researcher and organized student research projects based on Active Research and four students’ Symposia in four cities of Greece. The title we gave to this work was:

Racism, Xeno-phobia, Social Exclusion. Students Research, Produce Knowledge and Suggest: From the Parliament, towards the Praxis of Young People’s Will.

Yet, even for this project I have my doubts as to who used the knowledge produced by students’ research work and for what purpose.

I remember that in the year 2000 I presented to students of the Academy in Venice a piece of my work for the SY.N.TH.E.SI. Learning Package which we were developing. It was material to be used as an exercise in a process of Experiential Learning. Its title was GLOBAL Issues (GLOBAL being the acronym for: Geopolitical Lines Offering Broader, Alternative Links). I showed the students the video accompanying the exercise and discussion with them followed on the issues presented in the video. It was a very interesting discussion. I still cannot forget the experience. The students’ arguments, points of view and comments were really critical. A comment I cannot forget was:

“We would like to have the video and all the material. We are very interested”. My answer was that the material was developed for a different audience.

“Excuse me, who is the material for?”, was the answer. “It is for teachers in order to use it for their students”, I replied.

“Teachers!! [sarcastic giggling] They are not able for such work! You should have produced this material for us!” was the answer.

I never forgot this comment and perhaps unconsciously it has influenced me in certain ways.

So, dear students we are now starting a project which is intended for you as Protagonists.

Believing in you, we have decided to promote more systematically the role of the student as researcher and producer of knowledge.

At this stage we prefer not to express our ideas about this role because we would like to have your ideas and suggestions first and develop discussion on the basis of a horizontal dialogue. This dialogue will officially start through the two-day Conference organized in Thessaloniki Greece on the 20th and 21st of January 2012. We will soon upload the programme. In the meantime we can just give the title of the Conference which is

A GENUINE DIALOGUE ON EDUCATIONAL ISSUES:

 ACTIVE RESEARCH: THE TEACHER AND STUDENT AS RESEARCHERS

 ON CAREERS EDUCATION & COUNSELLING

We believe that teaching and learning processes need to change radically. We are attaching two publications (one in Greek and one in English) on the Critical Developmental Model we developed and promote through SY.N.TH.E.SI. Those of you who would like to read it can comment on it and, hopefully, support us to enrich it through collaborating with you. For the Initial Communication with you Franco di Cataldo, who will be the Leader of the Wiki and I, will be responsible aiming to facilitate your work. We will soon, however, develop a small team of collaborators.

In the meantime we would like to have your points of view on the following:

• the movement itself of the ‘Studentresearcher’ we are creating based on Active Research

• Ideas or themes of research projects that are of interest to you. Waiting for your suggestions and communication,

Kind regards,

Chrysoula Kosmidou-Hardy