The Summer Academy 2011 took place 9-16 July in Warsaw, Poland

30 participants from eight different European countries met in Warsaw 9-16 July to learn about, discuss and share experiences related to democracy at school; What is democratic school governance? How can we create a climate of trust and openness in the classroom? How can schools cooperate with their local community, and which teaching methods promote the values of democratic citizenship and human rights?

The academy also offers an opportunity to share and exchange experiences and good practices with participants from other countries. 

The training addressed multiple levels of change/development, working from individual to community levels:

• the individual teacher (knowledge/understanding, values/attitudes, skills/behavior);
• the classroom (teaching and learning in action)
• the school (curricular practice, policies, practices and relationships among members)
• the community (as the context in which schools operate and as potential partners/supporters of the learning process)

Based on Council of Europe recommendations and material, and using a whole school approach, participants are brought together in teams; a school head, a teacher and an NGO/parents’ representative.

The teams will continue to work locally in their schools and communities, implementing their own activities based on the training in Poland, while receiving support from the organizers and trainers.

The Summer Academy is a joint cooperation between  the Polish Ministry of National Education, Polish Centre for Education Development, Council of Europe and the EWC, and it was organized for the first time in 2010. Information about the Summer Academy 2010