Key Competence Happiness – A New Horizontal
Theme in Adult Education and Counselling
Progress Report
503510-LLP-1-2009-1-AT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP
Public Part
Key Competence Happiness – A New Horizontal Theme in Adult Education and Counselling
Project information
Project acronym:
Key Competence Happiness
Project title:
Key Competence Happiness – A New Horizontal
Theme in Adult Education and Counselling
Project number:
503510-LLP-1-2009-1-AT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP
Sub-programme or KA:
Grundtvig Multilateral Project
Project website:
http://key-competence-happiness.eu
Reporting period:
From
01.12.2009
To
30.11.2010
Report version:
1
Date of preparation:
27.12.2010
Beneficiary organisation:
Blickpunkt Identität
Project coordinator:
Beáta Holá
Project coordinator organisation:
KTP - Společnost pro kvalifikaci na trhu práce
Project coordinator telephone number:
+420 774616229
Project coordinator email address:
[email protected]
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission
cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained
therein.
© 2009 Copyright Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency.
The document may be freely copied and distributed provided that no modifications are made, that the
source is acknowledged and that this copyright notice is included.
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Key Competence Happiness – A New Horizontal Theme in Adult Education and Counselling
Executive Summary
Empirical happiness research has gained wide acknowledgement recently and offers a
promising new access to central questions to both ethics and economics. In our project, we
will investigate what this perspective can contribute to aspects in adult education, and for the
skills requirements that the European workforce needs to become more flexible in order to
meet the demands of economic developments and for the continuous change.
“Happiness”, or “wellness”, or “quality of life” as political and social target are not new. In
1776 the American Declaration of Independence argued for “certain inalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. In 2002, a proposal by the
working group on key competencies, set up by the European Commission in the framework
of the "objectives report", added a general culture dimension on the grounds that key
competencies should not only have external functions and justifications, but also enrich the
individuals and contribute to the pursuit of happiness.
A recent survey found that 81% of the UK population agreed that the Government’s primary
objective should be the creation of happiness, not wealth. Since 2007, wellness is regarded
as a regional key competence in Denmark. French president Sarkozy has asked, in January
2008, Nobel laureates Amartya Sen and Joseph Stigliz to chair a panel of experts charged
with developing an index of the quality of life. Also, the 2008 EU science awards, rewarded
not only research into climate change and nano-biotechnology, but also socio-economic
research on how economic growth, wealth and policy decisions affect overall happiness and
satisfaction with life.
The main objective of the project is therefore to establish “Happiness” as a horizontal theme
in adult education and to consider the pursuit of happiness as a major key competence in
order to adapt to changing society and the requirements of the labour market; and to
strengthen adults' self-confidence and promoting their personal fulfilment. It also includes to
evoke pragmatic connotations with the term “happiness” in connection within adult education
and not to leave this important field to esoteric environments.
The main didactic products of the project are” Guidelines for Introducing Happiness into Adult
Education and Counselling” that demonstrate how to introduce aspects of happiness into the
framework of existing teaching schemes, with relation to the specific demand and need of
individual users, to the specific learning cultures and to the requirements of vocational
training providers, and a “Toolbox” that will contain exercises, methods and/or didactic
approaches for learning contents where the subject of happiness and wellbeing will be
additionally imparted, e.g. in language courses, personal development, integration of
immigrants, and in guidance measures focusing on the acquisition of personal competences.
The partnership comprises 12 partners from 9 countries and consists of a broad group of
VET organisations and labour market institutions, and strategic expert partners belonging to
the forefront of happiness research.
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Key Competence Happiness – A New Horizontal Theme in Adult Education and Counselling
Table of Contents
1.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES .................................................................................... 5
2.
PROJECT APPROACH ...................................................................................... 6
3.
PROJECT OUTCOMES & RESULTS................................................................. 7
4.
PARTNERSHIP ................................................................................................... 9
5.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE .............................................................................. 10
6.
CONTRIBUTION TO EU POLICIES ................................................................. 12
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Key Competence Happiness – A New Horizontal Theme in Adult Education and Counselling
1.
Project Objectives
The main objective of the project is to establish “Happiness” as a horizontal theme in adult
education and to consider the pursuit of happiness as a major key competence in order to
adapt to changing society and the requirements of the labour market; and to strengthen adult
persons' self-confidence and promoting their personal fulfilment. It also includes to evoke
pragmatic connotations with the term “happiness” in connection within adult education and
not to leave this important field to esoteric environments.
The specific objects of the project are
to raise the awareness of multipliers in adult education to issues concerning wellbeing
and happiness and to motivate them to introduce “happiness” into the course of their
respective teaching contents,
to raise the awareness of counselling institutions working with clients from socially
and/or economically disadvantaged target groups that introducing “happiness” can
lead to empowerment and have positive effects on their attitude towards lifelong
learning
to achieve a high impact and sustainable results through a multitude of dissemination
and valorisation activities, among others through a European multiplier conference.
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Key Competence Happiness – A New Horizontal Theme in Adult Education and Counselling
2.
Project Approach
According to the latest happiness research and experience of experts in positive psychology,
“happiness” is an issue of great importance. To promote well-being and happiness on a
horizontal level is not just in the interest of economic and political bodies, it has to be
promoted within the social and educational context where it can be distributed and
implemented into practice.
Our approach in this project is to interconnect the results of “happiness” research and theory
with the pragmatic elements of positive psychology and resource oriented therapy, and to
introduce suitable elements into adult education.
The project partners aim to raise the awareness of multipliers in adult education to issues
concerning well-being and happiness and to motivate them to introduce “happiness” into the
course of their respective teaching contents. We are also addressing counselling institutions
working with clients from socially and/or economically disadvantaged target groups where a
sensitive introduction of the “happiness” issues can lead to empowerment and have positive
effects on their attitude towards lifelong learning.
To reach these aims, we had to develop a systematic and culturally specific implementation
strategy. Within the project team there are countries where the attitude towards the
importance of well-being and happiness has been very positive and open minded; whereas
in some other countries the attitude towards positive psychology and well-being is still rather
pessimistic and very sceptical. Therefore, project partners have to take into consideration the
respective actual state of arts in adult education. They have to respect the actual needs and
requirements of the educational market and the attitudes and expectations of stakeholders.
One of the most challenging tasks for the project consortium is to figure out the best
promotion strategy which will respect the particular cultural and national context but also
sensitize stakeholders and educational providers and motivate them to accept “happiness”
based educational tools as a inseparable part of their educational programme.
During the past months, the project partners set up cooperation models with the aim to
involve the right strategic partners who would be involved in piloting draft versions of the
tools developed within the project and who could demonstrate the relevance and
importance of happiness as a key competence in education.
One of the most important aspects of the project was to combine the common characteristics
the positive psychology and happiness research which can be applied in various countries
and various educational and cultural contexts with culturally specific elements. Therefore we
collected not only information about the actual national situation concerning happiness
research and positive psychology in general but also information about existing projects and
initiatives which implement the well-being and happiness principles within the national
educational context.
Based on the results of the country analysis, we set up a common framework for the
development of the draft version of the products. They will be adjusted during the testing
phase and adapted – if necessary - to the particular cultural and social requirements of the
target groups and the national educational systems.
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Key Competence Happiness – A New Horizontal Theme in Adult Education and Counselling
3.
Project Outcomes & Results
The main didactic products of the project are
”Guidelines for Introducing Happiness into Adult Education and Counselling” that
demonstrate how to introduce aspects of happiness into the framework of existing
teaching schemes, with relation to the specific demand and need of individual users,
to the specific learning cultures and to the requirements of vocational training
providers, and a
“Toolbox” that will contain exercises, methods and/or didactic approaches for
learning contents where the subject of happiness and wellbeing will be additionally
imparted, e.g. in language courses, personal development, integration of immigrants,
and in guidance measures focusing on the acquisition of personal competences.
Guidelines
Because of the big discrepancy in awareness concerning the relevance of “happiness and
well-being “ issues within the various educational systems in the countries of the partnership,
a good introduction and explanation of the context proved to be necessary.
Based on previous experience of the partnership and recommendations of external advisory
partners, the draft version of the guidelines has been divided into following chapters:
1. Introduction - This chapter describes why “Happiness” is a valid subject within
education. It also explains the aims of the project.
2. Structure of the guidelines and toolbox - In this chapter the meaning of the
guidelines and toolbox has been explained with the aim to guide the end user through
the materials and to explain their meaning the variety of use.
3. Happiness research – This chapter has been based on a list of stereotypes and
prejudice against happiness in education collected from our own experience and that
of the experts within the project partnership, and from the results of the focus groups
4. Educational framework - implementation of the issue – the content is based on
relevant theory and research and ideas for practical implementation within various
courses, classes and events in adult education. Besides that possible obstacles and
dangers of using the toolbox in reality will be included.
5. Further links and reading – all partners have contributed to this chapter resulting in
an “inspiration pool” with materials for further work with the happiness issue.
The ”Guidelines for Introducing Happiness into Adult Education and Counselling” is an
introductory product which leads the reader through the topic and explains the relevance,
importance, ways of application and possible impact. The draft version will be extended after
having collected the results of the testing phase. Additional categories, explanation or
methodical tools might be added.
The ”Guidelines for Introducing Happiness into Adult Education and Counselling” is a “how
to-product” which introduces the reader into the entire context in order to make him/her ready
for the practical use of the toolbox which is the actual set of instruments to be used in the
classroom.
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Key Competence Happiness – A New Horizontal Theme in Adult Education and Counselling
Toolbox
The Toolbox (in the draft version) consists of more than 120 sample exercises covering the
issue of happiness and well-being and a number example lessons which illustrate the use of
the exercises and tools within various courses, classes, subjects or context.
Based on the previous practice, the results of the country analysis and on the expertise of
the partnership, the developer team has divided the toolbox into nine content categories,
which can also be called “strategies to achieve happiness”:
1) Positive attitude and feelings and optimistic thinking – how to make learners think
positively, how to change their focus towards optimistic thinking
2) Goals, personal mission statement – how to set one’s own personal mission, how to
define the personal meaning of life, how to follow and fulfil the personal mission
3) Awareness, being in the moment – how to focus on the present and make the best of
“here and now” and find the balance between the past-oriented thinking, present-oriented
thinking and future-oriented thinking
4) Interactions with others, sharing your happiness – happiness and well being as a
result of sharing with other people
5) Healthy lifestyles – various links between happiness and lifestyle issues such as sports,
psycho-hygiene, nutrition, relaxation, etc.
6) Grip on your life - how to manage one’s life, how to find one’s own coping strategies,
how to master stress, obstacles and problems and become aware of positive aspects
7) Gratitude – as one of the most important ways to happiness and well-being
8) Intercultural aspects - happiness from the perspective of diverse cultures and
intercultural context
9) Learning about happiness – sensitisation through information, learning about various
aspects of happiness, latest neuroscience knowledge, statistics, etc.
These categories have been elaborated for the tools, methods, materials and exercises
which have been carefully selected and collected by the project partners. The list of
exercises which have been divided into these categories contains evidence based methods
and well-known and scientifically proven “happiness tools” as well as exercises which have
been successfully used in the practice by project partners or which have been newly
developed for the purpose of the Key Competence Happiness project.
One of the important steps of the product development was the didactic approach. The
transfer of the useful “happiness and well- being” tools from the psychological or research
context to the everyday educational context requires a careful didactic structure. Only then it
will facilitate the teaching process and help the teacher or trainer to get prepared for an
efficient use of the exercise with the learners.
Taking into account the diverse background knowledge of adult education teachers and
trainers, we have elaborated detailed descriptions for each tool, exercise and method.
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Key Competence Happiness – A New Horizontal Theme in Adult Education and Counselling
4.
Partnership
The consortium consists of a selection of specialised organisations that cover the various
working fields of the project:
The applicant and project promoter BLICK (Blickpunkt Identität) has thorough experience in
the field of qualification of long-term unemployed persons, and in the organisation of ESF
projects. BLICK works based on the principles of self-directed learning, and in the last two
years, the focus in the qualification courses had been on personal well-being as a source for
personal development. Coordination is executed by the Czech organisation KTP (KTP Společnost pro kvalifikaci na trhu práce, Association for Qualification at the Labour Market)
with longstanding EU project experience, and there will be a constant exchange between
BLICK and KTP.
The promoter could attract a number of leading institutions in the field of happiness research
to join this project and to contribute their scientific experience on a rather pragmatic level:
The German PS-Akademie with Karlheinz Ruckriegel, one of the leading happiness
researchers in Germany who teaches macroeconomics and happiness research at
the Georg-Simon-Ohm University Nürnberg, Dept of Company Economy
ISW Limits, a spin-off of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven that is specialised in the
optimisation of human relations
The Verwey-Jonker Institute, Netherlands, an independent institute for applied
research into social issues, with a longstanding reputation on policy-strategic and
evaluative research, with Professor Ruut Veenhoven, one of the leading happiness
experts worldwide, and the inventor of the database on happiness. He will act as a
speaker at the multiplier conference.
The Trimbos-Instituut, Netherlands, and the Social Psychiatry of the Medical
University of Vienna are two other institutions with high scientific reputation
The other half of the consortium consists of various (vocational) education providers,
covering the range from labour market qualification via adult education to higher education.
They all intend to introduce happiness as a new competence into their educational offers.
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Key Competence Happiness – A New Horizontal Theme in Adult Education and Counselling
5.
Plans for the Future
Currently, the validation phase is still on-going. According to the feedback, the contents of
the toolbox or guidelines will be confirmed or adapted.
The next steps will be:
Termination of the pilot tests: March 2011
The translation into the partners’ languages will be finished in May 2011
Installation of the final versions of the products on the project website: June 2011
Deployment plan:
A draft version will be elaborated in June 2011.
The Deployment Plan will provide the partnership with a structured action plan for the
localisation and organisation of putting the project results into practice in the
deployment phase after the LLP funding. It will set up organisational models, suggest
delivery structures and provide a basis for assessing the potentials of learning new
languages in a social context. It will also suggest possible partnerships for
deployment.
The partners will seek to involve relevant national organisations. Particular effort will
be made to bring in non-partnership countries. In addition links will be made with
other appropriate networks
Dissemination events (between June and November 2011)
In each country, a dissemination seminar or workshop will be held. It will cover the
following aspects:
o Background of the project, current situation
o Motivation and empowerment of learners through introduction of aspects of
happiness into the educational or counselling context
o Experiences during the validation phase
o Possibilities for mainstreaming the results
Multiplier conference: September 2011
The Multiplier Conference will be organised for educational experts of other European
countries that do not participate in the project. Prospective participants were already
identified and contacted already during the development or validation activities. Thus,
they are able to accompany the projects progress and to be informed about the
project already at the beginning of the conference. This will facilitate the information
transfer and guarantee the subsequent dissemination in the respective countries
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Key Competence Happiness – A New Horizontal Theme in Adult Education and Counselling
Final evaluation of the project: November 2011
The Evaluation Report will contain
o Description of the project background
o Scope of the evaluation
o Central questions referring to the aspects of new concepts, offers and
products
o Detail evaluation results on all project activities
o Comments at the impact
o Target/Actual comparison
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Key Competence Happiness – A New Horizontal Theme in Adult Education and Counselling
6.
Contribution to EU policies
Addressing the objectives and the priorities of the 2009 LLP call, the project contributes to
European educational policy in the following aspects:
Our project reinforces the contribution of lifelong learning to social cohesion, active
citizenship, intercultural dialogue, gender equality and personal fulfilment because it
underlines the contribution of lifelong learning to people’s welfare which is an essential
element for personal and profession fulfilment. Disadvantaged target groups are often faced
with material constraints that prevent them from having personal or professional ambitions.
Under the burden of their daily preoccupations, they deny themselves access to well-being,
simple welfare, dreams and ambitions.
Our project helps to promote creativity, competitiveness, employability and the growth of an
entrepreneurial spirit. Creativity can only arise when one’s mind is free from negative
barriers. Therefore, individuals who could develop “happiness” or “well-being” as their new
key competence, will be more open-minded and be more daring to try new approaches. It is
especially this feature that employers in the post-industrial economy are looking for among
job applicants. In this way, there is a direct connection from happiness via creativity and
entrepreneurial spirit to employability.
We address the specific objectives of GRUNDTVIG (to help provide adults with pathways to
improving their knowledge and competences, to facilitate the development of innovative
practices in adult education and their transfer) as follows: The project proposes a new way to
improving knowledge and competences: not through sophisticated technical support
structures, but through strengthening people’s self-confidence. „Europe's labour market is in
a state of flux, with workers feeling strained by tighter deadlines and increasing workloads.
But job satisfaction, says the EU-funded Epicurus study, is the key to contentment. With
partners from nine European countries, the multicultural and comparative approach of this
project will give added value by defining common grounds of happiness transferable to
different areas (labour market education, training) and into different countries.
Finally, the project contributes also to LLP horizontal policies (promoting equality between
men and women and contributing to combating all forms of discrimination based on sex,
racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation) because selfconfidence and creativity are the basis for equality, and this also helps against all forms of
discrimination.
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