European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

234 EUROPEAN IDENTITY. INDIVIDUAL, GROUP AND SOCIETYthemselves. The real and live experiences —personal and professional—of themselves and possibly of other young people within the schoolpartnerships and networks, become the starting point of education,training and learning. Furthermore the interaction between the learnersis strongly promoted to as strengthen mutual enrichment and reciprocallearning. The development of critical thinking and reflection, of understandingand self-reflection on one’s own actions and learning are keyelements in this pedagogical process. The feedback given to the pupilslearnersis focusing on the positive and integrated into self-evaluation.The contribution of the learners, individually or in groups or teams, isgiven value and encouraged.Schools as learning communities will furthermore take its staff’scontinuing education and personal and professional development veryseriously at every stage throughout their careers. The reflectiveperspective (the reflective practitioner!) of the in-service training will bean important component in this. Schools will also make financialresources and structures available in order to allow continuing education,which can be done in several ways, to be implemented. Participation incontinuing education courses, participation in European and internationalseminars and talks, complementary studies and specialized training tomeet particular needs, and invitations for teachers to take part inuniversity research, to document their activities and to participate ingroup reflections are but some examples.A particular attention will be given to in-service training organizedwithin the school using the potential available in the learningcommunity. So as to know the potential of this community it will benecessary to put in place in audit to find out about the needs for inservicetraining on the one hand and on the other hand to find outwho can provide and deliver the in-service training needed from withinthe local community. The local community should be aware of thepotential it holds in terms of knowledge and competences and skillswhich can be made available to the schools in that learningcommunity. It is important that the learning community knows whichare the needs of members in different organizations in that community(not only in the school!) so that joint in-service training can beorganized (e.g. training of teachers, policemen and social workers ormediators to cope with violence).Learning communities could thus organize at least two learningaudits 22 ; on the one hand the audit of the needs of training by asking22Norman Longworth: Making lifelong learning work: Learning cities for a LearningCentury, p. 44, Kogan Page, 1999.