SUMMARY OF THE PARTNERSHIP

There is a growing awareness that cross-cultural skills development is needed to face the challenges of globalisation on labour markets. To succeed in a work place abroad, no matter if it is during studies or later as a job seeker in a foreign environment can be very challenging. In order to succeed in both, knowledge about working cultures is a necessity.

During work placements abroad, students get to see different habits, customs, ways to communicate, values, ways to approach things, occupational health care, after-work activities etc at work places. These and many more make up what is called Working Culture.

The students at our schools would benefit greatly if they could enlarge their own thinking, i.e. realise that the way how things are done in their own country is not the only way, but that there are many possible approaches. It would be good to help them be open to new things and ways, to differences, to help them not be ethnocentric.

Our partnership is composed of organisations in vocational education, and working culture is connected very closely to the colleges’ every day life. Each partner will take on a specific area of the work according to the common plan made in the kick off meeting in Finland.

The starting point is that students and teachers visit a work place – including schools – in a foreign country, keeping their eyes and minds open. Also, we have to bear in mind that there are differences in working cultures within one and the same country. In this project we are, however, more interested in whether there are typical, culturally bound features in working cultures.

The aim in this project is that some of the features to be studied, will be already defined at the time of applying, but our purpose is also to be open for the fact that during the process, participating teachers and students introduce factors that are essential from their point of view. By doing like this, Finns as the coordinator, try to make sure that there is room for cultural diversity.

The tangible outcome of the project (DVD, brochure or equivalent) can be utilised as material in language and cultural preparation for students who will have their work placement abroad. This is very much needed at least in Finland. Intangible outcomes would include an increase in cultural knowledge and experience, the ability to implement cultural knowledge within organisations, developed communication, tolerance towards cultural diversity and differences, and better quality of on-the-job periods abroad and at home.

First Project Meeting in Mikkeli, Finland - 2 - 6 November, 2009




In Mikkeli only teachers participated to review and finalise the schedules determioned in the application and plan the next two years' tasks. We also decided to use the abbreviation "WoCu"  for the project name.

The objectives were:
- description of Working Culture, that is what themes or factors make up work culture
- evaluation form made by Hungarian partner reviewed and finalised
- participants learn to use Moodle
- participants visit a Finnish work place

Themes or Factors Making up Working Culture:

Geert Hofstede (the Netherlands)

  • Low vs. high power distance: The extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally
  • Individualism vs. collectivism
  • Masculinity vs. femininity: value placed on traditionally male or female values
  • Uncertainty avoidance: the extent to which members of a society attempt to cope with anxiety by minimizing uncertainty
Fons Trompenaars (the Netherlands)

  • Universalism vs. particularism: What is more an important, rule or relationships?
  • Neutral vs. emotional: Do we display our emotions?
  • Specific vs. diffuse: Is responsibility specifically assigned or diffusely (loosely) accepted?
  • Achievement vs. ascription: Do we have to prove ourselves to receive status or is it given to us?
  • Sequential vs. synchronic: Do we do things one at a time or several things at once?
  • Internal vs. external control: Do we control our environment or are we controlled by it?

    Blueprint for the Working Culture Presentations :
  • Some of the themes can be observed, some have to be interviewed, and some of them can be photographed (if allowed). Students use the form developed for this project.
  • The observations and questionnaires are made during work placement in home country.
  • One presentation per country, it has to be completed before week 12 / 2010.
  • Power Point presentation with photos, videos, texts, sounds.
  • The project will use a common logo designed by students that is made in each country, then the logo will be selected in Italy during week 12 / 2010.
  • In Italy, all three presentations are shown and compared and reflected, and after visiting Italian companies the experiences, similarities and differences are studied and noted down. This list is a preliminary outcome of WoCu. The final outcome will be an analysis of the similarities and differences in the working cultures in our three countries.


    Preparations for Project Meeting in Italy:
  • Italian partners compile a questionnaire in electronic form to be used by the students at work places. The questionnaire will be ready by Christmas 2009, available in the Moodle.
  • The students in each country will prepare a slide show of minimum 8 and maximum 16 slides based on the questionnaire, by February 2010. The students visit several companies, but only one presentation will be made in each country. This presentation is then introduced in the next project meeting in Italy.
  • Students for the project meeting in Italy are selected before Christmas 2009.

    We also visited two Finnish workplaces: Jeven Ltd. and Pietarinpirtti Elderly Care Home. Thanks to our very friendly and welcoming hosts, we gained lots of useful information about Finnish working culture, finding lots of similar but also different features compared to the Hungarian one.
dátum: 9/02/2009 0 megjegyzés

PARTNERS' TASKS

- Each participating institution selects students and teachers for the project.
- During the first project meeting, where only teachers participate, a list is compiled of themes that come under the heading Working Culture. Each student group in participating institutions makes a list of factors that they think come under the heading Working Culture based on discussions at school and interviews at work places during work placement.
- Each partner school arranges a one-week project meeting including a visit to a work place
- During the first year, the theme Working Culture is explored at participating schools
- During the second year, the outcome is collected and compared to see if cultural differences occur

Coordinating school (Finland)
- is responsible for planning the first project meeting and visit program. This will then be copied and improved by partners when it is their turn to receive visitors from participating institutions
- is responsible for collecting data from each participating institution through Moodle learning environment

Hungary
- is responsible for collecting the evaluation data of the project from the participating institutions

Italy
- is responsible for collecting the material (for example Power Point presentations, posters or equivalent) for the dissemination of the project output, The output can then be freely accessed by anybody, and disseminated in participating countries.

Course Management system (CMS) Moodle will be set up by the coordinator and available for the project group at the beginning of the project. It will be tailored for the needs of the project.

ICT will be utilised throughout the project. Our aim is to utilise a course management system (CMS) Moodle - a free, open source software package designed using sound pedagogical principles, to help educators create effective online learning communities. South Savo Vocational College (the coordinator) has used Moodle as a cooperation tool in a Grundtvig project "EuroTools" and Leonardo project "DiDE". We use a programme that is flexible, and our aim would be to build conversation areas, areas for different subjects (folders, files), utilize it for questionnaires, add links to web pages, pictures, videos etc. The programme operates in many languages, but the co-operation language will be English. The aim would be to use IT for the development of the partnership between project meetings and gatherings as well as for making available the various project "products" for all partners. Partners will make use of it for communication and co-operation e.g. ideas, concepts, reports, monitoring and virtual discussions. The co-ordinator will use Moodle for steering the project, announcements, agreements, notes of meetings, programmes of meetings/visits etc.
dátum: 9/02/2009 0 megjegyzés

AIM OF THE PARTNERSHIP

Concrete objectives:
- to get to know working cultures in different countries
- to help students and teachers understand that there are differences in how people approach things for example at work places
- to combat ethnocentricity, to enhance tolerance towards cultural diversity
- to help students understand that there are different working cultures also within their own countries

Subjects or problems
- What are the factors that make up the concept Working Culture?
- Are there any typical features in work cultures that are culturally bound?

What approach will we take to achieve our objectives?
- Students visit work places in their home countries during work placements. Getting to know working cultures can also be made for example by inviting a visitor to school from a work place.
- Students visit work places during project trips in participating countries.
- Students prepare a presentation (Power Point), a video or a DVD or equivalent of a work place in their own country. As a final outcome of the project a common presentation will be prepared together.

The project promotes European integration and also the possibility of migration between the EU member countries, discovering the cultural and work diversity. The project aims at promoting the awareness to be part of a larger reality than that of their own area or country in staff and trainees. The impact will be an increased understanding about cultural differences among both students and teachers. In this way we also want to create the most favourable conditions for those who work in multicultural contexts in the future.

Teachers and trainers will learn new and better procedures in vocational and technical working behaviours, which will help students to enter the world of work within the European Union. for cultural training before students and/or teachers travel abroad or start their work placement abroad, e.g. The project will provide valuable resource material for other subjects where cultural studies are taught, valuable resource material for other schools at home and other partners. Both students and teachers gain experience on each other’s school practices and methods and the co-operating companies.

The project (preparations) will increase the students’ and the teachers’ ability to cope during project trips and especially during work placements abroad. Both students and teachers will experience an increased ability to use English, and also some of the language spoken in the partner countries. The use of ICT and digital services will be enhanced.

The students’ commitment is crucial in the sense that they will observe the working culture, firstly in their home countries during work placement periods and, secondly, in the participating country during project trip visits to companies. It is the students’ task to make a clear presentation of the working culture in their own countries. Before the making, it is essential to discuss and make a list of factors that are to be studied and observed. This is made together with teachers, and this will be worked on during the first project meeting, which is meant for teachers only.

Students are also expected to evaluate the program and perform at project meetings. As a result, they gain self-respect and confidence.
Students will have the opportunity to communicate with each other on a regular basis, so they can discuss the ongoing stages and tasks of the project via e-mails, chat and forums.
Teachers will assist the whole process, mainly co-ordinate and monitor, because the main aim is that students should work independently and provide reliable performance. At the same time, they also collect information and analyse their experience for curricular reasons. Their language and management skills will improve during teacher meetings, strategic discussions and the ongoing contacts with the participating teachers.

In Hungary, the project will be integrated into the curriculum in different ways:
First, the aspect Working Culture is explored during work placement and student work.
Secondly, the students have a subject "Orientation to Vocation" by Curriculum, the information collected and assessed during the project will be embedded in the subject. The result of the project could also be implemented in extra-curricular courses.
The experience of the students and teachers participating will be exploited during the teaching of different vocational subjects and also for preparation of interested students for work-placement abroad.
dátum: 9/02/2009 0 megjegyzés
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