Minimizing educational disruptions in disadvantaged schools through EU-funded projects

Abstract

This paper presents the results of exploratory research carried out to identify the main benefits of EU funded education projects for disadvantaged schools. In order to carry out this study, two focus groups were organized with the participation of managers and teachers of disadvantaged schools in Romania that had participated in the implementation of projects funded by the European Union. The main objectives of the research were: O1. To identify the main benefits that the implemented educational projects have brought to the educational system; O2. To generate ideas for future projects so that they can further contribute to improving access to education for disadvantaged pupils. The results show that the funded educational projects have acted on three fronts: 1. Socio-economic aspects directly targeting the learner (reducing social inequalities, ensuring healthy nutrition, reducing discrimination, increasing quality of life, improving health, etc.); 2. Aspects related to improving education (increasing learning achievement, increasing school enrolment, reducing absenteeism, reducing drop-out, increasing pupil satisfaction, increasing pupil engagement, etc.) 3. Aspects related to the improvement of infrastructure and the educational offer (improvement of infrastructure, improvement of facilities, strengthening of family-school relationship, improvement of teaching staff competences, etc.). At the same time, specific activities have been proposed for educational projects aimed at removing barriers that hinder disadvantaged pupils' access to education. The results have been structured in such a way that the expected benefits are highlighted at both individual and societal level.