A New Start in EPAL – Five years full of action

Five years full of action, inspiration and many experiences completes the program “A New Start in EPAL”, which aims to upgrade the vocational education of our country.

Five years from 2018 to 2023, which has been designated as the European Year of Skills, their implementing body, NOESIS, supported more than 1000 Action Plans (projects) which were completed with the participation of 10,000 students from 410 EPALs in the country.

The program “A New Start in EPAL” was initially piloted in nine school units during the school year 2017-2018. It was immediately “embraced” by the entire school community with enthusiasm and became an educational institution.
After five years full of action, the number of participating students of vocational upper secondary schools in the program, proves that group teaching and experiential learning found the appropriate framework for its implementation.

Action Plans
A pillar of the program “A New Start in EPAL” are the Action Plans that have as mainobjective the development of personality, sociability, skills and cooperation between students and teachers . It is a method of group teaching that is fueled by students’ interests, so it requires active participation.

The topics of the action plans are “motivated” by any interest expressed by the students and are consistent with the curriculum.

The Action Plans are STEAM type projects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics), but also concern social issues, cultural and entertainment activities in the context of which educational material is created with the maximum involvement of students based on their needs and interests.

An Action Plan should not be seen as an additional activity that burdens the educational process and the program, but as a way of organizing a group of students, a class or the whole school unit that implements an evolutionary process of learning, cooperation, participatory responsibility and self-improvement. The enhancement of its prestige and attractiveness, the reconstruction of prejudices and extroversion.

For more information, please visit the website of the action plans of the program “A New Start in EPAL” https://mnae.noesis.edu.gr