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IPLE - Institute for Productive
Learning in Europe
Productive
Learning - a Path Towards a
Profession, a Path Towards Life
In Berlin, as well as all over Europe,
there is an increasing feeling of helplessness in view of the problems
faced by young people on the threshold of adult and professional life.
This is due, to a large extent, to structural changes in the professional
world and the employment market. But schools and other educational
institutions are also at a loss as how to tackle the problem.
The Institute for Productive Learning
In Europe (IPLE) can provide assistence. In the course of many
years, it has developed a mature and flexible concept intended to
help disadvantaged young people find a way out of their socially and
culturally determined educational plight: Productive Learning,
learning on the basis of activity experiences in "real life".
During the development work IPLE
set up the International Network of Productive Schools (INEPS),
a co-operative involving institutions and projects from 19 different
countries commited to the ideas of Productive Learning.
On the basis of the experiences acquired,
IPLE´s services are available to local, national and international
public and private institutions and organisations in order to
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help
them to plan, develop, initiate, implement and evaluate Productive
Learning projects, |
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provide
project-orientated further education courses for Productive
Learning educators on the basis of Study Letters and seminars
and |
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create
possibilities for international exchange and co-operation |
IPLE -
A Berlin Centre of European Educational
Innovation
Everybody in Berlin, in Germany,
in Europe is complaining about the increasing obstacles and difficulties
experienced by young people seeking to embark upon an active adult
and professional life. As well as the employment problems, arising
from the ceaseless changes in professional requirements life, young
people have their own educational problems: family, school, vocational
training are less and less able to prepare young people for independence
and taking responsibility for their own lives.
The Insitute for Productive Learning
in Europe (IPLE) has shown, with a wealth of ideas translated
into practice, that its educational concept - Productive Learning
- offers a way out of the cul-de-sac of traditional educational institutions
for all kinds of young people in many different parts of Europe:
Productive Learning builds on the natural motivation and strength
of young people and gives them the opportunity to become active and
creative in their environment and, on the basis of their activity
experiences, to take control of their own educational process.
A large majority of the young people
who had the oppurtunity to become involved in Productive Learning
not only developed their personality as a whole, but also
discovered a realistic vocational perspective training, further education
or professional activity. Companies praise the independence and ability
to co-operate displayed by these young people, and the educational
institutions which employ Productive Learning are proud of
their success.
The International Network of Productive
Learning Projects and Schools (INEPS), founded by IPLE in
the course of its development work, comprises 50 projects from 19
different countries. In these educational projects, young people,
many of whom had come to a standstill in traditional educational institutions,
learn which interests and abilities they can develop when they have
the opportunity to become productive instead of being shut out from
"real life" and reduced to the level of pupil existence.
Iple, which has developed
detailed concepts, materials and services, is now offering them to
as wide a public as possible in order to help overcome the obvious
stagnation in educational reform. IPLE wants to support
public and private institutions, schools, training and
youth centres etc. to make use of the exceptional opportunities offered
by the educational concept Productive Learning by initiating
and advising projects, promoting further education for educationalists
and international networking.
What IPLE has achieved
IPLE and its founders and
directors, the educationalists Ingrid Böhm and Prof. Dr. Jens
Schneider, have implemented, in cooperation with numerous experts
in Germany and elsewhere, a wealth of activities linked to Productive
Learning and developed extensive material, gaining invaluable
experience in the process. On the basis of several years activity
in research, development, higher education and further education in
the field of social education and educational work, as well as several
years of practical experience in setting up, planning and implementing
the pilot project, "Die Stadt-als-Schule Berlin", IPLE
has implemented, documented and evaluated innovations in the following
areas:
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the
development of Productive Learning models in cooperation
with educational institutions in Germany and other countries,
in accordance with the basic "City-as-School" concept,
as well as in the professional areas "design", "television
production", "gardening and forestry", "gastronomy",
"social animation" and "scientific research"; |
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the
setting up of two further Productive Learning projects
in Berlin: Learning in the City (LIST), sponsored by the Society
for Unemployed Young People e.V., and LERNWERKSTATT HELLERSDORF |
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the
initiation and further development of international Productive
Learning projects in Finland, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain
and Hungary; |
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the
development of a theoretical concept of "Productive
Learning"; the development of a counselling concept
for the initiation and accompaniment of Productive Learning
projects; the development of an international further education
course in several languages as correspondence course on the
basis of extensive study letters; |
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the
founding of the project "Productive Learning at Berlin
Schools (PLEBS)" in cooperation with the Berlin government,
where 16 Berlin schools practice Productive Learning
as an alternative to the traditional school learning; |
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the
spreading of Productive Learning to other German Lands;
(to Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen,
Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen) |
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the
founding and direction of the International Network of Productive
Learnung Projects and Schools (INEPS), a cooperative organisation
involving all Productive Learning projects; direction,
implementation and structuring of numerous international Productive
Learning conferences |
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lectures
on Productive Learning themes in Germany and other countries; |
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numerous
publications in German,
English and French |
WHAT IPLE has to offer:
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Services
for institutions, sponsors, communities and organisations |
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IPLE
promotes the introduction and use of Productive Learning
in close cooperation with practicians and multiplicators in all
cases of educational work with young people. It addresses private
and state schools, vocational orientation and training institutions,
youth educational and welfare institutions, as well as sponsors
in Germany and other countries, interested in involving their
target groups in Productive Learning. |
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Thus,
schools, for example, could start new practice oriented educational
programmes (City-as-School projects, production schools etc.),
organisations could extend their vocational orientation and vocational
training programmes for socially disadvantaged young people (junior
companies for young people, production projects), enterprises
could reform their own vocational training programmes or youth
centres could start production oriented leisure activities. |
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copyright©
iple 2007
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