Summary of Therapy Dog Training1.Information about the project2.Aims of the project3.Number and profile of project partners4.Description of conducted activities5.Long term benefitsAd.1The project was implemented in the period from 01.09.2014r to 31.08.2016r by 5 partners from four European countries (Poland, Germany, Norway, Austria). During the project there was developed methodical manual on the preparation of guide dogs to train and work with own dog in AAT. Manual was published in both traditional and electronic pdf format. The second most important result of the project was developed as a form of 2 blended learning module . The first module offers e-learning training package which consist of electronic teaching materials, mid-lesson tests with automatic evaluations, instructional videos, etc. and activities on-line in the form of webinars, the second part of the course is realized in traditional face-to-face method. E-learning will enable to access the course for people even from distant places in Europe and will reduce financial costs and time for learning. Within the project there was trained 30 people from participating countries. All results are available freely online in open access: training materials in Scorm format and the manual in PDF formatAd. 2In European countries there was not yet developed a uniform system of AAT (Animal Assisted Training) and therefore the main objective of the project was to develop European Standards of AAT, with particular emphasis on standards of training a AAT therapists. Certificates were developed in collaboration with national experts of ECVET. Other objectives of the project was to promote the idea of AAI, increasing the availability of the AAT teaching materials by the use of innovative blended learning approach, increase the quality of services provided by AAT therapists and professionalization of AAT.Ad3 Partnership of Project stayed the same from the moment of application preparation till submission of Project. Project was conducted by 5 partners from 4 European Countries1.Janusz Korczak Pedagogical University – Poland2.Stowarzyszenie Zwierzęta Ludziom –Poland3. AntrozoologiSenteret AS –Norway4. Freiburger Institut für TgT – Germany5.Abif – AustriaThe initiator of the project was Stowarzyszenie Zwierzęta Ludziom, an NGO that conducts therapeutic activities involving dogs and deals with the promotion of AAT, AntrozoologiSenteret AS - non-governmental organization specializing in the field of human-animal relationship. Freiburger Institut für TGT German is a non-governmental organization dedicated to the training of specialists in the field of AAT. Abif Austrian is a certifying organization dealing with monitoring, evaluation and quality management and in project cooperates as an independent expert which was responsible for monitoring evaluation and quality management. Janusz Korczak Pedagogical University is a leader with experience in international projects and education through e-learning and blended learning. Mixture of experience and geographical diversity caused that each partner has enriched project with their knowledge and experience.AD 4Among the main activities of the project should there are:- Preparing and carrying out desk research in project countries[O1-A1];- Preparation of common standards for all countries [A1-A2];- Preparation of guidelines for training organizations [A1-A3];- Consultations with external experts in the field of therapy dog training [A1-A4];- Translation of methodology into languages of organizations participating in the project [A1-A5];- Preparation of training curriculum taking into account the requirements of ECVET [O2-A1];- Preparation of the training package, eLearning content [O2-A2];- Preparation of training materials for individual training [O2-A3];- Organization and carrying out the eight-day course in the field [C1, O2-A4];- Organization of 2-day final conference in the project [E1-B1]Ad. 5Developing a unified and clear certification system which had an impact on the professionalization of Therapy Dog Training and improvement of the quality of services provided by therapy dog therapists and their dogs. The project has become a prerequisite for further development of standards of therapy dog training and to disseminate the idea of therapy dog training. The added value of the project was to develop a certification system for ECVET for AAT professions.

Nowadays, empowerment in the use of online educational processes is crucial. The current literature shows that new technologies can be relevant in social rehabilitation programs since they reduce mobility and allow personalized rehabilitative paths. Nevertheless, the use of new technologies requires specific and structured competences. Accordingly, the DSI project's principal objective was the definition of a basic portfolio for digital social innovation competences at a European level specifically designed for students in social educator study programs, employed/unemployed social educators, and social volunteers. All partners already developed educational programs addressed to social educators and used digital resources in their educational activity with vulnerable social groups.Accordingly, partners shared their competences in digital-based educational programs such as competences for children with behavioral disturbances, online social coaching, social telerehabilitation of vulnerable social groups, etc., in order to implement the basic portfolio for digital social innovation competences. For this purpose, they selected, analyzed, and commented on the best practices and methodologies about using digital technologies in designing, implementing, and running social innovation solutions. Social educators have been involved in all the project activities through meetings, seminars, and online discussions. A short term learning event has been organized involving educators and experts. In synthesis, the project reached the following objectives: • exchanging good practices between organizations active in social education and social innovation • increasing the competencies of social educators • defining a basic portfolio of competences for social educators and social volunteers in digital social innovation practices at a European level • creating a comprehensive (and commented) list of topics and practices essential for digital social innovation initiatives/activities • creating a network active in digital social innovation The main addressed needs were: • enhancing social inclusion improving professional competences of social educators and social volunteers in a topical sector such as digital social innovation and the use of technology for social rehabilitation practices; • educators empowerment in the use of online educational processes. Project target groups Social educators, more precisely social educator students and social educators engaged in volunteer activities or employed in social services institutions/organizations, were the DSI project's main target group. DSI also involved other target groups: - Vulnerable social groups - Social services - Educational institutions

The ESEC project has provided social educators with the competences needed for designing and running parent training courses in an online environment. It realized an innovative parent training program for parents of children with behavioral disabilities in order to extend and develop the current competence and skills of both social educators and support teachers. The importance of training parents is widely emphasized by researchers and practitioners. Parents of children with autism or Down Syndrome have been successfully taught to improve their parent-childe relationship, increase communication skills, and decrease inappropriate, so called, behaviors. It has been demonstrated that parents of children with ASD are consequently found to have elevated levels of parenting related stress and psychological distress. Despite the numerous examples and variety of parent training courses, evidence-based guidelines for designing, implementing and running online parent training programs for parents of children with behavioral disabilities are not available. Moreover, parent training techniques are not widely studied by students in social pedagogy and social worker study programs. ESEC project pursues two main objectives, inclusive education and social educators professionalization. The project has realized an innovative parent training program for parents of children with behavioral disabilities in order to extend and develop the current competence and skills of both social educators and learning support teachers. It is motivated by a research conducted by JKPU and Ecoistituto on social innovation and social coaching in 2015 -2016 and on recent analysis conducted by JKPU and Udine University in 2017 on the association of parents of children with behavioral disabilities. The experience of Include and RTA on inclusive education confirmed the importance of parent training practices. On the basis of JKPU and Udine analysis emerged that the use of new technologies can be relevant in parent training educational programs since they can reduce mobility problems and offer the opportunity for personalized learning paths as authoritative sources and possibility of misunderstanding, biased information, etc. The participants in ESEC project were Consortium Partners, social educators and support teachers, who were the primary target group of the project. The parents of children with behavioral disabilities also took part in it as well as students in social educators' and social workers' study programs and stakeholders. Social educators and support teachers were involved mainly in learning activity, training program and outputs evaluation. The ESEC project main results are realization of evidence-based guidelines for designing and implementing and running a 2.0 educational parent training program that tackles all issues, theoretical and practical, related to parent training practices and includes a training course for parents of children with behavioral disabilities. The training course is an application of the evidence-based guidelines since the ESEC project foresees that learners can use the guidelines to design, implement and run a parent training course for a specific group of parents, under the supervision of experts (special pedagogues, social pedagogues, psychologists, social anthropologists, and expert in social media). This program strengthens the links between professional education and research and social development as well as practical use of acquired knowledge. ESEC provides the notions required for designing and running parent-training courses in an online environment and it demonstrates its effectiveness. The ESEC training approach focuses on teaching techniques, as well as on indirect and direct teaching strategies and on relational practices. Indirect teaching strategies are aimed to increase social responsiveness of parents. The ESEC consortium was formed of 5 partners whos complementary expertise in teaching and learning benefited for the project. These were 2 HE institutions, 1 foundation, and 2 NGOs. This strategy was motivated by realization and demonstration the effectiveness of a theoretical/methodological framework for parent-training at European level. Secondly, by wish to create a common understanding on special education at a European level thanks to collaboration of the Consortium partners exploiting/integrating their competence matured in non-funded researches and thirdly by reinforcing social inclusion and professional use of digital technology - that is a crucial European priority and the Covid 19 pandemic has proved that. The project transnationality is the condition for the transferability of the project results in other countries. Projects outcomes are realized in English but they are being translated into national languages. Impact of the project is very wide because the social education shows social and economic relevance in EU courtiers and this project improves both competences and skills.

The YDSI project aims at empowering young people (especially students in social sciences and volunteers) in digital social innovation thinking and practices at a European level professionalizing them in a lifelong learning European perspective. The general objective of the YDSI project is the definition of a basic educational framework for youth online social innovation education at a European level integrating the expertise of partners engaged in different topical social educational practices such as peer learning, participatory learning, social learning, and collaborative learning. The specific objectives are: • to exchange best practices between organizations active in social innovation focusing on methodologies, conditions and best-practices of social innovation thinking • to increase competencies of young people on digital social innovation providing them with advice and guidance on how to design and developing social innovation ideas and proposals exploiting EU funding and opportunities available on the Web • to create a comprehensive list of good practices on the topics of digital social innovation and social entrepreneurship • to create a network of organizations active in digital social innovation and promoting their collaboration with social enterprises Addressed needs The YDSI project addresses the following needs: • professionalization of young people in a topical sector such as digital social innovation thinking and social entrepreneurship • their empowerment in the use of online educational processes Addressed target group The project’s target group are students, and young people engaged in social volunteer activities or employed in social services institutions/organizations. Transnational motivation The YDSI Strategic Partnership is motivated by the following main factors: - social education, social services, and social innovation go beyond national borders - social digital innovation and professional use of the new technologies are European goals that need a transnational approach - our project wants to contribute to achieving a European objective: improving the active involvement of young people in the development of high-quality non-formal and informal educational programs at a European level - participation to this European project will provide partners with the opportunity for sharing investigations conducted separately as well as for confronting ideas, practices, and methods of digital social innovation; thanks to this project, they will create a network and increase their capacity to operate at a transnational level.