<< Background >>We applied for this project because teaching quality is crucial for successful learning in school. Despite extensive research in general teaching quality, there is no specific framework for physical education (PE). Previous studies indicate that the general dimensions of teaching quality (structured teaching, socio-emotional climate, cognitive activation) need to be adapted for PE, particularly by including motor activation. This adaptation requires a theoretical basis that has yet to be established.Therefore, we have addressed the following needs:Lack of PE Framework: There is no widely accepted framework defining PE teaching quality. Our goal is to develop the QualiTePE framework to determine and describe the key dimensions and characteristics of high-quality PE teaching.Diverse Standards: Europe lacks consensus on good PE teaching. We'll collaborate to establish common educational goals and methods.Evaluation Tools: There's a shortage of standardized PE teaching evaluation tools. We'll create QualiTePE for formative assessment.Our goal is to enhance PE teaching quality, provide evidence-based evaluation tools, and support professional development across Europe.<< Objectives >>In the QualiTePE project, we aimed to convene experts from various European countries to establish a unified understanding of high-quality PE teaching and formulate the QualiTePE framework concept, delineating key teaching dimensions and characteristics in PE. Defining high-quality PE teaching hinged on national educational goals and subject-didactic concepts, explored through a Delphi survey involving HEI instructors from ten partner countries. Drawing on existing reviews, empirical studies, and HEI curricula, the QualiTePE framework aimed to enhance teacher education across Europe, standardizing and elevating teaching quality. Utilizing this framework, we operationalized PE teaching characteristics and dimensions to develop a digital QualiTePE evaluation tool. This tool facilitated evidence-based assessments by teachers, HEI instructors, and students, fostering professional development and a culture of feedback. It aimed to systematically enhance teaching quality in PE, supporting teacher education through materials for theoretical and practical implementation, aiding student teachers in reflective practice and continuous development.<< Implementation >>The project aimed to achieve three main objectives through its implementation:Establishing a Unified Framework: We sought to unite experts across Europe to define high-quality PE teaching through the QualiTePE framework. This framework was designed to articulate essential teaching dimensions and characteristics specific to PE, considering diverse national educational goals and subject-specific concepts.Developing Evaluation Tools: Our goal was to create the QualiTePE digital evaluation instrument. This tool enabled teachers, HEI instructors, and students to assess PE teaching quality based on defined criteria. It aimed to foster evidence-based evaluation, professional development, and a robust feedback culture in PE.Enhancing Teacher Education: By integrating the QualiTePE framework and evaluation instrument into teacher education at HEIs, we aimed to standardize and elevate PE teaching quality across Europe. The project included developing materials to support instructors in teaching the framework concept and implementing it practically, empowering student teachers with tools for self-assessment and continuous improvement.These efforts aimed to make the characteristics of effective PE teaching visible, systematically improving teaching quality in both the short and long term.<< Results >>During the 30-month project, nine key outputs were developed in three phases led by the main project partners:Phase I - Universität Hamburg:Mapping and Literature Review: Created an overview and knowledge base on teaching quality in PE across Europe (M1-M4).Delphi Consensus Study: Conducted a research study to establish consensus on PE teaching quality in Europe, producing a comprehensive report (M4-M6).QualiTePE Framework Development: Developed the theoretical and methodological framework for QualiTePE (M6-M9).Phase II.1 - Pädagogische Hochschule Zürich4. QualiTePE Questionnaire: Designed and refined the QualiTePE questionnaire as an evaluation method (M9-M13 / M25-M30).5. Digital Evaluation Tool: Created the digital QualiTePE evaluation tool, an interactive resource (M9-M14 / M25-M30).Phase II.2 - Fontys University of applied Sciences6. Pilot Study: Implemented and validated the questionnaire and evaluation tool through pilot studies (M9-M14 / M25-M30).7. Implementation and Evaluation Study: Conducted an implementation and evaluation study, generating a detailed research report (M13-M27).Phase III - Université du Luxembourg 8. Handbook and Guidance Material: Produced manuals, handbooks, and guidance materials for implementing the QualiTePE framework and tool (M9-M14 / M25-M30).9. Teacher Educator Toolkit: Developed a toolkit to support teacher educators in implementing and disseminating QualiTePE (M9-M14 / M25-M30).These outputs aimed to enhance understanding and standardization of PE teaching quality across Europe, providing practical tools and resources for educators and institutions.

"<< Background >>The primary objective of the project was to support schools in creating and/or sustaining inclusive school-communities where every member is welcomed, respected, valued, and given a voice, and where diversity in culture, religion, gender, ability, and socio-economic background is embraced and appreciated. Many schools across Europe face challenges in ensuring equal and equitable opportunities for all learners. Achieving this goal necessitates fostering an inclusive community in which all stakeholders—teachers, learners, parents, school leaders, and external partners—actively engage and share responsibility for creating inclusive school cultures. This process requires support in both individual and collective learning efforts.In such inclusive school communities, the learning and social environments are interconnected. The project particularly focused on the social environment, emphasizing the importance of providing a platform for all community members to express themselves. By developing inclusive school communities, schools can strengthen their relationships with internal and external stakeholders, thus promoting ongoing sustainable improvements that ensure equal opportunities for all learners.<< Objectives >>To assist schools in developing more inclusive school communities, the project aims to create a toolbox designed to help stakeholders within schools enhance their awareness and understanding of inclusiveness. This toolbox will also support schools in evaluating the current state of inclusiveness within their communities and assist them in identifying, selecting, and implementing actionable steps for improvement.Through the application of the toolbox, schools will be guided to address four key questions related to the level of inclusiveness within their community:- What are the defining characteristics of inclusive school communities?- What are inspiring examples of inclusive school communities, and how are they realized in practice?- How inclusive is our own school community?- What actions can we take to enhance the inclusiveness of our school community?This structured approach is designed to facilitate meaningful reflection and actionable progress toward more inclusive and equitable school environments.<< Implementation >>To accomplish the objectives of the project, the following key activities were implemented: 1) transnational project meetings, 2) tool development divided over different working packages 3) co-creative learning, teaching, and training sessions (LTT), 4) test phases in various countries, and 5) multiplier events.1. Representatives from all partner universities within the consortium countries participated in regular transnational project meetings. The primary focus of these meetings was to coordinate project content, and to plan and evaluate the co-creative sessions, while also addressing administrative tasks. Most of these meetings were conducted online.2. The transnational project meeting provided input for the design and development of the different tools in the toolbox. The design and development work was divided in separate working packages with different institutions being responsible. Draft versions were discussed during the transnational project meetings to ensure coherence of the toolbox as a whole.3. The co-creative sessions were carried out with the involvement of teachers and school leaders from partner schools. Each component of the toolbox was developed through a collaborative process of co-creation and testing with educational practitioners (teachers and school leaders) from the consortium countries. This ensured the practical relevance of the toolbox across diverse school settings. As a result, the dissemination of project outcomes to schools was facilitated, and an ambassador group of teachers and school leaders, who developed a sense of ownership, was formed.4. The toolbox components developed during the co-creative sessions were then tested by teachers and school leaders in national pilot activities conducted within their respective schools. Feedback from this pilot phase was incorporated into the ongoing development and refinement of the tools.5. The multiplier events were organized locally in the countries of the participating project partners. During these events, school and teacher leaders were introduced to the toolbox elements, which were further explored through workshops. Participants then brought the insights back to their respective schools, where they acted as ambassadors for the toolbox and served as contact points for any inquiries regarding its content.<< Results >>The concrete output of the project consists of several tools developed to support inclusive school communities that are available through http://www.developinginclusiveschoolcommunities.org. This online toolbox consists of the following tools: Tool 1: A conceptual framework (Part 1) that addresses various interpretations of inclusiveness within school communities. Tool 2: A conceptual framework (Part 2) outlining strategies for developing inclusive school cultures. Together, Tools 1 and 2 form the ""conceptual tool"" which aims to raise awareness, deepen understanding, and establish a shared conceptual foundation guiding the design and actualization of a change process aiming at the creation of an inclusive school community. Tool 3: An inspirational tool that presents practical examples and vignettes illustrating what an inclusive school community looks like and how it can be cultivated. These examples are intended to inspire and guide school leaders and teachers. Tool 4: A reflective tool designed to assist schools in assessing the level of inclusiveness within their communities and identifying areas for further development. Based on the theoretical framework, this tool provides a structured approach for evaluating key aspects of inclusive school communities, helping schools pinpoint areas for improvement and outline the next steps toward fostering a more inclusive environment. Tool 5: a set of supportive tools to take next steps in strengthening inclusive school communities, as a follow-up for the use of Tool 1 to 4. These tools focus on specific aspects of inclusive school communities at the level of classrooms, schools or parents and local stakeholders. These aspects include topics like Universal Design of Learning, Shared Leadership or Inclusive decision making.Tool 6: All the different tools are integrated in an online Toolkit, to provide school teams with coherent support, highlighting steps and supportive tools and their interconnection. The online toolkit presents Tools 1-5 in an attractive and user-friendly form and is designed to support schools in implementing and using the tools in their teams. The use of the website is free of charge and it provides an opportunity to use a variety of languages, which increases the accessibility of the toolbox. The toolkit is designed as a self-guided toolkit, however, to help the schools to get started with the toolbox and evaluate and understand their current state regarding the inclusiveness of their school, introductory videos are included, that guide the users and increase the accessibility of the tools. Second, an overall user guide supports the schools to go deeper in their understanding of the relevancy of the toolbox, the connections between the different tools, and the process of carrying out a change in a school context."

Educational systems in Europe face many challenges. As schools are the focal points in educational systems, it is essential that they develop capacity and ownership in finding sustainable answers to these challenges. This requires responsive and adaptive schools cultures in which new developments in society can be incorporated in the content and design of curricula, in the work of teachers and in the learning of students. To create adaptive and responsive schools, the agency and leadership of both teachers and school leaders is essential. In this project the agency and leadership of teachers was be strengthened through a post-initial Master's level joint module for teachers and school leaders that can be integrated in different post-initial Master's level programmes. This post-initial Master's level module is be developed by the four partner institutions and embedded within Master's programmes and in-service activities of three universities in three different countries. The development of the programme made use of a design based approach in which three test runs were used to develop, adapt and re-adapt the programme design and materials. Through this approach the project did not only lead to a programme design and course materials that can be shared with other higher education institutions, but also to 216 teachers and school leaders from Estonia, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands and Switzerland who developed their leadership and agency by participating in the programme and who now can be initiators change within their schools by engaging colleagues. The engagement of 216 teachers and school leaders also created the opportunity to collect portraits/vignettes of school in the participating countries regarding the way and the extent in which the culture and structure within these schools supported or hindered adaptivity or responsiveness. The COVID19 lockdown in the spring of 2020 created an unique opportunity to see and compare how schools in different contexts and settings dealt with a similar challenge that required an rigorous adaptation of their daily routines. Through portraits from 24 schools, a clearer understanding was developed of the impact of the COVID19 lockdown on schools and the responsiveness of schools in dealing with this crisis. The analysis shows mechanisms and conditions for adaptive and responsive school cultures and how schools can be supported in this. The project started in September 2017 and ended in August 2020. Project partners were the Schulamt (Office of Education) Liechtenstein, Tallinn University (TLÜ) in Estonia, the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA) in the Netherlands and the Zurich University of Teacher Education (PHZH) in Switzerland. The outcomes of the project can be found at https://www.tlu.ee/en/e4f.

Within the Education for the Future (E4F) project - a joint international Master's level in-service program for teachers, school leaders and other educational specialists - has been developed, tested, evaluated, adapted and implemented. The program created a context for supporting teachers, school leaders and other educational specialists to strengthen their leadership capacities and their expertise with respect to school development and innovation.The program is developed within a sustainable partnership between three universities and an educational authority in four different countries. The program covers 12 to 15 ECTS covering both national and joint international activities, and is integrated in Master’s programs in Estonia, the Netherlands and Switzerland and accessible for participants from all four countries. Aim of the program is to strengthen the leadership of teachers, school leaders and other educational innovators, by focusing on the possible impact of international societal trends on schools and by studying and reflecting on differences in educational systems in different European countries. Key elements in the program that stimulate this leadership are three exchange visits focused on school visits (individual and group) and collaborative reflection and analysis. In the time between the exchange visits participants from different countries prepare national assignments that focus on school development. The results of these assignments are shared during the international exchange visits.The program is unique by bringing together teachers, school leaders and other educational innovators as partners in innovation, by stimulating international exchange at a Master’s level, by stimulating intensive reflection about national systems and school practices, and by combining both individual professional development of the participants and school development within their schools through small-scale innovation projects at local level.In the development of this joint Master’s level program a design approach has been used characterized by three cycles of (re)designing-running-evaluating. Through this cyclic approach, the program has been tested, evaluated, adapted and implemented, strengthening both the quality and the sustainability of the program after ending the formal project.Additionally, the project contributed to leadership development more than 140 participants in four countries and to school improvement in their schools.Finally the project resulted in a sustainable partnership between three universities and an educational authority based on trust, mutual recognition of expertise and shared commitment and responsibility.

Context/backgroundThe overarching aim of the project is to promote the basic motor competencies (BMC) of primary school children by the means of a digital tool based on an existing theoretical framework to be adapted for digital use. In this context, BMC constitute the essential requirements for taking part in the culture of human movement and developing a physically active lifestyle. To achieve the testing and supporting the development of BMC, the MOBAK (Motorische Basiskompetenzen, German for BMC) tests and support framework has proven to be a valid instrument (Herrmann, et al., 2015; Scheuer & Heck, 2020). In the frame of a previous Erasmus+ project, Basis Motor Competences in Europe – Assessment and Promotion (BMC-EU; 590777-EPP-1-2017-1-DE-SPO-SCP), a toolkit for the promotion of BMC has been developed. This follow-up project shall ensure its use in a digital way, generally during face-to-face physical education (PE) lessons at school, but also in times when social distancing and therefore online teaching are required. As some partner countries are stuck by the implementation of PE classes due to covid-19-measures, the digitalization will support the continuation of PE teaching. The experience which the project partners have collected until now with the MOBAK instrument and its dissemination will contribute to the delivery of the best possible digital product. This appears even more important when online teaching is required and parents require support in their role as “educators at home”. In this frame, the project results can also be used as part of an active homework, possibly requiring support by students’ parents.Objectives- to revise and adapt the existing MOBAK testing and support concept for the use in a digital format- to develop guidance material for teacher educators for the implementation of the MOBAK App in initial, induction and in-service teacher education- to make available the developed outcomes for any interested stakeholders, including teachers, teacher educators and parentsNumber and profile of participantsThe consortium consists of the main partners University of Luxembourg (project coordinator), University of Potsdam, PH Zürich, Goethe University Frankfurt, University of Trnava, PH Salzburg, Hanzehogheschool Groningen, and the European Physical Education Association (EUPEA). The project partners will be represented in total by 18 teacher educators and/or researches. They all have a strong confirmed expertise in primary physical education. Furthermore, 20 associated partners are going to contribute to the project.Description of activitiesThrough this strategic partnership, the consortium proposes to develop a digital MOBAK Application for the promotion of basic motor competencies of children. During the project lifetime, f4 transnational meetings, one learning, training and teaching activity and 15 multiplier events will be organized, in order to develop and disseminate 7 intellectual outputs.MethodologyThe project coordinator will use the methodology adopted by the University of Luxembourg (UL), therefore agile project management will be used throughout the project execution. The UL project leader will be responsible for overseeing the execution of the project plan, through its various activities and the management of their execution. Quarterly reports will be drafted by all partners and sent to the project coordinator, who will use these reports to monitor the project activities and use of budget according to the project description.A short description of the resultsA digital MOBAK application will be developed, based on a theoretical and methodological framework including a pedagogical strategy. The implementation of the App will be facilitated through guidance material and a teacher training toolkit. In addition, several intangible results are expected for the different group of project participants, e.g. knowledge and experience in teaching primary PE in a digital way.Impact envisagedThe development of a digital MOBAK App will be beneficial to physical education teachers. Furthermore, the materials will be implemented in existing teacher education programmes of the HEI partners in the project.Longer term benefitsIn long term, it is expected that a large pool of teachers will benefit from these resources, thus raising the quality of primary PE in Europe. Most importantly, the basic motor competencies of children will be promoted.