WORKING WITH TEACHERS: INNOVATION IN TRAINING AND SUPPORT

1. WORKING WITH TEACHERS: INNOVATION IN TRAINING AND SUPPORT 8th International PATHS Conference - PATHS Curriculum Diffusion MIRANDA NOVAK, JOSIPA MIHIĆ, JOSIPA BAŠIĆ

2. HOW TEACHERS IN CROATIA FEEL

3. HOW TEACHERS IN CROATIA FEEL • Overwhelmed with the changes in the school system and curricula made by government • Frustrated with the salary reduction • Facing continuous worsening of working conditions • Getting more and more obligations for the same time frame • Meeting more complex needs of children and society • Loaded with the expectations of parents • Have to implement other programs • Finding their education outdated

4. SUPPORTING TEACHERS FOR SEL • Diffusion of PATHS in Croatia in bigger scale made us realize that our teachers need additional and tailored support to implement prevention programs

5. SUPPORTING TEACHERS FOR SEL • Implementation monitoring showed Croatian teachers need: • More background on socio-emotional learning • More background on school prevention • Support for developing their own socio-emotional skills • Emotional support regarding the workload and climate in schools • Suggestions for the classroom management • More creative and interactive ideas for working with children

6. INNOVATION WITH TEACHER SUPPORT • During the 2-year project PATHS-RASTEM financed by the World Bank i.e. Unity Through Knowledge Fund and Ministry of Science and Education implementation of PATHS was supported by engagement of school counselors • Research team has supported teachers through monthly meetings with teachers: • Once a month in school – visiting classroom and analyzing the lessons and teacher approach afterwards • Once a month at the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation – having a workshop/mini training

7. INNOVATION WITH TEACHER SUPPORT Mini training once a month at the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation – held in a form of meeting • All teachers from PATHS classrooms were collected together • Research team was in the same time the implementation expert team and has the prepared agenda • 30 minutes of PATHS lesson analysis and exchange of experiences + 30 minutes of SEL activities + analysis of bottlenecks

8. INNOVATION WITH TEACHER SUPPORT Mini training themes covered during the 2 year period • Personal SEL competencies of teachers • Communication with parents • Self-esteem of children as a milestone for development • Giving feedback to children • Classroom management – handling difficult situation • Generalization of PATHS curricula to other areas • Including parents in SEL activities • How to handle teacher stress and burnout

9. INNOVATION WITH TEACHER SUPPORT • Those experiences were included in the training of teachers during last two years • We are using the concept for the training provided by Elaine Berrena and CeleneDomitrovich with the addition of forementioned themes • We have realized that training has to prepare teachers to deliver PATHS – they needed some background – to understand why lessons are structured in the special way and what is the theory behind that • Additionaly, we are still developing the themes covered during the mutual meetings with teachers – according to the needs of teachers and our development

10. INNOVATION WITH TEACHER SUPPORT • Giving teachers smaller bits of knowledge reinforced with creative activities gave teachers the feeling they are appreciated and important, getting something in return for their effort • That developed our relationship and mutual respect • Has helped our teachers to be more motivated to implement PATHS • Has given teachers ideas for the creative activities which could be used with children and led to improvement in their teacher skills generally