«I really like this school
and I`m glad that I came here.
It`s great to spend the whole day
at a practice site of one`s own choosing»
Balazs, pupil at Város Mint Iskola, (City-as-School) Pécs, Hungary.
 

A path towards a profession, a path towards life:
Productive Learning

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 employ-ment market. But schools and other educational institutions are also at a loss as to how to tackle the problem.

The Institute for Productive Learning in Europe (IPLE) can provide assistance. In the course of five years work, 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 43 institutions and projects from 16 different countries committed 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

• help them plan, develop, initiate, implement and evaluate Productive Learning projects,
• provide project-orientated further education courses for Productive Learning educationalists on the basis of study letters and seminars and
• create possibilities for international exchange and co-operation.

Interested persons and institutions can take advantage of IPLE's service offer by becoming members of the institute or on a contract basis.

IPLE, a centre for educational innovation in Berlin

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 continual changes in the requirements of professional life, young people have their own educational prob-lems: family, school, vocational training are less and less able to prepare young people for independence and taking responsibility for their own lives.

The Institute for Productive Learning in Europe (IPLE) has shown in the course of the last five years , with a wealth of ideas translated into practice, that the educational concept - Productive Learning - offers a way out of the cul-de-sac of traditional educational institu-tions for all kinds of young people in many different parts of Europe: Productive Learning builds on the natural motivation and strengths of young people and gives them the oppor-tunity 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 opportunity to become involved in Productive Learning not only developed their personality as a whole, but also discovered a realistic vocational perspective in vocational training, further education or professional activity. Firms praise the inde-pendence and ability to cooperate displayed by these young people and the educational institutions which employ Productive Learning are proud of their success.

The International Network of Productive Schools (INEPS), founded by IPLE in the course of its development work, comprises 43 projects from 16 different countries. In these educational projects, young people, many of whom had come to a standstill in traditional edu-cational institutions, learn the interests and abilities which 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 a pupil existence.

IPLE, which up until now has invested 15 million marks from German and European sources in the development of its concepts, material 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, further education for educationalists and international networking.

IPLE has achieved: Activities and Products

Since IPLE and its founders and directors, the educationalist Ingrid Böhm and Prof. Dr. Jens Schneider, have implemented, in cooperation with numerous experts in Germany and elsewhere, a wealth of experience linked to Productive Learning and developed extensive material. IPLE has thus gained invaluable experience. On the basis of several years activity in research, development, higher education and further education in the field of social edu-cation 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:

• 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; the initiation and qualification of international Productive Learning projects in Finland, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Hungary; the implemention of a three year pilot project 'Productive Learning in Berlin Schools (PLEBS)';
• the development of 10 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";
• 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 12 extensive Study Letters on all important topics of Productive Learning as well as seminars lasting several days twice yearly;
• the founding and direction of the International Network of Productive Schools (INEPS), a cooperative organisation involving all Productive Learning projects (a registered international society with its headquarters in Vilafranca del Penedès, Spain);
• direction, implementation and structuring of numerous international Productive Learning conferences, the most recent 1994 in Paris, 1995 in New York , 1996 in Kuopio, Finland and 1997 in Funchal, Portugal; numerous lectures on Productive Learning themes in Germany and other countries;
• numerous publications, most recently the book  "Productive Learning - an opportunity for young people in Europe", in German, English and French:

IPLE has an efficient working structure in ist premises, Karl-Schrader-Straße 6, 10781 Berlin, with the necessary personnel and technical equipment.

IPLE has to offer:
Services for Institutions, Sponsors, Communities and Organisations

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 ad-dresses private and public schools, vocational orientation and training institutions, youth educational and assistance institutions, as well as their sponsors in Germany and other countries, interested in involving their target groups in Productive Learning. Thus, schools, for example, could start new practice orientated educational programmes (City-as-School projects, production schools etc.), societies could extend their vocational orientation and vocational training programmes for socially disadvantaged young people (firms for young people, production projects), firms could reform their own vocational training programmes or youth centres could start production orientated leisure activities.

In our experience, a combination of

• project counselling  i.e. counselling and support in initiating, planning, implementing and evaluating Productive Learning projects,
• further education of educationalists involved in projects on the basis of our Study Letters and other material as well as seminars and
• international networking involving exchange and cooperation between Productive Learning projects of a similar nature is especially effective.

Moreover, we are prepared to

• hold conferences and seminars where important Productive Learning themes are dealt with and committed Productive Learning educationalists provide mutual support and stimulation,
• to give lectures intended to stimulate projects as well as the various theoretical and methodical aspects of Productive Learning.

Finally, we want to spread Productive Learning and continue to develop it by means of the following activities:

• public relations work in all its forms, especially by means of contributions to the press and specialist publications,
• educational and methodical research and development work.

Institute for Productive Learning in Europe (IPLE)
iple@sonett.asfh-berlin.de

More information: www.iple.de