1) The document describes the WorkSEN project which ran from 2011-2013 and compared techniques used in special needs vocational education across Turkey, Romania, and Poland. 2) The project objectives included supporting social integration of disabled people, developing cooperation between schools and employers, and improving skills for adapting to the workplace. 3) Main activities included comparing career options for special needs students across countries, work experiences, developing a parent training module, and disseminating results.

1. Leonardo da Vinci Partnership 2011-1-TR1-LEO04-24209
Project title: Comparing The Techniques Used in Special Needs Vocational
Education and Supporting Their Social and Vocational Integration
Acronym: WorkSEN
Project extent: 2011/2013
Target group: children with light and moderate mental deficiencies
Project site: www.worksen.com
PARTNERS
1. Hurin Yavuzalp İş Okulu – TURKEY (coordinator)
2. Bala Halk Eğitimi Merkezi Müdürlüğü – TURKEY
3. Ankara Esnaf ve Sanatkarlar Odaları Birliği – TURKEY
4. Scoala Speciala nr. 7 – ROMANIA
5. UNIVERSITATEA BUCUREŞTI, Facultatea de Psihologie şi
Ştiinţele Educaţiei, Secţia Psihopedagogie Specială –
ROMANIA
6. Specjalny Ośrodek Szkolno-Wychowawczy im. Jerzego
Strzałkowskiego w Lesznie – POLAND

2. OBJECTIVES
supporting the integration of disabled people into society in order to
prevent risk of isolation;
verifying the learning environment considering their mental disabilities and
skills;
developing the cooperation between school and sector so that the pupils can
be employed in appropriate places in terms of their skills and interest;
training parents on how to treat their mentally disabled children in order to
ease the load on them;
informing the parents and pupils about the social rights of mentally disabled
people and to prevent the discrimination;
encouraging the pupils to take part in country economy and have the
awareness of citizenship;
meeting the necessities by comparing curricular contents and exchanging
good practices of application and new approaches;
improving the pupils' skills of adaptation in school and working
environment;
developing entrepreneurial competencies using the "virtual company"
enhance classroom applications in order to support the competencies
needed for the development of a future career;
improving pre-professional abilities of students for integration in
vocational high-schools;
enhancing vocational education of teachers working with children with
special needs;
improving conditions for social inclusion of children with special needs; for
the project to have better chances, we should find another professional
school for children with SEN from another countries;
MAIN ACTIVITIES
comparing the professional offer and social insertion for children with
special needs by presenting the situation from partner countries
(professional schools’ offers and labour market offer);
job lists;
project site;
sending postcards made by the pupils on special days of partner countries
(New Year, Christmas, national days);
workshop: Cooking together;
workshop: Handicraft;
two-days work experience: introducing the students to real-life vocational
environments, such as café, bakery, supermarkets, cleaning companies, or
handicraft shops and introducing the employees to special needs people;
making a brochure and a poster;

3. preparing the formation module for the parents of children with special
needs and the parents’ course.
research (case study): the impact of the module on parents (comparison by
questionnaires before and after teaching the module);
preparing the guide of good practice;
exhibition of the pupils’ products and photos.
PHOTOS FROM PROJECT ACTIVITIES

4. DISSEMINATION AND USE OF RESULTS
The module to be used in the training of parents on treating disabled children,
the work legislation and social rights will be an important part of dissemination. It
can be applied in all special needs schools and centres. The published versions of this
module will be distributed to the public authorities (incl. the Ministry of Education),
parents, special needs education institutions and adult education institutions.
The website will serve not only for students to perform in the virtual company but
also to disseminate the project activities to all countries.
The handbook of good examples to develop the students' social and
entrepreneurial competences will be distributed to the public authorities, to the
department of Special Needs Education in each country’s respective Ministry of
Education.
Local and national media representatives, public authority representatives,
employees and people in the neighbourhood will be invited to the dance
performance and exhibition of products and photos.
The project will be introduced to local authority by means of brochures, and posters.