First looking at learning

STATE OF ART
www.lookingatlearning.eu
TheFirstLooking
at Learning

About “Looking at Learning KA2” Project
 
The project "Looking@Learning" aims to provide space and support for cross-sectorial coopera;on of
professionals in formal and non-formal educa;on on innova;on of educa;on in order to create
contemporary and successful learning environments for young people in their educa;onal process.
 
Looking@Learning is an project developed within the Erasmus + Programme, as a Key Ac;on 2: Strategic
Partnerships. All the implementa;on plan is funded by European Commission.
 
This long term project will be developed between March 2015-February 2017 by 6 different promoters:
4 non-governmental organiza;ons: Humana People to People from Latvia, Youth Exchange Service and
S;ch;ng Merakel from Netherlands, Asociación PROMESAS from Spain as well as 2 governmental
en;;es involving Gulbene Municipality Council (Latvia) and Maracena Youth Center (Spain).
 
Besides coordina;ng organiza;ons, we will work together with more than 10 en;;es from the 3
countries to develop all implementa;on plan. 
 
“The first looking at learning” is the first intelectual output of men;oned project, and is aimed to bring
an analysis of the use of learning environments in formal and non-formal educa;on in Latvian,
Netherlands and Spain.
 
More informa;on about research, partners and project you can find at our webpage. 
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www.lookingatlearning.eu

Rūta Kronberga  
Humana People to People in Latvia (Latvia)
 
Gabi Steinprinz  
Youth Exchange Service (Netherlands) 
 
Ignacio Salgado / Mª Victoria de la Cruz  
Asociación PROMESAS (Spain) 
 
Anita Birzniece  
Gulbene novads (Latvia) 
 
Angela Kroezen  
S;ch;ng Merakel (Netherlands) 
 
Mª Ascensión Romero / Carmen Vílchez  
Ayuntamiento de Maracena (Spain)
 
Dina Bite, Ginta Kronberga, Lana Janmere
Ins;tute of Social Sciences and Humani;es
Faculty of Economics and Social Development
Latvia University of Agriculture
 
Gabi Steinprinz 
Unsquare / Youth Exchange Service [YES] 
 
Álvaro Pascual  
Research Student in Science Education School in
Education College Of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social
Sciences University College Cork
 
Javi Quilez
Researchers
Layout and graphic design
Project Coordinators
Co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the
European Union.
This publica;on reﬂects the view only of the
authors and the Commission cannot be held
responsable for any use which may be made of the
informa;on contained therein.
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Content
Study methodology - Structure of the document1
TheoreTcal ExplanaTon of CreaTvity, CreaTve Learning and CreaTve Teaching/
Learning environment within the project2
3 Analysis of Policy Documents
4 Analysis of Interviews
5Conclusions
Annex I DescripTon of the Respondents
Good PracTcesAnnex II
IntroducTon0

The goal of the project “Looking@Learning" is to create a place and support for the innova;on-oriented coopera;on between formal and non-
formal intermediary sectors of educa;on professionals in order to develop modern and successful learning environment for young people
involved in learning process. In this project a broad range of stakeholders in the field of educa;on in the Netherlands, Spain and Latvia are
involved to explore crea;ve learning environments together, share good prac;ces and implement new developments and tools in exis;ng
structures, therefore bringing innova;on to their own reali;es. Project is financed by the EU programme for young people “Erasmus+: Youth in
Ac;on” administrated by Latvian Agency for Interna;onal Programs for Youth. One of the main aims of the programme is to improve skills and
competences of people who work with young people - educators, youth workers, trainers, teachers, project managers - i n o r d e r t o
improve the quality of youth work as well as to promote interna;onal coopera;on of youth and youth workers. This projects aims
to achieve above men;oned programme aims by working together with youth workers from formal and non-formal field from all
3 project countries.
The 1st phase of the project - research named “The First Looking at Learning” presents case studies and
a collec;on of informa;on that can be further used to develop methodology for promo;ng
crea;ve learning environment and for doing future studies on crea;ve learning
environment.
CHAPTER 0. INTRODUCTION

This study should be viewed as a pilot study inside the project since its goal is
to gather ini;al informa;on about crea;vity and crea;ve learning
environment in Latvia, Netherlands and Spain. The study outlines problems in
the area of crea;ve learning environment in Latvian, Dutch and Spanish
educa;on systems, simultaneously viewing educa;on policy documents and
inspec;ng the actual situa;on in educa;onal establishments. This study
focuses on the situa;on in establishments of formal educa;on (voca;onal,
secondary, regular and alterna;ve primary and elementary schools), non-
formal educa;on (youth centres, youth ini;a;ves and non-governmental
youth organiza;ons) and alterna;ve educa;on (Montessori pedagogy,
democra;c schools). In the Netherlands, the study has a special focus on
learning environments for young people with learning diﬃcul;es and
disabili;es as most of the stakeholders work (mainly) with this target group.
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The study uses qualita;ve approach in order to understand the current situa;on in these three countries, problems linked to crea;vity, crea;ve learning
environment there. Following methods were used in it:
1) Analysis of theore;cal literature in order to understand theore;cal interpreta;on of crea;vity and crea;ve learning environment (see Chapter 2);
2) Qualita;ve content analysis used to analyze na;onal planning documents and educa;on system documents (see Chapter 3);
3) Individual semi-structured interviews with representa;ves of diﬀerent educa;onal establishments. The selec;on of interviewees in Latvia was made
according to principle of availability, purposefulness and link with the project - partners of the project were interviewed in order to understand current
situa;on in their educa;on establishments and ini;a;ves. Interviewees selec;on in the Netherlands was made to have a broad picture of crea;ve
learning environment in the context of educa;on in this country. As many of the partners of the project in the Netherlands work with young people
with fewer opportunity or have stakeholders who do so, the research is also dominated by this target group. Interviewees selec;on in Spain as done
similarly like in Latvia involving local project partners in order to learn about the current situa;on of crea;vity and crea;ve learning environments in
their educa;on establishments and ini;a;ves. Average dura;on of an interview was 50 minutes (see Chapter 4).
4) Case analysis in order to iden;fy examples of crea;ve learning. Individual interviews and document analysis is used for case analysis and includes both
formal and non-formal educa;on actors. (see Annex II).
CHAPTER 1. STUDY METHODOLOGY - STRUCTURE OF THE DOCUMENT
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Analysis Content
Analysis Interviews Case
Analysis

CHAPTER 2. THEORETICAL EXPLANATION OF CREATIVITY, CREATIVE LEARNING AND
CREATIVE TEACHING/LEARNING ENVIRONMENT WITHIN THE PROJECT
The importance of crea;vity and innova;on in addressing the economic, environmental and social crises has been recognized in policy discussion in Europe.
Recent policies call for the strengthening of Europe’s innova;ve capacity and the development of a crea;ve and knowledge-intensive economy and society
through reinforcing the role of educa;on and training in the knowledge triangle and focusing school curricula on crea;vity, innova;on and
entrepreneurship. It has been recognized that schools and ini;al educa;on play a key role in fostering and developing people’s crea;ve and innova;ve
capaci;es for further learning and their working lives (Cachia, Ferrari, Ala-Mutka, Punie, 2010).
However, when we approach the concept of crea;vity we find a problem, the lack of consensus to define it. De Haan and Havighurst (1961) said that
crea;vity was any ac;vity that leads to the produc;on of something new, whether it was a technical inven;on, a new scien;fic discovery or a new ar;s;c
performance. Later, Sternberg and Lubart (1997) will define it through the condi;ons that a crea;ve people must have, so they will be crea;ve if generate
rela;vely new, but also appropriated and good-quality ideas. Already in this century, Goñi (2000) assures that crea;vity is an ideal behavior. Goñi focus her
idea of crea;vity in people's capacity to significantly contribute as in society as in life itself. Monreal (2000) states that when he s t a r t e d t o
research about crea;vity, the most common word was genius, but also founded originality, produc;vity,
inven;veness, discovery, fantasy and imagina;on. According to Monreal, the word crea;vity maintains a
higher prevalence in the literature since 1950. Gardner (2001) supports that the crea;ve one is a
person who solve problems on a regular basis, develop products or define new enquiries in a field in
such way that, at the beginning it’s considered new, but at the end it becomes accepted in a concrete
cultural context. Finishing, Corbalán, Marsnez and Donolo (2003) speak about the difficulty that
exists to differen;ate crea;vity from other concepts as genius, gitedness or art. These authors advise
us to be pa;ent un;l we get to a consensual defini;on.
2.1 Creativity
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Furthermore, as Iglesias Casal (1999) describes, mistaken ideas regarding crea;vity are widespread, e.g. the rela;on between crea;vity
and madness. No evidence is been founded for this to be true. Merely, as Josep Muñoz (1994) states, “the dialec;c of imagina;on
seems an eminently chao;c process and not easy to understand and express through linguis;c resources”.
A second mistaken idea about crea;vity is to consider it innate and that cannot be taught. It can be seen as a quality some geniuses
have or as a skill that anyone can develop (Cachia, Ferrari, Ala-Mutka, Punie, 2010). However, de Bono (1994) already explained that
crea;vity is another ability that we can cul;vate and develop. In fact, crea;vity is related with experimenta;on, and experimenta;on
with observa;on. Bono explains that we do not see the world as it is, but as we perceive it. And our percep;on relies on our past
experiences, mo;va;ons and avtudes. In that sense, if we develop our ability to broaden our percep;on, we will be developing our
crea;vity. But crea;vity is also related to self-expression (Gámez, 1998). Therefore, we are also developing our crea;ve ap;tude by
improving the knowledge about ourselves and the ability to communicate our emo;ons and ideas.
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2.2 Creative Learning Environment
In any case, it is clear that crea;vity is not a rigid and stable-over-;me ap;tude.
Depending on our learning experience, it could be improved or worsened.
Crea;vity as a concept in the context of educa;onal system can be axributed
to person’s character traits and skills, learning methods/content and learning
environment. Besides, crea;vity can be viewed as a result of some ac;vity –
new, original product or idea. If crea;vity is viewed as a personality trait or a
skill, then it is described by innova;on, originality, unconven;onal solu;ons,
an;-conformism, courage, produc;vity of innova;on ac;vi;es in various
sectors, crea;ve intui;on, rich imagina;on, inspira;on, psychic plas;city,
viragoes ac;vity (Bebre, 1997). Also crea;vity can be defined as ability for
unusual thinking characterized by developed imagina;on, divergent thinking,
psychic plas;city, subconscious and viragoes ac;vity (Medne, 2014). Assuming
that the goal of educa;on system is to encourage crea;vity of youth as
personality trait or a skill, educa;on documenta;on has to provide for fostering
of the men;oned quali;es.
Crea;ve learning is therefore any learning that involves understanding and new
awareness, which allows the learner to go beyond no;onal acquisi;on, and
focuses on thinking skills. It is based on learner empowerment and
centeredness (Cachia, Ferrari, Ala-Mutka, Punie, 2010). According to Marsnez-
Salanova Sánchez, the crea;ve-learning process entails the produc;on of
informa;on or the development of new skills and, in a certain way, original to
the learner. It could be comprised of these stages (even if he does not mark
boundaries between them):
Firstly, the learner in class, at a par;cular ;me and due to personal characteris;cs or sensi;vity to certain
problems, detects weaknesses, inconsistencies and gaps in informa;on crea;ng in him/her a feeling that
something is missing or not right.
Secondly, the learner feels a need and seeks the way to address it. We are facing a great learning
opportunity; the pupil is uncomfortable because recognizes a need. The classroom; i.e. the teacher or the
atmosphere; should enable the learner to find the answers to those ques;ons or concerns that would
arise.
Thirdly, a grown learner will try to find workarounds, avoiding clichés and obvious, mistaken or
imprac;cable answers. For that purpose, students must learn how to deal with uncertainty, tolerate it and
even use it as a drive to inves;gate.
Finally, while learners do not resolve their ques;on, they will be mo;vated to con;nue trying to improve
their response. This intrinsic mo;va;on remains un;l they communicate the results to others. In this
point, we should highlight two of the features that Betancourt Morejón, cited by Pueyo Agudo, considers
that a crea;ve learning space should have. On the one hand, achievement must be present. That is,
learning experiences must be successful experiences. If learners cannot find the answer or it takes too
long, intrinsic mo;va;on disappears and with it, the curiosity and interest to learn. This does not mean
that learners cannot ever fail. In fact it is healthy to learn how to manage frustra;on, but it must be a
careful process and adjusted to each learner. On the other hand, the authority to validate the knowledge
should not be the educators alone, but much more democra;c. Learners need, as we stated before,
present their results to others (i.e. teacher, peers or even rela;ves) who, ater a process of dialogue, judge
the results with them. Being that, students must overcome the fear of making mistakes and gain
confidence in themselves and their ideas. Harter (1993) already explained this circular process in which
the higher confidence of people in themselves, the higher ease to express their crea;ve poten;al; just as
people who express their crea;vity in greater propor;on gain increasing security and confidence.
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Crea;vity is conceptualized as a skill for all and it is argued that educa;onal actors have the power to unlock the crea;ve and innova;ve poten;al of the young. It is
argued that crea;vity, in the educa;onal context, should be conceptualized as a transversal and cross-curricular skill, which everyone can develop. Therefore it can
be fostered but also inhibited.
By learning environment we understand an environment of a par;cular educa;onal establishment characterized by social components, special objects and maxers,
as well as interpersonal rela;onships. These factors influence and complement each other and affect every person involved. Learning environment addi;onally
specifies educa;onal environment; it always implies organiza;on process. It ensures correla;on of material, communica;ve and social condi;ons in the learning
process and beneficial circumstances for the development of student’s crea;ve poten;al. By using different sources of knowledge and various learning methods, a
student constructs his/her knowledge, skills and disposi;ons on his/her own (Mežinska, 2011).
In order to develop crea;vity in the classroom it is essen;al to foster a different avtude to the teaching – learning process in both teachers and students. Teachers
should accept uncertainty and recognize that it is more valuable working around a small amount of knowledge, but to do so trying to cover a lot in a superficial way.
In the end, accumula;on by rote of so many concepts is not important anymore. We must bexer value knowing how to select the right informa;on at each moment,
search, analyze, process, and how to create out of it. The adult must abandon the role of transmixer of informa;on and become the creator of learning
environments in which learners are accepted with their capabili;es and limita;ons. They must provide a working and learning place in which learners feel safe to
learn and develop their skills without the fear of being judged (Borrajo, 1998). Paul Delnooz developed an alterna;ve: Crea;ve Ac;on Methodology. Finding
innova;ve solu;on for prac;cal problems, which are tested aterwards, is central in the educa;onal approach ‘learn to think crea;vely’. It is an educa;onal
approach that is tested in prac;ce and appears to be very successful: the academic level of students increased. Students found solu;ons for
social issues as neighborhood renewal, informa;on of aids and shopliting.
The first Training Course of the project “Looking at Learning” brought together representa;ves from non-formal and formal
educa;on establishments from all 3 project countries - Spain, Netherlands and Latvia, they met in August 2015, in
Gulbene (Latvia). Ater spending week learning, experiencing, sharing, discussing and reflec;ng on crea;ve learning
environments in non-formal educa;on sevng par;cipants elaborated a comprehensive list of necessary condi;ons
for a Crea;ve Learning Environment:
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1. Freedom of space and Tme, being yourself, make choices.
2. Focused on learning processes both of learners and guides.
3. Permission and invitaTon to work together with community.
4. Genderless.
5.Trust. SupporTng of leading learning and sharing but not direcTng.
6. InspiraTon, moTvaTon and funcTonal, ﬂexible and diverse space.
7. Use of natural and local resources, unique space.
8. Place where feel free to feel with all senses.
9. Allowed to fail / No fear to mistakes.
10. Playful learning and challenging, experimenTng and learning by doing.
11. Solid base and sense of wonder.
12. Inspiring, researching and discovering.
13. No Tme pressure.
14. Safe place to go out of comfort zone.
15. Environment accepted, built by learning community and
ﬂexible to needs.
16. Learners responsible of their own learning process.
17. Development of creaTvity, imaginaTon and fantasy.
18. Allowed to express thoughts and quesTons.
19. Space feelings, emoTons and imaginaTon where to use all senses.
20. Possibility to develop own ideas and procedures.
2.2.1 What should be a Creative Learning Environment
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2.2.2 What should not be a Creative Learning Environment
1. Should not focus on learning results, decide what is good for someone else.
2. Need to get rid of fears of tailing and need to control processes.
3. Do not have external expectaTons (like ﬁnal tesTngs).
4. Should not put Tme pressure on the learners.
5. Stop working on a constant rouTne, thinking just in the box.
6. Do not want to teach the same to the whole group, but work individually according to interests and
learning needs.
7. Do not try to mold learners in ﬁx society, but help them to develop their best self.
8. Do not centre learning only on hearing or seeing.
9. Do not consider as groups of ages, but individuals.
10.Do not standardize support of learning, but focus on individual needs.
11.Do not push for learning or believe that people don’t want to learn.
12.Do not think on free Tme and learning Tme, because both are equally useful for learning.
13.Do not prepare learners for test, but for life.
14.Do not create a space where the learners feel accepted, valued and respected.
15.Do not have a space where learners idenTfy as theirs.
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CHAPTER 3. ANALYSIS OF POLICY DOCUMENTS
3.1 Latvia
Crea;ve environment and crea;ve people are named in Latvian planning and norma;ve documents as one of the goals that must
be axained and developed in both the near and distant future. In the Strategy of Sustainable Development, Latvia in 2030 is
described as a green, clean, easily accessible and also crea;ve place. Thus, crea;vity is signiﬁcant in connec;on with long-term
goal of sustainable development of the na;on along with the priori;es of clean environment and op;mal infrastructure.
Besides this concept is not only axributed to individual characteris;cs and human resources, but also to Latvia as a whole
and its environment.
Crea;vity as a priority interlaces main Latvian mid-term development planning document “Na;onal Development Plan
2014-2020”; and in it as well, the vision of Latvian future is seen through crea;vity and – in par;cular – through crea;ve people.
Courses of ac;on and tasks highlighted in the Na;onal Development Plan (NDP) link crea;vity with two important aspects:
development of business environment and human resilience. Thus it can be concluded that at least on the level of poli;cal planning in
Latvia there is an understanding that ability to get and keep a decent job and ability to take care for the development of oneself and
na;on is not possible without a set of par;cular competencies, including crea;vity.
There are several instruments that can be used to develop the competency of crea;vity in the society, and all of them are linked to educa;on:
training and axrac;ng highly qualiﬁed and crea;ve general educa;on teachers, implementa;on of innova;ve study content and work forms
in basic educa;on and general secondary educa;on and provision of possibility for informal educa;on in order to encourage crea;vity and
entrepreneurial abili;es. Based on NDP guidelines, it can be concluded that on poli;cal level crea;vity is viewed in the context of
entrepreneurial abili;es and crea;on of innova;ve, exportable product. The corresponding tasks are viewed only through educa;on system
using opportuni;es of both formal and informal educa;on.
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Whereas the document “The Guidelines of Educa;on Development 2014-2020” names crea;vity among the main goals, among the course of ac;on
it is only men;oned secondarily. It oten highlights modern methods and modern infrastructure, but it is hard to understand whether they are linked
to crea;vity or not. The document points out necessity to improve educa;on content to be oriented on the competencies, healthy lifestyle, crea;vity
and promo;on of innova;on, that is in demand in knowledge society. In the other tasks, crea;vity is not par;cularly accentuated. But, when making
development of individual skills one of the goals, it emphasizes the approach based in value educa;on, which among others includes development of
crea;vity.
In the context of value-oriented educa;on, the meaning of informal educa;on, which is men;oned in NDP, is emphasized as well. While puvng
forward the signiﬁcant tasks, the necessity to support youth science centres, summer study camps, science seminars, compe;;ons and science
projects and other ac;vi;es that are directed towards cul;va;on and development of children’s abili;es.
Interes;ngly enough, other norma;ve documents that regulate educa;on system men;on crea;vity as a part on goals and tasks, but fail to
specify how it would be promoted. Generally speaking, policy-planning documents that relate to the educa;on system present crea;vity as
one of many poli;cal priori;es. Such concepts as ‘crea;ve personality’, ‘skill of crea;vity’ and ‘crea;ve place’ are oten men;oned among
the goals and par;cular tasks, but most of all they are men;oned in goals and some of the tasks without specifying the ways in which
crea;vity is deﬁned from the standpoint of policy planning and how it will be promoted. The Council of Ministers Regula;ons axempt
to specify what aspect of self-expression and crea;vity is, but this explana;on only par;ally reveals crea;vity and its meaning is
reduced to the areas of the development of ar;s;c crea;vity and imagina;on.
Rela;vely narrow understanding of crea;vity is revealed by standards of school subjects. As S. Medne concludes it, crea;ve
skills are mostly nurtured in subjects linked to ar;s;c world (visual arts, music, literature). Rela;vely less promo;on of
crea;vity is connected to social studies and subjects related to health. Subject standards for general educa;on do not
provide for promo;on of crea;ve skills in science and maths and IT subjects (Medne, 2014).
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The documents regula;ng youth policy refer to crea;vity secondarily or do
not men;on at all. In “Guidelines of Youth Policy 2009–2018”, crea;vity is
not included in any of main guidelines or basic principles. Besides The Law
of Youth does not men;on crea;vity, but it accentuates necessity to
provide support for youth ini;a;ves that would create favorable
circumstances for their intellectual and crea;ve development. In essence,
there is no connec;on between the priori;es of educa;on and youth,
because in educa;on, promo;on of crea;vity is men;oned quite oten,
while in youth policy, it is men;oned in a very narrow sense - only in
connec;on with youth educa;on and crea;ve self-expression.
Comparing to other member states of EU, Latvia is among those that
rather oten include ideas of crea;vity and innova;veness in their
educa;on programs. All the while teacher believe that crea;vity is
suﬃciently emphasized in educa;on programs. Latvian teachers
are among those in Europe that mostly agree with the no;on of
crea;vity playing an important role in study content (Cachia,
2010).
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3.2 Netherlands
“The Ministry of Educa;on, Culture and Science is
aiming for a smart, skilled and crea;ve
Netherlands”. This is a quote on the website of the
Ministry that implies the importance of the
development of crea;vity in educa;on. The art
subjects have always contributed to that. But in
the discussion of the 21st century skills, in which
crea;vity is being men;oned, also other subjects
seem more interested in their contribu;on to the
development of crea;vity.
Moreover, SLO is an exper;se centre for
innova;on in educa;on in coopera;on with the
University of Twente, department of behavioral
science Overview of innova;on in educa;on.
Although the words crea;vity and crea;ve are
both men;oned only one ;me in their publica;on
‘Learning environments and learning materials in
innova;ve schools’; the words innova;ve and
innova;on could be interpreted as replacements
for the word crea;ve and crea;vity.
In this document we can find several educa;onal methodologies that can help to foster crea;vity.
(i) Natural Learning: choosing and self-direc;on are their core elements.
(ii) Want to Learn – Challenging Educa;on: gevng out what is inside, never being bored;
learning to use your brain, less is more, making learning meaningful, without rela;on no
results; the learner learns; every learner learns differently, showing what you have learned,
and the school is everyone’s are their twelve essen;al elements.
(iii) Real Life Learning – Iederwijs (every wise): based on the idea that all children are wise and
that this can flourish in a real life environment.
(iv) Meaningful Learning – Authen;c Learning: based on the development of knowledge and
its implementa;on it in realis;c contexts by learning in strong real life environments.
(v) Autonomous Learning – Auto-responsible Learning: gives the learner as much
responsibility as possible. The supporter/ teacher is a guide, provides relevant learning
materials and organizes group-learning methods.
(vi) Coopera;ve Learning – Tailor-made Team educa;on: educators and learners share
responsibility for the learning process. Essen;al for his form of educa;on is learning by
modeling (i.e. showing example, coopera;ng and imita;ng).
(vii) Adap;ve Educa;on: adapts educa;on to the opportuni;es and needs of individual
learners. By differen;a;ng, the educator can take into account relevant differences
between learners.
(viii) Experience based Educa;on: based on Learning by doing. Teachers take care for good
learning environments and create space for ini;a;ves of learners.
(ix) Development oriented Educa;on: according to this model, learners don’t develop by
themselves from their surroundings and their par;cipa;on in social-cultural world.
Educators are partners, who support learners in preparing meaningful ac;vi;es, which
learners can not yet do or understand.
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There are many ini;a;ves of innova;ons in educa;on that overlaps the previously men;oned concepts. Based on research of innova;on in educa;on in
primary and secondary schools, the Inspec;on of Educa;on has come to four common characteris;cs:
● Learning environments are authen;c, the context is meaningful
● Ac;va;ng learning environments results in considerable self-directed learning of learners. In those environments learners can and may assess their
own development and reflects on their own learning process.
● Learning is happening mostly in a social sevng, as in ‘Learning together with Others’.
● ICT is an important tool to support innova;on and change.
It seems that the words crea;vity and crea;ve learning environments are not present in any publica;on or policy documents. Yet, if we take the word
crea;ve to be more than just ar;s;c or expressive, we see another picture. Many forms of ‘crea;ve’ learning environments appear as new and innova;ve
ways to look at learning. Teachers and educators are not anymore focussed only on transmivng knowledge, but suppor;ng learners to explore and find
their own way of finding that knowledge themselves and providing good environments for that. In new concepts that are being developed, there is a
change of role towards coaching and crea;ng good learning environments for learners to develop themselves, giving more and more space for
responsibility and self-direc;on.
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Crea;vity is named in the different Spanish educa;onal laws in many ways as we showed previously. However, it is not
possible to find any men;on about learning environments, let alone about crea;ve learning environments.
The preamble of LOMCE already speaks of crea;vity as a competence to be acquired by students. However, the law
rarely speaks of crea;vity. When it does, crea;vity appears as a goal or objec;ve to be achieved by students
throughout their educa;on.
The decrees of the Autonomous Communi;es also allude to crea;vity. Such as in Andalucía’s; which explains that the
curriculum includes ar;s;c and cultural training to encourage crea;ve development and where is marked as one of
the fundamental objec;ves of primary educa;on to achieve "the entrepreneurial spirit from developing crea;vity,
autonomy, ini;a;ve, teamwork, self-confidence and cri;cal thinking."
Cas;lla y León goes a lixle further and emphasize the changing role that must be experienced by teachers:
The teacher assumes the role of creator of learning situa2ons that s2mulate and mo2vate the students to be
able to achieve the appropriate development of skills that will be demanded at the end of the stage and that
train him for ac2ve par2cipa2on in the real life. (ORDEN EDU/519/2014, of 17 June, which establishes the
curriculum and regulates the implementa;on, evalua;on and development of primary educa;on in Cas;lla y
León region.
 
z
z
3.3 Spain
13

It is the only ;me that the environment that should lead the teacher to promote learning among their
students is indirectly referenced. The teacher ceases to be the centre of learning and becomes a
facilitator, crea;ng situa;ons (i.e. environment, condi;ons and ac;vi;es) that lead to learning.
On the other hand, the order of educa;on of Cas;lla y León also speaks of crea;vity in
speciﬁc subjects. For example, crea;vity is seen as a competence to foster in the subject
English, the subject Art Educa;on iden;ﬁes recording in the classroom with a crea;ve
resource, or Language and Literature states in its criteria that students must recite texts
using crea;vely oral communica;on strategies.
Creativity
Creative
Learning
Curriculum
14

It seems that in The Netherlands the educa;onal system and
the na;onal policy is open to change and seems to follow the
needs of schools to make changes, in stead of forcing the
educa;onal ins;tutes to conform to the na;onal policy. The
educa;onal system gives space to schools to make changes
and innova;ons in their educa;on in a crea;ve and
meaningful way. Not only schools are changing towards self-
directed learning, also the educa;onal system is based on the
self-direc;on of schools and other educa;onal ins;tutes.
Regarding to Latvia, it can be generally concluded that in
poli;cal planning documents crea;vity is more revealed in
the broadest sense (Latvia as a crea;ve place), instead of
men;oning of it in par;cular study standards (crea;ve self-
expression, ar;s;c crea;vity). Although crea;vity as a
concept permeates all planning documents and educa;on
regula;ons, one cannot find a precise defini;on of crea;vity;
thus it has created a situa;on when different documents
accentuated different aspects of crea;vity. Besides,
promo;on of crea;vity is mainly assigned to educa;on
system, and the role of other social ins;tutes (family,
economics) is not accessed and it can create problems in the
area of implementa;on of crea;vity in the life of society.
In the same way, Spanish educa;on laws take into account
the importance of crea;vity, but do not do a good job in their
treatment. The concre;on of the meaning of crea;vity, the
restric;on of this aspect to very few subjects, or the absence
of references to condi;ons that help develop crea;vity are
problems to be addressed and amended.
In the various Spanish laws, as in Latvia, crea;vity is a word
devoid of meaning. Legisla;on does not specify anywhere
what using resources crea;vely means, under what
condi;ons its use is or not crea;ve or, for example, what
"crea;ve experimenta;on" means. In fact, we have seen how
crea;vity plays the role of "competence", "skill" or "resource"
at the same ;me. Moreover, crea;vity is an almost exclusive
ability of subjects related to the visual art, music or literature.
Finally, we don't find in Spanish legisla;on, any paragraph in
which they explain what condi;ons must be met in the
classroom environment to develop crea;vity.
3.4
Conclusions
15

CHAPTER 4. ANALYSIS OF INTERVIEWS
For the research “The First Looking at Learning” researchers in each country
have done individual interviews with representa;ves of several stakeholders
who are ac;ve in development of learning environments in different fields of
educa;on. The selec;on of interviewees was made to have a broad picture of
crea;ve learning environment in the context of educa;on in Latvia, Netherlands and Spain. Interviews were gathered from different educators - youth
workers, researchers, teachers, ac;vists, trainers who are involved in formal and non-formal educa;on field, educators who work with children in
preschools and primary schools, youth in formal and non-formal environment as well as educators who work with children with special needs. A descrip;on
of the respondents can be found in the Annex.
In their interpreta;ons of crea;vity, crea;ve learning environment and learning, respondents are fairly consistent. Some;mes
it is not easy for respondents to define these terms. Depending on the country, the essence of explana;on is more or less
similar. Respondents refer to crea;vity as a skill necessary for educators and learners, as well as learning methods, equally
emphasizing all three aspects.
Crea;vity is divergent thinking that implies ability to create new correla;ons between different ideas and ability to
understand which idea is worth implementa;on, realiza;on and sharing tells Sabīne Medne - teacher from Salacgrīva
secondary school, Latvia. Respondents believe that crea;vity includes such important quali;es as boldness, daring to
try different things in life, finds those that suit the best and trust in own strength, the ability to create new
opportuni;es and change situa;ons or communica;on skills, including the expression of feelings and thoughts. It also
implies making mistakes and learning from them, taking responsibility for our work and choices. It is a resource that
allows individuals to adapt to different life cycles. Crea;vity implies connec;on to real life, learning by doing with
focus on experien;al and contextual learning.
4.1 IntroducTon
4.2 InterpretaTon of CreaTvity, Learning and CreaTve Learning
16

Teachers’ crea;vity – their ability and skill to use environment and teaching methods to mo;vate and teach their
pupils – is considered to be a vitally important condi;on, since everything else depends on teacher’s personality and
mo;va;on.
According to respondents, crea;ve learning environment is when learner’s senses, avtude towards training
content and understanding of the life around them is being nurtured. It is a set of suppor;ve, interes;ng, favorable
condi;ons (school, community, society) for the training. It gives the learners the mo;va;on, s;mula;on, the required
materials to promote their par;cipa;on in the crea;on of an object, a project or an idea according to a theme;
enhancing their ability of associa;ng, selec;ng, organizing and transforming the experiences or the received
informa;on giving.
In the case of special needs children and youth the emphasis is placed on sensual experiences, and this very principle in
the context of crea;ve learning can be related to all learners. Crea;ve learning allows seeing both gited youth, youth
with different disorders, helps to no;ce and nurture individual gits and meet different needs, to increase diversity and
tolerance towards one another, and to reduce uniformity in educa;onal establishment. It allows learners to be who they
are. Supporters of learning should support the social emo;onal state and development of the learners.
A crea;ve learning environment must be adaptable – to all par;cipants’ axributes; i.e. age, or background and flexible. It
should be an environment that one could always change according to the needs of the collec;ve and the individual as an
organic process.
Moreover, this kind of learning environment should encourage learners to work on their autonomy and take ownership of learning,
e.g. gevng the opportunity for ac;ve par;cipa;on in decision making about the use of the learning space. It should entail learners
the freedom to explore and provide the opportunity for learners and supporters of learning to focus on the process instead of the
result. Students must have freedom in crea;ng their opinion, although they will need to put it into context and will have to be
meaningful.
17

A crea;ve learning environment must offer many possibili;es
for social learning and space for reflec;on, whether it is a
team-based or and individual process. Each individual should
be able to decide when and how interac;on between the
different individual learning environments occurs. The learning
space should be open to the world, not confined to the school
or youth centre.
Having enough material available, i.e. musical instruments or
materials for expression; is important. However, crea;vity
involves knowing both the resources and the limita;ons; since
the lack of resources may foster imagina;on and proac;vity.
Finally, it is easier to nurture crea;vity through subjects linked
to arts, respondents emphasize necessity to integrate crea;vity
into all school subjects and social and cultural ac;vi;es in
school as well. At the same ;me crea;vity does not mean the
lack of planning or anarchy, it implies planned learning process
with expected results and known methods.
CREATIVE
LEARNING
18

4.3 Formal requirements for creaTve learning environments
Even if respondents theore;cally know that there are some formal requirements in rela;on to promo;on of crea;vity in various learning
environments (schools, youth centers etc), in their work they are governed by other principles – by the par;cular situa;on, problems, finances
and other factors.
The teachers who are crea;ve and use crea;ve methods in their work do it in accordance with their personal understanding. And the teachers
who use tradi;onal, teacher-centered methods feel no need to change anything, since crea;vity is not a mandatory requirement. However,
teachers who have experienced crea;vity think that it is ‘addic;ve’. Good prac;ces slowly, but surely spread wider and wider.
The gap between theory and prac;ce is maintained because of vague, indefinite defini;on of crea;vity. The fear of change experienced by
educators and the complex evalua;on of crea;vity play also a key role in preven;ng the change needed.
Regarding the students’ families; they have some;mes opposed the new methods, as well as some students. There is resistance to
coopera;ve work since they believe that individualiza;on of the educa;onal process is lost, when in fact it is the opposite. Some parents are
very posi;ve, but others think that contents are lost by the failure to study the tradi;onal way.
Finally, educa;on policy at the na;onal level is quite far removed from the real situa;on in educa;on establishments (schools, youth
centers etc.) and the educa;ve inspec;on does not always share the new methods applied.
19

4.4 How is creaTvity affected by materials available and technical faciliTes?
Space and materials allow youth people to express, explore and develop their skills; therefore it is very important to make a good choice about them. Anyway, a
crea;ve learning environment should not be fixed but open to changes. The changes should be organic according to the needs of learners or supporters of
learning.
Respondents referred to materials, space and technical facili;es in a broad way, depending on the target group they work with. This is a comprehensive list that
includes the most significant elements:
● Nature and outdoor spaces. On the one hand, we could take advantage of the natural environment, so learners can decide and find the required materials.
On the other hand, we could work in an ar;ficial space, offering those materials.
● Arts and crats, e.g. musical instruments, ar;s;c materials or material to develop kinesthe;c skills.
● Record learning: learning booklets, pens paper, use of personal symbolic objects, por€olios.
● Architecture:
o Provide an ateliers or a large crea;ve working room.
o Nurse decora;on, e.g. corners, unexpected use of materials or chill out spaces.
o Arrange several spaces where students can work and learn, enough space to suite both interac;on and seclusion.
● Technology: Novelty contributes to increase mo;va;on. Providing technological means to express emo;ons or ideas is important.
● The lack of material: some;mes, need fosters crea;vity. So we must consider some;mes the lack of material as a possible way to nurture crea;vity.
20

Respondents use a large variety of methods according to the type, age, skills and abiliTes of learners. One
interviewee menToned that there are no good or wrong methods. May methods work or don’t work, but
we always have to adapt it to the group and the environment. So ﬁnally, no methods work or don’t work,
there is people and space that work or do not work. Regarding to this issue, some general characterisTcs
are present in many interviews, and will be discussed in secTon 4.7. “Factors that promote and hinder a
creaTve learning environment”.
4.5 Methods that work and do not
21

Games & role-plays. Orienta;on, expedi;ons (field trips)
Discussions Green living
Brainstorms Crea;ve workshops
“Spiders of ideas” Freedom to choose ac;vi;es
Live poem Drama improvisa;on
Double diary Free wri;ng, composi;on of fairy tales.
Crea;on of comics, booklets, presenta;ons and collages
Different fes;vals, for example, language fes;val, Latvian
tradi;ons etc.
methods that does not give one clear answers, so provoke explora;on and
discovery
Opportuni;es provided by modern technologies and the
Internet like computers with touché screen
Forecas;ng, prognos;ca;on The use of unusual new materials
Reading in pairs Research work
Sharing of personal experiences Bono’s thinking hats
Thinking-based Learning arts and crats to develop competences
Solo ;me in nature (introspec;ve), Visualiza;on by using ar;s;c methods,
Hybrid environment Pictures and pictograms
Own coach, and making personal learning plans based on their personal interests
and skills. But the crea;ve learning context needs to be rich so children will take
what they need in prac;ce.
Scien;fic method: To understand the posed problem, To define
difficul;es, To gather valid and reliable informa;on, To
formulate hypothesis, To look for answers, To modify, check and
improve, To communicate results
DIRKT instruc;on model: clear instruc;ons to learn in small steps. Star;ng with
what do you already know/ do? And what would you need to know/do to take the
next step?
DMG Coaching method to s;mulate Thinking. It help student to
figure out the answers themselves.
Interac;ve learning (Henk Pijning): Exploring Aware Learning: Plan phase (red) + Try
out phase (orange) + Doing/ execu;ng (Green)
Customized transport like wheelchair bicycles and duo-cycles, a
wheelchair swing
Feedback Peer assessment
Mul;ple intelligences framework Design Thinking
Group ac;vi;es, associa;ve methods, coopera;ve learning, and teambuilding.
Experien;al learning, Project-based
learning, learning-by-doing.
Methods that work
22

23
Methods that “do not work”
Reading seminars Wri;ng seminars
Tests with the closed ques;ons Focus only on cogni;ve results
Passive (no inﬂuence of par;cipants), extensive theore;cal inputs
Any method that is repeated too
much un;l it gets rou;ne
Methods that are too compe;;ve
Examples for children to copy
them
Studying/ learning out of context, just focused on the subject and not on
how it can be integrated in their whole study
Methods that do not match age,
season, class composi;on

Interviewees see the role of the educator as a supporter of learning, a coach who guides the learning process of the learners involved. They give
space and opportunity for dialogue, and offer help and sugges;ons only if the learner gets stuck. They can step back and give the stage to learners,
trus;ng them. Educators need a democra;c style; the rela;onship between them and learners must be based on mutual respect, coopera;on and
reciprocal du;es.
They do not only guide cogni;ve processes but also, and more important, social-emo;onal ones. Being that, they are suppor;ng learners in
their decisions and their process, so their capacity to mo;vate and to empathize is deeply important. They must keep and avtude of
looking at abili;es instead of disabili;es of the learner. They also need more and more training in conflict resolu;on, as new
methodologies have an increasing social component.
Educators can lead by example, being curious, observant, listening, looking and asking ques;on.
Empathic. The staff must be pa;ent but also crea;ve in doing and thinking.
Learners have to accept their responsibility, par;cipate make decisions in their own learning
process. It is also very important their par;cipa;on in the final evalua;on of the project or
ac;vity undertaken. They need to ask for help if they need it, but also want to find the
answers to their problems by themselves. We cannot forget that young people are
exploring what they can and want to do. They are owners of the process of
discovering themselves.
4.6 A new role for the educator and the learner
24

The analysis of interviews indicates different factors that promote a CreaTve Learning Environment:
1) Physically accessible, posi;ve, emo;onally suppor;ve environment and work atmosphere where the chosen methods correspond with abili;es, age, group
size etc. of children and youth. A poor organiza;on influences nega;vely in the crea;ve process. Children must feel safe and comfortable. They should be
encouraged to work together, but respec;ng that some children need to work individually.
2) Methods should be diverse, consistent and process oriented, with a focus in learning-by-doing, coopera;on, self-directed learning and reflec;on ;mes and
spaces. They should involve using crea;ve tools and linking experiences with real life situa;ons. Assessment is key in the process. Having a clear structure,
deadlines, assignments, and explaining how and who will assess the product helps students to self-regulate their work. Posi;ve experience and feedback
helps to ini;ate new ideas, prac;ces and coopera;on at different levels and between different social agents.
3) Small groups and individual approach encourages crea;vity since it allows to create cosy atmosphere, to know one another, to see each other’s needs and
highlight best abili;es of children
and youth. Some;mes threats of school closure, small number of pupils and other difficul;es are grounds for
crea;ve ideas and successful solu;ons.
4) Educator’s desire and ability to develop individual talents of learners, encouragement, empathy,
emo;onally suppor;ve environment and crea;on of new opportuni;es. Ac;vi;es must be
challenging and in their development, individual ideas must be given importance. The
main goal must be the development of individual poten;al.
5) Human factor is men;on in interviews as something that can both encourage and hinder
crea;vity. Personality, ac;vity, avtude and willingness of a teacher and educators to use
different methods. If the educator can’t hinder crea;vity, further training and
individual growth can change this situa;on. Crea;vity helps to stay ‘on fire in
profession’ and reduces the burn-out risks for teachers and experts.
6) Available financial resources and technical support. Although the respondents see
crea;vity as a way to ‘manage’ with available means, all of the
interviewees point out that technical support is important as it allows to
get bexer results, faster and oten more effec;vely.
4.7 Factors that promote and hinder a CreaTve Learning Environment
25

1) Lack of common understanding and teamwork between parts involved. School subjects, topics and training programs have no
connec;on with real life. Teachers fail to share their experience or to cooperate with teachers of different subjects. This is due
to unwillingness to accept someone else’s experience since they underes;mate each other’s crea;ve expressions.
2) Personal quali;es of teachers, school staff and experts that can be observed by children and youth, including superficiality,
inaccuracy or indecisiveness. A negligent behavior by the educator inhibits the development of crea;vity by learners. One of
the most essen;al hindrances is educators’ poor language skills; because of it they are unable to read interna;onal studies,
publica;ons, or to exchange experiences with other educators interna;onally.
3) Communica;on barriers and lack of coopera;on. There is a triangle of coopera;on, teacher / educator, pupil and parents;
that requires ac;ve communica;on to avoid conflicts.
4) High weekly workload and exis;ng wage model. Crea;ve learning some;mes requires educators to sacrifice their free ;me
and draw on financial and moral support of their families.
5) Learners’ resistance and disinterest in the learning process, since students play the main part in a crea;ve-learning approach.
Revealing the opportuni;es provided by this type of learning can solve this problem.
6) The lack of sufficient, budgeted finances. Insufficient number of educators in areas that are interes;ng for boys (robo;cs,
technology). The issue of aid for special needs children.
7) Social environment, avtude of society and various decision-makers towards educators. Issues of teacher’s pres;ge, wage
policy and social accountability.
8) Uniform teaching methods and standardized evalua;on. Not challenging, results-oriented, not enough par;cipa;ve or
compe;;ve ac;vi;es. The problem usually is the unwillingness to learn and use new methods and to grow spiritually.
Factors that hinder a CreaTve Learning Environment
26

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSIONS
The current situa;on in the three countries studied, Latvia, the Netherlands and Spain is different. However, it is interes;ng no;cing that the main core of
problems to face, solu;ons proposed and ideas and conclusions regarding Crea;ve Learning Environments are, in essence, the same.
While describing current situa;on in rela;on to crea;ve learning, respondents admit that the poten;al of crea;ve learning is not used sufficiently. Not all of
them have a clear defini;on of a crea;ve learning environment, nor are thinking about it in a conscious and conceptual way in their work with learners. One
of the respondents believes that only about 20% of teachers are crea;ve in their work, and the percentage is smaller when working with special need
children and youth. It can be helped, to start with, by agreeing on a common pla€orm for the concept of crea;vity. It means crea;ng empirically
understandable, clear defini;on of crea;vity, crea;ve learning and crea;ve teaching environment.
1) Crea;vity is defined as individual self-expression, ability to create new opportuni;es. Crea;vity is mostly developed by linking theory with prac;cal
ac;vi;es, with everyday processes.
2) Crea;vity is believed to be a mandatory skill necessary for every cycle of human life. Crea;vity is related to all individuals as axainable and developed
skill.
3) Crea;vity is men;oned in goals and objec;ves of all levels of policy-making in Latvia, but there are no clear direc;ons on how it can be promoted.
School leadership and teachers have no clear understanding how crea;vity should be conceptualized. Promo;on of crea;vity is insufficiently
ins;tu;onalized and structured which is oten an obstacle to achieving the aims and coopera;on between the par;es involved.
4) Spain has to face the same problem. The word crea;vity is present in official documents and educa;onal legisla;on, but its meaning is far from clear.
5) However, the Dutch educa;onal system gives schools and non-formal educa;on the freedom to innovate educa;on and learning according to a
variety of new concepts of learner-centered educa;on. The variety of both conceptual as prac;cal ways of crea;ng good learning environments
are showing how open-minded educators can work with their learning environment.
27

6) Some local governments and educa;on establishments implement crea;ve learning methods independently of policy documents, mostly based on
individual ini;a;ve. There are many good examples that tes;fy of presence of crea;vity in the educa;on process.
7) Crea;vity, crea;ve learning and crea;ve learning environment encourage communica;on, emo;onal and physical development, thus causing changes
not only in individual children or youth, but also in classes, groups and families.
8) The main s;muli and ini;ators of crea;vity are different social agents in the environment of formal and non-formal educa;on, local government, and
projects, etc. that promote coopera;on as essen;al prerequisite of crea;vity. These few ‘key’ people are essen;al, since they ini;ate and develop
different ac;vi;es, and different understanding of par;es involved, acknowledgment and implementa;on of their opportuni;es and competencies are
very important for the reaching of common goals.
9) The main obstruc;ng factors are related to the lack of common understanding, goals and coopera;on between par;es involved. The need of training in
new methods and educa;onal approaches in conjunc;on with the lack of resources and, some;mes, the educators’ unwillingness to learn and use
those new methods is another problem to be faced. Finally, involving young people with learning difficul;es or physical, intellectual and behavioral
disabili;es is also a challenge. In this case, the Netherlands seem to be a good country to research and explore the possibili;es as there is a strong
learning system for them.
28

1) Finding agreement on common understanding, pla€orm and conceptualiza;on of crea;vity.
2) Improving the use of ar;s;c methods to improve crea;vity in learning environments
3) Add or renew learning methods and concepts focussing on the role of learner and educators as supporters of learning.
Populariza;on of crea;ve prac;ces, describing and sharing of new methods on social networks.
4) Improving the use of unconven;onal methods, to make new links between formal and non-formal educa;on and use each other
methods.
5) Promo;on of teacher-parent coopera;on that is insufficiently used for development of crea;vity; for example, u;lizing of parents’ jobs,
professions, hobbies demonstra;ng the link with real life.
6) Online course for pupils and families that allow to solve problems and to study at home, since some families see the issue of physical
distance as a hindrance.
7) Paying of more axen;on to young people with fewer opportuni;es, especially young people with learning difficul;es; it is possible to adjust crea;ve
methods to different life situa;ons. We can provide learning environments where they can take responsibility for their own learning and find ways
towards a more Self-Directed Learning.
8) Local governments and school leadership should give support to teachers and field experts that prac;ce crea;vity, since apprecia;on is an essen;al
part of one’s work. It is essen;al to help teachers and other educators not only to know the characteris;cs of a crea;ve learning environment, but also how
to generate them.
9) Legisla;on must accept that crea;vity belongs to every subject area and every subject can contribute to its development.
10) Undertaking of research and inspec;ng the u;liza;on of technical support.
11) Studies of how to measure crea;vity and whether the crea;vity of lerners has increased. Gaining of understanding whether there is need for special reforms. Need to
inquire if what we do is useful.
12) The project “Looking at Learning” is taking into considera;on exis;ng situa;ons regarding crea;vity and crea;ve learning environments in involved project countries
(Spain, Netherlands, Latvia) and is capable to take a role in promo;ng the cross-sectorial work and find ways to promote crea;vity and emphasize the importance of
environment in crea;ve learning process. Project partners will implement local workshops in communi;es, schools, youth centers, centers for people with disabili;es,
university according crea;ve learning environments condi;ons iden;fied in the first Training Course of the project and research “The First Looking at Learning”.
29
SuggesTons

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32
ANNEX I - DESCRIPTION OF THE RESPONDENTS
Name InsTtuTon PosiTon Date
Notes on the
interview
Linda Feldmane
Lielplatone branch of Eleja
Preschool and Primary school,
Jelgava district
Manager
June 27th,
2015
Held in Jelgava, in
casual
environment
Irēna Domniece
Iespēja izaugsmei. Ltd” uses new
pedagogical approaches to
children and youth, and special
need children; organiza;on of
camps for these children
Manager
June 29th,
2015
Held in Jelgava, in
respondent’s
workplace
Ieva Zāgmane Project, ac;vity – „Fashion Bee”
Project promoter and
manager in schools and
events
June 29th,
2015
Held in Riga, in
casual
environment
Gunta Auza Jelgava Educa;on Governance Head
June 26th,
2015
Held in Jelgava, in
respondent’s
workplace
Dace Ekša Jelgava 1st boarding school
Social pedagogue and
pshychology teacher
June 29th,
2015
Held in Jelgava, in
respondents’s
workplace
Sabīne Medne Salacgrīva secondary school
Teacher of Latvian and
culturology, par;cipant of
Possible Mission program
June 26th,
2015
Held in Riga, in
casual
environment
Latvia

33
Netherlands
Notes on the
interview
Angela Slagter
Merakel
Lutjebroek
Care centre for young people with
disabili;es
Founder & President
(also parent)
June 2015
Held in
Lutjebroek, in
respondent’s
workplace
Marieke Wehnes
Prak;jkschool West-Friesland,
Grootebroek
Secondary school for young people
with learning diﬃcul;es
School coach for children
with internalizing
problems
June 2015
Held in
Grootebroek in
respondent’s
workplace
Melanie Morath
Circus Blixem
Amsterdam
Social Circus and (street) theatre
for Young People.
Founder and trainer June 2015
Held in
Amsterdam, in
casual
environment
Wiel van Ginekken
VSO De Stormvogel
Hoorn
Secondary school for young people
with severe learning diﬃcul;es
School principle,
Director
July 2015
Held in Hoorn, in
respondent’s
workplace
Astrid Steinprinz
MBO Albeda college,
Roxerdam,
Secondary level voca;onal
educa;on.
Teacher, Mentor 1st year
students, Language
coordinator
July 2015
Held in
Venhuizen, in
interviewers
workplace
Dani Korai
Youth Exchange Service
Venhuizen
NGO suppor;ng youth ini;a;ves
and learning
Ac;ve member, Trainer
non-formal educa;on &
project manager
July 2015
Held in Arnhem,
casual
environment
Fineke de Jong
De Vallei,
Democra;c Elementary school
Intern- teacher July 2015
Held in Arnhem,
casual
environment

Spain
Notes on the
interview
Juan Díaz Garcia Espacio Joven of Maracena
Director in the Espacio Joven of
Maracena
June 2015
Held in
respondent’s
workplace
Carlos Pezzi Picklesimer
Environmental Center “La
Alpujarra”
Director of Environmental Center “La
Alpujarra”
June 2015
Held in Berchules, in
respondent’s workplace
Germán Medina
Talero
Escuela infan;l municipal
“El Bosque de Darwin”
Pedagogical Director “El Bosque
de Darwin”
June 2015
Held in
respondent’s
workplace
Alvaro Pascual Sanz
Colegio Nuestra Señora de
la Fuencisla
Agente de Cambio, responsable
de cambios metodológicos
(comunidad escolar de Maristas
Compostela)
July 2015
Held in
respondent’s
workplace
Carmen Elena Bolado
la Fuencisla
Coordinadora de bilinguismo y
(provincial escolar de MAristas
Compostela)
July 2015
Held in
respondent’s
workplace
Juan Carlos Tejedor
la Fuencisla
Profesor de ingles y coordinador
de lenguas extranjeras y
bilinguismo secundaria
July 2015
Held in
respondent’s
workplace
Isabel, Maite, Eva y
Esther
Fundación Simón Ruiz
Envito (Centro de día de
educación especial para
discapacitados)
Educadoras del centro July 2015
Held in
respondent’s
workplace
Juan Piñeiroa
Grupo Scout Laguna 589 –
ASDE CyL
Educador de jóvenes scouts y
gestor de comunicación del
Grupo Scout Laguna 589
July 2015
Held in
respondent’s
workplace
Iván Prieto
Cursos de formación a
desempleados y
trabajadores
Formador freelance July 2015
Held in casual
environment
34

ANNEX II - GOOD PRACTICES
Sustainable Fashion doTalk – through Clothing TransformaTon to Discovering of CreaTvity in Me. LATVIA
Sustainable fashion doTalk is an ini;a;ve that has existed for 4 years; it is an opportunity for designers to share their ideas with people that want to have their clothes
transformed and re-designed. A significant aspect of sustainable fashion doTalk is environment and understanding of its maintenance; it encourages people to not
follow brands and buy new clothes, but instead to give new life to old clothing. Transforming old ou€its creates new ones.
Any person can become a par;cipant of doTalk (fashion clean-up), but it interes;ng for the „fashion addicts” – mostly lovers of fashion and young
people. Fashion doTalk also includes special workshops in schools where special guest speakers talk about clothing, environment, fashion; they ask young people
ques;ons like, “Why it is important to you to follow fashion?” and “Would you appreciate your clothes more if you had made it yourselves, instead of copying ideas
from magazines and other media?” Sustainable Fashion doTalks help people totally change their thinking.
More informa;on:
Website of associa;on “Humana People to People in Latvia” hxp://hpplatvia.com/index.php/modes-talka/
Facebook.com: hxps://www.facebook.com/modesTalka-335982383090328/;meline/
Municipality of Gulbene – a Platorm for CreaTve Expressions. LATVIA.
There are both formal and non - formal educa;onal ins;tu;ons in the municipality of Gulbene for students ages 7 to 25 and that func;on as
crea;ve centres for the advancement of various crea;ve expressions for children and youth
Par;cipa;ng in different interna;onal projects, educa;onal ins;tu;ons draw young volunteers from Europe, carry out the approach of global
educa;on, and simultaneously emphasize preserva;on of Latvian iden;ty. Some educa;onal ins;tu;ons func;on also as crat skills
acquisi;on centres: poxery, weaving, wicker weaving, woodworking and musical instrument making, jewellery making and pain;ng.
In order to integrate different young people into society, special educa;on programs are implemented in two municipal educa;onal
ins;tu;ons: one for students with mental disorders and another - Youth guarantee project – for young unemployed people that allows them
to obtain profession. In order to encourage young people's ini;a;ve, Gulbene municipality annually announces "Gulbene County Youth
Ini;a;ve Compe;;on" where youth centres, associa;ons and informal groups can obtain funding to implement their ideas, developing an ac;ve
lifestyle and love for their na;ve land.
35

Solo Tme in nature (introspecTve). NETHERLANDS.
During various trainings and exchanges, Youth Exchange Service uses introspec;ve sessions, where par;cipants are invited to spend ;me on their own in
nature or in a good space. Par;cipants take some tasks/ ques;ons with them and in a special order think and work on that topic. Ques;ons around
personal roles, personal space, connec;ng to the hero in yourself are being expressed in various ways, wri;ng lexers, automa;c wri;ng, singing etc.
and only shared with one other person (the learning buddy). People find it very refreshing and useful to de-connect from people around them and their
rou;ne life and take ;me to think about themselves. Important answers are found, and important decisions are oten being made during this session.
EIM: Eigen IniTaTef Model (Own IniTaTve Model). NETHERLANDS.
This model focuses on strengthening the skills of people with intellectual disabili;es on every possible area of life. There is a direct link with a
ci;zenship vision. When people are more aware and think more deeply about what they do, they will also develop a greater ability to act. That way,
people with intellectual disabili;es have more opportuni;es to develop themselves.
The model turns against the tradi;onal dependency posi;on of people with disabili;es, and vice-versa also against the ‘caretaker syndrome’ (the
constantly incline to grant care). It explicitly appeals to the skills to find and apply autonomous solu;ons.
This is being s;mulated by specific tasks, which are set up as work goals. But it is not about running the concrete task, e.g. making coffee or
shopping, but suppor;ng the youngster to reflect about what is necessary to achieve those tasks. The model uses a traffic light:
Red: stop before you start, the process of thinking should begin. Concrete support ques;ons are used: what am I going to do & what do I want?
What is needed & how do I do it? What do I already know?
Orange: checking. Is it s;ll good? There is s;ll something to be done? Do I miss something?
Green: it's ready, but. How did it go? Do I have what I wanted & did it go as I had thought? Is it good? What would I do next ;me?
36

Maracena’s Young Space –CreaTve Workshops. SPAIN.
With children between 0 and 3 years old: The first contact with the pain2ng.
The educator offers some recipients with different colours and a paper on the floor. Children start to discover and experiment new feelings, e.g. touching the pain;ngs
for the first ;me, observing his/her hand plenty of colour, pain;ng his/her own leg or puvng pain;ng on the paper.
With children between 1 and 2 years old: Chocolate workshop.
Children are offered some recipients with liquid and cold chocolate. Their first reac;on is to try some, then paint with it on their own body, on their friends’ body, on
the educator’s body, to put the recipients as hats… children are happy with what they do and develop their crea;vity using the chocolate as any other material and not
only as food.
With children between 2 and 3 years old: Art workshop.
The educator shows the pain;ng “The sunflowers” and explains what is in the pain;ng. Ater the classroom is covered with paper, par;cipants take
t h e i r o w n space and start represen;ng the pain;ng according to their point of view. It was interes;ng observing how the
children represented the sunflower in a field. When the educator asked why they have put the sunflowers
i n a field they answered, “Because my father has sunflowers there”. It is in this moment when children
explore their own art percep;on.
37

Maristas Segovia School – Cultural Week “Opening Books”. SPAIN.
This Spanish school organises every year a Cultural Week. Last year they choose “Opening Books” as the main theme. In Primary
sec;on, they worked about comics, and decorated the doors of classrooms with diﬀerent comic strips, e.g. a great forest or Mafalda;
always performed by the students. In Secondary sec;on, each class selected a literary work. They analysed it and created a workshop
regarding the book. They also decorated their doors with elements of each of the books.
Finally, decora;on plays a key role so the used big books, tradi;onal tales ﬁgures, names of streets and squares based on stories
and other literary pieces, a large fountain hanging from the ceiling of the hall or some phrases of great authors on open
windows.
It is a very experien;al week for students. They work through a project-based learning
approach to prepare the ac;vi;es for this Cultural Week, and they expect to extend this
methodology to the rest of the scholar year.
38

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