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Who are we?

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Puzzle contest!

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Logo escuela rural - jigsaw puzzle (36 pieces)

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1 rural schools
2 etwinning

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Teaching level of participants?

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We read an article about Rural Schools and the each of us wrote a reflection

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Image: Aaron Burder / Unsplash.com

Although the sense of community is especially strong in rural schools, their remote location and small population can pose challenges for students and teachers. Schools are far from cultural centres, teachers have limited access to professional development opportunities, and students can feel isolated from the rest of the world. By promoting intercultural collaboration through joint educational initiatives, eTwinning opens a world of opportunities for students and teachers.

Many teachers in rural schools recognise the relevance of having an outside network."Since our school is small, it is important for the students to have contacts outside our own school," says Mirijami Hyttinen, a secondary school teacher at Ylitornion yhteiskoulun lukio, a small rural school in Finland, where more than one third of the population live in rural areas. eTwinning helps erase geographical and cultural borders by offering "a variety of ways to collaborate" for students and teachers.

Teachers from rural schools, like Isabelle Boulay, from Baltasound Junior High School on the island of Unst, one of the most remote areas of the UK, often feel extra pressure and isolation due to staff shortages and lack of a support network. She says, "When you are the only teacher of your subject in your school you can feel reluctant to take time out of school to go on courses." Since participating in eTwinning, she has noticed a positive change in herself: "Getting involved ... also encourages me to look outwards and work more closely with colleagues and people in the community." With eTwinning, teachers have access to a professional community where they can collaborate, share, and learn together through the various professional development opportunities offered.

Rural areas offer limited employment opportunities for the residents. Students from these areas tend to have low expectations about their future, and their employment aspirations rarely go beyond those of their parents. This may be due to the lack of role models, geographical barriers or other factors particular to rural areas. In Saint-Félix-de-Sorgues, a village in South-West France, the majority of students come from farming families. The village does not have a school of its own, but its children and those of neighbouring villages can attend one of the two multi-level classes that are offered in the area. Olivier Reggiani, a local teacher, mentions many long-term effects of eTwinning projects on his students, from progress in various subjects, especially English, to increased involvement in the community, and most importantly, increased ambitions for the future. "The implementation of eTwinning projects on a European scale allows them to amplify their ambitions...enables them to see further and broaden their perspective." Furthermore, eTwinning projects allow both students and teachers to develop ICT and collaboration skills that are crucial for citizens of the 21st century.

Overall, teachers, students, and parents agree that eTwinning has been instrumental in improving the quality of teaching and learning, increasing the motivation and self-confidence of students from rural areas, broadening their - and their teachers' - minds and horizons.

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Rural schools and eTwinning: it's a big world, after all!

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Image: Aaron Burder / Unsplash.com Although the sense of community is especially strong in rural schools, their remote location and small population can pose challenges for students and teachers. Schools are far from cultural centres, teachers have limited access to professional development opportunities, and students can feel isolated from the rest of the world.

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We went deeper and read articles about rural schools in Austria, UK, Spain, Finland and Czech Republic

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Activities 2&3: Opportunities and challenges for rural schools

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Activities 2&3: Opportunities and challenges for rural schools

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Looking for partners and common interests

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Looking for partners and common interests

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Rural vs urban schools

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