Legal literacy at school: know own rights and duties to be active citizens

May 28, 2024News

Integrating basic legal literacy into the civic education programs of European schools is a present-day challenge. According to THE LAW PROJECT, the solution lies in creating innovative educational materials available to teachers and students.

Today, educational resources for both teachers and students are ready! They are valuable in supporting the study of law and civic education in schools, promoting the development of critical thinking and a sense of social responsibility among young citizens.

However, these resources are the result of extensive work, culminating in a testing phase conducted during May 2024. The staff of the Centro per lo Sviluppo Creativo “Danilo Dolci” met with teachers and students at school. During the meetings, the educational materials developed under the project were presented and tested.

Specifically, 7 classes with a total of 130 students participated, to whom the project and materials were first briefly presented:

  • A textbook for students aged 14 to 18 on basic legal literacy;
  • A teacher’s manual containing teaching activities on the topic and related to the topics covered in the textbook;
  • An interactive platform on basic legal literacy that can be used by studentɜ as well as teachers to draw on new activities.

Afterwards, some practical activities from the textbook were experimented in the classroom to gather any suggestions.

The presentation of the educational materials and the implementation of the activities had stimulated the interest and active participation of the students. The content touches on a wide range of topics, including the basic principles of law, the rights and duties of citizenship, the functioning of democratic institutions, the values of civil coexistence, the virtual world, and rights in the home, school, and family. In addition, the materials include practical exercises, case studies and group activities, which facilitate the consolidation of theoretical knowledge through practical application.

For teachers, detailed teaching guides, assessment tools, and suggestions for integrating these topics into the school curriculum effectively and creatively are available.

The reactions of students and teachers have been very positive: they liked the current topics covered, the activities seemed clear and engaging, and the interactive platform, once completed, will be used individually and/or in class.

Meanwhile, similar activities are taking place in partner countries, including France, Portugal, and Croatia, so that in the end, it will be possible to evaluate the results on a large scale.

THE LAW PROJECT – LAW IN EVERYDAY LIFE is financed by the Erasmus+ program (Key Action 2: Cooperation partnerships in school education) and aims to strengthen common values, civic engagement and active participation of citizens by emphasizing basic legal literacy as one of the skills necessary to be active in one’s democratic community.

Partners

If you want to know more about the project visit the project website https://thelawproject.eu/ and follow us on Facebook.

Contact Marta Galvano: marta.galvano@danilodolci.org.