In today’s context, where misinformation and division challenge the values we share, it’s more important than ever to foster understanding, critical thinking, and a sense of community among young Europeans. Teaching about Europe's history, values, and identity can be a pathway to fostering a sense of belonging in young people, and to encourage active participation in democracy. However, teaching about Europe is often related to extra-curricular activities or limited to certain subjects in the school curriculum. How can we include a European dimension in teaching and learning across different subjects in the curriculum? And how can we make the topic challenging and relevant for our pupils?
This course aims to empower teachers and educators to “teach for” and “teach about” Europe, using classroom-tested materials tailored to various subjects in the school curriculum, belonging to both STEM and Humanities. Through the course, we will reflect on and deconstruct our ideas about European identity and values, the relevance of the European Union to daily life, and democratic processes, among other topics. In turn, this will help us understand the importance of fostering critical thinking and encouraging young students to be active citizens, so that they may contribute to shaping Europe.
You can follow the course at your own pace. We will open one module at the beginning of each week, and there is only one deadline you need to pay attention to (that of the peer-review activity).
Understand the difference between teaching for and about Europe and why both matter today.
Identify students’ key concerns about European society and the future, and the values behind them.
Deconstruct the concept of "European identity" and its significance in education.
Explore how EU membership impacts daily life, from travel to sustainability, and assess its value.
Work with classroom-tested materials to teach about Europe and active citizenship effectively.
Create actionable learning activities that promote critical thinking and active citizenship
Prerequisites
This course is open to anyone interested in the topics of Europe and active citizenship, but the main target audience are educators with an interest to integrate these and related topics into classroom activities. The participants will learn why and how to deploy several Learning Scenarios, designed for different curriculum subjects (STEM and Humanities) in secondary school. Therefore, the core target audience are secondary school teachers across the curriculum. The course remains relevant for any parent and educator, as the course will encourage reflection on the relevance of teaching about (and for) the European Union (EU) and Europe. No previous experience or knowledge in the course core topics is needed to take this course.
Modules
Module 1: Europe in my classroom opens on 10/03/2025
Module 2: Europe in daily life opens on 17/03/2025
Module 3: Teaching for active citizenship opens on 24/03/2025
Module 4: Looking at the future opens on 31/03/2025
Certification
To receive a course certificate, participants are required to submit a learning activity and review activities from three of their peers. The overall passing grade is 95%. The final deadline to complete all activities is Wednesday, 16 April, 23:59 CEST.
Note to teachers from Castilla y León: Si eres profesor de Castilla y León, y además del certificado de la European Schoolnet Academy, quieres recibir un certificado oficial de parte de la Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León inscríbete en la página web del CFP Idiomas de Castilla y León http://cfpidiomas.centros.educa.jcyl.es/sitio/
Note to teachers from Galicia: Se es profesor/a de Galicia e, aparte do certificado da European Schoolnet Academy, queres recibir a certificación oficial de parte da Consellería de Educación, Ciencia, Universidades e Formación Profesional, inscríbete en FPROFE: https://www.edu.xunta.gal/fprofe/
Note to teachers from Portugal: You can get your successful participation in a European Schoolnet Academy course formally recognised as a valid continuous professional development, and thereby acquire the relevant number of training hours, by sending your certificate to the Conselho Científico e Pedagógico de Formação Contínua (CCPFC) at Rua do Forno, nº 30, 1º andar - apartado 2168, 4700 - 429 Braga, Portugal. For more information, please contact the CCPFC.
Note to teachers from Emilia-Romagna: Per i docenti della regione Emilia-Romagna iscritti alla piattaforma regionale https://iscrizioni.istruzioneer.it/ è possibile ottenere, oltre all’attestato rilasciato da European Schoolnet Academy, anche l’attestato rilasciato dall’Ufficio Scolastico Regionale per l'Emilia-Romagna (Servizio Marconi) che attua un'azione di facilitazione ed accompagnamento a questa attività. Maggiori informazioni al link: https://bit.ly/EuroSmooc21.
Note to teachers from Ireland: It may be possible to count the completion of this course as part fulfilment of any discretionary CPD hours, subject to your school management's approval. Therefore, please enquire with your school management if your participation in this course can be formally recognised.
Course Staff
Eugenia Casariego Artola - Course Coordinator
Eugenia is a member of the Development & Advocacy and Future Classroom Lab team at EUN. As a coordinator and pedagogical advisor, she focusses on projects fostering innovative pedagogies in the classroom, boosting digitalisation in education, and providing continuous professional development opportunities to teachers.
Marialena Kanavoura - Course Coordinator
Marialena works as a pedagogical officer at European Schoolnet, in the team of the Central Support Services of the European School Education Platform and eTwinning. Passionate about education, lifelong learning, and innovative teaching, she designs and delivers online and onsite workshops, as well as online courses, empowering educators across Europe to enhance their skills and adopt modern pedagogical practices.
Maria da Piedade Carvalho da Silva - Course Moderator
Maria has been an English educator for over 30 years, combining her extensive teaching experience in secondary education with her role as a teacher trainer in educational technology and digital competencies. She holds a degree in Languages and Modern Literatures with a specialisation in French and English Studies, a Master’s in Applied Linguistics, and a PhD in Linguistics and Language Teaching. Maria is involved in eTwinning, Erasmus+ projects, and the Teach Europe Task force.
Doina Otilia Filep - Course Moderator
Otilia has been a STEM educator for 30 years and a Scientix Ambassador since 2014. She helps promote Scientix activities at the national level and plays an active role in supporting innovation in STEM education in Hungary. Her work is essential for expanding and strengthening a community whose core values lie in sharing good classroom practices, especially in the field of STEM.
Behind the course
Teach Europe aims to strengthen the pedagogical offer on the topics of European citizenship and the European Union, at a crucial time for Europe, when Euroscepticism has grown along with populism, extremism, and insecurities on economic and health matters. The project is co-funded by the European Union, with the Jean Monnet Actions under the Erasmus+ Programme (ERASMUS-JMO-2022-OFET-TT) and is coordinated by European Schoolnet.
Disclaimer
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.