A delegation from the Council of Europe Education Department visited Andorra on 5-6 November to learn about the results of the implementation of the Model of Competences for Democratic Culture (CDC) in Andorra’s education system, higher education and research.
The programme of the visit included a meeting with the Minister of Education and Higher Education and his team, visits to two schools, a meeting with the Rector of the University of Andorra and a public lecture.
As a result of the meeting with Eric Jover, Minister of Education and Higher Education of Andorra, the delegation learned about the steps taken by the Ministry to implement the Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) at all levels of education.
“Andorra is a very small country with only seventy thousand inhabitants but we have more than hundred nationalities. So it is very important to have the values, the necessary competences to build social cohesion. We thought that the competences for democratic citizenship were perfect for generating that social cohesion” emphasised Eric Jover, Minister of Education and Higher Education in a video interview.
The Model of Competences for Democratic Culture (CDC) has been integrated into the Andorran education system. The delegation visited a lower secondary school in Encamp and a pre-primary and primary level school in Canillo.
“We are here to learn from you. The work done in Andorra is an example of good practice, other countries can learn from the experience in Andorra”, underlined Sjur Bergan, Head of the Education Department during one of the school visits.
The delegation then had a meeting with Miquel Nicolau, Rector of the University of Andorra and some faculty members of the university. The competences approach was integrated into the curriculum of the degrees of Bachelor and Master of Education Sciences that will be offered at the University of Andorra.
“The assessment we are implementing is completely formative and transparent because we provide students with learning expectations, we share learning outcomes, indicators from the very beginning so they know what they are expected to do by the end of the cycle” highlighted Nadia Azzouz, Professor at the University of Andorra.
A public event was held at the Centre Culturel et des Congrès Laurediá in Sant Julià de Lòria where Sjur Bergan, Head of the Council of Europe Education Department, gave a lecture on the role of education in developing and maintaining democracy. Ministry officials, school directors, the Rector and students from the University of Andorra attended the event.
For more information:
Video made by students of the “Ecole primaire andorrane de Canillo”
“Andorra i el Consell d’Europa refermen la collaboració per fomentar l’educació per a una ciutadania democràtica” - Press release - Govern d'Andorra (in Catalan)
Related articles and TV clips:
“El Consell d'Europa valora positivament el plurilingüisme del sistema andorrà” – Diari d’Andorra (in Catalan)
“El Consell d'Europa destaca que "Andorra és molt bon exemple" de l'educació en ciutadania democràtica – Ara Andorra” (in Catalan)
"Andorra és molt bon exemple" d'educació en ciutadania democràtica – El Periodic (in Catalan)
“L'UdA oferirà a partir del 2019 un màster en ciències de l'educació” – Andorra Difusio (in Catalan)
