Youth Republic

1. School/Organization, where the practice is collected: Escola Básica e Secundária de Lousada (Lousada Basic and Secondary School)

2. Description

The Youth Republic intends to create a dynamic of democratic live in the school where the students can develop their civic sense as future citizens in a democratic state.

It makes available to its citizens means of participation in school community life, defines the way of life of its citizens, the style of its relations by means of rules drawn up based on fundamental principles defined in the Portuguese Constitution and in the Declaration of Human Rights, emphasizing the values of freedom, equality and fraternity. The republic is defined by how the students participate in the decisions and goals proposed, how they discover the need for cooperation to achieve a goal, to discuss an important issue, to decide something worth changing and to develop a class or school project.

The Youth Republic is organized around a system of different structures involving the students and some selected teachers that start at the class level and end up at the school level including the head of the school. For this, there is one hour per week for each class to meet with the CE teacher to address several issues concerning the life of the class to discuss and to work on the class project. This moment is called “Communio”, a Latin word that means community, mutual participation, friendship, or communion.

The class project has as its objectives to:
• Develop the ability to dialogue and work in cooperation with others;
• Contribute to ensuring the genuine participation of students in the decisions that concern them;
• Develop attitudes and values in the different dimensions of citizenship;
• Develop responsibility and creativity;
• Allow the discovery of talents/aptitudes or their search;
• Allow the development of various transversal skills;
• Create habits of project work.

3. Assessment:
☒ Yes
☐ No

During the last school period there is a formative assessment of the class projects in the Class Council and Guides Council that concern the operational and educational aspects and raise ideas for future projects. The different dimensions of the Youth Republic are also subject to a formative assessment by the different structures.

4. Images/Picture/Video …

Guides’ Council