ERASMUS+: YOUTH IN ACTION Results of RAY in Croatia in 2015€¦ · These surveys addressed...

ERASMUS+:YOUTHINACTIONResultsofRAY

inCroatiain2015Research-basedAnalysisandMonitoringof

Erasmus+:YouthinAction

MargaretaGregurović

Zagreb,2017

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ERASMUS+:YOUTHINACTIONResultsofRAYResearch-basedAnalysisandMonitoringofErasmus+:YouthinActioninCroatiain2015

Impressum

Publisher:AgencyforMobilityandEUProgrammes

Editor:AleksandraŽivković

Graphicdesign:KO:KEkreativnafarma

Zagreb,2017

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Thisstudywasconductedwithinthe‘Research-basedAnalysisofErasmus+:YouthinAction’(RAY)bytheRAYNetwork,whichincludestheNationalAgenciesofErasmus+:YouthinActionandtheirresearchpartnersincurrently29countries*.The data for this study was collected through multilingual online surveys, which wereconducted in 25 languages by the RAY Network between October 2015 and April 2016.These surveys addressed participants and project leaders/team members involved inprojectsfundedthroughtheEuropeanUnionProgrammeErasmus+:YouthinAction(2014-2020). This research project was designed by the Institute of Educational Science atUniversity of Innsbruck and theGeneration and Educational Science Institute inAustria incooperationwiththeRAYNetwork.*Austria,Belgium,Bulgaria,theCzechRepublic,Croatia,Denmark,Estonia,Finland,France,Germany,Hungary,Ireland,Italy,Latvia,Liechtenstein,Lithuania,Luxembourg,Malta,theNetherlands,Norway,Poland,Portugal,Romania,theSlovakRepublic,Slovenia,Spain,Sweden,Turkey,UnitedKingdom.

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ERASMUS+:YouthinAction–ResultsofRAYResearch-basedAnalysisandMonitoringofErasmus+:YouthinActioninCroatiain2015

In 2015 Croatia joined the RAY network and participated for the first time in conducting“RAY Research-based Analysis andMonitoring of Erasmus+: Youth in Action” the primaryobjectiveofwhichwastoexaminetheimpactandimplicationsofErasmus+:YouthinActionProgramme (hereinafter: E+/YiA) on various actors involved in the projects carried outwithintheProgramme.TheresultspresentedinCroatiannationalreportwerebasedonthedata gathered through online surveys in the period fromOctober 2015 toApril 2016 andwhich refer to the E+/YiA projects finished in 2015 where Croatia was either sending,receiving or funding country. The evaluated projects were implemented within KA1activities:YouthExchanges,EuropeanVoluntaryServiceandMobilityofYouthWorkers;KA3activity–MeetingsbetweenYoungPeopleandPolicyMakersandTransnationalCooperationActivities. Two conceptually related surveys were administered to E+/YiA projectparticipantsandprojectleaders.Analyseswereconductedonconveniencesamplesof1461project participants and 252 project leaders even though more questionnaires weregathered,inordertoensureauthenticpresentationofeverygroupofrespondents.

1) Participationandactivecitizenship

Oneof thebasic characteristicsofE+/YiAProgramme is toencourageyoungpeople tobeactivecitizensandtoparticipate incivilsocietyanddemocratic life.TheresultsforCroatiademonstrateinthisarearelativelymoderatechangesandeffectsofProgramme.Namely,byobserving the results obtained on both groups of respondents , one can notice that inaverage the participants and project managers in E+/YiA projects perceived they wereapproximatelytothesameextentactivelyinvolvedincivilsociety,keepingupwithcurrentevents and feeling as Europeans as before participating in the project. The lack of thisproject-based effect was more visible among project participants in comparison to theprojectleaderswhoweremorecharacterisedbystrongerdesireforinclusionintheactivitieswhich implied fight against the discrimination, intolerance, xenophobia or racism andstrongersupportforthe inclusionofpeoplewithfeweropportunities.Thestrongesteffectofprojectparticipationonbothgroupswas related to thegreaterappreciationof culturaldiversitywhiletheweakesteffectwasrelatedtotheparticipationinthedemocraticlife.Itisimportant to stress that, observed on the level of basic frequencies, the results indicatesimilarproportionsof respondents in categories referring to thenon-existentandpositiveproject-basedeffectinactivecitizenshipwhichingeneralindicatedrelativelystrongeffectofparticipation in E+/YiA projects. Interestingly, the project leaders estimated in highproportions a more positive project-based effect on project participants referring to theappreciationofculturaldiversityandstrongersenseofbeingEuropeans.

Anadditionalaspectofactivecitizenshipandsocialparticipationamongprojectparticipantswasrelatedtotheirperceptionofimportanceofpoliticalparticipationamongyoungpeoplein general, not only themselves personally. The results showed that project participantsstronglyagreedthatitwasimportantforyoungpeopletobeincludedinallaspectsofsocial

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participation, and in particular to discuss political and social issues, to be involved inEuropeanpolitics,tohavetheopportunitytogetindirectcontactwithpoliticalactors,andtomakeuseoftheirrighttohaveasayinpoliticaldecisionmakingprocessesaffectingthemdirectly.

2) Competencedevelopment

Assessmentofkeycompetenceswithinthedomainoflife-longeducationshowedthatbothproject participants and project leaders stressed significant development of allcompetences, but especially the ones connected to getting along with people who haddifferentculturalbackgroundandcommunicatingwithpeoplewhospokeanotherlanguage.Another competence which was more pronounced in term of its development wascooperationwithinateam.Allrespondentsexpressedstrongerdisagreementrelatingtothedevelopment of ability to produce media content on their own. The self-perception ofprojectparticipantswasconfirmedbyjudgementsofprojectleaderswhostressedinlargerproportionsdevelopmentofsamecompetencesasprojectparticipants.

Both groups of respondents also recognised the positive effects of participation in E+/YiAprojects on the development of their competences within the work/involvement in theyouthfield.Amongprojectleadersthisespeciallyreferredtolearninghowtobetterworkinaninternationalteamandhowtofostercontactsbetweenotherprojectleaders,alongwithobtainingnew insights andknowledgewhich theyhadalreadyhadorplanned toapply intheirworkintheyouthfield.Somewhatweaker,butstillverypositiveeffectwasrecordedamongprojectparticipants(activelyinvolvedinworkingwithyoungpeople)inrelationtoallcompetences within the work/involvement in the youth field. The weakest effect ofparticipationinprojectwasascribedbybothgroupstolearningmoreaboutthecontentofyouth policies at European level and understanding how to better contribute to thedevelopmentofthesepolicies.

Finally, the participants in the E+/YiA projects highly stressed the effect on their personaldevelopment, especially in the area of self-knowledge and self-perception, raisingconfidence, understanding people who were different and better dealing with newsituations.Theseresultswerealsoconfirmedby the insightsof theproject leaderswho inhighproportionsindicatedpositiveproject-basedeffectsonprojectparticipants.

3) Educationalandprofessionalpathways

Similar results between two groups of respondentswere also obtained in regard to theirestimationof futureeducationalandprofessionalplans.Bothgroupsagreedtothe largestextent that they intended to further develop their foreign language skills, and theywereevenly sceptical about increasing their chances of getting a job. Even though they onaverage agreed that they had clearer idea about their further education and careeropportunities,bothgroups (andespeciallyprojectparticipants)were increasingly scepticalabout it. Similar results were obtained in the estimation of future plans to go abroad tostudy, work, do an internship or live there. It was important to stress that projectparticipants planned further engagement in education and training which was alsoconfirmedbyprojectleaders.Thedevelopmentofcompetencesinwork/involvementintheyouth field canalsobe analysed in the contextof educational andprofessional pathways,especiallyinacquiringknowledgeonnon-formalandinformaleducationandlearningwhichweresignificantlyaffectedbyparticipationintheprojectamongallrespondents.

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4) Learningorganisationsandcapacitybuilding

The contributionofparticipation inE+/YiAprojects canalsobeanalysed in the contextofcreatingthe“learningorganisations”(cf.Fennesetal.2012)inasensethatallcompetencesacquiredwithintheproject,andespeciallyonesacquiredbyproject leaderscontributedtostrengthening of “educational dimension” in context of strengthening non-formal andinformaleducationandlearninginyouthfield(whichwereemployedbyprojectleadersandothers involvedinworkwithinthisfield).Alongwiththestated, it is importanttoconsiderandestimate theproject-basedeffectsonorganisations included in theprojects and localcommunity as another important dimension in creation of learning organisations andcapacity building. Both groups of respondents estimated positive project-based effect ontheirorganisation,whileproject leadersadditionallyestimatedpositiveeffectsonthelocalcommunity. In doing so, the establishment of contacts/partnerships with other countriesand increased appreciation of cultural diversity is more pronounced in the context oforganisations,alongwithincreasedcompetencesfortheprovisionofnon-formaleducationandgeneralcompetencesinprojectmanagement.Project-basedeffectsinlocalcommunity,assessed only by project leaders, was reflected in positive reaction on interculturaldimension,onprojectingeneralandinexpressinginterestofthelocalcommunityinsimilarprojects in the future, which could also contribute to the creation of a more favourableenvironmentforcapacitybuildingandcreationoflearningorganisations.

5) Profilesofprojects,participants,projectleaders

Participants and leaders of E+/YiA projectsweremostly included in KA1 Youth Exchangesprojects,andparticipantswerealsosignificantlymore involved inprojectsKA1MobilityofYouthWorkers.InanalysedprojectsCroatiawasinhighproportionseithersendingcountryorreceivingcountryand insome22%ofcases inbothrolessimultaneouslyusingCroatianmore frequently as project/working language (thiswas especially the case of 83% of KA3Meetings between young people and policy makers on a national level among projectparticipantswhichdidnotrequireinternationalpartnerships).

Participants inE+/YiAprojectswereonaverage25yearsoldand represented significantlymore by female respondents. Regarding the highest educational attainment, theparticipants in highest proportion completed university or postsecondary/tertiary levelcollege even though significant number of respondents was still in education or training.Aroundquarterofprojectparticipantsvolunteeredduringthelastthreemonths,andaboutthe same amount was full-time employed. They mostly lived in urban and metropolitanareas,whileCroatiawas listedas thecountryof residencebyaroundhalfof respondents.TApproximately 10%of the respondents declared asmembers of certain (ethnic, cultural,religious)minorities.Alongwiththesebasicsociodemographiccharacteristics,aroundhalfofproject participants stated that they had previously participated in similar projectswithinE+/YiA Programme, and among them almost 80% participated in two or more projects.Obtaining new experiences, personal development and establishing contacts with peoplewith different cultural background and from other countries were main motives forapplicationandinclusionintheproject.

E+/YiA project leaderswere also in higher proportion female respondents on average 34years old.More than three quarters obtained university or college degree as the highest

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educational attainment, and around 40% was employed outside the organisations whichthey represented in the projects. Almost one quarter of project leaders stated that theywere still in education or training while some 10% was unemployed. They were mostlyincluded in the project on the voluntary (unpaid) basis, playing mostly dual role:educational/pedagogical and organisational/administrational. Similarly as projectparticipants, almost half of project leaders came fromCroatia, spokeCroatian asmothertongueand10%belongedtosomeofminorities.Mostoftheproject leadershadpreviousexperienceofparticipation insimilarprojects,evenlyasprojectparticipantsandasprojectleaders,whereintheymostlyparticipatedintwoormoreprojectsasprojectleaders.

The obtained results also showed a high level of personal motivation for participation inE+/YiAprojectsaswellasadditionalmotivationaccordingtowhichproject leadersdidnotexpectanykindoffinancial“reward”fortheirworkbutweresatisfiedwiththepossibilitiesofcompetencedevelopmentintheyouthfieldandactiveinclusionofyoungpeoplein(civil)society.

6) Inclusionofyoungpeoplewithfeweropportunities

Having inmind that the inclusion of young peoplewith fewer opportunities is one of thebasic goals of the E+/YiA Programme, special attentionwithin the RAY project is directedtowardsthisaspectofevaluatedprojects.Theresultsobtainedonprojectleadersindicatedthatyoungpeoplewithfeweropportunitieswereincludedinmorethanhalfoftheprojects,whereby they weremostly young peoplewith insufficient financial support,who lived inremote areas andwhoweremarked by their social background. According to the projectparticipants,theresultsshowedthattheyestimatedtheiropportunitiesandtheirwayoflifeas equal as their peers’. Around one fifth of project participants estimated theiropportunitiesabitormuchworsethanthoseoftheirpeers’,incaseofwhichmorethanthehalfoftherespondentsstatedthattheywerefacingoneormoreobstacles.intheobstacleswere most often related to accessing work and employment which, bearing in mind theCroatiancontext,presentedaproblemandanobstacleforavastmajorityofyoungpeople,andnotonly theones included inE+/YiAprojects. Furtheron, aroundone fifthofprojectparticipants was facing obstacles in accessing education and about the same numberstressedtheyfetlfacedwithobstaclesinrelationtotheiractiveparticipationinsocietyandpolitics or to mobility, presentedmostly as not having enoughmoney – again, having inmindthesituationinCroatiaandtheeffectsoftheeconomiccrisisthiswasnotasurprisingresult.Itisimportantalsotostressthattheperceptionoffacingtheobstacleshadsignificanteffect on the assessment of active inclusion to civil society whereas those facing moreobstaclesfeltmoreeagertogetactivelyincluded.

7) YouthinActionnetworks

Asitwasalreadystated,asignificantnumberofprojectleadersandprojectparticipantshadparticipatedearlier in similarprojectswithin theE+/YiAProgrammeand this result canbediscussed in the context of potential establishing of contacts with people from othercountries who were engaged in the same subject areas. Even though many projectparticipants had had previous experience of (cross-border) mobility related in highproportions to youth exchanges (40%) they felt that by participating in a project theysignificantly improved their ability tomove aroundon their own inother countries (sameapplied to the project leaders). Both, project participants andproject leaders listed youthorganisationsandassociationsasthemostcommonsourceofinformationabouttheE+/YiA

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Programme,probablyduetotheirinvolvementinthiskindofprojects.Projectleadersweremore informedby theNationalAgencyofErasmus+ (YiA)mostly throughthe Internetandpersonalcommunication.Significantproportionofestablishedcontactsand learningaboutmechanisms of project application and implementation in the youth field, as well aspronounced desire for maintaining contacts established during the project, pointed topossiblesustainabilityofnewlycreatednetworksandcontinuationofcollaborationinsomenew projects. On the other side, the results related to previous cooperation of theorganisationswithsamepartnersanddevelopmentofprojectincollaborationofallincludedpartners in this context was also indicative being in favour of maintaining the partnernetworkandcontinuationofcooperationinapplicationandimplementationofnewprojectsinyouthfield.

8) ImplementationofE+/YiA

Organisational aspects of a project application and implementation within E+/YiAProgrammewereestimatedonthebasisoftheanswersofprojectleaders.Eventhoughonly20%oforganisationswereapplicantorganisations, receiving the financial support,generalopinion of project leaders was that administrative side of project application andimplementationwaseasyandadequate, incombinationwithaccessible informationonallaspectsofproject implementation.Almostallproject leadersstressedthattheprojectwaswellpreparedasaresultoforganisingthepreparationmeetings(bothvirtualandinperson)of all project partners in which respondents frequently participated by themselves. Theprojectleaderswereingeneralverysatisfiedwiththeoverallmanagementoftheprojectaswellaswithrelationsbetweenmembersofprojectpartnersandwithinprojectteams.It isvery important to stress that theproject leaders consideredproject results as sustainableandappropriatelydisseminatedamongactorsinvolvedintheworkwithintheyouthfield.

9) Differentiationofdataanalysis

WithintheCroatiannationalreportall resultswerecompared inrelationtotherespectivekeyactivityinordertobetterdeterminedifferencesbetweentheprojects.Intheanalysesofthe data obtained by project leaders comparisons were conducted between activities ofYouth Exchanges and Mobility of Youth Workers resulting in a more positive andpronouncedproject-basedeffects among leadersof theprojectswithin thekeyactivityofMobility of YouthWorkers. On the other side, activity-based comparisons among projectparticipants includedfivedifferentactivitiesresulting inmanysignificantdifferenceswhichwere more scattered making it difficult to determine a unique pattern. Additionaldifferentiation in data could be discussed in relation to the results of regression analyseswhich were used to determine the effects of sociodemographic and socioeconomiccharacteristics of the respondents and other contextual project-based indicators on thevarious aspects of participation in the project. These analyses showed thatsociodemographicdeterminantsexplained to thegreaterextentknowledge, competences,abilitiesandotherresultsofprojectparticipationamongprojectparticipantsincomparisontoprojectleaders.SimilarresultswereobtainedonthecontextualindicatorswhichpointedtoasignificantroleofCroatia (sending/receivingcountry)andprojectworking language inperception of development of attaining knowledge and different competences amongproject participants. It is important to stress that these differences were only illustrativesincethecompositionofdependentindicatorssomewhatdifferedbetweenthetwogroups,and some sociodemographic variableswerenot included in the survey for project leaders

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whichindicatedtheneedforpotential inclusionofadditionalvariables insomesurveys,orequalizationofindicatorsofsociodemographiccharacteristicsofallpotentialrespondents.

Finally, it can be concluded that in the evaluation of E+/YiA Programme within the RAYresearchallrespondentsingeneralestimatedandevaluatedtheProgrammeverypositivelyasawholeaswellasitsspecificsegmentsreferringtotheimplementationanditsexpectedeffects.BasicgoalsoftheanalysedprojectswereinaccordancewithgeneralgoalsofE+/YiAProgramme and their fulfilment was recorded on the level of all actors included in itsimplementation.Eventhoughtherearesomeaspectsofprojectimplementationwhichneedto be addressed in the future (i.e. in regard to administrative and financial managementwhichwere the target of critique of some respondents) the development of projects liketheseshouldbecontinued,encouragingtheactiveparticipationofyoungpeoplenotonlyinthepoliticalbutinalldomainsofsociety.

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