KiVa Programme Spreads to Basque Schools
03.06.2016
Ikastola Network has made a contract on purchasing the KiVa Antibullying Program to schools in the Basque area. KiVa was developed at the University of Turku, and the University will also produce the services for Ikastola.
109 Basque schools in northern Spain and south west France belong to the Ikastola Network based in San Sebastian. Over 40 schools have decided to participate, and the number keeps growing.
— KiVa methods and material already exist, but we need to translate them to Basque and localise them to fit the Spanish and Basque culture and legislation, says KiVa Antibullying Program Project Manager Johanna Alanen.
When the material is ready, six trainers from Ikastola will travel to Turku for training provided by the KiVa professionals. These trainers will then take the KiVa Program to Basque schools. Professionals from the University of Turku support the trainers throughout their five-year contract and create extra material if needed.
— Schools implement the KiVa Program during spring 2017. The contract is for five years, but our goal is to create long-lasting co-operation. We have now agreed on material production for elementary schools, but they have already shown interest in expanding the programme to secondary schools, says Alanen.
Previously, the University of Turku has been in charge of exporting the KiVa Antibullying Program. Now, Ikastola is partnering up with Finland University, a transnational education company of three Finnish Universities. The University of Turku is the producer of the education.
Training Manager Ari Koski, who negotiated the contract on behalf of Finland University, reminds that KiVa has proven itself to be the world's best antibullying programme.
— This five-year contract with Ikastola is a major opening for Spanish countries where bullying is a big problem and from where the KiVa team in Turku receives the majority of requests, says Koski.
KiVa is currently operating in 13 countries and new partnerships are being built especially in Spain and Latin America.
Finland University Oy (FinUni), founded by the Universities of Eastern Finland, Tampere and Turku, is a transnational education company through which the partner Universities channel their transnational education. FinUni has research-based projects in Southeast Asia, China and Oman. These projects provide employment for teaching and research personnel and other experts in the partner Universities.