Workshop for leadership teams and Third transnational meeting of the EMstep project in Italy
A workshop for leadership teams (principals and teachers) and the Third transnational meeting under project 2023-2-TR01-KA220-SCH-000170568 ‘Empowering secondary school teachers for social inclusion through observation-based professional development’ was held on September 23-25, 2025 in Florence (Italy).
The event was attended by representatives of all project partners: EGE University (Izmir, Turkey), D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics (Svishtov, Bulgaria), Oslo Metropolitan University (Oslo, Norway), Universidade do Porto (Porto, Portugal), Academia, izobrazevanje in druge storitve d.o.o. (Maribor, Slovenia), and the hosts from Me We Istituto di ricerca innovativa srl (Florence, Italy). On behalf of the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics, the participants were Head Assist. Prof. Yuliyan Gospodinov, PhD (Project Manager for the Academy and a Researcher), Assoc. Prof. Mihail Chipriyanov (Researcher) and Head Assist. Prof. Nadezhda Veselinova, PhD (Researcher).
The forum was opened by the Mayor of Florence, Sara Funaro, who welcomed all participants.
The main focus of the event was the workshop intended for the leadership teams of the partner schools from the six countries (for Bulgaria: Secondary schools ‘Dimitar Blagoev’, ‘Nikolay Katranov’ and ‘Tsvetan Radoslavov’ - Svishtov). The project envisaged the participation of two people from each school (principal and teacher or two teachers). Four Bulgarian teachers attended it: Zhana Kostyakova-Georgieva and Lilyana Lyubenova (Secondary school ‘Dimitar Blagoev’), as well as Yordanka Ilieva and Albena Mladenova (Secondary school ‘Nikolay Katranov’), and representatives from the Secondary school ‘Tsvetan Radoslavov’ joined online.
The workshop was held in English and had an intensive work program, which included a number of thematic sessions, moderated by all partner organizations, including Yuliyan Gospodinov from the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics. Among the topics discussed were:
• Know each other;
• Classroom observation practices;
• Classroom simulation;
• Pre-observation conversation;
• Post-observation conversation and teacher self-reflection;
• Professional development: informal observation for supporting teachers (e.g. classroom management of teacher, reflective dialogue);
• Professional development program: needs analysis based on observation, planning and implementation of professional development programs.
During the workshop, participants were divided into mixed teams for some of the sessions, and by nationality - for others. This allowed sharing expertise, getting to know each other and building informal networks, with the active involvement of all teachers and their strong interest.
After the workshop, the partners held the Third transnational meeting. There each organization reported on the progress achieved, discussed organizational issues regarding the preparation and implementation of upcoming activities, and agreed on deadlines and indicators.
