"""Terülj-terülj asztalkám"" - a tanulók motiválását segítő élménypedagógiai projekt"

<< Background >>In our school, there are many young people who require special treatment. These are students who struggle with learning difficulties, have a harder time fitting into the community, experience socio-cultural disadvantages, have mental issues, and generally possess less motivation for learning, self-improvement, and exploring the world. In their case, we have encountered that four main factors fundamentally hinder our students from becoming entrepreneurs and entering the labor market: underdeveloped personality traits, low mobility factor, lack of creativity, and absence of foreign language skills. Since the majority of our students participate in training at various levels of the tourism-hospitality sector, the absence of these mentioned competencies becomes a hindering factor for them in employment. As an innovative teaching community, we have aimed to quickly respond to this pedagogical and professional challenge. Therefore, we have developed an experiential educational project based on artistic education, which is capable of bringing about change in the mentioned competency areas and suitable for overcoming or at least mitigating the problems arising from disadvantages.<< Objectives >>The program aimed to promote equal opportunities and elevate the artistic elements of gastronomy in education. Through art therapy and experiential education, a comprehensive personality development took place within the project, and sparking interest in the hospitality industry was a goal. The experiential education project consisted of well-designed series of creative activities, and the act of creation provided young people with a sense of accomplishment, aiding in restoring self-esteem, establishing a positive self-image, and developing social competencies and initiative. The creative artistic activities were intertwined with elements of gastronomic design and food art.The positive changes resulting from artistic development had a significant impact on human competencies, mobility, creative activities, and recognition forums (competitions, exhibitions, presentations, media coverage). It led to students believing that opportunities are available to them, enabling them to seize them and perform tasks. This made them more goal-oriented, opened up a previously closed world to them, materialized a reality in mobility that was previously unthinkable to them, and the recognition of their work strengthened their future motivations.<< Implementation >>The artistic sessions took place weekly over a period of eight months. Around 40-45 students attended these sessions. While attendance at every session wasn't mandatory, a group of students developed who consistently followed the artistic practices and showed greater interest in the program. The themes for the artistic sessions were put together by an art teacher, who was able to achieve high-quality work with the students. Professional instructors also participated in the work as helpers and advisors. During an instructor mobility, they prepared for working with ceramic surfaces. Two groups of 10 students each participated in a mobility program in Germany. Throughout the one-week program, intensive creative activities took place in the workshop of the CEREDU organization. Using the completed plates, our waiter students were judged at a national professional competition, where their elaborately set tables and preparedness earned them a silver medal. The students prepared in the school's kitchen and dining hall to create dishes that harmonized with their created plates. After experimentation, on June 16, 2023, they successfully presented their tableware set to the general public.<< Results >>Based on test measurements and interviews, there was a positive change in the personality competencies of the students participating in the project. 20 students completed the mobility, which is a significant achievement compared to the motivation measured at the beginning. The creative activities of the students led to outstanding artistic creations, which were praised by notable representatives of the hospitality industry. A sample booklet was created to assist in the adoption and application of best practices in conducting the sessions. Our teachers and instructors gained experience in non-formal education, project management, and experiential teaching methods. Our school acquired a new international partner who demonstrated excellent collaboration in the development of our students. We were able to showcase the successful practice of personality development through art education at the Seventh Environmental and Health Ministerial Conference in Budapest (July 5-7, 2023).