Key competences : investment in human capital within out-of-school education forms

Purpose: The aim of the research is to show how effective the tools in the form of extracurricular forms of education oriented at development of key competences.

Design/methodology/approach: The article presents case study of investment in key competences of school-age children. The results of evaluation studies compliment the experience of chosen out-od-school educational projects conducted in the district mostly active in the field of initiative realization. The author also mentions a problem of considering and fulfilling children’s special educational needs.

Findings: In the educational projects implemented in Pomeranian Voivodeship, the main emphasis was placed on the development of key competences, mostly students, and to a lesser extent - teachers. The interest in particular competences varied (39-95%). Similarly, the effects of undertaken measures were assessed as their impact on the attitudes of students in selected areas.

Research limitations/implications: Too little attention paid to the special needs of pupils. Evaluation of effectiveness referred to the influence of particular forms of stimulation on the student's attitude in selected aspects. It was impossible to clearly attribute the impact of the investment on the results of exams summarizing a given stage of learning. Practical implications: The results of the research can be used to change the guidelines for constructing further support programmes for educational projects. This refers to technical guidelines, i.e. the formula for verifying the effects and the substantive ones, i.e. The scope of support for schools and students. Social implications: The work points to the need to implement solutions allowing for greater social inclusion of children with special news, including work on social awareness in this area.

Originality/value The article attempts to assess the effectiveness of investing in the development of human capital at the stage of school education through extracurricular educational projects. The analysis was multi-level, from the European background, through the regional approach in Poland, to case studies in selected local governments. The results of the research may serve to construct further pro-educational projects in the region.