EU Project will strengthen inclusion of immigrants and refugees in primary school

Beskrivelse

Thousands of refugee and immigrant children have come to Europe in recent years, and in many countries, there is a big challenge in ensuring their integration in the classroom. Now, a new EU project will strengthen teachers’ capacity to work with inclusion of children with refugee and immigrant backgrounds.

The project will establish a concrete teacher’s portal with online courses and materials, that school teachers from all over Europe can use, when they will work with inclusion of children in the classroom. The goal is for the portal to be accessible in all of the European countries involved in the project, via internet and with an app.

The project runs over the next two years with participation of educational institutions, as well as organizations from Denmark, Greece, Italy and Germany.

Education is the key

For reasons including the refugee crisis, an increasing number of teachers in European schools are working with the inclusion of children with refugee and immigrant backgrounds. Around 10 percent of the EU population in 2015 was composed of migrants, and 5 percent of those were under the age of 15. A PISA survey from 2015 showed that immigrant children on average perform more poorly in primary school than those without an immigrant background.

According to Garba Diallo, Director of the non-profit Crossing Borders, the project is very important for promoting inclusion of this group of children in European schools and society.

- For us, integration starts with education. Therefore, educators are the key: they help the younger generation become citizens. This project is so important because we will listen to the needs of those on the ground and support them based on the needs, they define themselves. Hence, this project has gathered experts from southern, central, and northern Europe to help prepare teachers to implement education that is consciously inclusive and sustainable, explains Crossing Borders director.

Interviews with teachers and leaders from primary schools in the four European countries that are participating in the project, will become the cornerstone in the development of materials and the courses for the new teacher portal.

Action makes a difference

Moreover, the project will identify and map existing research and practises in the sector, says Susanne Dau, teacher and program leader of University College of Northern Denmark, a project partner. This goes especially for research on inclusion in the classroom.  

- Newer research shows, that if one uses targeted inclusion methods in the daily teaching and the parents are involved in the work of inclusion of children in the schools, then these measures will have a big effect. We also know, that digital teaching materials and follow-up can support the pedagogical approaches and methods in inclusion work in the class, for example in the form of e-learning initiatives, such as e-books with further explanations.

Emne

Press release on project PAESIC