TEACHmi: discovering innovative strategies towards more inclusive education

Between 2014 and 2018, more than 70,000 Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC) arrived to Italy crossing the sea; 90% were between 15 and 17 years old[1]. Social inclusion of young people with migrant background has become an urgent priority on the European agenda. The barriers towards this aim are many and diversified, and sometimes they may be difficult to detect: the student’s fear of rejection or academic failure, shame associated with the need to leave or escape, undiagnosed trauma, differences in the new educational system. In addition, these may be involuntarily posed by the teacher’s lack of time or appropriate intercultural and multilinguistic skills.

Social inclusion is an indispensable element for the construction of one’s own identity and for the creation of a sense of belonging to the group. Education is fundamental to ensure greater socio-economic inclusion and future opportunities to youngsters with a migrant background.

Therefore, it is time to intervene through innovative, inclusive and multicultural teaching models, able to involve families with migrant background and to prevent the risk of social exclusion, gaps in school performance and the escalation of early school leaving.

Which strategies can be promoted for the inclusion of students with migrant background?

This and other questions were addressed during the 1^st Info Day of the Erasmus+ project TEACHmi, which took place on Friday 16^th October 2020, in “Al Fresco Giardino & Bistrot” (Palermo, Italy). The event, celebrated during the Erasmus+ days 2020, was an opportunity for comparison and constructive dialogue, involving schools, local organizations and representatives of the Municipality of Palermo.

The concept of inclusive didactic was dealt with through some interactive activities, identifying connections with the objectives and next steps of the project.

The first output, the “Toolbox of Teaching languages of schooling for students with migrant background and integration practices” will be soon available online and will be presented during a three-day seminar between February and April.

Would you like to learn more? Are you interested in taking part to the training?

Contact Simona Sglavo: simona.sglavo@cesie.org

About the project

TEACHmi – Teacher preparation for migrant school inclusion is cofunded by Erasmus+ programme KA3: European Forward Looking Cooperation Projects in the fields of Education and Training.

Partners

The partnership holds together 6 organisations:

• University of Piraeus – UNIPi (Greece, coordinator),
• Enoros Consulting Ltd (Cyprus),
• University of Coimbra – UC (Portugal),
• UC Leuven-Limburg – UCLL (Belgium)
• CESIE (Italy
• College of pedagogy – Pleven (Bulgaria)

[1] UNICEF (2019). At a crossroads. Unaccompanied and separated children in their transition to adulthood in Italy: https://www.unicef.org/eca/media/8591/file/report-unaccompanied-italy.pdf