Bridging the Multicultural Diversities in Education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Bridging the Multicultural Diversities in Education

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning

Project Summary

,As a result of economic migrations the sociocultural diversity of the population has increased substantially and a higher proportion of immigrant children are included in the preschool and school systems. It has been observed that these children have more difficulties following the lessons in the school or kindergarten and are less successfully integrated into the wider social environment. The reasons can be found in their inability to fluently speak the predominant language (their second language), in undeveloped strategies and instruments for the inclusion of immigrants into the education system, and in insufficient participation of these children and their parents in the school – wider social environment.
Teachers are asking how best to meet the needs of these children. What can we do in our classroom to create an environment in which children of varied cultures and languages thrive and grow? How can we increase our own knowledge, awareness and teaching practice to appropriately support the children’s ongoing learning needs? What kind of strategies we can apply to involve parents and the community in children’s everyday education?
This project was about bridging the multicultural diversities in education. The project’s aim was to find the best and the most effective ways, and innovative approaches, to integrate children who join from different countries and cultures with the process of inclusion as an opposed to integration as the principle idea.
Objectives pursued in this project: -enabling inclusive processes for children and parents that would make their day-to-day lives easier, -creating and environment in material, informal, social and emotional levels as a way of helping adapting to new social and cultural surrounding, -creating a reference/idea book on how to work with immigrant children which will offer assistance to the current curricula, -including the intercultural education into preschool and school curriculum, -creating physical environment (playrooms, classrooms) that will present and support diversity but also enable individualized learning process, -integrating intercultural content in the curriculum, -helping immigrant children start kindergarten and school, -building and expanding teaching competence of the staff, -creating examples of didactic materials as well as ideas for working and teaching guides in multicultural classrooms.
This project was done among 5 educational institutions. 3 early childhood and preschool institutions: Djecji Vrtic Obzori from Croatia, Stormhattens Förskola from Sweden and Vrtec Pedenjped from Slovenia; and 2 primary school educations: Landakotsskóli from Iceland and 1st Primary School of the Port of Hersonisos from Greece.
This project undertook one transnational project meeting that took place at the beginning of the project with Croatia and Slovenia being the host and 4 short-term joint staff training events that took place through out the two years of the project. The first training event took place on-line and was prepared by Slovenia and Croatia, while the other three were mobilities where Iceland, Sweden and Crete were the hosts. Each training event covered different topics form the three main areas: -Inclusion of multiculturalism in educational practice, -teacher competences, and -cooperation with parents.
Through this project digital platforms were be used to create records of process but also to make the educational materials available: https://ebtmdie.wixsite.com/education-innovation/online-educations
Results for this project were expected and reached within three main spheres: -environment (changes in both physical and psychological aspects), -children (changes in mental perception and basic skills acquisition), and -teacher competences (changes in mental perception and both formal and applied competences when dealing with basic skills acquisition with second language learners).
Impact was attained through following target groups: -pedagogical and teaching staff, -children, and -parents.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 49600 Eur

Project Coordinator

Djecji vrtic Obzori & Country: HR

Project Partners

• Östra Göinge kommun Stormhattens förskola
• 1st Primary School of the Port of Hersonisos
• VRTEC PEDENJPED
• Landakotsskóli