Supporting Culturally Responsive Leadership and Evaluation in Schools Erasmus Project

Project Title

Supporting Culturally Responsive Leadership and Evaluation in Schools

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 school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Inclusion – equity; Migrants’ issues

Project Summary

The context of this project entitled Supporting Culturally Responsive Leadership and Evaluation in Schools (CReLES) relates to the increased immigration into countries of Europe with the consequent range of diversity of cultures among students in schools. In line with the current influx of migrants and refugees to Europe and the international Sustainable Development Goal of inclusive and equitable education for all, this project aims to prioritise the inclusive education of migrant students and the school leadership that facilitates that inclusive education.

This project focuses on the support and strategies needed in all levels of school leadership in order to facilitate the needs of a diverse multicultural classroom and a diverse multicultural school. The main objective of the project is the enhanced school inclusion of students with a migration background through the identification and dissemination of innovative practice in culturally responsive school leadership, the development of frameworks for the evaluation of culturally responsive leadership as well as the provision of high-quality training resources in the form of leader training and the development of a MOOC for school leaders and those interested stakeholder groups outside of the project.

Improving the educational achievement of migrant students can involve a serious, demanding challenge for classroom teachers. In this staff challenge, the exercise of school leadership at all levels of the school is crucial in addressing the needs of staff for professional learning and in providing direction and support for staff. For students with a migration background, the school can be the first place of belonging within a new country and culture.

The participants in the project are academic staff from Dublin City University, Ireland; Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria; University of Salamanca, Spain; and Moscow City University in the Federation of Russia. Each partner brings interest, knowledge, experience and infrastructure to the project. Each partner has students with a migration background in their school system and therefore they are interested in school leadership that addresses the inclusion of the migrant students in order to promote academic achievement, language development, and personal development of the migrant students. Each partner has been involved previously in a Strategic Partnership so each knows what the commitment involves.

The participant staff from each of the four universities has considerable experience in education, in working with school personnel, and in a range of skills in research methodologies. The four staffs are experienced in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis and have published both nationally and internationally on core issues relevant to the project in the areas of migration studies, leadership, professional learning and school evaluation.

Activities will include:

– Dissemination of the project through the Project Website
– A Comparative Analysis and publication on National and Transnational Policies and supports for Culturally Responsive Leadership and culturally
responsive evaluation practices in Schools.
– A questionnaire and publication of CReLEs challenges, supports and practice in partner countries
– A series of Case Studies on CReLEs in partner countries
– A Conceptual Map and publication on CReLEs
– An Interim Report summarising: the Comparative Analysis of National and Transnational Policies and supports; Questionnaire, Case Studies and
Conceptual Map.
– Development and Evaluation of The CReLEs Framework
– Development and Evaluation of the CReLEs Learning Environment
– Development and Evaluation of the CReLEs Training Programme
and Evaluation MOOC
– Evaluation of all CReLEs activities and the impact of the project
– The Final Report
– Multiplier events to highlight, present, evaluate and develop awareness of the outcomes of the project.

Evaluation of the project outcomes will be through the collection of quantitative and qualitative data, as the four partner countries will investigate the extent of use and the effectiveness of all outputs. This investigation will seek evidence in terms of frequency of use and evaluative comments on effectiveness in implementing culturally responsive leadership. Evidence of the inclusion of students with a migration background will also be sought in terms of benefits in academic achievement, attendance and participation in schooling.

The potential long-term benefits of the project are invested in the sustained availability of the outputs which will provide on-going free access and the availability of publications that provide insight into the theory and practice of culturally responsive leadership. The envisaged outcome is that this project can have a beneficial impact on the school experience of students with a refugee and/or migration background for years to come.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 337515 Eur

Project Coordinator

DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY & Country: IE

Project Partners

• UNIVERSIDAD DE SALAMANCA
• STATE AUTONOMOUS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF MOSCOW MOSCOW CITY UNIVERSITY
• UNIVERSITAT LINZ