Social justice in lifelong guidance services for low-educated adult migrants Erasmus Project

Project Title

Social justice in lifelong guidance services for low-educated adult migrants

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 adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

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

Project Summary

SoJUST project aims to improve the quality and efficacy of the life long guidance addressed to low-educated adult migrants, by adopting a social justice approach that acts, at individual level, on the development of specific guidance competences of educators and, at organizational level, on the promoting of social justice-focused environments and practices. European documents and scientific research reveal a persistent lack of homogeneity in access to guidance services and express concerns with regard to the limits of guidance practices to address everyone’s needs and supporting mobility into educational systems of people from “non-dominant groups”. There is growing attention paid to social justice as a guide value for guidance practices aimed at low-educated adult migrants who suffer a cumulative disadvantage, linked to the migration background and low qualification levels.
Based on these reviews, the project Partners carried out a monitoring activity of their guidance systems compared to some key factors identified by the European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network Guidelines (ELGPN, 2015):
– Prioritise the role of lifelong guidance as instrument of social equity and social inclusion and ensure training to lifelong guidance practitioners in order to enable them A) to work effectively with these groups (Guideline n.18. Lifelong Guidance for disadvantaged groups); B) to be sensitive and ready to work with different types of adult learners (Guideline n.13)
-promote the development of shared professional quality standards that apply to the supply and products of guidance (Guideline No. 3: Lifelong Guidance for Adult Learners)
The following PROBLEMS emerged from the analysis:
1) unavailability of a shared conceptual framework on social justice-focused guidance, which determines an ambiguity within and among PP with regard to the methodological-operational application of guidance interventions able of assuring social justice;
2) insufficient implementation of actions for the continuous professional development and updating of adult educators aimed to enhancing social justice competences;
3) inadequated guidance practices target-oriented with a focus on social justice with negative impacts in terms of: A) achievement of guidance needs; B) recognition of prior learning; C) supply of customized training.

The TARGET GROUP of the project are adult educators and other personnel who support adult learners with guidance roles. The main beneficiaries are low-educated migrant adults.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES are:
1) enhanced understanding of social justice in lifelong guidance practice;
2) built common and mutually recognized framework for the referencing of competences of adult educators social justice-focused into guidance;
3) increased adult educators’ competences in the implementation of quality and more effective guidance practices in order to support upskilling pathways;
4) strengthened targeted-guidance aimed at reaching people who need special motivation (2016 / C 484/01), as a driver for equity and encouragement of participation.

The following Intellectual outputs will be developed:

– EQF-Social justice-focused competences Profile for guidance aimed at low-educated adult migrants (IO1);
-OER-Pilot Learning Curriculum for social justice-focused guidance (IO2).
They will be tested by Adult education centers PP in order to evaluate their effectiveness and impact on the beneficiaries. From the insights and further knowledge that emerged during the Pilot Test, an Handbook of social justice-focused guidance practices (IO3) will be developed.

The main methods used are: exploratory research (Incident Critique Tecnique); Research-Action-Training Laboratories. The participation of migrants and their representatives in the design, planning, implementation, and monitoring of lifelong guidance services and products for them according to their specific strengths and their specific needs (ELGNV 2015) will be encouraged. That means to put into effect the approach according to which the empowerment of people through adult edcuation is a process that it must be “forged and made” with them not for them (Boyadjieva and Ilieva-Trichkova, 2017; 2018).
The project will have positive impacts on migrant adults by strengthening their agenticity and learning motivation, and on educators by increasing their skills in the implementation of guidance practices that is actually transformative.

Project Website

http://sojustproject.com/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 365415 Eur

Project Coordinator

ilmiolavoro srl & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Lietuvos suaugusiuju svietimo asociacija
• Institutul Roman de Educatie a Adultilor
• STIFTELSEN KURSVERKSAMHETEN VID U-AUNIVERSITET
• Psientífica – Associação para a promoção e desenvolvimento social
• Bursa Aile Calisma ve Sosyal Hizmetler Il Mudurlugu
• Bursa Valiligi
• CPIA TERAMO