Supporting Migrant Inclusion in Lifelong Learning and Education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Supporting Migrant Inclusion in Lifelong Learning and 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 adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

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

Project Summary

SMILE – Supporting Migrant Inclusion In Lifelong Learning and Education

The project’s main objective is to support teachers, migrant communities, learning support staff and and adult education institutes in promoting migrant inclusion in adult education. The project develops training and educational resources that can be used to train migrant educators and teachers to work in cooperation to promote the inclusion of migrants in education.

Research among migrant organisations indicates that sometimes migrants can experience great difficulties in understanding the local culture and navigating the local system of education in the place where they live. These difficulties are harder for persons facing poverty and social exclusion, who struggle to meet their basic needs, and usually lack the resources for stimulating learning, and depend on privileged members of their community. Even sometimes financially stable migrants can experience poor social integration. Local programmes and colleges also find themselves sometimes to deal with the culturally diverse classroom. Although the experience can be enriching, many teachers find they are unexposed, unprepared and unequipped to address the challenges of cultural diversity. Inadequate policies in relation to integration and education of migrants also impedes teachers, educators, school administrators, and migrant communities in finding coordinated, innovative solutions. Therefore this project will explore these gaps and develops innovative tools to address these important needs.

The project includes four NGOs : FSM, Malta, which supports the integration of vulnerable and empowers migrant leadership through the Third Country National Network in Malta (TSN Malta); IFALL, Sweden, which works on integration, including that of migrant communities within municipalities; IAS, Slovenia, which has strong advocacy networks swith diaspora organisations and government Ministries in Slovenia; and CARDET, Cyprus, an NGO working on producing online innovative digital resources for education and inclusion.

The project will include research activities that will be used to gather information from teachers, migrant peers, learning support staff, policy makers and school administrators, and to find gaps in inclusion strategies and policies in all the partner countries. Research will also include learning visits and joint partner training events, as well as online research to find best practices and resources in other EU countries that address the research gaps. Through a dissemination conference the project will discuss the research findings and best practices with relevant stakeholders, and acquire feedback important for the development of intellectual outputs. These outputs will be developed and piloted with the diverse target groups, after which they will be improved and used to give training to teachers, migrant educators and migrant parents and relatives. Additionaly a final conference will share all project outputs and findings with a broader group of stakeholders.

The project uses and inclusive, cross sectorial methodology and a bottom up approach, engaging migrant participants in all stages of the project, and with teachers, NGOs and adult educators establishing connections and relationships that improve coordinated efforts on the subject. A training course will be developed to train migrant peers as mentors and cultural mediators, bridging the gap between the school and the migrant community, while an informal training course will be developed to train migrants how to support each other to learn, as well as to use cooperative strategies with teachers in order to facilitate inclusion in the classroom. A blended 3-ects study unit will be developed for graduate teachers, and an online portal will be available through an interactive online resource.

The project will increase knowledge on methodologies and pedagogies for inclusion in adult education, and will change negative behaviours and attitudes towards inclusion. It will also increase action and agency of teachers, migrant peers and migrant learners to promote inclusion and to support migrants to learn, and to address barriers to such inclusion. In the long term the project contributes to social inclusion, active citizenship, peace building and cross cultural cooperation in partner countries in the European Union, and in the world.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 117461,63 Eur

Project Coordinator

FOUNDATION FOR SHELTER AND SUPPORT TO MIGRANTS & Country: MT

Project Partners

• CENTRE FOR ADVANCEMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY LTD-CARDET
• INTEGRATION FOR ALLA
• Institut za Afriske Studije / Institute for African Studies