Schools have become more and more diverse and this diversity will not stop growing. Teachers are faced with challenges and often they are not prepared and as a consequence see diversity as problematic and frightening. Diversity is found in language, culture, background, gender, learning (different talents, special needs, learning preferences) and more. There is no school that can ignore this. But are our schools ready? Challenges are often found in the integration of diversity in the school models, starting from initial frames of reference and the fact that teachers need practical support, material and training to work in a diverse classroom.
In this context, our project was born. 'Use diversity to enhance learning in the 21st Century' (UDEL21) was the project title and ambitious goal of a partnership that was initiated in a 'diamant' work- model: a university on academic level, 3 service providers and network organizations on middle level and two school groups on practical level. The general objective of the project was a mindshift from diversity as a problem to diversity as an asset: take the diversity in the classroom as the norm and use its richness to make teaching and learning better (learning and teaching in diversity). Next to this, use the diversity in the classroom to educate and build on attitudes and values of the learners to prepare them for a very diverse future society (learning and teaching for diversity).
Dealing and coping with diversity happens from different frames of references and is often based on stereotypes, prejudices, fear, and deeply rooted norms. This is not different in education, so first we needed a common frame of reference on diversity, based on literature, research, legislation and current practices. The university made sure that this common frame of reference was evidence informed and current and conducted a short pre-survey for schools in the partner organizations. The general frame of reference was further refined in introductions on language diversity, gender diversity, learning diversity and cultural diversity, the fields in which we worked. The frames were all written in an accessible and compact version, ready to use for schools. The second work package was the collection and design of 'tools'. We defined a tool as a class activity or a work method, to be used in combination with lessons or as separate activities, both in primary and secondary schools. The result was a collection of 89 tools. We made sure that all these tools were tried out in schools. The three network organizations (one in Czech Republic and two in Belgium) were the leading partners for the tools. The two groups of schools (primary schools in Slovenia and secondary schools in Austria) inspired the work, from bottom-up. They were our ‘practical’ guardian, a very important role, as our results needed to be usable in the class. The next step was designing support and training with the frames and the tools. This work was done by the partner organizations in their own context and finally processed in two international conferences, two courses and a train-the-trainer.
The two conferences were a mixture of state of the art academic input and practical work-sessions. We reached more than 60 participants in both conferences. The two courses were more practical, always accompanied by frames and an action plan for the school as end product. With the courses we reached more than 40 participants for each course, with a very rich combination of nationalities. After the courses, the participants returned to their own context with an action plan for further implementation in the school or training.
The overall objective of the project was met, considering the fact that we count on follow-up work in the schools. In some cases, working with the tools confirmed an already existing positive view on the richness of diversity. Other teachers appreciated the diversity of the tools and were eager to design new ones. By making teachers aware of the opportunities in teaching for diversity and teaching in diversity, teachers became stronger and valued the profession more while realizing the importance of the impact they have on the students. As one teacher formulated it so nicely: “If a mindshift happens with me as teacher, the mindshift will have its effects on the children in the classroom".
Also in the partner organisations the effect was visible, as the discussions at the project meetings showed, with more understanding, knowledge, skills and attitudes as outcomes. At the end of the project all partners learned a lot and were ready to work further with the results of the project which were continually shared within the organizations in the network and connections were made with the other units within the partner organizations. We do hope that this project has made a difference, even if it is only an oil stain that can be further spread out. We invite everybody to use our results and keep on spreading our work.
OUR GOALS:
Integrating diversity in the school models is a
crucial thing. We understand that to reach this goal it is important to equip
teachers by the right knowledge and skills to be able incorporate local
diversity into their practice and use it as a starting point. That is why the
project defines a common frame of reference on diversity which provides common
ground and shared understanding on how to integrate diversity in the school
models and offers a European platform of information, discussions, and
exchanges of experiences on the subject of diversity. The project provides and
offers to use a “library” of introductions and tools on diversity. The project
shares experiences on training and presents a blueprint for this. Any European
school, support organization or training provider can choose material from the
“library” which fits best into their specific situation and can be inspired how
to use diversity as a strength in education to realize better learning.
OUR WORK:
In the project we developed
a set of tools (e.g. instruments, protocols, materials, schemes) on coping with diversity or these tools are delivered by associated
schools and revised by the project team in order to match with the Common frame
of reference on diversity.
Each partner developed activities in local schools
around the project’s frames of references, introductions and tools on gender
diversity, learning diversity, cultural diversity and language diversity.
Together, the project-team designed international
training. Based on all these experiences we provide a blueprint and roadmap
that still has to be contextualized and adapted before it can be used.
International conferences
The project team organized two international
conferences on the content of the project. The first one took place in the
Czech Republic in September 2017, the second conference was held in Italy in
May 2018.
