Integrating Immigrants at School

This course prepares teachers psychologically and pedagogically for working with students coming from different backgrounds. It describes the shortcomings and advantages for all the factors involved: teachers, native students, new coming students, parents, institution. It aims at raising awareness of the new teaching strategies that the teacher needs to approach in order to deliver classes that promote inclusion and tolerance.

During the course participants will reflect on and develop a set of targets, ideas and actions to support migrant and refugee children in their school. They will also discuss pedagogical strategies that work with non-native speakers in their classroom, and will identify key contacts at school and local level, such as psychologists, local councillors, parents, etc. that can support them in addressing some of the challenges that the integration of migrant and refugee children brings to the school and classroom. Furthermore, the course offers participants the opportunity to connect with peers who are facing similar challenges.

Learning Objectives

• Understand advantages and disadvantages of approaches such as inclusion, integration or mainstreaming, promote universal access to education with regards to non-discriminatory, democratic values.
• Develop some ideas on how to create a welcoming and safe environment at school for refugee students;
• Identify who inside and outside your school you can work with to support the integration of refugee students;
• Identify preparatory steps for yourself and your class to welcome refugee students;
• Being aware of some of the specific needs of refugee students and how they can impact your classroom work;
• Understanding when to look for external support ;
• Developing some specific classroom activities that can support refugee students;