INTEGRATION AND MULTICULTURALISM - COURSE DESCRIPTION

Introduction

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This course is aimed at teachers and school staff from pre-school level to primary, secondary, vocational, adult and special needs education, staff of non-government organizations, government and policy makers and company staff as well as students and all those who are interested to improve their intercultural competences and learn interactive methods to support integration of learners from different cultures into a collaborating team. The course will address the concepts of identity and group dynamics and will cover several interactive techniques from Problem based learning to the Theatre of the Oppressed techniques. Participants are expected to have at least B1 level of English proficiency.

Methodology

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Methodology is based on theoretical lessons and presentations of examples of good practice as well as discussions and experience comparisons. Key methods used are based in active involvement of the participants and creating a homogeneous group willing to get together around a project and focusing on solving problems as well as experimenting with strategies for eliminating the risk of conflicts. Apart from that, participants will be introduced to the Theatre of the Oppressed method to address conflict. Participants will learn about the learner centered, emancipatory approaches to multicultural education through workshops, simulations and action learning. Some other tools used will consist of project work, role play, laboratory practice, reflection and evaluation.

Objectives

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• Facilitating understanding of identity and conflict and analysis of diversity of its forms.

• Learning techniques and approaches for diverting the focus from identifying differences to achieving a common goal.

• Improving understanding of sensations, feelings and thoughts through individual and collective perceptions.

• Facilitating juxtaposition of individual perceptions to form a deeper collective perception.

• Acquisition of games, exercises and techniques for strengthening the capacity for dialogue, tolerance and collaboration.

• Developing communication, collaboration, presentation, problem solving, negotiation, critical and creative thinking skills.

• Learning versatile techniques and exercises from the arsenal of The Theatre of The Oppressed for understanding identity and addressing conflicts.

• Promoting Boal’s methodology as a tool for dealing with conflicts in schools and our surroundings.

• Improving the use of English (official language of the course).

• Promoting intercultural awareness.

• Sharing experiences of drama and theatre methodologies as well as diverse conflict resolution strategies in education in different countries in order to help each of us to be more effective in our work.

• Developing a virtual collaboration platform for preparation, dissemination and networking in order to develop future partnerships and projects.

• Strengthening the European collaboration among people working in multicultural contexts faced with inclusion issues but unified by similar drama-pedagogical approaches.

• Providing insights into different education systems.

Networking opportunities and cultural programme

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The course includes networking opportunities and cultural exchange opportunities to create European dimension and find possible partners for future projects as well as a city tour or a cultural trip (depending on the location). These are included in the course fee and at no additional expence for participants.

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Preparation

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After registration participants will receive pre-course questionnaire which will be used by the trainer to learn about participants’ teaching backgrounds and to assess their exact needs. Before the beginning of the course a basic reading list will be suggested to participants to prepare for the training. Participants will also be asked to prepare a presentation about themselves, their professional context and their culture which will be presented during the course. Participants will receive information about the country they are going to visit in order to prepare them for their cultural experience.

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Follow up

After the course participants will be asked to share what they have learned with the rest of the staff in their schools. Further books and articles to deepen the topic and contacts with some other practitioners all over Europe and in the world will be suggested by the trainer. The methods shared and explored and the bibliography given will allow the participants to complete and improve their educational path.

Certificate

Each participant will get a course attendance certificate and the Europass Mobility Document.

Accommodation

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We do not directly offer accommodation and subsistence and participants are responsible for organizing it by themselves.

Paperwork

We also provide all the support with paperwork you might need for your Erasmus+ project documentation such as mobility agreement, registration letter, etc.

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Cancelation policy

Free cancellation up to 30 days before the start. After that, the reservation is not refundable. Changes in name and profile of the participant are possible any time before the start of the course (replacement participants from the same school/org are accepted at any time). In case the school/org doesn't find a replacement, we will still offer a place at any of our confirmed courses later in the year without any additional costs but we can not guarantee that every course session will be confirmed and the school/org will only be offered to choose from already confirmed course sessions. In case it will not be possible for the participant to attend the course or for us to organize the course due to extraordinary circumstances (classified as such by the European Commission) which present themselves in the period of less than 30 days before the start of the course and we don’t manage to find an alternative solution, we will keep 50 % of the payment and refund the remaining balance of 50% to the payer’s bank account.