FEINAMC – Disseminating and scaling up good practices to Foster Educational Inclusion of Newly Arrived Migrant Children

An Erasmus+ project aiming to foster educational inclusion of newly arrived migrant children.

Grant Agreement Number: 621545-EPP-1-2020-1-ES-EPPKA3-IPI-SOC-IN

Funded by: Erasmus+ Duration: 15/01/2021-14/01/2023

Challenge

Within the reality of a complex and pluralistic European society, the role of education is fundamental for inclusion and social cohesion. Specifically, according to Eurydice, students who are well-integrated in the education system, both academically and socially, have more opportunity to develop their full potential.

Migrant students still have difficulties adjusting to their new educational system. The main challenges identified so far are related to the migration process, the socio-economical and political context, student participation in education, and inadequate teacher training to support children in the classroom.

Additionally, young migrants have a higher early school-leaving rate than other children. Early school-leaving is an obstacle and fuels poverty and social exclusion. Consequently, tackling migrant students’ lower educational participation is a key issue to achieving a more inclusive society with equal opportunities for all.

Within this framework, it is necessary for teaching staff to enhance their skills in assessing and recognising the prior learning of migrants and supporting successful access and completion in education and training for learners. In this way, the education system could better respond to the needs of migrant students.

Innovation

The project aims to foster the inclusion of newly arrived migrant children in the formal education system by upscaling two already implemented innovative tools (mentoring program, prior learning assessment tool) for educators working with migrant students. These practices will favour a climate of coexistence and will support teaching staff to better respond to migrant students’ needs. The main goal is to promote diversity and equal opportunities in education, leading to a fairer and more inclusive society.

Action

The two good practices identified from previous projects are the Mentoring Programme for newly arrived migrants and the Prior Learning Assessment Tool. The first has been implemented by three partners (InteRed, CESIE and KMOP), while the second has been previously tested by KMOP.

Based on their past experience, partners will specify the background of these good practices, their strengths and weaknesses, while they will deliver training sessions on how all partners can implement these practices in their countries.

KMOP will design the final framework and guidelines that will facilitate implementation at the national level.

The mentoring programme aims to support the inclusion of newly arrived third-country national students through the active involvement of their peers and by favouring relationships with them.

Mentoring is a way of providing guidance and support to young students, an effective tool to make the inclusion process of migrants easier. Having a peer as a reference point could favour a smooth inclusion of the students both in the school context and in peer groups. The peer-to-peer structure of the mentor-mentee relationship, allows students to create a positive relationship with other students with whom it may be easier to express their concerns and needs.

The prior learning assessment tool aims to evaluate the previous learning skills, the gaps and the needs of migrant students. This tool has benefits for both teachers and students. Teachers will enhance their quality of teaching, while students will have better access to quality education. Both practices will be implemented in schools, with newly arrived migrants, in partner countries.

Workshops and meetings will be organised for teachers to exchange their experiences during the implementation of the two good practices in their schools (mentoring program and prior learning assessment tool).

Guidelines will be developed to facilitate the inclusion of newly arrived migrant children in the schools. The document will explain the implementation process of the two good practices step by step. It will include a final section of frequently asked questions based on doubts raised in schools. The guidelines will be developed to provide policy input to educational authorities on fostering the inclusion of students with a migrant background.

European Commission’s support for the production of this content does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Project Partners

**KMOP – Social Action and Innovation Centre**

**Intered – Spain**
**Project Coordinator**

CESIE – Italy

CARDET – Cyprus

Sudwind – Austria

FEINAMC – Disseminating and scaling up good practices to Foster Educational Inclusion of Newly Arrived Migrant Children

Challenge

Innovation

Action

European Commission’s support for the production of this content does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Project Partners

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