ISTITUTO DEGLI INNOCENTI

Piazza Ss. Annunziata 12,

Florence

 

 

 

Partners involved

European Commission – DG Education and Culture,  Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione – Direzione Scambi Internazionali, Biblioteca di Documentazione Pedagogica, Regione Toscana, Comune di Campi Bisenzio – Assessorato alla Pubblica Istruzione, Associazione d’amicizia dei cinesi a Firenze, IRRE Toscana, CD-Lei - Bologna, Cils – Università per Stranieri di Siena, Casa Editrice “Vannini” – Brescia, Silab, Telespazio, Istituto “Datini” – Prato, Liceo Scientifico “Livi” – Prato, Circolo Didattico 10 “La Montagnola” di Firenze, Istituto “Meucci” – Firenze, Scuola media “Maltoni” di Pontassieve – FI, Istituto Comprensivo “San Donnino” – Campi Bisenzio – Firenze, Efecot – Brussels, ABC – Amsterdam, IEP – London, City of Vantaa – Vantaa, KEK – Trikala, Department of Education - Bucarest

 

Sponsored by:

Comune di Firenze – Assessorato alla Pubblica Istruzione

 

Conference secretary

 

COSPE

Via Slataper 10

50134 Florence

Italy

Tel: + 39 055 473556

Fax: + 39 055 472806

E-mail: cospe@cospe-fi.it

 

 

Introduction to the conference

 

The discussion on issues regarding intercultural education and the education of migrant children has been evolving differently in the various member states of the European Union over the last twenty years. Many models have been developed and abandoned, not only because a model failed, but also because of changing political contexts. Many models focus on the integration of migrant pupils in mainstream education and success is often measured on the basis of the children’s ability  to reach national standards. Although awareness that these standard norms are culturally biased is widespread, institutions and educationalists hardly question the correctness of these norms, leaving the hard job of integrating mainly to the migrant child and his or her family. 

European policies promote the concept of social inclusion and anti-discrimination, but equal opportunities and inclusion in education is still a dream for many migrant children in Europe. A main reason is the difficulty of many traditionalist educational systems to gear their strategic processes towards the needs of a multicultural society. Flexibility, individual attention and technological and didactical innovation seem to be keywords in a process of “interculturalisation”, or, in other words, in creating a school type that effectively motivates and supports migrant children in their striving for school success. Our thesis is that educational systems based on the assumption that these children have to merge as soon as possible in the existing system have little hope of leading to success, and there are many good reasons to sustain this thesis. On the contrary, we believe that only schools that open up to the cultural and intellectual heritage that these migrant children and the communities they belong to represent, can expect to be successful. There is much evidence to state that school success is not only a question of intellectual capacity, but also of well being, recognition, motivation, in other words all those factors that help young people to create a positive self image and a satisfying individual identity.

 

The conference we propose is to be seen as a milestone at the end of a 5 year period of innovation in educational practice with support of the European Commission. The three year ME TOO project and the MEET project that preceded it, have seen COSPE and its partners involved in the development of teaching materials for the intercultural classroom. These materials have one thing in common: all start from the presumption that successful integration practice in the school can only be based on the recognition of the child’s abilities acquired during his life prior to his arrival in the new school. This means understanding the child’s cultural and personal background, second language learning in strict connection with mother-tongue maintenance, plurilingual education, interaction with his peers in the mainstream classroom and, if necessary, individual support. It also means linking schools of provenance, transit schools and final destination schools. We believe that technological progress and teacher awareness will bring that aim rapidly nearer. Web and satellite technology-operated distance learning services, for example, like the new COSPE project CROCUS, can provide for the necessary support to schools, teachers and pupils and offer specific contents that respond to individual needs.

 

The conference will focus on three major themes:

·         The perspective of linking schools from home, transit and settlement countries.

·         The concept of didactic continuity as a key factor for school success.

·         The perspectives of plurilingual language education based on multimedia and distance learning.

International experts, partners and other people working in the field will discuss concrete experiences and show results. The conference will be an excellent opportunity for international networking.

 

Evert-Jan Hoogerwerf

 

Working languages: English and Italian.

 

Programme

 

All meetings will take place in the

ISTITUTO DEGLI INNOCENTI

Piazza Ss. Annunziata 12, Florence

 

 

 

21 June 2001 -   15.30-18.30

Opening Session

 

Chair: Daniela Lastri (City of Florence)

 

Opening speeches

 

Annamaria Attanasio (Italian Ministry of Education)

 

Song Lianzhen (Consul P.R. China)

 

 

Key note speeches

 

Stuart Scott (Intercultural Education Partnership/Collaborative Learning Project, UK)

Changing the system: the intercultural school in a multicultural Europe

 

Maria Omodeo (COSPE)

Individual and collective needs of migrant pupils in European schools:

didactic continuity as a keyfactor for success

 

22 June 2001     -     9.00-12.30

 “Market place” of ideas and materials

 

Workshops - Poster session

Meeting and exchange area

 

 

Co-ordinator: Diana De Lorenzi

Special guest: Itala Gallo (BDP, I)

 

 

22 June 2001  -    15.00-18.30

 

Parallel sessions

 

 

23 June 2001   -   10.00-13.00

Plenary session and round table

 

Chair: Giuseppe Italiano (IRRE Tuscany)

 

Report from the parallel sessions

Ken Marks (EFECOT, B)

Highly mobile children: the challenge of didactic continuity

 

Marco Marigo (COSPE)

Innovating education: Multimedia and distance learning as opportunities

for the intercultural classroom (MEET, ME TOO, CROCUS)

Round table discussion