Module 2 towards an inclusive learning vocational education organisation

This programme has been funded with
support from the European Commission
M2: Towards an
Inclusive Learning
Vocational
Education
Organisation
Practical Guidelines and
Steps for for education
managers and their staff to
help make their school
more inclusive and multi-
cultural.

AIM | ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION FOR MIRGRANTS
This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency and the
European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein."
ACCESSIBILITY &INCLUSION FOR MIGRANTS
CURRICULUM
Who will benefit from this course?
Vocational Education and Training staff including:
• Managers
• Teachers, Trainers and Mentors
• Administration and Communications Staff
Module Legend
Practical Steps
Video
Activity
Best Practice
Migrant/Refugee
Insight

This programme has been funded with support from the
European Commission. The author is solely responsible for this
publication (communication) and the Commission accepts no
responsibility for any use that may be made of the information
contained therein.
WHY CREATE A MULTICULTURAL
COMMUNITY IN YOUR SCHOOL ?01
INCLUSION ROLES FOR ALL STAFF
02
RECRUITMENT, ENROLMENT AND
RETENTION OF MIGRANT LEARNERS03
OVERVIEW OF INCLUSION POLICIES IN
SCHOOLS04
REFERENCES/SOURCES
05
Why study this module?
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

01 WHY CREATE A
MULTICULTURAL
COMMUNITY IN
YOUR SCHOOL?

Benefits of a Multicultural
VET School Community
Diversity and cultural awareness have become
more important than they ever were before.
Schools today reflect local communities and
society with people from different cultural
backgrounds coming together.
Did you know that there are many benefits for
students and staff to learning and working in a
multicultural VET school community?

• Diverse student population benefitting from
academic, social, emotional and independent living
skills
• Welcome feeling and positive ethos
• Sense of community and belonging
• Pupil preparation for the world of work
• Active engagement in their learning
• High aspirations to improve outcomes for all pupils
Multicultural
VET schools
with strong
inclusive cultures
are characterised
by:

MULTICULTURAL
SCHOOLS CREATE
MORE EMPATHIC
INDIVIDUALS
In multicultural VET schools, learners from different races
come together in one classroom to learn, converse, engage
and share. Getting to know and understand learners from
other countries and cultures can lead students to deepen and
to strengthen their relationships with each other.
Being exposed to a multicultural environment gives students
and teachers the opportunity to show their empathy to each
other, no matter what their backgrounds are.

MULTICULTURAL
SCHOOLS CREATE
MORE OPEN
MINDED
INDIVIDUALS
Migrant learners are encouraged to share their own stories and
experiences with their fellow classmates. In a multicultural
classroom, there is greater diversity of learning, experience and
cultures.
Learning about each others cultures, helps to make learners (and
staff) more open-minded with a deeper understanding and
appreciation of each other’s culture. Multicultural schools can
broaden learners horizons and also teach them about new and
interesting things they have never experienced before.

MULTICULTURAL
SCHOOLS MAKE
BETTER
COMMUNICATORS
Multicultural schools build communities of learners where
students from different backgrounds interact daily.
As a result, learners in multicultural school become better
communicators and benefit from this key lifelong learning
skill.

Step 1 Create a Welcoming
Environment
Small but thoughtful things like adding a
welcome wall to your reception area can set a
welcome tone for your inclusive school
environment.
It is a small gesture but it send’s a message that
all students, regardless of immigration status or
country of origin, have a right to attend your
school and are welcomed.
Steps to create a Multicultural Community in your VET
School

Inclusion at the heart of
formal and informal activities
The physical structure of the school – its
walls, corridors, canteen, library – is an
opportunity to embrace inclusion.
Schools need an inclusive ethos and
practice in both their formal programmes
(the timetable) and informal programmes
(sports, games, clubs, extracurricular
activities).

Step 2 Celebrate Cultures and
Diversity
People travel the world to learn and experience
different cultures exploring similarities and
differences.
By hosting events in your school to celebrate key
cultural events, you create an appreciation of
diversity among the student body and help
students of different nationalities to feel
represented.

Celebrating Cultures with
Festivals and Events
One good example is holding a mini food festival
or pop up global kitchen event that can help
students understand the origins and cultural
significance of various dishes.
As well as food, students may also celebrate
other festivals such cultural festival of music or
dance. Perhaps a showcase of national sports.
These type of activities are not only fun, they
foster a greater sense of belonging, friendship
and affinity among multicultural groups.

Step 3 Open up communication
channels and talk!
• Check in with your recently immigrated
students. Ask them what they miss about
their home country, what they like and
don't like about your country, and what
questions they have.
• Orientate New Migrant Learners in your
school

Step 4 Promote Good Role Models
Research attributes having positive role
models to a greater sense of self-esteem and
increased performance in school for learners.
Migrant learners will benefit from learning
about positive role models they can emulate.
Top tip - Decorate your school walls with
photos of diverse role models, including those
of past migrant learners and/or immigrants.

Step 5 Start a Friendship Programme
Friendship programmes are an excellent way of
getting native students involved in helping to
integrate migrants and refugees and the benefits
are two fold.
1. Migrant learners benefit from the programme
by being supported during their studies.
2. Both learn about the each others cultures and
gain a broader perspective of the world in all
its diversity.
Building relationships and friendships is important as many of your students will
later become leaders and help shape the fortunes of your society.

Step 6 Intercultural Training for
Native Learners
In the same way, that teachers and staff must
prepare for inclusion and being part of a multi-
cultural school so too must the native learners
attending the school.
Before migrant learners join the school – native
learners should receive intercultural training and
should be sensitised to the issues and needs of
migrant learners.
Native learners have a key role to play in helping
to make your school more inclusive, diverse,
welcoming and open to all

Step 7 Encourage Diversity in
your Staff
International research shows the benefits to
schools and students of having a diverse
teaching staff, including promoting integration.
As communities and society becomes more
ethnically diverse society, so too must our
schools and teaching staff.
Ethically diverse teachers that understand the
culture and language can serve as role models
and increase the confidence and motivation of
migrant and ethnic minority learners.
They can also play an important role in community outreach.

Step 8 Positivity is important
but so too are ground rules!
Bullying and racism need to be confronted
with robust policies and practice to ensure
respect and dignity for all.
VET schools need to be proactive in fostering
a climate of goodwill and tolerance. See
more in Section 04 - Overview of Inclusion
Policies.

02 INCLUSION
ROLES FOR ALL STAFF

Aim for Ethnically Diverse
Staff across all school roles
Norieah Ahmed, is a Secretary at a
School in the US. We can learn a lot
from her experience. In this video,
she talks about her role in
welcoming newcomer immigrant
families to the school from the
moment they walk in the door.
INCLUSIVE VET SCHOOLS..
Video Source: https://youtu.be/y5TQj1inK38
WATCH VIDEO:

Key Learning from Norieah
“To be the first face that they see, I can
immediately see some relief on their faces.
They don’t know me but I look like them.
And I am like them, I was born here… but my
parents are from Yemen. So they feel like
they are in a place that they belong.”
AIM – Migrant/Refugee Insight

Intercultural Training for Teachers
Teaching in a Multi-cultural Classroom (1)
Host a facilitated interactive workshop or
professional development training programmes
for teachers and and/or trainers that looks at
issues of cross-cultural communication and
cultural differences in the multi-cultural
classroom.
The workshop/training programme should help
instructors to identify potential problem areas and
develop strategies for preventing those problems
and creating a cohesive classroom community.

Intercultural Training for Teachers
Increase Teachers Own Cultural Competence (2)
One way to increase cultural competence is to
read both nonfiction and fiction material that
addresses issues around multiculturalism,
diversity, inclusion. Follow this with self-reflection
about own experiences with diversity and
“unpack” any unconscious bias that we may have.
“Most of us do not wish to be viewed as bigots or
as individuals harbouring prejudice, but we
simply lack the confidence and expertise to deal
with issues of diversity” (Watson et al., 2002, p.
xi).

How teachers can be more Inclusive ?
Good, open relationships between teachers and students are
essential. Teachers are role models, and so are older students,
who may and should be involved in peer mentoring and “buddy”
structures in VET schools.
However, let’s be realistic
Teacher resistance to inclusion has been attributed to the
challenges teachers face when attempting to implement inclusive
practice. These challenges have been linked to teachers' lack of
confidence relating to personal instruction, skills and availability of
resources and teachers' inadequate professional development
(Avissar, 2000).

CREATING A MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITY IN YOUR SCHOOL
Thematic analysis of
semi-structured
interviews with
principals, class/
subject teachers and
support teachers
working in a variety of
schools across the
island of Ireland
produced three major
themes and a number
of sub-themes arising
in creating inclusive
learning environments

How you can help Teachers to be more Inclusive ?
Teachers need continuing professional
development and initial teacher education to
help them reflect on, plan for and discuss
new approaches and ideas.
Cultural and linguistic knowledge are two
obvious areas but equally important is the
need to practice differentiation and
recognise and adapt to changes in the
classroom.
More on the role of the in Section 04 -
Overview of Inclusion Policies

Resource Spotlight:
Teacher Education for Inclusion – Profile of Inclusive Teachers
Profile of Inclusive Teachers is one of the main
outputs of the Teacher Education for Inclusion (TE4I)
project.
The Profile presents information on what essential
values and areas of competence could be developed
for teacher education.
The report : Profile of Inclusive Teachers
European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education (2012) Profile
of Inclusive Teachers, Odense, Denmark: European Agency for Development
in Special Needs Education.

WATCH VIDEO: The Science of Inclusion
TedEX video:
The science of
inclusion: Quinetta
Roberson
Watch from beginning
until 4.36 mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS7ID8VClko

STAFF ACTIVITY: Understanding Inclusion/Exclusion
Think about:
• a time when you felt particularly
included/engaged/appreciated
• a time when you felt excluded/alienated
In groups, share your stories and experiences and think about
the differences and similarities between your respective stories.

ACTIVITY – Staff Discussion
- What made the inclusion experiences positive ones?
- What made the exclusion experiences negative ones?
- Based on your discussions and experiences – can you think of things that can
be done to improve inclusion?
ACTION: Take your individual and group experiences and make a shared list of things you
need to be mindful of to help make you school more inclusive and welcoming.
Questions to discuss and reflect upon

Watch Video: Reflections of Inclusion
Watch the movie ‘All that we
share’
We live in a time where we
quickly put people in boxes.
Maybe we have more in
common than what we think?
Introducing All That We
Share..
https://youtu.be/jD8tj hVO1Tc

ACTIVITY: Group Discussion
Discussion –
What does the video say about our perception of people?
In what ways do we include people in our minds?
Let’s work on our own definition of the terms “Inclusion” and “VET Learners”
• What definition of inclusion can we agree on?
• What are the different opinions regarding the definition?
.

Spotlight on Teacher Inclusion Practices across
Europe
Hamburg - Intercultural Coordinators lead anti-bias training
in their own schools to develop tolerant school cultures
Riga – runs four day training on migration and human right
for teachers
Vienna – teachers are recruited from migrant communities,
there is an internship program for teachers with an asylum-
seeking background
CREATING A MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITY IN YOUR SCHOOL

BEST PRACTICE INCLUSION – SWEDEN
“About Sweden” is a civic orientation handbook for newly
arrived. The purpose of the book is to provide fundamental
information about Sweden to people who have recently
arrived in the country, as well as to provide support to
municipalities in their civic orientation efforts.
“About Sweden” has been translated into eleven languages.
All of these translations are available from the county
administrative boards’ information portal for newly arrived,
www.informationsverige.se
The first edition of "About Sweden" was produced by the
City of Gothenburg in 2010.

03 MIGRANT
LEARNERS in VET
what factors are important?

The gap is considerable in many countries. Achievement
differences might be argued to be important predictors of
the long-term mobility prospects of immigrants and their
integration into the host society.
It is fair to say that education plays an essential role in
individual lives. Not only in terms of preparing individuals
for society and labour market but in general, for
developing, and perhaps partially determining
individuals’ life-courses. For students in families who
migrated to a new country, education is of special
significance. School represents for them what might be a
main contact point with the surrounding society,
including contacts with native peers and the possibility to
learn a second language.
THE CONTEXT
The general
pattern of lower
educational
achievement for
migrant students
is a concern.

04 OVERVIEW OF
INCLUSION
POLICIES IN SCHOOLS

Leadership and Management and Whole-School Development Planning
Pupil and Staff Well-being
Curriculum Planning for Inclusion
Classroom Management
KEY THEMES FOR INCLUSION POLICIES IN SCHOOLS

Leadership and Management
• Leadership is visionary and provides a motivating force for change
towards models of good practice in inclusion and educating diverse
learners including those from migrant backgrounds.
• Leadership is participatory and a skill distributed across all members of
the school community including the board of management, principal,
teachers, in-school management and inclusion teams, ancillary staff,
and pupils.
• Leadership happens through formal and informal mechanisms.

Leaders Role in Inclusion
1. Leaders recognise the school’s role in serving the community and are
committed to the right of all learners to receive an inclusive education.
2. Leaders ensure school resources are deployed in an equitable and beneficial
manner to address the learning needs and outcomes of migrant learners.
3. Leaders know the professional skills of their teachers, deploy them for the
maximum benefit of migrant learners and consult with a range of other
professionals for advice and collaborative problem-solving as required.
4. Leaders monitor the impact and outcomes of inclusion policies and actions
on and use feedback to inform future school planning.

Whole-School Development Planning
Whole-school development planning is an ongoing process that enables the
school to enhance quality and manage change.
It considers the aims and values of the school community, sets out a vision for
future development and charts a course of action towards realising that vision.
Whole-school development planning includes policies, practices and
procedures in all areas of school life. It provides a foundation of inclusive
principles against which progress towards inclusion for migrant learners can be
measured.

Whole-School Development Planning and Inclusion
1. The school’s statement of mission and vision should clearly express commitment to
the inclusion of migrant learners
2. The needs of migrant learners should be reflected in the deployment of resources,
funding and staffing.
3. School policy and planning decisions should be assessed and reviewed regularly to
ensure compliance with good inclusion practices.
4. Ongoing professional development and inclusion training to all staff should be
included in the school plan.
5. The school’s code of behaviour should address issues of inclusion and rules
concerning bullying, racism or any other form or anti-social behaviour.

COMMUNICATION
Communication is based on mutual
respect between staff, pupils, parents and
others in the school community.
Communication should be encouraged
through different modes including verbal
and non-verbal, signing, written and
visual, as appropriate.

Communication and inclusive education activity
Are your organization and/or region able to offer inclusive
education?
Participants will have some time to think about this question
and are asked to give their short answers (one word
answers) and write the words on a flipchart so the all the
answers are shown in one overview.
Then the group talks about what stands out in the overview,
what is missed, what answers emphasize the importance of
communication?

CASE STUDY – ITALY - benefits of inclusive school
Benefits of an inclusive school
to be open to the diversity and build a “real” and
authentic environment in the classroom, not
selected according to specific skills or entry
requirements; fighting the prejudice against
diversity; giving young people the opportunity to
learn about other cultures and to grow in a
multicultural environment where they do not fear
diversity, but on the contrary consider it normal..
ASSOCIAZIONE CNOS FAP REGIONE UMBRIA
A Vocational Training Centre working with young
people and with unemployed in three training
centres. It is run by the Salesian Institute with
particular attention to poor and disadvantaged
youth. Since their foundation, the purpose of
Salesian organizations has always been
promoting personal and professional fulfilment
especially among youth at risk of social
exclusion: today this means to work with
migrants, youth with special needs,
disadvantaged families, cultural and social
poverty.

What are the challenges of being an Inclusive VET School/Organisation?
We have to face more difficulties linked to languages and cultural differences in the
classroom, but on the other hand, we have the opportunity to compare our culture and
our point of view with other cultural values and ways of seeing life, helping us not to
absolutize our lifestyle by considering it as the only possible, and this is a very important
added value for young people.

How are you addressing the following issues for your Migrants and Refugee Learners?
Language difficulties We propose Italian language lessons in addition to the standard
educational and professional programme.
Intercultural issues The intercultural aspect is very important, since our school has Catholic
origin, we run intercultural events in order to include everybody in the
celebration of particular moments of the year.
Different levels of past
education
We have an agreement with the CPIA (Perugia and Todi) to prepare our
students for the achievement of the eighth grade diploma in their
afternoon classes. In this way they have the possibility to align the basic
skills with the students who attended the school in Italy.

Issues in integrating to
a new education
system and/or with
native students
Sometimes migrant students have difficulties in getting used with a new
education system (time schedule, clothes, behaviour, etc...). For example:
- We had sometimes problems because students from African countries
(under 16) were very upset about the behaviour of some Italian
students, who did not respect the rules or the teachers. And this
represented for them a great reason for embarrassment and exclusion
from the group
- Migrant students (over 18) have problems in respecting the lesson
time, they don’t care to come late to lessons or leave earlier.

Issues in integrating to
a new education
system and/or with
native students
The only measure to solve this difficulty is the tutoring, the constant
dialogue, the continuous monitoring, try to be more flexible at the
beginning but to clarify the point of arrival and the standard to be
reached in time.
Social exclusion We promote social inclusion in professional life through the training in
local companies. We work with families, trying to explain how to support
their children in respecting the rules and a correct behaviour at work.

How do you/plan to Inclusive Education in …
Your teacher
and staff
training
Teachers have regular training session with psychologist to avoid the risk of exclusion
working with difficult students
Your
Classrooms
and Curriculum
We use special education programme to reinforce basic or linguistic skills for students
with learning difficulties/special needs or cultural and linguistic difficulties.
The
ethos/mission
of your VET
school
Our organization has the aims to promote Education and Vocational guidance and
Training inspired by Don Bosco Preventive System, with particular attention to poor and
disadvantaged youth. There is a yearly programme, promoted by Salesians, to foster the
value of tolerance, peace, dialogue according to the Christian values.

• https://reedleyschool.edu.ph/blog/the-advantages-of-being-in-a-multicultural-classroom/
• https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/the-multicultural-classroom-how-can-our-schools-ensure-a-more-
stable-diverse-society-1.2109993
• https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/MPIEurope_UrbanAgenda_Education-FINAL.pdf
• https://www.edutopia.org/blog/welcoming-immigrant-students-into-classroom-sara-burnett
• https://www.alumniportal-deutschland.org/en/study-continuing-education/programmes/buddies-for-refugees-
mentoring-programme-tu-muenchen-refugees/
• https://www.european-agency.org/resources/publications/teacher-education-inclusion-profile-inclusive-teachers
References/Sources

This programme has been funded with
support from the European Commission
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Module 2 towards an inclusive learning vocational education organisation

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