Enriching Education Through Diversity And Inclusive Practices

In our increasingly diverse and multicultural world, promoting diversity and tolerance in the classroom has become an essential goal for schools and adult education programmes. Therefore, in addition to the primary goal of equipping students with knowledge and skills, teachers and educational staff should also help students develop the attitudes necessary to thrive and find their place in society. Building emphatic and open-minded personalities can have a real impact on learners and on society as a whole.
 
The new edition of the course “Diversity in the classroom: teaching tolerance and overcoming prejudices and discrimination​” took place in Palermo from 12/05/2024 to 18/05/2024. The participants came from all over Europe, with Aira and Daiga from the Smiltenes Region Elementary School of Special Education in Latvia, Merel and Stacey from Hogeschool Inholland in the Netherlands, Tuomas from Sastamalan Opisto Sastamala Community College in Finland and participants coming from two different French schools: Marine from Lycée Louis-Jacques Goussier and Halim from Sacré Coeur Tourcoing. Then, three participants came from Germany: Svea and Anne from KGS Europaschule Rövershagen and Lisa from Grund- und Mittelschule Gars am Inn, and also two from Spain: Ana and Eva from CEPA Buitrago del Lozoya.

The starting point for this week-long course was the concept of identity. The teachers were involved in a very practical and visual exercise to experience the expression of their own identity. Their task was to draw a portrait of themselves. Half of the portrait had to be about their outward appearance, while the other half was about their deep personal qualities and values. Afterwards we talked about how our identities can influence our perception of the world and of others.
 
We then discussed the challenges and concerns in recognising and promoting cultural diversity. A TED-talk made us reflect on the importance of asking "Where are you local?" rather than "Where are you from?" because what makes us and our students who we are is not our country but our whole culture: indeed, identity is made up of different and interconnected layers.
 
It is well known that we cannot explore the concept of diversity without mentioning the notion of stereotypes. We discussed the reasons for their existence and their impact, both negative and positive, how we form stereotypes and where they lead us. We used the storytelling technique to see how stereotypes develop into judgements and discrimination. In addition, we have touched on a sensitive subject: awareness and respect. The lenses through which we perceive the world are a product of our identity. Therefore, reality is different depending on the lenses we wear. We did a lot of activities and simulations that stimulated our critical thinking to understand how our values affect culture and vice versa.

The part of the course dedicated to membership helped us to recognise how it feels to be excluded and how difficult it is to include others in our dynamic. The geese exercise, with its leadership styles, was perfect for this.
 
The final topic of the week was empathy. We looked at feelings and emotions and encouraged teachers to put themselves in other people's shoes. It's important to be aware of our emotions, but it's also important to train ourselves and the students to express them.
In the end, it was a bright week full of new knowledge, practice, sharing, deep conversations and thoughts, ideas and emotions.
 
Discover more about this course here.