Promotion and celebration of diversity in the classroom

Nowadays, schools and educational programs are welcoming a wide variety of people whose socio-cultural backgrounds are very diverse. To help students adjust to a new cultural environment, on the one hand, and to model critical and open minds valuing and celebrating diversity rather than rejecting it, on the other, is one of the biggest challenges for teachers. 
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The new edition of the course “Intercultural learning and cultural diversity in the classroom​” took place in Palermo from 09/02/2025 to 15/02/2025. The participants came from all across Europe, with Sylwia from Przedszkole Niepubliczne Misiolandia in Poland, Gabriele from Karl-Schiller-Berufskolleg in Germany, Tuula from Live-säätiö sr in Finland, Janko and Sandra from Center Gustava Šiliha Maribor in Slovenia, Pilar and Rocío from IES Politecnico de Vigo in Spain, Irini from Palouriotissa A Elementary School in Cyprus, Javier from IES Montes de Toledo also in Spain and last but not least, Maria, Rainier, Daniel and Nick from International school Laren in the Netherlands. 

To kick off with the course, we started acknowledging the importance of reflecting on the meaning of words. The participants altogether tried to build an understanding of what “intercultural learning” means to them and explored the differences between “multicultural”, “cross-cultural” and “intercultural” to become more attentive in describing and interpreting the interaction of different cultures.

During the course delved into the exploration of the relation between culture and education. Participants got involved in some activities to become more aware of how cultures influence teaching and learning styles. The goal of the exercise was to think about the attention and sensitivity that teachers need when specific cultural patterns arise in the classroom.
Moreover, we also talked about the concept of identity as a first step to go deep into diversity. From a visual activity, our participants thought about their own identity and the relation that identity has with culture.

​Next, participants engaged in different activities about stereotypes, such as storytelling. Altogether we discovered the meaning of the vicious cycle of stereotypes. They were invited to reflect about how stereotypes can convert into prejudices and discrimination, generating a vicious cycle that strengthens stereotypes. As put in an inspirational TED Talk we saw the video - “Show a people as one thing — as only one thing — over and over again, and that is what they become.”
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Last but not least, we worked on the important topic of inclusion. First, participants have been involved in simulation activities to acknowledge and discuss the challenges of intercultural communication. The activities can help students question common assumptions while thinking about finding connections among different cultures. Another round of group exercises was performed around the concept of membership and empathy. The group challenges proposed can be adapted to different subject and classroom activities, allowing students to understand the importance for every member of the class to bring valuable contributions and to empathize with other classmates’ needs and diversities. 

Finally, one of the most valuable aspects of this course was the sharing of best practices. It gave participants the opportunity to share their own intercultural experiences and draw inspiration from projects and activities implemented by their colleagues.

​Discover more about this course here.