The importance of diversity in education

As teachers and education staff, we always aim for our student to be successful, to have the right knowledge, skills and attitudes to find their best place in the society we live in. Our modern society is extremely diversified as well as multicultural, as such, promoting diversity and tolerance in the classroom has become a crucial goal for teachers, school and adult education. Building emphatic and open-minded characters can make a real impact for learners and for the whole society.

The new edition of the course “diversity in the classroom” took place in Palermo from 05/10/2025 to 11/10/2025. Participants joined from across Europe, including Malin and Caroline  from Sweden from the school Abrahamsbergsskolan, Utbildningsförvaltningen;and Emire from Germany from the school Berufskolleg für Wirtschaft und Verwaltung der Stadt Remscheid.

​The first key step of the course was to explore the concept of identity. Teachers were engaged in a very practical and visual activity to experience the expression of their own identity. Their task was to draw their portraits. Half part of the portrait had to represent the visible appearance while the other half was all about their deep personal characteristics and values. After that we talked about how our identities may influence the perception of the world and the others. 

On the second day, participants had the chance to visit a school in Ficarazzi, ‘Livatino’, where they observed the role of support teachers, showing how important teamwork is for creating an inclusive learning environment. Participants also explored the structure of the Italian school system, learning about its organization, the different educational stages, and the role of inclusion in everyday teaching practices.

We also faced key challenges and concerns in acknowledging and promoting cultural diversity. A TED talk helped us to reflect on the importance of asking “where are you local” instead of “where are you from” because what makes us and our students who we are is not our country but our whole culture: indeed our identity is being developed on various and interconnected levels.

It is a well known fact that we cannot immerse ourselves in the concept of diversity without mentioning the notion of stereotypes. We discussed the cause of their existence and their impact, both negative and positive, how we form stereotypes and where they lead us. We implemented the storytelling technique to see how stereotypes evolve into judgments and discrimination. 

Moreover, we touched a really sensitive topic: awareness and respect. The glasses through which we perceive the world are a product of our identity so the reality is different depending on which glasses we are wearing. We did a lot of activities and simulations connected with critical thinking in order to understand how our values affect the culture and vice versa.

The part of the course dedicated to membership helped us  to recognize how it feels to be excluded and how difficult it is to include others into our dynamics. The geese exercise with its leadership styles was a perfect match for this aim.

The last but not least point of the week was empathy. We dug into feelings and emotions, fostering teachers to put themselves in other people’s shoes. Being aware of our emotions is crucial but it’s important as well to train ourselves and the students to express them.
After all, it was a bright week full of new knowledge, practice, sharing, deep conversations and thoughts, ideas and emotions. 

Discover more about this course here.