Preparing teachers for diversity : the role of initial teacher education : annex 2, case study summaries.
Date: 2017-04-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture
Subjects: case study, cultural difference, education policy, report, right to education, teacher training, teaching

Preparing Teachers for Diversity: 
the Role of Initial Teacher 
Education 

Annex 2: Case study summaries 

Written by: 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                        
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture 
Directorate B – Youth, Education and Erasmus+ 

Unit B.2 – Schools and multilingualism 

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Preparing Teachers for 
Diversity: the Role of Initial 
Teacher Education 
 Annex 2 to the Final Report to DG Education, 
Youth, Sport and Culture of the European 
Commission 

Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture 

2017 

Education and Training 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This  document  has  been  prepared  for  the  European  Commission;  however,  it 
reflects  the  views  only  of  the  authors,  and  the  Commission  cannot  be  held 
responsible for any use, which may be made of the information contained therein. 

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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017 

ISBN: 978-92-79-63798-8 
DOI: 10.2766/55130 

© European Union, 2017 
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The core research team: 

Mr Rimantas Dumcius, Project Director (PPMI, Lithuania) 
Dr Barry van Driel, Team Leader (Anne Frank House, the Netherlands) 
Dr Barbara Herzog-Punzenberger, Key Expert (Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Austria) 
Dr Jennifer Kerzil, Key Expert (Universite Catholique de l‘Ouest, France) 
Dr Elizabeth Wood, Key Expert (University of Sheffield, the UK)  
Ms Hanna Siarova, Project Manager and Senior Researcher (PPMI, Lithuania) 
Mr Dalibor Sternadel, Researcher (PPMI, Lithuania) 
Mr Levan Tsutskiridze, Researcher (PPMI, Lithuania) 
Mr Darius Buinauskas, Junior Researcher (PPMI, Lithuania) 

Contributors of Case Studies:  

Other Contributors:  

Dr Teresa Aguado Odina (Spain) 
Dr Anne-Lise Arnesen (Norway) 
Prof. Paul Bartolo (Malta) 
Dr Karen Bjerg Petersen (Denmark) 
Dr Panayiota Charamboulous (Cyprus) 
Dr Maddalena Colombo (Italy) 
Dr Merike Darmody (Ireland) 
Ms Elena Gallová-Kriglerová (Slovakia) 
Dr Claudia Koehler (Germany) 
Dr Liesma Ose (Latvia) 
Dr Ognen Spasovski (Former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia) 
Ms Eveline Steinger, Ms Mireille Eva Gugolz 
and Reto Rüttimann (Switzerland) 
Dr Pavel Zgaga, and Ms Ziva Kos (Slovenia) 

Dr Orhan Agirdag (Belgium/Fl.) 
Dr Aigul Alieva (Luxembourg) 
Dr Dennis Beach (Sweden) 
Dr Krystyna Błeszyńska (Poland) 
Ms  Irma  Budginaitė,  and  Mr  Simonas  Algirdas  Spurga 
(Lithuania) 
Dr Servet Çelik (Turkey) 
Ms Pascale Charhon (Belgium/Fr.) 
Ms Hana Čiháková (Czech Republic) 
Dr Hugh Escott (United Kingdom) 
Ms Agnes Kende (Hungary) 
Dr Sofia Marques Da Silva (Portugal) 
Dr Saša Milić (Montenegro) 
Dr Bardhyl Musai (Albania) 
Dr Nektaria Palaiologou (Greece) 
Dr Iliana Petkova (Bulgaria) 
Dr Danijela Petrović (Serbia) 
Ms Eli Pijaca Plavšić (Croatia) 
Ms Monica Puscas (Romania) 
Ms Sigrún Sif Jóelsdóttir, Dr Hanna Ragnarsdóttir, and Ms 
Kristín E. Harðardóttir (Iceland) 
Dr Karmen Trasberg (Estonia) 
Ms Raisa Venäläinen (Finland) 

Acknowledgements: 
The  team  responsible  for  this  report  would  like  to  thank  all  the  interviewees,  experts  and  officials  from  the 
European  Commission,  Member  States  and  international  organisations  who  contributed  their  time  and 
expertise and provided assistance during the research process. We are especially grateful to the participants 
of the validation workshop, whose feedback and comments helped to improve this report. We also gratefully 
acknowledge the advice and useful comments from Dr Hasan Aydin on earlier versions of this report, and the 
work of Ms Siobhan Denham on editing and proofreading the final version of this report.  

Contractor: 

Public Policy and Management Institute 
Gedimino pr. 50, LT-01110 Vilnius, Lithuania 
Tel. +370 5 262 0338; Fax. +370 5 262 5410 
http://www.ppmi.lt  
Director: Mr Haroldas Brožaitis 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of Contents 

Case Study 1: Switzerland – ‘Nightingale’ – a Mentoring and Integration project ....... 8 
Case Study 2: Cyprus – ‘Multi-perspectivity and intercultural dialogue in education’ 
(MIDE) ......................................................................................................... 11 
Case Study 3: Germany – Life is Diversity (Leben ist Vielfalt) Students’ network ..... 16 
Case Study 4: Germany – Multilingualism in teacher education (Mehrsprachigkeit in 
der Lehrerausbildung) ..................................................................................... 19 
Case Study 5: Denmark – Modules on ‘Teaching bilingual children’ & General 
education/Christian studies, philosophy of life and citizenship ............................... 23 
Case Study 6: Spain – Tandem Project. Learning Service Programme (Proyecto 
Tándem. Programa de aprendizaje servicio) ....................................................... 28 
Case Study 7: Ireland – The DICE Project .......................................................... 31 
Case Study 8: Italy – Intercultural Education Laboratory (Laboratorio di educazione 
interculturale) ................................................................................................ 36 
Case Study 9: Latvia – Master’s Programme in Educational Treatment of Diversity 
(ETD) (Maģistraprogramma Dažādībaspedagoģiskierisinājumi) .............................. 39 
Case Study 10: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) – Quotas for 
students from ethnic communities & Scholarships for Roma students ..................... 43 
Case Study 11: Malta – Unit on ‘Responding to student diversity in the primary 
classroom’ ..................................................................................................... 47 
Case Study 12: The Netherlands – Parents with a Migrant Background speak at ITE 
Institutions (Allochtone Ouders Spreken op PABO’s) ............................................ 50 
Case Study 13: Norway – The National Centre for Multicultural Education (NAFO) .... 54 
Case Study 14: Slovenia – Criteria for accreditation of study programmes for teachers 
(Merila za akreditacijo študijskih programov za izobraževanje učiteljev) ................. 59 
Case Study 15: Slovakia – Multicultural education as a cross-cutting theme in 
education (Multikultúrna výchova ako prierezová téma vo vzdelávaní) ................... 61 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Case Study 1: Switzerland – ‘Nightingale’ – a Mentoring 
and Integration project 

Context  

The Nightingale1 mentoring programme was inspired by the Perach project, founded in 1972 in 
Israel, and was established in 1997 at the University of Malmö in Sweden. In 2006, Nightingale 
was  implemented  in  seven  European  countries  through  the  EU  network  ‘Mentor  Migration’, 
financed  by  the  EU  programme  Comenius  2.1.  Since  then,  the  Nightingale  programme  has 
expanded  both  nationally  and  internationally  to  more  than  20  sites.  To  facilitate  the 
cooperation  between  all  Nightingales  in  Europe,  the  ‘Nightingale  Mentoring  Network’  was 
initiated in 2010.  

Since  2007,  Nightingale  has  been  part  of  teacher  education  at  the  University  of  Teacher 
Education  in  Zug  (Pädagogische  Hochschule,  PH  Zug).  It  is  financed  by  the  Integration 
Programme  of  the  Canton  of  Zug,  as  well  as  by  the  cantonal  educational  department 
(Stadtschulen Zug) and PH Zug itself. Nightingale takes part in the second year of the teacher 
education programme. 

The  main  purpose  of  Nightingale  is  to  contribute  to  the  development  of  student  teachers’ 
cross-cultural  understanding  and  intercultural  learning  through  mentoring  socially  and 
ethnically diverse children. It also seeks to facilitate contacts between university students and 
school children, linking the gap between theory and practice in teacher education.  

Short description 

In the Nightingale programme, a student from the PH Zug (11 participants in 2016/2017) gets 
paired with a 8-12 year-old child from a primary school with a large number of children with a 
migrant and/or minority background. The mentor and the child get together for approximately 
two  to  three  hours  per  week  over  a  period  of  seven  to  eight  months.  During  these  informal 
meetings,  the mentor and the child  participate in everyday  activities together (e.g.  go to the 
zoo, the cinema, do sports together).  

Nightingale is based on  the idea of  ‘mutual  benefit’  –  for  both children  and student  teachers. 
The mentor acts as a positive role model by establishing a personal relationship with the child. 
This in turn helps strengthen the child’s personal and social confidence. The overall aspiration 
of the project is that mentor and children are able to make marked progress both inside and 
outside of school, and that a broader range of young adults will apply for higher education. 

Nightingale  provides  future  teachers  with  a  unique  opportunity  to  get  to  know  an  individual 
child (and his/her family) outside the classroom. During the whole duration of the programme, 
there  are  five  meetings  where  the  students  are  taught  certain  theoretical  topics  (such  as 
intercultural communication, individual perception, working with parents, etc.).  

Since  2007,  there  have  been  around  12  ‘tandems’  each  year  joining  Nightingale,  including 
around 80 students and 80 children having participated up to now. 

Evidence on effectiveness 

The  Nightingale  programme  was  found  to  have  the  potential  to  develop  student  teachers’ 
teaching-specific competences (Leutwyler, 2014a).  Interviews with former mentors show  that 
being a mentor had a great influence in their cross-cultural understanding and teaching style. 
However,  participating  in  the  mentoring  programme  does  not  automatically  lead  to  specific 
benefits. Teacher education needs to specify the learning opportunities and to guide reflections 
before, during and after the project, in order to embed it more clearly in the teacher education 
programme (Leutwyler, 2014a).  

1 See: www.nightingalementoring.org. Accessed 01.11.2016. 

8 

 
 
                                                            
Another  programme  evaluation  (Leutwyler  et  al.,  2014b)  showed  that  the  one-to-to  setting 
(one  mentor  with  one  child)  is  unique  and  very  valuable  for  the  mentors.  The  mentors 
explained the importance of this learning setting with reference to the exclusive focus on the 
child  and  its  development  in  an  extracurricular  context.  However,  the  data  also  showed  that 
there was no consistent strategy  on how  mentorship should perform,  and sometimes student 
teachers were unsure of their roles as mentors. Following the evaluations, reflective exercises 
(both  written  and  in  the  form  of  discussions)  on  the  development  of  student  teacher 
professional competences were introduced into the programme. 

The following table provides a comparison of three different approaches to capture the benefit 
of the programme for the mentors. 

The mentors’ motivation: 
ascribed potential 

Retrospective self-
reports: perceived 
benefits 

Hypothetical dilemma 
situation: Changes in 
intended reactions 

Benefits in terms of social insight  
•  interest  in  gaining  an  insight 
into  an  unfamiliar,  foreign  or 
new culture;  
• interest in gaining experiences 
in  dealing  with  people  from  a 
different  cultural  background 
than their own  
Benefits in terms of social and instructional skills  

• increased knowledge about 
unknown  cultural  and  social 
backgrounds  and  enhanced 
intercultural learning;  
•  increased  awareness  that 
context matters  

more 

• 
explicit 
perception  that  a  specific 
action  can  have  very 
different  meanings 
in 
different contexts 

to 

build 

•  motivation 
a 
relationship  with  one  individual 
child:  better  understanding  of 
how  children  think  and  what 
children like to do;  
• 
to 
expectation 
communication skills  

improve 

• better understanding of the 
‘children’s  world’,  of  their 
perceptions and interests;  
•  broader  experience  of 
communicating  with  parents 
–  especially  with  parents 
with  different  backgrounds 
than one’s own  

•  stronger  and  more 
explicit  consideration  of 
the children’s perspective  

Benefits in terms of self-esteem as future educators  

•  [no  respective  developments 
expected]  

•  increased  confidence  to 
establish  a  good  relation- 
ship  with  children  who  were 
unknown and unfamiliar  

•  clearer  position  about 
how to react  

Benefits in terms of personal development  

•  [no  respective  developments 
expected]  

• 
increased  reflection  on 
one’s  own  approaches  and 
prejudices; 
• 
tolerance, 
appreciation 
diversity  

openness, 
or 
cultural 

flexibility, 

increased 

of 

•  [no  respective  changes 
visible]  

Source: authors, adapted from Leutwyler et al. (2014b). 

The  interviewees  also  report  the  positive  impact  of  the  project  on  school  children.  Thanks  to 
Nightingale, they integrate more easily  in schools. This has a positive effect on their learning 
situation,  socialisation  and  cooperation  with  school  friends  and  classmates.  Pupils  lose  their 
fear  of  contact  with  external  (beyond  the  school)  facilities,  gain  confidence  and  get  higher 
aspirations about their future. They also improve their language skills, as they are supported in 
a  one-to-one  setting  by  the  students.  The  mentor  also  serves  as  an  important  cultural 
mediator for the parents.  

The cooperation with different stakeholders is one of the strengths of the programme. PH Zug 
works  together  with  a  local  school  and  the  Nightingale  Mentoring  Network,  which  supports 

 
 
 
 
annual conferences and international exchanges. 

However, the fact that the programme is not embedded explicitly in the ITE programme, and is 
not  mandatory  for  all,  affects  the  number  of  student  teachers  willing  to  act  as  mentors. 
Moreover,  due  to  the  full  timetable  and  a  high  work-load  of  student  teachers,  the  tandems 
sometimes have little time to organise joint activities frequently enough.  

Key success factors 

Strong  partnerships  are  key  success  factors  for  the  effective  implementation  of  the 
programme. Since Nightingale thrives on the relationships of the tandems, a good cooperation 
and information flow between all partners is important. The regular coaching for the students 
is  also  crucial  and  valuable.  The  students  have  to  be  motivated  to  reflect  their  work  and 
process. It takes a dedicated work of the project manager at PH Zug. The coordinator must be 
available  and  accessible  for  questions  of  the  parents,  children,  teachers  and  mentors.  This 
emphasises the importance of the commitment and competences of the project implementers. 
Moreover,  good  information  exchange  between  the  university  and  school  on  the  profiles  of 
participants help to match mentors and mentees in a better way.  

Specifying the learning opportunities and guiding students’ reflections before, during and after 
the project were emphasised by the evaluation studies as important factors to ensure an even 
higher impact on the mentors (Leutwyler et al., 2014a; 2014b).  

Transferability 

According  to  the  programme  coordinators  at  PH  Zug,  the  programme  could  be  transferred 
(with  small  adaptations  to  the  local  contexts)  quite  easily  to  other  institutions,  countries, 
target  groups,  etc.  In  Sweden,  for  example,  several  variations of  the  Nightingale  programme 
were  developed  (e.g.,  with  handicapped  children  or  refugees  as  mentees,  or  with  seniors  as 
mentors). 

References: 

References and list of interviews 

Leutwyler, B., Aegerter, M. & Meierhans, C. (2014a). ‘“Nightingale” in Teacher Education: A 
focus on the mentors. Learning processes and impact analysis’, La Famiglia, Vol. 48, No. 258, 
pp. 281-305. 

Leutwyler, B., Aegerter, M. & Meierhans, C. (2014b). «Nightingale» in Teacher Education: 
Program Evaluation. Research article. Zug: Institute for International Cooperation in Education 
at the University of Teacher Education Zug. 

Interviews: 

 

Former programme manager of the Nightingale mentoring and integration project 
(2010-2016) at PH Zug, Switzerland 

 

Principal for all schools of Zug, Switzerland 

  School coordinator of the school of Guthirt in Zug, Switzerland. The School of Guthirt is 

the cooperating partner of the Nightingale mentoring project in Zug.  

10 

 
 
 
 
 
Case  Study  2:  Cyprus  – 
intercultural dialogue in education’ (MIDE) 

‘Multi-perspectivity  and 

Context   

The project was designed by a bi-communal2 team of history educators and historians working 
for the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research3 (AHDR), an NGO created as a result of 
an inter-communal grassroots initiative for promoting critical historical thinking.  

Funding  came  from  UNDP-ACT  (Action  for  Cooperation  and  Trust)  and  USAID  (with  partial 
support  from  the  European  Commission  with  regards  to  the  project’s  research  component) 
(Councell, et al. 2013).  

The  project  targeted  educators4,  school  students,  policy  makers  and  academics  from  all 
communities  of  Cyprus.  It  lasted  27  months  and  was  discontinued  in  July  2013  when  the 
funding period ended.  

Short description 

The  MIDE  project  aimed  to  “address  the  needs  of  educators,  practitioners  and  other 
stakeholders  engaged  in  examining  the  linkages  between education  and  intercultural  dialogue, 
multi-perspectivity5 and co-operation”.  

The  physical  and  cultural  division  of  the  island  since  1974  has  reinforced  the  ethnic 
homogenisation  of  the  communities,  as  well  as  ‘ethnic  estrangement’  (Bryant,  2004).  This 
phenomenon  encouraged  nationalist  images  and  competing  versions  of  history,  identity,  and 
intended  futures  (Papadakis,  2003;  2006).  Educational  systems  have  always  been  separate 
(Trimikliniotis,  2004),  so  Greek  and  Turkish-Cypriot  educators  never  had  the  chance  to  be 
educated together. These separate education structures cultivated ethnic self-containment, and 
encouraged  dependencies  on  the  respective  ‘motherlands’  (Greece  and  Turkey)  for  policies, 
orientations, and teaching material (Koutselini-Ioannidi and Persianis, 2000).  

History  teaching  has  been  one-sided,  mono-perspective  and  monophonic,  overemphasising 
certain  events  and  silencing  other  (Papadakis,  2006).  Accordingly,  the  pedagogy  underpinning 
these  traditional  approaches  has  been  conservative  and  monophonic,  favouring  the  teacher-
centred  instruction  and  the  transmission  of  ready-made  knowledge  without  active  student 
inquiry and critical thinking. 

To address this gap, MIDE aimed to develop new education material and organise joint teacher 
education  seminars.  The  educational  material  produced  by  the  project  was  designed  having  in 
mind all communities of the island. Educational resources were made available in English, Greek 
and  Turkish.  For  the  first  time,  the  material  looked  at  social  history  and  oral  history,  and  the 
ways  in  which  different  ethnolinguistic  communities  used  to  live  together,  interact  and 
collaborate  on  the  island6.  The  material  produced  encouraged  multi-perspectivity,  included  the 
approaches  of  different  communities  and  actors  and  encouraged  a  critical  and  historically 

2  The  two  main  ethnic  communities  recognised  by  the  constitution  of  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  (1960)  are 
Greek-Cypriots  and  Turkish-Cypriots.  A  bi-communal  team  consists  of  members  from  both  communities, 
from both sides of the divide, south and north respectively. 
3 For more information see AHDR’s website: http://www.ahdr.info/home.php. Accessed 01.02.2017. 
4  Although  teacher  education  activities  were  not  especially  designed  for  the  purposes  of  ITE,  many  of  the 
educators  participating  in  the  seminars  were  either  (a)  undergraduate  students  of  education  departments 
north  and  south  in  their  final  years  of  study  or  (b)  graduates  from  education,  history  or  other  humanities 
and social studies departments that were not working in education yet, but were aspiring for an educational 
career. 
5  It  defined  multi-perspectivity  as  “an  approach  in  understanding,  which  takes  into  account  other 
perspectives  and  demonstrates  a  willingness  to  regard  a  situation  from  a  different  point  of  view”.  See: 
http://www.cy.undp.org/content/cyprus/en/home/operations/projects/action_for_cooperation_and_trust/m
ultiperspectivity-and-intercultural-dialogue-in-education--mide.html. Accessed 01.02.2017.   
6  It  is  also  important  to  note  that  the  aspects  of  Cyprus  past  that  were  under  investigation  were  not 
necessarily sensitive or controversial, enabling a first encounter with the approach without tensions. 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
sensitive engagement with these different voices and perspectives.  

Common  teacher  education  seminars  were  organised  for  Greek  and  Turkish  Cypriots.  These 
seminars  created  the  opportunity  for  them  to  work  together  in  the  same  sessions  and  discuss 
sensitive  issues  around  the  teaching  of  Cypriot  history,  as  well  as  their  own  perceptions  and 
difficulties in approaching such topics.  

Evidence on effectiveness 

The  main  outcomes  of  the  project  were  33  educational  booklets7;  more  than  600  teachers 
trained in all districts of the island; many outreach activities8; and a policy forum followed by a 
Policy Paper on Education9.  

Educational  authorities  on  both  sides  seem  to  have  gradually  adopted  the  idea  of  multi-
perspectivity10,  while  other  educational  actors  seem  to  have  started  using  the  idea  of  multi-
perspectivity both in the North and South in their rhetoric.  

Interviewees  emphasised  the  social  contribution  of  AHDR  and  the  MIDE  project.  It  helped  to 
legitimate  the  discourse  on  peace  and  reconciliation  within  Cypriot  educational  debates  in  the 
North  and  South,  has  created  a  space  and  a  community  of  like-minded  actors  and  has 
prevented public debates from sliding down to nationalism, prejudice and hostility.  

However, little has been achieved to mainstream the project booklets for teachers and student 
teachers  due  to  the  lack  of  collaboration  with  the  Ministry  of  Education,  which  would  be  in  a 
position to legitimate and mainstream the use of the material, fund its production and effective 
dissemination,  and  organise  extensive  teacher  trainings.  There  is  hope  that  with  the  ongoing 
peace  negotiations,  and  especially  with  the  establishment  of  a  bi-communal  Technical 
Committee  for  Education  in  order  to  discuss  matters  of  education  in  a  bi-communal  federal 
state, the atmosphere will become more conducive for this kind of material to be embraced by 
central educational authorities on both sides.  

Other factors that limited the effective implementation and mainstreaming of the project results 
included: 

 

Limited evaluation of impact: lack of a systematic evaluation of the extent to which the 
material  was  used  as  well  as  the  ways  in  which  it  was  used  and  the  impact  it  had  on 
changing established practices. The evaluation of the impact of the project would have 
been more meaningful and effective if it left considerable time for teachers to familiarise 
themselves and try out the material in their classes. 

 

  Not  enough  trainers:  most  of  the  actors  in  MIDE  and  the  AHDR  Board  were  already 
employed  full-time  and  had  to  work  in  their  free  time  to  prepare  the  educational 
material and conduct the training seminars. 
Preaching  to  the  choir:  people  who  are  interested  in  taking  part  are  usually  open-
minded teachers who have already embraced such ideas, in terms of teaching pedagogy 
and pro-reconciliation stances. 
Teachers’  resistance:  some  of  the  participating  teachers 
found  the  material 
controversial. In addition, mostly because of the traumas from the conflict, they did not 
feel ready to challenge the dominant narratives and methodologies in their classrooms. 
The role of the teacher trade unions: while in the North the teacher trade  unions were 

 

 

7 For a list of the supplementary educational material produced see: 
 http://www.ahdr.info/educational_materials.php. Accessed 08.11.2016. 
8 See for example http://www.ahdr.info/viewarticlesub.php?scid=25; 
http://www.ahdr.info/viewarticlesub.php?scid=65. Accessed 08.11.2016.  
9 See: http://www.ahdr.info/viewarticlecat.php?cid=38;  
and the video animation https://youtu.be/HP7zdLMprjU. Accessed 08.11.2016. 
10  See  for  example  the  yearly  objectives  of  the  Ministry  of  Education  and  Culture  for  2016-2017  at: 
http://www.moec.gov.cy/stochoi/index.html 
http://enimerosi.moec.gov.cy/archeia/1/ypp4467c. 
Accessed 08.11.2016. 

and 

12 

 
 
                                                            
particularly enabling (in terms of recruitment, dissemination, offering venues for events 
etc.), in the south, they appeared more reluctant.  

Although  the  work  undertaken  by  AHDR  was  truly  innovative  and  ground-breaking,  the 
successful  implementation  of  such  initiatives  depends  on  stakeholders  taking  seriously  into 
account the context in which the initiatives are to operate.  

in  Greek-Cypriot  education 
Research  has  shown  the  well-entrenched 
(Charalambous  2013,  Charalambous,  et  al.  2016;  Zembylas,  et  al.  2011a;  Zembylas,  et  al. 
2011b), which has taken decades to be established and become part of the pedagogic ‘habitus’ 
of teachers. It may take an equally long time to be undone and deconstructed. For this reason, 
such initiatives seem to require a more serious and long-term engagement with teachers so that 
trainings manage to be transformative in terms of beliefs, orientations and practices. 

‘conflict  ethos’ 

Key success factors 

This  first  organised  attempt  for  reforming  history  teaching  towards  the  direction  of  critical 
thinking  and  reconciliation  was  a  local  grass-root  initiative  (rather  than  a  top-down  measure). 
The  organisers,  peace  activists  from  the  North  and  South,  became  the  agents  of  change.  This 
was important for the relevance of the project to the needs of communities. 

The  project  evaluation  and  interviews  identified  the  following  success  factors  that  helped  to 
achieve the expected results and initiate the dialogue at the policy level:   

  Skilled and internally motivated people: all participants recruited for the activities were 
academically  skilled  and  had  a  genuine  interest  both  in  education  and  in  the  peace 
building process.  

  A culture of cooperation and dialogue: good collaboration between the members of the 

bi-communal team was important for the delivery of the project results. 

 

Local teachers taking part in the material production: this helped to make the material 
relevant for the local needs, problems and realities. 

  Effective and credible international partners: internationally recognised academics were 
involved in both the material production and the trainings in order to ensure academic 
quality, pedagogic effectiveness as well as lack of ideological prejudices. 

  Establishment  of  the  Home  for  Cooperation:  a  shared  ‘third  space’  in  the  buffer  zone 
that hosted the activities and provided visibility for the initiative. Furthermore, with the 
Home  for  Cooperation,  the  Association  has  a  permanent  and  visible  presence  and 
continuously  offers  programs  in  the  area  of  history  and  education,  which  also 
contributes to the sustainability of the produced results.  

Transferability 

The project could potentially be implemented at the national level if peace negotiations continue 
making  significant  progress  and  that  political  solution  to  the  Cypriot  conflict  is  found. 
Mechanisms  are  in  place  with  central  educational  authorities.  For  example,  ITE  programmes 
include courses on history teaching. The MIDE material and the methodology and epistemology 
that  underpins  it  could  be  part  of  these  programmes  and  inform  teacher  education  on  history 
teaching  and  learning.  Educational  authorities  could  collaborate  with  the  AHDR11  to  provide 
continuous  professional  development  (CPD)  opportunities  to  in-service  teachers  on  the 
principles of the disciplinary approach to history teaching, on the use of the material, as well as 
on other related issues (e.g. teaching sensitive subjects in education). The ministry also has the 
funding capacities to reproduce and disseminate the material to schools. Educational authorities 
could incorporate the ideas and approach of MIDE in the design of the history curriculum and on 

11 In recent years, the  ministry  has been more open to collaborate with NGOs for the  purposes of teacher 
trainings.  See  for  example  collaborations  about  gender  and  sexuality  with  NGOs  to  provide  teacher  and 
student training 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
the teaching of sensitive issues at school. 

Some  local  academics  in  education  departments  reported  that  they  use  the  material  produced 
as  examples  of  good  practices  when  they  teach  units  on  history  teaching,  nationalism,  or 
intercultural  education  to  train  undergraduate  student  teachers.  One  local  private  secondary 
school has made use of this material in the design of a course on Democratic Citizenship. 

Although the material developed is Cyprus-specific and conflict-specific, the philosophy behind it 
is based on the latest developments in history teaching and learning, and provides a model for 
working  on  cultivating  intercultural  dialogue  in  diverse  and  troubled  societies.  Other  contexts 
could  adapt:  1)  the  epistemology  and  methodology  of  history  teaching12)  the  process  of 
material development that goes hand in hand with teacher education seminars, where teachers 
are active agents; and 3) the way in which the material promotes intercultural dialogue through 
multi-perspectivity and evidence-based approach to history education. Contexts of conflict could 
especially  take  many  ideas  on  how  to  dismantle  a  division  through  transformative  historical 
knowledge in safe spaces of encounter and exchange 

References: 

References and list of interviews 

AHDR  (2013),  Evaluation  Report  2013:  The  Use  of  the  Ahdr  Supplementary  Material  by 
Educators:  Understandings,  Beliefs,  Teaching  Practices  and  the  Policy  Perspective.    AHDR: 
Unpublished report prepared for UNDP. 

AHDR (n.a.-a), Proposal by the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research on the Reform 
of  History  Education.    Association  for  Historical  Dialogue  and  Research.  Available  at 
http://www.ahdr.info/ckfinder/userfiles/files/AHDR_REFORM_PROPOSAL_ENGLISH(1).pdf  
(accessed 10.09.2016). 

Ahdr  (n.a.-b),  Undp-Act  Project  Document:  Multiperspectivity  and  Intercultural  Dialogue  in 
Education.    Unpublished  project  proposal  submitted  to  the  United  Nations  Development 
Programme. 

Bryant, R. (2004), Imagining the Modern: The Cultures of Nationalism in Cyprus. London; New 
York: I. B. Tauris. 

Charalambous,  C.  (2013),  "The  ‘Burden’  of  Emotions  in  Language  Teaching:  Negotiating  a 
Troubled  Past 
‘Other’-Language  Learning  Classrooms."  Language  and  Intercultural 
Communication 13(3): 310-329. 

in 

Charalambous,  C.,  M.  Zembylas  and  P.  Charalambous  (2016),  "Diversity  and  Conflict: 
Negotiating Linguistic, Ethnic and Emotional Boundaries in Greek-Cypriot Literacy Classrooms." 
Linguistics and Education 35: 50-62. 

Councell,  C.,  C.  Makriyanni  and  M.  O.  Samani  (2013),  Constructing  the  Ahdr  Supplementary 
Educational  Materials:  A  Journey  in  Cooperation  for  a  Better  History  Education.    UNDP-ACT. 
Available 
at 
http://www.ahdr.info/ckfinder/userfiles/files/PAPER_AHDR_MATERIALS_FINAL_June2014.pdf  
(accessed 10.09.2016), Nicosia. 

Koutselini-Ioannidi, M. and P. Persianis (2000), "Theory-Practice Divide in Teacher Education at 
the  University  of  Cyprus  and  the  Role  of  the  Traditional  Values  of  the  Orthodox  Church." 
Teaching in Higher Education 5(4): 501-520. 

Papadakis,  Y.  (2003),  "Nation,  Narrative  and  Commemoration:  Political  Ritual  in  Divided 
Cyprus." History and Anthropology 14(3): 253-270. 

Papadakis, Y. (2006), "Cyprus in Histories, Histories in Cyprus: Comparing Schoolbooks on the 
'History  of  Cyprus'."  Paper  presented  at  the  conference  Nationalism  in  the  troubled  triangle: 

12  For  an  introduction  to  the  theory  and  epistemology  underpinning  the  material  (disciplinary  approach  to 
history teaching), see http://www.ahdr.info/ckfinder/userfiles/files/MISSING%20PPL_S2.pdf.  

14 

 
 
                                                            
Cyprus, Greece and Turkey University of Cyprus, Nicosia. 

Trimikliniotis,  N.  (2004),  "Mapping  Discriminatory  Landscapes  in  Cyprus:  Ethnic  Discrimination 
in a Divided Education System." The Cyprus Review 16(1): 53-85. 

Zembylas,  M.,  C.  Charalambous,  P.  Charalambous  and  P.  Kendeou  (2011a),  "Promoting 
Peaceful  Coexistence  in  Conflict-Ridden  Cyprus:  Teachers'  Difficulties  and  Emotions  Towards  a 
New Policy Initiative." Teaching and Teacher Education 27(2): 332-341. 

Zembylas, M., P. Charalambous and C. Charalambous (2012), "Manifestations of Greek-Cypriot 
Teachers'  Discomfort  toward  a  Peace  Initiative:  Engaging  with  Discomfort  Pedagogically." 
Teaching and Teacher Education 28: 1071-1082. 

Zembylas,  M.,  P.  Kendeou  and  A.  Michaelidou  (2011b),  "The  Emotional  Readiness  of  Greek-
Cypriot Teachers for Peaceful Coexistence." European Journal of Education 46(4): 524-539. 

Interviews: 

  Current president of AHDR 
  Co-president of AHDR, Educational Director of MIDE II, teacher trainer, author of 

 

publications 
President of AHDR during MIDE I, author of MIDE proposal, author of publications, 
teacher trainer. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Case  Study  3:  Germany  –  Life  is  Diversity  (Leben  ist 
Vielfalt) Students’ network 

Context  

The  network  ‘Life  is  Diversity’  was  created  in  2011  by  a  group  of  student  teachers  and  teachers  in 
cooperation  with  the  ‘Network  of  teachers  with  a  migrant  background’  in  North  Rhine-Westphalia 
(NRW) (Netzwerk Lehrkräfte mit Zuwanderungsgeschichte) and the ‘Centre for Education Research and 
Teacher Education’ (Zentrum für Bildungsforschung und Lehrerbildung, PLAZ). The network, which has 
become a registered university group since 2016, is located at the University of Paderborn. Some of its 
activities are not limited to the university and reach out to the community and city of Paderborn. 

The main target group of the network is student teachers, but practicing teachers and other  relevant 
groups  such  as  university  staff  are  also  targeted.  The  network  was  initially  intended  for  student 
teachers with a migrant background, but it soon shifted its focus towards all students. 

Short description 

The  main  aim  of  the  network  is  to  appropriately  prepare  student  teachers  to  teach  in  diverse 
classrooms. Specifically, the network aims to: 

- 
- 
- 
- 

- 

help student teachers develop intercultural sensitivity; 
inspire ideas and promote the implementation of intercultural practices in schools; 
act as a network for student teachers who are interested in inter-culturality and heterogeneity; 
act as a forum for discussion and exchange about challenges and approaches in the teaching in 
diverse classrooms; 
provide student teachers with specific knowledge and practical experiences. 

The group initiates the exchange of information and experience about teaching in intercultural settings, 
and organises support measures for refugees. Activities performed by the Network include:  

- 

‘Practice  days  on  Intercultural  Classroom  Management  and  Inter-culturality  and  Language 
Support  in  School’.  During  these  days,  theoretical  and  practical  input  is  provided,  students 
practice  what  they  have  learned  in  ‘real-life’  settings  and  receive  feedback  from  peers  and 
lecturers); 

- 
- 
- 
- 

-  workshops  on  ‘Multilingualism  in  German  Language  Teaching’,  ‘Inter-culturality  and  Equity  in 
Education  in  the  German  School  System’,  ‘Training  for  Arguing  Against  Prejudices’,  ‘What 
Teachers  Need  to  Know  About  Islam’,  ‘Representations  of  Islam  in  Books  for  Children  and 
Young People’, ‘Intercultural Competences and their Relevance for Students and Professionals’, 
‘Teaching Concepts Against Exclusion’, ‘Social Work in Schools’. However, these workshops are 
non-obligatory for students; 
information Events on Teacher Internships; 
excursions to Mosques; 
lectures on Turkish-German Culture Contacts and on Religious Diversity wit role models; 
cooperation events with the Language Department of the University of Paderborn on language 
teaching; 
‘Diversity  days’  (i.e.,  days  or  evenings  that  are  dedicated  to  learning  more  about  other 
cultures,  exchanging  with  people  of  different  origins  and  learning  about  differences  and 
similarities); 
cooperation events with the Centre for Education Research and Teacher Training (Zentrum für 
Bildungsforschung und Lehrerbildung) on issues of inter-culturality; 
further  cooperative  activities  are  conducted  with  initiatives  such  as  Students  for  Refugees 
(Studies  für  Flüchtlinge),  Ment4You  –  Diversity  has  impact  (Ment4You  –  Vielfalt  wirkt)  and 
Project Teachers with a Migrant History (Projekt Lehrkräfte mit Zuwanderungsgeschichte); 
Tutoring for refugees and part time activities for children. 

- 

- 

- 

- 

Students  consider  the  network  as  an  opportunity  to  enrich  the  teaching  profession  through  their 
diverse  and  intercultural  competences  (PLAZ,  2011).  The  idea  of  the  network  was  born  by  the 

16 

 
 
coordinator who quickly found support from the Department of teacher studies.  

In 2016, the network was registered as a university group, which allows it to be more independent and 
visible and attract more students and supporters (University group Leben ist Vielfalt, 2016a). 

The  internal  commitment  and  interest  of  network  members  and  supporters  is  noteworthy.  Most 
speakers  and  lecturers  waive  their  fees,  and  Professors  of  the  University  of  Paderborn  contribute 
actively to workshops and lectures without  payment. As a University group, some funds are available 
through ASTA – General representation of students (Allgemeiner Studierendenausschuss). 

Evidence on effectiveness 

The  group  consists  of  about  15  members.  However,  fluctuation  of  members  is  high  because  new 
members join and others leave when graduating.  According to stakeholder opinions, the  network has 
enabled  the  development  of  student  teachers’  intercultural  sensitivity,  and  mutual  learning.  Through 
preparing  future  teachers,  the  network  also  contributes  to  the  design  of  schools  of  the  future  and  to 
more  equality  and  equity  in  the  education  system  (PLAZ,  2013).  The  network  enables  to  raise 
awareness  for  issues  of  diversity  and  inter-culturality  and  to  reduce  prejudice,  among  both  students 
and  university  staff.  E.g.,  Speakers  and  lecturers  use  the  discussion  material  in  their  seminars  and 
lectures, beyond the network activities. Furthermore, the network coordinator indicates that the range 
of students who are interested in topics of diversity and inter-culturality has been widening. 
The network has an indirect influence on the content of the programmes offered at the university. The 
initiative  offers  courses  that  can  be  credited  for  the  profile  studies  ‘Dealing  with  heterogeneity’ 
(Umgang mit Heterogenität) and is relatively flexible in the design of the courses.  
Feedback  from  different  informal  sources  indicates  that  students  consider  some  of  the  network 
activities as more effective for their preparation as a teacher than some of the seminars they attend at 
university  (University  group  Leben  ist  Vielfalt,  2016b).  The  network  provides  them  with  orientation, 
increases self-confidence and makes knowledge and information available to be directly applied in the 
classroom.  Furthermore,  it  strengthens  the  linkage  between  theory  and  practice  (University  group 
Leben ist Vielfalt, 2011).  
Despite  the  positive  results,  the  interviewees  also  highlighted  some  limitations  that  can  potentially 
hinder the effectiveness of the initiative:  

- 

- 

- 

Students are confronted with time pressure and stress due to the Bachelor/Master system and 
often lack the time to participate in additional measures; 
According to the network’s statuses, the board has to change frequently (once a year), which 
is difficult considering the amount of time invested in establishing the board and its structures; 
The high fluctuation of the members of the network is the main limitation to its sustainability. 

Key success factors 

The  relevance  of  the  network  to  the  needs  and  interests  of  the  students  is  important  for  its  success 
and  mainstreaming.  The  network  and  its  activities  are  developed  by  students  themselves,  they 
therefore  respond  directly  to  their  needs  and  expectations.  Furthermore,  dedication  and  commitment 
of its members and supporters has been crucial for effective implementation of the network activities 
and attraction of like-minded students.  
Besides  the  local  commitment,  external  support,  from  the  university  and  Centre  for  Education 
Research and Teacher Education (PLAZ) allowed network to be registered as official group and provide 
high-quality  content  and  professional  training.  Partnerships,  networking  and  strong  cooperation  with 
relevant stakeholders were also highlighted as important success factors.  
The  new  board  is  working  on  reaching  out  and  connecting  with  more  stakeholders,  especially  among 
other universities. Possible links with policy makers could be established within this process as well. In 
the future, to improve its impact, the network could offer more thematic events using different formats 
and invest more resources  in  dissemination and attracting more student teachers studying difference 
discipline (until now the main participants of the Network activities were students of German or social 
subjects).  

Transferability 

 
 
 
 
 
The  university  group  is  working  towards  a  stronger  cooperation  with  similar  groups  from  other 
university, and is pushing for the establishment of such groups at all universities of teacher education 
in  North  Rhine-Westphalia.  The  structures  of  teacher  education  differ  slightly  within  North  Rhine-
Westphalia  and  even  more  among  the  different  German  federal  states,  which  might  complicate  the 
transfer of the concept. At some universities, the network might only be relevant for Master students. 

The measure has not directly been transferred to other countries but it could easily be done, especially 
in countries with a large population diversity.  

References and list of interviews 

References 
PLAZ,  Successful:  2nd  day  of  practise  took  place  on  26  May  (Erfolgreich:  2.  Interkultureller  Praxistag 
fand am 26. Mai statt), Press release, 13.05.2013 

PLAZ, News from education science and teacher training at the University of Paderborn (Aktuelles aus 
Bildungsforschung Lehrerbildung an der Universität Paderborn), Issue 25, March 2012 

PLAZ,  ‘The  Network  of  student  teachers  with  and  without  a  migrant  background  was  born‘ 
(Studierendennetzwerk  von  Lehramtsstudierenden  mit  und  ohne  Zuwanderungsgeschichte  aus  der 
Taufe gehoben), press release, 8.11.2011. 

University  group  Leben  ist  Vielfalt,  Presentation  University  group  ‘Life  is  Diversity’  (Presentation 
Hochschulgruppe Leben ist Vielfalt), 2016a. 

University  group  Leben 
https://www.facebook.com/LebenistVielfalt/. Accessed 17.11.2016. 

ist  Vielfalt, 

facebook  presentation  and  postings,  2016b.  See: 

University  group  Leben  ist  Vielfalt,  Potentiale  gewinnen,  Ausbildung,  begleiten  Personalentwicklung 
gestalten [Foster potentials, mentor teaching, shape teacher development], Flyer information meeting, 
2011. 

University of Paderborn,  University group Life is Diversity (Hochschulgruppe Leben ist Vielfalt), 2016. 
Available  at:  http://plaz.uni-paderborn.de/lehrerbildung/besondere-angebote/mitarbeit-in-projekten-
und-netzwerken/studierendennetzwerk-leben-ist-vielfalt/. Accessed 17.11.2016. 

Interviews 

  Member of University group and director until July 2016 
  Member of University group and director since July 2016 
  Two members of the University group ‘Life is Diversity’ (Leben ist Vielfalt) 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Case  Study  4:  Germany  –  Multilingualism  in  teacher 
education (Mehrsprachigkeit in der Lehrerausbildung) 

Context  

The department of Diversity in Education research of the University of Hamburg is responsible 
for the design, development, and implementation of the University’s ‘Multilingualism in teacher 
education’ module, which has been guided by several key policy initiatives.  

At  national  level,  these  policy  initiatives  include  the  ‘Standards  for  teacher  education: 
education  science’  (Standards  für  die  Lehrerbildung:  Bildungswissenschaften)  of  the  Standing 
Conference  of  the  Laender  (Kultusministerkonferenz,  KMK),  and  their  recommendations 
regarding cultural and social diversity.  They also include diagnostic skills as key competences 
for  teachers  (Sekretariat  der  Ständigen  Konferenz  der  Kultusminister  der  Länder  in  der 
Bundesrepublik  Deutschland,  2004).  In  2013,  the  need  for  all  federal  states  to  include  and 
develop intercultural education in teacher education was re-emphasised by the new edition of 
the  KMK  recommendations  on  ‘Intercultural  education  and  training  in  school’  (Interkulturelle 
Bildung und Erziehung in der Schule) (Ständige Konferenz der Kultusminister der Länder in der 
Bundesrepublik Deutschland, 2013).  

At  federal  level,  the  2007  ‘Hamburg  concept  for  the  integration  of  migrants’  (Hamburger 
Handlungskonzept für die Integration von Zuwanderern) calls for intercultural education to be 
included  in  teacher  education.  It  also suggests  that  model  on  ‘German  as  a  second  language 
should’  should  become  obligatory  for  teacher  education  (Freie  und  Hansestadt  Hamburg, 
2007). This recommendation was reinforced by the 2013 ‘Hamburg concept for the integration 
of migrants’, which makes provisions for the systematic qualification of school staff for dealing 
with  cultural,  linguistic  and  social  diversity.  Preceding  this,  in  2006  the  Hamburg  Senate  also 
called for ‘Dealing with cultural and social diversity’ to become one of three obligatory priority 
themes in ITE (University of Hamburg, 2014; 2016).  

The main group targeted by the module are student teachers at Bachelor’s and Master’s level. 
The module was introduced gradually between 2000 and 2006, and has been available for  all 
students since the winter semester 2006/07 (University of Hamburg, 2016).  

The module on multilingualism in teacher education aims to: 

Short Description   

  prepare  student  teachers  for  their  future  work  in  diverse  and  multilingual  classrooms 
by  giving  them  the  opportunity  to  learn  about  and  deal  with  diversity  and 
multilingualism in an integrated way; 

  develop sensitivity to diversity-related issues; 
 
 

educate students about cultural diversity and multilingualism in Hamburg; 
raise  awareness  among  student  teachers  on  migration,  the  difference  between 
migration and multilingualism, and on the meaning of, and differences between, terms 
such as ‘foreigner’, ‘migrant’, ‘student with a migrant background’; 

  make  student  teachers  develop  a  positive  asses-based  perspective  on  diversity,  learn 

 

about approaches how schools can value diversity and make it visible; 
raise awareness among student teachers on the relevance of parental engagement and 
cooperation  with  parents  and  about  differences  in  educational  attainments  and 
transitions. 

The  ‘Hamburg  model  of  teacher  education’  (Hamburger  Modell  der  Lehrerbildung)  includes 
cultural  and  social  diversity  not  only  in  education  science,  but  also  in  teaching  didactics.  The 
issue  is  covered  in  four  different  Bachelor’s  and  Master’s  courses  for  primary,  secondary  and 
higher  secondary  school  teachers,  as  well  as  for  special  education  and  vocational  education 
teachers  (University  of  Hamburg,  2016).  Student  teachers  must  choose  two  out  of  the 

 
 
 
 
 
following three thematic areas:  

  Heterogeneity (about 60% of courses); 
  New media (about 20% of courses); 
  School development (about 20% of courses).  

Currently,  efforts  are  being  made  to  strengthen  the  area  of  inclusion  (by  incorporating  the 
teaching of students with learning disorders).  

In  order  to  strengthen  the  connection  between  theoretical  courses,  research  and  practical 
implementation,  research workshops  are  available to student teachers  during the second  and 
third  semesters.  The  seminar  takes  place  at  the  same  time  as  student  teachers’  school 
internships and focuses on different aspects of diversity.  

The  module  on  multilingualism  in  teacher  education  was  based  on  the  understanding  that 
every  student  teacher  needs  to  learn  about  and  deal  with  socio-cultural  diversity.  It  also 
recognised  that  isolated  seminars  are  insufficient  to  fulfil  this  need.  The  modules  were 
gradually introduced into Bachelor’s and Master’s courses in 2006. 

The University of Hamburg model differs from those found in other universities in its integrated 
and  voluntary  character.  In  most  universities,  intercultural  education  and  multilingualism  are 
taught in separate modules. The University of Hamburg considers that multilingualism is a key 
aspect  of  intercultural  education,  and  therefore  teaches  the  two  in  conjunction  with  one 
another.  

Before the systematic introduction of the modules, additional courses that dealt with diversity-
related  issues  (including  language)  were  already  available.  The  multilingualism  module  was 
implemented using the budget previously allocated for these courses, therefore, no additional 
funds  were  necessary.  Recently,  funds  from  the  ‘Quality  strategy  for  teacher  education’ 
(Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung’) have also been made available. 

Evidence on effectiveness 

Regular  assessments  among  student  teachers  reveal  that  more  than  60%  of  those  who  have 
participated  in  the  modules  feel  that  they  are  sufficiently  prepared  and  trained  for  issues  of 
diversity. Assessments carried out between 2012 and 2014 yielded the following results: 

  72  %  of  participants  fully  agreed,  and  23%  partly  agreed,  that  they  had  been 
introduced  to  the  meaning  of  linguistic,  social  and  cultural  diversity  of  students  in 
school through their studies; 

  23  %  fully  agreed,  and  50%  partly  agreed  that  they  were  able  to  enhance  their 

knowledge and competences on the topic of diversity and multilingualism; 

  68  %  of  students  said  that  getting  to  know  and  understand  other  cultures  was  very 

important for their future profession. 27% rated it as important. 

However, one of the limitations highlighted is that  these competences are of a rather general 
nature  and  participation  in  the  model  is  not  obligatory.  More  specific  skills  requested  by 
schools,  such  as  teaching  German  as  a  second  language,  are  still  missing  in  the  study 
programme.  Furthermore,  the  offer  of  the  module  at  Bachelor  level  is  weaker.  Students 
perceive that the intensity of the module is very high during two semesters of Master’s studies. 
They would consider it more effective to start more intensively at Bachelor’s level and spread 
out  courses  over  the  four  semesters  of  their  Master’s  studies.  Integrating  more  content  into 
the  Bachelor’s  course  would  enable  them  to  consider  and  integrate  diversity  issues  in  the 
internships too.  

Key success factors 

From the start of the module, the work of the Hamburg Commission for Teacher Education has 
been central. The political will, continuous support of and cooperation with the City of Hamburg 
was necessary for the systematic introduction and implementation of multilingualism in teacher 
education.  Available  research  evidence  on  benefits  of  diversity  and  societal  conditions  were 

20 

 
 
conducive to drawing attention to the need to qualify teachers for diverse classrooms. 

Other crucial success factors include:  

 
 

 

 

research findings that proved that a module of this kind was necessary and effective;  
expertise  at  the  University  of  Hamburg  (where  diversity  and  multilingualism-related 
seminars had already been offered before the implementation of the module); 
establishment of the respective provisions in the official regulations and documents of 
the University of Hamburg; 
the  practical  connections  of  the  module:  cooperation  with  schools,  internships  in 
schools. 

The  impact  of  the  module  could  be  improved  in  strengthening  specialised  modules,  such  as 
German  as  a  second  language,  which  are  requested  by  schools  but  are  currently  not  offered 
due to the integrated nature of the module. Another proposal is to increase the weight of the 
grades  for  diversity-related  courses  in  the  overall  grade,  which  would  create  additional 
incentive for students to attend the relevant courses.  

Transferability 

A  national-level  implementation  would  only  be  possible  through  individualised  models  that 
match  local  regulations  and  structures.  However,  what  applies  to  all  contexts  is  the  fact  that 
there  is  a  close  two-way  connection  between  teacher  education  and  politics.  The  current 
political landscape in Hamburg, where the need for expertise in issues of diversity in schools is 
commonly accepted, is considered to be supportive for the implementation of such  a module. 
The  module  has  not  been  transferred  outside  of  Germany  but  those  who  developed  it  made 
use of experience gained in the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands in multilingualism in teacher 
education. 

In Germany, regulations for higher education and teacher education differ in each federal state 
and  university.  This  limitation  could  be  mitigated  if  universities  willing  to  implement  the 
module  would  study  the  Hamburg  model  in  detail  and  match  it  with  their  regulations  and 
structures of teacher education. The module can be easily replicated if the political landscape is 
supportive enough. 

References 

References and list of interviews 

Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, Hamburg concept for the integration of migrants (Hamburger 
at: 
von 
Handlungskonzept 
http://www.afrikarat-nord.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Hamburger-Handlungskonzept-
zur-Integration.pdf. Accessed 17.11.2016. 

Zuwanderern), 

Integration 

Available 

2007. 

zur 

Hamburgisches Gesetz- und Verordnungsblatt, Law for the reorganisation of higher education 
regulations (Gesetz  zur Neuordnung  des Hochschulrechts),  HmbGVBl.  Nr.  26,  2001.  Available 
at: http://www.hof.uni-halle.de/steuerung/doku/HmbHG.pdf. Accessed 17.11.2016. 

Keuffer,  J.  and  Oelkers,  J.,  Final  Report  of  the  Hamburg  Commission  for  Teacher  Education 
called  by  the  Senator  for  School,  Youth  and  Vocational  Training  and  the  Senator  for  Science 
and  Research  (Abschlussbericht  der  von  der  Senatorin  für  Schule,  Jugend  und  Berufsbildung 
und  der  Senatorin  für  Wissenschaft  und  Forschung  eingesetzten)  Hamburger  Kommission 
Lehrerbildung, Beltz Verlag, 2011. 

Sekretariat  der  Ständigen  Konferenz  der  Kultusminister  der  Länder  in  der  Bundesrepublik 
Deutschland,  Standards  for  Teacher  Education  –  Educational  Science  (Standards  für  die 
Lehrerbildung – Bildungswissenschaften), 2004. Available at: 

http://www.kmk.org/fileadmin/Dateien/veroeffentlichungen_beschluesse/2004/2004_12_16-
Standards-Lehrerbildung.pdf. Accessed 17.11.2016. 

Ständige  Konferenz  der  Kultusminister  der  Länder  in  der  Bundesrepublik  Deutschland, 
Intercultural  education  and  training  in  school  (Interkulturelle  Bildung  und  Erziehung  in  der 

 
 
 
 
Schule), 2013. Available at: 

http://www.kmk.org/fileadmin/Dateien/veroeffentlichungen_beschluesse/1996/1996_10_25-
Interkulturelle-Bildung.pdf. Accessed 17.11.2016. 

University  of  Hamburg,  Multilingualism  in  teacher  education  (Mehrsprachigkeit  in  der 
Lehrerausbildung), 2016. See: 

https://www.diver.uni-hamburg.de/studium/mehrsprachigkeit_lehrerausbildung.html. 
Accessed 17.11.2016. 

University  of  Hamburg,  Multilingualism,  German  as  a  second  language  and  cultural  and 
linguistic  diversity  in  teacher  education  –  A  guide  through  the  studies  at  the  University  of 
Hamburg  (Mehrsprachigkeit,  Deutsch  als  Zweitsprache  und  der  Umgang  mit  kultureller  und 
sprachlicher Heterogenität in der Lehrerausbildung - Ein Wegweiser durch das Studium an der 
Universität Hamburg), June 2014. 

Interviews: 

 

Professor  emeritus  and  co-founder  of  the  module  on  ‘Mehrsprachigkeit  in  der 
Lehrerausbildung‘. 

  Current BA student teacher of the University of Hamburg. 
 

Former student teacher of the University of Hamburg, currently a teacher in Hamburg. 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Case  Study  5:  Denmark  –  Modules  on  ‘Teaching 
bilingual  children’  &  General  education/Christian 
studies, philosophy of life and citizenship  

  Measure  1:  Teaching  bilingual  children  (Undervisning  af  tosprogede).  Mandatory  10 
ECTS point module for Danish ITE teachers, and Merit teachers at all University Colleges 
in  Denmark.  Part  of  the  sub-area  ‘Pedagogy  and  Teacher  skills’,  which  is  part  of  the 
main area ‘Basic Professional Teacher Skills’.  

  Measure 2: General education/Christian studies, philosophy of life and citizenship (KLM) 
livsoplysning  og  medborgerskab,  KLM]. 
(Almen  dannelse/Kristendomskundskab, 
Mandatory 10-20 ECTS point module. Part of the main area ‘Basic Professional Teacher 
Skills’. 

Context   

Both measures were designed by the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science and the 
Ministry for Education and Research, and funded by the state. The module on ‘Teaching bilingual 
children’ has been implemented since 2014 (after the 2013 reform of Teacher Education). The 
module  on  ‘KLM’  has  been  implemented  since  2007  (following  the  2006  reform  of  Teacher 
Education).  It  is  intended  for  all  students  and  subsequently  all  school  children  in  Denmark  in 
primary and lower secondary schools (including private schools) (Order, 2013). 

Short description 

The  aim  of  the  module  on  ‘Teaching  bilingual  children’  is  to  prepare  all  future  teachers  in 
Denmark  to  teach  bilingual  children.  The  module  aims  to  prepare  future  teachers  to  identify 
educational  challenges  linked  to  second  (state)  language  in  the  teaching  of  subject  knowledge 
and  to  favour  bilingual  pupils'  linguistic  and  academic  development  in  linguistically  diverse 
classrooms (Order, 2013, Annex 1). 

The  module  on  ‘General  education/KLM'  aims  to  prepare  all  future  teacher  in  Denmark  to  be 
able  interpret  public  school  purposes,  the  development  of  professional  ethics  and  to  handle 
complex  challenges  in  the  teacher  work  in  the  context  of  cultural,  value-based  and  religious 
diversity. It aims for future teachers “in a nuanced and reflective way, (…) to relate to ethical, 
political, democratic and religious challenges associated with education, parent involvement and 
school in a globalised society” (Order, 2013, Annex 1).  

Both measures are mandatory at all university colleges providing ITE in Denmark. However, due 
to  the  autonomy  of  methodological  approaches  in  higher  education,  the  way  the  activities  and 
lessons  are  carried  out  differ.  Module  descriptions  and  lesson  plans  differ  between  university 
colleges and teacher educators.  

Bigger university colleges in Copenhagen and Aarhus tend to focus on preparing future teachers 
to working with bilingual children explicitly (for example second language acquisition, language 
development of pupils with various mother tongues; language support and awareness in subject 
disciplines as Math, English, Social Sciences; culture education). On the other hand, university 
colleges  in  other  parts  of  the  country  focus  on  broader  issues,  such  as  parent-teacher 
collaboration  (VIA  UC  2016a).  According  to  interviews,  this  variation  is  partly  due  to  the 
autonomy of each university college, to a smaller share of migrant children in rural areas and to 
lack of teacher staff educated in bilingual teaching in some colleges (Order, 2013). 

  Module 1: ‘Teaching bilingual children’  

Through  lectures,  group  work,  case  studies,  classroom  discussions,  hands-on  techniques,  the 
module  focuses  on  “the  development  of  inclusive  educational  and  didactic  practice  in  which 
Danish as a second language is a dimension of the learning processes in all subject teaching in 
primary  and  lower  secondary  school  education”  (VIA  UC  2016a:  15).  Linguistic  and  cultural 

 
 
 
 
 
diversity is taken as a condition and resource in schools. The module’s objectives are: to work 
with  “bilingualism,  second  language  acquisition  and  inter  language  analysis,  language  as  a 
learning tool in school subjects, language tutoring, intercultural education” in order for student 
teachers to integrate language didactic reflections in theory and practice (Ibid.). 

Preparation  for  teaching  bilingual  children  is  a  goal  in  teacher  education  since  the  mid-1990s. 
However,  findings  from  evaluations  and  investigations  showed  that  many  teachers  working  in 
the  Danish  schools  were  not  sufficiently  prepared  for  teaching  bilingual  children  (Danmarks 
Evalueringsinstitut,  2007;  SFI,  2012).  On  that  basis,  in  2013  it  became  mandatory  for  all 
students  in  ITE  to  attend  the  module  ‘Teaching  bilingual  children’  (Order,  2013).  According  to 
interviews  and  evaluation  reports  (Danmarks  Evalueringsinstitut,  2007;  SFI,  2012),  the  main 
resources needed for a good implementation of the module are:  

a)  Well-educated  teacher  educators:  since  2016,  teacher  educators  are  obliged  to  have 

teaching experience; 

b)  Support at managerial level at all university colleges in Denmark; 

c)  Development  of  resource  materials  (according  to  interviews,  no  resource  book  has  yet 

been developed and published); 

d)  Teacher educator training courses at regional and national level. 

  Module 2: ‘General education/KLM’ 

The  module  is  based  on  lectures,  group  activities,  tutorials,  presentations  (VIA  UC,  2016a).  It 
aims to introduce student teachers to “an analysis of democracy and citizenship in the history of 
ideas,  the  formation  of  theoretical  and  professional  ethical  perspective”  (Ibid.).    The  module 
focuses  on  students'  efforts  to  deal  with  the  school's  values  and  relate  them  to  the  teaching 
profession with respect for cultural and religious diversity (Ibid.). 

In  contrast  to  the  module  on  ‘Teaching  bilingual  children’,  more  resource  books  are  published 
and available for teachers teaching General Education/KLM (Bogish & Kornholt, 2013; Bækgaard 
& Bækgaard, 2014). According to interviews, many teacher educators teaching this module are 
using  the  same  textbook  (Bækgaard  &  Bækgaard,  2014),  however,  focus  on  different  issues 
depending on the class needs. The resources needed for are the same as for module 1.  

Evidence on effectiveness13 

While  Module  1  has  not  yet  been  evaluated14,  Module  2  was  evaluated  in  2011  by  the  Danish 
Evaluation  Institute  (Danmarks  Evalueringsinstitut/EVA,  2011).  The  evaluation  concluded  that 
main intentions had only been achieved to a certain degree. 51 % of teacher educators teaching 
General  Education,  (including  KLM)  perceive  the  introduction  of  the  subjects  as  positive  or 
mainly  positive,  whereas  61  %  of  other  teacher  educators  perceive  the  introduction  of  these 
subjects  as  positive  (Ibid.).  Many  university  college  teacher  educators  consider  the  general 
teaching professional skills in particular (including KLM) as insufficient for future teachers to be 
appropriately prepared for the teacher profession (Ibid). 

According  to  an  interview  with  a  student  teacher  from  VIA  university  college  who  has 

13 It  should be  noted that  the measures  described here, in particular with respect  to  measure 1,  have not 
yet  been  evaluated  at  national  level.  Neither  has  a  cohort  of  ITE  students  finished  the  newly  invented 
Measure  1  (Order  2013).  This  means  that  the  evidence  of  the  appropriateness  of  these  two  measures  for 
preparing future ITE students for the multilingual classroom is limited. 
14  Measure  1  has  not  yet  been  evaluated  at  the  national  level  due  to  the  relatively  new  invention  of  the 
measure being made mandatory. Furthermore, the teacher educators and students interviewed in this case 
study  are  representing  an  “urban”  university  college  in  Aarhus,  where  the  percentage  of  migrant  and 
refugee  children  –  similarly  to  the  capital  Copenhagen  -  is  high.  Therefore,  the  awareness  about  the 
necessity  of  teaching  and  preparing  future  ITE  students  for  multicultural  classrooms  is  very  high  amongst 
both teacher educators and students. In comparison, at other university colleges in the Northern/Southern 
part  of  Denmark  where  the  density  of  migrant  children  is  smaller,  the  awareness  of  the  necessity  for 
preparing future ITE students for a multicultural classroom – at a management level – is much smaller (see 
UCL, 2016; Interviews) 

24 

 
 
                                                            
participated  in  the  module  ‘Teaching  bilingual  children’,  it  provided  her  with  “huge  learning 
outcome”, “hands-on techniques, methods, training and practical knowledge about how to teach 
bilingual children”. Being asked about the module “General culture”, mandatory during the first 
year  of  ITE,  the  same  student  stated  that  it  was  “fundamental  in  developing  [herself]  as  a 
teacher being able to deal with diversity, cultural encounters, inclusive classrooms, cooperation 
with parents from various cultures, ethics, etc.” 

Strengths of the projects: 

  Module  1:  The  mandatory  nature  of  the  module  is  important  so  that  all  future  ITE 
student must learn how to take account of the background (linguistically and culturally) 
of all children in the multilingual classroom.  

  Module 2: According to interviews, measure 2 prepares ITE students for future diversity 

in school in broad and general ways.  

Areas for improvement: 

  Module  1:  Interviews  highlighted  that  a  10  ECTS  module  is  too  little  for  future  ITE 
student/teacher  in  primary/lower  secondary  school  to  be  adequately  prepared  for  a 
multicultural classroom. 

  Module  2:  According  to  interviews,  the  focus  on  diversity  and  culture  clash/encounters 
was  only  one  part  of  the  measure,  in  which  ethics,  and  more  general  knowledge  was 
also  in  focus.  One  weakness  might  be  that  individual  teacher  educators  put  less 
emphasis to diversity rather than to ethics and moral education, including Christianity. 

There  is  little  evidence  on  the  sustainability  of  both  measures.  Although  the  module  ‘Teaching 
bilingual  children’  has  been  made  mandatory  only  since  2013,  the  module’s  sustainability  is 
closely linked to a range of increasing challenges in the Danish primary/lower secondary school, 
in  particular  the  increasing  number  of  children  with  different  ethnic/migrant  background. 
Despite  political  parties  opposing  migration  to  the  country,  there  is  acknowledgement  and 
support  from  the  state  regarding  the  necessity  of  integrating  the  existing  migrant  children  in 
primary school and lower secondary school (in total 12%) (Danish Ministry of Education, 2015; 
Danmarks Evalueringsinstitut, 2007; SFI 2012).  

Most  policy  in  Denmark  is  based  on  evaluations  and  scientific  evidence.  As  teaching  bilingual 
children has been a focus point for many decades, presumably only future evaluations pointing 
to limitations of the measure could cause changes in this measure. 

Key success factors 

The following key success factors can be highlighted for both measures: 

a)  Well-educated university college teacher educators; 
b)  Support  at  managerial  level  at  all  university  colleges  in  Denmark,  (not  only  in  the 

biggest cities of the country, but also in more rural areas); 

c)  Development of resource materials for teaching the subject at university colleges; 
d)  Teacher educator training courses –  at regional and – in particular – national level; 
e)  Supervision and training of teacher educators at University Colleges; 
f)  Clear professional requirements for university college teacher educators. 

The  differences  in  implementation  of  the  mandatory  modules  in  various  areas/university 
colleges  of  the  country  limit  the  sustainability  of  positive  outcomes  of  both  measures 
nationwide.  In  particular,  the  lack  of  well-educated  professional  teachers  in  smaller  ITE 
providers is a limitation. A stronger focus from university college management at all university 
colleges on teaching bilingual and multilingual children could improve the uptake of the modules 
nationwide. 

Module  1  could  easily  be  adapted  to  other  education  systems  and  contexts.  The  rationale  for 
developing  this  module  is  partly  based  on  international  research  and  studies  on  Second 

Transferability 

 
 
 
 
Language  development  and  acquisition  (e.g.  in  the  framework  of  TESOL).  Many  European 
countries have their own  national language research studies on  this subject.  Local researchers 
on second language acquisition may be used as partners in developing a mandatory module in 
each country.  

Module 2 could be adapted to other education systems and countries with some modifications. 
As  the  ideas  and  thinking  in  this  module  are  similarly  based  on  a  common  European  research 
knowledge,  it  might  be  possible  to  adapt  this  module  to  a  common  European  context.  The 
specific focus in Denmark on teacher collaboration with parents may be new to many European 
ITE  systems.  However,  it  is  very  likely  that  many  obstacles  can  be  overcome,  if  a  trans-
European working group could be established. 

References  

References and list of interviews 

Act  (2006),  Act  no  579  from  09/06/2006 on  the  Bachelor’s  Degree  Programme  in  Education/ 
folkeskolen.  Available  at: 
Lov  om  uddannelsen 
til  professionsbachelor  som 
https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=25113. Accessed 09.11.2016. 

lærer 

Bogish,  B.  &  Kornholt,  B.  (eds.)  (2013),  General  education  across:  sociological,  historical  and 
philosophical  perspectives/  KLM  på  tværs:  Sociologiske,  historiske  og  filosofiske  perspektiver. 
København:  Samfundslitteratur. Available at:  http://samfundslitteratur.dk/bog/klm-p%C3%A5-
tv%C3%A6rs. Accessed 08.11.2016. 

Bækgaard,  H.  &  B.H.  Bækgaard  (2014),  Life  ideas/  Livsideer.  Herning,  Denmark:  Forlaget 
Systime. 

Danish Ministry of Education [Undervisningsministeriet]. (2015). Bilingual pupils. Requirements, 
goals,  content  and  organization/  Tosprogede.  Mål,  indhold  og  organisering:  Dansk  som 
andetsprog. Available at: http://uvm.dk/Uddannelser/Folkeskolen/Tosprogede/Maal-indhold-og-
organisering/Dansk-somandetsprog. Accessed 09.11.2016. 

Danmarks  Evalueringsinstitut  (2007),  Teaching  bilingual  pupils  /  Undervisning  af  tosprogede 
elever. København: EVA. Available at: https://www.eva.dk/projekter/2006/tosprogede-elever-i-
folkeskolen/tosprogede-i-folkeskolen-rapport-folder-ogbilag/undervisning-af-tosprogede-elever-
i-folkeskolen. Accessed 09.11.2016. 

Danmarks  Evalueringsinstitut 
Læreruddannelsens faglige kvalitet. 

(2011),  Professional  quality  of  Teacher  Education/ 

Hagen, N. (2016), Lesson plan, 13.07. [VIA UC, spring 2016]. Danish as a second language as a 
dimension in subject teaching/Teaching bilingual  children”/  Studieplan for  modul:  13.07 Dansk 
som andetsprog som dimension i skolens fag/undervisning af tosprogede elever. Unpublished. 

Order  (2013),  Order  no  231  from  08/03/2013  on  the  Bachelor’s  Degree  Programme  in 
Education.  [Teacher  in  primary  and  lower  secondary  schools]  /  Bekendtgørelse  nr.  231  af 
08/03/2013  om  uddannelsen  til  professionsbachelor  som  lærer  i  folkeskolen.  Available  at: 
https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=145748#Bil1. Accessed 09.11.2016. 

Order  (2016),  Order  no  1065  from  04/07/2016  on  job  structure  for  teachers  at  academies, 
university  colleges  and  Danish  School  of  Media  and  Journalism/  Bekendtgørelse  om 
stillingsstruktur  for  undervisere  ved  erhvervsakademier,  professionshøjskoler  og  Danmarks 
Medie- og Journalisthøjskole. Available at: 

https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=183358. Accessed 09.11.2016. 

SFI  (2012),  Initiatives  for  bilingual  children.  Mapping  and  analysis/  Indsatser  for  tosprogede 
elever.  Kortlægning  og  Analyse.  København:  SFI–  Det  nationale  Forskningscenter  for  Velfærd. 
Available at:  https://www.eva.dk/udgivelser/2012/indsatser-for-tosprogede-eleverkortlaegning-
og-analyse/view. Accessed 09.11.2016. 

UCL  (2015),  Curriculum  2015  Module  descriptions  Teacher  education  -  University  College 

26 

 
 
 
Lillebælt/  Studieordning  2015.  Modulbeskrivelser.  Læreruddannelsen  –  University  College 
Lillebælt. Available at: 

http://esdhweb.ucl.dk/941703.modulbeskrivelse%20studieordning%202015.pdf. 

Accessed 08.11.2016. 

UCN (2016), Module description. Basic Professional Teacher Skills: Pedagogy and teacher skills. 
Second  language  pedagogy.  University  College  Northern  Jutland/Modulbeskrivelse.  Lærerens 
grundfaglighed  –  Pædagogik  og 
lærerfaglighed.  Andetsprogspædagogik.  Available  at: 
http://www.ucn.dk/Files/Billeder/ucn/Uddannelser/L%C3%A6rer/Moduler-og-
fag/LG%20lm%20-%20Andetsprogsp%C3%A6dagogik.pdf. Accessed 08.11.2016. 

VIA UC (2016a), VIA Teacher Training Curriculum, VIA Teacher Training, Aarhus. Part 3: Module 
description 
– 
Læreruddannelsen Aarhus. Del 3: Modulbeskrivelsesdelen. 

Læreruddannelse.  Studieordning.  VIA 

Læreruddannelse 

section/VIA 

Interviews 

  University College Teacher at VIA University College Aarhus, Denmark. Teacher of 

Module 1 ‘Teaching Bilingual Children’.  

  University College Teacher at VIA University College Aarhus, Denmark. Teacher of 

Module 2 ‘General Education’.  

  Current ITE student, 4th year of ITE education at VIA University College Aarhus, who has 

passed measure 1 and measure 2 at VIA University College Aarhus. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Case  Study  6:  Spain  –  Tandem  Project.  Learning 
Service  Programme  (Proyecto  Tándem.  Programa  de 
aprendizaje servicio) 

Context  

The  project  is  led  by  a  team  composed  of  the  Director  of  Primary  Teacher  Degree  of  the 
University  Rovira  I  Virgili  in  Tortosa,  the  chief  of  the  Socio-educative  Department  of  the 
Generalitat of Catalonia and the responsible of the Socio-educative Service of the Ajuntament of 
Tortosa. University Rovira i Virgili, Generalitat of Catalunya and Ajuntament of Tortosa are co-
responsible for funding the Tandem programme. 

The  target  group  of  Tandem  is  university  students  in  the  Bachelor  degrees  of  Elementary  and 
Primary  Education,  and  vocational  education  students  in  the  Degree  of  Social  Integration.  The 
programme is elective for the students. The targets of the service were primary school students 
with difficulties for integration, especially newcomers from other countries. The Tandem project 
was first developed in 2010-11. In 2012, it was included in the learning service programme at 
University  of  Rovira  i  Virgili.  At  that  moment,  the  Learning  Service  Programme  has  become  a 
strategic objective for the university, and it was integrated in the Sociology Degree, Psychology 
Degree,  ITE  Degree  and  Socio-Educational  Degree.  The  implementation  is  undertaken  by  a 
‘promoting team’ composed of representatives of each of the three institutions involved. It was 
inspired  by  the  ‘Rusignol’  Project  developed  in  Girona  to  enhance  the  linguistic  integration  of 
newly  arrived  migrants  by  using  diverse  resources  available  at  the  city  (schools  and 
associations, among others). 

The project combines: 

Short description 

 

 

a  service  aimed  at  facilitating  social  and  cultural  integration  as  well  as  personal  and 
educational development of pupils with integration difficulties in schools in Tortosa;  
learning which aims to help  ITE students and vocational education students to develop 
competencies  through  reflective  practices  in  the  area  of  socio-educational  work.  The 
main competences to acquire are: to  

a)  design and implement teaching-learning processes in cooperation with other 

professionals and community social agents;  

b)  design  and  evaluate  learning  spaces  on  the  basis  of  diversity  recognition 

and focusing on equal opportunities and social justice;  

c)  assume the educational function of the community and the social contest of 
the students and their families in order to implement meaningful educational 
experiences. 

 

reflective practice put into action in each Tandem team composed of a tutor (teacher at 
the school), the university teacher and the student.  

The project’s main activities are based on establishing a tandem or partnership between one ITE 
student  and  one  vocational  education  student  that,  together,  mentor  two  children  at  risk  of 
social  exclusion.  The  tandem  is  created  by  the  tandem  supervisors  (University  teacher  and 
social agent of the association or school). They design a programme with personalised activities 
in  collaboration  with  various  educational  and  social  agents  in  the  city  of  Tortosa.  The 
partnership lasts six months (one academic semester). School teachers or social educators and 
act  as  tutors  for  every  single  tandem.  Diversity  is  the  focus  subject  during  the  project.  The 
tandem works follows an intercultural approach to deal with diversity and consider diversity as 
normality resource. A strong effort is made to avoid stigmatisation based on nationality, religion 
or language. 

The  cooperation  among  three  institutions:  the  university,  the  Council  Government  and  the 
Government  of  Catalonia  is  an  important  element  of  the  programme.  The  university  provides 

28 

 
 
 
 
the student teachers involved in the project and their knowledge and teaching time; the Council 
Government  and  the  Generalitat  provides  the  participation  of  primary  and  secondary  schools, 
vocational and training centres located  at  the city  of  Tortosa and around.  There  have  been  82 
mentors  (teachers  at  schools)  and  124  ITE  students  participating  in  the  project.  All  eight 
primary schools of the city participate in the project.  

Evidence on effectiveness 

The main results of the Tandem project include: 

 

 

social  and  cultural  integration  and  personal  and  educational  development  of  pupils  in 
schools of Tortosa; 
improved  skills  and  competences  of  ITE  students  in  dealing  with  pupils  from  diverse 
background.  

The  annual  evaluation  results  show  a  very  high  level  of  satisfaction  of  students,  families, 
children,  mentors  and  tutors.  Three  kind  of  indicators  are  used  to  evaluate  the  project: 
objectives  achievement,  personal  satisfaction,  social  impact.  Students  were  motivated  and  felt 
they  grew  professionally.  Furthermore, 
interdisciplinary  work  (involving 
collaboration  with  teachers  and  social  educators),  and  the  link  between  theory  and  practice. 
Teachers at the schools and vocational centres valued the cooperation with the university staff 
and  the  opportunity  to  develop  activities  in  collaboration  with  other  associations  and  keep 
reflecting about their own practices.  

they  valued 

The  main  strengths  of  the  project  are  the  high  level  of  involvement  of  the  participants  (in  the 
three  institutions),  the  improved  competences  of  ITE  students,  and  the  high  cost-benefit  rate. 
The initiative could be improved by including a more systematic evaluation of the ITE students’ 
learning process and results.  

The  stable  priorities  and  cooperation  between  partners  also  positively  affects  sustainability  of 
the  programme.  The  available  resources  are  integrated  in  the  common  budget  of  each 
institution  and  the  skills  gained  by  the  participants  are  recognised  as  part  of  their  teacher 
profile. Sustainability of the project has been  also possible thanks to personal and institutional 
engagement and political support.  

Key success factors 

Political  support  from  the  local  and  regional  authorities,  university  management,  stable 
participation of schools and associations were the main success factors. The middle-sized town 
where the programme has been implemented facilitates contacts and trust among the different 
actors.  

The  clear  distribution  of  tasks  among  the  promoting  team  and  the  Tandem  groups  is  another 
crucial element for the effective implementation of the project. The promoting team designs and 
plans  the  project,  teaches  student  teachers,  contacts  and  disseminates  the  project  in  the 
schools and vocational centres, provides tutoring to Tandem teams, and evaluates the project. 
The  Tandem  teams  undertake  interviews  with  the  centres  and  school  responsible  staff 
members,  establish  the  agenda  and  calendar,  develop  the  activities,  keep  contacts  with  the 
families, and participate in the evaluation process. 

The  impact  of  the  programme  could  be  improved  by  incorporating  new  schools,  vocational 
centres and associations in the city. More spaces in the university, grants for students who wish 
to  become  mentors  in  the  programme  could  improve  the  effectiveness  of  the  project  as  well. 
According  to  the  Primary  Teacher  Education  Degree,  it  would  be  important  to  include  some 
others  subjects  as  part  of  the  programme  (e.g.  a  deeper  critical  reflection  about  diversity  and 
inequality, equity of opportunities and socio-political context). For the moment, Tandem is just 
developed in the subject ‘Family, Society and Education’, that is compulsory for all students. 

Transferability 

 
 
 
 
The initiative is local but there are diverse examples of similar programmes developed in other 
Spanish regions. Service learning as a methodology has been incorporated in some universities 
in Spain (not only for ITE students), and in some secondary schools in collaboration with social 
agents.  There  is  a  national  network  for  Service  learning15,  and  regional  networks  in  various 
regions in Spain.  

Spanish  Universities  are  autonomous  when  making  decisions  about  methodology,  therefore  it 
would  be  possible  to  introduce  this  practice  at  the  national  level.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
autonomy  of  each  University  limits  the  possibility  of  a  general  implementation.  This  decision 
depends on each ITE providers and specifically on each Faculty of Education. 

The  main  limitation  for  transferability  derives  from  the  real  opportunities  and  mechanisms  for 
cooperation among diverse institutions, specifically local or national authorities and universities. 
Some  resistances  to  transform  traditional  methodologies  developed  in  ITE  still  exist  in  some 
regions.  For  the  Service  learning  programmes  to  be  successful  it  is  important  to  introduce 
innovative methodologies based on reflective practices and cooperation with other social agents 
in the community.  

These  limitations  can  be  overcome  by  including  this  programme  as  part  of  the  strategic 
objectives of the institutions, and undertaking training programmes for university teachers and 
responsible staff, to link the experience with other examples (Service learning Network).  

References and list of interviews 

References 

Marquès  i  Banqué,  María.  (2014).  La  dimensión  docente  de  la  Responsabilidad  Social 
Universitaria:  la  institucionalización  del  aprendizaje  servicio  en  la  Universitat  Rovira  i  Virgili.  I 
Jornadas Internacionales sobre Responsabilidad Social Universitaria Cádiz, 20-21 de febrero de 
2014. Available at: 

http://www.urv.cat/media/upload//arxius/Aprenentatge%20Servei/MMarques-%20RSU%20-
%20APS.pdf. Accessed 09.11.2016. 

Universitat Rovira i Virgili (2014). Proyecto Tàndem - Programa de Aprendizaje Servicio.  

Proyecto  Tàndem  -  Programa  de  Aprendizaje  Servicio.  Universitat  Rovira  i  Virgili.  See: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr0U0Nh9kgw. Accessed 09.11.2016. 

Interviews: 

  Director of Primary Education Teacher Degree (University Rovira i Virgili). 
  Responsible of Department of Education (Generalitat de Catalonya) 
  Director of Pedagogical Service of Baix Ebre (Local Government) 

15 https://aprendizajeservicio.net/  

30 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Case Study 7: Ireland – The DICE Project  

Context  

The DICE Project16 is a collaborative partnership between five Irish higher education institutions 
(HEIs)  providing  ITE  at  primary  level:  the  Church  of  Ireland  College  of  Education;  Froebel 
Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education, Maynooth University; Marino Institute of 
Education; Mary Immaculate College, Limerick; and St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra17.  

DICE  is  a  national  education  initiative  which  promotes  and  supports  the  integration  of 
development  education  (DE)  and  intercultural  education  (ICE)  within  ITE  programmes  at 
primary  level  and  across  all  relevant  areas  of  the  primary  school  curriculum  (DICE  Project, 
2014).  It  aims  to  equip  student  teachers  with  the skills,  knowledge  and values  necessary  to 
integrate development education and intercultural education into their classroom practice. 

The  project  commenced  with  a  pilot  phase  in  2003,  and  continued  to  be  funded  on  a  multi-
annual  basis  thereafter  with  a  view  to  integrating  development  education  and  intercultural 
education into ITE programmes. Phase 1 (2004-2007) focused on assisting colleges of education 
to  integrate  and  embed  development  and  intercultural  perspectives  in  the  preparation  of 
primary  school  teachers.  In  Phase  2,  the  DICE  core  project  was  designed  as  a  major  step 
towards  embedding  development  education  and  intercultural  education  in  ITE.  Phase  3  of  the 
project  was  implemented  over  four  years  (2010-14)  and  included  a  number  of  specific 
objectives  (see  below)  (DICE  Project,  2014).  The  next  project  stage  builds  on  the  previous 
phases  and  aims  at  enhancing  the  sustainability  of  DE  and  ICE  in  teacher  education 
programmes.  

The Project is funded by Irish Aid (DICE Project, 2014). The participating HEIs may have other 
funding  streams  to  complement  Aid.  Some  funding  also  comes  from  the  NGO  Trócaire18. 
Funding  is  utilised  for  the  administration  of  the  project,  in  employing  DICE  lecturers  in  the 
partner  institutions,  in  implementing  awareness  raising  and  engagement  activities,  and  in 
research. There are part-time and full-time lecturers employed in each of the five participating 
institutions. The DICE project is implemented across all state-funded providers of ITE at primary 
level in Ireland (and one private provider). The partner institutions work towards the same aims 
and  objectives  and  share  common  values,  however  the  specific  programmes  vary  in 
implementation.   

The strategic aims of the DICE project are to: 

 Short description 

1.  Support  students  graduating  from  ITE  to  have  good  knowledge  and  understanding  of 
development  education  and  intercultural  education,  and  to  be  motivated  and  equipped 
with the pedagogic skills to teach these two subjects effectively; 

2.  Influence  the  development  education  and  intercultural  education  policy  agenda  and 
practice in Ireland, including the implementation of the National Strategy on Education 
for Sustainable Development; 

3.  Explore  opportunities  for  synergies  and  coherence  with  post-primary  level  education 

within the new institutional configurations for ITE; 

4.  Enhance  the  sustainability  of  development  education  and  intercultural  education  in  ITE 

across all public providers (DICE Office, 2014).  

16 See: http://www.diceproject.ie/ 
17 In September 2016, the Church of Ireland College of Education and St  Patrick’s College Drumcondra will 
be incorporated into Dublin City University’s (DCU) Institute of Education. DCU will become the host of the 
project. 
18 Trócaire is an Irish charity and the overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland. They 
work with partners in over 20 countries in the developing world to empower communities to improve their 
lives,  meet  their  basic  needs  and  ensure  their  human  dignity.  In  Ireland,  they  raise  awareness  about  the 
root causes of poverty and injustice, and advocate for change. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
The main activities centre around providing instruction to student teachers at primary level on a 
range  of  issues  within  broader  spheres  of  development  and  intercultural  education.  Other 
activities include: 

Provision of continuous professional development (CPD) for staff in all institutions;  
Proactive engagement with various key stakeholders;  

  Raising the visibility of development and intercultural education within ITE and broadly;  
  Engage with policy makers;  
 
 
  Holding events and summer schools (participants include teachers or teacher educators 
who  are  interested  in  these  two  broad  areas)  within  the  areas  of  development  and 
intercultural education. 

One  of  the  key  features  of  the  programme  is  the  cross-curricular  approach  used  within  the 
centralised  Primary  School  Curriculum.  In  order  to  successfully  achieve  this,  the  designated 
DICE  lecturing  staff  work  collaboratively  with  colleagues  from  a  broad  range  of  disciplines. 
Opportunities  for  professional  development  of  lecturers  from  other  disciplines  are  offered 
through seminars, conferences and collaboration with DICE lecturers. DICE runs seminars each 
year in the partner institutions based on identified professional development needs.  

The capacity building among staff across partner institutions has contributed to the wide reach 
of  DICE  and  to  its  penetration  within  a  broad  range  of  ITE  modules.  The  professional 
development  of  lecturers  from  other  curricular  areas  is  provided  by  the  DICE  team  who  have 
prepared materials for that purpose.  

Education for social justice was developed in collaboration with Irish Aid to assist new teachers 
in  how  to  address  diversity  in  classrooms  and  develop  skills  on  how  to  teach  global  and 
intercultural  issues  appropriately.  According  to  interviews,  intercultural  education  provided  a 
good basis for teachers to extend their learning into exploring broader global issues that are at 
the heart of development education. All ITE programmes have to be accredited by the Teaching 
Council.  One  of  the  learning  outcomes  set  by  the  Teaching  Council  for  graduates  of  ITE 
programmes is to have sufficient knowledge on inclusion and diversity19.  

In  addition  to  ITE,  young  student  teachers  need  to  go  through  induction  and  probation.  This 
determines how prepared they are for taking up teaching. Participation in induction programmes 
is  a  requirement  for  all  newly  qualified  teachers  who  completed  their  teacher  education 
qualification20.  The  DICE  project  also  provides  continuous  professional  development  in  areas 
such as development education and intercultural education.  

Evidence on effectiveness 

The  main  result  of  the  DICE  project  is  that  development  and  intercultural  education  are  now 
integrated  into  ITE  programmes  (both  at  undergraduate  and  postgraduate  level)  for  primary 
school teachers across all HEIs offering ITE at primary level. Other results include: 

1.  approximately  8,000  student  teachers  completed  modules  in  development  education 

and intercultural education since 2013; 

2.  clear  visibility  of  development  education  and  intercultural  education  in  the  programme 

frameworks of the new 4-year Bachelor of Education (Bed) programmes; 

3.  the  integration  of  development  education  and  intercultural  education  across  a  wide 
range  of  curricular  areas,  including  SPHE21,  Art,  Drama,  Maths,  SESE22,  Foundation 
Studies and Religious Studies; 

4.  a varied programme of continuous professional development for staff in the participating 

19  See:  www.teachingcouncil.ie/en/Publications/Teacher-Education/Initial-Teacher-Education-Criteria-and-
Guidelines-for-Programme-Providers.pdf  
20 See: 
www.teachingcouncil.ie/en/Teacher-Education/Induction-Probation/Induction-Workshop-
Programme/Induction-Workshop-Programme.html.  
21 The Social Personal and Health Education 
22 Social, Environmental and Scientific Education 

32 

 
 
                                                            
5. 

institutions; 
increased  awareness  of  DICE  across  the  partner  institution  campuses,  through  a  wide 
range of activities and events focused on global and intercultural issues; 

6.  strengthened engagement with key stakeholders, emphasising the value and relevance 
of  development  and  intercultural  education  to  the  primary  curriculum  and  to  creating 
active global citizens23. 

The  DICE  Coordinator  considers  the  project  to  be  very  effective,  especially  in  integrating 
development  and  intercultural  education  into  the  programme  frameworks  of  the  B.Ed.  and 
Professional Master’s  in  Education  qualifications.  All  students  have  to  take  mandatory  modules 
on development and intercultural education (and possible additional specialised modules). This 
ensures that the DICE project has a sector-wide impact.  

The ultimate proof of the effectiveness of the programme at ITE level would be to  monitor the 
extent to which new teachers implement the knowledge in their own classrooms once they start 
teaching.  A  small-scale  study  by  Dillon  and  O’Shea  (2009)  showed  that  over  60%  of  new 
teachers  had  implemented  these  themes  in  their  teaching.  According  to  Fitzgerald  (2007)  the 
participants  in  DICE  were  more  likely  to  consider  the  delivery  of  a  global  dimension  in  ITE  as 
“very important” after participating in the modules. 

The  project  has  evolved  from  having  some  lecturers  visiting  colleges  providing  ITE  to  deliver 
lectures  on  development  and  intercultural  education  to  a  sector-wide  initiative  involving 
lecturers delivering the compulsory modules in each of the colleges. According to interviewees, 
the  perceived  weaknesses  of  the  project  arise  from  funding  cycles,  which  can  impact  staffing, 
planning and implementation, other forms of competition with other priority areas (e.g. literacy 
and numeracy), making it difficult to get more time for DE/ICE work.  

The  possibility  of  funding  for  DICE  lecturers  being  discontinued  is  another  potential  risk. 
Resources  in  the  Irish  HE  sector  are  currently  very  limited;  hence,  a  project  like  DICE  relies 
heavily on outside funding. Irish Aid that funds DICE is the Irish Government’s programme for 
overseas development, managed by the Development Co-operation Division of the Department 
of  Foreign  Affairs  and  Trade.  It  represents  government  funding  that  is  not  directly  meant  for 
ITE.  The  Department  of  Education  is  also  supportive  of  intercultural  education,  through  the 
Intercultural  education  strategy24.  However,  no  funding  has  been  available  to  further  develop 
this area. 

Key success factors 

While in some ITE providers at primary level, the lecturers involved in delivering DICE modules 
are  permanent;  in  others,  they  are  part-time  –  making  the  delivery  of  the  programme  more 
challenging.  Hence,  it  is  essential  to  deliver  CPD  to  a  broad  cohort  of  staff  so  that  there  is 
knowledge of the topic areas among a greater number of people ensuring that the modules are 
being  delivered;  rather  than  relying  on  one  person.  However,  the  DICE  project’s  emphasis  on 
professional  development  of  lecturers  from  other  curricular  areas  on  the  issues  of  DE/ICE 
enhances its sustainability, by developing educators’ capacity and creating a multiplier effect. 

The  collaboration  between  all  the  providers  of  the  ITE  at  primary  level,  and  continued  funding 
from the Irish Aid are also among the key success factors of the project’s continuity. The overall 
governance  of  the  project  involves  one  representative  from  each  institution  and  one 
independent Chair; their role is to ensure that all colleges are fully committed to the initiative, 
to  agree  the  overall  strategic  direction  of  the  project  and  to  ensure  effective  governance 
procedures are in place. According to interviews, an external evaluation of the DICE project will 

23 See: www.diceproject.ie.  
24 See: 
www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Information/Intercultural-Education-
Strategy/mig_intercultural_education_strategy.pdf  

 
 
 
 
                                                            
be carried out in Autumn 2016.  

The  DICE  network  engages  with  various  policy-makers  in  order  to  ensure  the  sustainability  of 
the initiative. The fact that the programme has been funded on a continuous basis for a number 
of years indicates that its importance has been recognised to the extent that students now have 
to  take  mandatory  modules  in  development  and  intercultural  education  when  preparing  to 
become primary school teachers.  

Policy  support  is  an  important  element  that  guarantees  the  sustainability  of  the  initiative.  The 
Teaching  Council  has  provided  guidelines  for  ITE  programme  providers,  which  recommend 
introducing subject knowledge and curriculum process and content on cross-curricular links and 
themes including citizenship; creativity; inclusion and diversity25. 

The  relative  smallness  of  the  ITE  sector  in  Ireland  ensures  smooth  collaboration  between  the 
providers.  While  continued  funding  and  integration  of  DICE  into  the  core  of  ITE  education 
indicate success, a longitudinal impact assessment would be useful to determine strengths and 
weaknesses of the initiative. Continued funding is essential for the sustainability of the initiative 
in future. 

Transferability 

While  DICE  is  a  national  initiative  involving  all  ITE  providers  for  primary  school  teachers,  the 
model may be of interest to other jurisdictions. It has been very successful in making sure that 
the  components  of  development  and  intercultural  education  are  mandatory  within  B.Ed. 
programmes and professional Master’s in Education. The structure of the programme framework 
could potentially be replicated elsewhere in primary ITE. Secondary level is different as students 
tend  to  be  trained  in  subject  specific  areas.  In  secondary  schools,  each  subject  teacher  would 
need a close collaboration  with colleagues  delivering teaching in  other subject areas to  ensure 
cohesive  approach  to  development  and  intercultural  education  provision.  The  nature  of  DICE 
means  that  it  is  best  applied  in  primary  schools  where  one  class  teacher  teaches  all  the 
subjects.  

One  key  aspect  is  the  collaboration  between  ITE  providers  in  the  DICE  Network.  Collaborative 
work  is  carried  out  in  research,  resource  development,  events,  exhibitions,  preparing  policy 
submissions  and  other  documents,  etc.  In  larger  countries,  this  sector-wide  initiative  may  be 
more difficult to replicate (DICE Office, 2014).  

References  

References and list of interviews 

DICE  Office  (2014),  DICE  Project:  Strategic  Plan.  Available  at:  http://www.diceproject.ie/wp-
content/uploads/2014/09/DICE-Project-Strategic-Plan-2014-16-240714.pdf. 
Accessed 
09.11.2016. 

DICE Project (2014), Good Practice in Development Education for Primary Schools. Available at: 
http://www.diceproject.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/SP-resourceWEB-FINAL.pdf.  Accessed 
09.11.2016. 

Fitzgerald, H. (2007), Analysis of the Impact of DICE modules in Initial Teacher Education  

On  Students’  Knowledge  and  Views  of  the  Global  Dimension  in  Education.  Available  at: 
http://www.diceproject.ie/docs/DICE_ReportStudent_Impact.pdf. Accessed 09.11.2016. 

Dillon,  S.,  O’Shea,  K.  (2009),  The  Impact  of  DICE  Courses  on  the  Inclusion  of  Development 
the  Primary  Classroom.  Available  at: 
Education  and 
in 
http://www.diceproject.ie/docs/FROM_THE_COLLEGE_TO_THE_CLASSROOM.pdf. 
Accessed 
09.11.2016. 

Intercultural  Education 

25  See:  www.teachingcouncil.ie/en/Publications/Teacher-Education/Initial-Teacher-Education-Criteria-and-
Guidelines-for-Programme-Providers.pdf.  

34 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
Interviews: 

  Coordinator of the DICE Project 
  DICE lecturer in one of the ITE providers at primary level 
  DICE lecturer in one of the ITE providers at primary level 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Case Study 8: Italy – Intercultural Education 
Laboratory (Laboratorio di educazione interculturale) 

Type of the measure  

In  2011,  the  Intercultural  Education  Laboratory  was  introduced  as  a  mandatory  activity  in  the 
course on ‘Interculturality and Playing’  offered  in the  Master’s  Degree in  Primary Education,  at 
the University of Genoa.  

About  80  students  attend  this  activity  every  year  (during  their  third  year  of  study).  One  third 
already has experience as substitute teachers in public or private school. 

The laboratory was first organised in 2013/14. The length of the activity is 16 hours, divided in 
eight  two-hour  sessions  (two  groups  of  30-40  students  each).  Funding  is  provided  from  the 
budget of the Master’s programme by the University of Genoa.  

Short description 

The  Laboratory  aims  to  make  students  aware  of  the  main  issues  related  to  the  integration  of 
children with a migrant/minority background in the classroom, and to improve student teachers’ 
intercultural  competences  and  capacity  of  learning  to  learn.  It  seeks  to  develop  a  critical 
mindset  to  examine  projects  and  pedagogical  approaches  carried  out  by  other  teachers  at 
school,  and  to  use  these  reflections  for  their  own  professional  needs.  The  Laboratory  also 
prepares student teacher for planning an intercultural activity in their future classrooms. 

Activities are organised in 3 phases:  

1)  Plenary  lessons  (including  courses  on  intercultural  education,  human  rights  education, 
cultural  anthropology,  social  nature  of  prejudice,  intercultural  sensitivity),  case  studies 
on  how  to  use  storytelling  and  biography  to  communicate  with  children  of  diverse 
background, etc.); 

2)  Group  work  sessions  (including  role  play  and  ‘emotion-centred  activities’  in  group 

analysis of school projects focused on active citizenship and global education);  

3)  Groups’ feedback in plenary session.  

The  main  strength  of  the  measure  is  its  practical  nature.  In  the  course  of  the  Laboratory 
activities the content of the ‘main’ course in Intercultural Education articulated around three to 
four  topics  (see  Portera,  2006;  2007;  2013),  is  translated  into  practical  formats,  confronting 
these with school projects and reports. Student teachers are trained to shape their intercultural 
mind-set  through  role-plays,  team  and  project  works,  and  public  presentation  of  the  output, 
which are useful ways to become aware of one’s own limits and attitudes. 

Across  ITE  providers,  the  Laboratory  can  be  implemented  differently.  According  to  Decree  No. 
249/2010,  each  university  has  more  autonomy  to  adjust  the  study  planning.  However,  the 
University of Genova is the only one among 30 ITE providers in Italy, where the Laboratory and 
course  on  Intercultural  Education  has  been  mandatory  for  Master  programmes.  The  high 
number  of  immigrants,  refugees  and  asylum  seekers  arriving  in  Liguria  in  the  last  decade 
created a pulse for the creation of the laboratory, supported by the sensitivity of the head of the 
Master’s  programme,  and  the  availability  of  a  team  of  professors  trained  in  ‘intercultural 
studies’. 

Evidence on effectiveness 

Available evidence indicates that the  Laboratory  has helped  student  teachers to work  together 
despite  differences.  They  have  acquired  knowledge  in  theoretical  concepts  related  to  cultural 
bias,  human  rights  and  reciprocal  respect.  Furthermore,  they  have  experimented  ‘active 
listening’  (Sclavi,  2003;  2005)  as  a  basic  attitude  to  develop  intercultural  education  in  the 
classroom.  

Unfortunately,  the  measure  is  not  well  known  outside  the  Module.  Nevertheless,  tutors  of  the 
practical internship (who are in most of the cases in-service teachers) and responsible staff from 

36 

 
 
the  regional  office  for  education  (in  charge  of  ITE  and/or  intercultural  projects  in  schooling) 
strongly  support  the  implementation  of  the  measure  for  future  teachers,  although  projects 
designed  by  student  teachers  during  the  Laboratory  have  not  been  implemented  in  schools  so 
far. 

The Laboratory made student teachers experiment how inter-culturality works, and what can it 
do in an educational setting. It also enhanced students’ critical thinking and observation skills.  
Finally, the laboratory helps conciliate theory and  practice: student teachers learn how  to give 
meaning to teaching and to translate it into visible and fair behaviour in front of the pupils. 

However,  the  measure  has  been  reported  as  having  scarce  or  null  impact  on  the  practical 
internship  of  student  teachers.  This is due  to  an  organisational weakness,  as  the  regulation  of 
the  Degree/Master  (DM  249/2010)  foresees  that  ‘knowledge’  activities  such  as  lessons  and 
laboratories must operate autonomously from the ‘professional’ activity, that is, the compulsory 
internship  in  schools.  In  this  way,  from  the  student’s  point  of  view  this  creates  two  parallel 
streams of learning which often “do not meet each other”. Courses and internship have different 
programmes  and  are  linked  neither  in  planning  nor  in  evaluation  of  the  learning  activity. 
Another weakness is the lack of flexibility in the spaces used for the group work and the scarcity 
of  time.  According  to  interviews,  the  lack  of  rigorous  assessment  of  the  students’  outputs  and 
outcomes and the size of the group (up to 40 students) represent additional weaknesses.   

Key success factors 

The high proportion of pupils with a migrant/minority background in Liguria (15%) has become 
an  important  contextual  factor  that  pushed  for  the  integration  of  the  initiative  within  initial 
teacher  education.  According  to  interviewees,  the  Laboratory  challenges  certain  common 
thinking in the Italian context that intercultural education is considered a means to teach Italian 
to foreigners, and not as a tool for the native population to understand multiculturalism better 
and increase tolerance.  

Consolidated  experience  of  pre-schools  and  primary  schools  in  Liguria  in  implementing 
intercultural  education  through  innovative  methods  has  helped  to  make  the  content  of  the 
initiative more meaningful and adjusted to the local needs. Support from regional authorities is 
also crucial for sustainability and increasing visibility of the measure. Finally, the motivation and 
commitment  of  student  teachers  constitute  another  crucial  element  for  the  implementation  of 
the Laboratory. 

The  measure  could  be  improved  by  involving  in-service  teachers  as  witnesses  of  the 
multicultural  reality  of  schools  and  as  ultimate  beneficiaries  of  the  students’  projects.  The 
Laboratory could also involve city officers dealing with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, 
and  principals  in  schools  with  a  high  proportion  of  pupils  with  a  migrant  background.  The 
Laboratory  could  also  be  better  linked  to  the  practical  internship,  in  building  relationship  with 
the internship tutors, who have the duty to assess the acquirement of professional skills at the 
end of the Master programme.  

Transferability 

The Laboratory has not been implemented nationally due to the autonomy of higher education 
institutions  in  developing  these  study  plans,  and  to  the  fact  that  the  Laboratory  is  not  a 
mandatory  requirement  in  the  National  Master  plan.  However, since  each  university  can  adapt 
the  Master  plan  with  a  given  degree  of  flexibility  (20%),  more  universities  could  make  it 
mandatory. The same methodology put in place by the Laboratory could easily be transferred to 
the  induction  period  for  newly  employed  teachers.  Moreover,  continuous  professional 
development (CPD) initiatives (encouraged by State Reform L. 107/2015) could be enlightened 
by the suggestions of the Laboratory. 

References  

References and list of interviews 

 
 
 
 
pp. 

2010, 

2007. 

2005. 

ISMU, 

ISMU, 

ISMU, 

ISMU, 

ORIM, 

Milano, 

Milano, 

Milano, 

pratiche, 

Available 

Available 

Available 

Fondazione 

Fondazione 

Fondazione 

Bennett  J.C.  An  Intercultural  Mindset  and  Skillset  for  Global  Leadership,  from  Conference 
Proceedings  of  Leadership  Without  Borders:  Developing  Global  Leaders.  Adelphi,  MD:  National 
leadership  Institute  and  the  Center  for  Creative  Leadership,  University  of  Maryland  University 
College, 2001. 
Besozzi  E.  (ed.),  I  progetti  di  educazione  interculturale  in  Lombardia,  Dal  monitoraggio  alle 
buone 
at: 
http://www.orimregionelombardia.it/index.php?c=168. Accessed 15.12.16. 
Colombo  M.,  Guida  ai  progetti  di  educazione  interculturale.  Come  costruire  buone  pratiche, 
ORIM, 
at: 
http://www.orimregionelombardia.it/upload/1272031354460O.pdf. Accessed 15.12.16. 
Colombo  M.,  La  Banca  dati  dei  progetti  di  educazione  interculturale:  esempio  virtuoso  nel 
panorama  nazionale,  in  Besozzi  E.  Colombo  M.,  Santagati  M.,  Formazione  come  integrazione, 
ORIM, 
at: 
31-62. 
http://www.orimregionelombardia.it/index.php?c=430. Accessed 15.12.16. 
CCS Italia onlus – University of Genoa, Department of Education DISFOR, “Insieme” (Together) 
A project of global citizenship education, s.y., 2005/06 (draft), 2007. 
Colussi  E.,  Buone  pratiche  di  educazione  interculturale  in  Lombardia.  Repertorio  2009,  ORIM, 
Fondazione 
at: 
Milano, 
http://www.orimregionelombardia.it/upload/1272031389680T.pdf. Accessed 15.12.16. 
Conni  B.,  La  scuola  come  laboratorio  di  cultura  attraverso  il  dialogo  interreligioso:  Progetto 
Francesco  e  Kamil-  dissertation  in  Primary  education,  University  of  Genoa,  discussed  in  July 
2016. 
Paladin L., Un Ponte Di Libri. La diversità a confronto. Intercultura e diversità nei libri illustrati 
per bambini; esempi  e riflessioni  Nati per Leggere (review of books for children). Available at: 
http://www.natiperleggere.it/fileadmin/user_upload/documenti/Per_i_bibliotecari/Un_ponte_di_l
ibri.pdf. Accessed 15.12.16. 
Portera A., Globalizzazione e pedagogia interculturale. Interventi nella scuola, Erickson, Trento, 
2006. 
Portera A., Educabilità, educazione e pedagogia nella società complessa. Lineamenti introduttivi, 
UTET, Torino, 2007. 
Portera A., Manuale di pedagogia interculturale, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2013. 
Sclavi M., Arte di ascoltare e mondi possibili, Bruno Mondandori, Milano, 2003. 
Sclavi  M.,  Why  humour  matters  in  Active  Listening?  An  intercultural  approach  to  conflict 
transformation,in  ESSEC  Business  School-  Paris  &  PON  ,  Harvard  Law  School  Special  
Conference: “New Trends in Negotiation Teaching: Toward a Trans-Atlantic Network”, 2005  
Vietti F., I quartieri (multi)etnici tra migrazioni e turismo. Il progetto “Torino Migranda”, in G.F. 
Ricci,  S.  Armani,  Cittadinanza  attiva  e  cultura  euromediterranea,  FrancoAngeli  ed.,  Milano, 
2014. 

Available 

2009. 

Interviews 

Trainer of the Laboratory 
Teacher of the Module in Intercultural Education 

 
 
  Coordinator of the Degree/Master, Genova 
  Regional  School  Office  Liguria,  Manager  of  the  Office  No.  III:  School  regulations  and 

policies 

  Coordinator of Tutors for the Internship at the Degree/Master, Genova 
 
Tutor for the Internship at the Degree/Master, Genova 
  Student teacher attending 3rd year of ITE in 2015/16 
  Student teacher attending 3rd year of ITE in 2015/16 
  Student teacher – Graduated in July 2016 
  Regional School Office Liguria, Manager of the CRAS (Resource centre for students with 

an ethnic background). 

38 

 
 
 
Case Study 9: Latvia – Master’s Programme in 
Educational Treatment of Diversity (ETD) 
(Maģistraprogramma 
Dažādībaspedagoģiskierisinājumi) 

Context  

The  Master’s  programme  ‘Educational  Treatment  of  Diversity’  was  designed  in  2008/09  by  a 
consortium of four universities: National University of Distance Education, UNED, Madrid, Spain; 
Charles  University  in  Prague,  Czech  Republic;  University  of  Latvia,  UL,  Riga;  and  Ludwigsburg 
University  of  Education,  Reutlingen,  Germany).  The  programme  is  implemented,  licensed  and 
accredited only at the University of Latvia and at UNED, Spain. Currently, expenses in Latvia are 
covered by subsidies from the state education budget and students’ fees. 

The  programme  is  aimed  at  Bachelor  graduates  in  Pedagogy  and  education  practitioners 
(kindergarten  pedagogues  and  administrators,  school  administrators,  VET  administrators, 
college  and  university  administrators)  willing  to  improve  their  intercultural  competences.  The 
ETD  programme  was  launched  in  2008/2009.  First  students  graduated  in  2010.  The  length  of 
part-time studies is 2.5 years, and 2 years for full time. Studies require 120 ECTS. 

Short description 

The  programme  aims  at  providing  opportunities  to  create  an  interdisciplinary  system  of 
knowledge,  skills  and  integrated  socio-pedagogical,  psychological  and  special  pedagogical 
competences to mainstream diversity in education (Maslo, 2015).  

The programme content consists of two main parts:  

1.  Part A: Compulsory modules (including the research/master’s thesis), including courses 
on:  ‘International  and  comparative  frame  of  educational  treatment  of  diversity’; 
‘Educational 
from  cultural  diversity’; 
treatment  of  special  needs  proceeding 
‘Management and programmes of educational treatment of diversity’, etc.; 

2.  Part B: Optional courses, including: ‘Research methodology for educational treatment of 
diversity’; ‘Work integration and rehabilitation of people with diverse special needs’.  

The process is organised as e-studies, with weekly in-person or Skype meetings with professors. 
The  programme  is  structured  in  modules.  Each  module  includes  learning  materials  to  support 
students in achieving their learning goals; learning activities designed as opportunities to solve 
a variety  of unknown  situations in  a competent way;  a self-assessment of  competencies,  mid-
study assessments, and a final exam for each course (Fernandez, 2015).  The programme also 
involves  the  exchange  of  students  between  UNED  and  UL.  Study  grants  for  students  are 
available from the state budget.  

Practical  activities  are  grounded  in  an  integrated  approach  linking  academic,  professional  and 
research areas. All activities are related to practical situations, for instance, to the real diversity 
in  school.  Practical  activities  involve  collaborative  work,  communication  in  different  languages, 
transversal  skills,  as  well  as  self-reflection  on  implementation  processes.  At  the  end  of  each 
activity,  interviews  are  conducted  with  student  teachers  based  on  self-evaluation  and 
competence development.  

Most  professors  working  in  the  programme  are  regular  university  staff.  Professors  of  other 
participating  universities  are  members  of  the  university  lecturer  team  serving  as  ‘participative 
professors’ or ‘co-professors’; they are paid by their universities. Depending on the availability 
of  financial  resources  (income  from  the  programme),  professionals  with  relevant  academic 
the 
training  and  practical  experience  are 
implementation of the programme (University of Latvia, 2015). Usually two to three professors 
are involved in  a module,  working collaboratively in  tandems or teams.  The coordinator of  the 

invited.  Currently,  12  professors  ensure 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Master’s degree provides continued professional education at UNED. Professors also have good 
opportunities  for  professional  training  in  international  academic  and  research  networks 
(Fernandez, 2016). 

ETD is a competence-based programme. Moreover, the scope of the ETD programme goes much 
further  than  special  and  inclusive  education,  as  it  addresses  cultural,  linguistic,  generational, 
family, gender, race, religious diversity and other diverse exceptional needs.  

Other  specific  features  of  the  programme  include:    three  languages  (English,  Spanish,  and 
Latvian);  mobility  in  Baltic  countries  and  South-Western  Europe  contexts;  the  model  of 
pedagogical leadership of ‘collaborative multidimensional socio-cultural learning’; the integration 
of students’ informal knowledge of ICT; pedagogical leadership in tandems; formative internal, 
external  and  self-assessment  of  competences;  self-enhancement;  personal  involvement  of 
teachers  and  students;  supportive  social  climate;  and  eagerness  for  transforming  challenges 
into new learning opportunities (Maslo et al., 2014).  

Evidence on effectiveness 

In six years (2010-2015) 38 persons have graduated from the programme (University of Latvia, 
2015).  The  Council  of  Higher  Education’s  ‘Evaluation  of  Higher  Education  Study  Programmes 
and Proposals for Quality Improvement’ rated the programme as sustainable and assessed as a 
best practice example of Master’s-level programmes in Latvia (Maslo, 2015).  

According to programme’s implementers, the main results are:  

1)  Changes  in  the  organisational  cultures  (in  favour  of  social  cohesion)  of  the  education 

institutions where graduates are working; 

2)  Extended understanding of the European framework of qualifications in Latvia;  
3)  Fostering plurilingualism.  

According  to  the  2008-2010  and  2011  evaluations,  students  gain  opportunities  to  enrich  their 
experience  by  making  use  of  varied  sources  of  information,  new  technologies,  and  several 
languages.  The  programme  provides  opportunities  to  construct  various  previously  unfamiliar 
situations  for  transcultural  communication,  which  promotes  students’  capacities.  Intercultural 
communication  positively  affects  the  quality  of  student-student  and  student-staff  interactions, 
as  well  as  the  quality  of  diversity-related  experiences  through  students’  participation  in 
problem-solving  and  information  exchange  during  the  e-learning  process.  Student  teachers 
reflect  upon  their  own  cultural  diversity  and  how  it  influences  their  professional  teamwork 
during  studies.  The  programme  provides  an  understanding  about  different  concepts  used  in 
inclusive education as well as the opportunity to learn about historical developments, concepts 
and understanding of diversity at the national and international levels.  

The  main  strengths  of  ETD  are  to  ensure  the  high  qualification  of  experts  in  diversity-related 
issues  in  education  to  become  future  trainers,  programme  directors,  or  leaders  in  diversity 
management.  The  programme  supports  the  development  of  multilingualism,  the  international 
dimension  of  students  and  guest  lecturers,  and  competences  (pedagogical,  intercultural, 
linguistic, ICT, communicative, management/organisational competences). It also provides high 
employability  prospects  (through  internship/research  practicum)  and  the  possibility  of 
specialisation according to the mobility tracks (special education). 

The  small  number  of  students  (23)  represents  a  weakness  that  is  due  to  student  dropout 
(notably caused by student’s difficulties to pay the study fees). Interviews highlighted the need 
to improve foreign language competences among professors, as well as their time-management 
skills.  According  to  interviewees,  evaluation  processes  could  be  improved:  self-evaluation  and 
reflection used by students lack the necessary feedback from the programme’s professors.  

The ETD programme has been accredited until 2019. UL is eager to continue the programme, as 

40 

 
 
well as to introduce some of its elements in ITE Bachelor’s programmes. According to the first 
joint  report  of  the  2012  international  expert  commission26,  the  programme  was  rated  as 
sustainable and assessed as an innovative best practice example of Master’s-level programmes 
in  Latvia.  To  make  the  programme  more  sustainable,  the  programme’s  director  started  the 
application process to the Erasmus+ Joint degree programmes competition.  

However,  the  lack  of  participating  students  limits  the  programme’s  sustainability.  UL  does  not 
support  small  groups  in  Master’s  studies.  Interviews  highlighted  several  limiting  factors:  high 
programme  costs,  lack  of  scholarships,  professors’  workload,  high  overhead  costs,  limits  to 
access  the  programme  (high  registration  costs  for  foreign  students),  as  well  as  long-term 
process for diploma recognition. 

Key success factors 

International cooperation with partner universities;  
Training in ICT at UNED;  
Infrastructure available at the faculty of pedagogy, psychology, and arts;  

Particular institutional conditions contribute to the successful implementation of the ETD:  
  Readiness for change and openness towards innovation among teaching staff;  
 
 
 
  Close collaboration between the university’s international and academic departments;  
  Management support;  
 

Peer and inter-generational learning.  

Although the issue of diversity in education is gaining importance in the EU, interviewees noted 
that it has not yet become a common issue of concern in the Latvian political context apart from 
ad hoc initiatives supported by some policy-makers. 

Crucial elements for further effective implementation of ETD are the sustained uniqueness of the 
programme’s  content,  its  permanent  update  and  cooperation  practices  with  students  (use  of 
thematic  group  works  of  students  on  different  themes  and  in  the  framework  of  different 
modules), response to the current needs, as well as enthusiasm of the new programme director.  

Transferability 

The  programme  was  suggested  to  other  universities  providing  teacher  education.  However, 
there  was  no  further  implementation,  partly  due  to  the  lack  of  support  from  the  UL 
administration.  The  vice-rector  of  UL  considers  that  the  fragmentation  of  and  competition 
between Masters’ programmes is a bad practice in Latvia. Mechanisms enabling the introduction 
of programmes at the national level are not in place.  

However,  the  programme’s  director  is  developing  new  partnerships  in  South  America:  Mexico, 
Sonora  university,  Italian  University  of  Rosario  (IUNIR),  Argentina;  Unilasalle,  Brasil;  National 
University of Cuyo, Mendonza, Argentina. ETD is also involved in one ongoing project with the 
Alexandria University in Egypt.  

References 

References and list of interviews 

Fernandez,  M.  (University  of  Latvia).  Application  574471-EPP-1-2016-1-LV-EPPKA1-JMD-MOB, 
Erasmus  Mundus  Masters  on  Educational  Treatment  of  Diversity,  –  Erasmus  +:  Key  Action  1-
Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees (EMJMD), Call for proposals 2016(EAC/A04/2015), 2016 
(unpublished, limited access). 
Maslo,  I.,  Surikova,  S.,  &  Fernández  González,  M.  J.,  ‘E-Learning  for  Widening  Participation  in 
Higher  Education’.  In:  Zuzevičiūtė,  V.,  Romeris,  M.,  Butrimė,  E.,  Vitkutė-Adžgauskienė,  D., 
Fomin, V., Kikis-Papadakis, K. (Eds). E-Learning as a Socio-Cultural System: A Multidimensional 
Analysis, pp. 21-42. Hershey PA, USA: Information Science Reference (IGI Global), 2014. 

26Council of Higher Education project, ‘Evaluation of Higher Education Study Programmes and Proposals for 
Quality Improvement’, No. 2011/0012/1DP/1.1.2.2.1/11/IPIA/VIAA/01. The Report is cited using secondary 
source because it was not accessible. 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
of 

pp. 

the 

93-126. 

Available 

European 

Maslo,  I.  ‘Case study  Latvia: Master’s Degree Programme ‘Educational Treatment of  Diversity’, 
University  of  Latvia’,  Opening  higher  education  to  adults,  December  30,  2015,  Publications 
at: 
Union, 
Office 
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270355050_OPENING_HIGHER_EDUCATION_TO_AD
ULTS_HEAD_CASE_STUDY_LATVIA_Master's_Degree_Programme_'Educational_Treatment_of_D
iversity'_University_of_Latvia. Accessed 15.11.2016. 
Saeima of the Republic of Latvia, ‘Augstskolu likums’ [Law on Institutions of Higher Education], 
Riga, 1995. Available at: http://likumi.lv/doc.php?id=37967. Accessed 15.11.2016. 
University  of  Latvia,  ‘2.5.  Educational  Treatment  of  Diversity  (Master)  45142’  (‘2.5.  Dažādības 
pedagoģiskierisinājumi  (Maģistra)  45142’).  Unpublished  Internal  Evaluation  report  of  study 
programmes), 2015, pp. 58-67. 
University  of  Latvia.  ‘Educational  Treatment  of  Diversity  -  Master'sprogramme’,  University  of 
Latvia  -  Programme  catalogue.  Available  at:  http://www.lu.lv/gribustudet/katalogs/katalogi-
anglu-valoda/study-programme-
catalog/?user_phpfileexecutor_pi1%5Bprogram_id%5D=204A2. Accessed 15.11.2016. 

Interviews 

Professor, founder and former director of ETD 

 
  Associate professor, director of ETD 
  Vice - Rector of University of Latvia 
  MS ETD graduate. 

42 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Case Study 10: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
from  ethnic 
(FYROM)  –  Quotas 
communities & Scholarships for Roma students 

for  students 

Context   

The  government  is  responsible  for  the  development,  funding  and  implementation  of  both 
measures, which arise from rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia. 
Both  measures  are  implemented  nationally.  All  public  faculties  in  the  country  are  obliged  to 
enrol  the  prescribed  quotas  of  students.  Students  from  all  public  and  private  faculties  are 
eligible to apply for scholarships.    

The  target  groups  of  the  quotas  are  members  of  the  ethnic  communities  who  do  not  have 
access  to  higher  education  in  their  own  language.  The  measure  concerns  the  enrolment  of 
students  in  higher  education,  and  is  foreseen  by  the  Law  on  Higher  Education  from  2008. 
Quotas are defined according to the Law on Students’ Standard from 2013, but the percentage 
of the quotas is defined by the government every year. Quotas usually represent 10% out of the 
total  number  of  undergraduate  students  enrolled  at  all  public  faculties.  The  measure  is 
implemented  continuously  since  1997,  but  the  quotas  were  more  precisely  defined  and 
extended after the inter-ethnic conflict in the 2001 followed by Constitutional changes. 

The scholarships in higher education are targeted at several categories: 50% for students from 
socially vulnerable background, 30% for students with most advanced academic achievements, 
and  20%  for  students  applying  for  study  programmes  of  high  importance  for  the  societal 
development  (such  as  electro-technical,  machine  constructions,  biotechnical,  medicine, 
mathematics and natural sciences). Since the academic year 2015/16, after the Amendment of 
the  Law  on  Students’  Standard  from  2016,  Roma  students  are  included  as  a  specific  target 
group entitled to scholarships. Roma are the only exception based on ethnicity. The number of 
scholarships  and  conditions  for  applying  are  defined  by  the  Ministry  of  Education  and  Science 
(MES)  and  announced  before  every  academic  year,  depending  on  the  budget  available. 
Scholarships  for  Roma  students  were  introduced  for  the  first  time  in  the  academic  year 
2016/17.    

Short description 

The  main  aim  of  introducing  scholarships  was  to  increase  the  inclusion  of  Roma  students  in 
teacher  education  faculties  (and  in  higher  education  in  general),  to  improve  their  financial 
security and participation rate in HE, and to increase the number of quality Roma teachers.  

Every  year,  the  Ministry  announces  a  call  with  the  conditions  and  procedure  for  applying.  The 
application  procedure  requires  documents,  which  confirm  the  status  of  the  student,  and  a 
signed ‘statement of belongingness to the Roma ethnicity’, in addition to evidence of academic 
achievements. Students can apply at any stage of their studies. Those enrolled at university in 
the first year need to provide evidence of their academic achievements in secondary school.  

The scholarship amounts to 5,000 MK Denars27 (around 80 EUR – 22% of the country’s average 
salary)  per  month  during  the  whole  academic  year.  For  the  academic  year  2016/17,  32 
scholarships were allocated – with more than a half for students enrolled at teacher education’s 
faculties. 

Financial support for students has long been provided in the country, where socially vulnerable 
groups  are  supported  by  both  international  NGOs  and  state  institutions.  According  to  the 
Directorate  for  Development  and  Improvement  of  Education  in  the  Languages  of  the  Minor 
Ethnic  Communities  (the  Directorate),  the  action  for  the  scholarship  programme  for  Roma 
students  was  intensified  after  the  opening  of  the  only  secondary  school  in  the  settlement  of 

27 See: http://mon.gov.mk/index.php/konkursi/1008-2015-2016-2015-2016-30-o  

 
 
 
 
                                                            
Shuto  Orizari  in  Skopje  –  which  is  mostly  populated  by  Roma.  The  school  officially  started  to 
work in the academic year 2015/16. However, the study programme is provided in Macedonian, 
with most teachers having a Macedonian ethnic background due to the lack of Roma teachers. 
This led the Ministry and the Directorate to stimulate the enrolment of Roma students at teacher 
education faculties.  

The  main  aim  of  introducing  quotas  was  to  improve  the  quality  of  education  and  educational 
inclusion of minority ethnic groups through increasing their enrolment rate.  

All five public universities and numerous faculties are obliged to apply quotas in their enrolment 
policy,  where  10%  of  enrolled  students  need  to  be  from  the  ethnic  communities  which  do  not 
have  a  study  programme  in  their  own  language.  Students  enrolled  under  this  measure  pay 
reduced tuition under a ‘state quota fee’, which is 200 EUR per academic year. The number of 
places  is  defined  every  year  by  the  Government.  Applicants  who  do  not  enrol  in  state  quota 
could enrol in the “co-financing” programme, which is currently 400 EUR.     

The  main  resource  for  these  measures  is  the  relevant  political  will  and  support  from  all  policy 
makers.  Misinterpretations  of  the  regulation  on  quotas  are  possible,  which  in  turn  could  be 
followed  by  biased  distribution  of  the  places  guaranteed  by  quotas.  Hence,  universities’ 
cooperation is important in the consistent administration of the measure.  

Members  of  minority  ethnic  communities  now  have  better  chances  to  be  included  in  ITE  at 
teacher faculties, to become teachers and to teach in their mother’s tongue. They serve as role 
models  for  other  members  and  new  generations  in  their  communities,  with  positive  long-term 
impacts.  In  addition,  teaching  staff  in  schools  will  be  more  ethnically  mixed,  which  can  foster 
the fight against prejudices and stereotypes in education and society.  

Evidence on effectiveness 

The main result from the ‘quota’ measure in almost two decades is the increase in the number 
of  Roma  students  and  students  from  other  ethnic  communities  in  ITE  and  higher  education  in 
general. In comparison to the period when ‘quotas’ started to be implemented – when only one 
or two Roma finished the higher education annually – 32 Roma finished undergraduate studies 
in  2014  (State  Statistical  Office,  2015).  This  result  is  followed  by  evidence  showing  that  some 
Roma  are  being  employed  in  the  education  sector.  Interviewees  noted  that  there  was  an 
increase in the number of Roma teachers in elementary and secondary education, as well in the 
NGOs working in the educational field.  

According  to  unofficial  figures  from  the  Ministry  of  Education  and  Science28,  around  200  Roma 
are  currently  enrolled  in  higher  education,  with  around  half  of  them  in  ITE.  That  is  a  radical 
increase  in  comparison  to  twenty  years  ago,  when  less  than  twenty  Roma  were  studying  at 
universities annually.  

Scholarships tend to secure students’ achievements and retention at studies. This measure also 
helps  to  bring  students  closer  to  the  teacher’s  profession  and  to  improve  their  teacher 
competences. In order to improve the scholarship measure, the Directorate and the Ministry of 
Education  and  Science  aim  to  improve  and  extend  it  with  the  help  of  Roma  Education  Fund’s 
(REF) scholarship programmes29.  

However,  one  of  the  limitations  of  the  possible  impact  of  these  measures  is  that  Romani 
language is not widely used in Macedonia, and consequently, it is difficult for Roma teachers to 
teach in  this language. Romani is only  used as an elective subject in  elementary school, while 
students  are  taught  in  the  language  of  instruction  of  the  school  where  Roma  students  are 

28  Figures  are  unofficial  due  to  the  following:  according  to  the  ‘Law  on  protection  of  personal  data’  from 
2005, faculties are not allowed to collect data on ethnicity. Therefore, Ministry has no precise data on ethnic 
background  of  the  students.  There  is  no  figure  on  distribution  of  Quotas  along  ethnicity,  because  no 
institution is collecting such data from the faculties. 
29 Roma Education Fund has also scholarship programs for undergraduates in the country.  

44 

 
 
                                                            
enrolled (Macedonian, Albanian or Turkish).  

There is no evidence yet on the effectiveness of the scholarship programme, but it is expected 
to  have  improved  teacher  education  for  its  main  target  groups.  The  implementation  of  the 
measure  is  heavily  dependent  on  the  Ministry’s  budget.  Budgetary  restrictions  limit  the 
opportunities to increase the number of quotas and scholarships for teachers’ faculties. No cost-
effectiveness analysis of the measures has been carried out yet.  

Both  measures  could  be  improved  with  providing  quality  mentorship  to  Roma  students.  This 
measure  could  be  implemented  if  the  Ministry  provided  adequate  budget  for  coverage  of  the 
mentoring classes implemented through the appropriate programme. 

Key success factors 

The  measures  are  being  implemented  in  the  multicultural  context  of  the  Macedonian  society. 
Traditionally,  the  political  situation  is  based  on  inter-ethnic  coalitions  and  cooperation.  This 
results in political will for such measures and sensitivity for the need to support ITE for minority 
groups. The main evidence of the sustainability of the measures is the fact that they are public 
policies.  

However, given the intense processes of segregation in education along ethnic lines, in a distant 
future  –  when  there  will  be  enough  Roma  teachers  to  create  study  programmes  in  Romani 
language, there is a risk of increasing educational segregation with separate schools or classes 
for  Roma.  Therefore,  it  is  important  that  financial  support  be  accompanied  by  the  additional 
measures  to  counter  segregation  and  improve  intercultural  sensitivity  of  communities  and 
teaching staff.  

The  measures  could  be  improved  by  extending  quotas  and  the  number  and  amount  of 
scholarships.  One  mechanism  to  convince  authorities  would  be  to  administrate  a  quality  cost-
benefit  analysis  of  both  measures.  Results  could  show  that  investments  in  education  bring 
manifold  benefits  for  the  society  as  a  whole.  Mentorship  programmes  for  students  who  need 
additional support in learning could improve the quality of their education.  

Transferability 

Although the idea of scholarships for Roma was born at the local level (to meet the needs of the 
Roma  settlement  Shuto  Orizari),  both  measures  have  been  implemented  nationally  since  their 
start.  

Given  that  all  European  societies  are  multicultural,  especially  in  neighbouring  countries,  both 
measures could be highly transferable. Synchronised actions from the national, regional and EU 
policy  makers  supported  by  good  practices  and  awareness  raising  campaigns  could  support 
successful implementation of the measures.  

References 

References and list of interviews 

Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia, Law on Protection of Personal Data, 2005. 

Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia, Law on Higher Education, 2008. 

Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia, Law on Students’ Standard, 15/2013   

Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia 

Spasovski,  O.,  Segregation  of  Roma  in  Education  in  the  Republic  of  Macedonia.  Skopje: 
Foundation Open Society Macedonia, 2015. 

Spasovski,  O.,  Analysis  of  the  education  of  Roma  in  the  Republic  of  Macedonia.  Skopje: 
Foundation Open Society Institute Macedonia, 2011. 

State Statistical Office, STATISTICAL REVIEW: Population and Social Statistics, 2015 

 
 
 
 
 
Interviews 

  Director of the Directorate for Development and Improvement of Education in the 

Languages of the Minor Ethnic Communities.  

  Head of the Office for Students’ Issues at the Faculty of Social Sciences (Faculty of 

Philosophy), one of the teacher faculties and ITE provider.   

  Student, beneficiary of both measures: quotas for minor ethnic groups, and scholarship 

for Roma students. 

46 

 
 
 
 
 
Case Study 11: Malta – Unit on ‘Responding to student 
diversity in the primary classroom’ 

Context  

‘Responding  to  student  diversity  in  the  primary  classroom’  was  first  developed  in  1996  for 
primary  education  teachers,  initially  aimed  at  preparing  teachers  for  the  inclusion  of  students 
with disabilities. However, with a significant increase in immigrant students in Malta since 2002, 
and through a Comenius Project in 2004-07, it shifted its focus to responding to the increasing 
students’ ethnic and cultural diversity (Bartolo et al., 2007a; Humphrey et al., 2006).  

The unit was first offered as an optional course, and was later made compulsory for second and 
third-year  Bachelor’s  student  teachers  enrolled  in  primary  education  programmes  at  the 
University of Malta (until recently the only ITE institution in Malta)30. This unit will be offered in 
2016/17  to  the  existing  cohort  of  B.Ed.  second  year  students,  but  has  been  integrated  in  the 
new Master in Teaching and Learning in October 2016.  

Short description 

The  unit  aims  at  preparing  student  teachers  to  teach  students  with  a  diverse  background, 
through gaining both theoretical knowledge and practical experience on diversity.  

There are two main aspects of the unit’s activities:  

1.  Theoretical training: In the first semester, student teachers are introduced to the topics 
of  diversity  and  inclusion,  and  to  approaches  on  how  these  can  be  addressed  in  the 
classroom,  including  through  the  use  of  individual  educational  planning  (IEP)  (through 
reflection on one’s own background, discussion and group work);  

2.  Practical  training:  In  the  second  semester,  while  student  teachers  are  doing  their  six-
week teaching practice, they have to identify a student who is having some difficulty in 
coping  with  learning  and  implement  an  IEP  for  that  student’s  inclusion  in  education 
process. 

Student  teachers  can  receive  support  from  teacher  educators  during  teaching  practice,  but 
direct support within the classroom is rarely provided. According to interviews, it seems difficult 
to ensure that all lecturers and mentors are prepared to enable students to respond to diversity. 
However, seminars are intended to be held for all university and school-based mentors.  

The unit was developed following the work of two experts in inclusive education, and thanks to 
the leadership of the Department of ITE for primary education that welcomed the introduction of 
the  unit  in  the  regular  ITE  curriculum.  Over  the  past  ten  years,  the  unit  has  made  use  of  a 
Teacher’s handbook (Bartolo et al., 2007a), as well as a Tutor’s manual (Bartolo et al. 2007b), 
which were developed through a Comenius 2.1 project (2004-07) coordinated by the Faculty of 
Education of the University of Malta. 

Evidence on effectiveness 

As part of the unit activities, student teachers have to report on the impact of their project on 
the  school  pupil  identified  and  on  their  own  professional  development.  According  to  these 
reports,  there  were  varying  levels  of  success  in  helping  pupils  to  achieve  the  learning  targets, 
and engage in academic learning. Furthermore, they reported better interactions with peers and 
the development of a greater sense of belonging to their classroom. 

The  only  formal  evaluation  of  the  measure  was  undertaken  by  the  lecturer  with  one  of  the 
cohorts of 49 students who reported several positive impacts:  

(1)  recognising  student  diversities;  (2)  understanding  and  implementing  an  IEP;  (3)  reducing 
fear of and gaining familiarity with learner-centred approach; (4) gaining skills in planning and 

30 See: University of Malta, Study Unit Description Pre2806, 2015 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
implementing modifications to their lessons to meet individual student needs.  

The  main  strength  of  the  measure  is  that  it  blends  theory  and  practice.  Emphasis  is  put  on 
differentiated  theory  and  practice,  mainly  based  on  the  approach  by  Tomlinson  (2014).  The 
main  weakness  is  that  the  students  are  not  followed-up  specifically  by  the  teacher  educator 
during  their  teaching  practice  (apart  from  having  student  teachers’  reports  on  their  practical 
assignments),  and  rely  on  other  teaching  practice  supervisors.  Ideally,  the lecturer  would  visit 
the student teachers at least once during their teaching practice. 

The  unit  has  been  implemented  since  1996,  but  will  be  transferred  from  a  four-year  B.Ed. 
programme  to  a  two-year  post-graduate  Master’s  programme,  following  the  change  of  Malta’s 
ITE  structure.  Because  of  this  transfer,  the  unit  faced  the  reduction  of  ECTS  offered. 
Furthermore, the unit will become an  official part of student teachers’ school observations and 
teaching  practice  with  supervisors  or  mentors  supporting  the  students  to  recognise  difference 
and address it effectively during teaching practice. The practice (observation and participation in 
teaching)  is  planned  to  last  during  whole  year,  different  issues  such  as  assessment,  goal 
setting, lesson adaptation and practice evaluation will be performed. However, at the same time 
there are concerns that diffusing diversity into practice placements and in subject pedagogy will 
cause the current coordinated delivery from specialised teacher educators lose its specific focus 
on diversity.   

The  main  challenge  for  the  sustainability  of  this  unit  is  the  readiness  of  the  ITE  provider  to 
include a four-ECTS unit of this type in the regular ITE curriculum. This is particularly the case 
in  shorter  ITE  programmes  such  as  one-year  post-graduate  training,  where  the  input  on 
pedagogy related directly to the teaching of a specific subject takes up most of the programme, 
while teacher educators may not give priority to diversity. 

Key success factors 

The  factor  that  helped  introduce  this  unit  at  national  level  was  the  perception  by  both  the 
education system and ITE providers of the need to prepare teachers to address diversity in their 
classrooms. This was the result of the development of a movement towards inclusive education 
through activities from NGOs and lecturers so that, even if not everyone agreed, the Faculty of 
Education declared itself in favour of inclusive education. This process was also part of a political 
process  in  which  Malta’s  two  major  political  parties  declared  themselves  in  favour  of  rights  of 
persons with disabilities for equal opportunities and inclusion in mainstream education (Bartolo, 
2010). Within this context, it became possible to convince ITE providers that preparing teachers 
for diversity is a priority, and that it represents both an issue of theory and practice. 

Other crucial elements for effective implementation of the unit include:  

 

 

 

 

Teacher  educators  must  be  experts  in  inclusive  education,  and  particularly  culturally 
responsive education and differentiated teaching; 
The  project  assignment  that  students  are  to  implement  during  their  teaching  practice 
should be clearly explained; 
Theoretical  sessions  should  engage  students  actively  and  include  group  and  individual 
exercises  on  the  identification  and  assessment  of  student  needs,  on  setting  individual 
educational  goals,  and  on  the  organisation  and  resources  needed  for  differentiated 
lessons; 
Following teaching practice, students should have tutorial sessions in which they present 
their project and reflect on their experiences.  

The  Maltese  experience  suggests  that  effective  measures  for  educating  teachers  towards 
respecting  and  responding  to  the  various  student  diversities  do  not  stand  on  their  own.  They 
need  to  be  part  of  the  development  of  national  awareness  of  the  injustice  of  discriminatory 
attitudes,  of  an  understanding  of  the  values  of  dignity  and  human  rights,  and  of  the 
development  of  the  education  system  and  whole  school  policies  and  practices  towards  more 

48 

 
 
inclusive education. 

Transferability 

The unit has been discussed in international seminars (Bartolo, 2008; Bartolo and Mallia, 2011), 
and  the  principles  of  the  approach  have  been  described  in  a  text  for  teacher  educators  which 
stresses  the  importance  of  teacher  educators  as  well  as  teachers  for  self-reflective  activities 
towards the development of an openness to cultural diversity (Bartolo and Smythe, 2008). The 
main reading text (Bartolo et al., 2007a) and tutor’s manual (Bartolo et al., 2007b) on how to 
organise  the  training  have  been  downloaded  by  scholars  worldwide  (as  recorded  on  Research 
Gate) and the text is used for the training of teachers. 

References 

References and list of interviews 

Bartolo, P.A., ‘Preparing teachers for diversity’, Malta Review of Educational Research, 6, No. 1, 
2008, pp. 1-14.  

Bartolo,  P.  A.,  ‘The  "process"  of  teacher  education  for  inclusion:  The  Maltese  experience’, 
Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 10 No. s1, 2010, pp. 139–148. 

Bartolo,  P.A.;  Hofsaess,  T.;  Mol  Lous,  A.;  Ale,  P.;  Calleja,  C.;  Humphrey,  N.;  Janikova,  V.; 
Vilkiene,  V.;  Wetso,  G.,  Responding  to  Student  Diversity:  Teacher’s  Handbook,  University  of 
Malta, Malta, 2007a. Available at: 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236618492_Responding_to_Student_Diversity_Teach
er's_Handbook. Accessed 15.12.2016. 

Bartolo,  P.A.;  Hofsaess,  T.;  Mol  Lous,  A.;  Ale,  P.;  Calleja,  C.;  Humphrey,  N.;  Janikova,  V.; 
Vilkiene,  V.;  and  Wetso,  G.,  Responding  to  student  diversity:  Tutor’s  Manual.  University  of 
Malta, Malta, 2007b. Available at: 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/29750792_Responding_to_student_diversity_tutors_
manual. Accessed 15.12.16.  

Bartolo, P. and Mallia Borg, F., ‘Country Report – Malta’, European Agency for Special Needs and 
Inclusive 
https://www.european-agency.org/agency-
at: 
projects/Teacher-Education-for-Inclusion/country-info#country-reports  

2011.  Available 

Education, 

Bartolo,  P.A.;  &  Smyth,  G.,  ‘Teacher  Education  for  Diversity’.  In:  Swennen,  A.  and  van  der 
Klink, M., (eds.), Becoming a Teacher Educator, Springer, The Netherlands, 2008, pp.117-132. 

Humphrey,  N.;  Bartolo,  P.;  Ale,  P.;  Calleja,  C.;  Hofsaess,  T.;  Janikova,  V.;  Mol  Lous,  A.; 
Vilkiene,  V.;  Wetso,  G.,  ‘Understanding  and  responding  to  diversity  in  the  primary  classroom: 
An international study’, European Journal of Teacher Education, 29, No. 3, 2006, pp. 305–318. 

Tomlinson,  C.A.,  The  Differentiated  Classroom:  Responding  to  the  Needs  of  All  Learners,  2nd 
Edition, ASCD, Alexandria, VA, 2014.  

University  of  Malta,  ‘Study  Unit  Description  PRE2806  Responding  to  diversity  in  the  primary 
at: 
classroom’, 
http://www.um.edu.mt/educ/studyunit/PRE2806. Accessed 15.12.16. 

Available 

University 

Malta, 

Malta, 

2015. 

of 

Interviews 

  Senior  Lecturer  and  previous  Head  of  Department  of  Primary  Education,  Faculty  of 

Education, University of Malta 

  Head of Department, Inclusion and Access to Learning, Faculty of Education, University 

 

of Malta 
Two responses to  a  written  questionnaire  by  2nd  and 3rd  year  B.Ed.  students,  obtained 
anonymously, through their Student Representative. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Case Study 12: The Netherlands – Parents with a 
Migrant Background speak at ITE Institutions 
(Allochtone Ouders Spreken op PABO’s) 

Context  

The  initiative  to  have  parents  of  migrant  children  speak  at  ITE  institutions  was  developed  and 
implemented by the National Council of Migrant Parents in the Netherlands (Platform Allochtone 
Ouders en Onderwijs, PAOO), which was part of FORUM (Dutch Institute for Multicultural Issues, 
created by the Dutch government in 1996). The Government of the Netherlands was responsible 
for the funding of this initiative, meant to be a 3-year project (2006-2009). 

PAOO  was  implemented  in  cooperation  with  national  organisations  for  parents  in  education 
(landelijke  organisaties  voor  ouders  in  het  onderwijs),  the  National  Consultation  Minorities 
(Landelijk  Overleg  Minderheden)  and  the  Islamic  School  Board  Organisation  (Islamitische 
Scholen  Besturen  Organisatie)31.  The  project  was  implemented  in  ITE  institutions,  targeting 
student teachers. 

Short description 

The  main  aim  of  PAOO  was,  through  a  network  platform,  to  strengthen  the  involvement  of 
parents  with  a  migrant  background  in  education,  especially  with  respect  to  the  education  of 
their  children.  Secondary  aims  were  to  increase  the  representation  of  parents  with  a  migrant 
background  in  parental  associations  and  other  formal  education  bodies,  as  well  as  to  improve 
school-community  relations32.  These  broader  aims  led  to  the  initiative  to  have  parents  of 
children  with  a  migrant  background  give  guest  lectures  and  talk  directly  to  student  teachers 
about  education  issues  affecting  migrant  communities,  so  that  the  students  would  be  better 
informed about the needs of children from these communities.  

An  additional  (indirect)  aim  of  the  parents  was  to  strengthen  the  educational  engagement  of 
children by having parents serve as role models. According to the initiators of the programme, 
speaking  to  student  teachers  would  raise  the  status  of  the  parents,  raise  awareness  among 
migrant  communities  and  their  children  (through  informal  conversations  at  home)  and 
strengthen connections between minority communities and teachers. 

Teams of parents (of migrant children) spoke in ITE classrooms, using a standard presentation 
as  a  main  resource.  Role-plays  around  critical  issues  were  also  critical  education  tools.  The 
parents were first briefed on their role and expectations. 

The guest lectures built on the personal experiences of the parents, but focused mostly on: 

 
 
 
 

expectations about education; 
visualisation of classroom situations and critical incidents; 
language development and multilingualism; and 
gaps with respect to language and maths.  

PAOO  local  initiatives  (local  platforms)  came  into  existence  in  30  counties  across  the 
Netherlands33.  Consultation  by  FORUM  with  ITE  providers,  as  well  as  discussions  with  various 
stakeholders,  led  to  the  conclusion  that  student  teachers,  mostly  white  and  middle  class,  had 
little  experience  with  diversity  in  their  own  lives  and  in  their  school  careers,  partly  due  to 
residential  and  school  segregation.  According  to  interviews,  they  also  lacked  insight  into  the 

See: 

31  See:  www.defonteinbreda.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-09-20-PAOOalgfolder08.pdf.  Accessed 
01.02.2017.  
32 
01.02.2017. 
33  See:  www.nro.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Ouders-en-innovatief-onderwijs.pdf.  For  instance,  the 
Amsterdam 
(see: 
15 
of 
http://www.onderwijsconsument.nl/lokaal-platform-presenteert-zich/. Accessed 01.02.2017. 

www.nro.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Ouders-en-innovatief-onderwijs.pdf. 

grandmothers 

consisted 

Accessed 

platform 

mothers 

and 

50 

 
 
                                                            
kinds  of  socioeconomic,  religious  and  cultural  diversity  they  would  encounter  when  they 
embarked  on  their  teaching  career,  and  especially  how  to  address  this  in  their  teaching. 
National  and  international  research  had  confirmed  that  parents  of  minority  children  faced 
multiple obstacles in entering the ‘school culture’ of their children and had little voice (Vincent & 
Martin, 2002; Smit & Driessen, 2007). 

The main inputs for the implementation of this project were: 

 
 
 

government funding; 
time and availability parents; 
cooperation of ITE providers. 

Evidence on effectiveness 

Since  this  sub-project  took  place  towards  the  end  of  the  PAOO  project  period,  only  several 
dozen  guest  lectures  took  place  before  the  practice  was  discontinued34.  No  official  or  formal 
evaluation  of  this  particular  sub-initiative  took  place  (though  PAOO  was  evaluated 
comprehensively  and  externally),  though  the  external  evaluators  were  aware  of  this  initiative. 
Both the evaluators of the overall PAOO project, as well as the initiators, indicated this was an 
especially promising initiative. The initiators of the project pointed to local internal feedback that 
student  teachers  had  gained  a  great  deal  of  insight  they  could  never  have  read  about  in  their 
textbooks  or  from  their  teacher  educators.  Students  had  commented  that  the  guest  lectures 
were ‘real’.  A key presenter and organiser of the guest lectures commented that it was rare to 
meet  students  who  had  any  meaningful  contact  with  Dutch  multicultural  society.  In  addition, 
very few students came from a multicultural background themselves35.  

The evaluators of the PAOO project36 indicated that although they felt that the initiative at ITE 
providers  was  inspirational  and  innovative  (they  did  not  contest  the  observations  of  the 
organisers), they felt that the implementation of the guest lectures was too ad hoc and poorly 
planned.  According  to  one  external  evaluator  interviewed,  better  planning  and  a  more 
systematised  approach  was  needed  because  the  guest  lectures  did  not  ‘fit’  into  the  way 
education  generally  took place  at  the  provider  level.  There  was  (and  is)  no  tradition  of  having 
parents speak  to students directly, or a structure that supported this.  According to interviews, 
presently,  the  students  only  watch  videos  of  parents  talking.  This  posed  major  challenges  for 
sustainability and the cost-benefit aspect of the initiative.  

The parents with a migrant background indicated, according to the internal project feedback (to 
the  organisers),  that  they  enjoyed  talking  to  student  teachers,  but  that  they  also  had  become 
much more critical of the manner in which their own children were being educated. According to 
the project leaders, guest lectures had helped parents become more empowered and vocal. This 
led  to  significant  criticisms  among  the  parents  aimed  at  educational  authorities.  This  was 
expressed in opinion papers in newspapers and in meetings with politicians (such as city council 
members) and educational authorities. In addition, it led to confrontations with more formalised 
parent associations (with little if any migrants). 

Strengths of the project: 

  Direct involvement of parents (of migrant children) in educating future teachers, helping 

them to increase their intercultural awareness; 

  Giving students the ability to speak directly to the parents of migrant children; 
  Mobilising migrant communities around education issues; 
  Building relationships between ITEs and migrant communities; and 
  Building a network of parents of migrant children. 

34 Guest lectures took place at ITEs in Deventer, Hengelo and Utrecht. 
35  An  interviewer  mentioned  that  of  the  40  students  she  addressed  in  Deventer,  only  one  had  a  minority 
background (Turkish-Dutch) and only eight had any experience with individuals from a minority background. 
36 For evaluation of overall project see:  http://docplayer.nl/3843758-Innovaties-in-ouderbetrokkenheid-en-
ouderparticipatie-evaluatie-project-platform-allochtone-ouders-en-onderwijs-mei-2009.html.  
Accessed 15.11.2016. 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
An indicator of the strength of PAOO initiatives is that it received the Alcuin Award in 2008 from 
the  European  Parents  Organisation  (EPA),  “considering  the  relevance  of  a  project  to  the 
integration of immigrant children and families to be one of the most important problems of our 
times,  considering  the  merit  of  participation  by  all  parents’  associations  of  the  country  and 
considering the quality and execution of the design”37. 

Areas for improvement: 

 
 

 
 

 

Three-year project only; 
Too  dependent  on  government  funding.  Political  will  to  fund  the  measure  disappeared 
with the arrival of a new (more conservative government); 
Too little grassroots initiative and community buy-in to survive funding cuts; 
Too ad hoc,  spontaneous  and poorly  planned  to impact ITE  traditions and culture on a 
more permanent basis; 
Failed  to  anticipate  and  address  the  consequences  of  empowering  the  parents  of 
migrant  children  (they  became  more  demanding  and  critical  of  policy  makers  and 
schools); 

  No  costs  were  covered  (e.g.  travel  to  school)  after  measure  discontinued  –  led  to 

dissatisfaction among volunteers. 

FORUM  initially  received  an  annual  budget  of  several  million  Euro  a  year.  As  an  institution,  it 
functioned  mostly  as  a  knowledge  centre.  It  organised  debates  about  multicultural  issues, 
published  materials,  and  provided  training.  Successive  Cabinets  continued  with  the  support  of 
FORUM  but  the  budget  was  gradually  reduced.  FORUM  was  discontinued  in  January  2015, 
because  of  policy  changes  that  reflected  the  newly  elected  more  conservative  government, 
which  has  been  less  supportive  of  policies  with  a  specific  focus  on  (ethnic)  minorities.  Several 
incidents pertaining to financial spending practices also played a role in shutting down FORUM38.   

The evaluators emphasised that because of poor planning (PAOO in  general) and limited grass 
roots  (volunteer)  initiative  the  costs  were  very  high,  and  the  benefits  limited.  This  was  a  key 
finding in the evaluation report39. 

Key success factors 

An analysis of the initiative to connect parents with a migrant background to ITE students shows 
that it is highly needed  (too little experience, too little exposure in  their education and limited 
competences among the students), highly valued and that it can be effective. The analysis also 
shows the importance of community support (as opposed to strong dependence on government 
funding)  and  that  initiatives  arise  from  ITE  institutions  themselves.  It  also  shows  how  political 
changes  in  ideology,  outlook  and  priority  can  affect  (the  success  or  failure  of)  this  kind  of 
initiatives. 

Important contextual factors included: 

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

societal and political awareness that such an initiative was needed; 
existence of an institution (FORUM) with the experience to implement the measure; 
significant government funding at the time; 
existing networks  –  though  loose  –  of parents of  migrant children  through  FORUM and 
other community organisations;  
research  showing  gaps  in  representation  between  majority  and  minority  community 
involvement with respect to active engagement in the education of their children; and 
availability  and  motivation  of  parents  who  cared  about  the  educational  attainment  of 
their children. 
cooperation of ITE providers. 

37 See: www.ioc-ch.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=311.  
38 See: www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/ophef-over-salaris-en-declaraties-directeur-forum~a2436618/.  
39 
project-platform-allochtone-ouders-en-onderwijs-mei-2009.html  

http://docplayer.nl/3843758-Innovaties-in-ouderbetrokkenheid-en-ouderparticipatie-evaluatie-

See: 

52 

 
 
                                                            
Transferability 

Interviews  from  staff  involved  in  the  implementation  of  the  measure  as  well  the  evaluation  of 
PAOO  noted  that  the  measure  was  innovative  and  inspiring,  and  that  it  should  have  been 
continued,  with  some  adjustments  (especially  better  planning).  FORUM  no  longer  exists  as  an 
institution  (shut  down  in  2015,  mostly  due  to  governmental  views  on  diversity  issues)  so  it 
would be more difficult to find a coordinating institution at the national level. 

Existing  networks  of  ITE  institutions  and  website  forums  at  ITE  institutions  around  diversity 
issues40  could  constitute  relevant  delivery  mechanisms  (already  in  place  in  the  ITE  system)  to 
introduce this practice at the national level.   

References: 

References and list of interviews 

Innovaties  in  ouderbetrokkenheid  en  ouderparticipatie.  Evaluatie  project  Platform  Allochtone 
Ouders  en  Onderwijs.  Mei  2009.  Available  at:  http://docplayer.nl/3843758-Innovaties-in-
ouderbetrokkenheid-en-ouderparticipatie-evaluatie-project-platform-allochtone-ouders-en-
onderwijs-mei-2009.html. Accessed 15.11.2016. 
Smit,  F.,  &  Driessen.  G.  (2007).  Parents  and  schools  as  partners  in  a  multicultural, 
multireligious society. Journal of Empirical Theology, 20, (1), 1-20. 
Vincent,  C.,  &  Martin,  J.  (2002).  Class,  culture  and  agency:  researching  parental  voice. 
Discourse: studies in the cultural politics of education, 23, (1), 109-128. 

Interviews: 

  2 Evaluators of the PAOO Project 
  Chair PAOO and Hengelo Local Coordinator and trainer in the Enschede area 
 

PAOO Project Director 

40 See e.g weblog of HAN in Arnhem and Nijmegen: https://blog.han.nl/diversiteit/  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Case  Study  13:  Norway  –  The  National  Centre  for 
Multicultural Education (NAFO) 

Context  

NAFO  was  established  in  2004,  and  was  initially  responsible  for  the  implementation  of  the 
governmental  Strategic  plan  ‘Equal  Education  in  Practice!  A  Strategy  for  better  learning  and 
greater  participation  by  language  minorities  in  kindergartens,  schools,  and  education  2004  -
2009’.  A  new  mandate,  based  on  the  existing  design,  was  outlined  in  2010,  with  extended 
tasks,  such  as  research  and  developmental  projects  and  collaboration  with  universities  and 
university  colleges.  This  did  not  mean  a  break  with  earlier  work,  but  entailed  a  continuation, 
with some additional responsibilities, including more cooperation with TE providers41.  

The  design  of  NAFO  is  based  on  collaboration  with  and  assistance  to  multiple  target  groups  in 
developing good teaching models to deal with diversity in education (The Ministry of Education 
and  Research,  2007;  OECD,  2009;  NAFO,  2010).  NAFO  is  addressing  all  educational  levels, 
based  on  a  comprehensive  network  model.  The  Centre’s  target  groups  are  day-care  centres, 
kindergartens,  schools,  and  adult-education  centres  as  well  as  administrators  of  schools  and 
kindergartens,  teachers,  staff  of  the  pedagogical  psychological  counselling  services  and 
professionals  at  universities  and  university  colleges.  This  case  study  summary  focuses  in 
particular  on  NAFO’s  cooperation  with  Higher  Education  (HE)/Teacher  education  (TE) 
institutions,  and  other  activities  with  relevance  for  TE.  NAFO  is  funded  by  the  Directorate  for 
Education and Training (NDET). 

According to its mandate (NDET, 2010), NAFO’s aims, are to:  

Short description 

  Contribute to the national educational policy in  a way  that will provide children, young 
people  and  adults  with  an  equal  and  adapted  education  of  high  quality  in  an  inclusive 
community; 

  Contribute  to  the  multicultural  perspective  in  kindergartens  and  schools  by  increasing 
the educational provisions to linguistic minorities and developing inclusive, multicultural 
learning  communities.  NAFO  has  also  been  an  important  partner  in  designing  the 
curriculum of TE for bilingual teachers. 

  Assist the HE sector/teacher education institutions in competence development. 
 

Take  initiative  to  and  contribute  to  the  implementation  of  quality  development  actions 
related  to  subject  didactic  activity  in  cooperation  with  school  owners  and  the  HE 
sector/TE; 
Provide  advice  and  assistance  to  university  colleges  and  universities  in  their  effort  to 
realise  national  priorities/commitments  that  promote  competence  development  in 
primary and secondary education; 

 

  Act  as a resource and  cooperative partner for  the  other national centres,  HE sector/TE 
and other national actors in their work to deal with diversity and multicultural education. 
NAFO  has  established  regional  collaboration  networks  (the  ‘NAFO-wheel’)  in  all  Norwegian 
focus-kindergartens, 
levels  with 
counties/regions  across  educational 
kindergarten-owners  and  school-owners,  the  university/university  college  sector,  and  the 
education  department  at  the  county  governor’s  offices.  They  meet  once  a  year  and  discuss 
competence  development,  experiences,  collaborative  projects  in  the  respective  counties.  HEIs 
mainly share experiences with partners across educational and administrative levels: providing 
information  about  what  is  going  on  in  TE  in  the  field  (school  owners,  kindergartens  and 

focus-schools42, 

41 See: http://nafo.hioa.no/om-nafo/nafos-mandat/. Accessed 01.02.2017. 
42  NAFO  has  appointed  focus  schools  at  all  levels,  which  are  central  parts  of  the  network  wheel.  They 
operate as resource schools, often with great expertise and experiences in working with lingual and cultural 
minorities, which they are supposed to share with other schools in the municipality where they are situated.  

54 

 
 
                                                            
schools), projects and conferences, opening up for further contact.  

NAFO  has  also  established  a  national  network  for  school  owners43,  for  school  owners  in 
municipalities (kindergarten and compulsory schools) and for school owners in counties (upper 
secondary schools) in order to present good examples from the practice field, local development 
work, and exchange of experiences.  

NAFO  is  cooperating  with  the  actors  in  the  networks  via  meetings,  sessions,  and  conferences, 
courses 
and 
spreading/dissemination  of  information  and  guidance  material,  including  examples  of  good 
practice; and presentation of results from research and development activities (Aamodt, 2014).  

development 

collaborative 

in-service 

projects; 

training; 

and 

According  to  NAFO,  the  most  important  competence-building  activities  for  the  HE  sector 
happens through cooperation with development projects, such as: 

 

 

 

 

‘Competence  for  Diversity  (2013-2016)’:  national  programme  encompassing  21 
municipalities and 7 counties involving local ITE providers for the professional/academic 
content. Target groups were staff in schools and adult education. The project aimed to 
prepare  the  participants  for  dealing  with  minority  pupils  and  adults  and  promote  the 
competence for multicultural education in ITE institutions (Aamodt et al, 2014; Lødding, 
2015; NDETa, 2016). 
‘Education  for  newly  arrived  youths  (2013-2016)’:  project  led  by  ITE  providers  in  26 
municipalities in seven counties including schools and adult centres. This project aimed 
to  strengthen  the  collaboration  with  the  HE  sector,  enhance  consciousness-raising  and 
increase  the  competence  of  school  managers  and  teachers  to  deal  with  newly  arrived 
youths (NAFOa, 2016; Eriksen, 2014). 
‘Knowledge of Roma /Taters (travellers) in teacher education 2015-2016’: targeting HE-
institutions,  aims  to  ensure  that  the  issue  of  national  minorities  is  included  in  ITE 
programmes. A particular course will be tried out at one ITE provider and spread to all 
ITE providers. 
‘Inclusion and education for refugees’ (project planned for 2018-2020): Day conferences 
to  strengthen  access  to  education  and  other  services  for  the  great  inflow  of  refugees, 
organised  by  NDET  in  autumn  2016,  involving  both  NAFO  and  the  HE  institutions 
(NDETb,  2016).  NAFO  may  provide  inputs  and  courses  for  teacher  educators  on 
invitation from individual TE institutions.  

Evidence on effectiveness 

Participation  in  regional  and  national  networks  provides  ITE  institutions  access  to  and 
knowledge  about  how  the  practice  field  is  dealing  with  diversity  in  the  classroom.  The  same 
apply  to  focus-schools,  and  the  contact  with  the  HE  sector  is  important  in  order  to  keep 
multicultural issues in focus. 

The project collaboration between NAFO and the HE sector has, through project grants, opened 
up for further research and generated more staff being involved in development work, which is 
an  important  pathway  to  increase  the  competence  in  this  field  in  ITE.  Furthermore,  access  to 
NAFO’s  digital  portals  has  also  been  an  important  tool  to  increase  consciousness  and  enhance 
intercultural  competences  in  the  HE  sector.  The  Centre  has  received  positive  feedback  from 
those  who  have  participated  from  the  HE  sector  in  projects,  networks,  and  conferences, 
including teacher educators (Aamodt et al, 2014).   

Despite multicultural issues being embedded in the National framework for TE, the quality and 
depth  of  how  the  theme  is  dealt  with  varies  greatly  across  ITE  providers.  According  to 
interviews,  institutions  cooperating  with  NAFO  have  become  more  conscious  in  giving  more 

43 School owners are those in charge of running public schools; the municipalities are owners of primary and 
lower  secondary  level,  and  the  Counties  of  upper  education  and  training,  (headed  by  Directors  of 
Education). 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
attention to diversity and inclusion in the actual teaching than before. NAFO (2015) reports an 
increased demand for and use of its digital resources. 

Strengths of the project: 

  Networks, which provide a strong foundation at all levels; 
  NAFO staff, which represents great professional diversity (including teacher educators), 
is flexible and effective in taking on new tasks and assignments and carry them out; 
  Stability  and  usefulness  of  the  NAFO  network  model  for  establishing  strong  bonds 
between  schools  and  ITE  providers  (mutual  benefit  by  all  parties,  giving  priority  by 
NAFO  to  strengthen  the  bonds  between  partners,  and  political/public  support  of  the 
model); 
Funds being allocated to the TE institutions in connection with projects. 

 

Areas for improvement: 

  NAFO shall assist the HE sector, but no similar requirement exists for HEIs to cooperate 
with NAFO. Cooperation often depends on goodwill from individual institutions. But most 
crucial for their full cooperation is that project funds are available.  

  NAFO has no one employed in academic/scientific positions (Aamodt et al., 2014). 

Resources,  continuity  of  the  contact,  mutual  trust  between  cooperating  partners  and 
cooperation  are  important  for  sustainability.  As  long  as  multicultural  education  is  a  high-stake 
issue in society, university colleges welcome all initiatives from NAFO.  

NAFO receives an annual basic grant, which covers only part of the annual budget. Most of the 
funds are transferred throughout the year connected to external assignments and projects.  This 
leads to uncertainty and unpredictability for long-term planning, and is affecting the situation of 
extra staff being hired to carry out projects.  

Key success factors 

Norway has strengthened multicultural perspectives as mandatory parts of ITE in the new four-
year  differentiated  programme  introduced  in  2010.  Most  universities  and  university  colleges  in 
Norway also provide optional, in-service, supplementary training programmes, (one-to-five-day 
training  courses  to  full  Master’s  degrees  in  multicultural  understanding  and  multicultural 
pedagogy)  (Følgjegruppe,  2013).  However,  student  teachers  report  that  they  do  not  feel  that 
they  had  sufficient  knowledge  of  diversity-sensitive  pedagogical  concepts  and  practices 
(Følgjegruppe, 2015).  

There  are  great  regional  variations  between  ITE  institutions  in  adapting  and  implementing  the 
requirements  of  the  National  framework  curriculum  (Følgjegruppe,  2014).  Institutions  have  a 
high  degree  of  autonomy,  both  with  regard  to  implementing  the  national  curriculum  and 
priorities  given  in  employment  policies  (e.g.  regarding  hiring  people  with  expertise  in 
multicultural issues or not). Some providers have a high profile in the diversity field, other have 
other  themes  as  high-stake  issues.  Multiculturalism  has  to  be  addressed  in  all  subjects  in 
teacher education programmes (Følgjegruppe, 2015). The government’s focus on TE creates an 
important  opportunity  to  develop  a  new  ITE  framework  that  explicitly  addresses  the  needs  of 
immigrant pupils within mainstream teaching in school (OECD, 2009; Følgjegruppe, 2014). 

Important factors for NAFO’s success include: 
  Nationally based and supported; 
  Multi-level  networks  and  emphasis  on  an  integrated  approach  connecting  educational 

levels (Aamodt et al, 2014); 

  Stimulating working environment with a dedicated and highly competent staff44; 
 
  Minimum of internal resources are required to contact persons at the TE institutions with 

Functional and accessible home page and digital resources; 

44 NAFO is organised in a way that promotes regional cooperation across educational levels. Each member of 
staff,  is  responsible  for  following  up  the  work  in  two  to  three  counties,  in  addition  to  undertake  tasks 
requiring their particular expertise in particular areas and experience from particular educational levels 

56 

 
 
                                                            
responsibility to take part in the network cooperation with NAFO; 

  Stability of contact persons at the university colleges is also important; 
  External funds from NAFO to undertake projects are crucial contextual factors to secure 

 

participation by TE institutions; 
Political support: autonomy of TE institutions (in terms of limiting the direct influence of 
NAFO), and access to project funds which stimulates participation by TE institutions. 

Other crucial elements for NAFO’s effective implementation include: 

  Diversity included in the national ITE curricula;  
 
Projects initiated and coordinated by NAFO, are manageable and very well planned; 
  NAFO is an easy partner for the TE institutions to cooperate with, particularly due to its 

non-bureaucratic mode of working; 

  Available academic resources, time, and capacity at the university colleges. 

However,  the  lack  of  funds  earmarked  for  dealing  with  diversity  in  TE  and  participate  in 
development work  and  research limits  the sustainability  of  NAFO.  In order to get more lasting 
effects of NAFO’s cooperation with ITE providers, diversity should be prioritised at the policy and 
ITE  level.  There  is  a  risk  that  the  responsibility  for  dealing  with  diversity  still  rests  with  a  few 
particularly  dedicated  people,  rather  than  being  a  responsibility  for  all  teacher  educators.  The 
cooperation  with  NAFO  has  in  some  cases  contributed  to  increase  the  chance  of  getting 
multicultural themes on the map, and paved the way for inclusion in curricula. 

The results from activities and projects are delivered through the following mechanisms within 
the ITE/education system: 

Transferability 

  Governmental home pages and national conferences; 
  NAFO’s home page; 
  National framework curriculum for teacher education. 

Despite  the  positive  experiences  with  the  NAFO  network  model,  communication  about 
interesting  activities  and  results  could  be  improved  with  more  active  initiative  and  help  from 
school  owners  (e.g.  NAFO’s  home  page,  digital  material),  to  improve  availability  for  schools 
outside the ‘wheel’. 
On  the  international  level,  NAFO  participates  in  SIRIUS45,  the  EU’s  network  on  education  for 
migrants.  A  recent  cooperation  with  Latvia  that  concerned  the  development  of  competences 
with  regard  to  working  with  minority  lingual  families  was  based  on  the  NAFO  model.  It  was  a 
successful project, resulting in an invitation to undertake a similar project in Estonia. 

NAFO  is  also  engaged  in  a  Nordic  cooperation  on  multilingualism  in  the  Nordic  countries 
(Flerspråklighet i Norden, FLIN), involving exchange of knowledge and experiences for actors at 
all  governance  levels  (municipalities,  regions,  and  state).  Particular  emphasis  is  on  the 
development of ICT for working with multilingualism in TE and education46. 

References and list of interviews 

References 

Aamodt, P.O, Seland, I., Opheim, V., Carlsten, T.C., Lødding, B., and Røsdal, T., Evaluering av 
de  nasjonale  sentrene  i  opplæringen:  Evaluering  av  åtte  nasjonale  sentre  i  et  styrings-  og 
brukerperspektiv,  [Evaluation of  the national centres in  education: Evaluation  of  eight national 
centres  in  a  governance  and  user  perspective]  Rapport  nr.  49,  Nordic  Institute  for  Studies  in 
Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU), 2014. 

Eriksen,  O.  Rapport  fra  kompetansenettverket  Opplæring  av  ungdom  med  kort  botid,[Report 
from the competence network: Education for newly arrived youths], Østfold University College, 
2014. 

Følgjegruppe, Grunnskolelærerutdanningene etter fem år. Status, utfordringer og vegar vidare. 

45 See: http://www.sirius-migrationeducation.org/  
46 See: http://nafo.hioa.no/flin-flerspraklighet-i-norden/  

 
 
 
 
                                                            
[ITE  for  level  1-10  after  five  years.  Status,  challenges  and  future  pathways],  Report  5  to  The 
Ministry of Education and Research, University of Stavanger, 2015. 

Følgjegruppe,  Lærerutdanninger  i  endring.  Indre  utvikling  –ytre  kontekstuelle  og  strukturelle 
hinder  [Teacher  education  under  change.  Internal  development  –  external  contextual  and 
structural  barriers],  Report  nr.  4  to  The  Ministry  of  Education  and  Research,  University  of 
Stavanger, 2014.  

Følgjegruppa,  Drivkraft  i  utviklinga  av  lærarprofesjonen?  Framsteg  og  utfordringar  for 
grunnskulelærarutdanningane.Report  nr.  3  to  The  Ministry  of  Education  and  Research, 
University of Stavanger, 2013. 

Lødding,  B.,  Mobilisering  for  mangfold.  Kartlegging  av  kompetanse  i  barnehagesektor  og 
grunnopplæring  for  barn,  unge  og  voksne  i  første  fase  av  satsingen  Kompetanse  for  mangfold 
[Mobilization  for  diversity.  Mapping  of  competence  in  kindergartens  and  schools  for  children, 
youths  and  adults  in  the  first  phase  of  the  priority  project  Competence  for  diversity]  ,  NIFU 
Rapport 4/2015. 

NAFO, Årsrapport  2015 for Nasjonalt senter for flerkulturell opplæring [Annual report  2015 for 
the National Centre for Multicultural Education], NAFO, 2016. 

NAFO,  The  Road  Ahead.  Final  Report:  Equal  Education  in  Practice!    The  National  Centre  for 
Multicultural Education, 2010. 

NAFO,  2016a,  Opplæring  av  ungdom  med  kort  botid  [Education  for  newly  arrived  youths]. 
Project  description.  Available  at:  http://nafo.hioa.no/om-nafo/nafos-prosjekter/opplaering-av-
ungdom-med-kort-botid/. Accessed 04.01.2017. 

NAFO,  2016b,  Kunnskap  om 
http://nafo.hioa.no/om-nafo/nafos-prosjekter/taterfolket-fra-barn-til-voksen/. 
04.01.17 

romanifolket/taterne 

lærerutdanningen.  Available  at: 
Accessed 

i 

NDET,  Kompetanse 
trivsel/kompetanse-for-mangfold/. Accessed 04.01.17. 

for  mangfold,  2016a.  Available  at:  http://www.udir.no/laring-og-

NDET,  Inkludering  og  opplæring  av  flyktninger  –  fylkesvise  samlinger  2016b.  Available  at: 
http://www.udir.no/laring-og-trivsel/minoritetsspraklige/flyktninger/fylkesvise-samlinger---
inkludering-og-opplaring-av-flyktninger/. Accessed 04.01.2017. 

OECD  Thematic  Review  on  Migrant  Education  Country  Background  Report  for  Norway,  OECD, 
2009. 

The Ministry of Education and Research, Strategic plan. Equal Education in Practice! A strategy 
for  better  learning  and  greater  participation  by  language  minorities  in  kindergartens,  schools 
and education 2004-2009. Revised 2007. 

The Ministry of Education and Research, Equal education in practice! Strategy for better learning 
and  greater  participation  by  language  minorities  in  day-care  centres,  schools  and  education, 
2004–2009, Strategic plan. Dec 2003. 

Interviews  

Teacher educator at Østfold University College 
Leader of NAFO 

 
 
  Senior advisor and Vice-leader at NAFO 
 

Principal at a primary school/focus-school in Østfold county. 

58 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Case Study 14: Slovenia – Criteria for accreditation of 
study programmes for teachers (Merila za akreditacijo 
študijskih programov za izobraževanje učiteljev) 

Context  

This policy on the accreditation of study programmes for teachers was initiated by the Slovenian 
Ministry of Education. Between 2008 and 2011, there was a need to modernise the pre-existing 
regulation  on  the  accreditation  of  higher  education  programmes,  which  was  unsuitable  in 
relation to the changes that came with the Bologna process. An outline was proposed, debated 
and aligned on several occasions between the Minister and the deans of Faculties that provide 
ITE study programmes. In 2011, a consensus was reached and the Slovenian Quality Assurance 
Agency  for  Higher  Education  (Nacionalne  agencije  Republike  Slovenije  za  kakovost  v  visokem 
šolstvu,  NAKVIS)  formally  adopted  the  Criteria  for  accreditation  of  study  programmes  for 
teachers47.  

Short description 

The criteria for accreditation of study programmes for teachers aim to support the autonomy of 
teachers:  when  they  enter  the  profession,  teachers  should  be  able  to  autonomously  use  the 
competences achieved.  

General competences (Criteria, Art. 5) are divided in to four main categories:  

1.  Efficient education (with 17 sub categories); 
2.  Cooperation with professional and social environment (three sub-categories); 
3.  Competence for professional development (three sub-categories); 
4.  Organisational and leadership competence (five sub-categories).  

Issues  relevant  for  diversity  in  the  classroom  fall  under  ‘Efficient  education’:  providing  a  safe 
and  supportive  environment  for  learning,  respecting  personal  differences,  positive  attitude 
towards students in relation to their social, cultural, language, and religious background.  

Moreover,  the  criteria  aim  at  increasing  the  accountability  in  ITE  provision,  following  the 
principles  of  the  Bologna  Process.  Specific  paragraphs  and  sub-competences  that  imply  the 
implementation of diversity in ITE were conceived as part of requirements of the Convention on 
the Rights of the Child. The Criteria are used for (re)accreditation of ITE study programmes by 
NAKVIS. 

The measure aims at aligning existing practices with the principles of the Bologna Process and 
with  the  national  regulation.  All  study  programmes  that  provide  nationally/internationally 
acknowledged degrees need to be accredited. Initial accreditation or re-accreditation is granted 
for a maximum period of seven years. The accreditation procedure includes self-evaluation, an 
assessment and a report prepared by an expert group, and the decision of the NAKVIS.  

Before the adoption of the founding charter, the founder must obtain a decision on accreditation 
of a higher education institution, while study programmes become certified upon being granted 
accreditation48.  There  are  additional  criteria  for  ITE  study  programmes.  The  competences 
related to diversity need to be applied in a cross-curricular way, as an integral part of ITE study 
programmes.  However,  since  the  criteria  are  formulated  too  broadly,  there  is  a  big  room  for 
interpretation when it comes to the design of specific ITE programmes.  

Diversity  is  still  an  evolving  and  new  concept  in  Slovenian  education  discourses.  However,  the 
concept is emphasised in policy, research and practice. Equity and equality, justice and fairness, 

47 See: http://www.uradni-list.si/1/objava.jsp?urlid=201194&stevilka=4013. Accessed 15.11.2016. 
48  See  also:    Criteria  for  accreditation  and  external  evaluation  of  Higher  Education  institution  and  study 
programmes http://pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=MERI35. Accessed 15.11.2016. 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
multiculturalism,  inclusion  have  become  part  of  the  dominant  discourses  in  Slovenian  debates 
on education policy. 

Evidence on effectiveness 

The  main  result  of  this  initiative  is  that  basic  conditions  for  the  development  of  general 
competences  for  (future)  teachers  are  ensured.  The  measure  is  part  of  a  regular  re-
accreditation process. Since it is implemented as an integral part of ITE study programmes, the 
effects  are  not  measured  nationally.  They  can  at  least  partly  be  found  in  results  of  the  TALIS 
survey from 2008.  

Discourses  on  equity  and  equality,  justice  and  fairness,  multiculturalism,  and  inclusion  have  a 
long tradition in the field of education in Slovenia. However, there is still room for improvement 
in different areas regarding diversity. Until recently, Slovenia has had a relatively stable profile 
and  flow  of  migrant  population.  Most  of  them  were  economic  migrants  form  former  Yugoslav 
republics or South East Europe. This is one of the main reasons why Slovenia does not yet have 
any specific discourse on diversity in education, and why competences regarding diversity have 
not yet been one of the dominant interests of ITE programmes. 

The  main  strength  of  this  measure  is  that  it  is  a  national  regulation,  and  that  it  has  been 
implemented at all ITE providers. Its weakness, in relation to the conceptualisation of diversity, 
is that the measure is currently too broadly formulated. It appears to be more in line with the 
Convention on the Rights of the Child rather than the concept of diversity in narrower sense  – 
which  in  Slovenia  is  not  yet  defined  as  such.  The  Criteria  offer  possibilities  for  the 
implementation and operationalisation of diversity in the classroom, which would require further 
research,  including  aiming  at  assessing  the  extent  to  which  student  teachers  do  acquire 
competences for dealing with diversity in the classroom.  

Key success factors 

The  most  important  condition  for  the  measure  to  be  introduced  was  a  high  consensus  on  the 
need for new accreditation policy between the Ministry and the faculties that provide ITE study 
programmes.  All  the  parties  had  mostly  common  interest  –  alignment  with  Bologna  criteria, 
providing  security  and  autonomy  for  teachers  and  study  programmes.  The  measure  could  be 
strengthened  through  reflective,  self-evaluation  practices  of  study  programmes  and  individual 
teachers/subject. This could be done by establishing a dialogue between government, experts, 
teachers and collecting feedback on what policy mechanisms, instruments they have or lack to 
be able to deal with cultural diversity in classrooms and schools. 

Transferability 

The  Slovenian  national  education  system  and  its  Quality  Assurance  Agency  are  unique  and 
exposed to specific and complex contexts. The question of transferability  of the criteria for the 
accreditation of ITE programmes would need further research and analysis. 

References 

References and list of interviews 

Merila za akreditacijo študijskih programov za izobraževanje učiteljev. See: http://www.uradni-
list.si/1/objava.jsp?urlid=201194&stevilka=4013. Accessed 15.11.2016. 

Interviews 

  Ministry  of  Education  Science  and  Sport,  Head  of  the  Human  Resources  Development 

 

Office. 
Faculty  of  Education,  University  of  Ljubljana,  Head  of  the  Department  of  Social 
Pedagogy 

  Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency (NAKVIS). 
  Vice-Dean  responsible  for  Quality  Assurance,  Faculty  of  Education,  University  of 

Ljubljana 

60 

 
 
Case Study 15: Slovakia – Multicultural education as a 
cross-cutting theme in education (Multikultúrna 
výchova ako prierezová téma vo vzdelávaní) 

Context   

The  project  on  ‘Multicultural  education  as  a  cross-cutting  theme  in  education’  was  initiated  by 
The Ministry of Education. The State pedagogical institute (SPI) is responsible for the design of 
the State educational programme (general curriculum) which provides the main goals, activities 
and  background  information  for  the  introduction  of  multicultural  education  in  schools.  The 
multicultural  education  project  was  introduced  into  the  Slovak  educational  system  after  the 
school  reform  in  2008.  The  national  school  curriculum  was  introduced  for  the  school  year 
2008/2009.  

All schools (public, religious, and private), are obliged to implement multicultural education as a 
dedicated cross-cutting theme. In Slovakia, some topics in education, such as media, personal 
development, environmental education, or multicultural education, are generally not taught as a 
separate  subject,  but  should  be  incorporated  into  other  subjects,  or  transversally  into  all 
subjects.    

The  main  target  groups  of  this  measure  are  pupils  in  kindergartens,  primary  and  secondary 
schools, and their teachers. Student teachers have not been involved in the implementation of 
this  measure.  However,  student  teachers  receive  part  of  their  practical  preparation  in  schools, 
and  some  of  them  teach  multicultural  education  (no  data  is  available  on  how  many  of  them 
have been involved in this activity).  

Generally,  ITE  providers  are  not  involved  in  this  process.  The  main  author  of  the  State 
educational programme is a teacher educator at the Pedagogical Faculty in Bratislava and holds 
a  course  on  ‘Multicultural  education’.  However,  multicultural  education  is  not  systematically 
implemented  at  the  level  of  ITE  providers.  Universities  possess  a  high  degree  of  autonomy  in 
the  design  of  their  study  programmes.  Nevertheless,  some  Pedagogical  Faculties  (Bratislava, 
Banská Bystrica, Prešov) chose to teach multicultural education. 

Short description 

According  to  the  national  school  curriculum,  the  main  aim  of  multicultural  education  is  to 
develop  knowledge  on  different  traditional  or  newly  emerging  cultures  and  subcultures  among 
pupils. Another aim is to contribute to the acceptance, respect and tolerance towards minorities 
and migrants. Thanks to multicultural education, pupils have the chance to become familiar with 
their  own  culture  and  reflect  upon  other  cultures  and  traditions.  Pupils  learn  how  to 
communicate  and  cooperate  with  people  from  different  cultures  in  a  constructive  way  (State 
educational programme, 2011). 

Specific aims of multicultural education include: 

  Support  the  individual  consciousness  of  pupils,  teach  them  how  to  maintain  social  and 

 

 

 
 

emotional bonds with different people; 
Promote their self-esteem, encourage creativity in interacting with others, especially the 
disadvantaged pupils; 
Provide  appropriate  incentives  for  experience  the  diversity,  encourage  curiosity  and 
interest in the environment; 
Learn to acknowledge and respect cultural diversity; 
Learn  how  to  resolve  the  conflicts  in  non-violent  way,  how  to  cooperate  and 
communicate with people from different cultures in safe environment (State educational 
program, 2011). 

There  are  no  prescribed  activities  within  the  multicultural  education  project.  Schools  have  the 
autonomy  to  incorporate  multicultural  education  into  their  school  practice  or  curriculum.  ITE 

 
 
 
 
providers are free to design their own educational programmes and are not obliged to provide 
courses on multicultural education.  

The  national  curriculum  recommends  suitable  forms  or  activities  for  multicultural  education, 
such  as  “experience-based  methods  of  education”,  collaboration  with  relevant  stakeholders. 
Multicultural  education  is  implemented  differently  across  Slovakia,  either  incorporated  into  the 
curriculum  of  all  subjects  taught  in  school,  or  as  a  separate  subject.  Other  schools  use  this 
measure as an extra-curricular activity after school (Petrasová et al., 2010)  

Evidence on effectiveness 

Multicultural education is a compulsory cross-cutting theme for ISCED 0-3. A recent evaluation 
study of human rights and multicultural education has shown positive results in the perception 
of  diversity  amongst  students,  parents,  teachers  and  directors  of  schools  (Ondrášová,  2015). 
Teachers  reported  the  “development  of  communication  skills,  increased  tolerance  to  the 
opinions and attitudes of other people, less critical view of the differences” among their students 
(Ondrášová,  2015:  16).  Students  themselves  reported  improvements  in  the  possibility  to 
discuss  and  get  quality  materials  regarding  human  rights,  including  practical  examples  and 
exercises, although practical examples are scarce (Ibid.). However, there seems to be a lack of 
interest in human rights outside mandatory courses, and teachers showed downward interest in 
human rights education (Ibid.).  

According to the evaluation study results and interviewees, the impact of multicultural education 
depends on individual teachers and the extent to which they promote multicultural educational 
goals outside the classroom. In addition, pupils tend to be very sensitive to negative attitudes 
and  narratives  towards  diversity  in  the  public  discourse.  The  evaluation  report  does  not  take 
into  account  student  teachers,  as  it  only  tested  the  change  of  attitudes  amongst  students, 
parents, teachers, and directors of schools.  

However,  interviewees  underlined  that  multicultural  education  as  a  compulsory  cross-cutting 
subject  in  the  state  educational  programme  represents  a  progress,  particularly  in  the  current 
Slovak political context, characterised by a growing hostility towards migrants and minorities.  

The fact that the implementation of multicultural education highly depends on the willingness of 
schools and teachers themselves seems to be both a strength and weakness. This implies that 
there are not enough materials for individual subjects, and that teachers often do not know how 
to  apply  it.  Interviewees  mentioned  that  there  is  a  lack  of  concrete  materials  for  its 
implementation in other subjects (such as history, civics, arts or languages).  

In addition, as schools are free to implement multicultural education the way they want to, the 
topic is sometimes provided in a purely formal way. Interviewees reported examples of schools 
which  created  stereotypical  “intercultural  afternoons”  (e.g.  activities  where  pupils  get  to  know 
different  cultures  trough  pictures,  music  or  food).  Another  example  occurs  when  teachers  use 
stereotypical language or racist views against other students (such as Roma or Jewish students 
at school).  

Interviews showed that while multicultural education is formally supported, respect of diversity 
and human rights is not a key priority when designing the curricula, as educational authorities 
rather  encourage  practical  subjects  that  are  being  tested  at  schools  (such  as  maths  and 
languages). 

Key success factors 

Multicultural  education  was  integrated  in  2008  in  the  context  of  increasing  globalisation, 
migration  and  intra-European  mobility.  The  proposal  of  the  National  strategy  for  the 
implementation  of  European  year  of  intercultural  dialogue  also  included  the  need  for  the 
adoption and implementation of policies, which would focus on managing cultural diversity and 
stress  mutual  respect  and  tolerance  among  different  ethnic  groups.  This  was  one  of  the  main 

62 

 
 
inputs for introducing multicultural education (Petrasová et al., 2010). However, there was not 
enough time for the preparation of guidelines, curricula or standards for multicultural education, 
since schools had only two months to prepare. For the measure to be effectively implemented, 
implementation  support  and  creation  of  an  appropriate  delivery  system  (i.e.  initial  and 
continuous teacher education, methodological guidelines, etc.) is needed.  

This  case  clearly  shows  that  the  inclusion  of  multicultural  education  into  national  education 
strategies  does  not  yet  guarantee  its  effective  embedding  into  school  and  teacher  education 
curricula if there is no follow-up. The introduction of a school subject on multicultural education 
cannot  help  to  increase  tolerance  in  society  when  students  with  a  diverse  background  are 
segregated  into  different classrooms,  or  at  schools  where  teachers  and  school  staff  hold racist 
views and where their attitudes are not challenged by training programmes.  

Furthermore,  the  cross-cutting  approach  to  multicultural  education  is  not  sufficient  if  the 
political discourse encourages stereotypes,  racism,  or  does  not  respect  differences.  In addition 
to  these  crucial  contextual  factors,  some  interviewees  reported  that  the  measure  could  work 
more effectively  as a  subject in itself with less formal activities,  rather than as a cross-cutting 
topic.  

Transferability 

Interviewees reported that this measure could be adopted in other  countries, if adapted to the 
specific  needs  of  the  local  contexts.  For  an  effective  transferability  of  this  measure  to  other 
countries,  a  more  intense  preparation,  professional  development  initiatives  for  teachers  and 
continuous support from the state or other experts would be needed.   

References and list of interviews 

References 

Ministerstvo  školstva  SR  (Ministry  of  education  of  the  Slovak  republic),  Štátny  vzdelávací 
program (State Education Programme), Bratislava: Ministerstvo školstva, 2011 

Petrasová,  A.  et.al,  Model  profesijných  štandardov  multikultúrnej  výchovy  pre  základné  školy 
(Model  of  professional  standards  of  multicultural  education  for  primary  schools),  Bratislava: 
Združenie Orava, 2010.  

Ondrášová,  K.:  Analysis  of  the  current  state  of  education  and  training  for  human  rights  in  the 
regional  school  system  after  implementation  of  the  plan  of  human  rights  education  in  the 
education  sector  for  the  period  2005-2014  [Analýza  súčasného  stavu  výchovy  a  vzdelávaniak 
ľudským  právam  v  regionálnom  školstve  po  realizácii  Plánu  výchovy  k  ľudským  právam  v 
rezorte školstva na roky 2005-2014], Ministry of Education, Science, Reseacrh and Sport of the 
Slovak Republic, 2015. 

Zákon č.365/2008 o výchove a vzdelávaní (školský zákon), (Act nr.365/2008 on education and 
upbringing (school act)). 

Interviews 

  Author of the multicultural education as a cross-cutting subject, Comenius University, 

Bratislava. 

  Student teacher, Comenius University, Bratislava. 
  Author of the evaluation study, Ministry of Education, Bratislava. 

 
 
 
 
 
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