DEVOTE’s educational content is ready!

The educational content for DEVOTE’s future open online course is now available in 6 languages!

The DEVOTE team has worked hard to develop the structure of a 6-module course for teachers and educators, aiming to provide them with skills and tools to integrate students with migrant backgrounds in schools.

We developed these modules using the feedback of students with migrant backgrounds and their teachers, that we collected through a survey. Their insight put into light the necessity to discuss the assessment practices for students with migrant backgrounds and the difficulties they can encounter regarding the use of the national language. We therefore designed educational content aiming to give teachers tools and guidance to better support students and to foster their success in school. However, the survey we conducted also highlighted the importance of both the environment and the social setting for students with migrant backgrounds. To address these matters, we created modules on parents’ engagement, on psychosocial support and on the “Whole school approach”, a method involving all parts of the school to answer students’ holistic needs. Finally, we provide examples of good practices in intercultural education.

Module 1

The Whole School Approach

The Whole School Approach is a collaborative approach which involves teachers, school heads, other education professionals, parents as well as the local community. This approach has been found to be a significant factor in addressing migrant students' holistic needs and ensuring students’ continued progress.

Module 2

Assessment of students with migrant backgrounds

An initial assessment of newly arrived migrant students is not widely carried out and is rarely comprehensive in Europe.
These elements usually contribute either to decisions on how to place the students in schools and/or to provide learning support to meet their needs.

Module 3

National Linguistic Support

The teaching of the language of instruction to migrant students poses particular challenges as this language is often a second or additional language which needs to be learnt and mastered to a sufficiently high level in order to learn other subjects

Module 4

Parental involvement

Students' well-being at school also depends on their parents' perception and attitudes towards school, learning and teaching (Trasberg & Kong, 2017; Smit, Driessen, Sluiter & Sleegers, 2007). Parents' perceptions of the school may be shaped by a number of factors, these include discussions with their children, other parents and school staff, their children's school performance.

Module 5

Psychosocial support

In addition to developing the language competences of students from migrant backgrounds and ensuring they are making good progress generally, it is equally important that schools attend to students' social, emotional and mental well-being. Newly arrived migrant students, in particular, have to acquire a new language, adapt to new academic routines as well as deal with unfamiliar experiences in the wider community.

Module 6

Best practices in Intercultural Education

Intercultural education can be an education principle, a cross-curricular theme or taught through specific curriculum subjects. The first stage saw an initial mapping of existing policies and measures related to the integration of migrant students into schools in 42 education systems