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Description
The applicant - the Foundation for Quality Education - offers a postgraduate study program for future teachers - the School of Education of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation and University of Warsaw (SE). The project is intended to build dialogue competence within the SE team members, and within teachers from the practice schools in order to develop the education and communication subjects taught at SE. We hope that building social dialogue will transform tutorial relationships (faculty-student) or, in the broader terms, the culture of SE.
Participants will be familiarized with the method of building social dialogue – they will gain theoretical and practical knowledge regarding the use of dialogue in their classrooms, schools and local communities. The ability to solve problems through dialogue and mutual understanding, regardless of differences, can make it easier for all members of the school community (teachers, students, parents) to function in a diverse society and participating in its development. Consequently, it creates a foundation for building a society capable of solving social issues. The content developed during the training will be used for training future teachers and the professional development of in-service teachers.
The Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue (NC) offers unique methodology for building dialogue and a sense of community in conflicted communities. A methodology, which was built on experiences with migrants and in conflict zones (Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Latin America, as well as in Poland, in areas with refugee centers). It allows for a peaceful coexistence, while maintaining the values important to all the participants of the dialogue (more information to the method in the project description and in the activity schedule).
The planned training is aimed directly at the academic staff and teachers (SE faculty, SE management responsible for the developing the postgraduate program, mentor teachers).
Summary of project results
The project held a five-day intensive training on working with the Nansen dialogue method. The training was attended by the staff of the Good Education Foundation - the staff of the School of Education working with students (future teachers) and elementary school students, as well as FDE management staff (responsible for the SE training program). Participants learned about the method of dialogue facilitation in conflict situations and the principles of public dialogue. Nansen dialogue is a way of communication that focuses on understanding others rather than trying to convince them of one''s reasons. In dialogue, status, position and background have no meaning. To try to understand others is to recognize the other as a person. This does not mean accepting his views and values, but respecting his right to express them. Learning about the principles of dialogue helps to create this space and accompany often conflicted social groups in joint discussions. A key role in conducting dialogue is played by the facilitator, and it was this role, among others, that the participants of the meeting learned. The project took place according to the schedule outlined in the proposal. The five-day training was held from October 3-7, 2022.
Summary of bilateral results
The training was prepared and led by Christiane Seehausen, senior advisor at the Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue. Christiane. In Norway, she has been involved in conflict resolution using dialogue-building tools in many different contexts. She worked for several years in Nicaragua and then as director of a local government refugee integration center in Norway. She was a member of the government team preparing the refugee integration program, and later in Lillehammer was responsible for its implementation. In cooperation with the Eastern Norway Research Institute and Inland Norway University for Applied Sciences, she prepared a cultural competence training program and later worked as a trainer in this area. Two weeks after the training, an evaluation meeting was held, attended by the trainer and the project coordinators from the Good Education Foundation.