Description
The aim of the project is to help schools to tackle the problem of very negative attitudes among the majority of youth towards refugees and to prepare young citizens for arrival of refugees to Poland. Under the project, we will support teachers in discussing the subject with schoolchildren and students, inform heads of schools about the need for such activities and present reliable information to young people. Teachers will be supported by providing them with tools to work with students and methodological materials, and by enhancing their competencies. The Centre for Civic Education will create a coalition of various institutions encouraging discussing of the problem in schools in order to make it less controversial. The project is focused on building resources (mentors, partnerships, materials, web page) that will be used in the future. Using its own resources, the Centre for Civic Education will continue the activities after the end of the project.
Summary of project results
"The escalation of the so-called migration crisis resulted in decrease in social support for receiving refugees to 52% (CBOS). Critical attitudes towards refugees among youth show the need to reach the group with reliable information and to initiate a wise discussion based on facts. The project was a response to the needs of teachers who declared no competencies and had no materials to conduct such lessons in their schools. The aim of the project was to enhance schools to take the challenge of changing negative attitudes towards refugees prevalent among numerous young people. The project was intended to help young citizens to discuss problems of refugees and migrations in the atmosphere of mutual respect, so that the youth could participate in the Polish public debate through discussions, mutual listening and prospective activities. A support offer was created for teachers interested in discussing refugee issues in schools: education materials, methodical and training support. In personal interviews the teachers (approx. 150 persons) and heads of schools (approx. 1000 persons) were encouraged to discuss with the youth the problems of refugees and other controversial subjects, by explaining to them that such lessons would develop communication competencies of young people. Trainer (5 persons) and mentor (15 persons) teams were created, prepared to support in their work about 200 teachers through web training on the subject - it will be used in the school year 2016/17 thanks to co-financing from the Ministry of National Education. A coalition of 10 organisations and universities was launched to support discussions and lessons on refugees organised in schools. A set of 40 education materials was prepared and used in 900 schools. The web page
www.ceo.org.pl/migracje was also created. A team of 20 trainers and mentors was trained, 101 teachers took part in the blended-learning course, and thanks to publicattions and meetings, information on the project reached 1994 school heads and about 20 000 young people. The project benefited middle school teachers and students across Poland, school heads, trainers, mentors and CEO team. The project partner, the Professor Geremek Foundation, brought their expertise, while the National Association of Educational Directors helped to reach school heads."
Summary of bilateral results