LGBTQ – INCLUSIVITY IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Location/geographical coverage

University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, West Midlands region, Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Background and description

Widely accepted that university is a ‘good place’ to be gay, lesbian, bi, trans* or queer – that moving away from home and connecting with a wider range of people is a liberating experience and can positively shape students’ identities and enable them to build supportive social networks. On the other hand, people who identify as LGBTQ continue to experience higher levels of discrimination and abuse than the general population in all aspects of their lives, which can have a negative impact on their physical and mental health.

In order to address the issue, mentioned above, the guidance on best practice for an LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum was developed.

Guidance was rooted in the experience of students and colleagues, as well as being informed by theoretical developments in education. This guide supports colleagues across further and higher education to be inclusive about LGBTQ identities in their teaching practice and to feel confident in making gender and sexual diversity visible within the curriculum. Inspiring examples were shared and tailored to different academic disciplines, on how to do this in practice.

The model for the LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum consists of three domains of inclusivity (Language, Content and Role Models) and three levels of inclusivity (Awareness, Additive and Transformative).

Stakeholders and Partners

The beneficiaries of the good practice were students, the users – University staff. The project team consisted of a range of colleagues from across the University of Birmingham. The main partner was Stonewall – an organization which stands for all LGBTQ+ people.

Methodological Approach

The project was developed over two years. First, a literature review was conducted which provided some context for the study and influenced the model of inclusivity. Second, a survey of staff and students was conducted to better understand the situation at the University of Birmingham. Third, meetings with various colleagues were organized to complement this quantitative and qualitative research data. Fourth, collaborative workshops with students and academic colleagues were conducted to share the findings from the project and gather further examples of good practice. Finally, a best practice guide was developed.

Validation

Students confirm that the good practice addresses the needs: ‘One of the reasons that drew me into coming to study and the University of Birmingham was the range of topics discussed on my course. This proved evident during last term when I had a selection of lectures exploring medieval sexuality in which I was able to dwell on a personal study for my assignment. Many of my friends studying the same topic at different universities aren’t fortunate enough to be able to learn about historical conceptions of gender and sexuality… I’m pleased my course offers this.’

Innovation potential

Developed guidance led to the creation of welcoming and inclusive environment in higher education where all students can reach their potential. In an environment where discrimination, fear of discrimination and hatred are declining, LGBT students can have a positive experience in higher education and better educational outcomes.

Success Factors

1. Structures and policies. Where project team could, they continually made reference to University policies on inclusion. When issues emerged that were not covered by University structures or policies, the team contacted those with the authority to change them and shared findings and suggestions.
2. Supporting staff to be more inclusive. Project fed into formal training systems of the University – such as a new component in the induction programme for new staff (run by HR) and increasing content on inclusivity in the teaching qualification for new lecturers (run by Educational Enhancement team). Also, supportive workshops within subject groups on becoming more inclusive were offered.
3. Workshops with staff and students. Two-hour workshops with staff in discipline-specific groups were held. Workshop structure: (a) description of the national picture of LGBTQ inequalities in health and higher education, (b) data on completion rates and experiences of students from their own courses, (c) description of the model of inclusivity and reflection of the participants where their department was currently, (d) participants had to identify priorities for change within their department, and (e) participants had to make personal pledges on actions they would take in the next 3–6 months (on postcards which were sent back to them after 6 months).
4. Developing wider networks and support. International network ‘LGBTQ inclusivity in Higher Education’ was set up which ran its first conference in September 2016.

Constrains

Many people initially find it difficult to identify ways in which LGBTQ inclusivity can be woven into the STEM curriculum. Content was sometimes more challenging to think about, but lecturers were able to introduce and make students aware of diversity and its impact on research and the wider discipline. For example, in lectures of computer processing of human language one can touch on use of pronouns such as ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘they’, and in giving example sentences one can use ‘Bob loves Bill’ occasionally instead of ‘John loves Mary’. In Database classes, one standard example is how to represent marriage relationships, and that provides a great opportunity to discuss how to cater for non-traditional marriages.

Lessons learned

LGBTQ issues shouldn’t be an add-on but in line with the whole rationale of the module. Lecturer should demonstrate transformative practice in both the language and content domains, as well as be a role model for students. Initiatives could come from students and the staff should show support. Although the staff and students acknowledge that there is still some way to go in terms of full inclusive practice in teaching, their effort has already had a significant impact.

Sustainability

Lecturers need to participate in regularly organized workshops and review their curriculum. Students can also take part in workshops, learn more about the project, get involved in it, present their ideas. It takes time, effort and, in some cases, university funding but benefits (LGBTQ people feel more comfortable to be themselves) outweigh costs.

Replicability and/or up-scaling potential

Crucially this guidance has been informed by research amongst the University’s own community, and the report’s authors strongly recommend institutions ensure that they tailor their own approach to their local context and challenges and engage critically with their current practice. However, the accessibility and practicality of this guide should prove a strong foundation for institutions seeking to embed and explore LGBTQ inclusive practice within their own teaching and learning spaces.

For example, workshops could vary depending on context – such as whether there was clear leadership around LGBTQ inclusivity at organizational or department level, or whether the drive for change was coming from student or junior staff members.

Conclusion

Letting people know they are equally valued is important, especially when wider society is not always supportive. For LGBT people, universities can be environments that truly allow them to be themselves.

This guidance from the University of Birmingham brings together the first hand experiences of its own teachers and LGBT students. It demonstrates the importance of a fully inclusive curriculum and the impact that it can have on students and teachers. And it provides practical information for other institutions to create the changes that can and will make a difference. Most importantly, it will have a significant impact on the lives of many LGBT students, helping to ensure that they feel free to be themselves and accepted without exception.

Contact details

Twitter: @nickijward; @drnicolagale; @LGBTQinHE

Emails: n.j.ward@bham.ac.uk; n.gale@bham.ac.uk; sean@getoutstayout.org.uk

URL of the practice Reference document

https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/teaching-academy/documents/public/lgbt-best-practice-guide.pdf

Related Web site(s)

University Web site about the project: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/social-policy/departments/health-services-management-centre/research/projects/2017/lgbtq-inclusion-in-higher-education.aspx

Related resources that have been developed 

LGBTQ+ Mentoring Scheme:

https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/employability/careers/mentoring/mentoring-schemes/lgbt-mentoring-support.aspx

STEM at the University of Birmingham:

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/university/colleges/eps/outreach/diversity-in-stem.aspx

Being an LGBTQ student at the University of Birmingham:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_XSePA4QLo

REFUGEES WELCOME! – GEORG-AUGUST-UNIVERSITAT GOTTINGEN

Location/geographical coverage

University of Georg-August of Gottingen, Germany

Background and description

The university of Gottingen has a multicultural student body with a total of 3380 international students[1] who are engaged in teaching, academia and research, representing the 12% of students.

To support the inclusion of refugees and people with a migrant background, the university implements different services:

• Information office supporting since the pre-enrolment phase by providing information on how to apply for the different degree courses. This includes also information on how to validate previous qualifications obtained abroad and opportunities for financial support.
• Language courses – the university, together with the Institute for Intercultural Communication, offers an intensive programme of course in German as foreign language for refugees who want to study there. The programme prepares students for the DSH exam, a prerequisite for admission to the university. Classes are not only attended by refugees, but also by participants who do not have a refugee background. As part of this programme, assistance is available for participants requiring homework support or advice on how to learn a new language. The courses are funded by the German Academic Exchange Service through the programme Integra – Integrating Refugees in Higher Education.
• Library offerings–open to everyone both with or without registration for research and reading.
• International Writing Lab–supporting all students in working on their writing projects and in developing academic and professional writing skills. The university offers writing consultation service as well, but the workshops are particularly suitable for those who want to learn about academic writing, the writing process or different kinds of text in general. The consultation is addressed to those who are in the process of writing a project and need support to address specific objectives.

In the Multi Con Text workshops and in academic writing partnerships, the teaching languages are German and/or English. While, in the other workshops, the language of instruction is German and students should have at least a level B2.

The workshops focus on writing in multilingual contexts meaning that they address, for instance, how to deal with writing in a language different from the one in which you are reading texts or taking notes.

• Aid for threatened scholars and scientists – the Scholars at risk (SAR)[2]provides funding to host scientists and scholars at risk. Researchers from all countries outside the EU who are demonstrably exposed to a significant acute threat can be nominated by the university as the host institution. Successful institutions will receive funding to provide their nominated researchers with fully funded fellowships, alternatively employment for up to 24 months of research. The university takes part to this initiative.

Along with these services, the university encourages and supports initiatives offered by other students, such as:

• Conquer Babel – founded in 2015 with the goal to support efforts by the city of Göttingen to integrate the rising numbers of refugees into the community, it is a team of volunteers from various countries and fields of study aiming at helping refugees with translations, German lessons and intercultural events as a way to foster their inclusion. They are currently offering translations in the following languages: Arabic, Farsi, Tigrinya, French, Albanian, Urdu, Pashto, Swahili, Russian and the Kurdish dialect Sorani.

As part of the tutoring programme they offer, one student and one refugee meet once a week and the student helps with the German language and homework.

• Refugee law clinic – a not-for-profit association founded by Göttingen students providing people without a German passport can obtain assistance and support on legal matters.
• Talk2Us – a group of psychology students providing psychological counselling for refugees and migrants in Göttingen. Their main aim is to provide relief from acute stress, to stabilize and to enable self-help through our counselling. However, they state clearly that this service is not a substitute for psychotherapy.

Stakeholders and Partners

The stakeholder involved in the service include:

• representatives of the various committees at Göttingen University from the Presidential Board, Senate, the deans’ offices
• researchers at the faculties who are working on the topics of migration, diversity and interculturality
• the heads of the departments and administrative boards of the University (Göttingen International, Student and Academic Services, Gender Equality and Diversity)
• non-university partners like representatives from the MPI for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity and the HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts and the Private University of Applied Science (PFH)

Furthermore, representatives of the Student Services Centre and the City and District of Göttingen are participating as well as are volunteer students from initiatives who provide support on legal matters, language learning and intercultural exchanges during mutual activities.

The beneficiaries of the service are refugee students at university independently from their country of origin.

Methodological Approach

The initiative is coordinated and managed by the Refugees Task Forcebringing together all locally relevant stakeholders who deal with refugees. İt was established as an initiative in reaction to the diverse group of refugees arriving in Göttingen. It is designed to provide a forum for sharing information about all activities revolving around the subject of refugee integration and meets at irregular intervals.

The task force is further divided into four working groups examinating and working on the different aspects of how the inclusion of refugees on the Göttingen Campus work:

1. Shaping the process for integration into degree programmes – during their meetings, individual programme offerings can be discussed and potential synergistic effects implemented on the campus. The university will continue to intensify its information and advisory activities for refugees to further facilitate their integration into study curricula.
2. Qualification and sensitisation of students–they mainly work on: offering teachers, non-academic staff and students information on how to support the inclusion of refugee students; support in the development of needs-based offers for language qualifications; making topic-oriented offers in research and teaching on the topics of gender, diversity and migration more visible.
3. Qualification and sensitisation of students -particularly dealing with issues relating to the law on residency and status that the refugees have after their arrival and during their stay in Germany.
4. Service learning – combining academic learning with civic engagement in the form of services rendered for charitable organisations. This approach helps students make a meaningful contribution to improving community service and solving problems for the common good.

Validation

• Video on the experience of a Pakistani refugee – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcUjaYFJT6U
• Testimonials of three Syrian refugees – https://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/654416.html

In both cases, the students highlight how the services provided by the university supported them throughout their studies. Being able to access extra-training and information on aspects related not only to their academic studies, but on the community they are living in has further supported their inclusion and helped them in accessing other services available in the territory.

Innovation potential

The practice provides refugee students with a number of services that are not only strictly related to their academic studies. This aspect allows to provide a wider support in terms of social inclusion in the community where the university operates and the students live.

For instance, providing laboratories in which they can learn how to write academic papers and what elements to take into consideration when doing so, it is a way to fosters skills that can be used also in other contexts and that are a valuable resource for their entire academic path.

Success Factors

One of the main success factors of this practice is the capacity to involve the whole community, not only at university level but also the organisations active in the town. The university provides some of the services outlined, but favours also the engagement of associations of current and former students as well as organisations working in the territory to favour the inclusion of refugees and migrants.

At the same time, this allows to provide a support that goes behind academic related challenges and barriers. Among the services provided, there are also ones related to support in legal matters, bureaucratic procedures, psychosocial inclusion, etc.

Furthermore, the participation of the City and District of Göttingen is another element of success of the practice. Having the support of local institutions has allowed the university to develop an inclusive community for refugee students also outside its buildings. In this way, it is favoured also their inclusion in the society and in the labour market.

Constrains

Through the desk research, it was not possible to identify the main challenges and constraints met by the university in developing and providing the services included in this practice.

Lessons learned

Providing a variety of services that can support refugee students in different aspects of their life is one of the most important elements of this practice. This is possible thanks to the participation and cooperation of different stakeholders in the territory, both in terms of typology of actor and of issues tackled by them.

By working together under different aspects, these actors are able to provide a comprehensive support to the refugee community in Göttingen.

Sustainability

It is not possible to retrieve data on the cost/efficiency of this practice as this information is not available online.

On the implementation sustainability, it should be underlined once again the importance of the partnership composed by different actors that are able to address different aspects that might prevent the academic and social inclusion of refugees.

Replicability and/or up-scaling potential

The first step to be done for the replication of the practice should be to contact and reach the local authorities in order to identify the actors and strategies that should be put in place to create a bridge between the university and the wider society. This will allow to develop services that take into consideration the specificities and needs of the territory.

From this initial collaboration and analysis, it will be possible to develop and put in place the kind of services that are needed in the specific context.

The other important aspect to take into consideration is to involve the student community, including associations that can offer collateral services to ones offered by the university. At the same time, it will increase the awareness of other students on the importance of taking actions and being supportive towards fellow students.

Conclusion

Through the information gathered and the experiences from refugee students, it is possible to say that the comprehensive approach used in this practice has mostly impacted who benefitted of it.

The kind of services provided can serve as an input to other institutions for the development of initiatives that can foster the inclusion and participation of refugee students in higher education.

As mentioned in previous session, refugee students have the opportunity to be involved in activities and get access to services enhancing their capacities to fully participate to academic and social life.

Contact details

Anke Anwand

Email: gefluechtetenarbeit@uni-goettingen.de

Phone: +49 551 39-27775

Contact information available on the website

URL of the practice Reference document

https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/540426.html

UNIV’R PROJECT – UNIVERSITY CORRIDOR TO FRANCE

Location/geographical coverage

The initiative is open to all the universities based in France (mainland).

Background and description

This initiative fits into the Memorandum of Understanding between UNHCR and the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) of February 2021 which aims to facilitate access to higher education for refugees and include the development of education pathways.

University corridors fall within the Three-Year Strategy on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways[1] as well as within the Refugee Education 2030 Strategy[2] of UNHCR.

The project will enable French-speaking refugees living in a targeted first country of asylum to study a master’s degree (2 years) within a higher education institution in France (mainland). This includes also professional courses.

It is expected that 50 refugees should benefit from the project over two years: 20 as of September 2022 and another 30 as of September 2023. Considering that only 5% of refugees worldwide have access to higher education, this project could facilitate refugee access to the universities and provide them with administrative, legal, psychosocial and financial support.

The project builds on initiatives led by the French authorities or by NGOs. It is also inspired by the successful programmes implemented by other EU member states and Canada. It will interact with European projects of complementary pathways, like the SAFE – foStercooperAtion For improving access to protEction and the COMET – COMplementary pathways nETwork projects funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).

Each participating university issues a call for applications including the description of the host institution and offered MA, eligibility criteria and procedure.

• As required by French authorities, only recognised refugees are eligible.
• The beneficiaries of the project will travel to France on student visas. There is no guarantee they will be allowed to stay in France at the end of the course. Asylum being a right, they could claim it if they want to, but they will have to follow the normal procedure (no protection transfer).
• At the end of the university corridor, students will have different options: required a provisional stay authorization which allow staying 1 year in France to look for employment; continue their studies in France; change their student permit for a work permit if they find employment (the majority of courses offered in the framework of the project propose a second year of studies  in apprenticeship which could facilitate integration within the job market), return to their country of first asylum, etc.
• The implementation of the project will depend on the success of universities’ fundraising activities to cover the subsistence allowances of refugee students

The common eligibility criteria:

• Be legally recognised as a refugee in a first host country by the State or by the UNHCR
• Have a B2 level of Frenchlanguage

Finally, the project may also include a complementary dimension of distance-learning courses.

Stakeholders and Partners

This multi-stakeholder project will be implemented with the support of French authorities [Ministry for Higher Education, Ministry of Interior, General Secretary of European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, local governments], higher education institutions, the Migrants in higher education network, the Exiles Students Union, NGOs, the civil society, foundations, the private sector and refugees.

Several stakeholders have already demonstrated a strong interest in complementary pathways.

The Migrants dans l’Enseignement Supérieur (MEnS) network[3], partner of the project, includes 42 universities in France.

These universities will take part to the initiative. Among them:

• Clermont Auvergne University
• Univeristy of Rennes 1
• University of Paris 1 Panthéon – Sorbonne
• Université Paris 8 Vincennes – Saint Denis

The initiative is open to students who have been legally recognised as a refugee by a first country of asylum or by UNHCR and being graduated from a bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent degree.

The gender issue is under attention. However, beside the mandatory requirements, each university can decide whether or not to put attention on gender balance during the selection process.

Methodological Approach

The project provides beneficiaries with easy access to the university system, administrative, social and financial support.

The methodology is under development since the initiative is still running. Notwithstanding, it is built upon similar experience already carried out in other countries.

These include a regular assessment from UNHCR on the results achieved by involving both the universities and the students. It allows to adjust the programme throughout the years in order to better address the needs of the students. The assessment includes moments of debates and encounter among the participants to the initiative to share their experiences and provide their feedback on their learning experience.

Innovation potential

The initiative allows to create a dedicated path for refugees to access higher education.

This is guaranteed by the participation of different stakeholders, both at institutional and private level. In this way, it is possible to provide a further support to these students by addressing also different challenges they might face.

The cooperation among all these different stakeholders allows also to reach a higher number of refugees giving them the possibility to know the opportunity offered to them.

Students are selected because of their merits and their motivation into entering higher education paths.

Success Factors

The main success factor of this initiative is the multi-stakeholder partnership that, as mentioned above, guarantees a better coverage both in terms of people reached and of instances taken into consideration in terms of barriers and challenges refugees face in entering higher education.

The participation of government authorities and universities guarantees the effectiveness of the practice and the long-term sustainability of the project. This element is needed when considering to implement similar initiatives. The participation of institutions such as ministries is one of the main elements determining the success and spread on the territory of the project. At the same time, it allows to build on the results of each universities and to support the development of shared standards bringing to a common framework for sponsorships to refugee students.

As regards the economic conditions, these are mainly related to the financial capacities of universities. It is necessary that the universities in the network are able to support the funding of the sponsorships.

Constrains

It is still not possible to list all the challenges and constraints faced in the implementation of the initiative as the same is still running out.

Furthermore, these are elements that might change depending on the university, the students and their country of origin.

The main challenge is currently represented by the capacity to reach out refugees that are residing in refugee camps or that are living in rural areas. For them, it is more difficult to be reached and to get to know that this opportunity is available.

Moreover, in this case, that might also be difficulties linked to transportation as the universities participating to the initiative are mainly based in cities.

Another constraint is related to the fact that the implementation of the project depends on the success of universities’ fundraising to cover subsistence allowances of refugee students. Securing the required funds is, therefore, up to the universities representing a risk in terms of financial sustainability in the medium and long term.

Lessons learned

It is still not possible to list the lessons learnt as part of this project.

However, as mentioned above, it builds upon similar experiences in other European countries. These experiences have been promoted by the UNHCR as well.

From the lessons learnt out of this experience, this project has been developed.

More information on this part will be included as soon as available.

Sustainability

The institutional sustainability of the initiative is represented by the participation of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF). They are partner of the project and guarantee the participation of universities in their network.

However, the financial stability is strictly linked to the possibility of each university of securing funds for the implementation of the project and being able to activate the scholarships.

Replicability and/or up-scaling potential

This initiative has a high potential to be replicated as, in other contexts, it has demonstrated to be an effective approach for the inclusion and participation of refugee students in higher education.

One of the main factors to take into consideration for its replicability is the importance of involving different kind of stakeholders that can bring on the table the variety of instances and challenges refugees encounter to access higher education.

The willingness of the governmental institutions in realising the project is also a necessary condition for its replicability. Without it, the risk is to not have a common framework and ground, but only different small initiatives in the different partner countries.

Another important element to take into consideration is the recognition of previous qualifications. To ensure that this is possible for a vast majority of countries, it should be promoted the participation of refugee students coming from countries for which there is a recognition of qualifications and, at the same time, to promote the dialogue among institutional actors for the recognition of the ones obtained in countries for which there is still not the possibility to validate previous qualifications. This will ensure to enlarge the number of refugee students benefitting from the sponsorship.

Contact details

NA                                                                                                   

URL of the practice Reference document

NA

Information available on

• UNHCR, Summary. UNIV’R project, University Corridor to France, October 2021 – https://reseau-mens.org/presentation/ (access: 28/06/2022)
• Scholarship opportunities in France for refugee students https://ug.ambafrance.org/Scholarship-opportunities-in-France-for-refugee-students (access: 28/06/2022)

ItaStra – SCHOOL OF ITALIAN LANGUAGE FOR FOREIGNERS (UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS’ GROUPS) OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PALERMO

Location/geographical coverage

ItaStra is promoted by the University of Palermo, which is based in Sicily (Italy), but by providing support to foreign students from all over the world, it can be considered international.

Background and description

The School of Italian Language for Foreigners is a teaching, research and innovation center working in the area of language inclusion and the teaching of Italian. It was established in 2007 with the aim of promoting teaching, training, consulting and research activities in the field of teaching Italian as a second and foreign language.

In detail, the ItaStra School:

• throughout the year activates ordinary intensive and semi-intensive courses aimed at all foreigners, Erasmus and Marco Polo project students and foreign students enrolled at the University of Palermo; organizes the intensive Italian language and culture Summer School (July to September) and Winter School (February/March);
• is the official seat of the Cils exam thanks to an agreement with the University for Foreigners of Siena and organizes preparation courses for the test;
• collaborates with the Level I Master’s in “Teaching Italian as a non-mother tongue” provided by Dipli and the Level II Master’s in “Theory, planning and teaching Italian as a second and foreign language”;
• organizes language integration projects with local primary and secondary schools;

• participates and promotes international mobility projects with several foreign universities including Sichuan International Studies University (China).

Stakeholders and Partners

It is a structure that, working in close synergy with the educational realities of the University, moves in several directions looking at:

• to the internationalization processes of the Athenaeum and promoting courses specifically aimed at Erasmus students, foreign students enrolled in the Athenaeum, foreign doctoral students, visiting scholars and visiting Professors, international cultural and youth tourism interested in language courses within study-stays or vacations;
• to Third Mission activities in particular by supporting the world of immigration in its different components (adults, children and youth) and types (associations, organizations, public bodies, etc.), second and third generations.

From 2008 to the present, the School has registered a strong increase in the number of its enrollment from all over the world (from Asia to the U.S., from Australia to European countries) thanks to the teaching quality of its language courses.

On the side of Italian teacher training, the School promotes training courses for in-service teachers, in collaboration with the Regional School Office with which it has signed an agreement, and is a promoter of International Seminars on cutting-edge teaching techniques. To further its purposes, the School signs and implements international agreements with university institutions in different parts of the world. To date, there are dozens of foreign universities with which the School has entered into collaboration agreements on the teaching and training side, and other collaboration protocols are in the process of being signed. The School also promotes courses aimed at the training and language certification of immigrants staying in Italy, with particular attention to unaccompanied foreign minors and women. In particular, ItaStra has dealt with Unaccompanied Foreign Minors (MSNAs) and Asylum Seekers with multiple directions of work:

1. language inclusion (thousands of MSNAs and Asylum Seekers have been included in Italian language and literacy courses),

2. training (a thousand teachers and reception workers trained),

3. applied research (creation of a research line on inclusion for MSNAs and language teaching for illiterates with also multimedia products),

4. individual study support activities for MSNAs.

5. communication to the territory through high quality artistic projects (theater, music, visual arts).

The School’s activity, which grows year by year, is differentiated and moves on several levels, with the common intent of putting learning at the center of teaching activities and proposing a model of language open to uses, culture, territory, and social.

Methodological Approach

Currently, ItaStra is a reference hub for the dissemination of the Italian language to foreigners and has become over time a best practice for language inclusion policies addressed to Unaccompanied Foreign Minors (MSNA), trafficked women, and Asylum Seekers. The school is based on the construction of a linguistic learning model that brings together language uses and everyday practices through the use of participatory methods.

The methodological aspect that has made it an inclusive good practice is the typical approach of action research that has made it possible to identify very specific strands of applied research that has considered as direct beneficiaries a specific target group of young people.

ItaStra’s research strands were aimed at creating an educational model for MSNAs and adolescents and adults with low or no literacy. In particular, for adolescents and young adults who are making the migratory journey alone, projects were developed for the enhancement of multilingualism as an individual and collective wealth also through language autobiography and art projects.

The lines of research-action were mainly two. The first moves from the analysis of the cognitive and linguistic situation of people who have not learned to read and write at an early age or have a very weak relationship with the written language; the second, from the concept of literacy as the formation of communicative and social skills, of which the mastery of reading-writing is only one aspect. At the convergence of these two lines, lies the work of constructing, experimenting and reflecting on teaching devices that build on the skills students already havè and orient them to the simultaneous approach to all levels of language. Thus, the research unfolds on paths that aim at the enhancement of mother tongues and oral language competence as a starting point toward the processes of abstraction and metacognitive and metalinguistic awareness specific to written language, and on the development of strategic learning skills.

Validation

Indicators for the years 2015-2019 testifying that the practice meets the needs of beneficiaries:

Number Total Italian language course students – 15,000

Number of migrant students – 8000

Number of teachers, volunteers included in training activities – 2000

Number of teaching contracts activated over the years – 300

Number of Unipa student trainees who participated in individual tutoring, study support and social and language inclusion activities at ItaStra – 100 to 150 for 600 hours

Number of dissertations that focused on ItaStra activities – 100

Number of doctoral dissertations that have worked within ItaStra number – 2

Number of partnership projects presented (Fami, Fondazione con Il Sud, Giovani per il Sociale, City of Palermo) – 50

Number of third mission projects funded (to date) – more than 10

Number of collaboration protocols signed (City of Palermo, USR Sicily, Schools, NGOs, Cultural Associations, Sprar, Cultural Festivals, Unicef, etc.) – 150

Number of Public Events addressed to the territory (theater, music, photo exhibitions, film screenings, production and screening of original videos) – 300

Number of people who participated in ItaStra events – 30,000

Number of articles, television broadcasts, RAI reports – 30

Innovation potential

The innovative potential of this good practice lies first and foremost in promoting a participatory method based on the importance of the sharing of daily life practices and in having created a network of institutions in the area that generates and regenerates inclusive processes. Particularly in the years 2015-2019, the city of Palermo has been a place of arrival of impressive migratory flows “by boat” that have required the construction in a support network unique in Europe. ItaStra and the university spaces of the former Convent of St. Antonino have been among the protagonists of this extraordinary activity of reception and linguistic inclusion towards new migrations.

Success Factors

To be successful and replicable, it is essential that the practice be:

• a convergence of intentions among the actors operating in the area,
• a deep understanding of the needs to which the practice wants to respond;
• a level of flexibility such that it can adapt to changes that contextually occur locally and globally.

Constrains

The challenge was to create networks on the ground and to spread a more inclusive mindset that was respectful and welcoming to other cultures. The results show that this challenge was met with the perseverance and determination of those who believed in this mission and still continue to believe in it and carry it forward.

Lessons learned

Through mixing in class, in common spaces, in moments of conviviality, each student is contaminated by life experiences totally different from his or her own and acquires, along with the Italian language, new perspectives on the world.

Sustainability

Networks on the territory and funding from multiple funds have ensured its sustainability over all these years (more than 14 years now), which gives hope that it can be continued in the future.

Replicability and/or up-scaling potential

It is a replicable practice on a large scale in that it is based on a model of cultural sharing that starts with the sharing of daily practices and a model of language that is open to customs, culture, territory, and social.

It is not a practice closely linked to particular characteristics of our local context. Here in Palermo it could be experimented with as a multicultural city par excellence.

Conclusion

The impact of the activities carried out by ItaStra in the five-year period 2015-2019 is measured in relation to the individual areas of action in which the School operates, but also in relation to the local national and international context.

Collaborative agreements are in place with the City of Palermo and the Provincial Centers for Adult Education (CPIA) that have made it possible to reach, through language training courses built on the needs and requirements of the target group, an important number of students. These include those who, starting from a condition of illiteracy (not having previously undertaken any kind of schooling), have learned both literacy skills and a language, Italian, which they use alongside the often vast multilingual repertoire. Continuous training initiatives have been carried out in the years 2015-2019 in collaboration with the Regional School Office, in response to requests for training gradually submitted by schools in the area. Language training activities aimed not only at students but also at trainers have been outlined and detailed by specific collaboration agreements. ItaStra has then been collaborating for years with Italian and European institutions and research centers by participating in funded projects specifically aimed at research and teaching in the area of language inclusion of adolescent and adult migrants with low schooling and unaccompanied foreign minors (MSNA).

ItaStra is also a best practice in the certification of the Italian language at the European level: it has been awarded the European Language Label, awarded as part of the Erasmus+ Project, managed by the European Commission – DG Education and Culture, in cooperation with the Member States, with the assistance of the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency and the National Agencies of the different participating countries. The European Language Label is a “quality label” aimed at promoting the language skills of European citizens that is awarded to organizations and institutions that implement innovative language learning and teaching projects in education and vocational training each year. Demonstrating the overall impact of ItaStra’s activities on the national level is the collaboration agreement between the Ministry of Education, and the Department of Humanities of the Universitỳ degli Studi di Palermo, within which the School of Italian Language for Foreigners operates, for the provision of teaching modules for ill national project directly implemented by MIUR “Language Literacy and Access to Education for MSNAs – ALI MSNA” aimed at 1,000 newly arrived young migrants. The agreement sanctions and affirms that the Department of Humanities “is, on a national level, a center of absolute excellence in the field of teaching Italian as a second and foreign language. In particular, ItaStra has a consolidated experience in the research of educational and training paths aimed at the linguistic and cultural inclusion of foreigners, using innovative approaches, models and methods that put the person at the center of the teaching action. The Ministry through this agreement has recognized the high degree of excellence, exclusivitỳ and specificitỳ technical and scientific expertise within the university administration. This agreement allows ItaStra to carry out projects aimed at the development and adaptation of models for the analysis of learner profiles and disciplinary content for the learning and enhancement of basic (Italbase) and didactic (Italstudio) Italian and civic and social modules, to be conveyed via digital platform in e-learning mode, for the specific target of unaccompanied foreign minors (MSNA).

The impact and usefulness of the good practice ItaStra can be explained through the words of noted local intellectuals:

“Today Sicily is really the new frontier of Europe. I am not thinking of the physical and symbolic landing place of Lampedusa. Far from the spotlight, in the heart of Palermo, the spirit of Erasmus is being reborn updated by new challenges among the desks of the School of Italian Language for Foreigners “ItaStra,” where the flower of university students who have come from the old continent and the rest of the world and the young people who landed in Italy by barges, the so-called ‘unaccompanied foreign minors’ (MSNA), sit shoulder to shoulder.” So begins Benedetta Tobagi’s 2016 chapter “Palermo. The Europe to Come” of her successful book The School Saved by Kids. Viaggio nelle classi senza confini (Mondadori 2016), which goes on to describe for more than ten pages a reality that is still unique today, not only in Italy. “The School of Italian Language for Foreigners “ItaStra” is based in the former seventeenth-century convent of Sant’Antonino, renovated in 2011, which is part of the University of Palermo’s University Museum system. Here the cloister has become something more. Together with the classrooms, it is the place where siderally distant universes touch: unaccompanied foreign minors and the international student elite. (…) The idea was exactly this: through mixing in class, in common spaces, in moments of conviviality, each student would be contaminated by life experiences totally different from their own and would acquire, along with the Italian language, new perspectives on the world.” A few years later, Vinicio Ongini, in “Grammar of Integration. Italians and Foreigners in the Classrooms” (Laterza 2019) also dedicating a chapter to ItaStra, confirms it as “a point of reference in the field of linguistic integration and a laboratory of ideas” with points of contact with the School of Barbiana and the Popular School founded by Tolstoy,” places where barriers fall and the idea of exchange and reciprocity makes its way. A few months earlier reasoning about the word ‘Accogliere’ in the pages of L’Espresso (October 10, 2018) Evelina Santangelo, about the docufilm, Soulyemane Bah, made on ItaStra and screened in front of more than 1,000 people at the Politeama Theater in Palermo, speaks of it as a place from which to learn that “language is a form of salvation”, it is an extraordinary force.

Contact details

mari.dagostino@unipa.it

URL of the practice Reference document

https://www.unipa.it/strutture/scuolaitalianastranieri

Related Web site(s)

Developed websites:

www.itastra.unipa.it

www.pontidiparole.com

https://minorinonaccompagnatialluniversita.wordpress.com/chi-siamo/

Related resources that have been developed

Research in the strictly educational sphere, which has produced dozens of scientific papers and volumes and was deserving of a specific 2015-2017 grant, “Network for Research and Didactics for Language Learning in Low Schooling Subjects.” In this direction, the project “Bridges of Words” (www.pontidiparole.com) was implemented, which produced an e-learning platform and multimedia course for learning Italian L2 for migrant youth and adults in 3 volumes starting with the profile of absolute illiterates. Through collaboration with the Institute for Educational Technologies of the National Research Council (CNR) and with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF, ItaStra has produced a digital App “Studiare Migrando.” The APP is aimed at mainly Unaccompanied Foreign Minors housed in reception facilities who attend Centers for Adult Education (CPIA). The use of the APP through a platform with seven modules, two designed to consolidate skills for the language of communication, and five disciplinary ones useful for preparation for the multidisciplinary interview as part of the state exam concluding the first cycle of education, has enabled users to go beyond their status as foreigners housed in a reception center and provide them not only with language skills but also with support to begin to take vision of their potential and ability to build a future for themselves. Dissemination of the tool was planned in the Provincial Centers for Adult Education, communities, and first and second reception centers for Unaccompanied Foreign Minors (MSNA) present mainly in the Sicilian territory. The tool available on PC or Android has been designed according to a modular logic thanks to which the student accesses interactive multimedia content and teaching modules and performs a series of activities on his or her own, while others are fully developed with the accompaniment of a native Italian speaker (CPIA teachers, but also community educators, volunteers, tutors, university students carrying out internship activities).

In the years 2015-2019, a series of projects were carried out that introduced both ItaStra and the entire world of new migration (including MSNA) to a very wide audience. Among others, we recall the show Echoes of the Long Distance, at the Biondo Theater attended by 1,500 spectators, and The Blind Man Who Opens Our Eyes made at ItaStra’s headquarters attended by 600 people over several evenings, both directed by Iraqi director and storyteller Yousif Latif Jaralla. In 2017 and 2018, the artistic and workshop journey of MSNA youth produced two screenprinted books, The Little Mermaid and Gulliver’s Travels. The encounter and contamination between art, theater, and storytelling has left important traces (photos, paintings, drawings, panels) in the classrooms and common spaces of the Convent of St. Antonino, where the classrooms, library, reading room, front office, and office of ItaStra are located. In addition, there are dozens of videos documenting and narrating ItaStra’s project, which have been screened both inside the facility during public events: we recall the screening of the docufilm Io, Soulyemane Bah, which was screened at dozens of events in Italy and abroad and also at the Politeama Theater in October 2018.