MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCIES OF TEACHERS AND TEACHER TRAININGS ON DIVERSITY/MULTCULTURALISM FOR INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS AND THE INCLUSION OF ROMA AND MIGRANT CHIDREN - PROJECT ROMIGSC AS CASE STUDY

Abstract

Education is a public good and a human right. Access to inclusive, equitable and good quality educational opportunities and assistance for all learners of any age needs to be ensured. Indeed, they are a precondition for social inclusion and protection, full participation in social and civic spheres of life, long-term integration into the labour market and the prevention of exploitation.

In this paper, we discuss the importance of multicultural competencies of teachers and the role of formations/ teacher trainings to support inclusion in schools - with a focus on Roma and migrant children. The aim of this paper is to give an overview on the current situation regarding multicultural competencies and trainings/formations for teachers in Slovenia; and to present how participants of trainings for teachers (training in frame of project RoMigSc) see inclusion of Roma/migrants in Slovenian schools; and how important are teachers’ competencies for supporting inclusion. The methods used in this study are literature review, small-scale research among participants of teacher training in Slovenia in 2017 and 2018; and policy formulations from deliveries of teacher trainings in four countries - Slovenia, Italy, Spain and North Macedonia. The results from the small-scale research show that most of participants were teachers; 66% of respondents had been involved in work with migrant children; 52 % in work with Roma children. Respondents were in general very satisfied with the training delivery. Lessons learned which they liked the most refer to the involvement of different actors in ensuring inclusion; networking; and transfer of experience. The results also show that multicultural competencies of teachers and teacher trainings on diversity/multiculturalism are of key importance for supporting the inclusion of Roma/migrant children. From the results of the small-scale research and policy formulations (from four countries), we can conclude that intercultural competencies and high quality implementation of formations/teacher trainings are of key importance for supporting the inclusion of Roma/migrants in schools.