Pedagogical approaches for upskilling of teachers, mediators and experts working with Romani children and youth -Equal Opportunities and reducing early school leaving

The project aimed to support teachers, mediators, and experts working with Roma children and young people by upgrading their skills in intercultural training and pedagogical techniques. They were ...

The project aimed to support teachers, mediators, and experts working with Roma children and young people by upgrading their skills in intercultural training and pedagogical techniques. They were given valuable tools to work with marginalized groups in segregated and non-segregated environments, by helping trainees understand the materials, interact correctly and effectively, and contribute to reducing early school dropouts. We know that education systems vary from country to country, as does the education of Roma children. In the 21st century, a person, who may or may not be a teacher, needs to possess multiple skills and competencies, such as basic skills, digital competencies, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, and various transversal competencies, to have more opportunities to succeed and prosper. To meet this challenge, we proposed inclusive practices in education that can be adapted to education systems in Europe and beyond.

Within the project, a pedagogical toolkit for teachers and mediators was developed for both school teachers and mediators working in segregated schools and teachers and assistants working in mainstream schools with a high percentage of Roma children. The toolkit consists of 5 modules with a total duration of 40 teaching hours. The modules are oriented to the required competencies and skills, developed as part of WP2 and based on an approved competence matrix. The teachers who participated in the PAL LAB project and the preparation of the material were trained in a teacher training seminar organized and conducted by MUSEV experts, which covered a wide range of topics and new methods of teaching the Romani language, different approaches to teaching, evaluation of the teaching process and learning outcomes, teaching in heterogeneous situations, an introduction to Rromani culture, etc. In the final phase of the project, the teaching materials were tested in practice by several of the trained teachers - which resulted not only in corrections for finalizing the teaching materials but also in important experience gained in teaching situations.

Project results are available on the PAL LAB platform (https://pallabeu.com) and consist of a competence matrix for teachers working with Roma children and youth, a pedagogical toolbox for teachers and mediators, reports on the state of education in partner countries, Pal Lab platform - e-learning platform/learning tool (containing the modules, materials developed, video tutorials, lessons, ppt's, plus a manual on how to access the platform), the news section containing the five project's newsletters, reports from the multiplier events and the platform presentation events, and last but not least the partners' presentation and contact details. During the project activities, we made ourselves known to professionals in the field (educators, teachers, mediators, facilitators), but also to representatives of the Roma community, decision-makers in the field of education (school inspectorates, county councils, town halls), technical experts and content creators, NGOs that have been working with us for years. At the end of the project, we may say that our work is known at the national and European levels and we shall continue to promote it.