CD/LEI good practices in intercultural education

CDLEI

Centre for Documentation - Laboratory on Intercultural

Education

City of Bologna

Project: SEIPIU’• AIM: SEIPIU’ aims at enhancing opportunities for migrant students to

achieve good results at school. The Project focuses on italian as a second language acquisistion, relations within peers, and liaisons with families

• DESCRIPTION: the project started in 2007 in 3 high schools of Bologna, and addresses 200 young students from 14 - 17 years. Private local foundation funds.

• DURATION: 2007-2011• ACTIONS: Italian language courses, counselling to students and teachers,

teaching support and materials, expressive workshops for students (theatre, video making, music, graphic novel), ICT and italian language courses for mothers and parents,training for teachers. In july 2010 a 2 weeks summer school for 80 students offered italian courses and expressive workshops (radio, video, photo, blog creation and free style and hip hop).CDLEI runs the Project in 3 high schools of Bologna: IPSIA Fioravanti, IIS Aldrovandi Rubbiani, IIS Aldini Valeriani. Activities are documented on www.progettoseipiu.it

• METHODS: the project structure envisage three main fields of activities which correspond to the three main categories of final beneficiaries (students, teachers, parents). Also mother tongue has been used as a methods to enhance the acquisition of contents of subjects.

• INNOVATIVE ELEMENTS: the project has shown hoe school achievement is strictly linked also to extra-curricular activities:a) the involvement of parents and a good home school liaison; b) the enhance of self esteem and the promotion of positive group dynamics within the class.A key factors for the success of the Project has been the availability of a small amount of resources to be given - as a recognition for the effort made - to those families who attended with continuity the Project activities (i.e.: language or ITC courses for mothers and parents)

Project BIM Intercultural Mobile Library• AIM: to promote intercultural books reading throughout a library which is

settled in schools or public libraies or other public spaces of the city of Bologna. In particular BIM wants to promote the intercultural reading as a “life-style” between young people, in particular in multicultural groups or classes.

• DESCRIPTION: the project has started in 2007 and is promoted by COOP Adriatica and CD/LEI (Municipality of Bologna). The library is composed by 30 boxes which are carried within schools where books are presented and animated by experts in book animation. Together with students and teachers books are read and discussed. The discussion takes place around some key issues to be put in evidence by the experts. Private local foundation funds. ( COOP Adriatica).

• DURATION: 2007-2010

• ACTIONS: the project started with the training of educators, the identification of key issues as welcoming, steretypes, prejudices, interculturalism, racism. These key issues must guide the educator during is animation.

• METHODS: the methods for the promotion of intercultural reading is the interative reading throughout the techniques of animation.

• INNOVATIVE ELEMENTS: students and young people can get in touch with books. The library stay in one school for 15 days. During this period students and teachers can have access to the resources of the boxes. BIM envisage the opportunity for a short loan during the period of stay in the school.

Project Espressione & Identità

AIM: the Project promoted intercultural dialogue betwwen young students and second generations of immigrants throughout peer education activities and the production of cultural media tools.

DESCRIPTION: the Project is the second phase of a first year of Project called “2x1 second generations”.The project contains 2 typology of actions 1) intercultural production workshops (intercultural web tv, creative course for second generations); this activity was runned by Centro Intercultural Zonarelli 2) peer tutoring (students tutored younger school-mates); this activity was runned by CD/LEI. The Project joined more than 300students and young people thanks to the realisation of activities both within schools and Intercultural Centre Massimo Zonarelli, this centre keeps strong relationships with associations of migrants. Ministry of Social Policies funds.

DURATION: 2008-2010 (june)ACTIONS: the Project is composed of 2 main dimension1) the schhol dimension: after a preliminary observation of students, the teachers of 4 high

schools (IPSSAR Scappi, ITC Manfredi Tanari, IIS Aldrovandi Rubbiani, IIS Aldini Valeriani) identified 34 students and they asked them their availability to becaome tutors. tutors received a scolarships for their tutorial activities addressed to school mates with language and integration needs (i.e.: new arrivals). www.progetto2x1.it

2) The urban dimension: The Centre Zonarelli organised, on the other side, course of photo and video making, ICT whose results can be accessed on the website www.zonagidue.it

METHODS: a) tutors were formerly trained by CDLEI experts on the key concepts of intercultural dialogues and the objets and expections of the Project were discussed and share with the tutors. b) course and public activities for young sons of immigrants where realised in strict cooperation with associations of migrants whicha re based in the centre.

INNOVATIVE ELEMENTS: the promotion of responsibility among students has shown how the good results of integration is a matter for the entire school. Tutoring has put in to value the abilities of tutors and schools took into account this effort throughout the recognition of a good evaluation by the commission of teachers.

GAM: young multicultural agents - Regional Civil Service

AIM: the regional civil service is a programme promoted by the Emilia Romagna region

DESCRIPTION: The regional civil service office approved the two projects presented by CDLEI (2009-10; 2010-11). Both projects aims at promoting volunteering within intercultural activities to be made by two young foreings (aged between 18 and 28).

DURATION: 2009-2010; 2010-2011 (starting in nov. 2010)ACTIVITIES: selection of volunteers, 90 hours of training on the focal themes of work of CDLEI (migratoin and social policies, intercultural education, educational system in Italy and Bologna, competences and role of services of the Municipality). After the training the volunteers have been inserted within staff for the management of multicultural libraies and the organisation of activities linked to the main Project of CDLEI (SeiPIù, BIM; Espressione e Identità). The volunteers have learned organisational aspects of training course and public events, they learned to catalogue books and to welcome users within the multicultural library od CD/LEI.

METHODS: the two youngs where costantly observed and monitored. A great attention to individual needs (time schedule matching with University and study deadlines) and attitude has been fundamental for the success of the experiences.

INNOVATIVE ELEMENTS: Emilia-Romagna Region is the only Region to allow foreign young to join the civil service. This Project has allowed CDLEI to promote the role of foreign or second generations of immigrants within a local administration. This experience will certainly help them to qualify their professional profile, if considered how difficult for an immigrant without citizenship is to join public administration in Italy.

What is CD/LEICDLEI is an Intercultural Centre of the Education Department of the Municipality of

Bologna. CDLEI offers support to schools in order to manage multicultural classes and cultural diversity challenges in educational services. The Centre was created in 1992 as an inter-institutional answer (the Municipality signs every year an Agreement with the Province of Bologna, the University of Bologna, the Local Education Office), to the problem posed by the presence of foreign pupils within schools. In order to help teachers to manage the change and the presence of a variety of languages and needs, CDLEI traditionally offers training courses for teachers, social workers and educators.

Thanks to experts and resources of multicultural libray, CDLEI offers counselling to individual teachers or network of schools in the programming of projects aimed at insertion of pupils. Also, the Centre helps teachers to create documentation on this paths to be spread across schools in order to disseminate operative knowledges on how to manage cultural diversity in schools.

CDLEI develops projects aimed at teachers training, italian as a second language acquisition, expressive courses and workshops for pupils and young students of second generation support.

The final purpose of these activities is to promote the school success of pupils and young students.

Since 2009 is part of a wider structure called RIESCO (Centro Servizi e Consulenza Risorse Educative e Scolastiche) aimed at giving support to schools in training and documentation on a wide range of issues (childhood, special education needs, interculturalism).

http://www.comune.bologna.it/cdlei