Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CHILD-UP (Children Hybrid Integration: Learning Dialogue as a way of Upgrading Policies of Participation)
Reporting period: 2020-01-01 to 2022-06-30
CHILD-UP (Children Hybrid Integration: Learning Dialogue as a way of Upgrading Policies of Participation) addressed the issue of inclusion of children with migrant background in the European education system through an innovative perspective, based on the concepts of children agency and hybrid integration. This project put children’s agency at the centre. Agency means that children select and combine, in personal and original way, cultural elements of originating country and hosting country, local and global perspectives. The project proposes a view of hybrid integration as cultural combination, based on both native and migrant children’s agency at school and in local communities, supported by school staff, community facilitators, cultural mediators and families. CHILD-UP studied the current practices at school and in the local contexts of seven EU countries (Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom) with different migrant communities and profiles, aiming to identify, analyse and disseminate evidence of good practices supporting children’s agency and hybrid integration. The project was supported by the involvement of stakeholders at the local and international level, discussing its approach, multiplying good practices and influencing public policies. CHILD-UP offered the school community first the opportunity to be actively involved in the research, then several tools to reflect and act for successful hybrid integration of migrant children. This can improve not only the migrant children condition, but that of all children, families and communities. CHILD-UP offers new evidence through substantial field research, supporting both policy makers and civil society in establishing more effective policies of hybrid integration.
The CHILD-UP project included several research actions and their reports, regarding the seven European countries. The consortium accomplished: (1) a review of legislation, policies and practices of integration of migrant children in education and social protection systems; (2) a survey involving 3959 children, 2341 parents, 421 teachers, 332 social workers and 123 interpreters/mediators; (3) a qualitative research, based on individual and focus group interviews with 1305 children, 164 teachers, 72 social workers and 48 mediators; (4) an evaluative research on 207 activities in classrooms/groups of children and 28 activities of mediation. The project provided an innovation plan for professionals, constituted by an archive with 156 research materials, guidelines, a training package (including a Massive Online Open Course) and an evaluation package. The research methods were approved by ethical committees in the seven countries. Ethical guidelines were provided for the research activities and information sheets and consent forms were provided for all subjects and phases of research. An ethics advisor was enrolled to ensure the supervision of the entire research project. A specific working group provided a dissemination and communication plan, including: (1) construction and filling of the website (www.child-up.eu); (2) constitution and coordination of an International Stakeholder Committee; (3) coordination of the constitution of Local Stakeholder Committees involved by the research partners; (4) coordination of dissemination meetings at local, national and European level; (5) development of a social media strategy to disseminate the project’s outcomes; (6) stimulation of innovation in public policies by involving local, national and European political representatives and experts, and providing specific policy briefs and recommendations.
The CHILD-UP project produced research findings in European schools and their contexts to enhance reflection in and about the education system, regarding conditions, risks and difficulties of facilitating children’s agency and promoting hybrid integration.
The research shows an incomplete application of existing European legislation and a mostly negative political attitude regarding migration in Europe. However, this finding does not explain the complexity of migrant children’s experience. The data analysis shows that, while in general children’s agency does not find frequent expression in the school system, the condition of migrant children in this system is potentially less problematic for exercise of agency than for learning. Both children and teachers recognise the importance of migrant children’s agency and dialogue in schools, and the analysis of classroom activities shows that the method of facilitation can support children’s agency and classroom dialogue. This analysis shows that hybrid integration is based on facilitation of children’s agency in narrating their personal cultural trajectories and on the dialogic interlacement of these narratives in classrooms or groups. More than 1600 children who participated in these activities recognised the positive impact of facilitation and, in some cases, its limits. These findings show that innovating education means improving facilitation of agency and hybrid integration, and requires awareness of the complexity of interaction and dialogic interlacements of children’s personal cultural trajectories. Hybrid integration is important since it opposes to essentialist views of cultural difference and assimilation.
The findings also evidence some obstacles for promotion of hybrid integration. First, several teachers do not seem at ease with the expression of children’s agency and face some challenges in dealing with cultural differences and stereotypes. Second, there are problems of communication between teachers and migrant parents and interpreting of teacher-parent meetings faces several challenges. Third, facilitation is not always and not easily realised in schools. Fourth, several parents seem to underscore the complexity of hybrid integration. Thus, it is important to pay attention (1) to the specific conditions of facilitation in teaching contexts, (2) to the ways in which interpreting can improve dialogue between teachers and parents, (3) to the narratives of cultural difference widespread among parents.
The research shows that the analysis of children’s agency also allows the understanding of possible gender differences. Gender differences seem to be rather marginal from children’s point of view and in facilitated interactions, while gender is considered relevant by professionals to explain different constraints for boys and girls in migrant families.
To promote dialogic methods of facilitation that improve migrant children’s agency and hybrid integration in and around educational institutions, the project provides research-based tools for professionals: (1) an archive of written documents and audio-video recordings that can be used by professionals to use research findings; (2) a training package and a Massive Open Online Course that can promote professionals’ communication skills and strategies; (3) guidelines that orient professionals to plan and design innovative activities. The use of these tools can support the extension of facilitation of agency and promotion of hybrid integration to European schools and communities. The project has also shown the importance of the involvement of networks of international and local stakeholders to enhance awareness of aims, approaches and activities in schools, dissemination of findings, contribution to evaluate activities and to influence policy agendas.
The research shows an incomplete application of existing European legislation and a mostly negative political attitude regarding migration in Europe. However, this finding does not explain the complexity of migrant children’s experience. The data analysis shows that, while in general children’s agency does not find frequent expression in the school system, the condition of migrant children in this system is potentially less problematic for exercise of agency than for learning. Both children and teachers recognise the importance of migrant children’s agency and dialogue in schools, and the analysis of classroom activities shows that the method of facilitation can support children’s agency and classroom dialogue. This analysis shows that hybrid integration is based on facilitation of children’s agency in narrating their personal cultural trajectories and on the dialogic interlacement of these narratives in classrooms or groups. More than 1600 children who participated in these activities recognised the positive impact of facilitation and, in some cases, its limits. These findings show that innovating education means improving facilitation of agency and hybrid integration, and requires awareness of the complexity of interaction and dialogic interlacements of children’s personal cultural trajectories. Hybrid integration is important since it opposes to essentialist views of cultural difference and assimilation.
The findings also evidence some obstacles for promotion of hybrid integration. First, several teachers do not seem at ease with the expression of children’s agency and face some challenges in dealing with cultural differences and stereotypes. Second, there are problems of communication between teachers and migrant parents and interpreting of teacher-parent meetings faces several challenges. Third, facilitation is not always and not easily realised in schools. Fourth, several parents seem to underscore the complexity of hybrid integration. Thus, it is important to pay attention (1) to the specific conditions of facilitation in teaching contexts, (2) to the ways in which interpreting can improve dialogue between teachers and parents, (3) to the narratives of cultural difference widespread among parents.
The research shows that the analysis of children’s agency also allows the understanding of possible gender differences. Gender differences seem to be rather marginal from children’s point of view and in facilitated interactions, while gender is considered relevant by professionals to explain different constraints for boys and girls in migrant families.
To promote dialogic methods of facilitation that improve migrant children’s agency and hybrid integration in and around educational institutions, the project provides research-based tools for professionals: (1) an archive of written documents and audio-video recordings that can be used by professionals to use research findings; (2) a training package and a Massive Open Online Course that can promote professionals’ communication skills and strategies; (3) guidelines that orient professionals to plan and design innovative activities. The use of these tools can support the extension of facilitation of agency and promotion of hybrid integration to European schools and communities. The project has also shown the importance of the involvement of networks of international and local stakeholders to enhance awareness of aims, approaches and activities in schools, dissemination of findings, contribution to evaluate activities and to influence policy agendas.