ABSTRACT

SEDIN – Creative Methods for Successful Inclusion in Multicultural Schools which aims to promote the use of the Montessori and Creative Learning methods in order to promote social inclusion in multicultural schools.

Refugee children (as well as children with migrant / minority background) often face difficulties in adapting in the school environment of the host countries because of the difficulties they have with the language, the different cultural background but, mainly, because of the difficult experiences that they have faced on the way to the host countries.

The traditional cognitive models of teaching cannot cover this need and for this reason there is a need to introduce in the school environment, in cooperation with different stakeholders, alternative methods that cultivate the fantasy of the children, that promote emotional aspects of learning, that promote the positive interaction between these children and children belonging to the mainstream communities and that promote non-verbal communication and learning. The project aims to transfer two methods on this respect:

Montessori Method: The Montessori Method has begun as a method addressed to poor children who had faced several difficulties and contributed to the developmental of their emotions and senses, however, nowadays is used mainly by children of privileged background. The project aims to transfer elements, principles and tools of the method again to children that have faced several difficulties in their life.

Creative Learning: The creative learning method is a method that aims to develop the children’s fantasy and informal interaction through the use of theatre techniques in the classroom in order to achieve cognitive results.
The project is aiming to adapt these methods in order to use them in multicultural schools and will produce a guidance book for this reason. Furthermore, the project is aiming to organise training of teachers in order to upscale the method.

 The training will be organised both face to face and through e-learning with participants all over Europe. The methods are going to be practically implemented in schools and community and policy networks will be developed to sustain upscaling.