Kaufmannsschule II, Hagen, Germany Secondary School Vasil Levski, Dolni chiflik Liceul Teoretic Nichita Stanescu, Bucharest, Romania
Managing Diversity Strategies Result of the project meeting in Dolni chiflik, Bulgaria, March 2018
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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Table of Contents Inhalt Strategies of Managing Diversity ............................................................................................................ 4 1.
Managing Diversity for Vasil Levski Secondary School, Dolni chiflik, Bulgaria ................................ 4 1.1 Programme .................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2
What can be done? ................................................................................................................. 5
1.2.1 Teachers' behaviour ............................................................................................................... 6 1.2.2 Instructional strategies ........................................................................................................... 7 1.3
Sustainable development ...................................................................................................... 10
2. Managing Diversity Strategy for Kaufmannsschule II, Hagen, Germany........................................... 11 2.1 Foreword ..................................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Judging by appearance ................................................................................................................ 11 2.3 Being different ............................................................................................................................. 12 2.4 Gender ........................................................................................................................................ 12 2.5 Bullying ........................................................................................................................................ 12 2.6 Racism.......................................................................................................................................... 13 2.7 Religion ....................................................................................................................................... 13 2.8 Handicaps .................................................................................................................................... 13 2.9 Suggestions for measures............................................................................................................ 13 3. Managing Diversity Strategy by Liceul Teoretic Nichita Stanescu .................................................... 15 3.1 Diversity Concepts ...................................................................................................................... 15 3.1.1Gender ................................................................................................................................... 15 3.1.2 Judging by appearance ......................................................................................................... 15 3.1.3 Racism................................................................................................................................... 15 3.1.4 Bullying ................................................................................................................................. 15 3.1.5 Religion ................................................................................................................................. 16 3.1.6 Disability ............................................................................................................................... 16 3.2 Problems....................................................................................................................................... 16 3.2.1RACISM .................................................................................................................................. 16 3.2.2 GENDER+SEXUALITY ............................................................................................................. 17 3.2.3 APPEARANCE ........................................................................................................................ 17 3.2.3 BULLYING .............................................................................................................................. 17 3.2.4 RELIGION .............................................................................................................................. 17 3.2.5 DISABILITY............................................................................................................................. 17 2
3.3 Solutions ...................................................................................................................................... 18 3.3.1 BULLYING .............................................................................................................................. 18 3.3.2 RELIGION .............................................................................................................................. 18 3.3.4 DISABILITY............................................................................................................................. 18
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Strategies of Managing Diversity
1. Managing Diversity for Vasil Levski Secondary School, Dolni chiflik, Bulgaria Vasil Levski Secondary School is a school with traditions and experience in working on national and international projects. The school is located in Dolni chiflik town, region Varna, in the northeastern part of Bulgaria, near the Black Sea. At school are studying 680 students from 7 to 19 years old. The school has 60 teachers and 25 employees. At school students get basic knowledge and build life skills. The school is multicultural. Along with Bulgarians big numbers of Turkish and Roma students are educated there. That is why managing this diverse society is a key factor for the proper functioning of this institution. SU ''Vasil Levski'' is a school that strives to form students in national and general human virtues in their preparation for socialization and realization - highly responsible people expressing tolerance, concern and respect for human dignity. The school stimulates and motivates students to think, express their opinions freely, to do what they want without being forced, to work with the belief that they are doing something useful to themselves, to the school, and to society. The school seeks to transform cultural diversity into a source and a factor for mutual acquaintance and spiritual development of adolescents and creating an atmosphere of mutual respect, tolerance and understanding.
The school community is actively involved in international exchange projects such as the Erasmus+ programme. The third transnational workshop was held in Bulgaria in March 2018. Students and teachers from SU "Vasil Levski" Bulgaria, Kaufmannsschule II, Germany, Liceul Teoretic Nichita Stanescu, Romania, took part in this meeting. The main task of the participants in the meeting was to formulate strategies for managing diversity in school.
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1.1 Programme At first the students tried to outline a large part of the problems posed by the diverse school environment. From their experience, they pointed out the following issues:
bullying/physical and mental abuse
social status
appearance
disabilities
sexuality
gender
religion
racism/ethnicity
misunderstanding
age.
There is a growing concern amongst educators about how to deal with these issues in the classroom so that all students in this diverse student body feel included, rather than marginalised, because of their difference. Creating a safe and comfortable learning environment
means that all students feel that they have a place and a voice in the classroom and they can express themselves without fear realising that their experiences and contributions are valuable. One of the main problems for mutual understanding and tolerance is ethnocentrism. People who think that the only normal way of thinking is their culture's way of thinking are unable to accept other cultures. Ethnocentrism is a problem that includes resistance to racial, ethnic, religious and sexual differences. This resistance has a devastating effect on classroom dynamics.
1.2 What can be done? The question is, what can educators do to overcome these problems and can they
effectively manage issues of hostility and violence in order to foster an atmosphere of openmindedness and acceptance? As a next step let's identify some real common situations that arise. The examples are drawn from real incidents at school:
a teacher is unaware of how cultural differences regarding education influence students' participation;
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a teacher allows certain students to dominate class discussions ,thus silencing the other students;
a student makes a sexist remark which alienates other students;
a student wears a T-shirt with a homophobic remark or diagram;
a teacher or student only addresses students of a particular sex;
a student denounces or ridicules the gender, sexual preference, race, ethnicity, religion, age, disability or appearance of a particular student.
As we can see from mentioned examples both educators and students are guilty of negative
behaviour. Teachers have a responsibility - whether they themselves engage in such behaviour, or whether they let them go unchecked - the results are equally damaging. These situations do more than create pockets of tension. They often set a tone in the classroom where students will become more disengaged from the learning process. Internal and external approaches must be involved simultaneously in the process. This means starting with a self-reflective journey that explores and defines our own biases. One way to do that would be through working groups or workshops. With a clear and positive sense of one's own identity, one can appreciate both the similarities and differences between oneself and others, making the differences less threatening. This awareness will enhance the effectiveness
of the educator and foster a more positive environment in the classroom, provide a richer learning experience. Certain behaviors and instructional strategies enable teachers to build a stronger teaching/learning relationship with their culturally diverse students. Many of these behaviors and strategies exemplify standard practices of good teaching, and others are specific to working with students from diverse cultures. A number of these behaviors and strategies are listed below.
1.2.1 Teachers' behaviour
Appreciate and accommodate the similarities and differences among the students 'cultures. Effective teachers of culturally diverse students acknowledge both individual and cultural differences enthusiastically and identify these differences in a positive manner. This positive identification creates a basis for the development of effective communication and instructional strategies. Social skills such as respect and cross-cultural understanding can be modeled, taught,
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prompted, and reinforced by the teacher. Build relationships with students. Developing an understanding of students' lives also enables the teacher to increase the relevance of lessons and make examples more meaningful. Focus on the ways students learn and observe students to identify their task orientations. Once students' orientations are known, the teacher can structure tasks to take them into account. For example, before some students can begin a task, they need time to prepare or attend to details.In this case, the teacher can allow time for students to prepare, provide them with advance organizers, and announce how much time will be given for preparation and when the task will begin. This is a positive way to honor their need for preparation, rituals, or
customs. Teach students to match their behaviors to the setting. We all behave differently in different settings. For example, we behave more formally at official ceremonies. Teaching students the differences between their home, school, and community settings can help them switch to appropriate behaviour for each context. For example, a teacher may talk about the differences between conversations with friends in the community and conversations with adults at school and discuss how each behavior is valued and useful in that setting. While some students adjust their behavior automatically, others must be taught and provided ample opportunities to practice. Involving families and the community can help students learn to adjust their behavior in each of the settings in which they interact.
1.2.2 Instructional strategies
Use a variety of instructional strategies and learning activities. Offering variety provides the students with opportunities to learn in ways that are responsive to their own communication styles, cognitive styles, and aptitudes. In addition, the variety helps them develop and strengthen other approaches to learning. Consider students' cultures and language skills when developing learning objectives and instructional activities. Facilitate comparable learning opportunities for students with differing characteristics. For example, consider opportunities
for students who differ in appearance, race, sex, disability, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, or ability. Incorporate objectives for affective and personal development. Provide increased opportunities for high and low achievers to boost their self-esteem, develop positive self-attributes, and enhance their strengths and talents. Such opportunities can enhance students' motivation to learn and achieve.
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1.2.2.1 Communicate expectations
Let the students know the "classroom rules" about talking, verbal participation in lessons, and moving about the room. Tell them how long a task will take to complete or how long it will take to learn a skill or strategy, and when appropriate, give them information on their ability to master a certain skill or complete a task. For example, it may be necessary to encourage students who expect to achieve mastery but are struggling to do so. They may need to know that they have the ability to achieve mastery, but must work through the difficulty. 1.2.2.2 Provide rationales
Explain the benefits of learning a concept, skill, or task. Ask students to tell you the rationale for learning and explain how the concept or skill applies to their lives at school, home, and work. 1.2.2.3 Use advance and post organizers
At the beginning of lessons, give the students an overview and tell them the purpose or goal of the activity. If applicable, tell them the order that the lesson will follow and relate it to previous lessons. At the end of the lesson, summarize its main points. 1.2.2.4 Provide frequent reviews of the content learned
For example, check with the students to see if they remember the difference between simple and compound sentences. Provide a brief review of the previous lesson before continuing on to a new and related lesson. 1.2.2.5 Facilitate independence in thinking and action
There are many ways to facilitate students' independence. For example, when students begin
their work without specific instruction from the teacher, they are displaying independence. When students ask questions, the teacher can encourage independence by responding in a way that lets the student know how to find the answer for him- or herself. When teachers ask students to evaluate their own work or progress, they are facilitating independence, and asking students to perform in front of the class (e.g., by reciting or role-playing) also promotes independence.
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1.2.2.6 Promote student on-task behaviour
Keeping students on task maintains a high level of intensity of instruction. By starting lessons promptly and minimizing transition time between lessons, teachers can help students stay on task. Shifting smoothly (no halts) and efficiently (no wasted effort) from one lesson to another and being business-like about housekeeping tasks such as handing out papers and setting up audiovisual equipment helps to maintain their attention. Keeping students actively involved in the lessons – for example, by asking questions that require students to recall information – also helps them to stay focused and increases the intensity of instruction. 1.2.2.7 Monitor students' academic progress during lessons and independent work
Check with students during seatwork to see if they need assistance before they have to ask for help. Ask if they have any questions about what they are doing and if they understand what they are doing. Also make the students aware of the various situations in which a skill or strategy can be used as well as adaptations that will broaden its applicability to additional situations. 1.2.2.8 Provide frequent feedback
Feedback at multiple levels is preferred. For example, acknowledging a correct response is a form of brief feedback, while prompting a student who has given an incorrect answer by providing clues or repeating or rephrasing the question is another level. The teacher may also give positive feedback by stating the appropriate aspects of a student's performance. Finally, the teacher may give positive corrective feedback by making students aware of specific aspects of their performance that need work, reviewing concepts and asking questions, making suggestions for improvement, and having the students correct their work. 1.2.2.9 Require mastery
Require students to master one task before going on to the next. When tasks are assigned, tell the students the criteria that define mastery and the different ways mastery can be obtained. When mastery is achieved on one aspect or portion of the task, give students corrective feedback to let them know what aspects they have mastered and what aspects still need more work. When the task is complete, let the students know that mastery was reached.
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1.3 Sustainable development While the immediate goal must be to initiate fundamental change in the classrooms, teachers must also look ahead to the future and look beyond classrooms. We must look for the ways to make this change sustainable. Links with other educational institutions must occur. Diversity goes beyond institutional and geographical boundaries. Thus, in addition to educators' work at home it is necessary to see what is going on elsewhere. One way to open a dialogue with other educational institutions would be to create and attend conferences at different institutions, and to visit other schools and engaging in informal discussions with other educators and students. These discussions can resolve around the sharing experiences, restructuring the curriculum so that it reflects our diverse society, and encourage new ideas on how to incorporate and address these issues in an interdisciplinary manner. By continuing a dialogue on a larger scale and sharing experiences we can learn from one another, devise and implement strategies for our classrooms which reflect our world today. We must penetrate areas of resistance and silence, raise awareness about different identifies and communities and encourage mutual understanding and respect. We can help each other to overcome ethnocentrism by developing of appreciation for and an understanding of the larger
contextual issues of gender, race, culture and ethnicity. By recognising that life circumstances are vastly different in their scope of meaning and context, we can begin to draw on diversity of students. In this way we can enrich and enhance the learning experience for all of us.
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2. Managing Diversity Strategy for Kaufmannsschule II, Hagen, Germany 2.1 Foreword This managing diversity strategy has been developed from the point of view of students. The reasons for setting up such a strategy are to make everyone at Kaufmannsschule II feel welcome and accepted – whatever their background. Moreover it can be used to facilitate good behaviour among students. Last but not least it will prepare students for working life as many companies have managing diversity strategies in place. This strategy can be used to raise students’ and teachers’ awareness to the issue of diversity and that it is important to make everyone feel welcome and accepted in a learning environment. Each year new students are informed about the values of the school. This strategy
provides an opportunity to review the current school rules under the aspect of diversity and add new points if necessary. The students who created this strategy would love to see projects on diversity carried out at school. The aims of this strategy are to enjoy a learning environment free of discrimination. Students would like to focus on learning and good results. They want to value diversity and individuality in their every-day school life which makes up a large part of their daily lives. So all in all this strategy aims at establishing a positive climate at our school.
2.2 Judging by appearance The problem of judging someone by appearance is that this gives prejudices, stereotypes and other people’s opinions priority over your own assessment. It should be seen as normal that students have different religions, cultural backgrounds, nationalities and that they might have illnesses or handicaps. To avoid judging by appearance one should take the time to get to know someone before casting a judgement. It is very important to be tolerant and understand why somebody is the
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way they are. It is most important not to judge someone too quickly. It is important to support each other at school in order to achieve the goal of passing the final examinations.
2.3 Being different Everybody is a unique person with their own style and behaviour. So if someone is different from most students try to see it in a positive way and actively get to know this person. It is most important not to make disrespectful remarks. If it turns out after some time that this person will not be your friend, keep up a friendly behaviour because everyone is different and we value diversity. It is equally important to accept the way someone dresses and remain tolerant if it is not your style. Always look at the person inside the clothes.
2.4 Gender Gender and sexual orientation are no reasons to avoid someone. No student should assume that s/he cannot be friends with someone because of her/his gender or sexual orientation. Students are treated equally by everybody.
2.5 Bullying Bullying can occur for a number of reasons like appearance, clothes, religion, sexual orientation and disability. It is believed that bullies feel better when they group with others so that they feel stronger and better. However the costs for the victim of bullying are high. Very often victims don’t talk about being bullied and they don’t know what to do against it. Students do not speak badly or laugh about fellow students. Nobody can define what is regarded as “normal”. Students do not bully other students for any reason – not in class and not before or after school. The students encourage victims of bullying to talk about their experience. Find someone you can talk to so that you are not alone anymore. Try to find other victims of bullying. It is always easier to be in a group as you don’t feel alone and you have more options to do something against it. At Kaufmannsschule II you have people you can turn to. There are social workers, counsellors and of course every teacher is prepared to listen to you and help you.
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2.6 Racism The students at Kaufmannsschule II have many backgrounds – there are more than 25 different national backgrounds. So there can be problems linked to skin colour, religious beliefs, cultural differences, political opinions and prejudices. In order to avoid racism it is important to accept other opinions as we are living in a democratic country. Moreover it always helps to try and understand other cultures. This means that you ask people who are of a different cultural background about something you find unusual. Knowledge is a key to stop racism. You should also adapt to a situation and
behave in an adequate way. All in all you should always try not to offend other people even if you don’t get along. This means paying respect to others. Treat other people with the same respect you expect from them. If you observe that someone is mistreating another person you can talk to this person and explain what you don’t like about this behaviour. In the end you always have the option to report disruptive behaviour to a teacher. At Kaufmannsschule II we are not willing to tolerate racist remarks or behaviour of any kind.
2.7 Religion The students of Kaufmannsschule II have many different religions. It is understood that students of all religions work and learn together. They focus on things which unite them and look out for common interests. Students do not draw conclusions from each other’s religions and avoid thinking in stereotypes.
2.8 Handicaps Handicapped students are accepted and are not excluded. Their handicap is not seen as a problem. On the contrary students will help handicapped students if necessary. They are
integrated into the group.
2.9 Suggestions for measures Students would like to address these topics at the beginning of the school year. Teachers can talk to students about the different topics mentioned above. The students also suggested creating situations such as informal meetings in which the students of the classes can get to
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know each other better. Moreover it is seen as important that students gain knowledge and facts about other cultures and religions. Students should be encouraged to talk to people who seem to be “different� and establish contact. Teachers should facilitate the contact between different students at school. At the end of the school year there should be a review of how the school year went regarding diversity.
Drawing by Nicola Sattler
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3. Managing Diversity Strategy by Liceul Teoretic Nichita Stanescu 3.1 Diversity Concepts 3.1.1Gender
Gender diversity is equitable or fair representation between genders. Gender diversity most commonly refers to an equitable ratio of men and women, but ay also include non-binary categories. 3.1.2 Judging by appearance
A lot of problems are caused by the aspect of different nationalities like people from all the
continents because some countries have a special kind of wearing and another colour for skin.
3.1.3 Racism
Racism is the belief in the superiority of one race or another which often results in discrimination and prejudice towards people based on their race or ethnicity. Also, because of these differences, people tend to start disliking or hating other people, even if they behave nicely and kindly to them. 3.1.4 Bullying
Bullying is when someone shows rude or mean behaviour to another person. Usually towards another person. Usually every school got problems with bullying. There are two types of bullying - physical and psychological.
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3.1.5 Religion
Religion is a “conversation” between human souls and some divine beings, that are protecting, helping and teaching us a lesson if that’s needed. Religion is all about tolerance, belief and doing what is right. They have: ●
Different modalities of worshiping
●
Different praying methods
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Different uses for meditation
The PROBLEM consists in the true meaning behind the word “right” - we must do the right thing regarding everyone, not only “our own people”. Everyone thinks that their religion is the best/ most righteous, and that’s what is starting the conflicts. 3.1.6 Disability
Disability is an impairment that may be cognitive, development, intellectual, mental, physical
or some combination of those. Usually those people are isolated by the society and in most cases they are bullied and abused by others because they are considered “abnormal” even if they are not. 3.2 Problems
3.2.1RACISM
The conflict starts when a group of people makes fun of somebody that has another race. We, as a country, generalize all Roma people, and because of that everyone sees them in a negative
way. This also happens in our school when Romanians make fun of them or when Roma people are making fun of the Romanians.
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3.2.2 GENDER+SEXUALITY
In our school the cases when the students hate some other people for their sexual orientation are quite few, but still exist. When things like this happen is usually because people think that things like this are strange and that it is worth making fun of, which is a very bad way of dealing with this kind of things because is nothing wrong in being gay, lesbian, bisexual, because they are still people, they have feelings and the most important they love.
3.2.3 APPEARANCE
In our high school, a big problem is judging by appearance. These problems are caused by differences between colour of skin, kinds of clothes, weight, height etc. In Romania, this is a disadvantage because you can lose a lot of beautiful things about people because of you judging by appearance.
3.2.3 BULLYING
In our school, there are many bullies. They have different frustrations and they express them by bullying other people. They start because of something that pisses them off in general, like a bad word, a joke, a punch‌some get really angry for small reasons and they can not control it, so they start harming other people just because they feel bad.
3.2.4 RELIGION
In our high school, diversity also represents other religions, like Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim etc. And, because of this, in some situations, not all the pupils are accepted or treated the same.
3.2.5 DISABILITY
In our school, there are not so many people that have a disability, but the ones that have, should not be aggressed because of that. Still, sometimes these people feel offended by some words, even if they were not meant to harm them.
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3.3 Solutions 3.3.1 BULLYING
In general, bullies continue attacking victims that get in their game, that are afraid of them and that care and get angry because of them. If you don’t want ti be agressed answer to these conflicts with love and respect. They won’t be able to touch you ever again. We should educate the students in defending themselves against bulliers. They should not become bulliers if someone else’s pissing them off or as a respond to bullying. Be nice! It will work.
3.3.2 RELIGION
In my school we can prevent religion conflicts by taking them to the cultural center, workshops and talking about different religions during the classes. We can have a workshop about religions around the world for people for people to be more aware of themselves and of the religions in general. They should know that the concept of ’’wrong or right religion’’ is wrong. They should know that each of us can have her/his own religion and that this has to be respected.
3.3.4 DISABILITY
In our school, teachers think about the children with this kind of problem that they are normal. They are helping and supporting them, and so are doing the students. We believe that the students in general, with or without these kind of problems, should be part of their class group and should not judge the others based on their condition. We can help them make new friends and give them a chance to be great in a group. We should help them in having normal
social life.
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