Rationale and Objectives
Preliminary remarks:
The topic chosen for this lesson refers to a very broad field of investigation and to global societal issues. The scope of the proposed contents can be adapted to the specific educational purposes and needs of different national contexts. Therefore the number of teaching sessions suggested for it has to remain very flexible. The main ideas can either be introduced within one lesson (2 teaching sessions) or rather deepened in a specific independent module, if preferred. Objectives and learning outcomes have to be selected from their extensive list as necessary.
In the context of globalization multicultural societies are obviously
becoming a new geopolitical reality, especially in urban areas, shaking up the
national entities commonly established as a societal norm since the 19th
century. On one hand boundaries are blurring, allowing growing mobility, leading
to huge migration flows and multiplying the development of hybrid identities. Backwards
protectionist tendencies are on the rise and refugees have more frequently to
face restrictive measures, even against internationally recognized humanitarian
principles like the UN Declaration of Human Rights. These discrepancies polarize
opinions and trigger social tensions. People on the move often struggle with harsh
living conditions, not least because of lack of language. Native-born citizen again
feel worried about the changing world. This represents a considerable challenge
for democratic societies becoming irreversibly more multicultural and multilingual.
In the last decade the concepts of super-diversity and migration
societies have been developed in an interdisciplinary scientific approach, also
in the field of pedagogical research. This led in German spoken countries to
the development of a so-called “migration pedagogy” (Migrationspädagogik) that increasingly gains in importance in
teacher education. This lesson (or module) will introduce the main principles of
migration pedagogy and address the following questions: -
How to foster social cohesion
taking into account national, ethnic and cultural diversity? -
In what way languages influence
on social recognition? How to deal with the power /powerlessness of languages? -
How to provide equal
opportunities and social participation for all? Objectives -
To conceive the idea of
super-diversity in migration societies -
To recognize the close
interconnection between ethnicity, language and social participation and to understand
its impact on education -
To reflect on the
power/powerlessness of languages -
To experience the potential of narratives
and biographical reflection for challenging one’s attitudes and prejudices
towards “others” -
To question one’s relationship
with minorities and migrant populations -
To get an insight into some
models, projects and strategies for supporting education in multicultural/multilingual
settings -
To reflect on how to act in a
more thoughtful and knowledgeable manner as a citizen and as a (future) teacher
living in a multicultural society