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A long-term view to school development that involves the various actors of the school community in order to create a positive learning environment that respects diversity and where all pupils can succeed, the School Community Approach provides school communities as a whole with the tools to confront prejudice and discrimination and address intercultural conflict.
Integrating the A CLASSROOM OF DIFFERENCE™ teacher training and peer training programmes, the School Community Approach actively involves administrators, staff, parents, and students in the school development process, providing them with tools to establish and achieve sustainable change within the school community.
By making an institutional commitment to create an inclusive environment, schools are able to achieve their own set objectives within the programme, for example intercultural integration, violence prevention, involvement of pupils in enhancing the school community, better behaviour and performance of pupils, and improved relations amongst staff.
As an outcome of the School Community Approach, administrators, staff, parents, and students develop the capacity to examine curriculum materials for stereotypes, prejudice and misinformation and modify and supplement accordingly; examine their school and classroom policies and practices in terms of fairness and equity; and develop the capacity to create and sustain an environment that respects cultural differences, fairness and equity.
In 2009, CEJI received the Executive Summary of the Evaluation of CEJI’s School Community Approach - A CLASSROOM OF DIFFERENCE™ Program and this summary is now available online.Download the summary report. You can receive the full report on demand by sending an email to our Education Programmes Manager.
The evaluation was conducted over the course of two years by the Paris-based Institute for Education and Social Policy and the results of the pilot project were very positive. Five schools across the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Italy participated in the pilot project of the School Community Approach, funded by the Ford Foundation. Two control schools who had never engaged in any sort of diversity education were also involved in the evaluation methodology.
If you would like more information on the evaluation results, the tools employed, or the program itself, you can contact CEJI's Director, robin.sclafani@ceji.org.
The Programme Design
Including the following components listed below, the nature of the programme delivered in each school will be unique based upon institutional resources and constraints, objectives for the short and long term, and needs that arise during the course of the programme. It usually takes between 2-3 years to arrive at a self-sustainable momentum within the school community. For the long-term, the School Community Approach brings the most results. Most school personnel would agree: One-shot training programmes do not achieve significant change.
- Institutional Commitment
- Needs Assessment
- Training for teachers
- Training for peer trainers
- Coaching up to 40 hours for teachers and peer trainers
- Implementation of extra-curricular resources for the classroom (The Anti-Bias Study Guide)
- Action Planning with a School Community Task Force
- Evaluation
With the support of the Ford Foundation, the School Community Approach has been piloted within each national coordination structure, giving the opportunity to promote the implementation of this approach through the inspiration and credibility that can be gained by achieving ‘model schools.’ The Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany and Flemish and French-speaking Belgium have all begun working with the School Community Approach as the ideally effective way to create inclusive schools.
To start a programme as described above in your own school or community, please contact Educational Advisor Ruth Friedman.
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