INTEGRATION THROUGH PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Recognition of prior knowledge (RPL) is a process used to identify, assess and certify a person’s knowledge, skills and competencies – regardless of how, when or where the learning occurred – against prescribed standards for a part (modular) or full qualification (NSW DET, 2009; MQA, 2009; VETA, 2014). In most EU countries there are provisions to smooth refugee children’s entry into mainstream education through special language courses, different types of immersion classes and additional support. Teachers should be able to meet the diverse needs of all students and foster tolerance, respect for diversity and civic responsibility. Whereas most European countries already faced challenges in matching teaching methods and quality with the needs of diverse classrooms, the challenges intensified with the arrival of large numbers of refugee students and their particular needs. According to the OECD (2014, in: Public Policy Management Institute, 2017, p.12) working with multicultural and multilingual students is one of the areas that teachers feel the least prepared for.

The specific objectives of the IntegPri project are:

1. Strengthen the teaching profession by providing methodology and tools to help teachers assess their refugee/migrant students’ prior knowledge
2. Promote intercultural education and intercultural dialogue
3. Enrich teachers’ existing knowledge on differentiation teaching
4. Promote an inclusive, encouraging, supportive and non-discriminative learning environment
5. Encourage lifelong learning and professional development
6. Improving efficiency and flexibility in education systems by allowing alternative learning pathways
7. Promoting social inclusion and equity for disadvantaged groups

The international partnership of the project is composed of: Finland, Spain and Greece.