The refugee crisis we have witnessed during the last few years has moved to the top of the political agenda in the European Union and populism is on the rise. The five schools involved in 'The End of Hospitality? Changing Attitudes to Immigration and Refugees' all feel concerned by this problem and expressed the desire to work together on a new project on this theme. The objectives are varied. As far as students are concerned, we aim to improve their communication and digital skills. Our objectives are also to encourage them to become more active citizens, to adopt a more positive attitude towards the European project and European values (increasingly under threat), and to enhance their critical thinking. Teachers will, through the activities we propose, integrate more collaborative cross-curricula methods and improve the relevancy of their teaching by associating people living and working close to our respective schools when dealing with the subject of 'Immigration and Refugees'. Schools will be more open to internationalization and increase the European dimension of the education provided. There will be a class of about 20 students, aged between 15 and 18, working on the project in each of our five schools from very different socio-eceonomic and geographical backgrounds. The two years of the project will be divided into four semesters, each focusing on a different aspect of the question: History, Literature, Sociology and finally Politics. All the activities we propose are the result of prolonged and intense discussion among partners intent on improving their professional development and learning from each other's teaching methods. We have elaborated a varied, realistic common work programme over the two years. The work on a particular aspect of the 'Immigration and Regugees' issue at our individual schools will culminate in a Transnational Learning Activity during which students will compare their results, broaden and widen their understanding of the question under discussion. Collaborating with students from partner countries, whether it be before, during or after Transnational Learning Activities will be the hallmark of this project. Students will construct their own learning processes, their own relationships and become more truly European citizens. All results will be posted on the eTwinning platform providing teachers across Europe with inspiration to undertake similar projects beyond the formal duration of this project.
"The End of Hospitality?’’ came into existence because of five schools' joint desire to work together on a new European project on the theme of the migrant crisis. The objectives were varied. First concerning students: reinforcing links between school education and active citizenship, economic, social, cultural and European considerations, increasing their self-confidence, and helping them acquire better language and digital skills. For teachers: enhancing their professional development by integrating a collaborative and innovative approach into the activities we proposed. The successful relationships between teachers concerned will lead to future collaboration as a result of this project. As far as schools are concerned: the aim was primarily to open our schools to internationalization and increase the European dimension of the education we provide. There was a class of 30 students, aged between 15 and 18, working on the project in each of our four schools from very different socio-economic and geographical backgrounds. This two year project was divided into four semesters, each focusing on a particular aspect of the question in four areas: the history of immigration since the Second World War, the human stories of migrants through the study of a book written by a young Syrian refugee 'Nujeen', the changing attitudes of people in our five countries towards refugees and finally the way the refugee crisis is dealt with by the media. All the proposed activities were selected as a result of consultation with colleagues interested in sharing their methods with others and learning from the approach of other European teachers and involved people living and working close to our respective schools. Four transnational learning activities offered the opportunity to compare, to pool and conclude the work carried out on such questions beforehand in each individual school. Students in turn investigators, interviewers, reporters, writers, secretaries, artists, webmasters thus, thanks to the collaboration with students from partner schools, constructed their own learning processes, their relationships, their sense of responsibility, making them truly European citizens. The tools available on the eTwinning platform enable teachers and other schools to find inspiration from our work thus contributing to other forms of innovation.