The past decade has seen growing immigration into the countries of the European Union often involving populations with very different cultural norms from mainstream European societies with a resultant growth in social tensions. The current context is characterised by negative perceptions on migration among some segments of public opinion which has often spilled over into open xenophobia. Social media is increasingly becoming the channel for spreading these divisive and extreme anti-migrant and overlapping anti-Muslim messages with young people particularly exposed to the possibility of having their sense of identity undermined and manipulated due to their reliance on non-traditional media for their information. The situation requires an educational as well as a technological response but teachers in schools across Europe often lack the confidence and skills to deal with a contested and controversial topic. The project will bring together educators with a passion for building strong, tolerant communities where perceptions are questioned, deeper thinking skills and self awareness are developed, and best practice for teaching about challenging issues is shared and celebrated. Specifically it aims to equip 14-19 year-olds with the critical literacy and peer education skills that will help to prevent xenophobic ideas spreading and dividing communities. The project is led by Global Education Derby, a specialist educational charity that works with educators to develop global citizenship, and involves schools in Germany, Turkey and Estonia and a new NGO in Slovenia - countries with very different experiences of the current migration crisis but with a common concern about the potential damage to social cohesion. It contains elements of teacher training in innovative methodologies, integrated into a wider project that gives teachers the opportunity to further develop their practice through facilitating pupil-led learning in the curriculum and distill this experience into a new teacher resource accessible to others. Teachers will need to develop the skills to create "safe spaces" including tools and techniques which enable young people to facilitate sensitive discussions themselves, to respect young people's preconceptions, but also encourage reflection about those preconceptions, and pass on sufficient knowledge to counter stereotypes or mistaken assumptions. By the end of the project, participating teachers will have benefited from improved skills in dealing with controversial issues, and developing critical thinking and cross cultural understanding . Participating pupils will benefit in a more multi-faceted way. They will have a greater appreciation of the origins of difference, and the independence of thought and media literacy to resist negative peer pressure. They will enrich their understanding of the common European values as well as appreciating the origins and acceptability of the diversity that exists within Europe. The development of an innovative new educational resource as part of the project will support ongoing work by teachers and schools beyond the end of the project, and allow other teachers across Europe to benefit from the work of the core group of teachers. In the longer term, it is intended as a contribution towards improving the level of discussion about the effects of migration in helping or hindering the creation of a more just and sustainable world, and to re-establish the sense of European unity that has been strained by the current migration crisis.
Context/background of the project The original context (as outlined in the section above) was the growing immigration into the countries of the European Union often involving populations with very different cultural norms from mainstream European societies with a resultant growth in social tensions. This had often spilled over into xenophobic reaction, hostility in public debate, and an increase in hate crime. Of particular concern was the role social media played in delivering extremist messages to young people bypassing the checks and balances of traditional information media. This context remained relevant during the implementation of the project as the covid-19 pandemic meant young people relied even more on social media. The project was led by Global Education Derby, a specialist educational charity that works with educators to develop global citizenship, and involved schools in Germany, Turkey, and Estonia plus an NGO in Slovenia. Project activities were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions associated with it. All project activities were completed successfully and on schedule up until March 2020. These were covered in the interim report and included a combined TPM1 and C1 in Estonia in March 2019 setting the framework that guided project partners in devising new classroom activities to suit their particular circumstances, introduce them into their classroom practice during the period April to August 2019, and write them up as prototype activities. A second training event, C2, was held on schedule in October 2019 in the UK for participants to enhance their skills in the use of dialogue-based pedagogies (Philosophy for Children at Level 2a) and provide ways to improve and deepen the impact of the classroom work already undertaken. A project website was set up and structured to eventually host the resources developed (IO1) Planning for TPM 2 in Turkey in March 2020 had been completed but this had to be cancelled and held as a virtual event when travel restrictions were brought in across Europe. TPM3 was also held as a virtual event in June 2021. Similarly a student ideas interchange C3 due to be held in Slovenia in May 2020 was cancelled and eventually re-organised as an online student conference held in March 2021. The educational resource was developed as a website www.thinking otherwise.org that is available to support ongoing work by teachers and schools beyond the end of the project. The new resource provides teachers with a framework that helps students negotiate social media and build the core skills of critical thinking, communication, citizenship, creativity, and leadership. It includes teacher guidance, lesson plans, and student -developed activities. The website has been successfully completed. The difficult circumstances meant more staff time was needed to achieve the result, mainly from the UK, Slovenian and German partners, but this stayed within the revised guidelines for budget transfers. Multiplier events to promote the Intellectual Output were also disrupted by the pandemic. One event for teacher trainers was held online in the UK. Our partner in Slovenia was in a position to host a face-to-face event attended by a mix of local and international participants. Our partner in Estonia ran a training event for teachers from two of their feeder schools. Partners in Germany and Turkey did not feel able to organise their multiplier events and held smaller dissemination events aimed at parents and the wider community. Participating teachers have improved skills in dealing with controversial issues, and developing critical thinking and cross cultural understanding. 5 have gained additional accreditation in Philosophy for Children (Level 2a) Participating students said that they had "become more tolerant and empathetic towards the world around them, learned to see the other side of the coin, also they liked the leadership role the virtual conference gave them". The project had an impact on the wider functioning of the participating schools. This impact was different for the different partners. The Estonian partner has used the project to strengthen an elective Active Global Citizenship module in their curriculum. The German partner noted that "the school's reputation among the population and the school administration was constantly strengthened by the ongoing activities of the Erasmus project" In Turkey the school pursued the interest in Philosophy for Children by sourcing further training locally for their teachers. In Slovenia, the project helped the partner NGO form stronger links with local schools. The feedback from all participating partners shows they feel the project objectives were achieved - they have new understanding, confidence and skills to support students critically address controversial issues in the era of social media.