NEED Vocational school students paint pictures of Adolf Hitler; a pupil is apprehended for an alleged attack on a refugee shelter. Nevertheless, school administrators believe that this behaviour does not need to be addressed. One don’t want to pick a quarrel, and even “a little Nazi can be a skilled worker”.* A pupil at a vocational school in Zadar (Croatia) burns a ‘U’ (‘Ustascha’) into the skin of a fellow pupil belonging to the ethnic Albanian minority group. The school management labelled it ‘a game’. After the parents intervened, the Croatian Ministry of Family Affairs has called on school administrators to take note of these problems and intervene. On the other hand, many school principals and teachers who are explicitly committed to democracy and diversity are threatened, for instance, with hate comments in social networks or by publishing their names and addresses on portals (e. g. ‘redwatch', Poland). A problematic phenomenon in European societies is that citizens of the majority (‘centre’) increasingly use an inhumane language when talking about the so-called ‘others’; for example, muslims, jews, homeless, homosexuals. Discriminatory behaviour also occurs more often in vocational schools and business enterprises. Teachers and trainers often face problems: How do I assess the situation? When and in what form do I intervene? OBJECTIVES - Enhancing teachers' knowledge of the political conditions under which ideologies of inequality are possible (e. g. secondary anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim racism) - Vocational school teachers and trainers in companies use an app to get to know symbols + codes that transport misanthropic attitudes. - Installation and testing of participative instruments at vocational schools in order to extend the democratic competences of pupils. - Vocational schools form networks with other actors in order to implement a more democratic school culture and to relieve the burden on teachers. RESULTS 1. MOBILE APP Organisations and groups that make use of misanthropic ideologies use codes, symbols, music, etc. to win young people over for their goals. Experts speak of a “world of experience"; that underwent a strategic reorientation a few years ago. Teachers get to know the aforementioned in order to - hone their attentiveness and to classify the situation at their school The app contains, among other things, contact data of counselling centres and NGOs in partner countries and thus promotes the networking of democratic actors. 2. BROCHURE + PODCAST Those responsible in education policy encourage teachers to continue to work for the effectiveness of human rights for all (school educational mandate). Many teachers are insecure about supposed indoctrination due to reporting portals. The partners develop a 4-language brochure. This - draws attention to legal documents in each region which encourage teachers to intervene in specific situations - designates organisations that support teachers The podcast contains fictitious interviews (teacher + consultant). It gives ideas where to go and how to react - depending on the situation. 3. MODULE: ‘Ideologies of inequality’ as part of further training Learning goals: - To differentiate and expand the knowledge, perception and ideas of teachers with regard to ideologies of inequality. - To stimulate reflection on the alleged opposition of ‘extreme margins’ vs. ‘democratic centre’ 4. DEMOCRATIC SCHOOL CULTURE At the vocational partner schools, pupils - together with external actors - install an instrument of participation. In the several months of debate to achieve a common goal, they learn democratic processes during the settlement of conflicts. This process is documented in a blog and thus presented to the public in a sustainable and effective way, making it easily accessible to other interested parties. 5. + 6. CURRICULUM for 5-day blended learning FURTHER TRAINING incl. webinars - Contents: above results - Application and explanation of the didactic principle ‘conflict orientation’ Nachhaltigkeit - Open Educational Resources are available on well-known platforms (E+PRP etc.) - App can be accessed via a link, even 5 years after the end of the project - Regular offer of further education via School Education Gateway - Certificate „Europass Mobility“ PARTNERS Warsaw Centre for Socio-Educational Innovation and Training, PL Zespół Szkół Poligraficznych, PL Nansen Dialogue Centre, HR Vocational School Nikola Tesla Technical School, HR Democracy Center Vienna, AT Institute for Didactics of Democracy, University of Hanover, DE * Fischer, Sebastian: Final report on the evaluation of the Saxon model project: ‚Starke Lehrer – starke Schüler‘. 2018, p. 34
- Increasing the knowledge of teachers etc. regarding political conditions of possibility of ideologies of inequality (e.g. anti-Semitism, racism etc.) - Creation of high-quality products to improve the knowledge of teachers on the topics of ideologies of inequality, citizenship education, fear-free standing up for tolerance and democracy, as well as an appealing training model for their own use and dissemination. - (Vocational) school teachers/trainers use the app to learn about symbols + codes that convey anti-human attitudes - Installation and testing of participatory tools at vocational schools to increase democratic competencies of students, as well as creation of networks with other actors to implement a more democratic school culture and to relieve teachers - Exchange/combination of different linguistically and culturally determined approaches to the prevention of and intervention in discrimination. To achieve these goals, the following project products were created: -Mobile App "Clio" -Brochures & Podcasts -8 modules -A blended learning training (+curriculum) -2 webinars -Instruments of democratic school culture + blog
More and more European societies are increasingly confronted with the phenomenon of hate speech: Citizens of the normative majority ('center') use inhuman language when talking about so-called 'others' , e.g. Muslims, Jews, etc. Election successes of right-wing populist parties in Europe indicate rise/approval of right-wing populist attitudes among citizens. In many schools, especially in Eastern Europe, there are no safe spaces for people who deviate from the "norm". Teachers are confronted with discriminatory behavior and statements of their students and often do not know how to deal with it and are afraid of defamation, e.g. on the net. An empirical survey in which the LUH was mainly involved, conducted in the course of the three-year project "Starke Lehrer- Starke Schüler / Strong Teachers - Strong Students" revealed that vocational school teachers had little knowledge regarding ideologies of inequality. In addition, they avoided addressing certain topics in class. (https://www.zeit.de/2018/45/rechtsextremismus-jugendliche-sachsen-schulen-projekt) In the European context, there is often a lack of networks and targeted addressees, which often reinforces feelings of being overwhelmed.