The main aim of LERI was to help build more linguistically and culturally inclusive schools in Europe. The project objectives were to: (1) to strengthen and expand language friendly school networks in Europe; (2) increase the professional expertise of teachers in language friendly pedagogies and (3) improve the digital competence of partners and teachers in blended and digital learning.
With increasing mobility, European schools are becoming more multilingual and culturally diverse. Almost 10% of European students speak a different language at home than the school language. Education systems are slow to react to this new reality. Multilingualism is viewed as an obstacle that needs to be overcome, rather than a source of inspiration to enrich the classroom and as an effective way to engage students of all backgrounds. LERI brought together two school networks: the Language Friendly School (LFS), a global network run by the Rutu Foundation in the Netherlands; and voXmi in Austria, managed by the University College of Teacher Education Vienna (PH Wien) and associated partners. Our common aim is to counter inequality and linguistic exclusion in education. When students’ languages and cultures are valued and when schools, students and families can better collaborate, we strongly believe that this will eventually lead to better school results of all students. LFS and voXmi schools indicated a need for professional development of their teams. In particular, support was requested for subject teachers in secondary school. By collaborating we hoped to address this need while strengthening our networks.