The Bernard van Leer Foundation has released a working paper (another in its series on child development). Developing Programmes to Promote Ethnic Diversity in Early Childhood reviews case studies from Northern Ireland for promising practices in promoting ethnic diversity in early childhood.
The paper examines the effects of ethnic divisions on young children and explores some of the responses of the early childhood sector and concludes with challenges and suggestions on the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and Ethnic Diversity, co-founded by Paul Connolly, one of the authors of this working paper.
Category: International
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Diversity and children in Ireland
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EU adopts motion on the education of children of migrants
The European Union‘s Committee on Culture and Education has adopted a motion on educating the children of migrants.
In a report written by Hannu Takkula, entitled Migration and Mobility: Challenges and Opportunities for European Education Systems, the motion address several key issues in migrant education and calls for “integration to be encouraged through sports and other extra-curricular activities, as this can also help to combat social exclusion of those from less privileged backgrounds. The earlier and more successfully that migrant children are integrated into schools, the better they will perform through school, further education and eventually in the labour market”. (Source: European Parliament press release).
An excerpt from the press release:Migration can be greatly beneficial to schools as it can enrich them both culturally and educationally, but at the same time it can present significant problems if cultural differences hamper understanding between pupils or between pupils and teachers. The report, drafted by Hannu Takkula wants to encourage a more effective means of incorporating migrant children in national education systems, as he believes that workers within the Union will be less likely to move abroad ‘if there is a risk that their children will suffer educationally’.
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30% cap on immigrant children in Italy's schools
Citing lack of integration and social cohesion, Italian Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini proposes a quota for the maximum number of immigrant children in Italian classrooms.
The minister highlighted a case in Rome where parents refused to send their children to school because of what they perceived was an unreasonable foreign pupil ratio. Only 15 children of 180 were Italian.Minister Gelmini said: “This is a situation which calls for reflection but at the same time we must also educate foreign children in Italian and teach them our constitution. Experience shows that it’s not enough just to insert immigrant children in classes.
‘We need to balance and weigh out their presence. There have been cases in which entire classes are made up of immigrant students, which is not ideal for true integration”.Two related news stories:
Mail Online: Italy wants 30% cap on number of immigrants per class to help with integration. March 27, 2009.
Telegraph UK: Italy’s centre-right government wants 30 per cent cap on immigrants in classrooms. March 24, 2009. -
Para nuestros niños
The US-based National Task Force on Early Childhood Education for Hispanics was established to enhance educational achievement and opportunities for children of Hispanic descent and to influence US education policy.
The Task Force is made up of early childhood educators, academics, researchers and policy makers. The website provides several interesting resources, including research reports, fact/information sheets, policy briefs and the final report of the Task Force: Expanding and Improving Education for Hispanics. -
Canadian Council on Refugees spring consultation
Canada became a signatory to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees on 4 June 1969. The Canadian Council on Refugees (CCR) will commemorate the 40th anniversary of this event, following their annual Spring Consultation to be held May 28-30, 2009 in Quebec City, QC.
The theme for the CCR Spring Consultation this year is “Protecting Refugees and Immigrants in Hard Times” (and includes a session on children in detention).Related resources:
Refugee Rights Day (April 4, 2009)
CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) on Child Refugees
Canadian Refugee Health Conference (Nov 24-25, 2009)
CCR Annual Status Report on Refugee and Immigrant Rights, 2008. -
March 21 is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
March 21 is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. A few key resources for this initiative are:
United Nations/UNICEFs Cyberbus
UNESCO
Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Multiculturalism Program -
Managing migration in the 21st Century: North America and the internationalization of public policy
The International Migration Research Centre at WIlfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario is holding a policy makers roundtable on “Managing Migration in the 21st Century: North America and the Internationalization of Public Policy”.
A description of the event:International migration is a prominent issue both within and between western industrialised states, and it has generated a growing recognition that effective national policies require significant international policy coordination. In the North American context, however, the increase and expansion of joint efforts to manage this policy area have been (in comparison with the European Union) so rapid and relatively uncoordinated that neither their extent nor their implications have been adequately outlined, never mind understood. The sheer scope of these developments can be seen in the fact that they touch on all forms of international migration to and within the region – legal and illegal, permanent and temporary, family and labour, tourist and refugee. The need to examine the practical features of such policy change is underlined further by the fact that they raise vital questions about state sovereignty and public accountability, for example, at both conceptual and political levels in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The event will take place April 17, 2009. Location still TBD. For more info, contact Dr. Jenna L. Hennebry, imrc.wlu@gmail.com, 519.884.0170 ext 4489.
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Call for proposals: On new shores 2009
On New Shores: Understanding Immigrant Children and Families conference 2009, is now accepting proposals.
The 2009 theme is Education: Challenges and Implications for Immigrant and Refugee Families. The conference will be held at the University of Guelph October 29-30, 2009. For more information, see the On New Shores page at organizer Dr. Susan Chuang’s webpage at the University of Guelph.
Proposal deadline is March 1, 2009. -
Bernard van Leer Foundation ~ Parents and professionals managing diversity in early childhood
The Bernard van Leer Foundation has released findings in a paper entitled Making Our Way, resulting from their 2-year long Parents and Diversity project. The project looked at building partnerships between childcare providers and parents and examined how childcare providers met the differing needs of an increasingly diverse population of parents and children.
The project sought to quantify parental involvement along four concepts of:- living together
- working together
- thinking together
- taking decisions together.
A tool was developed by lead researchers for this initiative and provides an interesting way to assess parent participation. The report describes how practitioners, policy makers and researchers can move forward in terms of addressing diversity in the early years.
Of particular interest is Chapter 2: Partnerships with Immigrant Parents: No Standard Formulas. From the chapter:“Even in standard educational settings, such as childcare centres, the pedagogic dialogue with parents does not appear to be as good as it should be … parents report that they have no say in pedagogic policy such as the content of the daily programme…. Generally, discussions are held with parents about caring for their children, but rarely is there any attempt at harmonising the home/school situation. Parents are seldom, if ever, involved in decisions on intercultural objectives and methods. The researchers say that many opportunities for educators and parents to help one another are being missed”.
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Terre des Hommes International Federation report: Protecting child migrants
Terre des Hommes International Federation has released a study on unaccompanied children, now available at the childtrafficking.com digital library. From the tdh listserv:
“Children who leave home and migrate, either within their own country or to another country, are entitled to far better efforts to protect them from abuse and exploitation, says the Terre des Hommes International Federation…
“In a new report, Kids Abroad, Terres des Hommes reviews a wide range of initiatives to support children who leave home without being accompanied by any other family member, discussing the situation in Western and South Eastern Europe and also in West Africa, Central America, South Asia and South East Asia…
“As a matter of public policy, most governments encourage children to attend school and to remain there, at least until they complete their primary education. However, millions do not do so and set out to seek their fortune while still adolescents or even before reaching puberty. While public policy may not want to approve or encourage their actions, thousands of NGOs around the world are engaged in efforts to protect and assist such children, particularly when they are far from home and vulnerable to abuse because they are cut off from the families or home communities who could help protect them.
“Recommendations include:- More investment is required to develop techniques for protecting children who are actually in transit, moving from one place to another in search of a better future.
- Better and more imaginative use could be made of communications and information technology to protect children on the move, notably by ensuring they can stay in contact with others while travelling and after reaching their destination.
- Not enough attention has been given to understanding indigenous practices which have the effect of protecting children from harm and which can be strengthened at relatively little cost”.