European Trade Union Committee for Education

The following ERASMUS+ on-line platforms can provide support for teachers and school leaders who work with large numbers of newly arrived migrant pupils.

eTwinning is a platform where school staff (teachers, school leaders and other education personnel) meet to communicate, collaborate and develop projects and virtual exchanges together with their students. With a strong focus on intercultural learning and active citizenship, the eTwinning community can inspire teachers working with migrants.

School Education Gateway (SEG) is presented in 23 European languages. SEG is an online platform for teachers, schools, policy makers and other stakeholders. It reports European education policy developments together with news, expert articles, examples of good practices and additional resources targeted to school teachers and leaders.

Both online platforms aim at providing professional development opportunities for teachers to enhance their skills, competencies and pedagogic approaches via online training courses; skills’ self-assessment tools; eLearning teaching materials and the sharing of peer learning experiences as well as tutorials and toolkits for schools on various topics such as refugee youth, language training and unaccompanied minors. They also provide information for schools to prepare their Erasmus+ project applications.

Schools need to constantly enhance their capacity to embrace diversity and deal effectively with multiculturalism and multilingualism. ETUCE welcome these initiatives and insists on the fact that the production of quality teaching materials and training support activities must count with the consultation of education trade unions, as social partners. Indeed, to ensure an effective integration of migrants and refugees into mainstream education systems, appropriate and sustainable public investment in teacher training on migrant education, including psychosocial counselling and language learning, is fundamental, highlighted clearly in the ongoing social dialogue ETUCE/EFEE project on effective integration of migrants in education.

To learn more about the eTwinning platform, visit here.

To learn more about the School Education Gateway, visit here.