The JUSTICE Project
is a transnational collaborative initiative to develop and deliver a training programme on Intercultural Education for teachers and educational administrators working in the primary, secondary and higher education.
The main outcome of the project will be an accredited and interactive training programme which will enable participants to share good practices and develop a reflective understanding of major issues relating to Intercultural Education in present day Europe. The project intends to enhance the cognitive experience of participants, thus helping them to respond effectively and positively to the cultural, linguistic and educational needs of ethnic minority learners.
The project will build upon existing padagogies in the field of Intercultural Education and will support participants in developing inclusive classroom strategies. To enable this, the project will make effective use of ICT in providing information and online tutorial support. Also by employing ICT, the project will ensure the widest dissemination of project’s activities and will lay the foundation for continued networking, collobararion and the delivery of similar training courses after the expiry of initial project funding.
It is envisaged that the project will have a positive and desirable impact on teaching and learning strategies in the classroom. It will also will facilitate educational institutions and practitioners in playing an important role in the development of a tolerant, inclusive and just society, thus contributing towards the making of a Europe free from racism and xenophobia.

  Aims and objectives

The following are the main aims and objectives of the project:

Aims

The overall purpose of the project is to offer an in-service accredited training course for teachers that aims to raise awareness of the significant societal changes that have taken place in recent times as a consequence of the increasing ethnic, racial, linguistic and cultural diversity of the European popula-tion. It also aims to help develop an understanding of ways in which educational institutions respond, or should respond to the corresponding increase in the diversity and complexity of educational needs. The course will focus upon ways in which education practitioners can achieve changes in working practices and curricula in order to better reflect the needs of the population as a whole.

The course will also explore the continuing prevalence of racism in society and help to promote an understanding of its operation within education systems. It will examine the cumulative effects of racism and educational disadvantage from early years through to adult education and lifelong learning, and will focus upon creating an agenda for institutional change based upon the need to value and promote diversity, and to challenge racism.

Objectives

1. To examine issues of race and diversity in the context of education
2. To raise awareness of interculturalism and inclusive education practices
3. The develop, test and implement an accredited in-service training programme on Intercultural Education.
4 To provide opportunities for teachers in participating countries to explore, share and develop positive pedagogic strategies to promote intercultural education
5. To offer a range of practical resources and approaches to assist in the development of inclu-sive curricula and pedagogies.
6. To develop a cohesive system of online tutorial support for course participants

  Target groups

• Teachers in primary, secondary and adult education sectors as well as language advisers
• Education staff with specific delegated responsibility for managing education provision for ethnic minority learners
• Four courses with 25-30 course participants each
Impact of the training programme

The programme will be designed to raise awareness of education, race and ethnicity. It will enhance the capacity of course participants to take informed decisions and hence adopt appropriate teaching and learning strategies to benefit all learners. It will raise the cross-cultural capabilities and encourage intercultural dialogue between the participants.
The course will enable course participants to develop a range of practical resource on a on-going basis and cascade their enhanced understanding and skills to other colleagues.
The Project will encourage continued participation and networking of the course participants on speci-fic areas of research and practical activities. It is envisaged that such an interaction will lead to the development of further trans-national educational partnerships based on contact made through the course

  Course details

	Course Activities	Target Group	Numbers	Duration	Estimated Dates
3 courses	Seminars Group discussions Research Reflective projects Visit to schools Classroom observation Online tutorial support	Teachers in primary, secondary and adult education Education administrators for ethnic minority learners	25-30 each	100 hours (including 5-days residential)	October 2003 ( Athens ) October 2004 ( Budapest ) October 2005 ( Karmoy , Norway)