ABOUT ITIRE

The continuous wave of refugees arriving in Europe nowadays confront us with the need to make choices that go beyond the current emergency and implement systematic policies for resettlement and inclusion of refugee youth. European Union recently put into action several initiatives aimed to support the efforts of EU countries to integrate refugees in education systems. In this framework, the role of early childhood services and schools (and especially teachers), in collaboration with community services and NGOs, is vital to ensure widespread and effective educational support to refugee children.

To do so, European early childhood education services and schools have to develop deeper knowledge of the complex needs of refugee pupils. Research emphasises that a holistic educational approach can ensure effective enrolment and transition of refugee youth, and that teachers play a key role in implementing it. However, this poses a professional challenge to teachers, as Refugee Education cannot be considered just as a variation of the usual intercultural education programmes. Consequently, both future and in-service teachers need to receive specific training and continual professional development to cope with the new tasks involved in RE. Stemming from well- grounded experiences developed in countries with a longstanding tradition on RE, our proposal aims to design, implement, and disseminate an effective transnational training programme on RE addressed to preservice and in-service teachers.