Professional development aimed at enhancingprofessionals' intercultural competences using a

virtual learning environment

Pauline Slot & Gil Nata (WP-leader/co-leader)

FR: Jerome Mbiatong, Frederique Montandon

IT: Valentina Pagani, Alice Sophie Sarcinelli, Giulia Pastori

NL: Ryanne Francot, Bodine Romijn, Mirjam Pardijs, Pauline Slot

PT: Gil Nata, Sofia Guichard, Joana Cadima

EECERA - THESSALONIKI, 21-23 AUGUST, 2019

• Contextual PD model

• Brief description of the 4 selected settings

• Two examples of PD using the VLE

• What have we learned

Outline

WhoCharacteristics of learners and context

How PD strategiesDelivery modes

WhatContent areas

Focus domains

Knowledge, skills,

attitudes, beliefs &

expectations

Behaviour & everyday practices

ENACTMENT

REFLECTION

Policies

Organizational structures

Access & outreach

Evaluation

Resources

Buysse, Winton & Rous (2009 Teacher Professional Growth Consortium, 1994

PD process

Plan

(needs analyses -> objectives/goals)

Do

(carry out activity toreach goal)

Study

(reflect & analyse)

Act

(plan next activity)

- Continuous and co-constructiveprocess betweenparticipants & researchers

- Exploration of thecontext and initialsituation

- Ample time forreflection

- Close monitoring & evaluation duringand afterintervention

Overview of sites across countries

Organisation Age range children Area Target group Number of

profes-

sionals

Topics of PD

France Community centre School age Paris Low-SES, (North)

African, Eastern

European

9 Relations with

parents and

empowerment of

parents

Italy School 1 classroom 3-6 yrs,

3 classrooms 9-10

yrs

Milan Culturally diverse

(Maghrebian,

Filipino, Peruvian)

9 Multilingualism and

reflection

The

Netherlands

Preschool 2 classrooms 2-4 yrs Utrecht Low SES, culturally

diverse (Turkish,

Maghrebian, Indian,

Polish)

12 Cultural diversity,

multilingualism,

parent-teacher

relations and parent

involvement

Portugal 2 primary schools 7 classrooms

(teachers working

with 7-10, 12-14 yrs

in site 1 and 7-10

yrs in site 2)

Greater area

of Porto

Low SES, Roma 7 Cultural diversity,

social justice

FR:

Family (pre)school collaboration

Reflection skills

International exchange

IT:

Multilingualism/multiculturalism

Family (pre)school collaboration

International exchange

Reflection skillsICT

PT:

Multiculturalism

Social justice

International exchange

NL:

Multilingualism/multiculturalism

Family (pre)school collaboration

Reflection skills

International exchange

Topics and Aims

Activities on the VLE• Activities aimed at PD directly: Dilemmas, critical incidents,

narratives and videos that can be used for group-based (online) reflection, within and cross-country (online) exchange• Social justice dilemma (PT)• Dilemma on multilingualism in classroom from CZ (NL)• Evaluation of books and classroom materials (NL+PT cross-country

exchange)• Narrative: Ideal day with parents (NL + 2)

• Activities for in the classroom or with parents• Welcome kit for children and their parents (IT, PT, in NL as PD activity)• Skin colour activity (PT, in NL as PD activity)• Game for parents about education system (FR)

• Creating community of learners• Within country exchange (NL)• Cross-country exchange (FR, IT, PT, NL)

PD Book activity NL on the VLESome messages were positively evaluated and in line with the center’s vision:- Adventures can be fun- It’s okay to get dirty while playing

Other messages might be more prone to cultural differences- Father alone with the kids hiking in nature- Amount of physical contact between family members- Having a pet as ‘part of the family’

Other observations:- Pictures show a Caucasian family- Gender typical clothing (girl in dress and boys in shorts)

Can all children relate to this experience?- Lack of father (figure) in the home- Not all kids are allowed to get dirty - Inner-city children might lack experiences with nature

Book activity PT• PT teacher reflected on the same book with the same

questions, revealing different topics and reflections

• More focused on the narrative and the messages, rather than on the main characters or their physical appearance: • Importance of bravery, overcoming obstacles, courage, confidence,

‘life is full of obstacles’• Characters have the same skin colour and cultural background ->

cultural diversity lacking in school materials or unrelated to the topic at stake (need to combine it with multicultural content)

• Exchange via VLE:• PT response to Dutch reflection: interesting to have another

perspective. Possibly the differences in children’s age range play a role as well.

Skin colour activity PT• Classroom activity in PT inspired by the Humanae project in Brazil

and TED talk Angélica Dass: What kids should know about race

• Mixing paint to establish the right skin tone and make self-portraits

-> whole process documented on the VLE

Child: “Hello! We want to communicate that we agree with the idea of valuing the skin tone of the whole world, because we are all different and all the same and we should avoid racism."

Exchange with NL• NL professionals impressed and interested in activity,

but with 2/3 yr-olds it seemed impossible to conduct something like this• Raised questions: why not all professionals? How did team

members respond? How did parents respond? Did they have any negative experiences based on skin colour or race before this?

• Elicited general discussion on how and when to address topic of skin colour: • Only when the issue arises (in positive or negative way) ->

reactive• Address this topic pro-actively focusing on similarities and

differences

• PT professionals viewed the responses on the VLE and responded to the comments raised by the NL teachers

Direct links to interestingmaterials (e.g. videos)

Possibility to view whatother professionals do and respond to that

Receive feedback on conducted activities

Some activities don'tneed online options, butcan be conducted offline or face-to-face

How the VLE supported the implementation of these (and other) activities?

Rich resource of information, videos etc.

Possibility for exchange withinand between countries

Community of learners

Reflection and collegialexchange not neccessarilyonline

To maximize the potential of such a VLE more time and efforts are needed

Applicability in own, localcontext

Role of researchers inevitable

How the VLE supported the intervention and the activities in general ?

Lessons learned• Potential of VLE depends greatly on the intentions for

use: resource or community of practice• As resource it functioned well, although not all the content

readily applicable across all countries and contexts• Functionalities of CoP not fully explored yet

• Co-designing and developing a VLE is time-consuming and (technically) challenging

• The role of someone guiding the process is inevitable. Designing an environment with the idea of professionals working on it independently seems less feasible• Risk of overload on the platform• Structural/organizational conditions for professionals (e.g.

dedicated time)

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