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DENMARK - "INTERCULTURAL PEDAGOGY"

1. School that carried out the Activity

» Kind of school: Public primary and lower secondary school (6-16 years old)

» Number of pupils: 630      Number of teachers: 64

» Specific School Educational Policies concerning equal opportunities:

No explicit policy on equal opportunities but under obligation to observe the law on primary and lower secondary school, the Law on Education Environment 1st. August 2001 and the law of prohibition against discrimination.

» Social characteristics of environment

The school is situated in a suburb near Aarhus. There are various kinds of buildings in the school district: Terraced houses, detached houses, complexes of owner occupied flats and social housing. The population is rather heterogeneous, socio-economically, ethnically and culturally. Almost 50 % of the pupils are of a non-Danish ethnic origin.

2. Development of the activity

» The activity is directed at:

All Parents. Parents were informed about the project, but not actively involved.

All in principle but third class pupils were chosen as the primary target group (to get the first experiences with the projects) and from there develop and spread the method to all pupils.
Who managed the activity: Teachers

The consultants from the University, the headteacher and the deputy headteacher introduced the project.

» Date and duration of development of activity:

Initiated in 2002 and ongoing.

» Methodology and Strategies

  1. Development of attention towards intercultural pedagogy in the team of teachers.
  2. Development of the organising level: Intercultural pedagogy does not only appear isolated, but also as a natural part of everyday life at the school.
  3. A number of introductory information courses, counselling, material, supervision and other kinds of external support (provide by the University of Education)
  4. Bringing it into the classroom: Divide the pupils into groups according to their ethnic origin and letting them work with cultural specific themes. (Not everyday and all the times, but systematic and routinely)
  5. Letting the pupils/groups present the different projects/work for the other groups.

3. Reasons for the actvity

» Why did the activity begin?

Intercultural pedagogy was initiated in co-operation with The Danish University of Education as part of the integration politics of the Municipality of Aarhus.

» What was the aim of the activity?

The ambition was to improve integration along with strengthening the intercultural competences of the pupils.

» Types of discrimination worked on

Ethnic Origin

4. Results

» What has improved as a result of this activity?

The activity was still in its development when the investigation took place. However, it was possible to make some general conclusions based on the findings.

There was a general feeling amongst teachers that the activity had been a positive experience for the students involved.