Implementing policies and networking

Country Reviews 2012

This document is the comparative result of the focus groups carried out during 2012 in different countries of the SIRIUS policy network.

 

Literature Review

This literature review is part of the work done by the Collaborative Partners during 2012. It was the theoretical basis of this network back in 2012.

 

Mapping European Stakeholders on Migrant Education

This SIRIUS Network study was undertaken with the purpose of mapping the positions of European civil society stakeholders and some stakeholders in EU member states on the education of migrants in Europe. What are the key areas of education policy where European education and migration stakeholders’ positions coincide with each other and with local stakeholders, and what are the areas where they diverge?

The report presents the views and positions of organisations with a voice in Brussels and also of organisations representing parts of immigrant constituency in education in EU Member States. This project was supported by a grant from the Open Society Foundations.

This report lists the areas of interest of stakeholders promoting more effective inclusion of migrants in education across Europe, and was intended to give the SIRIUS national and collaborative partners the information about the network’s constituency that they needed to make major strategic choices.

Involving the community in education

Mentoring: Mapping the terrain in receiving countries

The aim of the mapping exercise which is reported in this document was three-fold:

  • to map the broader field on educational support projects initiated by immigrant organizations (or involving immigrants in significant share) in selected countries;
  • to identify projects that make use of the mentor idea or projects that use related methodologies (for instance homework classes, music or sports activities that make use of students as mentors or supervisors);
  • to identify potential NGO-organizations that could be interested in broadening their scope and applying the mentor methodology.

Handbook on Mentoring

As part of the SIRIUS network, in 2012 the European Network for Educational Support Projects (ENESP) was founded as a platform for exchange and cooperation between mentoring programs from six European countries. All the projects in the network put a strong emphasis on intercultural sensitivity in mentoring. Some were even started by immigrant or ethnic minority organisations, in others children of immigrants play a central role – not only as mentees, but also as mentors or even in the project coordination. For the ENESP-network it is essential to value particularly the educational resources in the immigrant communities themselves.

Goals of the handbook

With this handbook, the member organisations of ENESP want to share their experience in organising mentoring programs which respect and acknowledge the cultural backgrounds of the mentees. As the network itself, the handbook profits strongly from the exchange across country borders. This exchange has highlighted the fact that mentoring projects share a lot of common aspects, including the potential positive impacts, but also many challenges for creating sustainable good practices. The portraits and materials collected in this handbook show that interculturally sensitive mentoring is possible and how it can be implemented.

Improving interactions in the classroom

Professional capacity in Schools as regards education for migrant children

The report describes the results of a survey conducted in the Sirius network countries. Sirius is a European network aimed at contributing towards closing the achievement gap between students from native and migrant backgrounds. The survey was conducted as part of a work package 2 on schooling, and endeavours to answer the following question: “What policy measures and policy plans aim to strengthen the professional capacity of schools as regards the educational position of children with a migrant background?”

 

Peer Review Report Zagreb

This report presents the conclusions of the peer review organised in Zagreb from 10th to 11th October 2012.

Avior

This Strategic Partnership is one of the spin-offs of SIRIUS and builds on the network’s key policy recommendations to reduce the achievement gap between native and non-native pupils in Europe.

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RefuEdu Project – Part II

The project is a direct follow-up of the SIRIUS-initiated project PERAE. The empirical assessments and findings of PERAE represent the basis for a transnational exchange of good practice and experience on an international and EU level to enhance the education of refugee and asylum seeking youth.

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