The project is funded under procedure BG05M2OP001-3.017 "Increasing the capacity of pedagogical specialists to work in a multicultural environment" of Operational Program "Science and Education for Smart Growth", co-financed by the European Union through the European Structural and Investment Funds.
Contract №: BG05M2OP001-3.017-0043-C03
Total funding: BGN 241,288.32, of which BGN 205,095.07 with European and BGN 36,193.05 with national co-funding
The project is being implemented within 23 months, between January 2021 and December 2022.
The Embracing Diversity project is based on a model for professional qualification and support to educational specialists, which guarantees that every student and their family are included, respected and valued in a shared process of reaching the educational goals.
The starting point of the model is the assessment and analysis of the existing capacity and resources to work in a multicultural environment. This allows each educational institution to plan its future steps to refine the capacity of its specialists to work in a diverse setting. Such an assessment and planning cycle becomes an integral part of the functioning of the educational institution and allows for progress monitoring, continuous updating of the measures to achieve the desired outcomes and improvement of educational practices.
The next stage of the model involves three interconnected trainings. During the first one, the focus is on the competencies of the teachers themselves, their individual role and importance in the process of sustaining an educational environment where diversity is regarded as a valuable resource and the entire educational process is organized through this perspective.
The attention of the second training is directed at the whole community of specialists, because diversity is not encapsulated only within the playroom or the classroom – it is a characteristic of the entire educational institution and reflected in the physical environment, as well as in the teaching process and the interactions between all stakeholders.
The final training for pedagogical specialists and other experts focuses on the articulation and implementation of a framework of quality indicators in key areas of the pedagogical practice (pedagogical approach, family and community, professional development) through a diversity and inclusion perspective.
The impact of the participation of pedagogical specialists in the project can be considered at the following levels:
Sensitivity and awareness:
- оn issues related to the diversity of our society (the various aspects of our identity; those that are our own choice and those over which we have no influence; the context in which we build and strengthen our individual and group identity);
- regarding the benefits of including different ethnic groups and how this process can be facilitated.
Knowledge:
- how stereotypes and prejudices can unknowingly favor the development of an environment of inequality and discrimination and what is the relationship between what is expected of us and our behavior;
- what strategies for deconstructing stereotypical thinking can be applied in the educational environment (what can I do, as a person and a teacher, to promote the development of the children I work with, taking into account their individual context and resources).
Skills:
- to support the educational success of children from minority groups and their sense of belonging to the school and the educational process;
- to engage and involve the parent community in the processes of education and care in the kindergarten/school;
- to defend an active personal position in favor of diversity and capacity for change on a personal, professional and institutional level.
The Embracing Diversity project is implemented with the financial support of the Science and Education for Smart Growth Operational Program, co-financed by the European Union through the European Structural and Investment Funds. The total budget of the project is BGN 241,288.32. The project is implemented in the period January 2021 - May 2022.