Dublin roundtable addresses inclusion of migrants and refugees in the education systems in Europe
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What needs do education trade unions have when working on ensuring the inclusion of migrant and refugee learners, teachers and other education personnel? How can trade unions collaborate with other stakeholders effectively on that topic? How can education trade unions represent better the voice of their members from migrant background? These and other important questions regarding the inclusion of migrants and refugees in the European education systems were addressed by ETUCE members during the roundtable ‘In and through education: Education Trade Unions support the inclusion of refugees and migrants’ held in Dublin on 14-15 January 2025.
This is the second roundtable organised in the framework of the ETUCE project “In and through education: Education Trade Unions support the inclusion of refugees and migrants”. This project aims at strengthening the ability of education trade unions to support the integration of refugees and migrants. Its goal is to tackle the challenges faced by education staff and help make the teaching profession more appealing to refugees and migrants across Europe. More than 60 experts and representatives from ETUCE member organisations gathered during the roundtable, hosted by the project partner in Ireland, INTO. It gave ETUCE member organisations opportunity to discuss the national findings of the project research on the specific professional needs of education personnel regarding the inclusion of migrant and refugee learners in the education system, as well as share the education trade unions’ actions and practices on supporting and building the capacity and knowledge of their affiliates to address the inclusion of refugees and migrants in the education systems. Furthermore, a working group session was devoted to discussing the development of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to support the inclusion of migrants and refugees within education trade unions.
Ireland’s education sector was a central theme, with a diverse panel of speakers discussing the unique challenges faced by the country and achievements in the inclusion of migrants and refugees in education, including representatives of the Department of Education, national support service for teachers and school leaders Oide, a network programme of student support City Connects, and Marino Institute of Education program that supports qualified migrant teachers to enter the Irish education system (Migrant Teacher Project). Furthermore, participants had an opportunity to hear the firsthand experience of inclusion from the former Migrant Teacher Project student and INTO member, as well as from the former teacher with a migrant background who provided input on her current work supporting teacher professional development on inclusion and diversity. Finally, all four Irish member organisations of ETUCE presented their work on inclusion of migrants and refugees in education in various sectors: INTO, ASTI, TUI and IFUT.
On the second day, the programme also included visits to a number of local schools, including Paradise Place Educate Together National School, Central Model Senior School, and Coláiste Pobail Lorcáin. These visits proved to be both powerful and impactful, allowing participants to see firsthand how the policies and initiatives discussed on the first day were being implemented in practice.