Teachers' course on intercultural competence

Within Europe and around the world, societies and individuals are increasingly meeting and living with people coming from diverse backgrounds, countries, cultures and identities. Naturally, adapting and adjusting to different lifestyles and cultures does not come without effort, irrespective of whether we are welcoming communities and cultures into our society or whether we are trying to insert ourselves in a new community or culture.

Undoubtedly, improving our understanding of what other cultures and communities are about facilitates the process of adjustment.

For some years, across parts of Europe, teachers have been increasingly faced with the reality of working with children from diverse backgrounds. For example, in certain parts of Sweden, a third of the population is made up of immigrants who are now fully recognised as forming part of Swedish society.

In the local context, we are still far from such proportions but whether or not many foreigners are settling in Malta, teachers, among others, need to be informed about ways in which young children from different nationalities and backgrounds, who do not necessarily share our culture or language, can be welcomed to the school context.

For this purpose, a 14-hour course is being organised and held at the University of Malta. The course is aimed at teachers, particularly those who are currently working with very young learners (four-to-eight-year-olds) or who have been working with children from diverse cultures.

The course is intended to make participants aware of the concept of 'intercultural competence'; reflect about their own culture behaviour and attitudes; develop their intercultural competence and participate and learn about suitable activities for the development of intercultural competence with young learners.

The course will be starting on Thursday, April 14. There will be seven, two-hour sessions in all. Sessions will be between 4 and 6 p.m.. The course is being co-ordinated by Valerie Sollars and Antoinette Camilleri Grima, both senior lecturers in the Faculty of Education. Attendance is free but registration is compulsory. The deadline for registration is March 21. A certificate of attendance will be given to all participants. If the course is over-subscribed, participants will be chosen on a first come, first served basis. Further information can be obtained by e-mailing valerie.sollars@ um.edu.mt.