For teachers

About Integration

 

When students from diverse cultural backgrounds, including those with migration or refugee experiences, enter the classroom, especially unexpectedly and perhaps mid-school year, it requires proactive efforts to reintegrate the class, rebuild relationships, and emphasize both commonalities among the children and young people, as well as fostering respect for differences.

Effectively conducting reintegration, i.e., integrating new male and female students into an already functioning classroom or school system, demands dedicated time to establish friendly relationships and strengthen bonds among individuals. However, achieving this goes beyond mere interaction.

Several factors must be considered to ensure successful integration of people with varied cultural, social, and personality traits.

Community members should share common goals and have opportunities to collaborate and rely on one another. It is essential to model and embody egalitarian values rooted in the equal status of every class member. The atmosphere should be welcoming, enjoyable, and relaxed, devoid of unnecessary tension and competition.

Such goals cannot be achieved through what is commonly perceived as integration, namely:

Initiating integration solely by introducing established and familiar games and activities, especially by an outsider to the school community—this situation can be counterproductive, particularly when occurring together.

Hence, it is more effective to ensure these interactions are sustained over the long term, perhaps even permanently integrated into classroom rituals and daily routines, led by someone within the community or even by the students themselves.

 

Benefits of a Reintegrated Class - from a Class Processes Perspective:

  • Reduces the risk of conflicts and peer violence. 
  • Prevents activation of undesirable stereotypes and prejudices. 
  • Prevents the formation of subgroups. 
  • Reduces absenteeism.

 

Advantages of an Integrated Class - from a Student's Perspective:

  • Facilitates learning. 
  • Boosts motivation. 
  • Fosters a conducive climate for interaction.
  •  Enhances innovation. 
  • Cultivates new skills.

 

Benefits of an Integrated Classroom - from Staff's Viewpoint:

  • Enhances the reputation of school staff, showcasing their competence and proficiency. 
  • Yields self-satisfaction and a desire to persist in their work. 
  • Prevents burnout. 
  • Builds personal and institutional reputation.

 

About Games in Education

Gamifying educational content and processes is particularly effective when working with young audiences. The contextual framework of the gaming world and clearly defined rules make navigating new situations and collaborative work more accessible. The sense of security and the universal language of games also aid in strengthening intercultural relationships. This approach allows young individuals to recognize similarities while also comfortably exploring differences and identifying their strengths.

 

Games serve as an educational tool on multiple levels:

  • Motivate active learning and the application of new knowledge. 
  • Provide a clearer understanding of goals and the steps to achieve them. 
  • Facilitate efficient scaling of the learning process. 
  • Offer a secure platform for experimentation and subsequent reinforcement of new knowledge and skills. 
  • Simplify learning for those who struggle with traditional forms.

 

On Games in Intercultural Integration

Games are a powerful tool for fostering multicultural communities. They hold significant importance in both the educational process and integration efforts. First and foremost, it's essential to recognize that games are a universal human activity, transcending geographical boundaries. People from diverse cultures have engaged in play for entertainment, relational bonding, education, and other purposes. Games and play are as integral to life as work or formal learning.

 

Incorporating games into the school toolkit can support relationship development within and between classes. This is because pair or group playtime can evoke positive emotions and contribute to building closeness, trust, and a willingness to assist one another. Through play, students can forge stronger connections with each other and their teachers, ultimately feeling more secure within the group. It offers an opportunity to showcase an alternative aspect of formal tasks, revealing individual strengths and even cultural elements (if games from different parts of the world are included or if students are encouraged to share popular local games).