2022.12.06. Working in schools with children of Ukrainians fleeing the war: what can Lithuania learn from France?, Lithuanian Echo
As more and more people from Ukraine come to Lithuania since the war, including many children, the schools and teachers of our country are faced with endless challenges. The number of local educational institutions is limited, so one of the biggest tasks is to create conditions for learning for every child who comes here.
According to Vytautas Magnus University (VDU) Education Academy professor, European schools preschool and primary education expert Prof. Dr. Daivas Jakavonytė-Staškuviene, December 7. The multilingual education forum will read the report “Teachers’ preparation to work in multicultural environments: the cases of Lithuania and France”, part of the students who came from Ukraine study in national small schools, the educational process is organized in the language of the national minority. It is especially difficult for a child if he does not know the language of the national minority, and even more so if he is Ukrainian and is taught in the language of the occupier who is currently attacking his country.
It is mandatory to learn the Lithuanian language
Professor Daiva Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė is happy that there are already many good practices in this field in Lithuania – with this, many excellent teachers have created various methodologies for teaching students who have come and/or returned from abroad. Recommendations have been prepared, open access interactive material is currently being prepared and tested by the school, which will allow students from abroad to learn the Lithuanian language not only at school, but also independently.
According to the interviewee, all children attending educational institutions in Lithuania, who came from guest countries, must learn the Lithuanian language. every language learned is an asset for communication and collaboration.
Daiva Jakavonytė-Staškuviene
“The experience of Lithuanian educational institutions shows that children educated in our country’s schools because of the occupied Crimea lived here until they were 8 years old. Such a period is long. Therefore, it is very likely that even in the current case, many children will live and study in Lithuania for several years, so every learned word of the Lithuanian language will allow each child to better understand the Lithuanian language and feel better about living in Lithuania,” D. Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė is convinced.
School – taking into account the specific decision of the child
Today, there are still many questions and debates about the educational institution assigned to students. It is known that part of the students who came from Ukraine study in schools of national minorities, the educational process is organized in the language of the national minority.
“Especially in cases where the child does not know the language of the national minority (neither Polish nor Russian), it is difficult for the child, because he has to learn two unknown foreign languages at the same time, that is, the school language of the national minority and the Lithuanian language. I know of cases when the school itself changed the educational procedure and created a separate class for children from Ukraine, which is staffed by teachers from Ukraine. In this case, the situation is much more favorable,” says the person.
It is also difficult if the child, being a Ukrainian, is taught the language of the occupier currently attacking his country, which he did not know. There are many scholarly works investigating similar analogous situations in the context of other wars.
“It is really difficult for a child in such a situation to develop his identity and understanding of what is happening,” D. Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė has no doubts. – A significant number of children who speak Russian fluently, who are of Russian nationality and live in Ukraine, came from Ukraine. For these children, I think that teaching in a school of national minorities in Lithuania, for example, in Russian, is completely acceptable, because they know the Russian language and get to know the culture. It is then important that the specific focus of the child is taken into account when recommending a school.”
Learning the official language and treating everyone with respect
In France, depending on the region, situations such as students from abroad and their education are situations of everyday, normal life. Many children from abroad have been coming for ten years. For these reasons, there are many different methodological scientific works describing various experiences of such education.
“Most schools are open to learning about other cultures. Learning the official language and respectful behavior towards each learner is emphasized as a basic educational provision leading to a harmonious life in society. The issue of bullying prevention is emphasized in all educational regulatory documents. Every learner is free as long as he does not infringe on the freedom of another. I think that this is a very important provision that helps everyone to live together harmoniously, creating the future”, says the general.
According to her, a support system has been created for each student in France, which includes teacher and student assistants, methodical tools, and an ergonomic, flexible classroom environment. the content is tailored to the exact needs of each learner.
When asked what Lithuanian teachers could learn from the French experience, the master’s masters stressed that they have been practicing in Vilnius for many years, and the activities of Lithuanian teachers, which are applied in the active education method, have been noticed many times. During activity reflections, they have often emphasized that teachers lead very interesting, constructive activities.
“The only thing they note as an aspiration that could be adopted from France is that Lithuania needs more peace and rest spaces for teachers; during breaks, other school staff should look after students (this could be done by farm workers), and teachers should rest. They also draw attention to the fact that large schools should have larger teams of child specialists, ie several psychologists, social pedagogues, and special pedagogues each. If we had as many employees as we really need, I think that the integration of children from abroad would be much easier,” says D. Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė.
What essential points should universities consider when preparing teachers to work in multilingual environments? The interviewee is convinced that every future pedagogue should take a course on didactics that help to educate students in a multilingual and multicultural environment: “It is important for everyone to know the legal acts regulating the educational content guidelines in this area, the recommendations of the European Commission of the European Union and prepare measures that can be flexibly applied in Lithuania, regarding”.
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