The aim of the project is to strengthen teachers and education professionals’ social and civic competences with respect to integration, diversity, tolerance and other importance elements of building an inclusive educational environment.

Photo by Le z drugimi smo

The project offers five different seminars. Each seminar is a 16-hour programme, divided into 7 or 8 thematic sections (lectures or workshops). Expert teams travel across Slovenia to conduct the seminars, which are organised for groups at the local, regional and national levels:

• National training at the ZRC SAZU (Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts), held twice a year
• Regional training at various educational establishments, held at least once a year in each of the 12 statistical regions of Slovenia
• Local level training for teaching staff at preschools, primary schools and secondary schools across Slovenia.

The seminar topics are:

Living diversity: immigrant inclusion, Slovene language and multicultural dialogue

Promotion of previous projects, good practices; system support and individual programme; Slovene language as a second language; inclusive education; stereotypes and prejudices; intercultural dialogue; intercultural education (intercultural integration model); personal experience of an immigrant

Zero tolerance for violence: challenges and issues

Inconsistencies of zero tolerance; hate speech and freedom of expression; violence in the media; structural violence; legal aspects of violence in education and family; domestic violence; socialisation of aggression and peer violence

Respectful communication and conflict management

Respectful communication in education; managing collaborative interaction in class; impact of conflict on individual development and interpersonal relations; strategies for resolving conflict; classroom climate and school culture; creating an inclusive learning environment; partnership with families; cooperation with the local community

The challenges of modern society and school

Human rights and cultural differences; equal opportunities in education; solidarity and volunteering; children and youth as active citizens; social inclusion and healthy lifestyle; mental health of children and youth; managing stress and mental distress in education practice; identification and prevention of internet addiction

Intercultural relations and integration

Basic migration concepts; Slovenes as emigrants and minorities; women and children in migration; policies of inclusion and exclusion; interculturalism; minorities; presentations from representatives of the Hungarian/Italian minority groups; diversity in respect and cooperation

Photo by Le z drugimi smo

The project has trained more than 6,200 expert workers and leaders in the field of education. The project’s goal is to train 10,000 professionals in the education field by September 2021 (project end date). Participants have reported that they find the project to be very useful.

Information about trainings, including training materials, are available on the project’s website.

Participants write an evaluation on the website of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport after each training. Some participants write a personal evaluation or opinion, which the project collects and publishes.

The evaluations have shown that it is helpful when an entire team participates in training together. The trainings and evaluations have also revealed that changes are needed in national law and in pedagogical programmes at universities to prepare future teachers for diversity in their classrooms. The project cooperates with the Slovenian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, and some changes have already been implemented.

The programme targets experts and leaders in the education field, including those working in preschools; primary schools; musical, vocational and technical education; general secondary education; education of children and youth with special needs; education in student dormitories; and adult education.

‘Only (with) others are we’ is part of the larger project ‘Strengthening Educational Staff’s Social and Civic Competences’, funded by the Slovenian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, and the European Social Fund.  

The total budget is €1 million. Experts from Slovenian Migration Institute ZRC SAZU and the Educational Research Institute, with the help of external collaborators (NGOs, migrant representatives, teachers) implement the project.