CIRCLE has the overall goal to help alleviate the current situation by supporting the inclusion of newly arrived migrant/refugee children in education in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, by creating tools and policies that will allow educational professionals to effectively assess and validate prior learning and in this way enable the continuity of learning for newly arrived refugee/migrant children.
All EU Member States, and especially Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal (especially through relocation), which have been experiencing an influx of refugees during the last years, in parallel with a severe economic crisis, are facing the challenge of successfully integrating refugee children in their education systems. However, according to MIPEX 2015 education appears as the greatest weakness in migrants’ integration policies in most EU MSs.
Assessing the children’s previous learning proves difficult in most cases. Many refugee children have no documentation of their previous school attainment and grades. Not only prior education must be considered, but also their gaps in education, trauma and the family situation.
Getting the initial prior learning assessment right is of paramount importance for the social inclusion of migrant/refugee children and youth, as research indicates that their enrollment in school at a level different that their actual potential is one of the main reasons of increased dropout rates.
“CIRCLE” aims to enhance access to education for children, reduce their chances of early school leaving and promote their successful progression through the education system.
How will we do this?
- By conducting research aiming to identify and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of prior learning assessment practices
- By developing diagnostic tools and mechanisms specifically designed for assessing the prior learning of newly arrived migrant/refugee primary and secondary school age children.
- By promoting policy recommendations to decision and policy makers in the field of education
- By reaching numerous stakeholders though advocacy and lobbying through the provision of training to educational leaders and educators the use of the tools and mechanisms.