InterTrainE Newsletter: January 2019

Welcome to the first newsletter of our Erasmus+ project Intercultural Training for Educators (InterTrainE). The 27-month project (2018-2020) is led by Heriot-Watt University and the Coordinator is Dr Katerina Strani from the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies.

InterTrainE includes 7 partners from 4 countries (UK, Finland, Italy and Greece) and aims to develop an intercultural training programme for educators teaching adult migrants.

The partners are:

Heriot-Watt University, UK
Creative Learning Programmes (CLP), UK
Il Sicomoro, Italy
Studio Risorse, Italy
Region of Crete / KEKAPER, Greece
European Education & Learning Institute, Greece
Learning for Integration ry, Finland

Specifically, the project will develop a modularised training curriculum with qualification standards specialised for Adult Education. It will also produce a handbook for trainers including a theoretical framework of basic concepts, learning outcomes and the training package itself which will include practical exercises and, where possible, case studies. All the training materials will be uploaded to a MOOC.

A Joint Staff Training Event will take place in Rethymnon, Crete, in March 2020, where the partners will test the curriculum and training materials before these are finalised and presented at the Final Dissemination Conference in Edinburgh in September 2020.

Our kick-off meeting took place in Edinburgh on 22-23 October 2018.

Partners met at Heriot-Watt University‘s Riccarton campus and discussed the project’s timeline, milestones and deadlines. They agreed on the project logo and on the design of the website. Each partner gave an overview of the Intellectual Output that they would be leading. The project evaluation procedures were also finalised, and the procedure of appointing an external evaluator was agreed upon. The external evaluator for the project will be Dr Jim Crowther, Senior Lecturer in Community Education, University of Edinburgh. The full agenda of the meeting can be found here.

Progress and 1st Intellectual Output (IO1)

The first two Intellectual Outputs (IO1 and IO2) constitute a needs analysis. For IO1, Online questionnaires on educators’ and learners’ experiences and views on intercultural education in each country were designed and distributed. A database of stakeholders in every partner country was created for this purpose as well as for general dissemination purposes. The questionnaire data was collected, analysed and evaluated by each partner. National reports were drafted accordingly, and a project report was completed by CLP, who led this output, in December 2018.

The project report for IO1, which includes the questionnaire templates and findings from all countries participating in the project, can be found here.

2nd Intellectual Output (IO2)

The second phase of the needs analysis, which started in January 2019, includes:

background research for existing programmes on intercultural training for educators, aiming to point out the needs for update or the development of new material
semi-structured interviews of experts and educators in adult education in each partner country. Interviews are currently under way and the findings will be compared to existing data on qualifications and competences available.

National reports will be drafted, and the leading partner for this IO, Il Sicomoro, will compile the project report for IO2.

This is estimated to be ready in March – watch this space!