The aim of this project is to develop research-based knowledge on how to educate teachers to better facilitate education for refugees.

Currently, we have insufficient knowledge and experience with educating refugees when they enter Norwegian schools, and therefore we are not able to meet these students' needs adequately. The lack of competence applies at all levels of the education system; students, teachers, and teacher education. The project aims to investigate how teachers, teacher students, and teacher educators can become more competent in meeting these challenges.

In teacher education, we aim to educate teachers who make wise pedagogical judgments and demonstrate good pedagogical judgment. At the same time, what we want to become good at, we must practice. Therefore, teacher students should experience different types of pedagogical situations and have the opportunity to practice and learn from the reflection on practice. Teacher education today needs research-based knowledge about educating refugees. In our research, we explore whether we can strengthen our own education through practical training at institutions with extensive experience and high competence in teaching refugees. The main goal here is to develop student practical training so that we can better meet refugee students' needs in Norwegian schools. As part of this, students in PPU are offered international internships at institutions that provide education to refugees. In the spring of 2022, a pilot project was conducted where 7 students traveled to Italy and Greece for an international internship. In the spring of 2023, 7 new students will travel to these educational institutions for an international internship.

The internship in Lesvos, Greece, is at an educational institution that provides education to refugees residing in refugee camps or temporarily residing near the educational institution. The refugees here often have long stays in refugee camps with them. This internship focuses particularly on inclusion, where contact between the island's population and refugees is central. Students are involved in teaching, but also participate in activities outside the educational institution.

In Italy, the internship is at a housing unit for underage refugees, Cooperativa Sociale Lella, where they participate in language courses and tailored activity offerings. The students have shared responsibility/their own responsibility for activities, both teaching activities and tailored activity offerings in the afternoon. Some days, students accompany the students to school or work internships, but mainly the students will fill the mornings with meetings with people who relate to refugees in various ways; volunteers, settled refugees, psychologists, and politicians.

In the long run, we also work to achieve practical training in teaching buses in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon through Salam LADC (Lebanese Association for Developmental and Communication, contact person Lars Korsnes).

The project's development occurs in co-creation between several parties, employees at the Department of Teacher Education, students, partner schools in Norway, educational institutions in Greece and Italy, the University of Macerata, and the Educational Association of Trøndelag. All our partners are co-creators in the project and have an important voice in planning, implementation with changes along the way, dissemination, and follow-up.

Results from the project will provide a basis for assessing whether this practice model should become a permanent practical training option for students in practical-pedagogical education (PPU).

In December 2022, we organized the "People on the Move" conference at NTNU Campus Kalvskinnet. The conference focused on different pedagogical practices and targeted teachers who work with refugees in different ways. Among those who spoke at the conference were partners from the University of Macerata and Cooperativa Sociale Lella, as well as employees from different sections at the Department of Teacher Education.

Related publications

Brendløkken, T. og Liland, R. (2022). «Du må være i det for å forstå». Profesjonelt lærerarbeid med flyktninger. Kap. 11 i antologi. Tittel på antologien er Utenlandspraksis for lærerstudenter: global og interkulturell kompetanse.