Project

TRIBES PROJECT aims at advancingcollaboration between stakeholders to evolveand improve scientific measures and guides, building capacity across these challenged areas, working holistically towards ensuring integration, reducing bullying and enhancing the safety and well-being of refugee/migrant students, and as a result, all students in EU secondary schools, aiding in the social stability of both the individual and society.

Cost Action 18115 TRIBES:

Transnational Collaboration on Bullying, Migration and Integration at School Level

Chair: Prof. James O’Higgins Norman, Dublin City University, Ireland
Vice Chair: Prof. Hildegunn Fandrem, University of Stavanger, Norway
STSM Leader: Prof. Peter Smith, Goldsmith College, United Kingdom
ITC Conference Grant Leader: Dr. Sebastian Wachs, University of Potsdam, Germany
Communications Officer: Mr.Amador Ordóñez Puime, IES Ribeira do Louro, Spain
Working Group Leaders: Dr. Ruth Berkowitz (WG1); Prof. Janos Gyori (WG2); Prof. Eveline Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger (WG3); Dr. Niamh O’Brien (WG4); Prof. Jacek Pyżalski (WG6)

TRIBES Action Partners
Action Leader & MC Member list

Newsletters

Background and Challenges

Immigration is a persistent, highly contentious part of the EU’s future, and the alienation of a migrant populace can lead to bullying, harassment, social unrest, and civic and economic turmoil.Conversely a migrant population well integrated into society allows individuals to prosper, and the state and EU to build on their potential as a valuable resource.

The refugee crisis in recent years has heightened the urgency of the issue, and educational provision for students with an immigrant background is ever more to the fore.Yet a balance must be maintained, between an indigenous European populace and newer refugee, migrant and older ethnic populaces (e.g. Roma/Travellers) to ensure the high standard of living the EU aspires to for all its citizens and a stable, better society to live in.When integration/ inclusiveness is not approached well, they can be breeding grounds for discontent and alienation.

Challenges

Schools across the E.U. face factorial challenges in providing this safe inclusive platform, these factors include:

The lack of a modernised guide/tool to help them cope with the changing demographics in their schools, and assess school climate to provide a safe space for all students,

Gaining awareness of and access to potential national/cross-national experience/best practice that may already exist arising from the vastly differing experiences of EU countries in dealing with differing migrant and ethnic groupings who may now be arriving in their own country/school.

How to effectively approach bullying and discriminatory issues as a whole school community to help prevent and intervene at both adult and student level.

Incorporate migrant, ethnic and faith-diverse parent populations in school policy and practice

Deal with integration/bullying gender specific issues among migrant/ethnic populaces

Meet the necessity of harnessing of ‘pupil voice in successfully dealing with integration and bullying issues.

Harness/curtail an increasingly internet savvy pool of pupils, with capacity for prosocial or misuse of ICT.

Approach/enhance the physical layout of their schools to improve student safety

Project aims

The main aim of this COST Action isto: advance collaboration between stakeholders to evolveand improve scientific measures and guides, building capacity across these challenged areas, working holistically towards ensuring integration, reducing bullying and enhancing the safety and well-being of refugee/migrant students, and as a result, all students in EU secondary schools, aiding in the social stability of both the individual and society.

The following secondary aimswill support this:

To foster collaboration between interdisciplinary experts in the research areas of, sociology, child and social psychology, education, migration, science, technology, and policy, to support a holistic approach to safety, bullying and integration in our school communities to last beyond the life of the Action
The co-operative creation of new updated school climate measures to meet modern migrant/ethnicity diversity challenges, enhancing integration, inclusiveness and aiding in the prevention/ reduction of school bullying and violence,
To establish/analyse on a cross-national basis the state of research/practice/policy in regards to refugee/migrant integration and anti-bullying measures within school communities.
To better assess the success of approaches to integration and anti-bullying measures to identify effective methods that might be deployed or adapted to provide a more holistic, practical and policy based approach at a local, national and EU level.
To create a handbook of interventions and web based resources for use alongside new school climate measures at a practical level.
To draw on this research to develop and provide an evidence driven and deliberated guidelines/ policy advisory document to help highlight areas of concern and effectiveness, and provide recommendations to guide policy makers and society.
To foster and enhance the experience of practitioners, Early Career Investigators (ECIs), in providing access to a collaborative, innovative research network.
To establish continuing interdisciplinary collaborations that continue after the length of this action.

Research Coordination Objectives

The main coordination objective of this action is to share, evaluate and foster research in enhancing integration and the reduction of harassment and bullying in the school environment, to develop updated measures of school climate, and practitioner based resources, techniques and tools, that can help create a sustainable supportive and integrative environment at all levels of the school community, including students and adults.

To foster collaboration between interdisciplinary experts in the research areas of, sociology, child and social psychology, education, migration, science, technology, and policy, to support a holistic approach to safety, bullying and integration in our school communities to last beyond the life of the Action, via Seminars, Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs), piloted measures intervention, peer reviewed paper writing support, International Conference and expert European Forum.

The co-operative creation of new updated school climate measures to meet modern migrant/ethnicity diversity challenges, enhancing integration, inclusiveness and aiding in the prevention/ reduction of school bullying and violence, taking into account school factors that influence relationship outcomes (e.g. teacher-teacher, teacher-pupil, and pupil-pupil) including well-being, belonging and safety from bullying and violence

Capacity-Building Objectives

Promoting capacity in enhancing integration and bullying intervention via collaboration is at the heart of this action.
Promoting gender, age and multicultural balance in the Action, following the principles of the Athena Swan Charter to which many of the institutions are subscribed.
Enhanced training opportunities for early career researchers (ECIs) through visits, workshops and active responsibility for the organisation of seminars, conferences and forum as well as their direct participation/involvement.
The development and publishing of a website and online repository of information and tools gathered and used by stakeholders.
The drafting and publication of e-newsletters (tri-annually) over the life of the project.
Supporting the drafting and publication of cross national peer reviewed papers.
Cooperating with e-industry, community support, security and sporting organisation partners, to provide direction and focus for research/science/academic partners.
Increasing awareness of the issues across disciplinary boundaries, both within and outside of academia.