Working Groups
WG1: School Climate Assessment / Development.
Working Group Leader: Dr. Ruth Berkowitz (WG1)
Objectives: To update and design a new set of measures for school climate accounting for changes in the demographic groupings and rate of immigration across European countries. This workgroup would be considered to be the overarching workgroup incorporating elements/findings from the other groups to achieve its tasks.
Tasks:
(i) collate current measures of school climate, especially within COST countries
(ii) gather and evaluate cross-national ‘initial task’ data from WG partners to ascertain salient issues and developments (ii) create a new instrument to take account of recent developments; (iii) pilot the instrument in partner countries; (iv) revise instrument; (v) Draft final policy recommendation document.
Deliverables: Publication of a new, set of cross validated instruments with back translations to be utilised by schools and authorities; Collating and drafting of policy recommendations from all workgroups into final document; Contribution to final published handbook; Contribution to project website; Delivery of International Conference
Seminar on findings; A review article.
Ruth Berkowitz, Ph.D.
School of Social Work
University of Haifa, Israel |
http://hw.haifa.ac.il/en/people/sw/rberkowit
rruthberko@gmail.com | ruthberko@univ.haifa.ac.il
WG3: School Bullying, Tolerance & Integration.
Working Group Leader: Prof. Eveline Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger (WG3)
Objectives: To review the application and assessment of intervention approaches to reduce bullying/violence specifically in how they promote integration, the tolerance of diversity and improve school safety.
Tasks: (i) collect and assess cross national action plans/guidelines (national or regional) to tackle school bullying and violence training and education in research methods and materials needed to carry out their IRP (ii) collate current interventions/tools to tackle school bullying and violence both in general terms and with specificity in regards to immigration/ racial/ethnic issues. (iii) gather evidence on their effectiveness across different groupings and with regards to gender and age systemically reviewing completeness of information, degree of usage, local evaluations carried out, and sustainability.
Deliverables: Seminar for ECI and stakeholders, Recommendations relevant to the creation of cross national policy; Chapter contribution to handbook of intervention methods; Contribution to guidelines, links and tools on project website; Delivery of Workshops; Peer reviewed publications at cross-national level.
Prof. Dr. E. Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger
Guest Professor InZentIM
University of Duisburg-Essen
Universitätsstr. 2
45141 Essen
eveline.gutzwiller-helfenfinger@uni-due.de
WG5: School Design & Safety.
Working Group Leader: Prof. Muthanna Samara (WG5)
Objectives: (1) Investigate the importance given at national and local level to addressing the design of school buildings and grounds in relation to school safety, integration and reduction of violence/bullying. (2) Establish the consultative use of community policing and/or private security firms by schools in enhancing school security, and what adaptive steps if any are taken in regard to working with immigrant and ethnic groups.
Tasks: (i) collate cross-national evidence on school building design and its impact on school safety issues; (ii) gather evidence of prominence given to school building design by national and local authorities in regards to school safety and what difficulties may exist (iii) collect evidence of use of community policing/security firm programmes within school to improve school safety (iv) assess evidence of steps taken to incorporate migrant/ethnic groups.
Deliverables: Seminar for ECIs and stakeholders; Recommendations towards creation of cross national policy; Chapter contribution on best practice for handbook; Delivery of
Workshops; Contribution to guidelines, links and tools on project website; Publications at cross-national level.
Prof. Muthanna Samara
M.Samara@kingston.ac.uk
WG2: Immigration, Diversity and School Practice.
Working Group Leader: Dr. Janos Gyori (WG2)
Objectives: (1) To ascertain at a national and local level among partner states what rates of immigration exist, and what particular issues exist in that country (2) What practices have been put in place for schools to deal with diversity and integration, including education of indigenous students in regards to other cultures and ethnicities and integration of immigrant pupils into the history and community of their new society with a focus on gender issues across both perspectives. (3) Evaluate what assessment exists for these practices.
Tasks: (i) collate evidence of immigration rates across partners countries and salient issues arising (ii) gather and assess evidence of best practice on how schools cope with ethnic and faith diversity among children of immigrant backgrounds taking into account gender and age; (ii) collate action plans/guidelines on integration from national and regional authorities for policy evaluation.
Deliverables: Policy recommendations for pupil well-being at a cross-national level; Chapter for handbook of intervention methods relevant to different groupings for use at school level; Contribution to guidelines, links and tools on project website; Seminar for ECI and stakeholders; Cross National peer reviewed publications.
Dr. habil. János Győri
(János Gordon Győri)
Habil. associate professor
Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Psychology and Education,
Institute for Intercultural Psychology and Education
janos.gyori@ppk.elte.hu
WG4: Pupil Voice & The Promotion of Inclusion
Working Group Leader: Dr. Niamh O’Brien (WG4)
Objectives: To establish the use and
effectiveness of pupil voice as a method of enhancing social cohesiveness and inclusiveness, and improving the school community and climate.Tasks: (i) gather cross-national evidence for support for pupil voice and inclusion at a national/regional level (ii) gather and evaluate peer support schemes at a school/community level on their impact on integration school climate and safety; (ii) collate examples of how ‘pupil voice’ can be encouraged across indigenous, immigrant and ethnic groups in generating information and ideas.
Deliverables: ECIs/stakeholders Seminar; Recommendations on ‘pupil voice’ for the creation of cross national policy; Chapter contribution on best practice to handbook of intervention methods; Contribution to guidelines, links and tools on project website; Delivery of Workshops; Peer reviewed publications at cross-national level.
Dr Niamh O’Brien
Senior Research Fellow
Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care
Phone: 00 44 1245 684197
Honorary Fellow of the UNESCO Chair on Tackling Bullying in Schools and Cyberspace Through a Global Partnership for Equality and Wellbeing (National Anti-Bullying Centre, Dublin City University)
Niamh.OBrien@anglia.ac.uk
WG6: E-Technology, Cyberbullying & Online Safety.
Working Group Leaders: Prof. Jacek Pyżalski (WG6)
Objectives: (1) To ascertain how etech and the internet can be, and is, used as a pro-social tool to prevent and combat, intolerance, racism and xenophobia, and promote inclusion and respect, (2) Examine to what extent the school community as a whole is involved in these actions.
Tasks: (i) gather crossnational evidence of use of e-tech by national/regional authorities to a) combat cyberbullying/promote online safety and b) promote integration/tolerance (ii) collate evidence on the positive uses of e-technology in schools; examining participation of whole school community (pupils, teachers, parents, staff) (ii) collate evidence on the effectiveness of interventions specifically tailored to reducing cyberbullying and promoting integration.
Deliverables: Seminar for ECI’s and stakeholders; Recommendations towards creation of cross national policy. Chapter contribution on best practice for handbook; Delivery of
Workshops; Contribution to guidelines, links and tools on project website; Publications at cross-national level.
Prof. UAM dr hab. Jacek Pyżalski
Zakład Specjalnych Potrzeb Edukacyjnych
Wydział Studiów Edukacyjnych
Uniwersytet im. A. Mickiewicza w Poznaniu
pyzalski@poczta.onet.pl