Children’s Voice: What should the best inclusive school/community/country look like?

Children’s Voice: What should the best inclusive school/community/country look like?

Migrant children aged 12-14 from a Spanish school, were asked for proposals regarding migration issues. The activity was led by the University Institute for Studies on Migration (IUEM) this April and, after presenting the children the results of IMMERSE project, these were their answers.

If you were a teacher/school principal, what would you do to improve the situation?
  • Talks to raise awareness among students about the difficulties that immigrants face in order to generate empathy and reduce bullying.
  • Efforts to have people from the same immigrant background together in the same class so that they can support each other in the integration process.
  • Organizing an intercultural day where students can learn about the home countries of their peers. This would involve showcasing cultural elements, music, food, etc.
  • Paying more attention to students both inside and outside the classroom and showing interest in how they feel.
  • Focusing on the specific situations of each student to assist them with their difficulties.
  • Providing specific support to newcomers to help them reach the same educational level as their peers.
  • Introducing a new subject dedicated to games that encourages students to play in teams during recess or in class. This could include sports like soccer, basketball, handball, as well as games like hangman, and it should last at least one hour per week.
If you were a political leader, what proposal would you promote to change the situation…?
  • Facilitate the arrival in Spain and the ability to bring family members.
  • Have politicians engage more with schools by visiting them.
  • Carry out awareness campaigns to show that not all Latinos are bad, and a small group should not tarnish the reputation of the entire community.
  • Ensure that television does not manipulate information and that the nationality of a criminal is only mentioned when the person is Latino, but also when they are Spanish.
  • Ensure that everyone who migrates to Spain can find employment.
  • Regularize the status of all migrants and grant them the same rights as nationals.
  • Provide more employment opportunities for adults and reduce their exclusion or discrimination in the job search process.
  • Expedite the paperwork process for adults and grant papers to children as soon as they enter school.
  • Encourage the government to provide incentives or bonuses to employers who hire immigrants.
What should the best inclusive school/community/country look like?
The best school would be:

  • One with many cultures, where all nationalities are attended to, and where awareness talks are held to ensure the well-being of the students.
  • The one that listens to and assists its students.
  • One that offers more activities, is understanding, listens to all students, accepts individuals with disabilities, and allows them to participate in the same activities as those without limitations.

The best country would be:

  • One where there is no racism or sexism, where everyone is treated equally.
  • One where migrants can easily find employment, where migrants are treated as individuals and not just as migrants, where everyone can pursue their dreams, where women are respected, the population is respectful, friendly, and lives in harmony. There would be no racism, and all people would have the same rights. Additionally, there would be shelters for the poor.
  • One where there is no discrimination, and the citizens’ proposals are taken into account to maintain a stable society.
Taking into account the research evidences, what change should we aspire to? What’s your opinion about it? How would you improve it? Who should take it into account? What are the intervention priorities?
  • Do not group children by nationality but by their personality.
  • We have improved a lot, but we still need to ensure that people are treated equally, regardless of where they come from.
  • Parents should learn to treat others equally at home as well.
  • The priority is to intervene from a young age, but also during adolescence, which is the toughest stage.
  • Reduce smoking.
  • Create shelters that provide shelter and food to people to prevent migrant homelessness.
  • The new generation must be taught not to discriminate.
  • We must interact with that percentage of unhappy boys and girls so that they feel better.
  • Television has a negative influence, making people believe that certain countries are bad. It should have a positive influence.

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IMMERSE Leaflet

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IMMERSE project, integration mapping of refugee and migrant children in schools and other experiential environments in Europe, is a European initiative funded by the Horizon2020 Programme of the European Commission. IMMERSE main goal is to define a new generation of indicators [...]

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