Abstract:

With the current migration movements from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Somalia, more and more unaccompanied minor asylum seekers (UMA) are coming to Europe and also Switzerland. With the growing number of UMA who are not integrated by the compulsory school system due to their age (14 – 25 years) but also not qualified for entering the labor market, the question arises how integration can be effective. UMA represent the group most at risk when it comes to integration measures. The educational systems of target countries have to support them in acquiring necessary competences independent from their asylum status.

In the German-speaking educational world a various number of training systems, teaching materials and grass-root initiatives have been started for UMA. The majority of these measures focus on the acquisition of the target country’s language as the first priority. There is hardly any teaching material and equivalent holistic course that offers more than foreign language learning: a combination of foreign language learning, transversal skills and job orientation training. At the same time, policy makers and school systems realize the importance of keeping UMA occupied in asylum centers to give them the necessary training and to help them develop a future perspective.
The Centre for International Projects in Education (IPE) at the Zurich University of Teacher Education focuses on intervention programs with combined research elements for improving the educational situation of vulnerable groups like the UMA and develops innovative solutions for meeting new educational challenges. The presented paper combines research and development in the area of cultural diversity and inclusive education. The competence-based program and teaching package “START- This is me. This is what I can do. This is where I want to go.” unifies the mentioned demands into a booklet for students including a competence portfolio, a didactical commentary for teachers, social-workers or volunteers as well as additional electronic material. START is designed for adolescents and young adults with a background of migration and/or refuge. In START the three competence areas life skills, job orientation training and German as a second language are combined. Pre-existing competences which are normally not recognized in a school context are made visible. START is based on a social-constructivist view of teaching and learning and is oriented towards elements of inclusive education. Inner differentiation and co-operative learning settings are used in order to effectively use the interplay of individual and social learning processes of adolescents and young adults.

START was developed and tested by the Zurich and Berne Universities of Teacher Education in joint co-operation with social pedagogues and teachers of one center for UMA in Switzerland. 140 UMA worked through START together with their teachers and gave feedback for adaptation and modification. An in-service training program for teachers and non-teachers has been developed and will be introduced in 2018. START is disseminated in all German speaking countries. The paper presents the competences in the three different learning areas, illustrates the participatory process and underlines challenges and key factors for the development of teaching programs and materials for UMA. All presented key factors are discussed in the framework of the common notion of competence-orientation and inclusive education.

Keywords:

Refugees, unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, teaching material, life skills, transversal skills, job orientation, second language acquisition, competences.