Abstract:

Countries whose society is highly homogenously oriented, can face major challenges in the implementation of intercultural education. As in such countries people with migrants and refugee background are not a visible part of the everyday school life, dealing with their integration and acceptance is not perceived to be as the most important task of the school staff. Poland can be seen as an example of that perception of the presence of students with a different cultural context.

However, as the migration of people within and outside the European Union is becoming more intense, the necessity to deal with intercultural approaches becomes an ongoing, everyday requirement, especially for young people. How to prepare them for this reality? One of the answers to this situation might be school cooperation with organizations operating in the school neighborhood (e.g. non-governmental organizations, foundations and associations, or international cooperation departments at universities), that are dealing with this very subject in their daily work.

In our article, we will refer to participatory work in the educational and linguistic context connected with Erasmus+ program students presence at schools. We will focus on the theory of intercultural opening (closing) of the school and society to present the attitudes towards different form and strategies of school operation in homogeneity and diversity. Furthermore, we will also address practical challenges and point to good social practices in the area described on the example of the project School Open in the Community. An important aspect we would like to draw attention to, are good educational practices and solutions implemented in selected educational institutions, both those training and employing teachers, educators and pedagogues. As a base for the analysis will serve materials from interviews and products of Erasmus+ program students and primary school pupils.

Keywords:

Intercultural education, Erasmus plus program, Intercultural Opening Theory, Participatory work.