Integration instead of prejudice - A textbook

The situation

The events of the last months have made it clear: migration counts among the biggest political and societal challenges for Europe, and thus also for Austria. Immigration to Europe is triggered by armed conflicts, persecution and human rights abuses as well as economic pressures, and we can base ourselves on the assumption that a good part of the refugees arriving at our shores will settle down with us permanently. At the same time Europe needs immigration in order to re-balance its age structure and to stabilize its labour markets and social care systems in the long term.

The challenge

The successful integration of migrants into our society is thus a key factor for our own future - political, economic, social, and as far as our whole society is concerned. It starts with the new arrivals, and before all, with their children, who need opportunities in education and employment in order to become successful members of our society.

 However, prejudice and stereotypes affecting immigrants well into the second and third generation are one of the biggest hurdles for their successful integration - in school, in everyday life and later at their work place. In this context however, we have to take into account that prejuduce and wrong expectations do exist not only within the host society, but also among the migrants themselves.

The project

This is where the focus of the new project of the Sir Peter Ustinov Institute for the exploration of and the combat against prejudice lies: on the integration of migrant children of the first and second generation. A textbook for kindergarten staff and pre-school teachers should prevent the development of prejudice on both sides or help reduce already existing ones, thus helping notably children with a migration background to find their place in our society.

The scientific basis

Developmental psychology has shown that the roots for hostile attitudes towards "the other", "the  stranger" date back to early childhood, and that children precisely in the age between four and seven increasingly develop prejudice along ethnic and cultural lines. Therefore, prevention and prejudice-conscious interventions should already begin in kindergarten and pre-school. In a broadly-based comparative analysis of hundreds of studies worldwide, Professor Andreas Beelmann, psychologist at the Unversity in Jena has shown that to this end a number of effective pedagogical instruments exist.

 Our textbook should help pedagogues working in kindergartens and pre-schools to better understand, in the framework of their studies and their continuing education, the development and the effects of prejudice and negative stereotypes among children. In parallel, they should be put into a position to familiarize theselves with the latest didactic findings and notably to integrate prejudice- conscious methodes (e.g. on advancing tolerance, on strenthening identity, on social learning and on the acquisition of social and linguistic competences) into their own practical work.   

Our experience

The Sir Peter Ustinov Institue has already produced two successful textbooks on competence in dealing with prejudice, one for elementary schools, online available under <link www.ustinov.at _blank>www.ustinov.at</link>, and another one for secondary schools (5th-9th grade). With the new textbook for kindergarten- and pre-schools teachers the series dealing with the issue of prejudice will now be supplemented with a brochure covering the important age range between 4 - 7 years.

The European dimension of the project

A further aim of the project is the production of a textbook which - despite different curricula and different systems of child care - can equally be used in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. This goal will be reached by the fact that both on the scientific board and in the team of authors experts from several countries (the three mentioned above plus the United Kingdom) will work together. Thus the project should also give an impulse to further strengthen the network of experts and institutes in Europe which are active in this particular field of educational sciences.

 In order to encourage the pedagogues concerned to use the new textbook, special emphasis will be put on its userfriendliness, its usefulness for everyday work and the aim of presenting the substance of the texts in an understandable language. Therefore, practicing kindergarten teachers will be involved in the final editorial work. On a mid-term perspective, the textbook should be made vailable on-line and free of charge.

Process and structures pro project implementation 

A scientific board of internationally renowned pedagogues and researchers dealing with the subjects of prejudice and integration will define guidelines on the substance to be covered, they will accompany the process and will release the final text for publication. The following personalities will be members of the board:

- Prof. Anton Pelinka (Central European University Budapest, A)

- Prof. Ruth Wodak (Univ.of Vienna, Lancaster University, UK)

- Prof. Andreas Beelmann (Uni. Jena, D)

- Dr. Elfriede Windischbauer (President, Pädag.Hochschule Salzburg, A) (tbc)

- Dr. Markus Kübler (Pädag.Hochschule Schaffhausen, CH)

The Sir Peter Ustinov Institut is currently in contact with several candidates for the position of project manager; all are known experts in educational sciences with practice in the field and publishing experience. A decision should be taken by December of this year.

 The members of the team of authors will be selected by the project manager in cooperation with the scientific board. The Sir Peter Ustinov institute is already in contact with a number of possible authors who will be invited to write individual contributions on the basis of their special scientific expertise and their didactic qualifications and experience. They are currently working  e.g. at the universities of Salzburg and Graz (A), Jena (D) and Durham (UK), the Fachhochschule CAMPUS in Vienna (A), the Pädagog. Hochschule Schaffhausen (CH) and the district government in Düsseldorf (D).

 The production and distribution of the textbook will be done in cooperation with the German publishing house Wochenschau Verlag, a long-standing partner of the Peter Ustinov Institute whose distribution network covers the whole German-speaking area.

 The organizational and technical support of the project will lie with the Secretary General of the Ustinov Institute, Dr. Corinna Metz, who in her function will work closely with the project manager and the publisher, notably as far as marketing and distribution of the textbook is concerned. To this effect, a close cooperation with the relevant training institutions for kindergarten and pre-school pedagogues as well as with the central and regional school administrations is foreseen.