2.4 My experience as a professor in an institute with immigrants  (Page 8/8)

Secondly, the formation of the teaching staff must start off by studying the context, being conscious of the situation of the immigrant families: precarious processes of regularization, economic deficiencies, disintegrated families, and ignorance of the cultural idiosyncrasy of the new country which motivates a generalized rejection of the immigrant in the educative community by teachers, parents of native children, and their own companions.

Thirdly, I value the importance of initial and continuous formation of education as a way of approaching the difficulties of learning related to the intercultural and individual factors, consisting of social stratification, age, gender, and the place they occupy within the group, etc.

That is why I say the knowledge and recognition of cultural difference is necessary to improve our educational task and to design more precise didactic instruments, including:

1. Initial evaluation models adapted to the educative and cultural characteristics of the immigrant students.

2. Bilingual didactic material.

3. Activities adapted to the scholastic peculiarities of the immigrant student

These instruments can only be formed by giving students the type of attention that moves us away from linear, single-caused, and determinist positions. In order to develop and implement a model which includes all of these postulates, that model must pass through a two-step process.

1. An integral plan for immigrant students, made by the independent communities where the maternal language is considered as an element for the knowledge of the official curriculum must be carried to the administration. Agreements of cooperation of the educational professionals would have to be made.

2. The framework of the plan is introduces to many schooling centers, but the objectives as defined by the administration are adapted to the socio-cultural idiosyncrasy of the center.

Lastly, this educative project of the center must gather a plan of welcome for these students, where in its elaboration there is a great number of professionals involved in the educative and non-educative processes of the center.

Conclusion

In this chapter, I have provided evidence from my own experiences of the necessity of the formation of a new educative initiative. Interculturalism tries to absorb and integrate the immigrant population so that they get an education equal to the rest of the population, native and immigrant. Therefore, intercultural education is relevant to all community parts. The mission is to teach the community to look at their fellow human from an ample perspective to understand how they think and feel. The educational practice proposed demonstrates that the knowledge of the maternal language favors the intellectual development of the student. It even favors the formation of its character, emotions, and personality; that is to say, her or his values. Schooling centers set the standards for interculturalism, and of the exchange of knowledge and dialogue among different cultures. This exchange of knowledge helps society to become more tolerant.

References

Cruz Martínez, J. M. (Eds.). (2005). La interculturalidad: Un reto escolar . Granada:Editorial Universitario.

Gimeno Sacristán, J.&Pérez Gómez, A. (Eds.). (2002). Comprender y transformar la enseñanza . Madrid: Morata.

Lorenzo Arjona, G.&Barrera Bermejo, L. (Eds.). (2005). Guía Socioeducativa de Talayuela . Cáceres: Centro de Atención y Apoyo al Inmigrante.

Merino Fernández, J.&Muñoz Sedano, A. (Eds.). (1995). Ejes de debate y propuestas de acción para una pedagogía intercultural. Educación intercultural . Madrid: CIDE-MEC.

Muñoz López, B. (2005). Formación del profesorado en inmigración. Escuela Española , 3656, 254.

Smith, P. (2001). La inmersión en dos idiomas y los Fondos de conocimiento Lingüístico. Estudios de Lingüística Aplicada , 19, 34.

Signoret, A. (2003). Bilingüismo y educación con lenguas internacionales en México y otros países. MEXTESOL.

Juan José Jiménez García is a Professor in the Institute of Immigrants in Talayuela, Extremadura, Spain.