Developing educators for civic maturity and migrant integration

Abstract

The war in Ukraine has created enormous challenges for Lithuania’s education system as Lithuania has received a record number of migrant and refugee pupils from Ukraine. This paper presents the results of a survey conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM Lithuania). The survey aims to determine which competencies educators need to develop in order to create inclusive school culture. For this purpose, representatives of the administration and teachers of Lithuanian educational institutions were interviewed. The article analyses the priorities chosen by the respondents and the most important topics presented by them. Based on the analysis of the responses of 2631 respondents working in different general education schools and pre-schools in the country, the paper highlights the priorities of missing competencies. The results revealed that many respondents prefer mixed and distance learning approaches for developing competencies. Analysis of the need for qualification programs and seminars showed that practical advice for those working with children from other languages was the most lacking topic in migration. In contrast, social inclusion was the main issue of inclusive education. The discussion highlights the interpretation of the results and their implications for the education system, and the findings are compared with the results of studies in other countries. The conclusion suggests orientations for further research.