Checklist

The proposed framework is based on the work of the Education for Diversities Research Group from the Department of Teacher Education of the University of Helsinki.

The research group, created in 2012, has produced critical research on various aspects of multicultural education and teacher education in Finland and other parts of the world. The Group has been involved in many international and local projects dealing with: diversities in Finnish textbooks; the definition and assessment of intercultural competences in teacher education; the influence of silent partners (space-place, objects and technologies) in multicultural education; observing the success of migrant-background students in schools; translanguaging and Roma education. The proposed framework, which can serve as self- and peer-assessment, is also based on extensive observation of teacher practices with multicultural students and newcomer students in Finnish schools around the country.

Self-assessing by means of the following table should only serve the purpose of pushing oneself to reflect over and over on one’s attitudes and behaviours, but also on potential issues, one may face when working with newcomer students. We suggest that when working with newcomer students, teachers read through the table at least twice a week and reflect (alone or with colleagues) on their behaviours and attitudes, trying to find illustrations to support their feelings. Depending on teachers’ needs, they might want to concentrate on specific objectives at different times. The table proposes 5 main objectives and a certain number of sub-objectives.

Intercultural Competence Self-assessment Table
Critical incidents - Training for using the self-assessment table