The Concept of Diversity

According to the general opinon of the project partners, it is not possible to develop a project on eTwinning without thinking on DIVERSITY. However, are our Students aware of what diversity is?

When we do a quick search about it, it is easy to find some definitions that can help us to design a new project, this is one example:

"The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences.  These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.  It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual." (http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~asuomca/diversityinit/definition.html).

According to Irene Pateraki, "Diversity refers to all kinds of differences, such as ethnicity, religion, culture, language, different abilities, educational levels, social backgrounds, economic situations, health status etc." ("Building a culture of Inclusion throught eTwinning", Page 9)

Some of our Students are not always prepared to accept, respect and to promote the differences, and to see those differences as a way to enrich ourselves. This also leads to some problems of inclusion, especially if in our classes or in our schools we have some students that are a part of those minorities presented above, or others.

Pateraki (2017), quotes UNESCO to clarify that "inclusive education is the process of strengthening the capacity of the education system to reach out all learners and the central message is simple: every learner matters and matters equally (UNESCO, 2017). In education, when we use the term inclusion, we mean that all pupils, regardless of race, creed, or intellectual ability, are welcomed by their schools and are supported to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of school’s life. This allows pupils to develop their competences, work on individual goals, learn about and accept individual differences, develop friendships with other pupils, each with their own individual needs and abilities and finally positively affect both their school and community to appreciate the diversity in their society."

These will be the motto for our project during the school year: to help our pupils to discover the richness of the difference, to accept and to respect Diversity, in order to promote the Inclusion, preventing exclusion and segregation.