The Flemish society is diverse, both in terms of nationality and socioeconomic status. The super-diversity is reflected in schools and classes, in cities and the rural areas. To prepare (future) teachers for this diversity, teacher training is challenged to integrate 'diversity as a norm' into the curriculum and school management. They must also provide answers to the shortage of a diverse student population in teacher training.
From December 7 to 11, 2015, Ángel Japón and Marcelo Quishpe (University of Cuenca, Ecuador) made a learning visit to Belgium. They both have expertise in intercultural pedagogy and follow the developments in the field of diversity in Ecuador, each from their own discipline, respectively pedagogy and history. They shared with us their expertise in intercultural pedagogy and intercultural bilingual education. They illustrated the importance of intercultural methodologies in education by illustrating the Ecuadorian context.
In this video message, Angel Japón and Marcelo Quishpe contextualise the diversity in Ecuador and talk about the educational challenges this entails.
An enriching exchange between Ecuador and Flanders
During their visit, we put Ángel Japón and Marcelo Quishpe in contact with Prof. Dr. Piet Van Avermaet, Director of the Centre for Diversity & Learning. They compared the vision and approach in Flanders with the one in Ecuador. What can we learn from each other? What inspires us to learn differently or better in and for diversity in Flanders? In the interview below, they share their learning experiences.
