Making teacher training more international and enabling future teachers to approach the issue of cultural diversity in the classroom is at the heart of the programme Lehramt.International. The project at the University of Oldenburg is now being extended until the end of 2024.
As one of the first model universities across Germany, the University of Oldenburg has been represented in the programme with its own project since 2019. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has now decided to extend funding for the university’s project "Dimensions of Diversity. A multilateral Conversation" until the end of 2024 with around 300,000 euros.
In addition to the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (Netherlands) and the Nelson Mandela University (South Africa), which have already been involved as partners since 2019, the second round of funding involves the NHL Stenden University of Applied Science, another Dutch partner with a focus on teacher education.
"In order to prepare our student teachers well for their everyday professional life, we want to offer as many as possible the chance to gain international experience and to learn how to address diversity in the classroom," says Prof. Dr. Karsten Speck, the University's Vice President for Studies, Teaching and International Affairs. The project contributes to this, for example, by not only promoting stays abroad, but also by enabling intercultural learning and international encounters at the home university.
During the first phase of the project, around 400 students took advantage of international learning opportunities - for example, at the annual summer or winter schools, through language tandems and during stays abroad in South Africa and the Netherlands. Virtual guest lectureships promoted exchange between teachers.
International experience for all
The goal of the second funding phase is to develop an international certificate programme encompassing joint courses offered by all partner institutions. Online courses, for example, allows students to gain international experience even if they cannot spend time abroad themselves.
In addition, the project partners are expanding the actual exchange in the teacher training programmes: In future, there will also be scholarships for shorter stays abroad, for example in the context of summer schools or shorter visits to local schools, for example in the so-called Lesson Studies. These offer the opportunity to observe school lessons and jointly develop own teaching units.
Teacher training has played an important role at the University of Oldenburg since its foundation. A good third of the students are currently enrolled in a teacher training programme. The university is constantly working to improve teacher training. The project continues this development and aims to anchor internationalisation permanently in all teacher training programmes.
Leading the project from Oldenburg are Prof. Dr Ulla Licandro, special education teacher, Prof. Dr Martin Butler, American studies teacher, Prof. Dr. Karsten Speck, education scientist, Jenka Schmidt, head of the International Office, and Tina Grummel, project coordinator.
