Webinar Series "Diversity Matters"

The webinar series "Diversity Matters" explores the impact of migrations, diversities and mobilities on increasingly superdiverse territorial realities. Hosted by the Research Group Migrations and Diversities of Eurac Research, the series is a forum for experts to share their work and expertise with an audience of fellow academics, students, decision-makers and practitioners.

Upcoming webinar Empowering educators in and for multilingual environments. A conversation with Denis Weger and Marta Guarda, 28 May 2024, 1-2 PM. Please register here: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/74871029-50bd-4bb8-b782-d1e765eed707@92513267-03e3-401a-80d4-c58ed6674e3b

Abstract This webinar features Denis Weger (University of Vienna) and Marta Guarda (Eurac Research) discussing various aspects of pre-service and in-service teachers' professional development for inclusive plurilingual instruction, i.e. education that leverages all pupils’ linguistic resources for teaching and learning. With regard to pre-service teacher education, Denis Weger will present empirical insights from a study with 52 pre-service teachers of various subjects at the University of Vienna, exploring the development of their professional competence in inclusive plurilingual instruction during a teacher education course on the topic. The study, using pre-post video analyses tasks and stimulated recall interviews, highlights how students improved their ability to notice relevant teaching elements in linguistically diverse classrooms. The discussion will delve into key findings, emphasizing the influence of seminar input, individual beliefs, and language biographical experiences on competence development.

Moving on to in-service teachers’ professional development, Marta Guarda will report on the experiences of one teacher team (8 teachers of all subjects) from a South Tyrolean primary school who took part in a two-year participatory action research initiative on inclusive plurilingual education. Guarda will draw on the qualitative analysis of data from individual and focus group interviews, as well as from fieldnotes and visual documentation, to provide evidence of how the teacher team adapted their pedagogical stance and practices over the course of the two years so as to transform their classrooms into more inclusive plurilingual learning environments. In doing so, the discussion will also highlight the potential of adopting a participatory action research approach to promote educational change from below as well as to foster an exchange between research and practice.

The webinar will take place in English. Questions on the part of the audience will be welcome in English, German and Italian.

Previous webinars (for recordings see below):

"Race, Language, and Institutional Categories". A conversation with María Cioé-Peña, Kamran Khan, Verena Platzgummer, and Andrea Leone-Pizzighella, 23 April 2024.

"Ontological Security Theory and Migration Studies". A conversation with Alexandria Innes, Catarina Kinnvall and Marcus Nicolson, 23 January 2024.

"Scuola e diversità in Trentino e in Alto Adige". In dialogo con Irene Landini, Davide Strazzari e Samantha Scappiti, 21 December 2023.

"Mehrsprachigkeit in der Familie". A conversation with Anna Ritter, Maria Stopfner and Sabrina Colombo, 22 November 2023.

"Two years of Taliban rule: time to view Afghan refugees differently?" A conversation with Ewen Macleod, Maria Albertinelli and Friedrich Poeschel, 2 October 2023.

"Migration Policy Implementation in Latin America and Europe" A conversation with Leiza Brumat, Marcia Vera Espinoza, Federica Infantino and Friedrich Poeschel, 21 June 2023.

"Networking individual repertoires and learning skills in the plurilingual primary school" A conversation with Emanuela Atz, Cecilia Varcasia and Marta Guarda, 30 May 2023.

"The Spiralling of the Securitization of Migration" A conversation with Valeria Bello, Sarah Leonard and Andrea Carlà, 3 May 2023.

"Linguistic diversity in secondary and tertiary educational contexts: exploring students’ attitudes and perceptions" A conversation with Anja Binanzer, Fiona Dalziel and Marta Guarda, 22 March 2023.

"Rights: on paper, in practice, not practiced" A conversation with Victoria Finn, Ramesh Ganohariti and Verena Wisthaler, 28 February 2023.

"Diversity and inclusion in the labor market" A conversation with Marzia Bona, Claudia Lintner, Maura Di Mauro and Johanna Mitterhofer, 23 January 2023.

“Sprache und Rassismus. Im Gespräch mit Assimina Gouma, Nadia Thoma und Marta Guarda”, 19 May 2022.

"Enti subnazionali e immigrazione oltre le politiche sull'integrazione" Una conversazione con Davide Strazzari, Roberta Medda-Windischer, Andrea Carlà e Mattia Zeba, 28 April 2022.

"Intersectionality and Minority Studies" A conversation with Bilgin Ayata, Angéla Kóczé, Raphaële Xenidis and Verena Wisthaler, 29 March 2022.

"Students and scholars at risk as new migrants in Europe: facilitating access to higher education" A conversation with Fiona Dalziel and Francesca Helm (University of Padova) and Marta Guarda (Eurac Research), 21 February 2022.

"Health, Diversity and Covid-19" A conversation with Rohini Mathur (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), Orkan Okan (Technical University of Munich) and Katharina Crepaz (Eurac Research), 26 January 2022.

"Access to and Exclusion from Housing over Time: Migrants’ Experiences in Rural Areas" A conversation with Tobias Weidinger, Stefan Kordel and Marzia Bona, 18 November 2021.

"Migration, Agriculture and Rural Development" A conversation with Domenica Farinella, Michele Nori and Marzia Bona, 21 October 2021.

"Indigenous Urbanization and Mobility: identity, resilience and rights" A conversation with Philipp Horn, Claire Wright and Alexandra Tomaselli,22 September 2021.

**Info and contact: johanna.mitterhofer@eurac.edu marta.guarda@eurac.edu