The OSI Education Support Program (ESP) has decided to explore the situation in education for migrant, minority and marginalized children in Europe (EMMME). This initiative is a response to OSI’s heightened interest in strengthening the role of Europe as a model of open society. At a recent OSI meeting to brainstorm what role the Soros foundations network should play in achieving this objective, an emphasis was put on youth, with a main focus on informal learning opportunities, and activities aimed at increasing active citizenship of young people. ESP, dedicated to the transformation of formal education, will take these concepts one step further to explore how the "school" component promotes, or restricts, inclusion of children and youth from migrant, minority and marginalized communities.

Scope of the Exploratory Project

ESP’s exploratory initiative will focus on gathering information regarding the current situation in the formal learning environment, and identify key issues, opportunities and obstacles for education of migrant, minority and marginalized children. The exploratory work should look at Europe in a broader scope, including European Union (EU), with the emphasis on the most developed countries of the EU, as they are the main migrant recipients. Neighboring countries will also be considered for inclusion in the project, depending on what is identified.

The work will draw upon ESP's experiences in the area of Roma education and previous monitoring studies on equity in education. The initiative will look at links with other OSI programs, especially with EUMAP and Children & Youth Programs, and will look at possibilities to engage OSI in monitoring and advocacy on identified issues in education that are core to promoting open society values.

Objectives

• To promote a better understanding of the situation in formal education of migrant, minority and marginalized children;
• To develop ideas for ESP/OSI to promote greater inclusion, tolerance and cultural diversity in education Europe;
• To identify key actors among governments, multilateral institutions, civil society organizations and donors working in the field of EMMME;
• To create an interest group of like-minded actors in Europe to monitor and advocate for identified areas of EMMME (e.g. effective inclusion policies and practices at national and local levels, ending of school segregation etc.).

Task

To conduct a review of existing literature on the topic of minorities, migrants and marginalized people in primary and secondary education in Europe.

Methodology

• Identification, gathering, and reviewing reports and other relevant documents written in regards to specific countries within the EU. When appropriate, references could be made to European countries outside of the EU, such as Switzerland, Ukraine, and Russia. Given the limited time the review should focus mainly on four countries with the highest numbers of migrants, minorities and/or identified particular marginalized groups – France, Germany, United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
• Sources used should include reports of: international and other organizations, mainstream journals, papers, and/or other sources of written material. Monitoring reports, analytical overviews, thematic studies, are examples of what may be included.
• Searching websites and databases of the main international organizations working in education (including OECD, IEA, EURYDICE, UNICEF and UNESCO) and include their resources in the review.

The review should look at the following key questions:

• What are the main minorities, migrant, marginalized groups? How are they defined?
• What are the main issues that have arisen in a country, or Europe, in relation to a particular migrant, minority or marginalized group and education? Among the most important issues for OSI are:
  o school segregation
  o early drop outs
  o streaming to low skill vocational training
  o persistent racism in schools
• What is the status of access to, opportunities for and achievements in education of children and youth of migrant, minority and marginalized communities in comparison to the majority student population?
• What are the identified main barriers preventing equality in education between minority and majority student populations?
• What inclusive policies at the national or local levels have been enacted in individual European countries? Which interventions have succeeded or failed?
• How do countries/governments identify issues related to MMMs? How and is disaggregated data collected? What data exists on education of children and youth of migrant, minority and marginalized communities?

Obtaining, to the degree possible, a copy of the text in electronic form, or if possible, in paper form, which could then be scanned.

Final Product

A final report will be prepared that includes an executive summary, a full analysis (approximately 30 pages long) highlighting key findings, key issues, gaps in literature, areas not covered by the review, and recommendations for areas of possible further in-depth analysis.

A detailed bibliography of all work identified will be prepared. A synopsis of the content of each piece of work should accompany the bibliography. The bibliography will be organized by countries and key issues, and according to the EU level where appropriate.

References to foreign language studies that may be helpful will be made, with an executive summary in English provided when possible.

Reporting

Regular updates will be sent to project supervisors on progress of the work, who provide feedback. After one week of work, progress report will be sent to supervisors on what has been produced and a workplan for the follwing two weeks. After the initial review, the scope of the work and shape of the final product will be further defined, and further work will be carried out in the remaining time.

Deliverables

The first draft of the document will be sent to supervisor by the end of November 2007. The final document, which will have incorporated review comments provided by OSI, will be submitted by the end of December 2007.

Deadline for Applications

Friday, November 9, 2007, 13:00 (CET)

To Apply

All applications should be sent to: phugyecz@osi.hu