JRS Europe seeks a pedagogical expert to review and develop its school’s pedagogic material to encourage students to think critically about migration and refugees for the new Erasmus+ project Together for Change

About Jesuit Refugee Service Europe

Jesuit Refugee Service Europe (JRS E) is an international Catholic organisation with a mission to accompany, serve and advocate for the rights of refugees.

Education holds a central role in JRS Europe mission, leveraging its transformative power to challenge preconceptions, nurture empathy, and empower individuals to positively impact their communities. This commitment is exemplified in initiatives such as the CHANGE project, U-CHANGE project, CHANGE ENVIRONMENT, and Together for Change project. Particular emphasis is placed on engaging young people and people with migratory background in these initiatives. By integrating educational programs with encounters, storytelling, and community engagement, JRS Europe aims to empower the next generation with the tools and perspectives necessary to address the complexities surrounding migration.

Approach to education

The CHANGE methodology

The CHANGE methodology is designed to address the challenges of misinformation and stereotypes around migration topics in today’s world. JRS E recognizes the importance of equipping students with critical thinking skills, and the projects incorporates different stage in the educational course, to prompts students to question prevailing narratives, distinguish facts from opinions, and challenge their own biases. By encouraging students to think critically about refugees and migration, JRS E aims to empower them to make well-founded judgments and contribute to a more informed society.

JRS Europe believes in the power of personal connections and storytelling, providing a platform for refugees to share their stories directly with students. By stepping into classrooms and sharing their experiences of living in Europe, as well as their hopes and dreams for the future, refugees foster empathy and understanding among students. These encounters allow students to gain a deeper appreciation for the resilience and strength of refugees, breaking down barriers and building bridges of compassion.

JRS Europe recognizes that knowledge alone is not enough to drive meaningful change. That’s why the methodology encourages students to go beyond the classroom and actively participate in their communities. Through the Student Ambassador program, students are inspired to organize small-scale events, campaigns, or service projects that raise awareness about refugees and migration. By sharing what they have learned and experienced, students become catalysts for change, inspiring others to join the cause.

Background

Information on the raising awareness projects implemented by JRS Europe

CHANGE

Between January 2019 and August 2022, JRS Europe coordinated a large-scale European raising awareness project (funded by AMIF) and implemented with partners in 9 European countries – Belgium, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. The goal of the project is to educate young people on the positive contributions of refugees to society and encourage them to act to make a change in their schools and local communities.  To achieve this, the project developed an educational course, organised encounters with forcibly displaced people and encouraged students to act to make a change in their schools and local communities.

Understanding-CHANGE

Understanding Change (U-CHANGE) project, coordinated by JRS Europe, researched how students’ perception of migration evolved through the CHANGE education project. While CHANGE education project focuses on in-school work and awareness raising on critical thinking, U-CHANGE researched the findings from the evaluation of that work. The goal of the project was to develop an innovative methodology to promote critical thinking among young people and facilitate civic engagement and social inclusion. To achieve this, the project developed a report from the evaluation of how students’ perception of migration evolved through CHANGE education project (ex-ante/ex-post evaluation of 3000 students in Europe) and video training for teachers to foster critical thinking among students.

Together for Change project

Building on the insights gained from the CHANGE and U-CHANGE projects, JRS Europe is currently implementing the Together for Change (T4Change) project. This school awareness initiative is being conducted in collaboration with eight European countries: Belgium, Spain, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Serbia, and Portugal.

The T4Change project aims to foster civic engagement, critical thinking skills, and the integration of migrants. The main goal is to encourage students to actively participate in schools and community initiatives, with a specific emphasis on collaboration with people with migratory background. The project seeks to establish lasting and mutually beneficial relationships between migrant organizations and schools, fostering a sustained engagement that extends beyond the project’s conclusion, ensuring a continued impact and presence within the community. Migrants’ empowerment and participation are integral to the project, with self-led migrant organizations playing a key role in all stages of its implementation.

Rationale of this assignment

Given the rich experience in awareness and education projects, and building on the previous project, JRS Europe aims to create educational material for students participating in the T4C project. This endeavour commences with a comprehensive review of the existing pedagogic material from the CHANGE project, guided by the evaluation results of CHANGE and Insights from the U-CHANGE report’s findings and recommendations, alongside perspectives from refugee-led organizations. The material will be carefully adapted for different age groups (10-13 and 14-18).

This new educational resource will hold significance in nurturing students’ critical thinking skills, incorporating the unique perspective of individuals with migratory backgrounds and it will be actively utilized during project implementation in classrooms, serving as a foundation to encourage students to develop critical thinking and engage in solidarity initiatives within their schools and communities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Review the pedagogical materials from CHANGE taking in consideration the background and rationale behind the reviewing, consider findings and recommendations from the CHANGE and U-CHANGE project.
• Adapt material for different age groups, ensuring age-appropriate content (10-13/14-18)
• Integrate refugee/migrant perspectives in the reviewed pedagogical material
• Attend meeting with project partners
• Finalized pedagogical material incorporating the feedback from project partners

Qualifications: The ideal candidate should possess:

• Background in pedagogy, education, or related field.
• Expertise in curriculum development for diverse age groups.
• Experience working in migration- related project.
• Previous involvement in educational projects with a focus on critical thinking and civic engagement.
• Fluency in English is required

Resources

Online resources:

CHANGE pedagogic material: https://jrschange.org/resources/course-change/?type=teacher&language=en

CHANGE methodology: https://jrschange.org/projects/course-change/

UCHANGE report: https://jrschange.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/UChange_04-one-page-in-the-screen.pdf

UCHANGE recommendation: https://prezi.com/view/CZCsKxcwz5ycRQVSUFmc/

Attached resources to this ToR: Annex 1: Evaluation of CHANGE

Submission Requirements: Interested candidates must submit:

• Curriculum Vitae.
• Cover letter expressing interest and detailing how the candidate meets qualifications.
• Samples of previous work related to curriculum development, if available.

Submission Deadline: All submissions must be sentwith “Pedagogic expert TOR” as subject heading by 10 of January.