Repository of DUTH

Anti-racist educational program in primary schools aiming at the improvement of interstudent relations in a class of mixed ethnocultural composition (Master thesis)

Μπέντη, Ειρήνη/ Benti, Eirini

The present study presents an antiracist educational program that has been implemented in a primary school of a rural region of Greece with the aim of improving the relationships of 17 students of a class with a mixed ethnocultural composition. The purpose of this study is to shed light on the effect that a specially designed educational program governed by the principles of antiracist education can have on the improvement of relationships among students and after that on the management of cultural diversity. The methodology was based on an action research model, as throughout this the teacher is actively involved in the study, observes, reflects, plans, implements all the above and redesigns having a responsible and active role in the research. This specific study was conducted by the teacher of the class, who also acts as a researcher. The data collection was based on the classroom observation method, discussions during the class and observations that have been collected and recorded in the researcher’s calendar. For this program eleven experiential learning activities specially designed for these students have been carried out. These specific activities took the form of games based on antiracist education and took place within the classroom. Due to unfavorable conditions the Covid pandemic brought about only one of the stages of this research has been conducted. The findings provided evidence that the students handled positively some issues that often appeared in their relationships with each other and expressed concerns about the cultural diversity management. The main techniques to approach this topic, which proved to be quite effective, were the role-playing games, the use of pictures, the experiential approach of these topics as well as the open dialogue. This research could serve as a guide but also a reference point to similar educational studies focusing on issues of addressing racism at school.