Romanian and Ukrainian teachers, united for the education of refugee pupils in Romania

Between 16 and 18 December 2022 the British Council, in partnership with UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), will hold the second edition of the course entitled “Teaching and learning in difficult times”. The course is primarily aimed at Romanian teachers who teach Ukrainian refugee pupils, and at Ukrainian teachers who are currently working in Romania, where this edition of the course will see the participation of 71 Ukrainian, Romanian, and Bulgarian teachers.

Through specialised workshops, the participants will be introduced to topics such as managing distressed behaviours of students who have experienced the trauma of war, will be supported to learn how to recognise the emotional problems of refugee children and how to make their classroom more welcoming for all students.

Ukrainian students who have arrived in Romania are in various situations regarding the access to education, with most of them taking Ukrainian school courses online. Only 1 in 10 refugee children is enrolled in a school or kindergarten in the Romanian education system, most often as an “auditor” student. A number of the Ukrainian pupils benefit either from the courses of the educational hubs established by Ukrainian teachers in Romania, or from the didactic and extracurricular activities offered by various educational centres created by non-governmental organisations.

In all these circumstances, however, Ukrainian children need emotional support, as they encounter numerous challenges that make teaching and learning difficult. These range from the language barrier between them and teachers, to the ongoing anxiety, fear, and uncertainty related to their situation at home. As one teacher from the forthcoming training explained when asked what problems she faces in the classroom, there are children “scarred by war and shootings”. Therefore, in order to facilitate the integration of Ukrainian students into the Romanian educational system, teachers must be able to manage these difficulties, first of all by recognising them, and then by applying pedagogical and psychological methods adapted to the emotional disposition of children who have experienced traumatic events.

In October 2022, the partner organisations held the first edition of the training course for 45 teachers who appreciated its necessity.

Here are two testimonials of some of the Ukrainian teachers participating at the course:

“My name is Natalyia. I am from Kherson. I came to Romania in May. Since the beginning of June, I have been teaching English to Ukrainian children in Bucharest in a hub and doing online lessons with the Ukrainian school system. Here I first faced children who did not want to do anything, including to communicate with other people around them. They are waiting to be back home. I understood this was caused by trauma, but I had no idea how to deal with it. During the course, I learned about the physical characteristics of the human brain, their impact on reactions, and ways to deal with different types of behaviour caused by trauma. The mentors and my colleagues shared their experiences which is useful for my learners, too.”

“My name is Bohdana and I am currently teaching Ukrainian pupils in Romania. Children are the future of Ukraine and this course helps through training teachers to preserve this future.”

About the course

“Teaching and learning in difficult times” is a course that serves a dual purpose. On the one hand, it facilitates access to education and underlines the need for support for all children, especially now, when the external context inevitably complicates the educational process. On the other hand, it supports the integration of Ukrainian children in Romania and highlights the way in which the provision of emotional support is essential for children who fled their homes due to war. The main objectives of the course are to better support all children in the learning process, as well as in facilitating their integration in Romania, both from an educational and social point of view. As an initiative of the British Council, the course has been organised in different areas of the world affected by conflicts or in countries hosting refugees.

The teachers who will attend the 30-hour intensive course will learn:

• How to create a trauma-sensitive learning environment;
• How to manage challenging behaviours, that might appear in response to experiencing trauma, both in the case of Ukrainian and Romanian children, and;
• How to make the lesson and classroom more welcoming for the refugee children.

The course will take place between 16 and 18 December 2022 in Bucharest, Romania. Among the 71 teachers who will participate at the course, 19 come from Bucharest city, 50 from 18 different counties throughout the country, and 2 from Bulgaria. They are representatives of various national educational entities, from school inspectorates to secondary schools and kindergartens, but also of non-governmental organisations that support Ukrainian refugees, as well as from educational hubs established by Ukrainian teachers in Romania.