Cultural Minorities, Inclusive Education, and Digital Accessibility During COVID-19 in Catalonia (Spain)

Cultural Minorities, Inclusive Education, and Digital Accessibility During COVID-19 in Catalonia (Spain)

Miquel Angel Essomba Gelabert, Anna Tarrés Vallespí
Copyright: © 2023 |Pages: 16
DOI: 10.4018/979-8-3693-0453-2.ch012
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Abstract

This chapter aims to summarize the main findings of a study on the effects of the pandemic on migrant and Roma students, with a special focus on the role that ICT played to make sure that their right to education was ensured. It was conducted during 2021 in Catalonia (Spain), and the methods combined desk research, field visits, and interviews to key stakeholders in the field of digital education and inclusive education. The study covers both primary and secondary education, and it provides useful information on how to digitalize minorities in emergency crises.
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Introduction

This chapter summarizes the findings of a national study on digitalization and the education of cultural minorities during the hardest phase of the pandemic, with a focus on how the school system managed it to guarantee an inclusive education for all. This research was conducted by the SIRIUS1 network on the education of children and youngsters with a migrant background, funded by the European Commission, and it was framed at a European scale to understand the digital divide affecting migrant children and cultural minorities in general.

Over the past years, and accelerated by COVID-19, the EU and its Member States started the design of national strategies and frameworks for the holistic introduction of digital tools in education. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a singular opportunity to take stock of how inclusive the strategies and implementation of digital tools in education have been for cultural minorities. It allowed us to reflect on the main gaps between students with a migrant background or Roma students and their peers in different aspects of inclusive digital education and determine which gaps are not sufficiently addressed in current policy approaches (and are likely to continue affecting cultural minorities in the near future).

In our chapter, we will focus on the study carried out in Catalonia, Spain. Five were the elements of digital inclusion that were aimed to find out. The following table presents the main topics of interest involved in each element.

Table 1.
Guiding questions related to digital inclusion for migrant children
Elements of Digital InclusionGuiding Questions and Topics to Consider
Digital tools and connectivityDo migrant children and their families have sufficient access to laptops, tables, and other devices to access digital learning materials?
Do migrant children and their families have sufficient access to internet, to access digital learning materials?
Digital competencesDo migrant children possess sufficient basic ICT skills to operate devices such as laptops and tables for the purpose of education and learning?
Do migrant children possess more advanced ICT skills to fully benefit from the opportunities offered by digital education?
Parental supportDo parents of migrant children possess sufficient ICT skills to support their children with schoolwork?
Do parents of migrant children possess sufficient ICT skills to support their children’s use of digital tools?
Do parents of migrant children possess sufficient ICT skills to address technical difficulties experienced by children using digital tools?
Online safetyDo digital tools and platforms for learning provide a safe environment for migrant children?
Do digital tools and platforms monitor online harassment, violence, and other forms of bullying?
Inclusive digital learning approaches (e.g. pedagogies, curricula, individual support).Do learning approaches integrating digital tools consider the digital divide and potential weaknesses of migrant children in this regard?
Do learning approaches integrating digital tools include individualised (linguistic) support for migrant children?
Do learning approaches integrating digital tools include additional support for migrant children with limited digital skills?

Source: Loes van der Graaf and Hanna Siarova, PPMI Group, 2021

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