In 2022, about 188,000 foreign residents lived in Lithuania, mostly from Ukraine. Immigrant children in Lithuania often have language barriers at school, which lowers their satisfaction with education and life. International teams of ECIU University students answered the Kaunas IN Agency challenge by proposing unique solutions for immigrant children’s integration.
Veronica Yakimovich, a student of Communication and Information Management at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts of Kaunas University of Technology, who came from abroad to study in Lithuania, says that the language barrier was the first challenge she faced when she settled in Kaunas.
“It’s not always easy to make friends in a foreign country, even if you speak English. This is even more of a problem at school, where peer pressure is higher. Moving to another country is already a stressful event for a student, and a poor environment at school can add to that stress,” says Yakimovich.
The desire to help immigrant school children facing various integration problems led Yakimovich and her colleague from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of KTU, Gintarė Gabrielė Gabšytė, who is studying Material Physics and Nanotechnologies, to join the challenge proposed by Kaunas IN Agency: Capacity building tools enabling integration of immigrant and re-immigrant children into schools.
The challenge set by Kaunas IN Agency created an opportunity for students to help solve real problems in their surroundings.
“I was pleased that the ECIU University challenge was aimed at strengthening the skills of immigrant and re-immigrant students, as a supportive environment to grow and learn, to share one’s own culture, and support is important for every student to feel accepted in a new environment,” emphasises Gabšytė.
By analysing the problem, students realised how many components are necessary to ensure a favourable environment for relocated and expatriate school children. The ECIU students provided the company with a virtual booklet with various practices and activities for teachers.
“The measures proposed are practical and implementable, which makes them different from other general or theoretical solutions. The booklet created by the students can be used by teachers in their daily activities, which further contributes to the implementation of solutions to the problem,” says Gytautas Kulakauskas, Project Manager of the Investment Environment of the Business Division of Kaunas IN.
The students who have contributed to the challenge hope that these guidelines will help immigrant children to adapt more easily into Lithuanian schools and to develop their skills without losing sight of their culture and identity.
“While developing the guidelines, we tried to involve other pupils, teachers, the whole school community and their parents/guardians. We put a lot of emphasis on visual information, as visual content helps people to learn the language faster and get involved in classroom activities. We also suggested that schools organise events where parents and teachers can learn about different cultures,” says Yakimovich.
The students also suggested organising seminars focused on cultural experiences in universities, which are preparing future teachers, visits and internships for teachers to other countries to gain international experience, to actively involve teachers from other countries in educational processes in Lithuania, and to organise discussion groups with immigrant parents and teachers.
Student involvement in solving various problems is crucial. Young people often bring a fresh perspective, which helps to see a problem from a different angle. Besides, companies believe that students are often more motivated when they can contribute to the solution themselves.
“The collaboration between businesses and students shows how the efforts of different stakeholders can lead to concrete and effective solutions that facilitate social inclusion and sustainable community growth. The involvement of students and the solutions they propose is a valuable resource. It enables the integration of immigrant pupils into Lithuanian schools, and at the same time contributes to the changes in the education sector,” says Kulakauskas of Kaunas IN.
By joining the challenge, Gabrielė hoped to gain a better understanding of how to effectively find solutions for urgent problems. In addition, she wanted these solutions to be practical, realistic and workable.
“Solving this challenge has given me a better understanding of the people around us, who are struggling not only to learn in a new environment but also to adapt to their country and society,” says Gabšytė.
Drawing on her own experience, Yakimovich joined the challenge, out of conviction that sufficient support for the inclusion of migrant children in education is a very important topic of our time.
“In schools, children gain not only knowledge but also social skills of how to integrate into the host country’s culture. A successful combination of learning and respectful relations with migrant cultures could promote intercultural dialogue from an early age,” says Veronica.
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