Lena De Botton

Cultural Intelligence to Overcome Educational Exclusion

The critical communicative methodology (CCM) is based on the premise that each person, regardless of their educational, cultural, or socioeconomic background, possesses cultural intelligence. That is, they can analyze their experiences of being excluded and propose ways to reverse their situation. In this article, we explore the fact that everyone, regardless of background, can help to develop scientific knowledge, and this is essential in transforming the situation being studied. To illustrate this, we examine a case in which families from cultural minority groups become involved in transforming their neighborhood school. We also show how the CCM made it possible to include the knowledge and interpretations of these community members through egalitarian dialogue with researchers. The knowledge obtained from this dialogue calls into question the dominant discourse in Europe, which states that having high proportions of migrant students in schools will have a negative effect on both academic results and living together.

Not Without Them The Inclusion of Minors’ Voices on Cyber Harassment Prevention

Cyber harassment is considered one of the most important risks of our children and teenagers’ online daily interactions. Most existing preventive programs are designed by and for adults, not accounting for the experiences and views of the potential victims. The approach of preventive socialization emphasizes the need for the participation of minors as well as the importance of acknowledging their voices to develop successful preventive actions in this field. By the means of communicative content analysis, in this article, authors contrast the research state of the art with the voice of the very minors. From this analysis, a series of ground rules are defined to be considered in the design of actions aimed at preventing cyber harassment.

Moroccan mothers’ involvement in dialogic literary gatherings in a Catalan urban primary school: Increasing educative interactions and improving learning

This article analyses a case study on Moroccan mothers’ involvement in the Dialogic Literary Gathering (DLG) in an urban primary school in Catalonia (Spain). DLG is a dialogic learning environment that improves reading skills and communicative abilities and promotes school–community links. This activity has been identified in previous European Union (EU)–funded large scale research, the INCLUD-ED project, as a successful educational action. Children’s results in standardised tests reported a significant improvement in communicative skills over the academic year. The case study highlights evidences on how this action contributed to transform family interactions at home. Discussions about classic works of literature were transferred to the child–parent interactions and were part of their daily lives. According to the data analysed, this experience affected mothers’ and children’s motivation to read and helped migrant mothers to improve the language acquisition of the host country. Mothers confirmed becoming more able to understand the schoolwork of their children and they felt more confident to help them with their homework.

The Montserrat’s neighbourhood dream: involving Moroccan residents in a school-based community development process in urban Spain

Previous research has identified the potential of community-based development processes to reverse inequalities. However, in many cases, constraints arise that hinder the achievement of community g...ABSTRACT Previous research has identified the potential of community-based development processes to reverse inequalities. However, in many cases, constraints arise that hinder the achievement of community goals. This article focuses on the role contributed by a school to overcome these barriers. Specifically, we address the role played by the Mare de Déu de Montserrat School, which is a Learning Community, in the launch and development of a community-based process. Known as The Dream, this process was initiated by a group of unemployed Moroccan residents in an impoverished urban neighbourhood in Spain. Through this process, the neighbours have created a self-managed community garden, which has enabled them to improve their job training and build social networks. Based on the communicative methodology, our qualitative study finds that this school has contributed to the creation of specific conditions that helped to overcome some barriers that had hindered the emergence of community responses. In addition, the contributions of the school have promoted a horizontal and dialogical organization of the process, placing neighbours in central positions in decision-making and leadership roles. This case study provides relevant theoretical and practical implications for the contributions that certain school-based interventions can provide to promote community initiatives in impoverished environments.

Learning about the Importance of Education for Labour Market Transitions.

This article centres on the importance given by individuals to the process of education in labour market transitions and how they manage to overcome obstacles to achieve their goals. Many of the stories in the Spanish research were transformative and innovative despite the context of high levels of unemployment in Spain due to the global economic crisis. In this article the educational context is explained together with the educational paths available to go to university, to vocational education and training, or towards abandonment. Qualitative data analysis has been conducted to analyse the narrative interviews. The stories highlight the transformative results of those who participate in formal education, and that learning from experience and cultural intelligence are used as strategies to follow for overcoming the challenges of labour market transitions.