What is this website?
This website is the final inquiry project for my 2022 Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching Research Fellowship in Greece. Based on interviews, observations and artifact collection at nearly 50 Greek schools and informal education spaces, this site offers a framework for creating a welcome and belonging education ecosystem. In addition to the intellectual foundation of each of the four pillars of the framework, I offer a belonging audit as a reflection tool to get started. Under each of the four pillars of the framework I offer an overview and strategies from Greek classrooms and education spaces. These framework is intended as a learning tool to guide professional learning and a resource for personal professional development.
How do I use this site?
1. This website supports the framework. The framework guides professional development.
The framework provides:
3. Contact me to facilitate professional learning
The framework provides:
- Reflection tools: A "Belonging and Welcome" Audit to evaluate your education ecosystem
- Four Pillars of the Framework. Each page includes:
- What: Connections between this ecosystem element and the core principles of belonging
- Why: Justification for the power of this element to create belonging and welcome based on research and evidence from Greek schools.
- How: Strategies to strengthen this element in your ecosystem.
3. Contact me to facilitate professional learning
Can I copy these materials?
Definitely. You can copy these handouts both for your own use and for dissemination within your teaching settings. I ask that you maintain any acknowledgement information in the downloadable documents so that appropriate credit is given.
Do I have permission to adapt these files?
I invite you to adapt these resources to make them more effective for your practice. Please maintain any acknowledgement information in the downloadable documents so that appropriate credit is given.
CAN I SHARE THESE RESOURCES WITH MY COLLEAGUES?
Absolutely! The goal is for this website and the embedded resources to be shared and utilized widely.
Where do I get additional help? Can someone facilitate a session for me?
If you want guidance on how to incorporate these strategies into your teaching, please use the contact form at the bottom of the page.
Thank you for your commitment to creating an ecosystem of belonging and welcome within your classroom. Please contact me about setting up a professional learning opportunity.
Thank you for your commitment to creating an ecosystem of belonging and welcome within your classroom. Please contact me about setting up a professional learning opportunity.
Reuse permissions Guide
Reuse Permissions GuideI appreciate your interest in the Ecosystem of Welcome and Belonging Framework. Generally, I am very happy to have our resources widely used in educational settings of all kinds. Reuse in a classroom, webinar/ professional development, or for individual reflection are all appropriate, so long as it is not for commercial purposes. If you share these resources, I ask that you please include an acknowledgement of this website.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via the contact form at the bottom of the page.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via the contact form at the bottom of the page.
Schools Included
Schools visited:
1st Primary Experimental School of the University of Athens
1st Vocational High School of Perama
2nd Artemis Middle School, Eastern Attica
2nd Lyceum Agia Vervara
2nd Primary of Ano Liosia
3rd Gymnasium of Aspropyrgos
3rd Lyceum of Nea Smyrni
3rd Primary in Zografou
3rd Primary of Zefiriou
5th Primary of Agia Pareskevi
6th Gymnasium of Patras
6th High School, Chalkida
7th Primary of Aspropyrgos
7th Lyceum of Nea Smyrni
18th Ano School, Athens
24th Primary Patras
47th Primary, Patras
49th Primary Keramikos
87th Intercultural School, Athens
American Farm School in Thessaloniki
Arsekio Gymnasium and Lyceum in Thessaloniki
Experimental High School of the University of Patras
Experimental Gymnasium of the University of Patras
Hill School
Ilion Music School, Athens
Model General Gymnasium and Lyceum of Heraklion
Munting Nayon Cultural Preschool, Athens
Primary Intercultural School of Palaio Faliro
Second Chance School of Piraeus
Senior High School Polygyros, Chalkidiki
Informal Education Spaces:
Environmental Education Center in Amfissa
Schedia
Lambrakis Foundation
Melissa Network for Migrant Women
Movement for the Defense of the Rights of Refugees and Immigrants
Peer2Peer
1st Primary Experimental School of the University of Athens
1st Vocational High School of Perama
2nd Artemis Middle School, Eastern Attica
2nd Lyceum Agia Vervara
2nd Primary of Ano Liosia
3rd Gymnasium of Aspropyrgos
3rd Lyceum of Nea Smyrni
3rd Primary in Zografou
3rd Primary of Zefiriou
5th Primary of Agia Pareskevi
6th Gymnasium of Patras
6th High School, Chalkida
7th Primary of Aspropyrgos
7th Lyceum of Nea Smyrni
18th Ano School, Athens
24th Primary Patras
47th Primary, Patras
49th Primary Keramikos
87th Intercultural School, Athens
American Farm School in Thessaloniki
Arsekio Gymnasium and Lyceum in Thessaloniki
Experimental High School of the University of Patras
Experimental Gymnasium of the University of Patras
Hill School
Ilion Music School, Athens
Model General Gymnasium and Lyceum of Heraklion
Munting Nayon Cultural Preschool, Athens
Primary Intercultural School of Palaio Faliro
Second Chance School of Piraeus
Senior High School Polygyros, Chalkidiki
Informal Education Spaces:
Environmental Education Center in Amfissa
Schedia
Lambrakis Foundation
Melissa Network for Migrant Women
Movement for the Defense of the Rights of Refugees and Immigrants
Peer2Peer
Why this work? Why now?
During five months of research in Greece in 2022 as a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching recipient, I visited a wide variety of schools interviewing and observing teachers, administrators, students, and parents. I interviewed and observed innovators from nonprofits, NGOs and other informal education spaces. Cross-cultural dialogue allowed me to see innovation in Greek practices. Their schools face big obstacles from the evolving needs of refugees to funding challenges. Using an Asset-Based Community Development lens their successes can help us reimagine our opportunities.
background on this project
In some ways Greek culture may seem so unique that lessons learned from observing classrooms may not be transferrable to any other context.
This assumption, however, is incorrect. We are a global society and no culture has education 100% right. Many Greek educators wonder why I am here studying their schools. “Finland has great schools!” they say as they encourage me to study other systems.
What drew me to Greece was the immigration and refugee issues they have dealt with for the last thirty odd years. “But America is built on immigrants!” they respond. While this statement is certainly true it doesn’t mean that we aren’t constantly dealing with the same arguments about immigrants over and over.
Here in Greece many of even the most enlightened and caring educators share stereotypes about Albanians. They don’t have a work ethic. Their family structure is not strong. Their culture doesn’t value education, etc. Yet, of course I’ve met bright and ambitious students of Albanian heritage. Americans will share these same criticisms of nearly any immigrant group but I’ve heard it most often about Latinx groups. Mexican Americans who are our closest neighbor, just as Albanians share a border with Greece.
Indeed the refugee situation in Greece is different than in the United States as far as the means by which individuals and families hope to find refuge. In United States the objective is to find refuge by settling somewhere in the states, or possibly Canada. Most Greeks, however, know that families and individuals seeking refuge are not planning to stay in Greece long term. They are waiting and working for the opportunity to travel to Germany, Sweden, or another country with better infrastructure and more opportunities to build a new life.
The differences are not enough then to discount the lessons I’ve learned from Greek teachers, administrators, non-profit leaders, activists, parents and students. Under the umbrella of belonging and creating a sense of welcome, our humanity unites us. We all want belonging. We all seek belonging and we all know the sting of feeling unwelcome and left out.
This assumption, however, is incorrect. We are a global society and no culture has education 100% right. Many Greek educators wonder why I am here studying their schools. “Finland has great schools!” they say as they encourage me to study other systems.
What drew me to Greece was the immigration and refugee issues they have dealt with for the last thirty odd years. “But America is built on immigrants!” they respond. While this statement is certainly true it doesn’t mean that we aren’t constantly dealing with the same arguments about immigrants over and over.
Here in Greece many of even the most enlightened and caring educators share stereotypes about Albanians. They don’t have a work ethic. Their family structure is not strong. Their culture doesn’t value education, etc. Yet, of course I’ve met bright and ambitious students of Albanian heritage. Americans will share these same criticisms of nearly any immigrant group but I’ve heard it most often about Latinx groups. Mexican Americans who are our closest neighbor, just as Albanians share a border with Greece.
Indeed the refugee situation in Greece is different than in the United States as far as the means by which individuals and families hope to find refuge. In United States the objective is to find refuge by settling somewhere in the states, or possibly Canada. Most Greeks, however, know that families and individuals seeking refuge are not planning to stay in Greece long term. They are waiting and working for the opportunity to travel to Germany, Sweden, or another country with better infrastructure and more opportunities to build a new life.
The differences are not enough then to discount the lessons I’ve learned from Greek teachers, administrators, non-profit leaders, activists, parents and students. Under the umbrella of belonging and creating a sense of welcome, our humanity unites us. We all want belonging. We all seek belonging and we all know the sting of feeling unwelcome and left out.
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