Eurydice is an information network about education in Europe. It is made up of forty national units overseen by the European unit in Brussels.
Its mission is to help better understand education systems in EU Member States and their close neighbours. Through its various publications (studies, surveys, thematic reports, indicators, statistics…), Eurydice is a valuable repository of information for national and European decision-makers.
Eurydice has been part of the European Lifelong Learning Programme since 2007.
Regarding the integration of immigrant students, Eurydice conducted two important surveys:
Integrating Immigrant Children in Europe – 2004
http://www.indire.it/lucabas/lkmw_file/eurydice/Integrating_immigrant_children_2004_EN.pdf
This survey conducted in 30 European countries answered the question of how education systems attempt to integrate immigrant pupils.
Discussing measures devised and implemented, the survey highlighted several key facts:
- Everyone has a Basic Right to Education
- The Language of Instruction as a Foothold in the Host Education System
- The Mother Tongue of Immigrants as a Bridge between Two Cultures
- Intercultural Education as a General Approach
- Teacher Education and the Development of New Skills
Integrating Immigrant Children into Schools in Europe – Measures to foster: Communication with immigrant families and Heritage language teaching for immigrant children - 2009
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/thematic_reports/101EN.pdf
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/thematic_reports/104EN.pdf
This survey, conducted following the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008, is a partial update of the 2004 survey.
It is solely focussed on communication with families and learning the language of origin. It highlights that:
- Everywhere in Europe there are measures to ensure that Information is passed on efficiently between schools and immigrant families
- Two principal methods of organising mother tongue tuition for immigrant pupils: bilateral agreements and provision of tuition funded by the national education system