Partnership of schools and civil society organisations to support education of students of varied linguistic backgrounds—The situation in the Czech Republic, Italy and Spain

Abstract

This article reports on research examining the intensity and forms of partnership between civil society organisations (particularly non-profit non-governmental organisations with a focus on students with a different mother tongue) and schools in three European geographical areas, answering three research questions: (1) What services do non-profits offer for teachers? (2) How do non-profits see the current cooperation? (3) Do teachers know about the existence of non-profits in this area and are they interested in such cooperation? A mixed methods research approach was used. A questionnaire was used for eliciting responses from 34 non-profit organisations (nine in Czech Republic, nineteen in Spain, six in Italy); and fifteen teachers (five for each country) were interviewed. The findings reveal a great potential of non-profit organisations as partners in education for covering important themes from intercultural education. All interviewed teachers were in favour of cooperating with the non-profit sector even though most had never collaborated with non-profits. Several teachers had experienced difficulties in teaching students of varied linguistic backgrounds. Non-profits acknowledged that collaboration with teachers and schools had not been ideal and suggested strategies which might empower such partnerships.