Immigrant teachers enrich the school system
They come from Ukraine, Turkey and Afghanistan and have all already worked as teachers in their countries of origin. After successfully completing the TeachersPLUS qualification program at the Center for Teacher Training and Educational Research (ZLB) at the University of Siegen, 17 participants were delighted to receive their certificates.
"You can be proud of what you have achieved and look to the future with confidence," congratulated program coordinator Dr. Inga Schmalenbach. This was also emphasized by Prof. Dr. Daniel Scholl, Director of the Centre for Teacher Training and Educational Research. Not all, but many of the participants had fled to Germany and first had to find their way in everyday life and learn the language. "You can't appreciate enough what you have achieved to be here." The certificate is also a symbol of personal attitude, individual ambition, courage and strength. "You will enrich our school system," said Scholl.
The immigrant teachers, many of whom already have many years of professional experience, teach chemistry, English, computer science, art, mathematics, physics and sport, subjects for which teachers are often in great demand at schools in Germany. During the one-year training course, the participants' existing linguistic, technical and pedagogical knowledge and skills are taken up and expanded with a view to working at schools in Germany. Successful completion of the course enables participation in the follow-up program "Internationale Lehrkräfte Fördern (ILF)" of the Arnsberg district government, which in turn opens up prospects for permanent employment as a teacher in the North Rhine-Westphalian teaching profession.
At the graduation ceremony at the University of Siegen, the 1st Deputy Mayor of the City of Siegen, Angela Jung, and Ina Brandes, Minister of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, congratulated the students in a video greeting. As part of its "NRWege ins Studium" funding program, the Ministry is providing the financial resources for the implementation of the program as a so-called "lighthouse project". There has been close cooperation with the district government since the start of the program. Among other things, it is involved in the selection of participants and assigns the schools at which a practical phase is completed in the second half of the program. This was the fifth round of LehrkräftePLUS to be successfully completed at the University of Siegen.
The next 31 participants will start the program in the winter semester. They have come to Germany from a total of eight different countries of origin (Ukraine, Turkey, Syria, Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran and Pakistan) and bring with them a university degree and teaching experience in one or more subjects in STEM, English, art, music and sport. The initial focus of their further training is now on improving their German language skills in general and technical language as well as acquiring basic knowledge of the German school system.
