For the second year running the Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology offers an international seminar through the Study Abroad programme

A group of eight master’s and doctoral students from the University of Illinois, USA, visited the URV from 19 to 23 March for a seminar on primary education offered by the Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology through the Study Abroad programme. During the stay they participated in various sessions with education professionals and teachers and visited two schools in the city of Tarragona to observe the differences between Catalan and American schools.

The seminar included theoretical sessions given by a school head teacher, primary school teachers, university professors and an education inspector, which were complemented by the exchange of experiences between American students and URV students. In addition, international students visit the Pax school and the Sant Pau school in Tarragona to observe the differences between the school systems in the two countries first hand and in a real-life context, according to Ramon Palau, professor at the Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology who coordinates the international seminar.

The sessions were organised in four blocks each presenting different aspects of primary education. The first one dealt with Europe’s education systems and compared the quality of the systems, the independence of schools and compulsory education. The second block dealt with linguistic immersion with Catalan as a case study. The third block dealt with the main methods used to welcome and integrate migrant students into the classroom, including reception classes, individual planning and the distribution of students between schools. The fourth block reviewed the different ways teachers can enter the labour market depending on whether they want to go to a public school, a private school or a mixed public-private funded school.