Project Title: Transnational Collaboration on Bullying, Migration, and Integration at School Level (TRIBES) )

Project Aims & Objectives:

With immigration a growing, permanent and fractious part of the EU’s reality, integration is of foremost concern for policy-makers in Europe, and schools are recognised as an essential part of social stability and a key aspect of integration policy both at national and EU level. Schools provide crucial education for integration and citizenship, long term directly affecting social status, professional achievement, economic earning power and students understanding of cultural morality and societal principles, allowing both the individual to prosper, and the state and EU to benefit and build on their potential as a valuable new resource.

School safety, building inclusion and preventing bullying for all students is central to integration and their well-being. Yet in the face of a far more diverse society schools face challenges that they are largely not currently supported for. The scientific measures of school safety used today are outdated and do not reflect a modern, multi-cultural, multi-faith, Europe, while school communities are working in a fragmented, individualised manner in the areas of inclusion and bullying prevention.

This proposed COST Action aims to: enhance collaboration between stakeholders to update, enhance and pilot new ‘real world’ scientific measures and approaches, collate evaluated interventions and approaches around inclusion and bullying prevention to disseminate a comprehensive program/handbook for schools and a guideline policy document for authorities, building capacity, and working holistically towards ensuring the integration, safety and well-being of all students in EU secondary schools, to aid in the social stability of both the individual and society.

Scholars/Institutions: Bárbara Bäckström Universidade Aberta

Start Date: April 1, 2019

End Date: 09/30/2023

Findings/Outcomes:

Context rules paper
Handbook chapters

Project Webpage: https://www.cost.eu/actions/ca18115/

Funding Institution: COST ACTION

Keywords: Migration - Integration - Bullying - School - Transnational

Country of Publication:

• Portugal

Project Title: Religious Identity, Bullying and Wellbeing at School: A Transnational Collaboration (ORBIT)

Project Aims & Objectives:

The search for wellbeing has been expressed in different ways over time. In recent years wellbeing
both as concept and lived reality has gained increasing prominence in international education
literature.
Although frequently neglected in wellbeing research, there is an emerging body of research that
connects human wellbeing and religion. Overall, this research shows that religion is good for
wellbeing, with certain aspects of religion better correlated with certain aspects of wellbeing.
However, religious identity can be stigmatised at school and at work, and this is often supported by
narratives in mainstream media that represent those of a religious identity as naïve, uncaring,
and/or fanatical. Further, the experiences of those from a traditionally majority religious position
which goes into rapid decline are a subject of some concern internationally.
When students feel forced to conceal or deny their religious identity, both personal and communal
(school community) wellbeing are compromised. Moreover, societies with declining levels of
religious engagement could be at risk of declines in personal and societal wellbeing.
This COST Action delves into the correlation between religious identity, bullying, and wellbeing, and
the implications for students, school communities, and European societies. lt provides a conduit for
researchers, policy makers, and educators to consider the relationship between religious identity,
wellbeing and inclusion. Through the objectives of each Working Group, the members of the Action
can examine how religious identity contributes to the wellbeing of individuals, family, communities,
and societies.

Scholars/Institutions: barbara backstrom universidade aberta

Start Date: April 1, 2025

End Date: 04/01/2029

Findings/Outcomes:

not yet

Project Webpage: https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA23120/

Keywords: education - religion - bullying - wellbeing - identity

Country of Publication:

• Portugal