Erasmus+ Courses for Teachers and Educators

Teaching in an International Classroom

International classrooms are becoming more common across Europe and the world. Different cultural backgrounds, different home languages, different migration experiences, and different expectations of school life. Those are just a few of the elements we now need to juggle with. The classic challenges are still there: lack of motivation, different needs, overwhelming new technologies. It is indeed a lot. In Understanding Academy we are committed to help by facilitating a space of reflection, framed in academical knowledge that we always dissect and criticize.

The course explored how teachers can support students not only academically, but also emotionally and socially. Participants reflected on what it means to create a classroom where students feel safe, respected, included, and able to participate.

Safe Spaces, Happiness, and Success in Education

A central part of the Erasmus+ training was the creation of safe spaces in the classroom. Teachers discussed how safety, trust, respect, and participation influence learning.

The course also invited participants to reflect on the meaning of happiness and success in education. Instead of looking only at grades or academic results, teachers explored broader questions:

What does it mean for a student to feel successful?
How can a classroom support well-being and motivation?
How can teachers create learning environments where students are encouraged to take risks, make mistakes, and grow?

These reflections helped connect classroom practice with the wider values of education.

Our Reality

During the course, participants discussed several important topics related to diversity and inclusion in European schools. These included migration, brain drain, people returning to their home countries after living abroad, and the experiences of newcomer students. The group also explored the complexity of welcoming students and families whose histories may be connected to colonialism, displacement, inequality, or recent social and political conflict. These conversations helped participants think about how schools can support inclusion with sensitivity, awareness, and responsibility.

The course encouraged teachers to move beyond simple definitions of diversity. Participants considered how identity, language, culture, history, social background, and institutional values all influence the classroom experience.

What really makes our courses distinctive is their space to work actively and design practical interventions, instead of just keeping it theoretical. The training combined discussion, reflection, collaboration, and hands- on planning. Teachers shared experiences from their own schools and worked together to design practical classroom activities that can be adapted to different age groups, subjects, and educational contexts.

Participants brainstormed solutions for real classroom situations, reflected on personal and institutional values, and developed ready-to-use activities connected to intercultural learning, inclusion, integration, student participation, and classroom safety. The course gave teachers the opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues from other European countries and to compare different educational realities. This international exchange is one of the key benefits of Erasmus+ teacher training, as it allows participants to learn from each other and return to their schools with new perspectives, practical tools and new connections.

Erasmus+ Professional Development for Teachers. Is this course also for you?

Teaching in an International Classroom Happily and Successfully is part of Understanding Academy’s Erasmus+ professional development offer for teachers and education staff.

The course is suitable for teachers, school leaders, support staff, adult educators, and other professionals who want to improve their practice in international, multicultural, multilingual, or diverse learning environments.

The main themes of the course include:
Intercultural education
Inclusive education
Diversity in schools
Integration of newcomer students
Safe learning spaces
Student well-being
Teacher reflection
Classroom participation
International education
Practical Erasmus+ teacher training activities

We thank the teachers from Portugal and Romania who joined this Erasmus+ course and contributed their experiences, reflections, and ideas.

Would you like to join one of our next Erasmus+ teacher training courses?

Explore our Erasmus+ courses for teachers and discover practical training opportunities in international education, intercultural learning, diversity, inclusion, and safe classroom environments.