Study Excursion in Pamplona: Dreams Essential to Re-Imagining Our School Systems

27 July 2023

Photo: UHH/ Wieder und Akçiçek

As part of the transnational project La escuela de mis sueños: una perspectiva crítica de los sistemas escolares y propuestas educativas de mejora (“The School of My Dreams: A Critical Perspective of School Systems and Pedagogical Suggestions for Improvement”), teacher training students of Spanish (master’s program) now have an opportunity, from 29 May 2023 to 2 June 2023, to take part in an exchange at the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona.

The goal of the project is to facilitate discussion with Spanish teacher training students and take a critical look at school systems in national and international contexts. The in-person exchange is titled Titel Desarollando la reflexión crítica sobre sistemas escolares (“developing critical reflection upon school systems”) and involves excursions to schools and seminars on critical reflection.

Two students report on their own stays:

“Once we arrived in sunny, charming Pamplona, were were already able on the first evening to meet our tandem partners for a cozy dinner. Together with the instructor for the complementary seminar to the advanced internship, Franziska Gerwers, and the program’s co-directors, Lisa Marie Brinkmann and Dr. Pilar Gerns, we also got to taste some culinary delicacies from Basque country: Pintxos. More cultural highlights awaited during the week, including a guided tour through Pamplona, part of which led to the Corridas de toro.

At the University, we talked about interesting lectures on language acquisition and theoretical findings and gained some insight into various models of the school system there (English-Spanish / Basque-Spanish). In the Basque language, we even got a look at an introductory course in the afternoon. Our conclusion: a challenging language for grammar!

Another important moment at the university was the round table with Spanish students. At first, we shared a few ideas on ecological perspectives and linguistic landscapes. Then we talked in smaller groups about the various aspects of the school system, such as multilingualism, emotional competencies, and inclusion, and created posters on these topics that, at the conclusion, we could look at while walking around, enjoying an aperitif, and Spanish finger-food—tortillas and croquettes.

At a private boys’ school with a bilingual English offer, we could observe various classes and become familiar with the teaching principles and atmosphere. At the end, we ate lunch together in the teachers’ cafeteria and reflected upon our impressions. To compare, we also visited a bilingual Basque-Spanish primary school in Urnieta, near Donostia. The children’s warmth and huge interest in their Basque language and culture were stunning! In the afternoon, we visited Universidad del País Vasco and learned more about the topics of gender and foreign language instruction and reflected critically on our future Spanish lessons.

On our last day we had a lot of opportunity for critical discussion regarding the status of the German school system and time to reflect upon the past few days—a fitting conclusion to the trip.

We would like to thank our instructors, Franziska Gerwers and Lisa Marie Brinkmann, as well as Dr. Pilar Gerns, for facilitating, conducting, and escorting us through this exchange. This project left us with a treasure trove cultural, friendly and linguistic experiences alongside critical thinking skills that will accompany us for a long time on our paths as future teachers.”

Photo: UHH/ Wieder und Akçiçek