Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2026 Newsletter
Young Active Citizens: The Participation of Preschool Roma Children in a European eTwinning Project by Garyfalia Papasotiri
eTwinning projects contribute substantially to the development of social, emotional and cultural skills of young children, while strengthening the school’ s openness to society and Europe. The establishment of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals forms a common reference framework for Education for Sustainable Development, within which eTwinning projects can function as fields of mutual learning and intercultural dialogue.
This paper explores the contribution of Roma preschool children’ s participation in a European eTwinning project to the development of active citizenship, collaboration, inclusion and digital skills. The study was carried out at the 14th Kindergarten of Agrinio, which exclusively serves Roma children, during the 2025- 2026 school year. The program involved 18 toddlers and preschoolers, who collaborated with students aged 5-10 from five European countries. The study was implemented in the authentic context of the school classroom, through
experiential, playful, collaborative and digitally supported activities. Observations of the children ' s participation, the evaluation of learning outcomes and digital questionnaires via Google were used to evaluate the progress and results of the project. Forms, which were addressed to students, teachers and parents. The results revealed a high level of participation and interest of the students, as well as a positive contribution of the project to the development of cooperation, communication, creativity, autonomy and digital skills.
At the same time, teachers and parents positively assessed the contribution of the project to the cultivation of values, such as respect, responsibility and solidarity, as well as to the development of the concept of active citizenship. In conclusion, the participation of Roma children of preschool age in collaborative European eTwinning projects can function as an important tool for inclusive education, social empowerment and strengthening active participation, contributing to the connection of the school with the family, the European community and the wider society.
Education is a key institution of socialization and, together with the family, contributes to the development of knowledge, skills and values that facilitate the smooth integration of the individual into society( Zacharias, 2018). In the modern multicultural reality, school and especially kindergarten are called upon to address cultural diversity as a learning opportunity and not as a factor of educational inequalities. For this reason,
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