Paper short abstract:

The presentation explores the issue of intercultural education and its limitations in the case of teaching practices of Ukrainian children in Polish schools. The paper focuses not only on the structural problems but also on cultural, linguistic, relational, affective, and cognitive dimensions.

Paper long abstract:

The outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2014 and its second phase that started in February 2022 revealed the practical implications of the massive influx of refugees and the necessary changes in the educational plain in Poland. The unexpected outcome of the first months of the presence of Ukrainian children in Polish schools and preschools and the sheer scale of the endeavor gives us several indicators of how cultural differences and intercultural exchange of experiences might be incorporated into effective teaching strategies and everyday pedagogical praxis. The key issue in the case of Ukrainian children is, however, the complicated and nuanced aspect of war trauma and trouble in adaptation to the dynamics of current reality.

Having in mind how difficult it can be to work with war traumatized victims, we could highlight in the first step the existing limitations of the state of things in order to proceed to and eventually introduce effective and pragmatic solutions. However, this simple formula faces many obstacles in the public sphere, and the case of Poland is no exception in that regard.

The aim of the paper focuses on that very pragmatic perspective along with the introduction of the notion of pedagogical sensibility. The term is being understood here as a set of skills and mindsets that allows to overcome not just structural limitations but also delivers much-needed intersubjective dialogue with people of different cultures.