JRS Europe launches Understanding CHANGE (U-CHANGE), a project aiming to develop an innovative methodology on how educators can better promote critical thinking among young people and promote civic engagement with the goal of social inclusion.

While our education project CHANGE focuses on in-school educational work and awareness raising on critical thinking, U-CHANGE researches the findings from the evaluation of that work, to find out how to promote critical thinking and civic engagement among young people.

Working with existing school networks and a research institute, U-CHANGE will assess the data of 3,000 students from 9 European countries, allowing for multivariant statistical analysis in order to better understand the relationships between different variables and their influence on students’ critical thinking performance. The end goal is to promote good citizenship, in line with UN Global Education Sustainable Development Goal 4.

U-CHANGE is led by JRS-Europe and partnered with Collège St. Michel and CEBECO (Belgium); University Comillas, Institute for Studies on Migration, FND Entreculturas and FND Alboan (Spain); Popoli Insieme (Italy) and JRS Hungary.

JRS is an international Catholic organisation with a mission to accompany, serve and advocate for refugees. We do that by providing psychosocial and pastoral support in detention centers, legal counselling, education for children and adults, and many social and cultural activities as well as by advocating for structural changes in policies and legislations both at national and European level. JRS Europe is the European Regional Office and coordinates the work of 22 national offices.