Migration as an “independent variable” of intercultural cognition. Challenges for the contemporary teacher

This article is aimed to look at ‘migration’ as a complex social category to support teachers in their preparation for working with students of diverse cultural backgrounds. In all likelihood, the national composition of Polish school will change significantly shortly. Students with complex and non-obvious immigrant experiences will dominate in the first stage. Like an “independent variable”, they will condition the course of social relations, including school relations. Supporting each teacher in extensive preparation for responsible work with students with different cultural experiences becomes a professional necessity and a (self-) educational challenge. As a first step, teachers should, therefore, become familiar with the typology of migration. This knowledge will make it easier for them to determine with whom they are working, i.e. with which baggage of cultural, identity, and migration experiences the other Person comes to them. Secondly, the practical preparation of educators should include intercultural education content to realistically respond to emerging expectations (of students and parents) and the resulting changes and even difficulties. Thirdly, the teacher should understand that, especially, mass immigration is associated with the emergence of overlapping identities, attitudes (including resentment) and the hybridisation of social life. Anticipatory education for a common and promising European future requires the courageous formulation of questions and the search for ways to solve them. For the time being, however, there is a perceptible gap in the intercultural preparation of teachers. It should be reduced as soon as possible because a new society is forming. Its formation should be responsible and accepted by the parties to this process, i.e., the contribution of the educational processes should be crucial.