Welcome to the website of the MIKA network!

MIKA is an acronym that stands for the German words for migration, competence, and literacy and is a national network of partners supported by the European Social Fund and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research.

MIKA was operating from 2008 to 2018 and pursued the goal of professionalizing education throughout Austria for basic education professionals (“basic skills teachers”) in the migration society. Educational and professional development programmes as well as new materials for basic adult education were developed. Networking and quality development were further elements of this work. At this website, you can find information about the network, the services and the products of MIKA.

After 2018, this website is still maintained in order to provide access to the MIKA products, but there are no updates anymore.

Workshops in Austria until 2018:

Materials: Pool of open access teaching materials: use them, adapt them, add on to them!

Key concepts:

* Migration

Migration touches not only on territorial boundaries but also on symbolic boundaries of belonging. As a result, the following key questions arise and guide the work of our network: How do we deal with difference, heterogeneity and inequality? What challenges arise for those of us active in the area of basic education for migrants? How can we meet these challenges as part of the professionalization process occurring in the MIKA network?

* Competence orientation

We understand competence orientation in basic education to be a strength-oriented approach that places learners with their many competences at the centre. The point is not for the learner to deliver previously determined results or to be integrated into existing systems. Instead, the goal of these processes is that learners display, value and appreciate in themselves and others the abilities, knowledge and strategies that they apply and develop daily as they manage their lives competently.

* Literacy

The term “literacy” as we understand it today has been replaced by the more comprehensive term “basic education” and is clearly delineated from a purely technical concept of learning how to read, write and do arithmetic. In addition, basic education focuses on social, democratic, participatory, self-critical and action-oriented dimensions of life – see “Prinzipien und Richtlinien für Basisbildungsangebote” (Principles and guidelines for basic education offerings).

In our brochure “MIKA Migration - Kompetenz - Alphabetisierung” (MIKA Migration ‒ Competence ‒ Literacy; 2014) you can read more about the history of our work.