The idea behind the mentoring project

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In the Nightingale programme, a student from the University of Teacher Education Zug is paired with a child (8-12 years, mainly but not only with immigrant background) from the Guthirt Primary School in the city of Zug. Mentor and child get together for approximately 2-3 hours every fortnight over the period of November to May. During these informal meetings the mentor and child do enjoyable and everyday activities together.
The main purpose of Nightingale is to contribute to cross-cultural understanding and intercultural learning. Moreover, the Nightingale programme is based on the idea of «mutual benefit» - benefit for both child and student. The mentor acts as a positive role model by establishing a personal relationship with the child. This in turn helps strengthen the child’s personal and social confidence. The student gains an insight into a child’s life (and family), an increased knowledge, understanding and empathy for people who lead lives completely different to their own. This will prove to be an asset as they continue their higher education courses and then in their subsequent professional careers. Currently, the Nightingale project is funded by the Integration Programme (KIP) of the canton of Zug, the Beisheim-Stiftung as well as the Ernst Göhner Stiftung.

The origin of Nightingale
The Nightingale mentoring programme was established 1997 at the Swedish Malmö University. In 2006, Nightingale was implemented in seven European countries through the EU-network «Mentor Migration», financed by the EU-programme Comenius 2.1.The Nightingale mentoring programme has expanded internationally to more than 20 sites. All European partners have joined  The Nightingale Mentoring Network.

Publications

In 2014, IZB conducted a programme evaluation as well as an analysis on learning process of mentors in the «Nightingale»Programme.

The results can be found in the following publications.

• Leutwyler, B., Aegerter, M. & Meierhans, C. (2014). «Nightingale» in Teacher Education: Program Evaluation. Research article. Zug: Institute for International Cooperation in Education at the University of Teacher Education Zug.
• Leutwyler, B., Aegerter, M. & Meierhans, C. (2014).«Nightingale» in Teacher Education: A focus on the mentors. Learning processes and impact analysis. La Famiglia, 48 (258), 281-305.