"Intercultural Education and Competence", edited by A. Portera and C. A. Grant (original) (raw)

A Year of Living Interculturally: The European Year of Intercultural Dialogue (2008). Draft

This draft paper on the European Union’s ‘Year of Intercultural Dialogue’ (2008) and other related programmes by the EU and the Council of Europe (CoE) is intended eventually as a chapter in a longer study (perhaps a book) on intercultural knowledge, intercultural dialogue, and interculturalism, others bits of which also exist in draft form. Here I review what ‘intercultural dialogue’ meant to the EU and the CoE, why they thought it necessary to engage with intercultural dialogue, what they hoped to achieve through such engagement, and how they set about implementing dialogue through various initiatives (‘actions’) mainly in the period since the turn of the 21st century. It also asks whether the end result was any more than ‘Words, Words, Words’. There is a large academic and other literature on the EU and the CoE which directly or indirectly relates to the subject matter of this paper. While noting its relevance where necessary and helpful (for example as part of the background and context), the paper is not intended primarily as a contribution to the study of European institutions. My main concern is with intercultural dialogue and with what those institutions said and did about it, and where and how that fits into more general theoretical and empirical concerns about interculturalism. I welcome thoughts, comments, corrections of fact, and, although the paper is already far too long, suggestions for further reading and additional references which ought to be cited.

The Europeanisation of Intercultural Education? Responses from EU policymakers

Educational Review, 2015

European societies rely on different models to address cultural and religious diversity in education, with different potential consequences for the experiences youth have in schools. Some prefer the term intercultural education emphasising dialogue and interaction while others have historically followed the idea of multicultural education. In recent years, despite the principle of subsidiarity, European institutions have become a key player in education including intercultural education. This article draws on four semi-structured interviews with European Union (EU) education policy-makers to explore the Europeanisation of intercultural education, specifically why and how national educational discourses are shaped by European directives and guidelines. We found that European discourses often run counter to national policies and that EU officials are deeply engaged in promoting intercultural educational philosophies and tackling the educational attainment gaps via the soft-law tool of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). The study raises questions about the legitimacy of such EU interventions in national policy domains and assesses the usefulness of a more integrated approach to intercultural education in Europe.

Increasing imperative of the intercultural education in European policies, initiatives and actions

2021

Through increasing cultural diversity of European countries education in general and higher education in particular become the constructive force to promote social cohesion and integration. The European higher education policies have manifested the increasing attention towards importance of intercultural learning at all levels of education including higher education. In the research the major EU policy-related documents, initiatives, programmes and organizations responsible for education policies are analyzed through introducing of the key themes and priorities connected with development of intercultural learning. The chronological scope of the study covers the last twenty-year period due to the enormous changes occurred in the field of higher education under increasing multicultural perspective in Europe.

Definitions and Contexts of Intercultural Dialogue in European Policy Documents

Intercultural Dialogue in the European Education Policies, 2020

In this chapter, we analyse how the concept of intercultural dialogue is both explicitly and implicitly used in European education policy documents. First, we explore how the concept is explicitly dealt with in the documents and how its meanings are produced in relation to other concepts and terms, such as culture, cultural heritage, identity, inclusion, empathy, tolerance, multiculturalism, citizenship, participation, and social responsibility. We pay special attention to the values and ideals conveyed by the education policy documents in general and these concepts in particular. Second, we discuss the thematic overlap of these concepts and how different concepts, terms, and conceptual expressions can be used interchangeably in policy documents. These examples illuminate the conceptual network and semantics of the concept of intercultural dialogue.

Call For Papers (Extended): Intercultural Competence in Communication and Education (ICCEd-2015)

Contradictorily the concept of intercultural competence is both polysemic and empty at the same time. Researchers, practitioners but also decision makers use it almost mechanically without always worrying about its meaning(s), the ideologies it represents, the impact(s) it has on those who are embedded in its discussions and the injustice it can (too easily) lead to such as neo-racism. A few ‘usual suspects’ – mostly derived from English-speaking researchers/practitioners who enjoy prestige thanks to the symbolic violence of English as a World Language and/or prestigious supranational support – whose work is systematically (and uncritically) mentioned have often managed volens nolens to keep mainstream global understandings of intercultural competence simplified, fuzzy, idealistic and/or unrealistic. For example the ‘faulty’ keywords of culture, tolerance and respect are still present in discussions of intercultural competence. This call for papers is interested in new, critical and original discussions and approaches to intercultural competence that go beyond these problematic ‘macdonaldised’ models and ‘reinventing the wheel’ perspectives. The conference is interdisciplinary and covers the ‘broad’ fields of communication and education. The organisers are looking for contributions which are questioning the most ‘influential’ models of intercultural competence and/or who have attempted (un)successfully to develop new understandings and models of intercultural competence. The organisers wish to promote the idea that failure is also inherent to intercultural competence. The question of assessment can be touched upon but the idea that intercultural competence can be summatively assessed should be abandoned. The organisers consider intercultural competence to be synonymous with multicultural competence, cross-cultural competence, global competence, etc. as these labels are also unstable and have many different meanings. The organisers are especially interested in fresh perspectives from all parts of the world. Historical/diachronic papers ‘denouncing’ reinventing the wheel approaches as well as alternative methods and approaches are very welcome (e.g. use of bodily experiences).

Intercultural education policies across Europe as responses to cultural diversity (2006-2016)

2017

Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche, Sociali e della Comunicazione UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI SALERNO ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to trace the dynamics of the development of the intercultural education within the education policies across Europe. The brief summary of the IE development during previous four decades is presented. The principal part of the paper is dedicated to the content analysis of the EU education policies documents in regards of IE during the last decade 2006-2016. So far there is no agreed definition on this type of education, so I tried to clarify (through research articles and policy documents) the latest approaches (trends, preferences, boundaries, prejudices, etc.) on using the terminology Multicultural and/or Intercultural Education, its interpretation in academic papers and in policy documents. The debates on multiculturalisminterculturalism are referred to with the purpose to learn how these debates influence the European education policies. I in...