A Uniting Europe, a Dividing Education? Euro‐centrism and the Curriculum (original) (raw)
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The process of European integration is also a project of identity construction-for 'Europe' to be able to define its role and position in the world and for the 'European peoples' to identify with 'Europe' and its present political and social reality. As the foundations of an embryonic European state were laid down, the need to create a European demos arose more vividly than ever. The 'permissive consensus' was deemed no longer sufficient in achieving the objectives set out for the European Union. The construction and promotion of a new level of belonging, symbolised by the identity of the Union, was seen as a solution to the problems that it has been facing in terms of public support and loyalty. This study, by focusing on the education policy of the European Union, hopes to shed light on one dimension of this process of identity construction. It is argued here that education was seen as a key medium through which a common culture, shared values and aspirations were inculcated among the peoples of 'Europe'. Parallel to this, the policy discourse of the Union in this field contained clues as to how the institutions of the Union viewed its identity and that of its peoples. To explore these and their policy implications, this study applies a discourse analysis framework to analyse representations of the Union's identity in the official texts of the European Union in the sphere of education policy.
Editorial. Europe as an Educational Framework: Cultures, Values and Dialogues
The reality of Europe is that it comprises diverse cultures, with different ways of thinking, feeling and behaving. However, over and above these characteristics, there is common ground which is accepted, in theory at least, by its citizens and politicians. This basis may be summarized as: human rights and universal citizenship. This common base allows for and facilitates that frequently controversial political, social and civic dialogue which is the foundation on which a common European identity may be built. European identity synthesizes and integrates the national feeling of the individual into the wider element of being Europeans, and, more generally, into being citizens of the global village. This national, European and international confluence and coexistence can only be possible if, in addition to personal references and the standards of our own nations, we accept those superior values which are common to all human beings by the mere fact of being a person with dignity: such ...
2006
This thesis explores some of the issues concerning the concept of European identity. In particular, the aim is to assess how far school education is a suitable method to foster a European identity and support for European integration. In this context, the thesis aims to investigate whether the historic and more recent political and national developments in England and Germany have resulted in different attitudes to European integration, European identity and subsequently to a European dimension in education. The analysis also compares the general attitude towards national and European identity and European integration in England and Germany and assesses if different attitudes have resulted in a different implementation of a European dimension in education. To facilitate this analysis, the political and national development in England and Germany as well as the emergence of the European idea and the history of European integration will be discussed. The assessment of a European dimension in secondary education in England and Germany includes an analysis of documentary material and selected curricula. In addition, a survey has been carried out among a sample of German and English head and subject teachers to explore aspects of the practical implementation of a European dimension. The findings show that there are significant differences between the two countries concerning their understanding and implementation of a European dimension in education. Many of these differences can be attributed to different attitudes to national and European identity and European integration. 3 CONTENTS List of Tables and Graphs P. 9 List of Abbreviations P. 1 1 Acknowledgments p. 13 Author's Declaration p. 14 Aims of the thesis p. 17 Structure of the thesis p. 1. State structure and development in Western Europe p. Nationalism p. 53 2.2 Nations and nationalism p. 2.3 The origin of nations: modernism versus perennialism p. 2.4 The nature of nations: primordialist or instrumentalist? p. 62 2.5 The development of nationalism and the nation state in Germany p. 66 " The Kultumation p. 66 " National unity and nation state formation p. " The rise and decline of the national idea in the twentieth century p. 76 " The Third Reich p. 77 " Postwar partition and unification p. 77 2.6 The development of nationalism and the nation state in England and Britain P. 80 " The early nation p. 81 " Tudor Protestantism and national sentiment p. 83 " Englishness and Britishness p. 85 " Redefining the nation p. 88 " The twentieth century P. 90 2.7 Conclusions p. 92 3. The development of the European idea until the Second Worl d War P. 95 3.1 0 Mitteleuropa P. 1 11 3.6 Conclusion p. 1 12 4. Euro pean integration after 1945 p. 114 4.1 Introduction p. 1 14 4.2 General assumptions and limitations p. 1 15 4.3 Functional Federalism or federal Functionalism: European Integration from 1945 to 1960 p. 16 " The federalist idea ad postwar Europe p. 1 " Functionalism and neo-functionalism P. 1 " The Council of Europe p. 121 " The functionalist approach at work: the foundation of the ECSC p. 123 " From the ECSC to the EEC p. 125 4.4 The era of I nte rgovern mentalism: European integration from the 1960s to the mid 1980s p. 127 " Enlargement, Gaullism and the turn to "I ntergove m mentalism p. 127 " The Council of Europe and global Interdependence p. 131 4.5 European integration revival in the 1980s and 1990s: European Union and the Single Currency p. 134 " The Single European Act and the Single Market Programme p. 134 " The Maastricht Treaty and the foundation of the 6 European Union p. 138 The EU and the nation state p. 139 4.6 The future of the EU p. 140 4.7 Conclusions p. 142 5. Euro pean identity p. 145 * Nation and sovereignty in England p. 162 5.6 Conclusions p. 164 6. The European dimension in the school curriculum p. 166 6.1 Introduction: European citizenship, identity and education p. 166 6.2 Education and young people's attitudes to Europe p. 168 6.3 EU policy and the European dimension in education p-173 6.4 The European dimension in education in Germany and England p. 178 " Government guidelines in relation to the " European dimension in education in Germany p. 178 " Government guidelines regarding the European dimension in education in England p. 183 6.5 The German school system p. 189 6.6 The English school system p. 192 6.7 The European dimension in the curriculum in Germany and England p. 194 9 The European dimension in the German 7 curriculum p. 197 41 The European dimension in the English curriculum p. 6.8 Defining the European Dimension p. 6.9 Conclusions p. 21 0 7. Implementing a European dimension in education p. 213
Building up European identity in primary education
Journal of Educational Sciences, 2019
Building up the personal identity is a lifelong process, as identity can change, according with the groups of belonging, with new knowledge and changes of beliefs and contexts. There are more stable components of identity, like the values and attitudes, but there are contexts and experiences that sharpen different aspects of the identity. The article argues that education systems in Europe have responsibilities in supporting learners to develop their competences to act as citizens at local, national and European levels and thus have also the legitimacy to contribute to the development of a European identity and of a sense of belonging to Europe. Furthermore, it argues that such a process can and should start already in early ages. Therefore, teachers in primary school need appropriate competences to foster a positive identification of children with Europe and European values. They need to master intercultural competence, appropriate pedagogical and methodological approaches, they need to reflect on how to design teaching and learning contexts meant to stimulate, in a joyful, playful, attractive and consistent manner the building up of a European identity. The article mirrors the training needs of primary school teachers of 3 rd and 4 th grade in Western Romania, to develop these competences and be able to foster such process. The assessment of the training needs of primary school teachers involved covered all aspects of the competence, including values, attitudes, as well as the knowledge about EU, and their reflection on their teaching practices. The conclusions of the analysis can be useful for further training programs and reconceptualization of (initial) teacher education.
European Journal of Education , 2016
Today, national identities are being challenged and transformed by devolution and regionalisation on the one hand, and ever-increasing processes of European integration and globalisation on the other (Guibernau 2007). Academics and policy-makers alike continue to debate questions such as what Europe is, what content may be ascribed to a European identity, and to what extent it is hybrid ised by and compatible with other identities (Malmborg & Stråth, 2001; Dinan, 2004; Tsoukalis, 2003; Triandafyllidou, 2012). The idea of developing a sense of European citizenship and identity amongst young people has been promoted by EU and non-EU institutions for the past three decades and many projects have been launched in pursuit of this objective, particularly within the sensitive fields of education and culture (Faas, 2010). Research on the implementation of the European dimension in schools and of its influence on students, particularly in terms of their identities, remains underexplored. The first part of this article provides a brief overview of the policy on the European dimension in education, which aims to promote a European identity amongst young people. We then outline the methodology of this study and the rationale for comparing a state school with a European School in England. The third and fourth sections discuss the findings from each school in turn, focusing on students’ identifications with Europe and the perceived influence of the school ethos and curricula.
The European Dimension in Education: a new strategy to an ancient theme
Diestro Fernández, A., García Blanco, M. (2016). The European Dimension in Education: a new strategy to an ancient theme. Vienna. ÖGfE Policy Brief, 03’2016, 2016
Europe must reinvent itself in one of the weakest institutional, political and social moments of its recent history. It is a must to find innovative political and social strategies capable of reorienting the European debate towards other key dimensions of the political process, beyond the economical and market needs. Therefore, the aim is to achieve a greater and better Europe through ideas that will contribute to favour the stability of the project. In this case, we propose a political joint strategy between the European Union and the Council of Europe, with the aim of favouring the European Dimension in Education in the educational policies and a firm commitment of the countries to support this idea. The European Dimension in Education is an original concept of the educational policies of the Council of Europe and the European Union, which never had the approval from the Member States. It is an idea that has had certain importance in the politics, considered as a pro-European educational trend, but has had very little impact on real actions and policy. This so, we propose the establishment of a political strategy and a joint roadmap, integrating the European Dimension in Education's political and pedagogical heritage in the Council of Europe and the European Union; involving the political, pedagogical and social agents in a joint process of analysis and re-thinking which will reorient and enhance cooperation in education. Four main areas of action and three main elements, as well as the launching of a document within the existing regulatory framework, supporting these political and pedagogical trends are suggested
Critical intercultural perspectives on the place of education in Europe
The texts mentioned in this work are an insights into social, economic, political and cultural impacts on education and modern understanding of diversities in our societies. The analysis points to which extent cultural differences have been evolving into scope of strategies through a time period which connects the past and the present. This represents several references - cultural differences, racism and activism of progressive change - to critical questioning of how it was previously and how it is nowadays a picture of multicultural societies through educational lenses.