Intercultural education in Europe: policies,practices and trends

European societies have become increasingly diverse as a result of legal and illegal migration flows, and educationists are facing the challenge of how to address the presence of migrant students. In recent years, there has been increasing activity at European level in the field of intercultural education despite the principle of subsidiarity. This article draws on 30 European level policy documents published within the last decade to analyse the dynamics influencing intercultural education in Europe. These include European Union institutions (such as European Commission, European Council, and Council of Ministers) and Council of Europe documents. Our discussions are situated within historical and contemporary European immigration policy developments. We argue that the main emphasis of recent European level policies and directives is on fostering social cohesion through incorporating migrant students. In so doing, European organisations have had to deal with arguments surrounding the legitimacy of European policy initiatives in the field of intercultural education.     

Re-inventing ‘Europe’: the case of the European dimension in Greek-Cypriot geography and history curricula

‘Europe’ has been increasingly ‘invented’ and ‘reinvented’ in discussions about education, curricula and identities over the last five decades. The ‘European dimension in education’ was a term increasingly used by the European Union and the Council of Europe to denote their educational policies encouraging national educational systems to endorse a European dimension in order to prepare young people for an increasingly integrated Europe. However, it has also been a contested term in academic writing, as some researchers critique the elitist, exclusionary and Eurocentric educational implications it may have; others welcome its pedagogic and intercultural potential. This article presents the findings of a content analysis of the history and geography curricula and textbooks used in state Greek-Cypriot primary schools and explores the possibilities of using the European dimension as a tool to alleviate ethnocentrism and traditional pedagogies in these curricula and textbooks, by presenting the application of some principles which have been used for the development of a curricular intervention in the two subjects.     

FORMATION OF THE CLASSICAL TYPE OF ACADEMY OF SCIENCES IN LATVIA

Well before the full independence of Latvia and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Latvia had begun to profoundly reform its national science system. Key events in the process were the foundation of the Latvian Union of Scientists in 1988 and the Latvian Council of Science in 1990. The next step was the radical reform of the Latvian Academy of Sciences such that it became an independent body of the classical academy type. By 1992, the Academy had adopted a new Charter and new Statutes. At the same time, the institutes which had been subordinated to the Academy became independent. In fact, many of the powers of the old Soviet‐style academy were assumed by the Council of Science and the Department of Science and Higher Education which was created within the Ministry of Education. The overall aim was to pattern Latvian science policy and its institutions on western European models.     

欧洲高等教育一体化进程及面临的挑战

1999年6月,欧洲29个国家负责高等教育的部长共同签署了旨在建成"欧洲高等教育区"的博洛尼亚宣言,启动了欧洲高等教育一体化进程.几年来,宣言提出的各项建设目标均取得了一定进展,但同时在高等教育一体化进程方面也存在不少问题,如观念转变的冲突、对改革走向的疑虑、组织领导的无力,及经费保障的欠缺等.针对这些问题,签字国部长高峰会及欧盟委员会均已表示关注,并正在逐步加以协调解决.     

ECVET and ECTS credit equivalency in higher education – A bridge too far?

The implementation within Europe of a credit system for vocational education and training known as ECVET is a European Commission priority. The potential for permeability between the ECVET and European Credit Transfer and accumulation System (ECTS) was foreseen in the Recommendation to establish ECVET in 2009, while the Bruges Communique of 2010 called for the promotion of flexible links between vocational and higher education and increased coherence between ECVET and ECTS. To this end a significant number of EU-funded projects were undertaken to explore compatibility between ECVET and ECTS. This article reviews the findings of these projects and reflects on their success in terms of achieving this policy goal. These bridging projects identified several points of compatibility between the two credit systems and produced valuable tools and frameworks to facilitate such permeability. Achieving credit equivalency between ECVET and ECTS does not appear feasible, rather the evidence points to using a learning outcomes-based equivalency framework. However, this article calls into question the sustainability of these project results with regard to the lack of success in translating these findings into practice and the lack of co-ordinated efforts to implement these findings at a national or pan European level.     

FACING THE CHALLENGES OF “EUROPEANIZATION”: SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE GREEK UNIVERSITY SYSTEM

The admission of Greece to the European Community at a moment when the European economic context was undergoing profound mutation has required a major effort of adaptation. The development of higher education in Greece has been very rapid and the employment structures have had difficulty in adapting themselves to the new situation. The close links one can notice between training and employment make education all the more vital for turning the European Communities into a united Europe. A number of decisions, among these being decision no. 89/48 adopted by the EEC at the Council meeting of 21 December 1988, are aimed at achieving this goal. A European university system is conceivable only through a harmonious integration of teachers and students into an environment characterized by great fluidity. With a view to meeting European requirements, Greece intends to improve the basic and specialized training of its administration and restructure its ministries. The need for more and better information as well as training with regard to European matters is becoming increasingly obvious. So that this effort will lead to concrete results, the role of specialists on European questions should be reconsidered.     

RECOGNITION INSTRUMENTS IN EUROPE

The various academic recognition instruments in use in Europe are presented and described. These include the oldest ones, the Council of Europe Conventions and then the so‐called Prague Convention, the two UNESCO Conventions concerning Europe, particularly the UNESCO European Convention, and most recently, the General Directives of the European Union for recognition with regard to regulated professions. Because Europe has undergone major political and social changes since the first of these conventions was signed, and higher education itself has undergone great diversification, the time has come to seriously consider the establishment of a joint Council of Europe‐UNESCO Convention. Whereas the Council of Europe Conventions con‐centrated on outcomes and the UNESCO European Convention focussed on recognition processes within the framework of a divided Europe, a combined Convention should be oriented toward acceptance for given purposes. It should include the establishment of a code of conduct and involve the participation of subject‐oriented networks and a system of intermediate classification. It should also rely on a combined system of information networks.     

Managing the Process of International Collaboration in Online Course Development: A Case-Example Involving Higher Education Institutions in Ireland,Switzerland, Austria,and the United Kingdom

There has been significant growth recently in online learning and joint programmes of education involving collaborative partnerships between and among higher education institutions in different jurisdictions. Utilising an interdisciplinary team model (Care and Scanlan 2001), we describe in this article the process of collaboration among four European institutions in Austria, Ireland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom in order to develop and deliver an accredited online course on the management of work-related stress for health and social care workers. This course was also one of the first to pilot a system of equivalency between two European vocational and higher education credit schemes to promote learner mobility and recognition of a new international qualification. Although this process of collaboration occurred within a pan-European context, important lessons may be drawn from this explanation that are of potential interest to the wider international audience.     

Core Elements of the European (Higher) Education Policy: Market-Driven Restructuring or Impetus for Intercultural Rapprochement?

For many years there has been a debate about the existence or not, of a common European education policy. In this article I argue that there has been a real European education policy since the approval of the Maastricht Treaty, with a proper content and which offers many new possibilities to students. The core of this policy is the setting up of the European Higher Education Area, designed not only for attendance-based universities, but also for distance and virtual universities. However, the policies, expected to be in force by 2010, have not been without problems and a critique of the implications for European higher education institutes is offered following an outline of the development and evolution of the policies.     

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The main concerns of the Council of Europe with regard to education are presented. In particular, the Council calls upon education to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, to create a sense of the common European home, and to rise to the major challenges facing European societies. The needs of eastern and central Europe are particular objects of attention as are attempts to deal with cultural diversity and to promote democratic values.     

ASSISTANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION LEGISLATION: THE LEGISLATIVE REFORM PROGRAMME OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Between 1989 and 1992, the Council of Europe responded to the perceived need to assist eastern and central European countries to develop a legal basis for their higher education systems that would lead to a workable and equitable balance between state control and university autonomy and academic freedom. Thus the Legislative Reform Project of the Council of Europe got underway in the spring of 1992. The results so far have been very positive. In 1996, the Council on Higher Education and Research of the Council of Europe recommended the continuation of the Project, now known as a Programme, for another four‐year period and its extension to the sectors of science and technology.     

Educational and Cultural Activities of the Council of Europe (1949-1969)

The cooperation of European educators has in recent years assumed a new dimension: it extends beyond the contacts between individual scholars or professional groups, and beyond the government-sponsored work of the Council of Europe. It is indeed a vast project of collaboration in which numerous scholars in education and the social sciences are exploring the long-range prospects of European society.     

Co-operation for Mutual Respect and Recognition in Higher Education

The author, the Chairman of the Steering Committee for Higher Education and Research of the Council of Europe, focuses on the long and constructive co-operation between UNESCO-CEPES and the Council of Europe, pointing out that some of the central building blocks of the Bologna Process are direct results of this co-operation. The Lisbon Recognition Convention and the Code of Good Practice for Transnational Education will be even more important when European higher education has to face the new challenges of global trade in educational services.     

谈民族五声性和声

民族五声性和声在我国专业音乐创作中已普遍使用,并逐渐形成自己相对完整的体系．但是,在许多音乐院校的和声教学中,长期以来讲授的仍然是欧洲传统和声,而对民族正声性和声的讲解则相对较少,有的院校根本就不涉及,致使大多数学生在学了和声学之后,仍然对民族多声音乐不甚了解．在音乐写作中,常常用欧洲传统和声配以民族五声性的旋律,造成了和声与旋律风格的严重脱节。应尽快改革和声教学中的这种不合理现象．     

对于高校学生党员教育的一些思考

随着党中央、国务院16号文件的深入实施,各高校学生党员蓬勃发展。高校党建工作特别是学生党员的教育出现了新情况、新矛盾、新问题。结合新时期大学生党员教育的现状,深入研究和思考,探索出学生党员教育的新途径和新方法。     

绿党在欧洲一体化中的地位与作用

绿党是近 30年在西欧兴起的一支新的政治力量。它自一诞生就参加了欧洲议会选举 ,并最终成长为欧洲议会中第三大政治力量。绿党在经济、社会、安全、外交等各项政策上提出了一系列与其他政党不同的主张 ,对欧洲一体化建设产生了明显的影响。进入 2 0世纪 90年代后半期 ,绿党在欧盟 5个国家加入了联合政府 ,并渗透到欧盟委员会、部长会议等重要决策机构当中 ,对欧盟决策的影响越来越大     

The application of a strategic management model to the internationalization of higher education institutions

The growth of international activities within higher education institutions takes place in a number of different ways ranging from the ad hoc (reactive) to the strategic (proactive). This paper draws on an earlier (1993) empirical study by the author of UK Business Schools in order to identify the key elements within any process of internationalization and to provide a framework for assessing levels of international activity within institutions. It concludes with an introductory model of internationalization which is to form the basis for future work. The paper is written from a UK perspective but can be adapted for the analysis of educational institutions in other countries and other subject areas.Abbreviations CATS Credit Accumulation and Transfer Schemes - CNAA Council for National Academic Awards - EAIE European Association of International Education - EC European Commission - ECTS European Credit Transfer Scheme - EFMD European Foundation for Management Development - ERASMUS European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students (EC programme) - HE Higher Education - MBA Master of Business Administration - TEMPUS Trans-European Mobility Scheme for University Studies (EC programme) - UK United Kingdom - UKCOSA United Kingdom Council for Overseas Student Affairs     

Metaphor and Totem: Exploring and evaluating prior experiential learning

The evaluation and recognition of prior experiential learning is now well established. A significant issue in such evaluations has been the centrality of the learner and his/her empowerment in the educational process. However, most models of evaluation require equivalency between the unique experiences of the subject and existing course analogues. In these models evaluation is based on metaphor, on finding varying degrees of similarity between the experience being assessed and currently existing academic structures. The present paper calls for a richer perspective to be taken in assessing prior experiential learning with particular interest being seen in the notion of totemism as characterised by anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss. A replacement of metaphor by totemism may restore power, ownership and centrality of the experience to the candidate for assessment, while allowing evaluators an opportunity to engage in a novel but authentic articulation of the underlying academic equivalency of the experience.