Editorial

I have a dream. Today, when I ask young people what they are studying, they tell me they are studying mathematics, law, economics, music—or languages. Languages— foreign languages—are offered as one of the alternatives. My dream is that languages, as an alternative, will vanish. Students, in this dream, will be using English because they are studying law, German because they are studying engineering, Italian or French because they wish to to be doctors or architects. In this dream the use of other languages would be a means of study, and not a goal, and the use of a second and third language would be as natural as the use of books and data bases, as essential as library and computer skills.

We are a long way from this goal—but it is a goal towards which Europe's teacher educators must strive. Communication is the essence of education, and communication between Europe's language groups is essential if we are to promote the mutual learning to which the ATEE is committed. I therefore welcomed Gerard Willems's offer to guest‐edit an issue of the Journal and am delighted to introduce an issue which has more than lived up to expectations.

It is appropriate that the guest Editor of an issue devoted to the teaching of languages comes from The Netherlands. Situated at a communications crossroads, the Dutch have long realised more vividly that many other European peoples the need for skill in languages: and as one of Europe's smaller linguistic groups, they have been more prepared than larger linguistic communities to undertake the serious business of language learning. As any visitor to the country can testify, the Dutch are a model and a living reproof to any who, speaking a more widely used language, believe that the serious study of language can be left to a minority of specialists.

But Gerard Willems and his team of writers have much more to offer us than good practice. Working at the leading‐edge of their field, they have drawn on the resources of one of the ATEE's most active working groups—a working group which this year produced a book of readings, Foreign Language Learning and Teaching in Europe (edited by Gerard M. Willems & P. Riley). Here they write for a wider readership, offering us analysis, theory, help—and vision.

Mouvet's article contrasts sharply with the work of Willems and his team. Where they focus on a curriculum area, and on learning and teaching in it, she turns our attention to teacher behaviour and provides insights from the ecology of the classroom to suggest ways in which teachers’ behaviour can be modified—and the modifications maintained. She, too, stresses the professionality of the teacher and his/her autonomy in dealing constantly with the unpredictable, the spontaneous, the personal.

At the time of writing, I have just confirmed plans for a meeting of the Editorial     

The End of Citizenship? The Nation State,Threats to its Legitimacy,and Citizenship Education in the Twenty-first Century

This paper argues that whilst citizenship as a concept has a long and venerable history, present-day conceptions are relatively new, being primarily constructs created two to three hundred years ago to bolster the status and influence of fledgling western nation states. They were generated to inculcate in disparate populations the belief that their primary allegiance should not be to their region and lord, but to a larger entity of disputed size and composition, the nation state. Yet because it is a political arrangement in time, and there are such variations in its practice, there is an increasing awareness of its nature as a construction which can be deconstructed. The present status of the concept of citizenship, then, depends at least in part on the perceived legitimacy of the nation state by those who inhabit its borders. Yet this paper will argue that not only is there a greater awareness of its artificiality, but there are also forces at large in the world today which constrain its powers and threaten its legitimacy. This paper thus asks whether the nation state will be able to call upon the loyalty of its inhabitants, and be the primary focus for a commitment to a form of citizenship in the future. Further questions are then posed as to what future forms of organisations would generate greater legitimacy and what forms of citizenship and citizenship education may come to prominence in the years ahead.     

St. Ives Pathfinder Children's Trust: From Idea to Reality and Further

As the formal arrangements for Pathfinder Children's Trusts across England come to a close, and many Authorities move to firm arrangements for integrated children's services, this is an opportune moment for one pathfinder project to reflect upon its experiences over the past years and to share some of its learning about process issues. This article traces the progress of social inclusion work from its inception in the St. Ives cluster of schools through to its present-day position as a Children's Trust. As well as explaining the underlying theory and rationale for the work, a number of sound, practical lessons and pointers are offered. The article also identifies celebratory high-points of the project and highlights some implications for future developments within the context of Every Child Matters, via extended schools and children's centres.