Intercultural Approaches To Education

This open access book provides an analysis of contemporary societies and schools shaped by cultural diversity, globalization and migration. This diversity is necessarily reflected in education systems and requires the promotion of intercultural approaches able to improve learning processes and the quality of education. From an international and comparative perspective, this book first presents theoretical and conceptual foundations for seriously considering cultural diversity. The book also compares intercultural approaches and debates generated in countries as diverse as the United States, Canada, Brazil, Switzerland and France. For each national context, the book addresses both the historical roots of intercultural approaches and the concrete initiatives driven by educational policies for their implementation in schools and classrooms. Finally, the book presents discussions surrounding the treatment of linguistic or religious diversity in schools, the emergence of global citizenship education and the key role of teachers in intercultural approaches. This is an open access book.

Intercultural language education has redefined the modern languages agenda in Europe and North America. Now intercultural learning is also beginning to impact on English Language Teaching. This accessible book introduces teachers of EFL to intercultural language education by describing its history and theoretical principles, and by giving examples of classroom tasks.

This reference book is intended to help teachers, teacher administrators, policy makers and others deal with the important issue of religious diversity in Europe's schools. The religious dimension of intercultural education is an issue that affects all schools, whether they are religiously diverse or not, because their pupils live and will work in increasingly diverse societies. The book is the main outcome of the project 1The Challenge of intercultural education today: religious diversity and dialogue in Europe', developed by the Council of Europe between 2002 and 2005. It is in four parts: theoretical and conceptual basis for religious diversity and intercultural education; educational conditions and methodological approaches; religious diversity in schools in different settings; examples of current practice in some member states of the Council of Europe.

International Perspectives on Intercultural Education offers a comprehensive analysis of intercultural education activity as it is practiced in the countries of Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, England, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Chapters by key scholars and practitioners from these nations inform the reader of current educational practice related to diversity. Each author, responding to a common series of guiding questions, presents: *a brief description of the national educational system in her or his country; *descriptive data on demographics in these countries, including data on various subgroups and subcultures and their experiences with the mainstream educational system; * a discussion of the perceived obstacles to addressing intercultural issues in schools and solutions to overcoming these obstacles; and *a comprehensive analysis of intercultural information on how teacher preparation institutions address intercultural education at the present time. An overall concern of each chapter author is how intercultural approaches can be employed to solve the difficulties faced by both individuals and schools while maintaining the cultural integrity of the child.

This book explores the concept of intercultural competence, focusing specifically on education. Intercultural competence can vary depending on the field of research or the context of application and has therefore developed over recent decades. As the world becomes increasingly global intercultural competence has become even more important but it is still not practiced satisfactorily. This book highlights views which are at odds with official and orthodox positions on intercultural competence to encourage fresh approaches to intercultural competence. It will be invaluable for researchers, practitioners and students interested in the global possibilities of education.

Addresses a range of human diversity found in schools - including nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, class, language, sexual orientation, and ability levels. Based on the assumption that change begins with the individual teacher, this text argues that prospective teachers need to incorporate issues of diversity in all of their work.

Giving voice to researchers, policy-makers and practitioners through a range of international case studies, Educational Approaches to Internationalization through Intercultural Dialogue interrogates processes of internationalization strategy and practice, from an educational and intercultural dialogue perspective. Addressing this important, under-discussed area of internationalization – the role of intercultural dialogue – this book provides theoretical reflections and applicable, practical case studies that focus on: Support for integration programmes for international and home students Mobility programmes and initiatives which use an intercultural dialogue approach The place of local languages and cultures in foreign language policies The possibilities within a higher education context The multilingual perspective Student and staff perspectives Focusing on teaching and learning, and exploring the latest research within the context of internationalization, Educational Approaches to Internationalization through Intercultural Dialogue is a must-read for anyone interested in, or currently involved in designing and implementing internationalization strategies within a higher education institution.