'Intercultural Education' was the subject of a Council of Europe workshop that I recently had the great privilege of participating in between June 22-29 as part of the Pestalozzi programme. There were 40 other teachers from European countries taking part in the workshop, which was held in beautiful Bad Wildbad Kurpark, Germany, in co-operation with the German education authorities.
The principles upon which intercultural education is built are those of non-discrimination, pluralism and equity. Such education calls for a fundamental change in our curriculam and teaching techniques, which we are yet to explore. The fundamental methods used in the learning processes when passing on intercultural education are partnership, participation and cooperation. Where these attitudes are concerned, some noteworthy steps have already been taken by some schools.
However, intercultural education naturally involves more than just a few isolated activities. It also has to take into account the hidden curriculum, the school atmosphere, the school's organisational ethos and non-formal education. Evidently, there are also implications where the assessment criteria are involved. With intercultural education, the instruments used for quality assurance have to be inspired by education for democratic citizenship. The main thing is that, with such education, the students will have to take responsibility for their own learning experience.
Over the past 50 years the Council of Europe has been promoting education for democracy and it is running various projects concerned with intercultural education. For example, there is a project focussing on the European dimension of history teaching, one celebrating Europe's linguistic diversity, and another dealing with religious diversity and dialogue in Europe. There are also projects on education for gypsy children, democratic citizenship and human rights.
During the Council of Europe's first and the second summits of heads of state, held in 1993 and 1997 in Vienna and Strasbourg respectively, education was recognised as a priority for the development of democracy and human rights.
Education establishments do not exist in a vacuum. They are necessarily affected by the co-existence of different races, cultures, languages and religions. We all know that managing diversity is not easy for the whole of society. Well, neither is it easy for education establishments to manage such diversity. Just as societies are affected by discrimination, xenophobia, racism, sexism, violence, marginalisation and intolerance, so may our schools.
In 2003, there was a declaration by the European ministers of education on intercultural education in the new European context. It called on the Council to focus its work programme on enhancing the quality of education as a response to the challenges posed by diversity, by making democracy learning and intercultural education key components for educational reform.
As far as Malta is concerned, teaching democracy is being given a lot of weight, with an education officer who is working specifically towards this end. However, our school curriculum, particularly at the secondary level, makes such work somewhat difficult. School timetables are based on fields of learning, rather than on themes, with hardly any link between the various school subjects. Assessment is done through exams based on the material that ought to have been covered, rather than on what would have been learnt. Moreover, the pedagogical methods used are still not so inclusive or appreciative of the diverse. Thus, the concept of intercultural education provides a number of significant challenges for the Maltese context.
As a result of my participation in this workshop I now realise that a lot of work is still required on a number of levels. Managing diversity is first and foremost a political, rather than an educational task.
It requires work on a political level. Society still has to implement policies in the social, family and migration fields, before such diversity may be integrated in our schools, although a school may sometimes serve as a model of inclusion for society.
I also realise that conceptual research on intercultural education is still necessary. If this does not take place, it would not be possible to adapt a common terminology. A more clear definition of the content and context of intercultural education is also required. More theoretical work is necessary concerning the development of educational strategies and working methods that allow for diversity.
Meanwhile, it was made very clear to us that the Council of Europe is willing to use its resources in order to carry out research; to support initiatives and experiments; to develop programmes; to disseminate among member states the learning methods and the teaching aids that would improve intercultural education. Although the Council of Europe offers great support, I realise that it is up to individual countries and teachers to tap its resources.
The workshop put me in touch with a multi-cultural group of people sharing the same profession. I gained many additional benefits from my discussions with the other participants.
I learnt about the everyday struggles of teachers, the lack of resources that exist in schools in certain countries, the real disparity between the salaries of European teachers - varying from €300 per month for Albanian teachers to €3,000 monthly for the Finnish ones - and also about the various initiatives taken by European teachers, particularly where their own formation is concerned. I also learnt a lot about the teaching of religion in the various countries, where curricular differences are huge.
Moreover, the seminar was a very practical one. Many of the methods practised with us by the workshop facilitators could be easily applied by teachers in classrooms. This is especially the case where language teaching is concerned. I found the comparative linguistic approach provided by one of the facilitators of the workshop very interesting. However, I would have wanted to learn more about inter-religious education. Religion is a belief system, and dealing with this school subject interculturally makes it a much more complex task than language teaching is, since at least some aspects of religion deal with absolutes.
Following this experience, I hope to be able to better integrate the European dimension into my teaching and possibly start learning another European language.
I intend to read more about the work of the Council of Europe concerning intercultural religious education, and look at the possibilities for making the teaching of religion in Malta a more comprehensive study of religious cultures found in Europe, while respecting the local culture and traditions. I also plan to disseminate my experience to the best of my ability, and am very willing to look into possibilities of organising an event on intercultural education with some local institution.
A number of such workshops are available every year for teachers to choose from. More information on the Pestalozzi programme may be found on the Council of Europe website: http://www.coe.int/t/e/cultural_co-operation/education/teacher_training/_Summary.asp.
Ms Dimech is a teacher of English and Religion at the Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School, Naxxar.