The Network promotes innovative strategies dealing with intercultural teaching and its learning environment. Key issues are cultural identity and diversity, multi-ethnic learning groups and communities, intercultural discourses and the role of intercultural education in promoting both the local identities of groups and a sense of common citizenship in Europe.
The convenors of this network are John Willumsen, Pavla Polechova, Tony Cotton, Manfred Bayer and Maria-Angels Subirats de Bayego.
There was a meeting of network convenors in Copenhagen in February 2005 to explore ways in which the network might develop and to review the papers. We would hope to extend this meeting to allow the small convenors group to quickly and efficiently plan for Geneva and to review papers collaboratively.
The Network established itself this year for 3 sessions, containing 9 papers, most of them based around the idea of innovative intercultural education in a changing educational/professional environment. Most of the papers reflected that the perspective of the network is to create new ways of working and new combinations of ideas and practices in intercultural education. Some of the sessions were drawing upon the projects and the way of working developed within earlier international seminars. Tony Cotton and John Willumsen chaired the sessions which were excellent, initiating interesting discussions and also giving a variety of researchers a chance to present.
There were research reports from collaborative ventures that members of the network have been involved with. John Willumsen reported on an EU funded consultancy in a PHARE Twinning program between Hungary and Denmark developing a curriculum and a manual on inclusion for teacher education in Hungary. Tony Cotton and a colleague Helen Toft, who is new to the network, shared innovative methodological approaches which have been developed through network partnerships. New collaborative projects emerged from the network sessions. Tony Cotton and Helen Toft have accessed funding through Nottingham Trent University to form a collaborative partnership with Kaunas University, Lithuania. Colleagues from Kaunas presented two papers at the conference. Tony Cotton has also begun a collaborative research project with colleagues from the USA, Ireland and Portugal as a result of the paper at the network. It is envisaged that both of these projects will lead to papers in Geneva.
The Network will keep in contact through email and the newly established website. New ideas of future projects seem likely to develop including some of the new members of the network.
Publications by Network members 2004-2005
Tony Cotton
- Sept 2004 Critical Communication in and through Mathematics classrooms, in A. Chronaki & I. M. Christiansen (Eds.) Challenging Perspectives On Mathematics Classroom Communication (International Perspectives on Mathematics Education). Information Age Publishing: Greenwich US.
- Dec 2004 ‘Problematising culture and discourse for mathematics education research: defining the issues – tools for research’ joint chapter in Researching the socio-political dimensions of Mathematics Edited by Poala Valero and Robyn Zevenbergen. Kluwer Press.
- Feb 2005 “What can I say, and what can I do: Archaeology, narrative and mathematics education research” chapter in Poststructuralist Ideas Informing Practice in Mathematics Education, in the series “International Perspectives on Mathematics Education”, edited by Leone Burton. Information Age Publishing: Greenwich US.
John Willumsen
- Nov 2004 Curriculum and Manual on Inclusion for Teacher Education in Hungary, Ministry Education and Ministry of of Children, Youth and Sports, Hungary. (together with Yvonne Csányi et al.)
The list of publications will be developed further in the next Network report.