Annual Report 2014, Porto
General
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.
Sessions: Formats, Figures and Attendance
This year’s conference in Porto of the network Research in Innovative Intercultural Learning Environments Network in the European Education Research was organized as paper sessions, joint sessions, workshop sessions, posters and network meeting.
The Network established itself this year for 13 paper sessions 3 joint sessions (Creative Approaches to Inclusion and Intercultural Education) with network 4 and 7, (Histories of EERA) with network 17 and (Creative Approaches to Mathematics Education) with network 24. Two workshops, and 4 posters were presented. A total of 40 presentations were organized.
The number of people attending the sessions varied but most sessions were well or very well attended.
Session Zero
This year the network continued the idea of a workshop ‘Session Zero’ which aimed to offer a window into both the network and those who worked within it for the week. The very well attended workshop discussed the network descriptors and they were presented as posters – one even as a 3 dimensional model. It supported us all in feeling welcomed to the network and eased the nerves a little as we realised we were amongst friends for our own presentations.
The developing website was mentioned at session zero and the subthemes are to be elaborated to mention a “global perspective”.
The business meeting was attended by very few, so discussions of network issues at session Zero was appreciated.
Joint Sessions
3 joint sessions (Creative Approaches to Inclusion and Intercultural Education) with network 4 and 7, (Histories of EERA) with network 17 and (Creative Approaches to Mathematics Education) with network 24. Most of the presentations reflected the theme of the conference as well as the perspective of the network: 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 of the network.
Session Themes
The thematic focus of the 9 sessions were: Music Education in an Intercultural Learning Environment, Cross-Professional Collaboration Promoting Inclusion and Intercultural Learning, Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Innovative, Intercultural Learning, Intercultural Issues in Foreign Language Learning, Intercultural Learning Environments Transforming Professional Identities, Identity and Citizenship, Intercultural Methodology and Competencies, Using New Technologies and Unusual Visual Methods Transforming Intercultural Teaching and Learning and Intercultural learning for Peace and Identity.
Session Quality
The range and quality of the presentations of the network was by many viewed to be excellent and the diversity of perspectives offered throughout the sessions and brought a sense of inter-disciplinarity to the network just as at earlier. It was also encouraging that the discussions after the papers were not dominated by one or two voices but seemed to offer space for anyone who wanted to offer a contribution to do so in a supportive environment.
Session Chairs
Maria Angels Subirats, Raimonda Bruniviciute, Carmen Carmona Rodriques, Christian Quvang, Gyöngyvér Pataki, Macedo, Eunice and John Willumsen (and Ian Grosvenor the joint session 17/20) were chairing the sessions which were all initiating interesting discussions and also gave a variety of researchers a chance to present a lot of new ideas and approaches.
New Convenor and Co-Convenors
Gyöngyvér Pataki and Hafdis Gudjonsdottir, joined in as co-convenors. Christian Quvang stepped in as link convenor as John Willumsen retired after many years as the link convenor.