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Adapting teacher education programs to societal changes is a current issue, especially when viewed through the European frameworks driving transformative reforms. The paper reports how European frameworks and other initiatives in higher education and teacher education aim to support the transformation of teacher education programmes. Multiple European-level interventions have engendered shifts in the conceptual understanding and orientation of initial teacher education programmes across numerous contexts within Europe. The purpose of this paper was to examine the shift of teacher education programmes into competence-based in Kosovo, the youngest country in Europe, in the context of European frameworks as an impetus for transition. This qualitative research is a part of a broader study that involves analysing study programmes, conducting interviews with teacher educators and management staff, and holding focus groups with student-teachers. The goal is to explore the path of contextualizing European-inspired programme reforms in more detail. The findings show that Kosovo is shifting to a competence-based approach to align with EU integration, incorporating European principles for programme improvement. However, the study reveals a notable focus on maintaining programmes' tradition. This leads to tensions and contradictions regarding programme tradition, EU integration goals, and actual implementation.The results provide valuable insights into the significance of educational context and the tacit knowledge of teacher educators and other stakeholders during programme reforms within the context of European initiatives.

This state of the art paper has been developed through EuroPrevall, a European multicentre research project funded by the European Union which aims to improve quality of life for food allergic individuals. Food allergy (whether clinically diagnosed or self-perceived) represents a major health issue in Western societies and may have a considerably greater impact on society than was previously believed. However, the social impact of food allergy has never been systematically investigated using validated instruments. Combining the information from studies on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) with epidemiological data on prevalence will ultimately give some indication of the magnitude of the social impact of food allergy in Europe. HRQoL can be assessed with disease-specific questionnaires, which are being developed in EuroPrevall. These instruments will be used to identify HRQoL problems associated with food allergy, and to assess the effectiveness of interventions and to guide the development of regulatory policies.

This paper presents an overview of approaches and proposals to improve the integration of migrant children in schools in Spain and it is linked to the European research project Migrant Children and Communities in a Transforming Europe (MiCREATE). It focuses on a part of the research in which stakeholders were interviewed. Based on the needs of migrant children and practices already implemented in Spain, experts from different fields problematised and proposed improvements in current policies and practices in education. The main conclusions indicate that a more holistic and transversal approach to the inclusion of migrants is needed, as well as better coordination between institutions in different contexts and areas of action. This implies rethinking inclusive practices and involving children's families and taking their environment into consideration, as well as supporting educational practices that foster a sense of belonging among migrant children and their families in schools, the community, and society. Finally, the paper highlights the importance of gathering data from stakeholders in different fields of expertise and areas of action in order to obtain a more complex and insightful overview of the phenomenon under study.

The premise of this brief opinion piece is that the fundamental paradigm of education appeared with Plato. It is that there is a co-location in time and space of learners, teachers, and resources. The absence of any of these elements can lead to shortcomings in the meaning of the term "to be educated". Recent events such as COVID-19 demonstrate that the paradigm is subject to challenge but that its premises are firmly established. It is recognised that there are complex philosophical and theoretical arguments surrounding distance education debates. It is not possible in a short article like this to canvass all the possible philosophical positions that affect education. Pointers to these debates are referenced in the article. For the purpose of this article, "philosophy" is taken to mean that department of knowledge or study that deals with ultimate reality, or with the general causes and principles of things. More narrowly, it is the study of general principles of some particular branch of knowledge, experience, or activity--in this case, distance education or flexible learning. "Theory" is taken to mean a scheme or system of ideas or statements held as an explanation or account of a group of facts or phenomena.

This paper argues that the progressive, revisionist reaction within Catholic education and schooling, as well as within Catholicism at large, to the challenge of modernity is a mistake. In view of modernity's malaises, it advocates instead the affirmation or reaffirmation of the ideal of traditional Catholicism as the only authentic response for Catholics to modern progress. In order to justify the distinctiveness of a traditional Catholic identity and educational project, the paper offers an outline of a distinctively Thomistic educational philosophy. Its defense of the (re)affirmation of the ideal of traditional Catholic education and schooling in secularized society is neither ultra-conservative nor romantic.

Purpose: In light of the public resistance towards the deepening of European integration (EI) and the role that education is anticipated to have in supporting the process, this paper examines the conceptualisation of EI in lower secondary textbooks for History, Geography and Civics. Specifically, the paper asks whether EI is conceived of as a vehicle for the post-national transformation of Europe or as an instrument for interstate cooperation. Design: Drawing on the insights of EI theories and content analysis, the paper adopts a qualitative approach. Applying this approach, the textbooks currently used in Slovakia's lower secondary schools are analysed as a case study. Findings: The findings are inconclusive with regard to the research question. Indeed, while the sources are positive about EI, the findings suggest some problematic aspects in terms of how the textbooks analysed conceive the nature of the integration process. Research implications: The approach taken in this paper could be replicated on a larger scale in other countries. Practical implications: Curricula and textbook designers ought to consider how to include a critical discussion on the deepening of EI in secondary education.

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has long been considered a global policy in language education. It has been borrowed and adopted by different polities across the world. However, it is still not clear why the CEFR, intended for European usage, has become a ubiquitous tool for overhauling the quality of teaching and learning English in many education contexts. In this paper, we examine the CEFR in Vietnam in order to gain an understanding about the underwritten socio-economic and political conditions, which induced the employment of this global language education framework. The paper proposes to consider the borrowing of the CEFR in Vietnam as a socially constituted phenomenon to elucidate the historical and social background of its local adoption. We argue that the Vietnamese authorities' decision to adopt the CEFR can be explicated on the basis of at least three sociocultural conditions: (1) recent changes in English language policy; (2) need for concrete economic and political innovations, and current efforts to reform higher education; and (3) the current tendency for administrators to look outwards for solutions to domestic issues in contemporary Vietnam.

The paper addresses the impact of COVID-19 on vocational education and training, seeking to discern the outline of possible directions for its future development within the debates about VET responses to the pandemic. The discussion is set in its socio-economic context, considering debates that engage with the social relations of care and neo-liberalism. The paper analyses discourses that have developed around VET across the world during the pandemic, illustrating both possible continuities and ruptures that may emerge in this field, as the health crisis becomes overshadowed in public policy by the prioritisation of economic recovery and social restoration. The paper concludes that, alongside the possibility of a narrowing of VET to its most prosaic aims and practices, the health crisis could also lead to a re-conceptualisation that develops its radical and emancipatory possibilities in both the global south and north.

The purpose of the paper is to develop the theory that structural or procedural changes in institutions precede changes in education in a society. It examines the development of pre-modern institutions in Western Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries and the influences this had on growth in literacy rates within these states. Literacy rates in Western European countries during the Middle Ages were below twenty percent of the population. For most countries, literacy rates did not experience significant increases until the Enlightenment and industrialization. Two early exceptions to this broad trend were the Netherlands and England, which had achieved literacy rates above fifty percent of their populations by the mid-seventeenth century. The explanations for these divergent trends are the structural changes in formal institutions that embodied capital markets, protected private property, and overall established the initial steps in developing modern political institutions. This created incentives to invest more in schools per capita as well as incentives for a middle class to invest more in literacy and numeracy skills for a market-exchange economy that was becoming more specialized in division of labor.

The question of the social dimension of European integration has so far remained unsettled. While on the European level, the civil and political dimension of citizenship has been strengthened, the evolution of economic and social rights are unclear, contradictory-and still under-investigated. Our contribution applies citizenship as a central category of modernization theory to inquire into European integration. In particular, our focus is set on the analysis of Economic Citizenship as a specific category of civil rights in the case of Germany. We discuss these dynamics by drawing on the example of three policy fields which illustrate various levels of Economic Citizenship. In this article we are pursuing two goals: Firstly, we revise Marshall's modernization theory against the background of European integration. Secondly, we draw attention to the concept of Industrial Citizenship, which has so far been neglected as a source of further development. We argue that in the process of European integration, industrial rights develop through a double movement, meaning an individual extension of market-based rights complemented through national de-collectivization and-connected to this-a re-stratification of market correcting rights., (© 2020 London School of Economics and Political Science.)

The 11th International Conference of the International Association for Citizenship, Social and Economics Education IACSEE, took place the 2nd-4th of July 2015 at Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, Germany. The conference addressed the role and potential of citizenship, social and economic education, both theoretically and empirically in the challenging times that citizens are currently witnessing. The debate questions which roles really can and should be adopted by citizenship. Social and economics education was the leading question of this international three-day conference. This article presents the keynote address delivered by Thomas Krüger, President of the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bonn). Kruger warns the conference attendees that citizenship education is in danger of becoming an "empty and artificial process." He discusses a need to embrace controversy more vigorously in European citizenship education as he shares five points which he considers relevant to the on going debate: (1) The mission of the Federal Agency for Civic Education; (2) Reflections on citizenship education in times of global change; (3) How citizenship education can be our response to democracy fatigue; (4) The thinking behind the initiative "Networking European Citizenship Education" (NECE); and (5) Some concluding thoughts on the future of citizenship education.

The paper presents the core aims and objectives of the teaching materials developed within the IEREST (Intercultural Education Resources for Erasmus Students and their Teachers) project, and shows how the innovative approach adopted for these activities can be implemented in the classroom. The IEREST teaching modules are innovative in that the approach adopted draws strongly on the notions of "critical cosmopolitanism" (Holliday 2012) and "intercultural communicative competence" (Byram 1997 and 2012). The activities in the modules promote a view of culture as a negotiated "process" among individuals, small or large groups and intercultural communication as a co-construction of meaning conveyed across linguistic and cultural boundaries, thus rejecting explicitly any "essentialist" attitudes and simplistic over-generalisation of "otherness." The approach to language use in intercultural encounters observes how the above concepts are expressed in a number of contexts, while also building on the view that intercultural communication among bilinguals often takes advantage of a "lingua franca," a foreign language that all the participants in the communicative activity have in common because they had learned it. Taking into account the concept of "linguaculture" (Risager 2012) the modules seek to raise awareness of the negotiating process in rendering meaning through a linguistic and cultural blend of both the target language and the speaker's first language. The paradigm shift proposed by the IEREST Modules indicates a need to rethink current practices in intercultural education and to acknowledge societal changes in multilingual Europe and beyond.

This article uses a Polanyian frame to place the plight of Roma in Europe in the context of an age of crisis, as evidenced by faltering neoliberal economies and a corresponding rise in xenophobia and extreme manifestations of nationalism. The situation of the Roma remains precarious, a situation exacerbated by the 2008 economic crises and the COVID-pandemic. Despite a number of social inclusion measures in recent decades, at the national and European level which target the Roma, Roma exclusion remains a serious challenge. The paper assesses why previous policy regimes failed but also reflects on what is the way forward in terms of inclusive policy frameworks. The article seeks to provide some answers to these questions with a vision of a Polanyian countermovement in the form of a New Social Europe predicated on redistribution, recognition and community action but also a re-envisioning of integration and transformative change in structural and cultural terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strong current in contemporary Catholic thought -- the theology of interreligious or interfaith dialogue -- stresses the importance of dialogue and collaboration with followers of other world faiths. This article proposes that religious education in Catholic schools, particularly at post-primary level, needs to engage more with this theological resource in order to promote mutual understanding and collaboration in today's climate of growing cultural and religious pluralism in Western Europe. Such work, it is also argued, is particularly challenging and urgent given the reality of the limited and limiting approaches to religious education, especially in regards to Islam, currently found in state schools in England and France. The paper proposes the development of models of religious education predicated on valuable theological insights inherent in the teaching of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and subsequent post-conciliar and theological reflection. It begins with some comments on Western Europe's changing social, cultural and religious circumstances.

This paper examines the usefulness of the new social movements (NSMs) paradigm in the changing context of East European post-communist societies and their agricultural systems and rural communities. Starting with statements formulated in Western sociology in the context of Western democratic societies about NSMs as a protest against modernity, the paper analyses the role of such movements in the still modernizing Eastern European reality. The first part of the paper briefly examines some basic elements of the NSMs paradigm in European and American social science. The goal of this section is not only to identify the basic characteristics of NSMs, but also to identify the typical frames used by them. The second part of the paper focuses on the presence of NSMs in the communist era. Drawing on the idea of NSMs as indicators of a "post-materialist shift" as well as of "anti-establishment" and "pro-participatory democracy", the paper examines the frames of democratic opposition in Eastern Europe before 1989. The final part of the paper considers several selected examples from Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to explore the role of NSMs in the process of shaping new ruralities during the post-communist transformation.

The Bologna process is a comprehensive concept for European higher education reforms of the 20th and 21st centuries. However, it means something else in Central European countries than it does in the rest of Europe. It has been combined in Central Europe with a major social change referred to as the "political transformation" (Johnson 1996). Recent higher education reforms can be understood only if they are put into the context of political transformations in Central and Eastern Europe. The Bologna process in Central Europe is not only a higher education reform but also a part of this political transformation. International literature talks mainly about the extent to which the objectives of the Bologna process have been met so far and how much there is still to do for the individual higher education systems (higher education policies of the different states) to realize these goals fully (Trends I-V). This paper, however, analyzes the Bologna process as a chain of political events. First, it introduces the background, consisting of various narratives. These include a chain of events and reflect different points of view. Then it turns to the actors: international (supranational) organizations, national governments, institutions (the academic sphere) and all those outside these circles. This paper investigates their aims and means in becoming involved in the Bologna process. It also refers to the situation of minority higher education in relation to the Bologna process, since Central Europe is full of national and ethnic minorities.

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has been established, at least in structure, remapping Higher Education as we know it. This scenario offers a new framework in which the role of universities can be rethought, independently of the field of the new degrees and post graduate studies. As part of this reconceptualisation, the roles of teachers and students need to be reconsidered. Achieving an enhanced doctoral experience for the next generation of PhD students represents a measurable practical outcome of the Bologna Process. This paper is contextualised within the issues of internationalisation, standards and standardization of degree credit ratings, with attention paid to collaboration and competition, and language and writing. We identify the main challenges of the emerging EHEA regarding third cycle students in order to capture the pedagogical essence of what has been, until date, just a structural change. The EHEA has many practical gains to offer, but it also has potential disadvantages that need be acknowledged and addressed.

The focus of the present paper is on the relationship between national identities and foreign-language education policies and practices. The paper examines this relationship through a juxtaposition of three sociohistoric contexts in which sociopolitical events led to major changes in foreign-language education: post-World War I United States, post-World War II Soviet Union, and post-communist Eastern Europe. On the example of these case studies, it is argued that shifts in national identity images and sociopolitical allegiances have implications for foreign-language policies and practices. It is also argued that foreign-language learners may choose to construct oppositional identities in language classrooms: some, for patriotic reasons, may reject the languages imposed on them, while others may instead reject the dominant national identity and create an alternative one through the means of a foreign language.

Argues that higher education is essential for the facilitation of globalization, pointing out that in the Eastern and Central European transition countries, higher education has been a main engine of transition. Asserts that it too must adapt to change, such as the rigors of a market economy that require it to be accessible to all and financed from various sources, and government promotion of centers of excellence. (EV)

Considers two dimensions of changes in former Soviet Union countries: (1) obstacles to transformations away from strong state domination; and (2) contrasting approaches in public administration education to facilitate democratic development in these countries. (JOW)

Analyzes the history of public concern regarding children's rights in the 20th century. Details the political process leading to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the ratification of the Convention, and its political effects, and presents hypotheses regarding determinants of the Convention's worldwide impact. Notes areas where international child politics can inform social and political scientists. (BGC)

Portrays the changed context of adult education in Central and Eastern Europe; social and individual learning needs such as training, retraining, upgrading, education for responsible citizenship, and adult educator training; and assistance needed from abroad. (SK)

The experience of Australians teaching a course in organizational behavior to a group of Eastern European managers is discussed, focusing on the challenges encountered in intercultural communication and in resistance to change. The psychodynamics of change and of building a transitional culture are examined, and practical suggestions for teaching in intercultural contexts are offered. (Author/MSE)

As Western educators help Central and Eastern European institutions develop programs in business and economics education, five areas require attention: (1) team teaching by local and Western faculty; (2) coordination between host and Western institutions; (3) institution building; (4) careful selection and preparation of faculty to provide technical assistance abroad; and (5) use of varied evaluation techniques focusing on institution building. (MSE)

For many years internationalization has not been a strong point of geographical education in post-socialist countries, including Poland. Therefore, all attempts at intensifying it are a real challenge and good practices deserve dissemination. This paper seeks to present the organizational and programme assumptions of a new field of postgraduate study called "Cultural industries in the development policies of cities and regions," (Project supported by the European Social Fund under the Human Capital Operational Programme in the years 2013-2015 (Priority IV: Tertiary Education and Science, Measure 4.3: Enhancing the didactic potential of universities in areas of key importance for the Europe 2020 Strategy. UDA-POKL.04.03.00--00-152/12-00).) developed by the staff of the Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan (Poland) as a didactic innovation, based on a modular system of education offering wide internationalization possibilities. The analysis focuses on experiences connected with this process. They include classes prepared in cooperation with visiting professors and practitioners from eight universities and European institutions as well as week-long practical placements in Brussels, arranged thanks to a network of experts and institutions specifically established for this purpose. The results obtained help to formulate conclusions and recommendations for higher schools interested in adopting this kind of good practices connected with the development of geographical education.

The imperatives and complexities of introducing human rights principles at primary and secondary school levels in postcommunist societies are presented, focusing on presentation of concepts of individualism, democracy, and human rights in textbooks; teaching practices that reinforce learner-centered approaches; and consideration of a national context of political uncertainty, centralized policymaking traditions, and resource shortages. (JDD)

In this paper, I am interested in exploring citizenship regimes as they emerge from the interplay of neoliberal and neoconservative developments in contemporary Europe. I am particularly interested in the connections between different types of contemporary precarity and citizenship imaginaries as they transpire at the historical nexus of a transition between state socialism and neoliberalism. I will use Poland as an example of a post-transition neoliberal economy, where the new political leadership took up criticism of precarity, making it an important public idiom through which the interplay of predatory neoliberalism and national neo-conservatism can be viewed. I will address implications of these trends for education.

Characterizes the social, political, and economic climate underlying educational dilemmas and visions in Czechoslovakia and other Eastern European countries after the fall of communism. Discusses the debate between state control of education and liberal educational approaches facing the area and stresses the importance of teachers in the shaping the education system. (MAB)

Examines misconceptions in both Western and Eastern countries about educational systems in postcommunist Eastern Europe. Discusses issues of slow pace of educational reform, change through formal power structures, centralization versus decentralization, role of tradition, macro- and micro-level problems, Western assistance, and the relationship between education and society. (PAA)

Discusses the fall of communism in eastern Europe. Applies Latin America models to eastern Europe. Suggests that revolutions are shaped by the systems against which they are directed. Concludes that the problems of eastern Europe are not caused by the system so much as by geography. Argues that poor capitalism may lie in the future for eastern Europe. (DK)

Discusses the recent wave of mass sociopolitical mobilization in Eastern Europe. Argues that the models and methods developed after the 1960s have made it difficult for Western students to understand recent movements in the East. Compares waves of mobilization such as the Civil Rights Movement in the United States with incomplete waves of mobilization in eastern Europe. (DK)

Poloni reviews implications for unions of recent economic, social, technological, and political changes in Central and Eastern Europe. Flechsenhar states that unions play a role in the development and restructuring of developing countries by providing special services to meet the economic and social needs of their members. (SK)

Most people who experience trauma want to thrive and often find paths to well-being and healthy functioning. This scoping review explores the existing evidence on adversity and resilience in southeastern European countries, focusing on Kosovo. There is a lack of research on trauma and resilience in cultures outside the US and Western Europe. The paper provides a brief cultural and historical overview of this region and the collectivist cultures found there. We draw from a range of interdisciplinary literatures to identify key strengths that have the potential to improve health outcomes for trauma victims in this region. Overall, 42 papers from PsycInfo and PubMed were identified, using keywords such as "resilience" or "health" and "Kosovo," "Balkans," and "Southeastern Europe." Findings from this scoping review show that different cultural values, norms, and societal ecologies impact resilience within these societies. Some strengths, such as social support and sense of purpose, echoed similar research in the US and Western Europe. There was also evidence that factors such as dignity, family solidarity, social activism, and nationwide meaning-making are strengths associated with resilience for these collectivist societies of southeastern Europe. We also consider the implications of the results for other post-conflict societies. Finally, findings from this review call for culturally sensitive strength-based perspectives in promoting health and well-being after the high dosages of trauma common in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]