Europe and its participating countries need a strong democracy, an inclusive society, and active citizens. Intercultural and democratic competences are crucial for the future of Europe, its countries and its citizens. Education can play a central role in developing the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes among young people. Universities have a double role in this: they have to educate academics who can and want to contribute to such an inclusive and democratic society; and university-educated teachers, educational researchers and curriculum developers who will work in schools and other educational institutions on empowering young people for active citizenship participation.The pedagogical role of teachers in contributing to a more inclusive and democratic society is very important in this period of European history in which growing globalisation challenges traditional values. Strengthening the international cooperation in all parts of Europe is very relevant to broaden the horizon of students, teachers, and academic researchers. A more inclusive and democratic society is as relevant for the future of Europe as economic growth. Education, and in particular teachers, can contribute to this moral enterprise. As research shows, attention towards democratic and intercultural issues are at the moment not very strongly embedded in the curricula of teacher education and educational science. This proposed strategic partnership aims to support democratic intercultural citizenship education in different ways, such as by developing a joint curriculum, and through the professional development of academic staff. The project will have a direct influence on students, in the different modules and in intensive programmes. Strategic work will be done in own universities, within the cooperation between our universities, and with partners in civil society. The outcomes of this project will also be transferred to other universities and ultimately to the society in each country. The project will result in an increase in social responsibility of universities and other institutes for higher education, and will contribute to active and engaged citizenship in Europe.The project will contribute through cooperation and the development of joint curricula to a direct increase in social inclusion in partner countries and the promotion of intercultural and civic competences among students. The quality and relevance of higher education will be improved, as the partner universities will have the opportunity to learn from each other's best practices and in this way strengthen the field of education for democratic intercultural citizenship. The interdisciplinary nature of cooperation is addressed by including a broad range of partners representing social sciences, humanities, as well as teacher education. By offering holistic education for democratic intercultural citizenship, the curricula developed during this project will support the future education of teachers and educational professionals, training them in how to promote European values, such as (see Erasmus+ Guide 2016): preventing violent radicalisation, fostering social integration, and enhancing intercultural understanding. The teaching/learning activities envisaged by this project (as well as educational activities continuing after the end of this project) will help participants in building a sense of belonging to a European community. Further, it will develop social capital among future teachers and educational professionals, and empower them to participate actively in European society by including a variety of international as well as local students and teachers.The seven participating universities are: Humanistic Studies Utrecht, Barcelona, Bath Spa, Helsinki, Prague, Tallinn, and Thessaloniki.The concrete objectives of the project are:To develop a curriculum for Education for Democratic Intercultural Citizenship (EDIC), formally recognised and supported by seven universities in different parts of Europe.2. To stimulate student exchange in this area and gather collective experiences in intensive programmes.3. To promote the professional development of teachers in this field (and a professional development programme).4. To stimulate a more complex, critical and engaged concept of citizenship that combines social, political, intercultural and entrepreneurial components.5. To strengthen the cooperation between universities and civil society.6. To develop a partnership between European universities that stimulates cooperation of researchers, teachers and students in this field.7. To develop curriculum materials and student products with open access on the EDIC website and in an e-journal.8. To educate a new generation of teachers, curriculum designers, and researchers in the field of democratic intercultural citizenship.
In this evaluation we review the list of outcomes we presented in our application. 1. The joint development of a curriculum for Education for Democratic Intercultural Citizenship (EDIC+), a network structure, and an intensive programme. Together we developed a curriculum for Education for Democratic Intercultural Citizenship, built a network structure, and designed and trialled an annual intensive programme. 2. The development of one 7.5 ECTS (Master level) module (in English) by each participating university. The seven modules will together constitute the integrated curriculum EDIC+. All materials will be published (in an open-access book and on the EDIC+ website). Each university has developed an international module in English and had try-outs of the module or at least crucial parts of it. All universities developed the module in accordance with the content described in our proposal. The intensive dialogues between the participants contributed to a better alignment of the modules with the central theme of Democratic Intercultural Citizenship Education and with a stronger international and comparative methodology. Readers can read about the seven modules in this (open-access) book. For further information, interested parties can contact the coordinator of the seven universities involved (www.uvh.nl/edic). 3. All seven universities have recognised the EDIC+ modules of the other universities. All universities have offered the entire EDIC+ curriculum to their students and will do again next year. A lot of information about the different modules is now available on the EDIC website and in this book. 4. All EDIC+ universities have now signed mutual agreements with the other EDIC+ universities. Students can use normal Erasmus grants to study at one of the EDIC+ universities, in particular in the area of the presented EDIC+ module. Teachers can use Erasmus grants to attend another EDIC university to teach and to expand cooperation in research. 5. Participation of students from these seven universities and students from other universities in these modules. There is a growing (but still small) number of students that use or want to use these possibilities in the future. For Master students, the period of three months is quite difficult to fit in. We hope that the new Erasmus programme will make it possible to offer shorter periods for Master students. 6. We have an EDIC+ certificate including all logos of the participating universities. Universities can use this for their own EDIC+ module. We also use it for participation in an Intensive Programme. When students participate in two EDIC+ modules they receive a certificate signed by the general EDIC+ coordinator. 7. All modules have the following 5 methodological elements: a. All the modules offer a strong combination of theory and practice b. In all modules there is a link with civil society institutions. Many site-visits are made. Guest lectures by representatives of such organisations are included in the modules. c. All the modules are linked with research. In the developmental stage of the modules we could benefit from the EU Teaching Common Values project. All the modules are also aimed at educational change, at improving educational practices, and at the professional development of teachers and other educational professionals. d. The modules became even more international than we expected, as we moved beyond only a European perspective. The participation of quite a lot of students from outside Europe in the modules and in the intensive programmes contributed to this global perspective. e. The ‘critical friend’ lecturer who attended the module of another EDIC+ university and gave a lecture in the module was a strong tool in the collaboration. It was a cooperation within the actual educational practice. 8. The group of lecturers involved in the Intensive Programme and in the modules of the universities are engaged in a growing collaboration in terms of research, publishing, and supervising. People are more aware of each others’ competences, are more familiar with each other, and know more about each other’s formal and informal institutional cultures. 9. We were forced to drop the intended e-journal because an Erasmus strategic partnership does not support this kind of activity. Most of the EDIC teachers are members of editorial boards of academic journals or book series. They showed the students how publishing works and stimulated them to work towards academic publishing. 10. The three Intensive Programmes (IP) were very successful. The IP’s are important for the (international) learning experiences of the students, the possibility for teachers to present their work to an international audience. Both students and teachers can intensify their contacts in such IP. We hope we can continue them, maybe with the use of normal Erasmus exchange grants. 11. All universities organised a multiplier event. And We had already symposia at conferences.