Diversity in Education in an International Context

This was the theme of the International Association for Intercultural Education conference held in Verona, Italy in April, 2005. Yael Sharan of the IASCE Executive Board (yaelshar@zahav.net.il) attended and presents this short report of her impressions.

From 20-23 April, 2005 a conference was held on Diversity in Education in an International Context, organized by IAIE (International Association for Intercultural Education - http://www.iaie.org/website/1_about.htm) and hosted by the University of Verona. Researchers and educators came from all over Europe, from Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, South Africa and the United States. There were about 130 presenters and perhaps 200 more attended. Naturally, there were many participants from Italy.

Some of the presentations, especially the keynote addresses, were thought provoking, incisive and honest attempts to deal with the heart of the issues facing intercultural education. It was informative, for one, to hear from Prof. Portera of the University of Verona, about the differences between the terms "intercultural," "cross-cultural" and "multicultural." Prof. Portera pointed out that "cross-cultural education" focuses on preserving immigrants' separate heritage so that they could reintegrate in their home countries. "Multicultural education" seeks to promote peaceful coexistence and tolerance of differences. Today, emigration is no longer viewed as a transitory phenomenon but as a dynamic process, constantly evolving. "Intercultural education" calls for productive and constructive dialog and interaction, as emigrants and the host society increasingly view one another as resources for their mutual enrichment.

There were sessions that addressed intercultural education in a variety of contexts: inclusion in lower and higher education, teacher education, various content areas, specific countries, gender, and even in playwrighting and dance.

Cooperative learning appeared in the title of a few presentations, which unfortunately I couldn't attend. My workshop intended to explore the perception of cooperative learning in different countries. It turned out that only 5 of the 20 who attended were actually familiar with CL and all the rest wanted to learn about it. It was a great opportunity to demonstrate how CL deals with a heterogeneous classroom, and how presenters often have to think on their feet.

I was very impressed by the sincerity of the people who attended this conference and hope that IASCE can collaborate with IAIE in the future. IASCE could contribute practical guidelines for cooperative learning, firmly grounded in research, which would stress responsible, consistent and thoughtful applications of cooperative learning in an intercultural setting.