“Empowering Education in the European Context” – Promoting internationalisation in teacher training.
- Institution: University College of Teacher Education Styria
- Institution: University College of Teacher Education Styria
- Institution: University College of Teacher Education Styria
- Institution: University College of Teacher Education Styria
- Year of publication: 2019
- Source: Show
- Pages: 71-84
- DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/IFforE2019.04
- PDF: iffe/12/iffe1204.pdf
As there is increasing diversity in contemporary societies there is also more emphasis on heterogeneity in educational institutions. In this way, internationalisation has become a core task for Higher Education Institutions. Teachertraining courses specifically designed to address student mobility suggest that students greatly profit from experiencing different educational systems. Furthermore, they benefit from positive personal development as, for example, international mobility fosters openness and emotional stability. Against this backdrop, four European Higher Education Institutions specialising in teacher training have launched an international joint study programme for future teachers: “E3: Empowering Education in the European Context”. On the one hand, this international joint study programme intends to foster the promising effects of student mobility, and on the other hand, it implements opportunities for internationalisation at home for students who are not able to participate in international mobility programs such as Erasmus+. The programme focuses on international teacher competences, on working and studying in international contexts and on intercultural exchange within the European context. After two editions (2017 in Brussels and 2018 Copenhagen), a structured reflection amongst participating teacher educators has revealed several benefits as well as some challenges of the multilateral programme. The current paper summarises the underlying structure of E3 and scrutinizes its background. Moreover, key benefits and challenges of this joint study programme are addressed to offer insights and recommendations for future implementations.