CONTENTS

Udostępnienie publikacji “International Forum For Education” wersji cyfrowej w wolnym dostępie to zadanie finansowane w ramach umowy 525/P-DUNdem/2018 ze środków Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.

This article will present two basic concepts of culture which both have a long tradition and both are currently used in discussing cultural diversity. I call them the container concept and the network concept. The container concept was widely criticised and the criticism led to the development of new models. These models are basically compatible with the network concept, but take it further in several aspects, especially with regard to the question of how cultural ascriptions lead to differences in power allocation in society. If we have new models of intercultural competence, this should be reflected in curricula and classroom practice. So the last section of the article takes a closer look at two curricular documents and presents a practical example of dealing with cultural diversity in a more inclusive manner.

Since 2015, the University College of Teacher Education in Styria (Austria) has been contributing to the integration of people who had had to leave their countries as refugees. This way, pupils from vocational schools, students training to become teachers as well as teachers get an insight into the situation and challenges of refugees. The initiative Connect2Learn focuses on encounters and mutual learning. Cultural differences are perceived as an opportunity for reflection, learning and professional development. Through encounters and reflections, barriers and mutual fear of contact are to be dismantled. In this article, three activities of Connect2Learn are described as examples: encounters of (future) teachers and refugees in heterogeneous discussion groups in the sett ing of a World-Café, a three-week joint course for refugees and Austrian pupils at a vocational school and autonomous implementation of voluntary instruction to refugees in computer skills.

The paper emphasises the need to develop new global competence in the context of the demands of modern societies. Contemporary and future demands for highly skilled workforce in the global economy constitute a challenge for teachers and teacher-training community. New skills and competences are needed for the success of professionals and these skills should be a part and parcel of their vocational education. Development of global competence is emphasised in the context of the current approach of Global Development Education (GDE). The paper describes the current state of implementation of the GDE in Slovakia and briefly describes an example of GDE implementation in VET teachers’ preparation at the Faculty of Economics and Management of Slovak University of Agriculture. Several possibilities of implementation of global education into teachers preparation are described. Particularly, the conditions of a supplementary pedagogical course at the Slovak University of Agriculture were analysed. The analysis of the course curriculum revealed several higher education subjects which include issues of global education or have a potential to develop such themes. Also, the paper briefly describes the results of a small survey on secondary school pupils’ knowledge and opinions in some selected fields of GDE and a survey on secondary school teachers´ experiences with GDE. The aim of the paper is to highlight the importance of global development education (GDE) in the educational process at secondary vocational schools. The main purpose of global development education is to form att itudes necessary in new social conditions.

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.

The aim of the article is to analyse the extent to which the participation of students in learning mobility projects on the example of the Erasmus+ programme influences the improvement of their individual skills desired from the perspective of the labour market. The paper features an introduction that outlines the background to educational mobility. Susequently, historical context of learning mobility in Europe and the process of internationalisation of universities are presented as one consequence of the globalising labour market. In the next part of the paper, Erasmus+, i.e. the best-known programme promoting academic mobility in Europe, was presented. The final part contains a review of research on the competences of beneficiaries of learning mobility projects, supported by statistical data, and an att empt to draw a link between participation in student exchange and the chances of finding satisfactory employment after graduation. The basic research methods were literature review and analysis of statistical data, as well as available reports on the relationship between student mobility and competence development. The author refers to the results of studies carried out by the experts of the European Commission entitled Erasmus Impact Study (2014) and research reports of Foundation for the Development of the Education System Is mobility the key to a successful career? Tracer study report on vocational learners with transnational mobility experience (2018), Erasmus… and what next? Tracer study on education and careers of Polish students participating in Erasmus mobility projects (2019). Reports and expert studies on student mobility, such as: Flash Eurobarometer, Eurodata Student Mobility in European Higher Education i Mapping Mobility in European Higher Education constituted sources of statistical data. The analyses show that graduates with foreign mobility experience develop a number of characteristics and skills which increase their employability and career opportunities.

It is assumed in the literature on the subject as well as in the guidelines of the European Union (Recommendations 2006, p. 13) that entrepreneurship will make it possible for young people to adapt to the employment market and participate in not only professional but also social and personal adult life in an effective and satisfactory manner. The category of entrepreneurship, understood as a personal feature, an att itude, an activity mode and a path of individual and institutional development, is a focal point in the presented article. These perspectives point at the conditions that should be met by educational institutions to promote the development of entrepreneurship.

A simulation company is a centre for practical vocational training, where a simulation method is used while maintaining external contacts with other companies. The most important goal of this type of projects is to nurture practical skills oriented towards international labour market. From a pedagogical perspective, a simulation company trains students’ economic thinking, enables them to familiarise with legal and economic foundations of entrepreneurship, develops innovation and facilitates the improvement of foreign language skills, including the specifics of a given industry. The aim of the paper is to present simulation companies, taking into account the principles of their organisation and genesis. Hereinafter, the author presents the Achievers International project as an example of an implementation of a simulation company into school settings.

This research was conducted in the fourth grade of a private primary school in Gaziantep in 2018-2019 academic year in order to provide pupils with critical thinking skills. This study was conducted as a qualitative case study. 23 pupils participated in the programme. In a two-month study, they were given 22 journal writing titles to improve their critical thinking skills. They wrote their journals for 5-10 minutes at the beginning of lessons. At the end of the process, the pupils and the teacher were asked to write their views about the critical journal writing programme in the form of an interview. Data were analysed by means of NVIVO 12 for Mac. According to the findings, critical thinking and writing activities positively affected the pupils’ development of critical thinking skills.

Music can be widely involved in the teaching of foreign languages. It is a distinctive means of communication which makes use of listening materials and at the same time tries to analyse and interpret these materials. Both music and foreign languages should develop our receptivity of the world around us, and at the same time they should develop learners´ creativity. Furthermore, music can be a source of motivation, it can have relaxing impact, it can convey the reality of the countries in which the given languages are spoken and it can support a natural acquisition and fixation of the target language. Music can be successfully involved in the training and practicing of correct pronunciation of foreign languages. This kind of training should be applied from the very beginning of instruction. Music can be involved in developing learners’ emotional and aesthetic intelligence, it can form their personality and views. Music in any kind of its form should be an inseparable part of any stage of the process of foreign language teaching. Considering all the above mentioned issues, we may draw a conclusion that foreign language teachers should develop their positive approach to music and its application in the teaching process. Such a desired approach can indeed improve the results of the teaching and learning processes.

The author of the article expresses the opinion that teachers’ professional activity, their professional and personal development is an important multidimensional and multi-faceted problem that requires an in-depth analysis. One of effective ways of solving the problem would be to study the needs of teachertraining, since the gap between professional education received in higher educational institutions and the upgrade of qualifications which takes place every five years, as well as lack of motivation for professional development, fail to contribute to the overcoming of many negative phenomena (pedagogical crises, pedagogical burnout, professional stagnation). The article describes the categories of development (personal and professional) and educational needs (of modern teachers) and investigates the peculiarities of forming teachers’ educational needs. Research results among different age groups are presented. The purpose of this study was to find out the level of the demand for educational needs, to assess the quality of educational services which are provided, to identify the driving motives, as well as to determine the prospects for improving the effectiveness of educational activities within this category.