Quality and Equity in Education: A Practical Guide to the Council of Europe Vision of Education for Plurilingual, Intercultural and Democratic Citizenship

The work of the Council of Europe in plurilingual and intercultural education is highly influential in Europe and beyond and has been so for many years. The Common European Framework of Reference and its Companion Volume, and related instruments, provide ways in which to implement policies and a broader vision of providing quality and equity in education across the curriculum, a vision which incorporates the core values of the Council of Europe and which educates children and young people to be plurilingual, intercultural and democratic citizens. This book presents this educational vision, demonstrates how it can be realised through the application of Council of Europe instruments in practice, and does so in a way which is easily and quickly accessible to teachers of all subjects and in all educational institutions, as well as to other educationists, including policymakers.

Michael Byram is Professor Emeritus at Durham University, England. Having studied languages at Cambridge University, he taught French and  German in school and adult education and then did teacher education at Durham. He was adviser to the Language Policy Division of the Council of Europe and then on the expert group which produced the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture. His research has included the education of minorities, foreign language teaching and intercultural competence, and more recently on how the PhD is experienced and assessed in a range of different countries.

Mike Fleming is Professor Emeritus at the University of Durham, UK. He has published widely on intercultural education and arts education.

Joseph Sheils was involved in curriculum development for modern languages in Ireland. He subsequently worked at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, where he coordinated the Council’s intergovernmental co-operation programmes on language education until his retirement in 2011. He has written on language policy and pedagogy, and has contributed to publications by the Council of Europe and CUP.