Panel F.03 — Democratic culture and the internationalisation of school education
Convenors Mattia Baiutti (Fondazione Intercultura, Italy); Roberto Ruffino (Fondazione Intercultura, Italy)
Keywords Internationalisation of school education, Democratic culture, Citizenship, Pupil mobility, Intercultural and democratic competence
Schools are experiencing a growing trend toward internationalisation. According to the Italian Observatory on the Internationalisation of Schools and Pupils Mobility, the level of internationalisation in Italian secondary schools has increased in the last decade (Osservatorio, 2023). This trend indicates that schools are actively organising activities, projects, and adopting methodologies to promote an international dimension of citizenship. However, does the internationalisation of school education also serve as a means to promote democratic culture, and if so, how?
The purpose of this panel is to investigate this issue from various perspectives, including formal, non-formal, and informal education; empirical and theoretical research; insights from practitioners; and different school systems. The panel aims to explore several key themes, including but not limited to the following guiding questions:
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How can internationalisation of school education be conceptualised in relation to democratic culture?
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What values and attitudes are promoted through the internationalisation of school education in connection with democratic culture?
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How can internationalisation in schools contribute to achieving the democratic and intercultural competence?
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Does the internationalisation of school education challenge the concept of democratic culture?
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How can pre-service and in-service teachers be educated and trained to promote intercultural and democratic competence?
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To what extent do educational policies support international and democratic education?
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What principles, approaches and tools can teachers adopt to assess the learning outcomes of international education linked to democratic culture?