Handbook on Tolerance & Cultural Diversity In Europe

Abstract

Geared toward teacher-trainers, this Handbook is intended primarily for use in programmes that prepare teachers to serve in high schools in Europe. While it could be beneficial for teachers of any subject, the Handbook may be most useful to those who are preparing to deliver courses on European civics and citizenship education. The Handbook’s targeted readers are high school students and undergraduate University students between 17 and 23 years of age. The main purpose of this Handbook is to clarify terms commonly used to talk about diversity. Many terms (such as nationality, national identity or citizenship) have different meanings in different languages, and people regularly talk about them without knowing exactly what they mean. Does nation, for example, refer to the citizens of a given country or only to those who are of the same national origin? Does race refer to the colour of one’s skin or some other physical trait? Or does it refer to a whole set of supposed psychological or mental traits (e.g. ‘Indians are clever,’ ‘Black people are good at sports’, ‘The Japanese are shy’)? Race is often confused with religion, and members of certain religious faiths are frequently characterized as stereotypes (e.g. ‘Muslims are cunning’, ‘Jews are stingy’). Indeed, many of these terms are closely linked to negative stereotypes of minority groups. Some concepts such as integration, multiculturalism and intercultural dialogue are contested, and there is little agreement on what they stand for and how they relate to one another. This Handbook’s first objective, then, is to define these terms and, by doing so, to give adolescents the tools needed to better understand the reality that surrounds them.