To obtain a better understanding of country-specific policies, a country-specific literature review was undertaken. The search entailed key-terms focusing on relevance and the three higher education relevance dimensions. The main outcomes of the country-specific literature review are discussed in this chapter. We do so by analysing the typically…

According to recommendations of the UN Secretary General's Global Education First Initiative, countries and regions require a number of structural changes if they are to implement educational policies and practice based on global citizenship education, and to promote respect and responsibility across cultures. In this paper, we present the first…

Europe's knowledge economies need high-level skills, the capacity to innovate and to support democratic societies. In this perspective, the main objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the relevance of higher education and how this is promoted in various countries in Europe and beyond. The evidence, conclusions and…

"Images & Identity" was a two-year curriculum development project in which citizenship and art educators in the Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Germany, Malta and Portugal collaborated on the production of teacher education materials. The article begins with a critical analysis of educational policy for European citizenship and of…

Europe's knowledge economies need high-level skills, the capacity to innovate and to support democratic societies. In this perspective, the main objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the relevance of higher education and how this is promoted in various countries in Europe and beyond. The evidence, conclusions and…

The country case studies are part of the empirical data collected for the "Promoting the Relevance of Higher Education" project. Before presenting the case studies, this introductory chapter describes how the 8 case studies were selected, the case study methodology, and provides an overview of the interviewed organisations and experts.…

Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) in the Republic of Ireland and Local and Global Citizenship (LGC) in Northern Ireland keenly promote students' active participation in society. However, the purpose of this participation is not necessarily to encourage students to campaign for change in the present but rather that "students are…

This annex to the main report "Promoting the Relevance of Higher Education" includes the international policy literature study and the review of indicators. The objective of the literature study was to provide first insights into the policies that relate to the three dimensions of higher education relevance: personal development,…

A drive for the development of European citizenship (EC) through Modern Foreign Language (MFL) teaching has existed for some time within the academic literature as well as policy institutions. Nevertheless, the views of MFL teachers on the role of MFL in developing EC have rarely been given a voice. This article presents the findings of a study…

The marketised and securitised shaping of formal education sites in terms of risk prevention strategies have transformed what it means to be a learner and a citizen. In this book, Karl Kitching explores racialised dimensions to suggest how individuals and collectives are increasingly made responsible for their own welfare as "good" or…

This article explores policies and practices of global citizenship and internationalisation within higher education in Canada and Ireland, comparing two Canadian and two Irish universities. The cases suggest a number of entangled and contradictory strands of internationalisation, with implications for global citizenship. Underlying notions of…

This paper considers the prospects for sustainable service/community based learning as an element of a civic engagement strategy within the context of teacher education. It draws on findings of a study of the policy, process and practice of embedding civic engagement in the higher education curriculum in Ireland and the author's experience…

This article considers social and educational policy responses to increasing ethnic diversity in the Republic of Ireland and related concerns about the intensification of racism in Irish society in the "Celtic Tiger" era. Drawing on approaches which emphasise the extent to which discourses on "race" and multiculturalism are…

The February 2002 Council of Europe seminar on "Civic Education Policy and Standards Setting in the Russian Federation" is the second seminar devoted to these issues. The first seminar was held in December 2000. The main objectives were to introduce European work in civic education, particularly that of Romania and Ireland, and to draft…

Many European governments associate improving literacy with providing development assistance to regions like Africa and Asia from which the majority of the world's 774 million illiterates come. As school attendance is compulsory in the region, it is assumed that the Education for All (EFA) goals have been achieved and literacy is therefore not…