CONTINUING INTERCULTURAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND NEW PARADIGMS IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This paper will provide an overview of the CIPDE Project, based at the University of Glasgow Faculty of Education but involving an international partnership with member institutions in Finland, Italy, Netherlands and Poland. It is funded by the European Union Lifelong Learning Programme for the period 2007-2009. CIPDE stands for Continuing Intercultural Professional Development in Europe. As the name suggests, it provides a new and innovative style and format for teacher professional development. The Project aims to help teachers to expand their cultural awareness, both within their own culture(s) and across Europe and beyond. In particular there is a focus on notions of culture and identity, as well as the critical interrogation and production of cultural artefacts, including art, photography, literature and film. The primary purpose for doing this is to enhance and enrich teaching and learning in the classroom of the near future.

The core goal of the CIPDE Project is to develop, evaluate and disseminate an online (web-based) Continuing Professional Development (CPD) package for teachers. It is also intended to provide a model of CPD that can be utilised to support teacher professional development at all stages, from initial teacher training to induction/year one and to teachers moving towards enhanced/expert/experienced status.

The headline Project aims are as follows:

1. Promote intercultural and inter-professional dialogue between teachers across a number of European countries.
2. Develop a set of innovative CPD resources for teachers focussing on intercultural and citizenship education contexts and outcomes.
3. Provide an alternative model for teacher professional development across Europe that requires engagement with ICT as well as reflection and collaboration around cultural issues.
4. Research and disseminate evidence on the impact on practice of this approach to teacher CPD.

The paper will set the Project in its relevant policy and research context, will provide a rationale for this development, and will offer some preliminary thoughts on how such a model might be drawn upon and developed further within other educational settings and partnerships.