Language and Citizenship in Latvia,Lithuania and Estonia: education and the brinks of warfare

This article considers language and citizenship policies in the light of the political changes of the twentieth century. It draws examples from each of the Baltic States, but its concern is mainly with Latvia and Estonia. It suggests that two sets of distorting legacies have resulted in the rapid transformation of one form of asymmetrical bilingualism to another. Educational institutions have become involved in the encouragement of xenophobia as a mode of state building. The article considers the relationship between these policies and the prospects for peace in the region. These policies represent a tangible example of the relationship between educational institutions and warfare.     

Intercultural education: theory and practice

The paper examines the theoretical position of intercultural educational studies. It begins by stressing the vital importance of intercultural education and the progress that has been made in recent times. It then turns to the terminological shift that occurred two decades ago, from multicultural to intercultural education, which was accepted unquestioningly at the time. Retrospectively, we might ask what was the discursive strategy of this lexical change. Did it not serve to disguise the realities of much cultural interaction: conquest, slave trade, genocide? What are the theoretical (as distinct from the moral) premises of intercultural education? Is the aspiration realistically for an education able to negotiate between cultures rather than to show that there is more than one culture? As the subject appears not to be tightly focused, so the context is also under‐theorized and effectively de‐politicized. The international political, economic and cultural contextualization (globalization) of intercultural education is essential to its understanding. Is there an international view of intercultural education, or is it rather a few paradigmatic examples? The paper shows how the development of a social sciences and comparative perspective might assist the theoretical deficit suggested above.     

Intercultural Education in the United States of America and Europe: some parallels and convergences in research and policy

This article considers intercultural education in the United States and Europe from the perspective of both policy initiatives and research traditions. It considers the relevance of the categories of nation and nationalism in both contexts. It notes the educational structures which serve to disadvantage most those already most disadvantaged. It concludes by examining the possible convergence of postmodernist critiques and black studies. In this respect it emphasises what policy makers and researchers into intercultural education in each context can learn from each other.