The Role of Education in Coexistence

Abstract

In the increasingly federalised European Union, cultural diversity has become both an asset and a challenge. From a cultural viewpoint, this diversity includes many dominant cultures, indigenous and national minority cultures, as well as immigrant community cultures, as a result of large population movements. There are similarities and differences between these cultures, and the states and, ultimately, the European Union must seek to strike a balance between them, avoiding confrontation, tensions, and clashes, while simultaneously creating social peace, solidarity, and loyalty. Important elements in this process are socialisation, adaptation, the application of integration policies, and, ultimately, education. Culture is a learned factor, as people acquire cultural patterns through socialisation, and education is one of the most important
arenas for this socialisation. Education, if it considers the cultural differences in society, does so primarily by promoting the coexistence of cultures, building bridges between different cultures through the means of understanding, and thus promoting social justice. Currently, Member States in the European Union are addressing these challenges according to their own objectives and national needs. The study therefore examines in general terms how Member States are responding to the emergence of different cultures. It also takes into account the process of federalisation of the European Union, in which the question of how to respond to cultural diversity may become a common – and shared – concern for the European Union. The study therefore also looks at educational responses to cultural diversity in the European Union.