Addressing educational needs of teachers in the EU for inclusive education in a context of diversity - Volume 4: Towards intercultural and democratic competent teachers in the EU: Key findings from literature and practice and recommendations for policy makers

The acquisition of intercultural competence is a crucial need for teachers to deal with diversity and to achieve quality and inclusive education. In this context, in 2019 the JRC launched the INNO4DIV project with the aim to support education policy development in the field of teachers’ intercultural competence. The project has defined a conceptual framework, performed a literature review, developed assessment guidelines and applied them to the selection and analysis of and 21 innovative cases for the development of intercultural and democratic competences in teacher education. This fifth and final report, builds on the previous research steps and on the cross-case analysis of the innovative cases. The research findings emphasize the importance of teachers’ intercultural and democratic competence in achieving quality and inclusive education and promoting social cohesion and inclusive societies. The analysis identified key enabling components for teachers’ intercultural and democratic competence development and innovative practices such as: the work towards a common understanding of IDC, the cooperation across multiple stakeholders, curriculum development, teaching methodologies, supportive tools and mentoring for teachers, and the implementation of the whole-school approach. These have inspired a set of for EU and national policy makers included in the report.