Education policies and practices to foster tolerance, respect for diversity and civic responsibility in children and young people in the EU

The increasing ethnic and religious diversity in Europe presents both opportunities and challenges for European policy makers and European societies in general. It is likely that this diversity will continue to grow. At the same time, recent studies show that intolerance and social exclusion are on the rise, and that some groups of migrants feel alienated. This leads to cases of racial tensions and unrest. 

Education has a key role to play in preparing societies to cope with these phenomena. This independent report reviews the most relevant European and international research on promoting tolerance and social inclusion through education in order to structure and summarise existing knowledge and to distil policy lessons based on evidence.

It addressed the following questions

• What are the main opportunities and challenges that European education systems face in terms of educating for tolerance, respect for diversity and active citizenship?
• For each of these, what policy insights can we draw from existing European and international research evidence?
• Which specific education policies and practices appear to work best in cultivating tolerance and respect for diversity and under which specific circumstances?

Authors

Barry van Driel, Merike Darmondy, Jennifer Kerzil

Cite as

European Commission: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, Public Policy and Management Institute (PPMI), Driel, B. v., Darmody, M. and Kerzil, J., Education policies and practices to foster tolerance, respect for diversity and civic responsibility in children and young people in the EU – Examining the evidence, Publications Office, 2016, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/46172