CoE seminar on 'challenging school cultures'

The Staff Development Section of the Education Division is again this year organising a week-long seminar within the framework of the Council of Europe in-service training programme for educational staff.

The seminar, to be held between March 24 and 28, is being attended by secondary school teachers from Malta and from 11 other member states of the Council of Europe.

It will be looking closely and critically at school and subject cultures. The keynote presentation will review student difference, particularly gender, across and within schools, and will look at issues of pupil behaviour, attendance, subject choice and achievement. It will also consider orientations to work and family in pupil career trajectories.

The participants will be invited to look at these differences and to consider whether they are being exacerbated by school cultures and classroom practices. Through intensive workshops, they will be engaged in finding out what can be done to achieve equitable outcomes for all pupils based on gender equity, within the present constraints obtaining in their own countries, schools and classrooms.

The seminar will also be an opportunity for reviewing the content of various subject curricula, their pedagogy and the pupils' cognitive styles. This will contribute towards the development of whole school equity policies.

The seminar has generated widespread international interest, as shown from the numerous applications for participation which were submitted by 19 Council of Europe member states. The seminar is being coordinated by Dr Sarah Sammut, National Liaison Officer for the Council of Europe.