Ethnology in School and Adult Education (ESE)

Project Number: G1

Country: Germany

Institutions/Departments: Ethnology in School and Adult Education (ESE) e.V.

URL: http://www.ese-web.de/

Publication/Material: http://www.ese-web.de/publikationen/reihe-praxis-ethnologie/

Project leader and contact person: Ursula Bertels, ethnologist, coordinator research and teaching, intercultural trainer (vorstand@ese-web.de)

Duration: Since 1992

Short Description:

In 1992, German ethnologists and pedagogues founded the association, Ethnology in School and Adult Education (ESE), today comprising more than 100 members from different academic disciplines. Drawing on ethnological concepts and interdisciplinary theoretical approaches to intercultural education and intercultural learning, the association works to promote intercultural competences by familiarising people with knowledge of ‘other’ cultures and teaching skills for intercultural conflict mediation. ESE’s work is characterized by the recognition of diversity as a social reality and their third-culture-perspective (Dritt-Kultur-Perspektive), which assumes that “engagement with cultures from regions that are distant to everyday life in Germany allows for an impartial engagement with another culture’s perspective” (ESE website 2019). In ESE’s guidelines, the association states that moderate cultural relativism as well as reflecting on one's own actions and overcoming one's own ethnocentrism is indispensable for peaceful coexistence in a diverse society.

The association offers courses on conflict prevention and intercultural conflict mediation, tailored to the needs of school pupils, teachers, and civil adults. Participants engage in learning about cultures in which they have no previous knowledge or affiliation, to learn how to interact with people of these cultural backgrounds in personal encounters. Association trainers themselves gain intercultural experiences and skills through stays abroad, which are expected to enhance their intercultural competences and their teaching.

Implementation: Since 1992

Target Group(s), age & context: all ages, pupils, teachers, and multipliers

Approach/Method: Training in intercultural competency, conflict mediation and prevention

Type: Courses for adults and school children

Funding: ESE is cooperating and partner of the Institute of Ethnology of the Westfälische Wilhelms-University Münster, ESE is an association

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.