Intercultural and Interfaith Dialogue in Education: A Case Study
Working Paper 2008/2
George Myconos
Australia's education system has been a lightning rod for debates over how we should contemplate the past and negotiate the future. It has been a particularly important site of debate in recent years when the nature of national identity has been hotly contested. It has also long been regarded as an important domain where damaging cultural, racial and religious misconceptions and intolerance can and should be addressed.
This paper focuses on one the Centre for Dialogue's cornerstone projects – The Education Dialogue Project (EDP). Written by the programme's coordinator, Dr George Myconos, the paper outlines the philosophy and activities that underpinned phase one of the project (2005-2007). This includes reference to three dialogue ‘frameworks': declaratory-symbolic, (i.e advocacy for dialogue through formal declarations or scholarly exchange); practical-ameliorative approaches to dialogue (focussing on techniques and practical outcomes to ameliorate violence); and educational-foundational approaches (where the discourse and practice of dialogue is evident through formal and informal systems of learning). The author also identifies the philosophers and thinkers that have helped shape the programme's agenda, as well as those educational organisations that participated in the project (including six secondary schools).
Ultimately, Dr Myconos provides a unique insight into how the theory of dialogue can be applied. His account includes details of the workshops and the initiatives that constituted the project. These included innovative professional development events focussing, for example, on interactions in schools between unfamiliar cultures, and dialogue-friendly approaches to the curriculum. Other aspects of the project included establishing relationships with participating schools' diverse communities (including new migrants) and helping to equip teachers with the tools needed to incorporate a dialogic approach in their lessons. Dr Myconos reflects on aspects of the dialogic approach to education that are most suitable to the Victorian setting, and also on the limitations of such endeavours.
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