Chapter 1: Internationalisation in Secondary Education: An Introduction

Since the beginning of European integration in the second half of the last century, the influence of this remarkable event in the history of our continent has become visible in a large number of areas. Almost on a daily basis, countries, companies, institutions, and citizens are confronted with the consequences of European co-operation, or are involved in discussions about the Union’s further developments. Some claim that the founder of European integration, Jean Monnet, had in retrospect wished that he had started this process with education rather than with coal and steel. This is, of course, a misconception because Monnet—as a realist—understood quite well that the only way to end the disagreements within Europe, which had lasted for centuries, was to create a tight economic basis from which further steps would be taken, rather than the reverse.