Chapter 12: Theoretical Aspects of European and International Orientation

The various analyses of the internationalisation policy as described in the chapters of Part A signify that a considerable number of initiatives have been taken in terms of policies as well as education practice: In the past two decades, the opportunities in the field of internationalisation have strongly increased as a result of European and national measures.¹ The European and international orientation (EIO) activities of the past 20 years have proved to be highly motivating to both teachers and pupils, while the positive learning environment has formed the basis for the further elaboration of the EIO concept.

When defining the theoretical aspects of the EIO in further detail, one has to take into account that this field has only existed for some twenty years or less (some member states have been engaged with this issue for no more than five years; they entered the European Union in 2004²). In the first ten years (1990–2000), the focus was mainly on the development of activities at schools. Only in the following years did it become possible to start a process of reflection and theory development. Naturally, the initial impetus to formulate concepts was already given at the outset, as in the European Curriculum Network, an association of the University of Brighton, the Europaïsche Akademie Berlin, and the CEVNO Alkmaar.