Professional development and European projects in education

• Main Author: Davidson Lund, Anne Margaret
• Published: Durham University 1999
• Subjects: 378
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.694765

Having been charged with developing a European dimension in the curriculum in one of the largest FE colleges in the UK, I was responsible for a large number of European transnational projects. The effect which participation in the projects had on my colleagues fascinated me. Despite changes in the sector at Incorporation in 1993, and heavily increased workloads, my project teams came back again and again to take on the additional work. Why? An early summary which I wrote (Davidson Lund, 1992), expressed my concern to understand the wider impact on the institution and its staff of participation in transnational projects. I felt it clear that there were issues in connection with professional development in this context which were worthy of further scrutiny. This quotation illustrates the intriguing nature of the comments I drew from my colleagues, which played a part in spurring me on to this research. The conclusions drawn were that the project had been demanding but immensely worthwhile and had created an observable ripple effect among staff who were not iminediately involved in the curriculum area at the centre of the initiative. (Davidson Lund, 1992: 45). Five years on, and having left FE, I am as intrigued as ever by aspects of professional development in an intercultural context. Implementing and evaluating such activities forms an element of my present work in product and business development for the world's leading multimedia language training company, and I intend that it always will. I feel privileged to have 'stood in the shoes' of my colleagues and am deeply grateful to them for taking part in this study.