Centre for International Education and Research
Encyclopedia
The Centre for International Education and Research (CIER) evolved in the 1950s, at the University of Birmingham
UK, in the context of the involvement of British academics in the new international educational role of the United Nations
.
Within the philosophy of Global justice
, research and teaching interests at CIER include: human security
, extremism
, conflict
and emergencies, sustainable development
and environmental justice
; global citizenship
, human rights
, and democracy
; marginalisation, street children
, inclusion
and special educational needs (SEN); international development
, and university internationalisation. The Centre runs an ‘International Studies in Education’ programme, at Masters and PhD levels, reflecting the fields of International education
and Comparative education
, and the work of international organisations such as UNESCO
and UNICEF.
The Centre has worked with academics and students from most parts of the world, including Africa, South and East Asia, Europe, Middle East, and North and South America. Staff have carried out international research for academic and other organisations including the British Academy
, British Council
, Carnegie Foundation
, CfBT, Council for Canadian Studies, Daiwa Angro Japanese Foundation, Department for International Development
UK (DFID), Deutsche Bank
, Economic and Social Research Council
(ESRC), Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, European Commission
, GTZ, Gulbenkian Foundation, Home Office
, Japan Foundation
, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
, Oxfam
, Sino-British Fellowship Trust, United States Department of Labor
(USDoL), United Nations University
(UNU), UNESCO
and UNICEF.
CIER is a member of the UNESCO Associated Schools Network
, and Development Education Association. It helped to set up the British University in Dubai
(BUID), and has formal links with Ontario Institute of Education (OISE), University of Toronto
; Deshkal Society, Delhi; the Gambia Youth Movement for Peace and Unity in Africa; and the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) in Seoul.
, a US Consul sent by Abraham Lincoln
, who lived in Harborne
just north of the present University campus. Known as the 'learned blacksmith', Burritt educated himself and became an exceptional linguist and social activist, working against slavery and famine, and for peace and industrial workers rights. In 1847 he created precursors to the League of Nations
and United Nations
- the League of Universal Brotherhood, and an International Peace Congress
in Brussels (1848) and Paris (1849). He proposed a 'Congress of Nations' and a 'High Court of Nations', and was an instigator of peace education
. He advocated free universal education, and in a 'Speech at the Anniversary of the Parish Schools, Harborne' concluded, "The pursuit of knowledge is not a steeple-chase...stimualed by the ambition to excel, and carry off the largest number of prizes and certificates of merit. It is the acquiring of the working capital of a useful life when the learner comes to act for himself or for others".
The ethos of Burritt's work continued when, after World War I, Birmingham University staff collaborated with the Workers' Educational Association
(WEA) and League of Nations Union
in Harborne
, to teach local factory workers. In 1947, the International Student Service and Refugee Committee worked with the British Council
to bring to the University eighty-three students from sixteen countries.
In 1952, Educational Review, the journal of the Birmingham University Institute of Education, ran a summer school at Malvern. Speaking in the era of a post-war world, and the formation of the United Nations
, the Institute's director, Professor M.V.C. Jeffreys, observed, "The fate of our civilisation hangs in the balance. It is an age of conflict and confusion, both material and spiritual." At Malvern, "a group of men and women whose main purpose was a comparative study of education" met. The result was a report, ‘Education in other countries’.
This initiative was followed by a series of country studies, including a description of 'Education in India' by B.C.L. James who was a Lecturer in Education at Birmingham University. James concluded, 'If every citizen is to exercise his [sic] legal rights in an atmosphere of goodwill, the teacher must be in a position to give his pupils a full understanding of his country's democracy', which was prescient of CIER's subsequent work on democracy, citizenship and global justice. A report about ‘Education for International understanding’, appeared in 1954, and inspired the UNESCO Recommendation of 1974. This Recommendation provides the basis for the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU), which is formally linked with CIER.
In the 1960s, international work became located within the Unit for Commonwealth and Development Studies in Education, under the direction of Robert Dalton and then Rex Oram, which provided a 'Commonwealth
Course' for ministry officials and head teachers. Dalton wrote, Education on the move: a handbook for teachers and administrators in the British tropical commonwealth, in 1968, and the Unit hosted the Annual Conference of the Association of Teachers of Overseas Education (ATOE) in 1984, with Philip Coombs as keynote speaker. While collaborating with the British Council
, the Centre became known as the International Unit, and Peter Willig, who had taught in China soon after the Cultural Revolution
, established a Comparative education
course. In 1992, Roy Lowe, a Reader in the Education Faculty, wrote Education and the second war, which covered European countries and Japan. This prefaced CIER’s work on education and conflict in countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Lebanon, Palestine, and Afghanistan.
To reflect the broadening scope of its endeavours, the name was changed in 1996 to the Centre for International Education and Research (CIER), while under the directorship of Professor Lynn Davies.
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
UK, in the context of the involvement of British academics in the new international educational role of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
Within the philosophy of Global justice
Global justice
Global justice is an issue in political philosophy arising from the concern that the world at large is unjust.-Context:The broader philosophical context of the global justice debate, in both its contemporary and historical forms, is the issue of impartiality...
, research and teaching interests at CIER include: human security
Human security
Human security is an emerging paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities whose proponents challenge the traditional notion of national security by arguing that the proper referent for security should be the individual rather than the state...
, extremism
Extremism
Extremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...
, conflict
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
and emergencies, sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
and environmental justice
Environmental justice
Environmental justice is "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies." In the words of Bunyan Bryant,...
; global citizenship
Global citizenship
Global citizenship applies the whole world to bring world peace and the concept of citizenship to a global level and is strongly connected with the concepts of globalization and cosmopolitanism. World citizenship is a term which can be distinguished from global citizenship, although some may merge...
, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, and democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
; marginalisation, street children
Street children
A street child is a child who lives on the streets of a city, deprived of family care and protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of about 5 and 17 years old.Street children live in junk boxes, parks or on the street itself...
, inclusion
Inclusion (education)
Inclusion in education is an approach to educating students with special educational needs. Under the inclusion model, students with special needs spend most or all of their time with non-disabled students. Implementation of these practices varies...
and special educational needs (SEN); international development
International development
International development or global development is a concept that lacks a universally accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development — the development of greater quality of life for humans...
, and university internationalisation. The Centre runs an ‘International Studies in Education’ programme, at Masters and PhD levels, reflecting the fields of International education
International education
International education can mean many different things and its definition is debated. Some have defined two general meanings according to its involvement of students...
and Comparative education
Comparative education
Comparative education is a fully established academic field of study that examines education in one country by using data and insights drawn from the practises and situation in another country, or countries...
, and the work of international organisations such as UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
and UNICEF.
The Centre has worked with academics and students from most parts of the world, including Africa, South and East Asia, Europe, Middle East, and North and South America. Staff have carried out international research for academic and other organisations including the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
, British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
, Carnegie Foundation
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
, CfBT, Council for Canadian Studies, Daiwa Angro Japanese Foundation, Department for International Development
Department for International Development
The Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
UK (DFID), Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
, Economic and Social Research Council
Economic and Social Research Council
The Economic and Social Research Council is one of the seven Research Councils in the United Kingdom. It receives most of its funding from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and provides funding and support for research and training work in social and economic issues, such as...
(ESRC), Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, GTZ, Gulbenkian Foundation, Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, Japan Foundation
Japan Foundation
The was established in 1972 by an Act of the Japanese Diet as a special legal entity to undertake international dissemination of Japanese culture, and became an independent administrative institution under the jurisdiction of the Foreign Ministry of Japan on 1 October 2003 under the "Independent...
, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is a British social policy research and development charity, that funds a UK-wide research and development programme. It seeks to understand the root causes of social problems, to identify ways of overcoming them, and to show how social needs can be met in practice...
, Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
, Sino-British Fellowship Trust, United States Department of Labor
United States Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...
(USDoL), United Nations University
United Nations University
The United Nations University is an academic arm of the United Nations established in 1973, which serves purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The UNU undertakes research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of...
(UNU), UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
and UNICEF.
CIER is a member of the UNESCO Associated Schools Network
UNESCO ASPNet
The UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network, or ASPNet for short, is a programme established in 1953 to encourage schools worldwide to educate students on issues related to UNESCO's "overarching goal of promoting peace and international understanding". , it includes nearly eight thousand...
, and Development Education Association. It helped to set up the British University in Dubai
British University in Dubai
The British University in Dubai , was established in 2004, located in Dubai International Academic City, Dubai. is the Middle East region's first, research based, postgraduate university. BUiD offers a unique opportunity for higher education....
(BUID), and has formal links with Ontario Institute of Education (OISE), University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
; Deshkal Society, Delhi; the Gambia Youth Movement for Peace and Unity in Africa; and the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) in Seoul.
History
Early international influences in Birmingham include Elihu BurrittElihu Burritt
Elihu Burritt was an American philanthropist and social activist.-Biography:He was born December 8, 1810, in the town of New Britain, Connecticut....
, a US Consul sent by Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, who lived in Harborne
Harborne
Harborne is an area three miles southwest from Birmingham city centre, England. It is a Birmingham City Council ward in the formal district and in the parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Edgbaston.- Geography :...
just north of the present University campus. Known as the 'learned blacksmith', Burritt educated himself and became an exceptional linguist and social activist, working against slavery and famine, and for peace and industrial workers rights. In 1847 he created precursors to the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
and United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
- the League of Universal Brotherhood, and an International Peace Congress
International Peace Congress
International Peace Congress, or International Congress of the Friends of Peace, was the name of a series of international meetings of representatives from peace societies from throughout the world held in various places in Europe from 1843 to 1853...
in Brussels (1848) and Paris (1849). He proposed a 'Congress of Nations' and a 'High Court of Nations', and was an instigator of peace education
Peace education
Peace education may be defined as the process of acquiring the values, the knowledge and developing the attitudes, skills, and behaviors to live in harmony with oneself, with others, and with the natural environment....
. He advocated free universal education, and in a 'Speech at the Anniversary of the Parish Schools, Harborne' concluded, "The pursuit of knowledge is not a steeple-chase...stimualed by the ambition to excel, and carry off the largest number of prizes and certificates of merit. It is the acquiring of the working capital of a useful life when the learner comes to act for himself or for others".
The ethos of Burritt's work continued when, after World War I, Birmingham University staff collaborated with the Workers' Educational Association
Workers' Educational Association
The Workers’ Educational Association seeks to provide access to education and lifelong learning for adults from all backgrounds, and in particular those who have previously missed out on education. The International Federation of Workers Education Associations has consultative status to UNESCO...
(WEA) and League of Nations Union
League of Nations Union
The League of Nations Union was an organization formed in the United Kingdom to promote international justice, collective security and a permanent peace between nations based upon the ideals of the League of Nations. The League of Nations was established by the Great Powers as part of the Paris...
in Harborne
Harborne
Harborne is an area three miles southwest from Birmingham city centre, England. It is a Birmingham City Council ward in the formal district and in the parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Edgbaston.- Geography :...
, to teach local factory workers. In 1947, the International Student Service and Refugee Committee worked with the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
to bring to the University eighty-three students from sixteen countries.
In 1952, Educational Review, the journal of the Birmingham University Institute of Education, ran a summer school at Malvern. Speaking in the era of a post-war world, and the formation of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, the Institute's director, Professor M.V.C. Jeffreys, observed, "The fate of our civilisation hangs in the balance. It is an age of conflict and confusion, both material and spiritual." At Malvern, "a group of men and women whose main purpose was a comparative study of education" met. The result was a report, ‘Education in other countries’.
This initiative was followed by a series of country studies, including a description of 'Education in India' by B.C.L. James who was a Lecturer in Education at Birmingham University. James concluded, 'If every citizen is to exercise his [sic] legal rights in an atmosphere of goodwill, the teacher must be in a position to give his pupils a full understanding of his country's democracy', which was prescient of CIER's subsequent work on democracy, citizenship and global justice. A report about ‘Education for International understanding’, appeared in 1954, and inspired the UNESCO Recommendation of 1974. This Recommendation provides the basis for the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU), which is formally linked with CIER.
In the 1960s, international work became located within the Unit for Commonwealth and Development Studies in Education, under the direction of Robert Dalton and then Rex Oram, which provided a 'Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
Course' for ministry officials and head teachers. Dalton wrote, Education on the move: a handbook for teachers and administrators in the British tropical commonwealth, in 1968, and the Unit hosted the Annual Conference of the Association of Teachers of Overseas Education (ATOE) in 1984, with Philip Coombs as keynote speaker. While collaborating with the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
, the Centre became known as the International Unit, and Peter Willig, who had taught in China soon after the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, established a Comparative education
Comparative education
Comparative education is a fully established academic field of study that examines education in one country by using data and insights drawn from the practises and situation in another country, or countries...
course. In 1992, Roy Lowe, a Reader in the Education Faculty, wrote Education and the second war, which covered European countries and Japan. This prefaced CIER’s work on education and conflict in countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Lebanon, Palestine, and Afghanistan.
To reflect the broadening scope of its endeavours, the name was changed in 1996 to the Centre for International Education and Research (CIER), while under the directorship of Professor Lynn Davies.