INFORMATION

Institutes members in 2011-2012

AUSTRIA
• Kirchliche Pädagogische Hochschule in Wien

BELGIUM
• Arteveldehogeschool - Gent
• Haute Ecole Léonard de Vinci - (HELDV) - Louvain-la-Neuve
• Haute Ecole de Namur - Liège - Luxembourg (HENALLUX)
• Haute Ecole Libre Mosane – HELMO (Liège)
• Lessius Mechelen
• Karel de Grote University College - Antwerpen

DENMARK
• University College South Denmark

FRANCE
• Institut Catholique de Paris - CFP Emanuel Mounier 

GERMANY
• Pädagogische Hochschule Schwäbisch Gmünd - University of Education

HUNGARY
• Apor Vilmos Catholic College Vac 

IRELAND
• Saint Patrick’s College - Dublin

THE NETHERLANDS
• INHOLLAND University - School of Education Noord

NORWAY
• University of Stavanger - Faculty of Arts and Education

PORTUGAL
• Escola Superior de Educação de Santarém

ROMANIA
• Universitatea de Vest din Timisoara 

SPAIN
• Centro Superior de Estudios Universitarios La Salle - Madrid
• Escuni - Escuela Universitaria de Magisterio - Madrid
• Universidad Catolica de Valencia San Vincente Martir
• Universitat de Valencia – Facultat de Filosofia y Ciencies de la Educacion
• Universitat Ramon Llull - Facultat de Psicologia, Ciències de l'Educació i de l'Esport Blanquerna - Barcelona

SWITZERLAND
• Haute Ecole Pédagogique du Canton de Vaud - Lausanne

SWEDEN
• University of Gävle - Department of Education and Psychology
• University of Örebro - Department of Education

UNITED KINGDOM
• Kingston University - School of Education
- University College Lincoln - Bishop Grosseteste

CZECH REPUBLIC
- University of Hradec Kralove - Faculty of Education


Administrative Council

The Administrative Council consists of one representative per country represented in the Comenius Association. The representatives are elected by their peers. 
  
  In 2011-2012,  following persons belonged to the Administrative Council:
   
  • Austria: Brigitte Bruschek 
  • Belgium : Martine Wilmots
  • Denmark : Tove Heidemann
  • France: Laurence Rolinet
  • Germany: Monika Becker
  • Hungary: Judit Pazonyi
  • Ireland : Gerry O'Reilly
  • Norway : Monica Röthle
  • the Netherlands : Ankie Mantel
  • Portugal : George Camacho
  • Spain : Margarita Álvarez 
  • Sweden: Kia Kimhag
  • Switzerland: Carla Guttman
  • United Kingdom : Andrew Powell
  • Czech Republic: Vera Tauchmanova
   
The Administrative Council is composed of a Board of Management, which makes operational the decisions and mission of the Administrative Council. 

Board of Management

Since october 2010, the Board of Management is composed of:

	Geneviève Laloy, President Haute Ecole Léonard de Vinci Ecole Normale Catholique du Brabant Wallon Voie Cardijn, 10 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve BELGIUM Tel : +32/10 45 79 58 Fax : +32/10 45 46 52 ri@encbw.be & glaloy@polyson.com
	Chantal MULLER – Vice-president Haute Ecole Namur - Liège - Luxembourg (HENALLUX) Département pédagogique de Champion Place du Couvent,3 B-5020 Namur BELGIUM Tel : +32/ 81 468533 (Secrétariat) et +32/ 81 468534 (International Office) Fax : +32/ 81 20 85 89 - chantal.muller@swing.be
	George CAMACHO, Treasurer Escola Superior de Educaçao Santarém Complexo Andaluz 2001-902 Santarém  - PORTUGAL Tel : +351 243 309 180 george.camacho@ese.ipsantarem.pt
	Monika BECKER, Secretary Pädagogische Hochschule Schwäbisch Gmünd - University of Education - Akademisches Auslandsamt / International Office Oberbettringer Str. 200 D-73525 Schwäbisch Gmünd - GERMANY Tel. +49-7171-983225 Fax. +49-7171-983388 Monika.Becker@ph-gmuend.de
	N.N.

General Philosophy and Origins

The basic philosophy of the Comenius Association presented in the introduction of the statutes
(read statutes), is to contribute to furthering the intercultural dimension in training European teachers through the cognitive, behavioral, methodological, pedagogic and linguistic domains. It concerns learning to appreciate our differences, building tools in order to understand other cultures, and opening up to the intercultural dimension in Europe as teachers.

The objective is not the training of teachers to be capable of teaching in any European country, but rather to develop a distinctive cultural competence and all that is associated with that in relation to new relationships with others and the necessary knowledge if we wish to encourage future teachers to go beyond “ethnocentric culture” passed on by most of our educational systems.

The principles underlying our organization are not of an imposing nature. The Comenius Association does not substitute itself for initiatives taken by different training centers that adapt themselves to their realities and objectives, which they are responsible for at the start of our common project.

The Comenius Association provides a large network for contacts between teacher training institutions and European mobility via student work experiences (future teachers for preschool, primary and middle school) and their trainers or teachers. Essentially the aim is to facilitate the different levels of coordination, as well as exchange of information, relative to different intercultural projects and products. Also this contributes to continuously questioning the basic principles of the intercultural dimension in the European context, as the organizer of basic training and continuity in our teachers.

To be an active member of the Comenius Association requires respect of a common philosophy and respect for the quality criteria defined in the statutes and rules of internal organization. For instance, we ask member to:

- Accept the intercultural dimension as one of the organizers of teacher training.
- Participate in exchange programmes (Coménius sessions (short) and/or " Erasmus and/or intensive programmes and/or research programmes etc.) respecting the common objectives and organizational methods.
- Organize a reception programme in collaboration with partner institutions.
- Organize at least one intercultural training module in preparation and drawing from the exchanges.
- Participate in seminars and twice yearly general meetings of the Association and to participate in initiatives of at least one new activity, or new project which benefits other member institutions (e.g., intensive programme, publications, seminars).
- To confirm in a clear manner in relation to financial posts of responsibility to the rules as stipulated in the statutes (e.g., annual subscriptions covering the functioning costs of the Association).
 

The Origins Of The Comenius Association

In March 1988, at a seminar organised by G.E.R.F.E.C. in Strasbourg, Mr Joan Maria Senent, educationalist at Escuela Univeritaria de Magisterio, "Edetania" of the University of Valencia (ES) and Mr Jaques Chevalier, educationalist at l'Ecole Normale du Brabant Wallon de Nivelles (BE) formulated the main lines of development of an intercultural project concerned with the initial training of teachers at pre-school and primary school level.

Soon after, several institutions of teacher education became involved in the initial stages of the exchange programme. The two colleges mentioned above were joined by institutions from Lille, Paris XVIème, Angers (FR) and PABO Alkmaar (NL).

During the academic year 1988/89 about one hundred students from those four countries participated in the exchange programme. During the academic year 1989/90, institutions of teacher education from Madrid (ES), Montpellier and Grenoble (FR) joined the pioneering colleges. More than two hundred students and tutors participated in the activities as proposed by the Comenius project. The name 'Comenius' was chosen in honour of the famous educationalist, one of the first great European classical scholars.

Since then, the Association has enacted its own statutes and defined its objectives and methods by which the exchanges are to be organised. It has continued to expand and at present includes institutions of education from Dublin (IE), Liège (BE) , Haderslev (DK), Örebro (SE), Namur (BE) , Barcelona (ES), Madrid (ES), Belfast (UK), Örebro (SE), Santarém (PT), Mechelen (BE), Gävle (SE), Antwerpen (BE), Gent (BE).

The most recent returns indicate that for the year 2003/2004 about 350 students and 65 teachers were involved in exchanges. Other institutions have recently joined the Association. They are Kingston upon Thames (UK), Stavanger (NO) and Vienna (AT).