Towards European Researcher Development and Engagement for Equity and Inclusion: A Tripartite Data-Driven Review of Interculturality in Language Education

Abstract

It was about three years ago, when we were all trying to deal with the unprecedented changes in our lives caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, that the earlier seeds of this book were first germinated in my mind, and we embarked on a process of developing a transnational project from these seeds. Needless to say, these seeds had their genesis in years-long experience and practice, unwavering dedication, and academic knowledge and insights as a teacher trainer and researcher. Ideas do not emerge from nowhere. Ideas do not emerge from a vacuum either. Equity, equality and inclusion have always been part of my agenda and work not only as an academic but also as a person. I could not help myself but have turned to ‘sociological imagination’ to better understand the contexts, practices, norms, values, forces and struggles that shape the world, in which academia also operates. Isn’t it the sine qua non of the ‘homo academicus’? It felt ripe and right as the continuing global changes force us to explore our possibilities to respond to the increasing inequalities, conflicts and injustices to develop a project in order to develop capacity for a broader understanding of diversity and inclusion in education and research practices at the level of higher education. The project has been built upon a shared vision of enhancing the professional development of early-career researchers (ECRs) in order to develop an inclusive, accessible and sustainable researcher development and engagement path through an interculturality approach for a diverse group of ECRs involved in language education across Europe. As such, the present book is one of the outcomes of this project, namely “European Researcher Development and Engagement for Interculturality and Equity- EUREDIE” (Reference Number: 2021-1-TR01-KA220-HED-000029594), funded by the European Commission under the scheme of Erasmus+. I would like to express our deepest gratitude to them and the Turkish National Agency for their support. Neither EUREDIE nor this book would have been possible without the hard work, diligent efforts and commitment of my colleagues in the project team. I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to each one of them for making this project possible and for their contributions to this volume. My special thanks extend to Miriam Roßmantih and Katharina Weber from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich for their invaluable contribution to the review of the literature, which was the result of precious time and highly appreciated effort. My special thanks also extend to Yakub Yıldız, a senior student in the Department of English Language Teaching of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa and the student assistant of the project, for his diligent work in preparing the bibliography of the literature review for this book. When we were drafting the project three years ago, I now realize, I did not actually know how challenging, demanding and overwhelming the implementation of such a large-scale project could be. As I look back, there are many things that I would have done differently had I known differently. This is not meant to express regrets but lessons learnt and insights gained throughout though. As such, I would like to express my foremost gratitude to Dr. Dilek İnal for her stable presence in those moments of desperation, of pessimism, of frustration, and for continuously supporting me in every possible way,with trust and encouragement, despite whatever else is going on in her own life. De facto she has been the co-coordinator of this project. When I first found out about the acceptance of the project, I did not know that only ten percent of the project applications were accepted. That was a moment of pride and satisfaction stemming from the recognition of the rigor and quality of our work. In this regard, I would also like to thank Prof. Dr. Erol İnce, Dr. İrfan Şimşek, Dr. Murat Aydoğmuş and Volkan Şimşek of the European Union and International Projects Unit at Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa for their support and help right from the beginning till the publication of this book. Furthermore, I would like to extend my special thanks to Prof. Dr. Ali Tilbe and Prof. Dr. Ahmet Akgül for their valuable contributions and support during the publication process and to Prof. Dr. Sevinç Hatipoğlu, Assoc. Prof. Tuncer Can and Dr. Özlem Etuş for their encouragement and support throughout. Our thanks also extend to the distinguished members of the Scientific Advisory Committee of EUREDIE, Prof. Dr. Adrian Holliday, Prof. Dr. Christiane Lütge and Dr. Maria Manuela Guilherme, for their immeasurable contributions to the success of this project.