Languages, Mobility, and European Understanding to Escape Barriers in Lifelong Teacher Training

ongoing

The LangUEscape project, led by the INSPÉ de Lorraine (National Institute of Higher Education for Teaching and Education)—a faculty of the Université de Lorraine responsible for national pre-service teacher training and a provider of lifelong teacher education—aims to position the training of (future) teachers in Lorraine as a living laboratory for the development of European culture. Faced with today's challenges—welcoming student diversity, ensuring equal access to culture, navigating generative artificial intelligence, and fostering critical thinking—teacher education plays a key role. In a context where rising nationalism encourages an inward-looking mindset, investing in initial, ongoing, and lifelong teacher education is essential to helping citizens, from young pupils to teacher trainers, understand a complex world and actively contribute to a democratic European society. With its cross-border context and holistic approach, LangUEscape stands out by leveraging the role of European languages and cultures to develop informed knowledge about the EU and strengthen a sense of belonging to the European project. As such, the project team positions itself as a key player, capable of mobilizing established structures and transdisciplinary experts to achieve this goal. The responses to the needs and challenges of Lorraine's educational communities are co-constructed through a bottom-up approach that enhances the skills of educational stakeholders with a hands-on experience. Ultimately, LangUEscape aims to foster a deep understanding of the European Union—its issues and values—by promoting multilingualism and interculturality while training linguistic and cultural mediators to become ambassadors of European educational initiatives. It encourages lifelong professional development through mobility within the EU and engagement with contemporary European research.