RESOURCES
Teacher Education and Competencies
Teacher Education Policy:
A broad outline of EU policy can be found on this page, from which relevant official documents can be downloaded: http://ec.europa.eu/education/school-education/doc832_en.htm
A description of the Peer Learning amongst policy makers in this field can be found on this page, from which you can also download brief summaries for policy makers of the themes discussed (such as fostering effective relationships between Teacher Ed. Institutions and schools, the "induction" of new teachers into the profession, etc): http://ec.europa.eu/education/school-education/doc836_en.htm
A thorough description of the different education systems in the Member States can be found in the book 'Key Data on Education in Europe 2005' from here: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/Eurydice/showPresentation?pubid=052EN
Note: New edition (Key Data 2009) is to be published June 2009.
Ways to promote 'twinning' between schools in US and Europe:
A good starting point to find individual schools might be this portal http://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/index.htm, which is a tool for schools across Europe to get together and create educational projects. Though the US is not currently eligible, you may get some inspiration, and find interesting schools that you could work with.
Involvement of teaching unions:
http://etuce.homestead.com/etuce_en.html is the site of the European federation of teaching unions and sets out their main policy concerns. Here you can download their excellent policy document 'Teacher Education in Europe' which is worth reading.
Key Competencies:
The Recommendation on key competencies for lifelong learning, and the work done with Member States to implement, is available at http://ec.europa.eu/education/school-education/doc830_en.htm
Diversity
TIES Network:
A report on research conducted on the second generation of migrant children in different parts of Europe.
Comparative Analysis:
A report that compares Moroccan children in Amsterdam with Caribbean (Dominican) children in New York City.