National Council of Jewish Women conference

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Esther Landa, President of National Council of Jewish Women

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

National Council of Jewish Women Older women workshop

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

National Council of Neighborhood Women conference (business women)

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

National Council of Neighborhood Women conference (business women)

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Item and task difficulty in a B2 reading examination: perceptions of test-takers and CEFR alignment experts compared with psychometric measurements

The article presents a study of a CEFR B2-level reading subtest that is part of the Slovenian national secondary school leaving examination in English as a foreign language, and compares the test-taker actual performance (objective difficulty) with the test-taker and expert perceptions of item difficulty (subjective difficulty). The study also analyses the test-takers’ comments on item difficulty obtained from a while-reading questionnaire. The results are discussed in the framework of the existing research in the fields of (the assessment of) reading comprehension, and are addressed with regard to their implications for item-writing, FL teaching and curriculum development.

Receptive Vocabulary of CLIL and Non-CLIL Primary and Secondary School Learners

CLIL instruction has been reported to be beneficial for foreign language vocabulary learning since CLIL students show higher vocabulary profiles than students of their same age in traditional EFL contexts. However, to our knowledge, the receptive vocabulary knowledge of CLIL and non-CLIL learners at the end of primary and secondary education has not been examined yet. Hence, this study aims at comparing the receptive vocabulary size 79 CLIL primary learners with the receptive vocabulary knowledge of 331 non-CLIL learners at the end of primary and secondary school. Sex-based differences were also analysed. The 2k Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) was used for the purposes of the study. Results revealed that learners’ receptive vocabulary sizes lie within the most frequent 1000 words, non-CLIL secondary school students throw better results than primary students but the differences between the secondary group and the CLIL group are not statistically significant. As for sex-based differences, we found no significant differences among the groups. These findings led us to believe that the CLIL approach offers a benefit for vocabulary acquisition since CLIL learners have been exposed to the foreign language for a shorter period of time and the results are quite similar to their non-CLIL secondary school partners.

The priorities of the Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union

The paper discusses the Polish presidency of the EU Council in terms of its priorities. It analyzes the circumstances of their formulation, selection and implementation. The authors answer the question of what influenced the selection of Poland’s priorities and what selection mechanisms were applied. Additionally, they examine how the national agenda was ‘concealed’ in Community rhetoric. Thus, the analytical part discusses the political and legal path that determined the priorities. The EU agenda, Polish ambitions and the context of the trio is also presented. The paper concludes with the authors’ assessment of the implementation of the priorities.

Defensive realism and the Concert of Europe

Why do great powers expand? Offensive realist John Mearsheimer claims that states wage an eternal struggle for power, and that those strong enough to seek regional hegemony nearly always do. Mearsheimer's evidence, however, displays a selection bias. Examining four crises between 1814 and 1840, I show that the balance of power restrained Russia, Prussia and France. Yet all three also exercised self-restraint; Russia, in particular, passed up chances to bid for hegemony in 1815 and to topple Ottoman Turkey in 1829. Defensive realism gives a better account of the Concert of Europe, because it combines structural realism with non-realist theories of state preferences.

Plurilingualism vs multilingualism in early years of schooling: The rise of a critical cultural awareness in primary school

Since early 80s the Council of Europe has taken a great approach to teaching and learning of languages by encouraging plurilingual practices instead of multilingual practices, being these understood as the coexistence of several languages within a given society. In this context, we believe that once one learns many languages, one values one's native language, allowing one to understand it more clearly and to communicate with others on an equal footing and, more importantly, one also learns about other cultures. This is an issue of great importance in order to value and respect one's own and other cultures in the context of European integration. Considering this, in this article, we present two linked projects: a) the “PrimaLang” project, related teaching practices multilingual promoting critical cultural awarenessl in the 1st cycle of Portuguese Primary School System; b) the “Plurilingual” project, which refers to the design of a coursebook which stimulates the development of a plurilingual competence in the 1st cycle of Portuguese Primary School System. At the same time, we analyze some materials made by students and teachers in the projects to better understand their contribution under the InterNetwork Comenius Project

Quality of implementation in evidence-based positive parenting programs in Spain: Introduction to the special issue

The main contribution of this special issue is to present evaluation studies involving large-scale experiences of implementation of positive parenting programs delivered through home, group-based, and on-line formats in Spain. Two research questions were addressed: (1) what factors affect implementation; and (2) for whom and under which implementation conditions the programs lead to positive outcomes. Target populations were mainly families from low and middle socioeconomic backgrounds, and parents at psychosocial risk attending family support services in need of improving their parenting skills. All the programs fall under the umbrella of the positive parenting initiative launched by the Council of Europe, are evidence-based, follow a collaborative schema with national, regional, or local authorities, have multi-site implementation, and are supported by highly experienced researchers from Spanish universities. Special attention is given to the program adaptations to different contexts, the profile of parents who benefited most from the programs, analyses of the implementation process, and the assessment of parenting programs in the community. The information provided will help to increase our knowledge of evidence-based parenting programs in Spain, their implementation processes and results, and the future challenges that need to be addressed to continue the current expansion of evidence-based parenting programs.

The battle fronts of Europe /

Shows the area between the European western and eastern fronts overlaid over a map of the United States.

Enea Silvio Piccolomini: in search of Europe

The Italian humanist Enea Silvio Piccolomini wrote abundantly about Europe and is often viewed as a pioneer of European thought. Works previous to the treatise De Europa leave no doubt that the author pondered the subject long since. The treatise De Europa, however, has the advantage of dealing with Europe from multiple dimensions. Though the work can provide matter to make the case for an identity of Europe, Piccolomini portrays a block full of tensions and conflicts, where national languages and national identities begin to emerge. It is the historical circumstance of a Turkish threat to Europe that makes the appeal to a European identity more compelling. Still the case for European identity in Piccolomini is hardly more than an emotional response to the historical moment.