Borderland Education and Multicultural Perspectives in Central Eastern Europe

Doi: https://doi.org/10.58603/REYJ9063

Rezumat: This paper examines how borderland regions in Central-Eastern Europe shape educational interactions among ethnic, linguistic, and religious communities. Frontier areas such as Transylvania and Vojvodina function as historically layered "contact zones," where schooling continuously negotiates competing identities. Drawing on intercultural education theory, the concept of the contact zone, and models of bilingual and plurilingual instruction, the study analyzes the statistical landscape of minority education across Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, and Serbia, before turning to two in-depth case studies. The analysis identifies persistent challenges — linguistic disparities, monocultural curricula, and insufficient intercultural teacher training — alongside the structural tension in European Union policy between integration and the protection of minority identity. The paper concludes with directions for strengthening cross-border educational cooperation and closes the gap between European diversity discourse and local implementation.