One contemporary development of relevance here is the movement of government funding away from supporting arts, humanities and social sciences in UK higher education - a potential risk to the respect and understanding agenda that is being replicated in different ways around the world on account of current economic constraints. First, critical self-examination guards against the mindless bigotry that often underpins conflict, fuelled by prejudice developed through restrictive school curricula. Instead, a broad cosmopolitan vision is proposed, including a strong rooting in the learners’ own community and culture, but also a knowledge of other traditions and places, and the ability to empathise and communicate with other peoples, and consequently respect and understand them. This agenda fits closely with the field of intercultural education (e.g. Gundara, 2000), which will be explored in empirical contexts in the later sections.