CONCLUSIONS OF THE COUNCIL AND THE MINISTERS OF EDUCATION MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL

of 31 May 1990

on the enhanced treatment of equality of educational opportunity for girls and boys in the initial and in-service training of teachers

(90/C 162/05)

THE COUNCIL AND THE MINISTERS OF EDUCATION, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

Having regard to their resolutions concerned with the achievement of equal opportunity in education, particularly that of 3 June 1985 containing an action programme in this field (1),

Taking into account that the Commission guidelines for education and training in the medium term (1989 to 1992) place the issue of equality among the main objectives of the next phase of European educational cooperation and that the conclusions of the Council and Ministers of 6 October 1989 on cooperation and Community policy in the field of education in the run-up to 1993 (2) identify equality of access to high-quality education as one of the basic elements for achieving a Europe of training,

Recognizing that the extent to which educational systems effectively deal with issues of equality of opportunity is an important indicator of the quality of the systems themselves,

Reaffirming their commitment to the objective of achieving equality of opportunity for girls and boys in education,

CONCLUDE that:

- teachers have a fundamental role to play in achieving that objective,

-the nature and quality of initial and in-service training of teachers is a major factor influencing the extent to which that objective can be achieved,

-there is a need in the initial and in-service training of teachers to improve their awareness of equal opportunity in education and their skill in promoting it. AGREE that, within the framework of the specific educational policies and taking into account the structures of each Member State:

- the competent authorities in the Member States should review the existing provision in relation to equality of educational opportunity in teacher education courses and examine, as far as is necessary, how this question could, to a greater extent, permeate the initial and in-service training of teachers or become an integrated component of such training as appropriate,

-the development of women's studies and research on gender issues in appropriate research institutions, in particular in higher education institutions, in the Member States should be encouraged and the links between those involved in such studies and research and those responsible for the training of teachers should be strengthened,

-the training of teacher trainers within the Member States on issues related to equality of educational opportunity should be a priority area, as a means of achieving the best results within the resources available. NOTE that, in connection with the action programme on equality, a pilot project of action research on equal opportunities in the initial and in-service training of teachers was established and that the results of it will be disseminated in due course.

CALL ON THE COMMISSION:

- to examine ways in which it can supplement and assist actions by the Member States on issues of equality of educational opportunity in the initial and in-service training of teachers,

-to arrange exchanges of information and experience between the Member States concerning examples of good practice in this field,

-to make, in collaboration with its advisory working party on equal opportunity in education, a progress report through the Education Committee to a future meeting of the Council, based inter alia on the experience of the Member States.

(1) OJ No C 166, 6. 7. 1985.

(2) OJ No C 277, 31. 10. 1989.