RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND THE MINISTERS OF EDUCATION MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL on the European dimension in education of 24 May 1988 (88/C 177/02)

THE COUNCIL AND THE MINISTERS OF EDUCATION MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL, Referring to their conclusions of 27 September 1985, Reaffirming their resolve to strengthen the European dimension in education in accordance with the 'solemn declaration on European union' of Stuttgart (June 1983), the conclusions of the European Council in Fontainebleau (June 1984) and the 'People's Europe' report adopted at the European Council in Milan (June 1985);

Considering enhanced treatment of the European dimension in education to be an element contributing to the development of the Community and achievement of the objective of creating a unified internal market by 1992;

Noting the resolution of the European Parliament adopted on 20 November 1987;

Noting the report of the Education Committee;

Stressing the link between improving the presence of the European dimension in education and all the activities undertaken as part of:

- the action programme on education (9 February 1976),

- the programme of pilot projects for the improvement of the transition from school to working life,

- the Erasmus, Comett and Youth for Europe (YES) programmes;

Emphasizing the particular importance for understanding among Europeans of the learning of languages of other Member States and of exchanges among young people, HEREBY ADOPT THIS RESOLUTION:

I. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this resolution is to strengthen the European dimension in education by launching a series of concerted measures for the period 1988 to 1992;

these measures should help to:

- strengthen in young people a sense of European identity and make clear to them the value of European civilization and of the foundations on which the European peoples intend to base their development today, that is in particular the safeguarding of the principles of democracy, social justice and respect for human rights (Copenhagen declaration, April 1978),

- prepare young people to take part in the economic and social development of the Community and in making concrete progress towards European union, as stipulated in the European Single Act,

- make them aware of the advantages which the Community represents, but also of the challenges it involves, in opening up an enlarged economic and social area to them,

- improve their knowledge of the Community and its Member States in their historical, cultural, economic and social aspects and bring home to them the significance of the cooperation of the Member States of the European Community with other countries of Europe and the world.

II.

ACTION In accordance with the decision of the European Council on a People's Europe, new impulses should be given to the achievement of these objectives, involving strengthened measures both at Member State level and Community level.

A. At the level of the Member States

Within the limits of their own specific educational policies and structures, the Member States will make every effort to implement the following measures:

Incorporation of the European dimension in educational systems

1. to set out in a document their current policies for incorporation of the European dimension in education and make this available to schools and other educational institutions;

2. to encourage meaningful initiatives in all sectors of education aimed at strengthening the European dimension in education.

School programmes and teaching

3. To include the European dimension explicitly in their school curricula in all appropriate disciplines, for example literature, languages, history, geography, social sciences, economics and the arts.

Teaching material

4. To make arrangements so that teaching material takes account of the common objective of promoting the European dimension.

Teacher training

5. To give greater emphasis to the European dimension in teachers' initial and in-service training.

The following can contribute to achieving this objective:

- making suitable teaching material available,

- access to documentation on the Community and its policies,

- provision of basic information on the educational systems of the other Member States,

- cooperation with teacher training institutions in other Member States, particularly by developing joint programmes providing for student and teacher mobility,

- making provision in the framework of in-service training for specific activities to enhance serving teachers' awareness of the European dimension in education and give them the opportunity of keeping up to date with Community developments,

- opening up, to some teachers from other Member States, certain in-service training activities, which would constitute the practical expression of belonging to Europe and a significant means of favouring the integration process.

Promotion of measures to boost contacts between pupils and teachers from different countries

6. To encourage contacts and meetings across borders between pupils and teachers from different Member States at all levels in order to give them direct experience of European integration and the realities of life in other European countries;

to use these contacts and meetings both for improving linguistic proficiency and for gaining knowledge and experience on cultural, scientific and technical matters;

in this way the largest possible number of young people and teachers should be covered by these initiatives;

to encourage parents and parents' organizations to participate in organizing contacts, exchanges and visits;

to provide information and advice to schools, teachers and pupils interested in contacts, exchanges and visits abroad and to support them in the implementation of contacts and exchanges;

to examine the conditions for longer-term stays abroad by pupils and to promote such stays abroad.

Complementary measures

7. To give a new stimulus in the perspective of 1992 to the strengthening of the image of Europe in education, in the sense of the People's Europe report, by organizing particular events:

in this connection the following would appear appropriate:

- colloquia and seminars on effective ways of introducing the European dimension in education and on the use and preparation of teaching material adapted to the different levels of teaching,

- the promotion of school initiatives and extra-curricular activities such as school twinning and the formation of 'European clubs', opening up new paths for the strengthening of the European dimension,

- the participation of schools in activities organized as part of the Europe Day (9 May),

- the participation of schools in the European schools' competition and encouragement of cooperation between competitions in the linguistic, artistic, scientific or technical fields organized in individual Member States,

- increased cooperation between the Member States in the area of school sports.

B. At the level of the European Community

In order to back up the action of the Member States and achieve effective collaboration in this field, the Commission, assisted by the working party mentioned in paragraph 19 below, is invited:

Information exchange

8. - To promote an exchange of information on concepts and measures in the different Member States, thereby ensuring that the results of the experience acquired are known in all Member States.

Teaching material

9. - To prepare basic documentation on the Community (its institutions, aims and current tasks) for schools and teaching staff,

- to facilitate the exchange, by subjects or groups of subjects, of information on teaching material aimed at strengthening the European dimension in teaching,

- to carry out comparative analysis of the substance and new forms of treatment of teaching material,

- to make authors and publishers of teaching material more aware of the need to include the European dimension in their production.

Teacher training

10. To use the programme of study visits for education specialists (Arion programme) for the aim of introducing the European dimension in education.

11. To use the possibilities offered by the Erasmus programme for providing students training to be teachers with experience of a foreign country during their training and for intensifying cooperation between training institutions and between trainers.

12. To support cooperation by institutions of initial and further training for teachers of several Member States in the development of teaching material promoting the European dimension in education.

13. To promote each year, in the period 1989 to 1992, the organization of a European Summer University for trainers in order to enable them to exchange the experience acquired and to identify new ways of improving the introduction of the European dimension in teacher training.

Specific additional measure

14. To encourage cooperation and exchange of views among the national bodies responsible for the encouragement of exchanges of pupils and teachers.

15. To promote the participation of non-governmental organizations in the introduction of the European dimension in education.

16. To examine the possibilities for reinforcing the European dimension in education by using audio-visual means at European level.

17. To foster cooperation between educational research institutes and centres in the various Member States working towards the introduction of the European dimension in education, taking into account the potential contribution of the European University Institute (Florence), the College of Europe (Bruges), the European Institute of Public Administration (Maastricht) and the European schools.

18. To examine how school sport can be better used for European contact and mutual understanding and on what conditions the establishment of European school games would be possible.

Working party

19.In the implementation of these tasks and to achieve effective collaboration in this field, the Commission will be assisted by a working party composed of representatives of the Member States with coordinating reponsibilities in European dimension questions, appointed by the Commission on the proposal of the Member State concerned.

III.

REPORT ON MEASURES UNDERTAKEN

They invite the Education Committee to submit an initial report by 30 June 1991 on the development of measures undertaken at the level of the Member States and the Community to reinforce the European dimension in teaching.

IV.

FINANCE

Community finance for the measures referred to in point II. B and the amount thereof are to be decided on in accordance with the Community's rules and procedures.