COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMVIUNITIES 
COM(94) 80 final 
Brussels, 25.03.1994 
REPORT ON 
THE EDUCATION OF MIGRANTS' CHILDREN 
IN THE EUROPEAN UNION 
Os-
FOREWORD 
This report presents a general view of Community action aiming to promote the edu­
cation of the children of legally established immigrants and Gypsy children. It 
suggests an analysis of the new challenges resulting from recent changes in migration 
patterns, and it explains why Chapter n of the Commission's proposal for a decision 
of the Council and the European Parliament establishing an action programme in the 
education field (SOCRATES) contains a specific action in favour of these groups. 
The report complements the series of documents which the Commission has published 
since 1991: The Memoranda on Higher Education, on Vocational Training, and on 
Open and Distance Learning, the Working Paper on Guidelines for Community Action 
in the Field of Education and Training, and finally the Green Gaper on the European 
Dimension of Education. 
The report also forms part of the Commission's response to the conclusions of the 
European Council's meeting in Edinburgh and to the European Parliament's resolution 
of 21 January, 1993. Its aim is to inform on the analyses which underpin the Commis­
sion's proposals for action, and to highlight the need for Community cooperation 
aiming to improve the quality of education provision for migrants' children. 
k-
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
SUMMARY: THE LONG TERM CHALLENGES 1 
THE PRESENT CONTEXT: A DECISIVE SITUATION 4 
Dynamics of migration and of free movement: 
contradiction or convergence? 5 
A unique situation: The major cities 8 
Specific situations: Gypsies and travellers 9 
Some basic data on the economic contribution of migrants and immigrants 11 
COMMUNITY MEASURES ON THE 
EDUCATION OF IMMIGRANT PUPILS 13 
The Action Programme of 9 February 1976 13 
The Council Directive of 25 July 1977 14 
The contribution of the European Social Fund 15 
Towards new orientations 15 
THE EVOLUTION OF NATIONAL POLICIES: 
From the education of immigrants towards 
intercultural education for all 17 
THE CHALLENGING ISSUES: 
ENHANCING COMMUNITY COOPERATION 19 
***•* 
APPENDIX 1: 
EDUCATING THE CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS: MEMBER STATES' POLIOES 
TEACHING LANGUAGES TO IMMIGRANT PUPILS 1 g^ 
The languages of the host countries: integration and convergence l ^ 
Mother Tongue Teaching: Progress and divergence 2 ^^ 
AN INTERCULTURAL DIMENSION TO THE TEACHING OF LANGUAGES 3 o^ 
TRAINING TEACHERS FOR INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION 4 ^ 
THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION 5 ^ 
APPENDIX 2: FOREIGN PUPILS IN % OF TOTAL SCHOOL POPULATION 
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SUMMARY: THE LONG TERM CHALLENGES 
1. This Report addresses education policy issues related to the development of 
linguistic and cultural diversity inside the Member States of the European 
Community, as a consequence of growing cross-frontier mobility in the Union, 
and of the presence of steadily growing numbers of third country immigrants. 
Since all Member States have now become immigration countries, these issues 
are common to their education systems and should, because of their importance, 
become the subject matter of future exchange of information and experience, 
such as provided for in Art. 126 of the Treaty on European Union. 
2. Beyond the total number of non-nationals in Member States' schools (estimated 
at around 7-9 %), the percentage of children whose everyday experience inside 
and outside schools is affected by contact with speakers of languages other than 
their own must now be estimated to represent around 50 % of school children 
in Member States. All signs are that this trend will continue. 
3. As statistics collected with support from the education departments of the 
Union's older immigration countries show, in the major cities of these countries 
cultural and linguistic diversity have developed to a point where virtually all 
schools accommodate pupils from immigrant backgrounds. Indeed, cultural and 
linguistic diversity of the public of schools is becoming the norm. This is itself 
a consequence of the dynamic development of the Union, both internally and 
in terms of its position in the world. 
4. This confronts the education systems of the Member States with a series of new 
challenges, related both to the struggle against failure at school (as one of the 
key elements in the struggle against social exclusion)1, and the need to improve 
the quality and diversity of their service. Even more significantly, however, this 
points to a potential dilemma in the development of a Union which puts its 
pride in its determination and ability to maintain its diversity and to respect the 
specific identities of both its Member States and their citizens. As in the wake 
of increased intra-Community mobility, new linguistic and cultural communities 
emerge in the Member States, education systems and schools are confronted with 
the challenge of integrating all pupils into a unified educational framework able 
to ensure equality of opportunity and optimum success for all pupils while at 
the same time respecting their specific cultural identities. 
5. This situation holds a potential for positive change, modernisation and diversifi­
cation on the one hand, and a danger of disruption on the other hand. To be able 
to attract the highly qualified international labour force which they will need to 
compete successfully in the internal market, the Union's major cities will need 
to provide education services that are able to respond flexibly and effectively 
to the demands of this group of citizens. The schools in Member States will need 
to strengthen their ability to deliver education which is culturally and linguistic­
ally demanding and effective. 
Resolution of the Council and Ministers of Education meeting within the Council of 
14 December 1989, OJ C 27, 6.1.1990. 
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6. Already today, such dangers of socio-cultural segregation are foreshadowed by 
trends in urban education contexts in some Member States where indigenous 
parents remove their children from schools accommodating more culturally and 
linguistically diverse populations. However, there are small but growing num­
bers of such 'multi-cultural' schools in virtually all Member States who manage 
to attract children because they have built up a reputation for their ability to 
deliver education which is of high standards and more varied than what mosf 
mono-cultural' schools could offer. The experience of such schools contributes 
to a better understanding of the educational strategies which will be needed to 
provide high quality, equitable education in the schools of tomorrow's Europe. 
7. The responsibility to develop and implement policy responses to these challenges 
lies with the Member States, their education systems and their partners in the 
education policy field. Only bold, imaginative and future-oriented policies will 
succeed. Unless we take up these challenges, we shall inevitably head for a 
widening of social divisions, of socio-cultural segregation and of exclusion, and 
ultimately for the spread of inter-ethnic conflict and violence.2 
8. At the same time, the spread of cultural and linguistic diversity is closely linked 
to the dynamic development of the Union itself, both internally and in terms of 
its position in the world. Just as the free movement of persons in the Community 
is a powerful stimulus to the development of cultural and linguistic diversity 
in Member States, the Union's prosperity, resulting also from its integration, has 
turned it into one of the target regions of contemporary migration movements. 
Whilst being fully aware that nothing can replace the Member States own action, 
the Commission nevertheless takes the view that the Union has an absolute 
obligation to support and supplement their action, and to contribute to its quality 
by injecting community added value, through cooperation and exchange of infor­
mation and experience. 
9. Taking full account of reports compiled by the Member States (for an overview 
of results cf. Appendix 1), this Report reviews both the previous Community 
level cooperation activities on the education of migrant pupils, and the expe­
rience of Member States in adjusting their education provision to the needs and 
aspirations of an increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse population. 
Its aim is to initiate debate and exchange of experience and information between 
the relevant partners, on available policy options and on the most effective ways 
to operate such adjustments as may turn out to be necessary. A more detailed 
report, providing finer analyses of the data and entering into the more technical 
and educational aspects of the issues, will be produced by the Commission in 
the course of the year 1993, to serve as a basis for further exchange of experience 
and information, especially between medium-level education decision makers, 
e.g. inspectors, teacher trainers, heads of schools etc. 
2 
On this last point, cf also: Commission of the European Communities, Policies on 
immigration and social integration of immigrants in the European Community, expert 
report drafted at the request of the Commission of the European Communities, 28.9.1990, 
SEC(90) 1%13 final, paragraph 42. 
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10. Being fully aware of the political implications, such as highlighted recently by 
the European Council meeting in Edinburgh3 and Copenhagen4, and by the 
European Parliament's debate on the 'DÙHRKOP DÛHRKOF report5, the 
Commission is convinced of the need to locate all Community action in this field 
in the framework of the educational struggle against racism, xenophobia and 
anti-semitism. 
11. At the time where the Commission's proposal for an action programme in the 
education field is being examined by the other institutions of the Union, this 
Report aims at pulling together the results of four years of thinking and 
exchange of experience and information. By further stimulating reflection on the 
future orientations of the Union's action, it will also give new impetus to the 
dynamic that has been generated during these years. 
Council of the European Communities: European Council in Edinburgh, 11-12 December 
1992, Conclusions of the Presidency, Luxembourg (OPOEC) 1992. 
Council of the European Communities: European Council in Copenhagen, 21 - 22 June 
1993, Conclusions of the Presidency, Luxembourg (OPOEC) 1993. 
European Parliament, Report on cultural plurality and the problems of school 
education for children of immigrants in the European Community, A3-0399/92, 21.1.1993. 
European Parliament, Verbatim report of proceedings, 19.1. & 21.1.1993. 
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THE CURRENT CONTEXT: A DECISIVE SITUATION 
12. This Report is part of the Commission's response to the Conclusions of the 
Edinburgh meeting of the European Council, where the heads of States and 
governments underlined that there must be no place for racism and xenophobia, 
condemned the intensification of episodes of intolerance, reiterated their determi­
nation to oppose such attitudes with renewed vigour and expressed their convic­
tion that vigourous and effective action to combat these phenomena needs to 
be taken across Europe, in the fields of education and legislation. In Copenhagen, 
the European Council recalled these conclusions and stated its will to do its ut­
most to identify and to root out the causes of racism and xenophobia. 
13. In response to these conclusions, the November 1993 Justice and Home Affairs 
Council adopted a Declaration on Racism and Xenophobia, reiterating its abhor­
rence of attacks on immigrants, and approving a number of measures, inluding 
an invitation to make fuller use of multi-agency approaches in the struggle 
against racism, involving collaboration between schools, social services, police 
etc.6 
14. These declarations echo earlier texts published by the Community institutions, 
most notably the two reports by the European Parliament's Committee of 
Enquiry on Racism and Xenophobia7, the joint declaration of the European 
Parliament, the Council and the Commission8, and the resolution of the Council 
and the representatives of the governments of the Member States, meeting within 
the Council of 29 May 1990, on the struggle against racism and xenophobia, 
which already highlighted the need to develop and intensify the ongoing 
Community cooperation aimed at improving the education of the children of 
migrant workers and at promoting a european dimension in education, so as to 
develop civic-mindedness and the values of pluralism and tolerance9. 
15. Whilst fully respecting the subsidiarity principle and aiming at generating maxi­
mum Community added value, the Commission will step up its efforts to stimu­
late cooperation between Member States, with a view to contributing to the im­
provement of the quality of the education of children from immigrant back­
grounds, regardless of their origins. This will be part of a clear and visible 
message from the Union's institutions, emphasising these children's right to 
equal opportunities, highlighting the rejection of racism and xenophobia, and 
expressing the value which the Union's institutions attach to the contribution 
which they make to diversifying and broadening the learning experience of all 
pupils. It should be remembered in this context that already today the Union's 
action programmes in the education and training fields all allow for the equal 
6 Council of the European Union, General Secretariat: 1710th Council meeting - Justice 
and Home Affairs -, 29 & 30 November 1993 (10550/93) (Press 209). 
7 The Evriqenis report (PE 97.547, of December 1985) and the Ford report (A3-195/90, 
of 17 July 1990) 
Cf. also the European Parliament's various resolutions on the education of migrant's 
children, of 18.9.1981 (OJ C 260, 12.10.1981), 16.4.1985 (OJ C 122, 20.5.1985) and of 
10.4.1987 (OJ C 125, 11.5.1987); more recently, A3-0399/92 of 21.1.1993 and A3-0127/93 
of 21.4.1993, most notably its points 14 and 16. 
8 OJ C 158, 25.6.1986. 
9 OJ C 157, 27.6.1990. 
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participation of young people who are not nationals of a Member State, provided 
they have accomplished at least part of their education or training in a Member 
State. 
16. With a view to the wider issue of immigration policies, the Commission has 
drawn up its proposals for action based on three main considerations which 
combine realism and solidarity: 'acting on migration pressure, controlling migra­
tion flows and strengthening integration policies for the benefit of legal immi­
grants'10. If integration policies are to be successful, 'it is imperative that the 
implementation of policies regarding schooling, vocational training, employment 
and housing be coherent and non-discriminatory, as the Community cannot al­
low itself to waste its human resources'11. Moreover, Member States unanimous­
ly agree that education and vocational training constitute key instruments in the 
process of integrating migrants. Action at the level of the Union, based on the 
principles defined in the Treaty on European Union, and particularly its Article 
126, and complementarity, can boost the chances of success of national policies, 
in themselves essential in terms of guaranteeing democracy and solidarity.12 
Dynamics of migration and of free movement: contradiction or convergence? 
17. The Community has always been a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic entity whoese 
diversity enriches the Community itself and benefits all its aitizens, but not 
without creating challenges for society as a whole and its immigrant commun­
ities. 
18. The examples listed in the table opposite show that in the major cities of the ol­
der immigration Member States (B, D, DK, F, LUX, NL, UK), there are virtually 
no schools without pupils of foreign or immigrant origin, often in high numbers. 
19. As this trend is spreading quickly and extending to all large, medium-sized and 
small towns in the Union, the cultural and linguistic diversity of school popula­
tions is no longer the exception, but the rule. The Member States generally do 
not collect data of the sort shown above. Although it is impossible to give exact 
figures on the basis of current statistics, it must be said that about half of all 
pupils of compulsory school age in the Union are in daily contact with pupils 
of a cultural and linguistic origin other than their own. Europe is present at 
school, and it is there to stay. So is 'the world', in just as irrevocable fashion. 
20. Consequently, the Union needs to face up to the existence of new cultural and 
linguistic communities, some of whom owe their existence to the free movement 
of citizens, others to immigration from third countries. Constantly renewed, 
identifiable as citizens of their country of origin, but integrated into the host 
societies, they remain attached to their countries of origin, but are open to their 
everyday environment. The interest of the Union is to ensure that they integrate 
10 Commission Communication to the Council and the European Parliament on Immigration 
23.10.1991, SEC (91) 1855 final. 
11 Ibidem. 
12 Cf. Commission of the European Communities, Communication to the European Council 
and Parliament on Immigration and Asylum Policies, 23.2.1994 (COM [94] 23). 
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into the host societies, and to ensure that belonging to any of these communities 
does not become synonymous with social, economic or cultural disadvantage. 
TABLE 1: 
SCHOOLS IN SELECTED EUROPEAN CITIES BY PROPORTION OF IMMI­
GRANT PUPILS IN TOTAL POPULATION 
Bruxelles 
French Conun. 
1990/911) 
Brussel 
Dutch Conun. 
1990/91 1) 
Duisburg 
1990/91 1) 
Paris 
1990/91 1) 2) 
Luxembourg 
1990/91 1) 
Rotterdam 
1985/86 1) 
London (ILEA) 
1988/89 3) 0% 
primary 0 
secondary 0 
primary 0 
secondary 0 
primary 
secondary 
primary 
secondary 
primary 
secondary 
primary 
secondary 
primiy 
secondary 3.4 
0 
0.9 
0 
0 
n.a. 
22.4 
n.a. 
0 
0 0-20% 
34.1 
30.7 
80.4 
100 
58.4 
31.2 
33.5 
63.7 
10.3 
n.a. 
37.4 
n.a. 
50.0 
45.7 20-50% 
25.9 
29.3 
14.4 
0 
30.3 
46.9 
54.9 
34.4 
29.9 
n.a. 
25.6 
n.a. 
40.1 
47.2 50-70% 
8.6 
18.7 
n.s 
0 
4.5 
14.1 
8.5 
1.8 
39.4 
n.a. 
7.5 
n.a. 
5.9 
4.3 70-100% 1 
31.4 
21.3 | 
n.s. 
0 J 
3.4 
7.8 
2.2 
n.s. 
20.3 
n.a. 
7.1 
n.a. 
4.0 
2.8 
Read: In 1990/91, in 34.1 % of French speaking primary schools the proportion of immigrant children is between 0 and 20 
%; in 25.9 % of these schools, the proportion ranges from 20 - 50 %; etc. 
1) Source: Ministries of Education 2) Public education only 3) Source: Inner London Education Authority, 1989 Language Census; Bilingual 
pupils (who may be nationals) n.s. not significant n.a. not available 
21. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are among the founding 
principles of the Union, as is respect for the national identity of the Member 
States. The free movement of nationals of Member States adds an entirely new 
dimension to this: For the Union, respecting the national identities of the Mem­
ber States also implies respecting the cultural identities of their citizens. On this 
account, the cultural and linguistic diversity of Europe is reflected not only in 
cross-frontier exchanges within the Union but also in the daily life of its citizens, 
who are called upon to recognize each other in an ever closer union of European 
peoples. 
22. The development of free movement within the Single Market is already giving 
rise to a new demand with regard to the teaching of the 'mother tongues of 
migrants'. This demand no longer comes merely from the families of the 'tradi­
tional' migrant workers, who most often are socially and culturally disadvan­
taged, but just as much from highly qualified parents who are prepared to com­
plete part of their career in a Member State other than their own and whose 
position on the labour market enables them to formulate - and to obtain - precise 
requirements with regard to the education of their children. 
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23. The mobility of highly qualified professionals who relocate within the Single 
Market is of another kind than that of the 'traditional' migrant workers, whether 
they are nationals of a Member State or not. With regard to the latter group, it 
is now known that they only exceptionally return to their country of origin. On 
this account, the demand for education in the language of origin, as articulated 
by the immigrant communities themselves, no longer expresses the desire for 
eventual reintegration of their children into the school system of their country 
of origin. Much rather, it reflects a desire to retain their ethnic and cultural 
identity, an awareness of communication processes within the family and the 
immigrant community, as well as the hope of being able to make the most of 
'rare' linguistic skills on the labour market. For the new, highly qualified Com­
munity migrants, on the other hand, return to their country of origin, or continu­
ing migration to another Member State, is a realistic prospect. The continuity, 
across Member States, of the educational careers of their children will become 
an important factor in the mobility decisions of these families. The possibility 
of continuing education in the language spoken in the family will be one of its 
key symbols. 
24. Faced with this trend, which arouses growing interest among indigenous fami­
lies, there can be no doubt that the policies of diversification of language teach­
ing, which the Community is supporting through the LINGUA Programme, will 
need extending and deepening. No doubt it will also become necessary to raise 
the issue of the relationship between the teaching of 'foreign languages' and 
'mother tongues'. This distinction is gradually losing its educational meaning 
for the simple reason that a growing number of languages is present in the 
schools, and that 'native' and 'foreign' speakers want to be able to benefit from 
the same teaching. 
25. For the Union, questions relating to teaching the languages of the immigrant 
communities of non-Community origin are different from those relating to the 
teaching of the languages of the Member States. From the point of view of the 
Union's law strictu sensu, the free movement of workers and members of their 
families must be distinguished from the integration of immigrants: Whilst the 
nationals of Member States enjoy freedom of movement, nationals of third 
countries are subject to restrictions. 
26. However, such distinctions cannot apply to education policy, the struggle against 
social exclusion and for equal opportunities. Indeed, ever since the Action Pro­
gramme for Education of 9 February 197613 it has been clear for the Community 
that all measures to promote the education of migrant children will include the 
children of nationals of other Member States and the children of third country 
nationals. Similarly, a declaration attached to the Council Directive of 25 July 
1977 on the schooling of the children of migrant workers (77/486/EEC)14 in­
cludes a commitment by the Council to avoid any discrimination based on a 
pupil's nationality15. 
13 Resolution of the Council and Ministers of Education meeting within the Counrii 
of 9 February 1976 on an Action Programme in the field of Education, OJ No C 38, 
14 OJ No L 199, 6.8.1977, 
15 General Secretariat of the Council: Collection of texts on social volicv »/iai? f/77 (SOC) ec; Brussels 1978. poney, K/1832 
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27. With the emergence of new forms of immigration in the second half of the 
1980's, most Member States have become immigration countries. But even those 
Member States who have acquired long standing experience of immigration and 
who have established provision for receiving new arrivals face unexpected 
problems. These are sometimes due to the sheer numbers of new arrivals, some­
times to the fact that they come from regions which did not previously figure 
among the world's regions of emigration. 
28. The educational reception of these new arrivals should match the best standards 
in this field. At the level of the Union, this is also an issue of the transfer of 
expertise from the older immigration countries to those countries who are just 
beginning to introduce policies in this area, particularly with regards to the 
teaching the language of the host country and teacher training. 
29. The Union must protect third country immigrants against racism and xeno­
phobia, both in the interest of its own position in the world, and in the name 
of human rights and fundamental freedoms.16 
A unique situation: The major cities 
30. If, at the advent of the Single Market, the major cities are to retain their leading 
role as hubs of economic and cultural development in the Union, they will need 
to be able to attract investors from across Europe, indeed from all over the 
world. They will need an increasingly European and international work force, 
composed both of professional and skilled workers. The flexibility and diversity 
of their education systems will become assets in the competition within the 
Single Market. 
31. The figures included in Table 1 (cf. § 20) show that cultural diversity is now the 
rule in the major cities of the Union. It has been concluded from this that in 
many ways the educational situation of a pupil in Rotterdam may have more 
in common with that of a pupil in Berlin or London than with that of a pupil 
in a rural Dutch province.17 This observation points to new prospects for 
exchanges of experience and information between Member States. 
32. Not only is the diversity of the school population particularly broad, but so too 
is the diversity of the situations of the schools. This means that each school has 
to be able to adapt its practices to the situation of its population, and that, with 
regard to the allocation of resources, teacher training, etc., flexible strategies need 
to be developed and implemented. Cooperation at Union level, exchange of ex­
perience and information between those concerned could without a doubt contri­
bute to the improvement, dissemination and transfer of good practice. 
33. In the major cities, cultural and linguistic diversity overlaps with social diversity. 
Indeed, there is a growing number of cases where schools catering for groups 
marked by high levels of cultural and linguistic diversity are being abandoned 
16 Cf. Note N° 9 supra. 
17 General Secretariat of the Council, Note from the President: Linguistic and 
cultural diversity in the education systems of the European Community : the challenges 
of the 1990's. Document prepared for the meeting of senior officials of 11 and 12 De­
cember 1991, SN 4134/91 (EDUC), 6.12.1991. 
-9-
by certain segments of the indigenous population concerned by the level of 
education provided there. Unfounded as these fears may be, they reflect parents' 
concern for the future of their children. They should be taken all the more 
seriously because the resulting behaviour reinforces urban segregation and 
produces a new dimension of socio-cultural exclusion. 
34. Conversely, we are also beginning to see schools who educate perfectly compar­
able populations, and who succeed in attracting children because they have 
managed to forge a reputation as excellent schools, based on the richness and 
quality of the teaching they offer and the learning they stimulate. Analysis of 
such schools shows that they have adapted their teaching to the diversity of their 
target group, and at the same time they have undertaken the effort to develop 
a coherent school policy, to motivate their staff to implement it gradually, to 
assess regularly the progress made and the ground still to be covered, to encour­
age parents to take part in school life, and to ensure adequate in-service training 
of teachers. 
35. Schools of this type have an invaluable contribution to make towards a better 
understanding of what quality education means in a society marked by cultural 
and linguistic diversity. Exchange of information and experience on the educa­
tional practices of such schools will be a prime area for Community cooperation 
which, while fully respecting the responsibility of the Member States for the 
content of education and the organization of the education system, will contrib­
ute to the development of quality education in the European Union. 
Specific situations: Gypsies and travellers 
36. In this context the situation of the Gypsies also needs mentioning, for they seem 
to become the target of a new racism which is spreading across the whole of Eu­
rope. In central and eastern European countries, in particular, they are victims 
of violence and aggression, at times taking the form of pogroms. In western Eu­
rope, gypsies are de facto refugees, but the populations of the countries where 
they are seeking refuge often perpetuates the danger weighing on them. 
37. Although they have been Europeans for centuries - owing to their social and 
cultural attributes, their language and their presence in all European countries -
the Gypsies have no particular country of reference. Due to their specific charac­
ter, Gypsies are and will remain a migratory group. Educating their children in 
an effective way will be an essential element in their development and social 
achievement, just as intercultural education will be a powerful means of achiev­
ing communication and understanding between cultures. 
38. The problems of integration which Gypsy children encounter are in several ways 
comparable to those facing the children of occupational travellers, such as bar­
gees, fairground families and circus artists. While the reasons which make them 
opt for a nomadic way of life are different, they also hold on to a lifestyle which 
is no less part of the European heritage. Whilst they tend to be live on the 
fringes of society, the travelling professions represent an important element in 
the socio-cultural fabric of Europe, as is demonstrated by their contribution to 
the functioning of the economies and the cultural role they play during the 
festive days of the people of Europe. 
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39. During the spring 1994, the Commission will transmit to the Council and the 
European Parliament the reports requested in the two Resolutions of the Council 
and the Ministers of Education meeting within the Council of 22 May 1989.18 
These reports will present a synthesis of the measures taken, both at Community 
and Member State level, to promote the educational integration of Gypsy chil­
dren and children of educational travellers. 
Some basic data on the economic contribution of migrants and immigrants 
40. The figures shown in Table 2 make it possible to measure the contribution of 
foreign populations (nationals of other Member States and nationals of third 
countries combined) to the Union's prosperity and to the maintenance of its 
demographic balance. Their activity rate is considerably higher (by 3.2 %) than 
that of nationals, despite the fact that the proportion of young people from third 
countries of compulsory school age, i.e. who are not yet on the labour market, 
is higher than that of nationals (by 8.8 %). At the same time, the activity rates 
of young foreigners between 14 and 24 years of age are lower than those of their 
national peers, due to lower levels of education and training qualifications and 
to discrimination on the labour market.19 
41. Taking into account both the need to strengthen the Union's competitiveness in 
the world economy and the present restructuring of its labour markets, which 
are demanding ever higher levels of qualification from the Union's workers, a 
massive investment in the education and training of all young people, foreigners 
and EC nationals alike, is clearly in the interest of the Member States themselves 
and of the Union as a whole. This is all the more true as the figures in Table 2 
show that, without the young foreigners of today, the labour markets of tomor­
row would not be able to meet their manpower needs. 
Resolution of the Council and the Ministers of Education meeting within the Council 
of 22 May 1989 on school provision for Gypsy and traveller children, OJ N° C 153, 
Resolution of the Council and the Ministers of Education meeting within the Council 
??*•>?*•£ iîïn °n sch°o1 Provision for children of occupational travellers, OJ N° C 153, 21.6.1989. 
19 ^,JT 
Cf supra, note N° 2. 
TABLE 2: FOREIGN POPULATION AND LABOUR - EUROPE OF THE 12 (1991) 
Total 
0-13 
14-24 
25-49 
50-64 
65 + Total population 
by broad age groups 
1000 
323.822 
54.780 
51.575 
114.205 
55.932 
47.330 % 
100 
16.9 
15.9 
35.3 
17.3 
14.6 Foreign population 
by broad age groups 
(EC-nationals) 
1000 
4.469 
.545 
.676 
1.980 
.857 
.412 % 
100 
12.2 
15.1 
44.3 
19.2 
9.2 Foreign Population 
by broad age groups 
(Non-EC-nationals) 
1000 
8.437 
2.091 
1.588 
3.613 
.863 
282 % 
100 
20.4 
17.5 
43.3 
13.3 
5.4 Total labour force 
by broad age groups 
1000 
146.763 
* 
24.749 
92.029 
28.101 
1.884 % 
100 
• 
16.9 
62.7 
19.1 
1.3 Foreign labour force 
by broad age groups 
(EC-nationals) 
1000 
2.429 
* 
.335 
1.608 
.470 
.016 % 
100 
* 
13.7 
66.2 
19.4 
0.7 Foreign labour force 
by broad age groups 
(Non-EC-nationals) 
1000 
3.589 
* 
.594 
2.482 
.500 
.013 100 
* 
16.5 
69.2 
13.9 
0.4 ActWty rates 
Nationals Non-national» 
55.4 
* 
49.8 
82.1 
51.7 
3.9 58.6 
* 
41.0 
73.1 
56.4 
4.1 
Males 
0-13 
14-24 
25-49 
50-64 
65 + 157.132 
28.044 
25.854 
57.138 
27.234 
18.862 100 
17.8 
16.5 
36.4 
17.3 
12.0 2.344 
.272 
.339 
1.060 
.477 
.196 100 
11.6 
14.5 
45.2 
20.3 
8.4 4.493 
1.109 
.813 
1.887 
.539 
.144 100 
24.7 
18.1 
42.0 
12.0 
3.2 87.140 
* 
13.249 
54.307 
18.338 
1.246 100 
* 
15.2 
62.3 
21.0 
1.4 1.526 
* 
.184 
1.012 
.319 
.012 100 
ft 
12.0 
66.3 
20.9 
0.8 2-696 
* 
.350 
1.650 
.385 
.011 100 
14.6 
68.9 
16.1 
0.5 67.7 
52.7 
95.4 
67.8 
6.3 71.9 
* 
46.3 
90.3 
69.3 
6.6 
Females 
0-13 
14-24 
25-49 
50-64 
64 + 166.690 
26.735 
25.72-
57.067 
28.696 
28.468 100 
16.0 
15.4 
34.7 
17.1 
17.1 2.126 
573 
.337 
.919 
.380 
.215 100 
12.9 
15.8 
43.3 
17.9 
10.1 3.945 
.982 
.776 
1.726 
.323 
.138 100 
24.9 
19.7 
43.8 
8.2 
3.5 59.623 
• 
11.500 
37.721 
9.763 
.638 100 
* 
29.3 
63.3 
16.4 
1.1 .903 
i 
.152 
.596 
.151 
(4) 100 
* 
16.7 
66.0 
16.7 
(0.4) 1.193 
* 
244 
.832 
.115 100 
* 
20.4 
69.8 
9.6 44.2 
« 
46.8 
68.8 
36.6 
2.3 43.6 
* 
35.5 
54.0 
37.8 
(1.7) 
N.B.: Figures do not take account of the new German Lander. 
( ): Unreliable data due to small size of sample . Not zero but extremely unreliable 
SOXJRCE: EUROSTAT, Labour Force Survey, 1991 Results (Tables 05,10 - 17). 
-12-
COMMUNITY MEASURES ON THE EDUCATION OF IMMIGRANT PUPILS 
42. The issues relating to the educational integration of immigrant children are common to 
Member States in more than one respect. They have indeed been one of the Community's 
priorities since the beginning of Community cooperation in the education field, and came 
top of the priority areas listed in the education Action Programme of 9 February 197620. 
On 25 July 1977, a Directive on the education of the children of migrant workers was 
adopted by Council21, clarifying the legal content of Art. 12 of Regulation (EEC) N° 
1612/68 of 15 October 1968, on free movement of workers within the Community22. 
The Action Programme of 9 February 1976 
43. This programme comprised a commitment by Member States to organize and develop 
a reception system which would include intensive study of the language or languages 
of the host country, and to provide more opportunities for teaching these children their 
mother tongue and culture, if possible in school and in cooperation with the host country. 
44. At Community level, the programme provided for exchange of information and experi­
ence, taking the form of a limited number of pilot schemes to enable these types of 
teaching to be compared and assessed. These were to be complemented by educational 
studies and research on certain subjects, including an assessment of the need to set up 
schools in which teaching would be in more than one language. 
45. Already in 1976, comparative studies were commissioned and pilot projects were set up 
in cooperation between the Member States and the Commission. However, the Commissi­
on's main effort focused on the pilot projects, as these contributed more effectively to 
the creation of opportunities for innovation; in some exceptional cases, they have given 
a major impetus to the development or implementation of policies at Member State level. 
36 projects, all of them lasting several years, were supported by the Commission in all 
Member States. An analysis of their development shows that they kept in touch with the 
evolution of the issues that needed addressing in the education systems of Member 
States. 
46. In the first stage, these projects focused on the development and improvement of 
pedagogies and organisational models for the teaching, at primary level, of both the 
languages of the host countries and the children's mother tongues. Most of these projects 
also had a curriculum development and teacher training dimension written into their 
brief. In the mid-eighties, the percentage of projects at secondary level grew. The setting 
up of parallel projects in several Member States was meant to enable cross-frontier 
cooperation; however, this only came fully into effect after a group of Member State 
representatives had been established. 
20 
Under the heading of 'better facilities for the education and traininq of national.* 
and the children of nationals of other Member States of the Communities and non-member 
countries', of supra, note N° 2. 
21 Cf supra, note N° 14; for a detailed discussion, cf. infra, §§ 50 - 53. 
22 
'The children of a national of a Member State who is or has been employed in the 
territory of another Member State shall be admitted to that State's general educa­
tional, apprenticeship and vocational training courses under the same conditions as 
the nationals of that State, if such children are residing in its territory.' 
'Member States shall encourage all efforts to enable such children to attend these 
courses under the best possible conditions.' Official Journal L 257, 19.10.1986. 
-13-
47. A major effort has been made to promote the development of curriculum materials for 
the teaching and learning of the children's mother tongues. The materials made available 
by the authorities of the countries of origin tend to be poorly adapted to the learning 
needs of children studying their language in an emigration context, where they are much 
less exposed to the target language than would be the case in the country of origin. At 
the same time, the market for such materials is often too small for commercial publishers 
to risk investment on the required scale. Materials for the teaching and learning of Italian, 
Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Arabic, Urdu and Bengali have been developed, 
some of which are being used in several Member States. 
48. These projects have early on contributed to the testing and implementation of concepts 
of intercultural education. They have not limited themselves to passively follow the 
development of educational practice, but have contributed, sometimes substantially, to 
innovations in this area, both in conceptual and practical terms. 
49. The colloquia organised towards the end of each of these projects, and the exchanges of 
experience to which they gave rise, have contributed to the development of formal and 
informal networks of experts and administrators from Member States, which have helped 
to disseminate information and contributed to the growth of innovation and expertise. 
A series of independent evaluation studies, financed by the Commission, have also 
contributed to this end.23 
The Council Directive of 25 July 1977 
50. This Directive, often seen as the Community's key instrument on the education of 
immigrant children, gives all children of compulsory school age who are dependants of 
a worker who is a national of one Member State and resides in the territory of another 
Member State (Art. 1), a subjective right to free tuition to facilitate initial reception, 
adapted to their specific needs, which will be provided by teachers who have received 
specific training for this purpose (Art. 2). The Directive also puts an obligation on 
Member States to promote, in cooperation with the States of origin, and in coordination 
with normal education, teaching of the mother tongue and culture of origin of the 
children covered by the Directive (Art. 3).M In a declaration which was added to the 
Directive, the Council stated its political will to avoid discrimination based on the 
nationality of a pupil.25 
51. The Directive establishes a minimum level guarantee which the Member States are to 
transpose into their national legislation, 'in accordance with their national circumstances 
and legal systems'26. It leaves intact their full responsibility for the content of teaching 
and the organisation of their education systems. 
23 For the findings cf. Boos-Nûnninq, U. et al. : Towards Intercultural education, 
London (CILT) 1986; Reid, E. & Reich. H. : Breaking the Boundaries, Clevedon (Multiling­
ual Matters) 1992; Reich, H. & Gogol in, I. (edr.) : Migrantenkinclor in deti ilchulon Fiiro 
pas, Versuche und Ertahrungen, Munster & New York (V/axmann) 1990 sqq. (6 vols pub­
lished, 2 in preparation) . 
24 Cf supra, note N° 14. 
25 Cf. supra, Note N° 15. 
26 This formula is used in Art. 2 and 3 
-14-
52. 12 years after the Directive came into force, its implementation is still unequal.27 Those 
Member States who, at the moment of the adoption of the Directive, were providers of 
migrant labour, were scarcely concerned by Art. 2, while at the same time making a sub­
stantial contribution to the implementation of Art. 3. On the other hand, the development 
of appropriate measures raised issues which varied significantly between Member States, 
depending on their national circumstances and legal systems. 
53. This is why in the Commission's judgement it was preferable to adopt a gradual ap­
proach, based on a mixture of persuasion, cooperation and pressure, to ensure respect 
of Community law. The pilot projects which it supported in cooperation with Member 
States also aimed at helping Member States with the implementation of the Directive. 
The Commission will continue its action in this spirit of cooperation with Member States. 
This is even more opportune as the activities engaged in the framework of cross-frontier 
networks to exchange experience and information, and in the context of the preparation 
of the Community report on the education of immigrants28, have initiated activities 
enabling Member States for whom immigration is a new phenomenon to catch up. 
The contribution of the European Social Fund 
54. Since its creation in the 1960's, the ESF has supported the setting up of languages and 
culture classes for migrant workers, aiming to facilitate their integration into the host 
society. Later on, such classes became also accessible to the families (spouses and 
children) of migrant workers. Since their difficulties of integration into the host society 
can continue or even be compounded by a loss of competence in the mother and a 
concomitant weakening of cultural identity, the ESF has also contributed to the funding 
of mother tongue education for children of Community migrants. Such classes, organised 
by the Consulates and para-governmental services of Member States in the host countries, 
are most often taught by teachers trained in the country of origin. Where such classes 
are organised outside normal school hours, their coordination with mainstream teaching -
vital to their success - is often very difficult to ensure. The effort put into the cases of 
successful cooperation between teachers from the host country and teachers from the 
country of origin tends to show that it would be preferable not to divide the respon­
sibility for the education of children living on the territory of one Member State. 
55. Objective 3 of the ESF, as revised in the 199329 Regulation, will aim to facilitate the 
integration of the long term unemployed and young people into the labour market, as 
well as the integration of people who are facing the threat of exclusion from the labour 
market. As a matter of consequence, Objective 3 will also aim to reduce risks of margin­
alisation for migrant workers and their children. Particular attention will need to be given 
to everybody, and especially young people, achieving their full potential. A skilled labour 
force is the key pre-requisite for ensuring Europe's competitiveness. Preventive measure 
to combat early school leaving and underachievement more effectively need to be 
supported at Community level. This implies a need to improve the quality of education, 
7 Report on the implementation in the Member States of Directive 77/486/EEC on the 
education of the children of migrant workers, COM (88) 787 final, 3.1.1989. 
29 Cf infra, § 57. 
29 Regulation (EEC) N° 2084 of the Council of 20 July 1993, modifying Regulation 
(EEC) N° 4255/88 (EEC) on the implementation of Regulation (EEC) N° 2052/88 on the 
European Social Fund, OJ L 193, 31.7.1993. 
-15-
including an improvement of the reception capacity of education systems (in Objective 
1 areas) and training systems (in the Union as a whole). The training of trainers, teachers 
and other education staff will need to be given priority, as will curriculum development, 
the creation of further opportunities for learning languages and acquiring tech­
nical/vocational skills. The recognition of qualifications at European level will also need 
to be promoted. The improvement of links between education and training services on 
the one hand and families and employers on the other hand will also need to be taken 
into account. 
Towards new orientations 
56. In the late 1980's, the need to adapt the approaches of the 70's to the new demands was 
felt with growing urgency, in terms both of respect for subsidiarity, and of an adjustment 
of education policies to the needs of all pupils, 'indigenous' and 'immigrant', in societies 
increasingly characterised by their cultural and linguistic diversity. This is why a working 
group of Member State representatives, chaired by the Commission, was set up in 1989, 
to ensure the coordination and follow-up of Community action in this area. To bring the 
principle of subsidiarity fully into play, the Commission decided in 1990, to discontinue 
its support of national or local projects, and to invest in Community networks of 
exchanges of experience and information between projects, practitioners, experts and 
education administrators from Member States. Most of these networks consist of three 
to five projects and institutions, in as many different Member States. The project co­
ordinators - often accompanied by the relevant members of the Commission's working 
group - participate in mutual study visits or European experts' seminars. 
57. Some of these networks focus on generic questions, such as the teaching and learning 
of the languages of the host countries, the development of indicators to establish the 
effectiveness of measures taken to improve the education of immigrant children, the 
training of education staff to liaise with immigrant parents or to manage intercultural 
communication in schools, or the experimental development of new forms of cooperation 
between schools and businesses to facilitate the transition from school to working life 
and the search for employment to immigrant youth who have experienced difficulties 
during their schooling. Other networks concentrate on the difficulties and potential of 
specific ethnic or cultural groups who are present in several Member States. The majority 
of projects participating in these networks have developed educational materials for either 
classroom use or the in-service training of teachers and other education staff such as 
school-based social workers. 
58. In this context the Commission took the initiative of preparing a Community report, in 
close cooperation with Member States, to signpost the area in which these networks oper­
ate, to establish a full picture of Member States' best practice, and to identify the common 
issues and the priorities of future Community cooperation in this area. Appendix 1 of 
this Report is based on an exploitation of these reports. 
59. In December 1991, a meeting of senior officials from Member States' education ministries 
was held under Dutch presidency, for in-depth exchanges of views and information on 
common experiences and strategic priority aims in this area. The conclusions highlighted 
the need to improve available statistics, to promote comparative research at Community 
level, to strengthen the role of the Commission's working group and to set up a Com­
munity network to promote cooperation and exchange of experience and information on 
common issues between education policy makers and practitioners from the Community's 
- 16 -
large urban centres30. In 1993/94, a pilot project promoting cooperation between 6 major 
cities of the Union on the improvement of their provision in the field of the teaching of 
the language of the host country was set up. Also, work has been started to improve the 
statistics on immigrant pupils in the education systems, in cooperation between the 
relevant services of the Commission and the Member States. All these Commission 
initiatives were decisively spurred by the initiative of the European Parliament to create 
a separate budget line to promote intercultural education in the Community. 
THE EVOLUTION OF NATIONAL POLICIES: 
From the education of immigrants towards intercultural education for all 
60. The early period (the 1960's to the middle of the 1970's) was marked by uncertainties 
about the length of immigrants' stay in their host country. These years saw the setting 
up of separate ad hoc measures, focusing on the need to teach pupils the host country's 
language as quickly as possible. In most host countries, these measures were comple­
mented by provision aimed at ensuring the teaching of children's mother tongue, with 
a view to enabling them to return to their country of origin. Most of such provision was 
arranged in cooperation between host countries and the authorities of the countries of 
emigration. 
61. The end of economic immigration in 1973-74 and the ensuing arrival of large numbers 
of pupils in the framework of family reunification gradually led to a recognition that 
most immigrants had settled permanently. Most Member States started to define the long-
term integration of immigrant pupils as their top priority, and policy drives emerged to 
ensure that their specific learning needs are met inside the mainstream class itself. There 
is a growing trend to treat the issues related to the educational integration of immigrants 
by mainstreaming such special provision as had been set up to meet their special needs. 
62. Since the 1980's, as a result of work done in projects supported by the Commission, the 
work of the Council of Europe31 and OECD32, as well of that of the many local initiat­
ives in the Community's immigration countries, further changes of the basic parameters 
can be observed in a growing number of Member States. As the fundamental relevance 
of cultural pluralism for contemporary education came to be understood more clearly, 
the emphasis shifted to the general educational practices to be promoted in such circum­
stances. During the same period, the aims of mother tongue teaching also started to 
change, as in the context of policy moves to widen the range of languages taught the full 
development of immigrant pupils' language skills started to be seen as a valuable educa­
tional goal in itself. 
30 Note to the members of the Education Committee: Integration in a plural Europe and 
the role of educat ion, Presidency conclusions, 12.12. 7 9V7, .'.7V 1217/^2 (hUHiC). 
31 Cf in particular: Council of Europe (Council for Cultural Cooperation), The CDCC's 
Project N° 7: 'The education and cultural development of migrants', Strasbourg (Council 
of Europe) 1986. 
32 
Among many other publications, cf. OECD-CERI, Multicultural education, Paris (OECD) 
1987. 
- 17 -
63. Most Member States recognise today that the immigrant communities are permanently 
established in the host countries. Contacts between persons of different cultural back­
grounds involve different and sometimes conflicting world views and values. Such 
contacts also give rise to prejudice, fear, and hostility. Education has a duty to teach -
and first of all to learn - how to cope with cultural difference. The single most important 
fact to emerge from the Member States' reports is that they all give priority to making 
further progress in this area. 
64. Although other terms are sometimes used, 'intercultural education' has come to be used 
in most Member States to denote a set of educational practices designed to encourage 
mutual respect and understanding among all pupils, regardless of their cultural, linguis­
tic, ethnic or religious background. Without glossing over differences or even conflicts 
between cultures, the approach aims at helping pupils, through the study of cultures, 
to discover the factors that unite and differentiate humankind, to appreciate its richness 
and diversity, to develop the capacity to discover their own humanity in any culture 
(their own as well as that of others), to gain a sympathetic and critical understanding 
of cultures and finally to learn making their own informed choices. 
65. Such an approach is not in itself fundamentally new in contemporary education. How­
ever, in a context of cultural diversity which as such is new, it raises issues which are 
no less new. The experience of Member States demonstrates this. They unanimously 
condemn the pseudo-folkloric stereotyping, often linked with uncritical glorification of 
each and every aspect of 'other' cultures, which one sometimes observes among insuffi­
ciently supported teachers who allow themselves to be carried away by their enthusiasm 
for the defence of cultures which are too often denigrated. There can be no intercultural 
education without proper academic effort; it must involve recognised knowledge and 
lead to genuine learning. 
66. All Member States have started promoting curriculum and teaching materials develop­
ment, often in disciplines such as history, geography and aesthetic education, as well as 
literature, philosophy and civics, particularly suited for this approach. Such efforts mostly 
focus on both a broadening of content and changes in teaching methods. They can also 
lead to the inclusion of topics not formerly included in school curricula, such as the study 
of law or of human rights. 
67. The degree of progress made in this area varies widely from one Member State to 
another, depending partly on the length of their experience of immigration and partly 
on how they construe the impact of immigration on the development of their societies. 
A similar comment applies to the degree of dissemination of intercultural education 
practice. While all Member States agree that all pupils, including those in the ever-rarer 
regions with few or no immigrants, should benefit from it, the areas with a high propor­
tion of immigrants continue to play a pioneering role in the development and implemen­
tation of these new educational practices. In their reports to the Commission, many 
Member States mention the positive role which the pilot projects supported by the Com­
mission have played in this respect. 
- 18 -
THE CHALLENGING ISSUES: ENHANCING COMMUNITY COOPERATION 
68. Member States' efforts to adjust their education systems to the needs of new residents, 
as well as to the needs of a population which as a whole is transformed by the impact 
of immigration, have made a significant, although not always clearly-perceived, contribu­
tion to efforts to modernise education systems. This appears most graphically in the field 
of language teaching, which is vital for the Community's future. The innovative measures 
which Member States have taken in this area would no doubt deserve to be more 
systematically exploited. 
69. These challenges generated by the development of cultural and linguistic diversity in the 
schools of Member States can be summarized as follows: 
- Ensure equal opportunity for all in a competitive Europe which is open to the world; 
- Fight social and cultural exclusion, ensure the Union's democratic future; 
- Promote the educational integration of the children of legally established immigrants; 
- Promote intercultural education for all pupils in the Union, preparing them to live 
together in democracy and peace; 
- Making education systems more flexible to provide better answers to ever more 
complex situations; 
- Promote cooperation between schools and their environment, particularly families, 
employers and local associations; 
- Improve and diversify language education in the Union; 
- Stimulate the transfer of expertise to the Member States and regions of the Union for 
whom immigration constitutes a new experience; 
- Stem the growth of racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism. 
70. The analysis of the older immigration Member States' experience (cf. Appendix 1) shows 
that there are certain specific areas related to the education of immigrant and ethnic 
minority children (most notably the mainstreaming of reception measures and second 
language education) where the state of development of educational expertise enables the 
generalisation of the best practices which emerge as the result of long experience. It 
appears that as regards these areas we no longer need to look for the answers to all ques­
tions. Quite the opposite, it is perfectly arguable that during the next stage we should 
concentrate on the identification, dissemination and generalisation of good successful 
practice. 
71. However, there are other areas (articulating mother tongue education for immigrant and 
ethnic minority children with 'foreign' language teaching, teaching certain disciplines in 
an intercultural perspective, taking the anti-racist dimension into account at the level of 
the general principles of conduct of educational establishments) which may seem to be 
less directly related to the classical objectives of integration, and where the state of our 
understanding seems to require further clarification and research. 
-19-
72. What would an educational approach consist of that took full account of cultural and 
linguistic diversity as it presentiy develops in the Union? How will the Member States 
manage the difficulties arising out of the need to promote the free movement of the 
citizens, while recognising the equal dignity and status of all the Union's languages? 
73. In the face of such far-reaching socio-cultural change as we are presently witnessing it 
seems fair to ask whether the capacity of our education systems to face up to the cultural 
and linguistic diversity of the population they serve, or in other words, their capacity 
to enable all students of immigrant and ethnic minority families to achieve their full 
potential and to provide intercultural education for all students, so as to promote the 
integration and peaceful co-existence of all sections of the public should not be seen as 
a powerful indicator of the quality of the education which we offer to the future citizens 
of Europe? 
74. There is no doubt that these are issues common to the education systems of the Member 
States. They are challenges of the 21st century; it is not too early to start tackling them: 
- Which role does the Union have to play in supporting the Member States' efforts to 
find solutions? 
- Can we imagine the Union playing a supportive role in stimulating Member States and 
the people in their education systems to address in common the issues which they have 
in common? 
- If this were to be done, how to ensure that the common issues can be addressed with­
out the nightmare of an obligation to produce common responses being stirred up? 
- How to ensure that the rich diversity of the education systems' experience generates 
intellectual synergies which are inspired by all the available experience and which are 
based on what one might call an 'informal acquis communautaire', namely the wealth 
of the experience which has been built up in the Union leads to solutions which are 
more imaginative, of high quality, acceptable to those concerned and relevant to the 
questions which the citizens themselves are asking? 
75. These issues are linked to the development of the Union itself, as well as to that of its 
position in the world. The Member States are striving to implement educational policies 
aiming to adjust their education systems to the demands of rapidly changing societies, 
to maintain their integrity, their specific nature and their diversity. The Union has an 
obligation to support their action, with a view to supplementing and generalizing it and 
to increasing its efficiency. 
76. If such Community action is conducted in respect of the subsidiarity principle and of 
Member States' responsibility for the content of teaching and the organisation of the 
education systems, and their cultural and linguistic diversity, it will, by promoting and 
supporting cooperation between educational establishments, and by promoting and facili­
tating exchanges of information and experience between Member States, by creating op­
portunities to confront their experience and practice and to examine together the new 
issues which arise in this area, it will be able to make a positive contribution to ensuring 
quality education for all. 
ylo- APPENDIX 1 
EDUCATING THE CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS: MEMBER STATES' POLICIES 
1. Before moving on to a more detailed analysis of the development of national po­
licies on the education of migrant pupils, it may be useful to point out the 
contribution of the European and international organisations (Commission of the 
EC, Council of Europe, OECD) to the development of exchanges of experience 
and information between their respective Member States. These exchanges point 
to the existence of a consensus that the issues related to the education of immi­
grant pupils are indeed common to the industrialised countries; no doubt this 
is at the basis of certain similarities in existing national policies which one 
observes today. 
TEACHING LANGUAGES TO IMMIGRANT PUPILS 
2. The development of Member States' policies on the education of migrant pupils 
has to some extent been shaped by the growth of research-based understanding 
of their educational needs, particularly their language needs, and by the devel­
opment of curricula and teaching aids based on the results of such research. 
Many Member States point to the need to continue such research and further 
refine scientific knowledge in this area. Some are able to point to relatively 
important ongoing research activities. 
The languages of the host countries: integration and convergence 
3. The starting point and the point of convergence of the education policies of all 
Member States has always been, and continues to be, the idea that the greatest 
possible mastery of the host country's language is the most important factor in 
the integration and educational and economic achievement of immigrant pupils. 
However, policies aimed at achieving this objective have evolved significantly 
since the 1960's, due first to the progress of scientific and pedagogical under­
standing in this area, then to changes in teaching conditions, and finally to the 
spread of specific skills among teachers. Of course, further variations among the 
different Member States' policies are due to the specific conditions and traditions 
of their particular education systems. 
4. The most important common thread in the development of provision is probably 
the gradual elimination of separate classes for the initial reception of immigrant 
pupils. The reasons behind this trend include not only a decrease in the number 
of newly-arrived pupils and their wider geographic distribution, but also three 
further factors: 
- the will, based on both general educational principles and insight into the 
process of language learning, to avoid as far as possible separating pupils by 
national or cultural origin or language background; 
- the recognition that the acquisition of a language is necessarily a long-term 
process, composed of several stages and involving increasingly diversified 
linguistic skills, has also led to acknowledgment that the language learning 
needs of immigrant pupils', instead of disappearing after a period of time 
spent, however successfully, in a special class, may show up again at certain 
-20u. 
crucial points in their education (such as when they move from primary to 
secondary school, or from one stage of secondary education to the next), and 
must be addressed where and when they occur; 
- the appearance among second-generation children, born in the host country, 
of language-learning needs which are similar to those of other pupils experi­
encing educational problems. 
5. In addition, in at least some Member States, there is a growing number of 
teachers in mainstream schools who have acquired the skills necessary to manage 
learning situations involving pupils with a variety of language backgrounds in 
the same class. In many such cases, schools expect all teachers to contribute to 
their immigrant or non-immigrant pupils' language-learning by using colla­
borative teaching and learning strategies. 
Mother tongue teaching: progress and divergence 
6. Although a number of Member States have introduced stable measures on the 
teaching of their mother tongues to immigrant pupils, and although these Mem­
ber States have adjusted the aims of such teaching to the needs of established 
immigrant communities, the controversies on the very aims of this teaching seem 
to be far from over. The original aim of teaching immigrant children their mother 
tongues had originally been to make it easier for them to continue their education 
once they returned to their country of origin. This approach, however, no longer 
seems to match the needs of the vast majority of immigrant pupils, who will 
continue their education and make their lives in the host country, where indeed 
many of them were born. 
7. Nonetheless, some Member States continue to teach immigrant pupils' mother 
tongues, and are even broadening provision in this area, for reasons which have 
evolved as immigrant communities themselves have changed: 
- A growing body of socio-linguistic research shows that mastery of the language 
spoken at home (mother tongue, first or main language), contributes positively 
to the educability of the children, and to their acquisition of the host country's 
language (second language). Especially for very young immigrant pupils, the 
early stages of education are made easier if their first language is recognised 
and used. This is a sign of recognition of the pupil's identity, and it contributes 
to the development of a positive self-image. Also, it facilitates the acquisition 
of the basic conceptual skills which form the basis for all future learning, be 
the linguistic in nature or not. 
- Although many immigrant communities have now settled permanently in the 
host country, they continue to speak the languages of their countries of origin, 
and mastery of the native language is likely to play a positive role in the 
socialisation of young immigrants, particularly in strengthening their ties with 
parents and in the community. It is precisely for this reason - as well as for 
reasons to do with the defence of specific cultural identities - that the immi­
grant communities themselves claim a right for their young people to be taught 
their mother tongues in schools. (Some Member States have tried - with limited 
- 3 €>-
success - to respond to this demand by setting up courses where immigrant 
pupils' mother tongue learning was given equivalent academic recognition as 
the foreign language learning of their autochtonic peers.) 
- The development of communication relations in Europe puts a premium on 
language skills. The number of professions where communication and language 
skills are vital to success continues to grow; some Member States see it as being 
in their economic and cultural interest to have maximum numbers of speakers 
of a maximum number of languages. These Member States feel that failing to 
cultivate all the linguistic resources available would amount to a waste of 
human and intellectual resources, especially in a situation where they are 
working to diversify 'foreign' language education provision. 
8. Facilitating return migration of young immigrants no longer holds a prominent 
place among the reasons why some Member States continue to encourage the 
teaching of ethnic minority pupils' mother tongues. Quite the contrary, they 
consider that teaching immigrant children's mother tongues is a sign of their 
education system having opened up to contemporary cultural and linguistic 
diversity. 
An intercultural dimension to the teaching of languages 
9. A relatively small number of Member States are trying to introduce an in­
tercultural dimension into the teaching of languages in multilingual contexts. 
Experiments in this area have begun with attempts to coordinate mother tongue 
teaching for immigrant pupils with the teaching of the language of the host 
country. Other innovation projects aim at opening mother tongue classes, orig­
inally reserved for immigrant pupils only, to all pupils. Yet others aim at devel­
oping new language teaching strategies, in an attempt to take advantage of the 
fact that there are pupils in the class for whom the language being taught is not 
a foreign language, but their native tongue. 
10. Still other experiments have involved efforts to enrich the teaching and learning 
of the language of the host country, as dispensed to all pupils in multilingual 
classes regardless of their background, by introducing the study of language 
itself, of its diversity and uses for communication. Such teaching is aimed at 
ensuring that pupils emerge from school as good language learners, able to put 
these skills to use in the framework of future continuing education. 
11. Certain Member States have thus taken the initiative of encouraging the teaching 
of languages of immigrant communities within the framework of policies aimed 
at diversifying 'foreign' language provision, be it as part of early language 
learning in primary school or as part of modern language teaching at secondary 
level. Such teaching then becomes available to all pupils, regardless of their 
origin. This approach seems to point the way forward, provided the necessary 
steps are taken to guarantee the flexibility of pedagogy required for successful 
teaching aimed at such diverse audiences and to the language learning conditions 
of pupils for whom contact with languages other than their native tongue is a 
common occurrence. 
-4$~ 
12. The five shared objectives that EC Ministers of Education identified for future 
" cooperation activities include 'the progressive achievement of genuine mulri-
lingualism'1. 
TRAINING TEACHERS FOR INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION 
13. Very early on, teacher training has been one of Member States' key instruments 
in their efforts to meet the educational needs of children from immigrant back­
grounds. Initially, measures in this area mostly focused on in-service training, 
so as to rapidly equip a maximum number of teachers with the basic skills re­
quired for the effective discharge of their duties, especially in the reception 
classes which the Member States had set up in the early years when immigrant 
children first started to arrive in large numbers. However, these efforts concen­
trated almost exclusively on the training of teachers specialising in the teaching 
of the languages of the host countries, in the separate classes which during the 
70's characterised much of the educational landscape. 
14. During this period, no Member State invested comparable effort into the training 
of mother tongue teachers. It is true that these teachers were generally on 
secondment from the countries of origin and that consequently the question of 
who - the country of origin or the host country - was responsible for their train­
ing was bound up with the dilemma as to who was responsible for organising 
the teaching. The Member States' reports show continuing uncertainties with 
regard to this issue. Indeed, some Member States comment that at least some of 
the difficulties which they encounter in the mother tongue teaching field are to 
be explained by the uncertainties surrounding the division of responsibilities. 
Some host Member States have drawn their own consequences from this state 
of affairs and have taken responsibility for the training of these teachers. 
15. Its is during the early eighties that one first observes the emergence of specialist 
initial training opportunities for future teachers of the languages of the host 
countries. In the early stages, these consisted mostly of additional modules which 
student teachers could register for once they had completed their degree course. 
However, a limited number of training institutions soon started to create oppor­
tunities for student teachers to take up specialist courses as an optional qualifica­
tion in the framework of reformed teacher training programmes. During the last 
few years, a small number of (mostly in-service) courses have been created, in 
certain training institutions in some Member States, aiming to help teachers of 
subjects other than languages (such as the social or exact sciences) to develop a 
better understanding of the specific language-learning needs of children from 
immigrant backgrounds who are enroled in a mainstream class without necessar­
ily having full command of the language of instruction. 
16. It is still exceptional for Member States to make the validation of teaching qualifi­
cations conditional on the inclusion, in the initial training curricula, of courses 
aiming to make student teachers sensitive to the specific strategies required for 
Conclusions of the Council and the Ministers of Education meeting within the Council of 6 
October 1989 on cooperation and Community policy in the field of education in the run-up to 
1993, OJ C 277, 31.10.1989. 
- 5^. 
successful teaching in multicultural and multilingual settings, or even to make 
such courses compulsory for all student teachers. It would seem that the initiative 
for the introduction of such courses tends to be left to individual institutions or 
even to individual teacher trainers with a special interest in this area. However, 
many Member States make a point of their resolve to develop such courses in 
a more systematic fashion, both at initial and in-service training level. Actions 
2 and 3 of Chapter II of the SOCRATES programme will create new opportunities 
to do just this. 
THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION 
17. In all Member States, improvement of the quality of education has become the 
central issue for education policy making. In so far as the presence of immigrant 
pupils in schools is seen as permanent and no longer exceptional, the pupils are 
increasingly seen as an integral element of the school population, and solutions 
are more deliberately sought in the wider framework of, and have more impact 
on, policies aiming at the modernisation of education systems. Some Member 
States have put intercultural education on the statute book, while others, without 
necessarily using the term, have adopted legislation aiming at a reform of the 
entire education system, which is clearly inspired by its principles, as is the case 
where education, to ensure equal opportunities and success for all pupils, is given 
an explicit remit to take the diversity of the school population into account. 
18. The creation of local educational communities rests on partnerships between 
schools and the surrounding community, employers, associations and most parti­
cularly the parents. Member States' reports stress the importance of parental 
involvement in the life of the school as a prerequisite of success and educational 
quality. Sometimes difficulties in persuading immigrant parents to involve them­
selves in schools or training institutions are mentioned. These tend to disappear 
when parents see that their views are effectively being taken into consideration2. 
19. In all Member States, significant proportions of immigrant communities are sub­
ject to various forms of political, economic, social and cultural exclusion3. While 
this is far from applying to all groups in the same way, the image of those immi­
grant groups who are struggling with various problems often affects the way in 
which the 'indigenous' population perceives all immigrants, thus adding a further 
dimension to the mechanisms of exclusion4. 
2 
This point has often been highlighted by the European Parents' Association, especially during 
its seminar of January 1990 in Rotterdam. Cf. EPA: Migrants' Children, Report of the 1990 EPA-
Seminar, OPCO 1990. 
3 
Commission of the European Communities, Policies on Immigration and the Social Integration 
of Migrants in the European Community, Experts' report drawn up on behalf of the Commission 
of the European Communities: SEC (90) 1913 final, 28.9.1990, § 102. 
4 
Cf. Commission of the European Communities, Intensifying the struggle against exclusion, 
promoting integration, Communication to the Council and the European Parliament COM (92) 
542/3, §13. ' . 
-60^ 
20. Until a few years ago, the dominant tendency was to 'explain' the difficulties of 
immigrant children in terms of their own or their families socio-cultural charac­
teristics. It is however increasingly recognised today that complex configurations 
of factors are at work, which can only be changed through structural adjustment 
of the education systems. Hence, measures aimed at preventing school failure 
are gaining pre-eminence, and the strategies deployed are broader based and 
more integrated. This would be true of the Educational Priority Areas which 
growing numbers of Member States have started developing over the last few 
years, and who often see the accommodation and integration of immigrant pupils 
as one of their priorities. 
7 rx» -
Appendix 2 
FOREIGN PUPILS IN % OF TOTAL SCHOOL POPULATION 
MEMBER STATE 1975/76 1980/81 1985/86 1989/90 
PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION 
BELGIUM 
GERMANY 
FRANCE 
ITALY 
LUXEMBOURG 
NETHERLANDS 10.0(1) 
n.a 
7.4 
n.a, 
31.0(1) 
-13.0 
n.a. 
9.1 
n.a. 
41.5(2) 
-" 11.6 
n.a. 
9.6 
0.1 
-
-10.4 ^ 
n.a 
8.8 
0.2 
28.8 
-
PRIMARY EDUCATION 
BELGIUM 
GERMANY 
FRANCE 
ITALY 
LUXEMBOURG 
NETHERLANDS 10.2 (1) 12.9 12.0 11.2 
included in secondary education figures 
7.4 
n.a. 
28.2 (1) 
1.6 8.9 
n.a. 
38.3 (2) 
4.2(4) 10.6 
0.1 
36.1 
5.7(4) 10.1 
0.2 
32.0 
7.0(4) 
SECONDARY EDUCATION (5) 
BELGIUM 
DENMARK 
GERMANY 
FRANCE 
ITALY 
NETHERLANDS 7.5(1) 
n.a. 
3.7 
4.9 
n.a. 
n.a. 9.2 
1.2(3) 
6.4 
5.6 
n.a. 
1.9 7.8 
1.4 
7.8 
6.6 
0.1 
3.0 8.0 
3.5 
102 
7.0 
0.1 
3.8 
SOURCE: EUROSTAT 
(1) 1974/75 (2) 1981/82 (3) EUROSTAT estimate (4) includes pre-primary 
(5) All Member States include full time, general secondary education; in addition 
- figures for Belgium include part-time education, 
- figures for Denmark, France and the Netherlands all include full-time vocational education, 
- figures for Germany include primary as well as full-time and part-time vocational education. 
N.B. Following the Resolution of the Council and Ministers of education meeting within the Coundl 
of 25 November 1991 on research and statistics on education in the European Community, (OJ 
C 321 of 12.12.1991), EUROSTAT has reactivated its work on the collection of statistics on priority 
areas for education cooperation which had been interrupted for several years. The Commission's 
report will also present more recent and complete data, which were obtained with support by 
Member States' education departments. 
% 
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COM(94) 80 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 06 05 
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