Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Decision 819/95/EC establishing the Community action programme Socrates
Date: 1997-03-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European cooperation, action programme, education policy, student mobility

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  14.03.1997 
COM(97) 99  final 

97/0103 (COD) 

SOCRATES : 

THE COMMUNITY ACTION 
PROGRAMME IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION 

REPORT ON THE RESULTS ACHIEVED 
IN 1995 AND  1996 

Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament 

and of the Council 

amending the Decision 819/95/EC  establishing the Community action programme Socrates 

(presented by the Commission) 

OVERVIEW  OF  THE SOCRATES  PROGRAMME 

HIGHER  EDUCATION  (Erasmus) 
Action  1  Grants to  universities  for  European  Dimension  activities 

Institutional  Contracts  (organisation  of  student  mobility:  teaching  staff  mobility, 
European Credit Transfer  System; curriculum  development;  intensive language courses; 
European  modules;  intensive  programmes; preparatory  visits) 
Projects developed  by  Thematic  Networks 

Action  2 

Student  Mobility  Grants 

SCHOOL  EDUCATION  (Comenius) 
Action  1  School  Partnerships  for  European  Education  Projects,  including  teacher  exchanges  and 

placements and  study  visits  for  headteachers 

Action  2  Transnational  projects  relating  to  the  education  of  the  children  of  migrant  workers, 

Action  3 

occupational travellers, Travellers and  Gypsies  /  Intercultural  Education 
In-service training courses for teachers and  educational  staff 
3.1 
3.2 

grants  for  developing  and  organising  courses 
grants for  participants 

PROMOTION  OF  LANGUAGE-LEARNING  (Lingua) 
Action  A  European  Cooperation  Programmes for  Language  Teacher Training 
Action  B 
Action  C  Assistantships  for  future  language  teachers 
Action  D  Development  of  instruments  for  language teaching/learning and  assessment 
Action  E 

Joint  educational  projects  for  language  learning 

In-service courses  for  language  teachers 

OPEN  AND  DISTANCE  LEARNING 
-  European  partnerships /  partnership  projects 
-  Observation  projects 

ADULT  EDUCATION 
-  Promoting  awareness of  other  European  countries  and  the  European  Community 
-  Enhancement of adult  education  through  European  cooperation 

EXCHANGE  OF  INFORMATION  AND  EXPERIENCE  ON  EDUCATION  SYSTEMS  AND 
POLICY 
-  Analysis  of questions  of  common  educational  policy  interest 
-  The  Information  Network  on  Education  in  Europe  (Eurydice) 
-  Visits  scheme  for  educational decision-makers (Arion) 
-  Network  of National  Academic  Recognition  Information  Centres (Naric) 

COMPLEMENTARY  MEASURES 
-  European  activities of associations  in the  field  of  education 
-  awareness-raising activities to  promote  European  cooperation  in  education 
- 
-  monitoring  and  evaluation  of  SOCRATES 

information  activities of  SOCRATES National  Agencies 

M 

CONTENTS 

EXECUTIVE  SUMMARY 

PART  A:  RESULTS  ACHIEVED  BY THE  SOCRATES  PROGRAMME  AS  A  WHOLE 

I. 

Introduction 

n.  Measures taken  to  implement the  programme 

1.  Dissemination  of  information 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 

Establishment  of the  management  and  administrative  infrastructure 
Selection of  projects  for  support 
Ensuring  complementarity with  other  Community  programmes and  policies 
Establishing  mechanisms  for  the  monitoring  and  evaluation  of the  programme 
Preparing the  extension  of  SOCRATES to other  countries 

III.  Results  of  the  programme  in  1995 and  1996 

1.  Demand  for  support  within  the  programme 
2.  Grants  awarded  in  1995  and  1996 
3.  Outcomes  of the  support  provided 
4.  Obstacles  encountered 

IV.  Challenges  for SOCRATES  in  the  period  ahead 

V.  Conclusions 

PART B: RESULTS ACHIEVED BY EACH PART OF THE PROGRAMME 

Higher  education  (Erasmus) 
School  education  (Comenius) 
Promotion  of  language-learning  (Lingua) 
Open  and  distance  learning 
Adult  education 
Exchange  of  information  and  experience on  education  systems  and  policy 
Complementary  measures 

STATISTICAL  ANNEX 

* 

EXECUTIVE  SUMMARY 

The  response  to  the  SOCRATES programme  among  the  educational  community  of  the  15 Member  States 
and the  3  EFTA-EEA  countries, has been  remarkable. The  support  provided  in  1995  and  1996  has  already 
begun  to  generate  a  significantly  increased  volume  of  European  cooperation,  notably  in  fields  such  as 
school  education,  adult  education  and  open  and  distance  learning  which  had  little  previous  tradition  of 
structured  collaboration  at  transnational  level. Institutions  are starting  to  adopt  a  more  strategic  approach 
to European  cooperation,  giving  such collaboration a more prominent  place than  hitherto  in their plans  for 
future  development. 

SOCRATES  SUPPORT  IN  1995 AND  1996 

Mobility  and  Exchanges 

•  mobility  grants to enable up to 316,000  higher  education students  to  carry out  an 

integrated and  recognised  period  of  study  in  another  participating  country 
integrated teaching assignments  abroad  for  some  26,000 professors  and  lecturers 

• 
m  some  80,000 young  persons  participating  in joint  educational projects  and  exchanges 

designed  to  motivate  them  to  communicate  in  other  European  languages 

•  over  16,000  participants  in European  in-service training  courses  for  language  teachers 

Cooperation  networks 

•  2,673  inter-university  cooperation programmes,  involving  over  1,800 higher  education 

institutions 

•  28  major  Thematic Networks  designed  to  develop  the  European  dimension  in  a wide  range 

of  disciplines  and  areas of  special  interest  in  higher  education,  involving  over  70 
institutions  each  as well  as a total  of 85 European  associations  in  the  academic  community 

•  1,620 multilateral  school partnerships,  involving some  5,000  schools 
m  Around  3,500  Joint  educational projects  designed  to  stimulate  young  people's  motivation 

to  learn other  European  languages 

•  over  600 transnational projects,  involving some  2,700  institutions,  designed  to  enhance 
cooperation  in  the  field  of  Open and distance  learning, Adult  education,  Intercultural 
education,  language-learning  and  the  initial  and in-service training  of  teachers 

Considerable  progress  has  already  been  made  towards  achieving  the  key  objectives  for  SOCRATES  laid 
down  in the  Decision  establishing  the  programme. In  1995  and  1996, the  programme  has  in  particular: 

•  made  a  substantial  contribution  to  the  mobility  of  teaching  staff  and  students  of  various  kinds,  as 

regards both  the  volume  of  exchanges and  the  quality  of their  organisational  framework; 

• 

stimulated broad and intensified cooperation between educational institutions  in  differentparticipating 
countries,  notably  through  the  creation  of  multilateral  networks.  Many  of  these  are  already 
demonstrating  their  potential  for  developing  into  durable  structures  for  collaboration  which  will  have 
beneficial effects  long after the completion  of the  pt.: 
project for which  SOCRATES support was 
provided; 

O 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

m 

• 

given  a  new  impetus  to  the  academic  recognition  of  study  periods  carried  out  and  qualifications 
obtained  abroad; 

continued  to  make  progress  in promoting 
taught  languages  of  the  Union; 

the  teaching  and  learning  of  the  less  widely  used  and  less 

provided  a  focal  point  for  a  broader  use  of  open  and  distance 
learning  and  new  technologies  in 
various  educational  sectors,  and  helped  to  ensure  that  in  the  development  of  multimedia  approaches 
pedagogical  considerations  are  taken  more  fully  into  account; 

led  to  the  production  of  a  large  and  varied  range  of  teaching  materials,  curricula, 
and  other  educational  products', 

training 

schemes 

provided  new  opportunities  for  widespread  exchange  of  knowledge  and  experience,  thereby  spreading 
expertise  and  fostering  the  process  of  innovation 

throughout  the  participating  countries; 

been  instrumental  in  ensuring  that  European  cooperation  benefits  all  Member  States,  including  the 
countries  which  are  economically  disadvantaged  and/or  located  at  the periphery  of  the  Community; 

helped  to  generate  considerable 
levels  of  complementary 
thereby  increasing  the  overall  investment  in  educational  mobility  and  cooperation  in  Europe; 

from  a  variety  of  other  sources, 

funding 

prepared  the  ground  for  the  extension  of  the  programme 
terms  of  the  Decision. 

to  the  wider  Europe, 

in  accordance  with  the 

Notwithstanding  the  considerable obstacles to  be overcome  in  launching  a programme  of this  size and  scope, 
the  results  achieved  indicate  that  in  a  variety  of  ways  the  programme  is  beginning  to  fulfil  the  mandate  laid 
down  in  the  Maastricht  Treaty  that  the  Community  shall  contribute  to  the  development  of  "quality 
education"  through  a spectrum of cooperative activities across the field  of education. Thanks to the  concerted 
efforts  at  European  and  national  level  and  within  the  educational  institutions  themselves,  SOCRATES  is 
in  education"  a  meaningful  concept  for  hundreds  of  thousands 
helping  to  make  the  "European  dimension 
of  teachers  and  learners  of  all  ages. 

The  possibility  of  participation  in  SOCRATES  has  also  been  enthusiastically  greeted  by  the  associated 
countries  of  Central  and  Eastern  Europe  and  Cyprus(1),  confirming  the  attraction  of  the  programme  which 
previously  been  demonstrated  by  the  EC  Member  States  and  subsequently  by  the  EFTA-EEA  countries. 

However,  already  in  these  early  stages  of  the  programme,  most  Actions  are  heavily  over-subscribed,  and 
increasingly  acute  budgetary  difficulties  are  being  encountered. 

The  present  document  seeks  to  analyse  the  main  aspects  of  the  implementation  and  development  of 
SOCRATES  during  the  first  two  years  following  its  adoption. 

(1)  The  decision  establishing  SOCRATES  also makes mention  of the possibility  of extending  its actions  to  include 
Malta. Negotiations  have  been  conducted  with  a view  to  enabling  Malta  to participate  in the  programme  in the 
context  of  its  pre-accession  to  the  Community.  However,  the  government  of  Malta  having  recently  taken  the 
decision  to freeze  its application  to join  the  Community, the Commission  has been  mandated  by the Council  to 
take  preliminary  technical  contacts  with  a  view  to  clarifying  the  future  relations  between  the  Community  and 
Malta.  The  final  position  to  be  adopted  by  Malta  and  the Community  not  being  known  at  the  present  time, the 
present text makes no reference  - positive or negative - to a possible opening of the programme to Malta at a later 
date. 

&-

PART A:  RESULTS  ACHIEVED  BY THE SOCRATES PROGRAMME  AS 

A WHOLE 

I. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  Community  action  programme  in  the  field  of  education,  entitled  SOCRATES  (2),  spans  the  period 
1995-1999  and  is applicable to the  15 Member States of the European Community  as well  as to  Iceland, 
Liechtenstein  and  Norway  in  the  framework  of  the  European  Economic  Area agreement.  It  is  currently 
being  extended  to  the  associated  countries  of  Central  and  Eastern  Europe  and  Cyprus  <3)  in  accordance 
with  the  terms of the  Decision. 

The  overall  aim  of  SOCRATES  is  to  boost  cooperation,  increase  mobility  and  enhance  the  European 
dimension  in  all  sectors of  education.  It  thereby  contributes to  the  development  of  high  quality  human 
resources, attuned  to  the  needs  of  an  increasingly  interdependent  and  integrated  Europe.  This  is  a  key 
factorin stimulating competitiveness and employment, achievinggreatereconomic growth and maintaining 
social stability throughout the Community04*. Just as importantly, SOCRATES contributes to the  personal 
fulfilment  of the individuals participating, and develops a sense of identity with the  European  Community 
among  citizens of all ages. 

The  programme addresses a vast  target population.  In today's  European  Community  there are some  117 
million young  people under 25 years of age  - a third of the total  population. Some 60 million  pupils  are 
enrolled  in  the  Community's  307,000  schools, 36  million  at  secondary and  24  million  at  primary  level, 
as  well  as  a  further  10 million  infants  in  pre-primary  education.  They  are  taught  by  over  4  million 
teachers. Some  11 million  students  are  studying  at over  5,000 higher  education  institutions;  millions  of 
adult  learners are attending  full-  or  part-time classes  in  order to  update and  extend  their  knowledge  and 
competence. All  of  these,  as  well  as  all  personnel  involved  in  the  management  and  administration  of 
education and  in related tasks such as guidance and counselling, are potential  SOCRATES  participants/5' 

SOCRATES is the first comprehensive programme at European Community  level promoting  cooperation 
across the  entire educational  field.  It embraces previous  EC  initiatives, such  as the  Erasmus  and  Lingua 
schemes, extends their  scope  and  scale of  operation,  and  integrates them  with  a new  range  of  activities 
in educational sectors not systematically addressed by Community programmes hitherto. SOCRATES also 
forms part of a broader strategy to promote the concept of lifelong  learning. It interacts closely with  other 
European initiatives, notably the Leonardo da Vinci programme for vocational training, Youth  for  Europe 
III, social  policy  programmes, and  components  of  the  Fourth  Framework Programme  for  Research  and 

(2)  Decision No 819/95/EC of the  European  Parliament and of the Council of  14 March  1995 establishing the 

Community action programme 'Socrates', Official Journal No. L 87/10 of 20 April  1995. 

(3)  See footnote  (1) above. 

(4)  This  has  been  emphasised  in  the  Commission's  Action for  Employment  in  Europe.  A  Confidence  Pact, 
document CSE (96) 1  final, Brussels, 5 June  1996, as well as in the Commission's White Paper on education 
and  training: Teaching  and Learning. Towards the  Learning  Society, Luxembourg:  Office  for  Official 
Publications  of  the  European  Communities  1996;  its  recent  Green Paper on Innovation,  adopted  on  20 
December  1995 (COM (95) 688) and its earlier White Paper on Growth,  Competitiveness,  Employment .The 
challenges  and ways forward into the 21st century,  Luxembourg: Office  for  Official  Publications  of  the 
European  Communities  1994. 

(5)  The figures  in this paragraph  are based on the  Key data on education  in the European  Union,  compiled for 

the Commission by the EURYDICE network,  1995 edition, Luxembourg: Office  for Official  Publications of 
the  European  Communities  1996. 

Technological  Development. 

To  have  a  significant  impact,  SOCRATES  requires  not  only  a carefully  selected  range  of  measures  for 
each  educational  sector addressed, but  also  a financial  framework  fully  consistent  with  the  objectives  of 
the  programme.  After  a  protracted  conciliation  procedure  between  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council,  the  figure  finally  agreed  was  850  MioECU  for  the  period  1995-9.  This  fell  far  short  of  the 
Commission's original proposal of  1005.6 MioECU, even though  it has to cover the needs of the enlarged 
European  Community  of  15  Member  States  as  well  as  additional  programme  elements,  notably  adult 
education, introduced during the negotiations. The European Parliament assented to the compromise  figure 
only  on  condition  that  a review  be envisaged  in due  course. 

Accordingly,  at  the  end  of  the  conciliation  procedure,  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the 
Commission  agreed  that: 

"Two years  after  the  launching  of  the programme,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  will 
(assess) the  results  achieved  by the programme.  To that end,  the Commission  will submit  to them a 
report  accompanied  by any proposals  which  it considers  appropriate,  including  any concerning  the 
funding  set  by  the  legislator  within  the  meaning  of  the  Joint  Declaration  of  6 March  1995.'6>  The 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  will  act  on  those proposals  at  the  earliest  opportunity. ",7) 

On that basis, the Commission has produced this report analysing the first two years of SOCRATES ( 1995 
and  1996). It demonstrates that the programme has been eagerly welcomed by the educational community 
across the  Community  and has made a promising  start towards achieving the objectives  laid down  in the 
Decision  establishing  the  programme. In so doing,  it  is responding  effectively  to the  mandate  laid  down 
in  Article  126  of  the  EC  Treaty<8) that  the  Community  "shall  contribute  to  the  development  of  quality 
education"  through  cooperation  across national  boundaries. 

Already, however, the  volume  of  funds  requested from  the  programme  outstrips the  resources available 
several  times  over,  and  for  a  number  of  reasons  the  full  impact  of  demand  has  yet  to  be  felt.  The 
Commission  has  concluded  from  the  analysis  of  the  first  two  years  that  the  financial  framework  is  no 
longer  adequate  to  fulfil  the  programme's  objectives.  The  present  Report  is  therefore  accompanied,  as 
envisaged  in  the  above-mentioned  Joint  Statement,  by  Commission  proposals  for  a modification  of  the 
financial  framework. 

II.  MEASURES  TAKEN  TO  IMPLEMENT  THE  PROGRAMME 

The  measures taken  to  implement  the  programme have centred around  six  lines  of  action: 

1.  Dissemination  of  information 

A wide  range of  information  activities have been conducted  to draw the attention of  target groups to the 
opportunities  which  SOCRATES  provides.  A  general  Vademecum,  Action-specific  Guidelines  for 
Applicants  and  a series of Information  Notes  were prepared in  all  11 official  EU  languages and  widely 
distributed,  both  in  paper form  and  via the  EUROPA  Internet server. A formal  Announcement/  Call  for 

(6)  Declaration  by the European  Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 6 March  1995 (95/C 293/03), 

Official Journal No. C 293/4 of 8 November 1995. 

(7) 

Joint Statement by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission concerning Decision 819/95/EC 
of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  14  March  1995  establishing  the  Community  action 
programme 'Socrates', Official Journal No. LI32/18 of  16 June 1995. 

(8)  Official Journal No.C 224 of 3 1  August  1992. 

Proposals  was  published  in  the  Official Journal.™ 

To  take  account  of  the  specific  information  needs  of  each  participating  country,  national  SOCRATES 
information  campaigns  were  conducted,  consisting  of  national-level  launch  conferences,  regional  and 
sectoral  conferences  and  seminars,  information  documents  and  publicity  actions.  The  campaigns  were 
supported  through  SOCRATES grants, as provided for  in the  Decision. The  new funding  elements within 
SOCRATES  were  emphasised.  Particularly  intensive  campaigns  were  devoted  to  the  "Institutional 
Contract" within  Erasmus {cf.  infra)  and  to cooperation  in  the  schools  sector  (Comenius). 

2.  Establishment  of  the  management  and  administrative  infrastructure 

In implementing  SOCRATES, the Commission  is assisted  by the SOCRATES  Committee,  consisting  of 
two members designated by each Member State and chaired by the Commission.  Issues dealt with  by the 
Committee  and  its  two  sub-committees, 
in  the  fields  of  higher  education  and  school  education 
respectively,  have  included:  the  priorities  and  criteria  for  support  under  the  various  Actions  of  the 
programme; budgetary allocation for the different Actions, and the formula  for apportioning  funds  to each 
country under the decentralised Actions; selection of projects under the Actions managed centrally; policy 
issues such as equal opportunities and the needs of disabled persons. The good  working relations between 
the Commission  and the national authorities, have facilitated the  implementation  of the programme; they 
remain  a key  factor  in  determining  its  longer-term  success. 

The  European  Parliament has  been  kept  fully  informed  of  the  matters dealt  with  by  the  Committee  and 
the  Sub-committees, in  accordance with  the  "Modus  Vivendi" agreed  between the  European  Parliament, 
the  Council  and  the  Commission  on  20  December  1994(I0). 

National Agenciesplay  a vital  role in implementing SOCRATES. Their responsibilities  include  selecting 
projects  and  distributing  grants  under  the  decentralised  Actions,  monitoring  and  financial  management, 
disseminating information, providing guidance and assistance in identifying  suitable partners, and ensuring 
operational complementarity with  schemes operating at national  level. In  some  participating countries, a 
single  National  Agency  has  been  designated  for  all  of  SOCRATES(ll). In  others,  different  organisations 
have been  designated  for  different  Actions;  the  Commission  has encouraged  the  countries  concerned  to 
adopt  effective  coordination  arrangements. The National  Agencies  have  been  convened  for  two  plenary 
sessions  and  more  frequently  on  an  Action-specific  basis.  Such  meetings  are  vital  in  the  interest  of 
effective and coherent programme management. The great majority  of National  Agencies have  performed 
outstandingly  well  in  the  launching  phase  of  SOCRATES, showing  exemplary  commitment  to  meeting 
the  challenges  laid  down  by  the  programme. Some difficulties  have also  been  encountered, as  indicated 
below.  ' 

In the operational administration of the programme, the Commission  is supported by the SOCRATES  and 
Youth Technical Assistance  Office,  located  in  Brussels. The  organisation  providing  this  assistance  was 
selected  in  early  1995 on  the  basis  of open  public  tender. 

Given  the  large number of  organisations  involved  in administering  SOCRATES, a key  priority  has  been 
the development of electronic exchange of  information  between National  Agencies, the Commission  and 
the  Technical  Assistance Office.  This  network  will  be  operational  in early  1997. 

(9)  Official Journal No. C 200 of 4 August  1995. 

(10)  Modus Vivendi  of 20 December  1994 between  the  European  Parliament, the Council  and the Commission 
concerning the implementing measures for acts adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 
189b of the  EC Treaty,  Official Journal No. C 293/1 of 8 November 1995. 

(11)  New organisations have in some instances been established with this specific mandate, either for SOCRATES 
alone  or  in  conjunction  with  the  exercise  of  national  agency  functions  related  to  other  Community 
programmes, such  as  Leonardo  da Vinci, Youth  for  Europe  III  and the  Community  Initiatives  within  the 
Structural Funds. 

3.  Selection  of  projects  for  support 

The  selection  of  projects  and  activities  for  support  has  been  the  central  focus  of  attention  during  the 
launch  phase  of  SOCRATES.  As  the  Decision  establishing  the  programme  was  not  published  until  late 
April  1995,  Article  5(2)  was  invoked  to  agree  "Transitional  Measures"  for  the  initial  period.  Thanks  to 
the  flexible  and  cooperative  approach  adopted  by  all  parties, these  measures  ensured  a  generally  smooth 
implementation.  The  support  awarded  under  the  different  parts  of  the  programme  is  analysed  in  greater 
detail  below. 

4.  Ensuring  complementarity  with  other  Community  programmes  and  policies 

Though  SOCRATES  is  the  main  Community  instrument  for  cooperation  in  the  field  of  education,  many 
other  areas  of  Community  policy  have  an  important  educational  dimension,  or  ?.re  closely  related  to 
education/12)  Article  6(1)  of  the  Decision  establishing  SOCRATES  consequently  provides  that  "the 
Commission,  in  partnership  with  the  Member  States,  shall  ensure  overall  consistency  between  this 
programme  and  other  Community  actions".  These  provisions  have  been  implemented  by  establishing 
appropriately  close  working  relations  with  the  services  responsible,  including  in  some  cases  mutual 
involvement  in  the  selection  of  projects,  and  by  taking  the  necessary  steps  to  ensure  that  SOCRATES 
itself  plays  its  full  part  in  furthering  the  objectives  of  other  EC  policies. 

Among  the  most  important  of  these,  as  indicated  in  the  SOCRATES  Decision  and  as  emphasised  in 
particular  by  the  European  Parliament  during  its  adoption,  are  the  promotion  of  equal  opportunities  and 
the  integration of  disabled  persons, consistent  with  the  policy  of  "mainstreaming",  i.e.  incorporating  these 
principles  in  the  implementation  of  all  Community  policies,  programmes  and  actions(13).  For  equal 
opportunities,  this  approach  is  implemented  by  means  of  awareness-raising  measures04*,  supporting 
projects  dealing  with  equal  opportunities(15),  and  ensuring  that  in the  selection  of  projects  and  individuals 
by  the  Commission  and  by  the  National  Agencies,  the  principle  of  equal  opportunities  is  rigorously 
adhered  to.  The  needs  of  disabled  persons  are  addressed  in  several  ways,  notably  by  close  cooperation 
with  organisations  which  promote  educational  opportunities  for  the  disabled  and  by  thematic  seminars  to 
encourage  more  institutions  to  develop  projects  in  this  area(16); by  encouraging  beneficiary  institutions  to 
provide  effective  services  for  the  reception,  guidance,  pedagogical  assistance  and  technical  support  of 
disabled  persons(17);  by  prioritising  projects  which  address  the  educational  needs  of  disabled  persons,  for 
example  under  Comenius  Actions  1  and  3( , 8)  and  Lingua  Actions  A  to  D;  and  by  providing  additional 

(12)  Such  policy  areas  include: vocational  training, youth,  external  relations, development  aid,  employment, the 
information  society,  the  internal  market,  research  and  technological  development,  energy,  regional 
development, social policies such as the integration  of disabled persons and promotion of equal  opportunities 
for  women  and  men, environment,  health,  culture,  information,  consumer  protection,  statistics. 

(13)  Cf.  Communication from  the  Commission:  Incorporating  equal  opportunities for  women  and  men  into  all 
Community policies and activities, 21 February  1996, COM(96)67 final; Communication from  the Commission 
on  equality  of  opportunities  for  people  with  disabilities,  30  July  1996,  COM  (96)  406  final;  Fourth 
Community action programme on equality of opportunities for women and men (1996-2000), Official Journal 
No.  L  335/37  of  31  December  1995. 

(14)  For  example,  the  contact  seminar  held  in  Stockholm  in  December  1995  to  enable  secondary  schools  to 

develop  projects  focusing  on  equal  opportunities  issues. 

(15)  This  is, for  example,  one  of  the  priority  areas  for  support  within  Comenius  school  partnerships. 

(16)  For example, a thematic seminar is planned  in Belgium  in February  1997 addressing  institutions catering  for 

the  educational  needs  of  persons  with  mild  forms  of  mental  handicap. 

(17)  E.g. the  2-volume publication  entitled  Studying  Abroad  prepared  by  the  Katholieke  Universiteit  Leuven  in 
collaboration  with  HELIOS Thematic  Group  13 and the  European  Forum  for  Student Guidance  (FEDORA) 
with the  support  of the European  Commission (Vol.  1: Checklist  of needs for  students with disabilities;  Vol. 
2:  European  guide  for  students  with  disabilities),  [Leuven,  1995-6]. 

(18) 

Institutions  in  France,  Greece,  the  Netherlands  and  the  UK  are,  for  example,  linking  up  under  Comenius 
Action  3 to  produce  a package  of  instructional  modules  for  mainstream  classroom  teachers  responsible  for 

financial support  for disabled  participants, in so  far as the resources available to the programme allow.'v>) 

5.  Establishing  mechanisms  for  the  monitoring and  evaluation  of  the  programme 

The  monitoring  of  SOCRATES,  and  the  formal  interim  and  final  evaluation,  will  be  carried  out  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Article  8  of  the  Decision.  They  will  also  take  into  account  the 
guidelines  on  evaluation  adopted  by  the  Commission  under  its  policy  on  "Sound  and  effective 
management  (SEM  2000)"(20).  The  arrangements  are  the  subject  of  in-depth  consultation  with  the 
SOCRATES Committee. Preparatory steps have been undertaken, notably to ensure that the data necessary 
for  monitoring  and  basic  evaluation  purposes  is  collected  and  retrieved. This  will  require  considerable 
commitment  from  the National  Agencies and close cooperation  between  these and  the Commission.  The 
present report is further evidence of the  importance which the Commission  attaches to thorough  periodic 
reporting on  the  programme's progress. 

6.  Preparing  the extension of SOCRATES  to other  countries 

Article  7(3)  of  the  Decision  provides  for  the  extension  of  SOCRATES to  the  associated*21^  countries 
of Central and Eastern Europe, Cyprus and Malta(22). Negotiations with the countries concerned have been 
conducted  as  a  matter  of  high  priority  during  the  launching  phase  of  the  SOCRATES  programme.  At 
present,  it  appears probable that  some  or  all of these will  be eligible to  participate from  1997 onwards. 
The  extension  of  the  programme will  have major  implications, not  least of  a budgetary  nature.(23) 

Practical steps  have  been taken  to ensure that  as soon  as the  relevant agreements become  effective,  the 
Central and Eastern European countries concerned will be able to participate fully  in the different  Actions 
of the programme. To facilitate these preparations, allocations totalling 4.05 MioECU were made available 
from  the PHARE budget  in  1995 and  1996. Particular attention  has  been  given  to: establishing  National 
Agencies  and  training  their  personnel;  production  of  documentation  on  the  programme:  creating 
comparable data systems, and providing access to communications networks; training seminars for national 
experts  in  assessing  projects; study  visit  grants  for  educational  decision-makers. 

III.  RESULTS  OF THE  PROGRAMME  IN  1995 AND  1996 

1.  Demand  for support within  the  programme 

The  SOCRATES programme has been eagerly received by the education community  in  Europe. Already 
in  this  early  stage  of  development,  the  budget  available  is  significantly  outstripped  by  the  demand  for 

integrating  pupils with  special  educational needs. 

(19)  For example, the needs of higher education students with particularly severe disabilities are taken into account 
within  the  5% of Chapter  I (Erasmus) Action 2 funds  available  to the Commission  for  ensuring  balanced 
participation. The Commission has indicated that it will be willing to consider the  feasibility  of adopting a 
similar approach  for Chapters  II and  III from  1997 onwards. 

(20)  Document  SEC (95)  1301/4 of 22 July  1995. 

(21)  "Associated" status is conferred  upon Central and Eastern European countries which have signed a "Europe 
Agreement". Such agreements are designed to assist the country  concerned  in its preparations  for possible 
future  membership  of  the  Community.  All  10  countries  concerned  will  be  eligible  to  participate  in 
SOCRATES, as soon as the terms and conditions have been agreed and  ratified. 

(22)  See footnote  (1) above. 

(23)  These are set out in the Explanatory Memorandum and Financial Statement accompanying the Commission's 

proposals  for  an increase  in the financial  framework  for the programme. 

support:  in  1995,  the first year of  implementation,  the  total  request^ of  over  500  MioECU  was  around 
three times  higher  than  the  budget  available. 

1996  has  seen  a  further  sharp  rise  in  the  number  of  grant  requests  compared  with  1995  under  most 
Actions.  This  is  particularly  noticeable  in  the  case of  the  newest  Actions, which  are  clearly  taking  hold 
quickly.  For example, the  number of schools wishing  to  participate  in Comenius  school  partnerships  has 
risen five-fold, and within  the Lingua Assistantships scheme the demand for grants and requests to receive 
assistants  has  been  running  at  between  5  and  10  times  its  1995  level  in  certain  countries.  Among  the 
"centralised"  Actions,  i.e. those  in  which  the  selection  decisions  are taken  directly  by  the  Commission, 
applications  for  support of new  projects  in the  fields  of  in-service teacher training (Comenius Action  3), 
Adult  education  and  Open  and  distance  learning, have  risen  by  between  78% and  112% compared  with 
the  previous  year. 

The budgetary situation  is already posing severe problems. As Chart 2 in the Statistical Annex shows, the 
amount  requested  outstripped  the  budget  available  in  1995  and  1996  many  times  over  under  several 
Actions, including  in areas new to Community funding  under SOCRATES. Whereas in some  Community 
programmes, this  situation  may  be  more  tolerable,  it  is  a  cause  for  concern  in  the  case  of  SOCRATES 
given the  programme's vocation  to  reach as broad a cross-section as possible  in each sector of  education 
and  thereby  promote  a strong  sense  of  identification  with  the  Community  among  Europe's  citizens. 

But  if demand  has already been high  in  1995 and  1996, it  is not until  1997 and  beyond  that  its full  force 
will  be  felt.  This  is  notably  because  from  that  time  on: 

-  funding  will  be needed each year not only for new initiatives but also for a renewal of support  in Years 
2  and  3  of  pluriannual  projects  first  supported  in  earlier years: under  most  Actions  over  80%  of  the 
projects  first  supported  in  1995  requested  further  funding  in  1996; 

- 

the  impact  of  the  information  campaigns  conducted  in  1995  and  1996,  and  of  the  preparatory  visit 
grants awarded, will  work  itself  through  into  project  proposals, especially  under the  more  innovative 
Actions  within  the  programme, such  as  multilateral  school  partnerships; 

- 

the  involvement of the new Member States and EFTA-EEA countries  is likely to grow  further  as they 
become  more  accustomed  to  participation; 

-  certain  Actions  will  become  fully  available  for  the  first  time,  such  as:  the  Erasmus  "Institutional 
Contract",  for  which  applications  for  the  academic  year  1997/8  show  a  25%  increase  in  the  total 
amount  requsted  (250  MioECU) Compared with the final (1996/7) year of funding  via  Inter-university 
cooperation  programmes;  grants  for  teachers  to  participate  in  in-service  training  courses  within 
Comenius  (Chapter II, Action  3.2); 

- 

the effects  of certain other policy contexts will  make themselves felt  in terms of  increased demand  for 
support  within  SOCRATES. These  include  notably  the  1996  European  Year  of  Lifelong  Learning(2î) 
and  the  1997  European  Year  against  Racism(26). 

(24) 

It  is assumed  for the purpose of calculating  total demand within  SOCRATES that  students under Erasmus 
Action  2 request  on average  half the  maximum grant  allowable  adjusted  for  the  number of  months spent 
abroad. 

(25)  Decision No. 2493/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October  1995 establishing the 

'European  year of  lifelong  learning', Official Journal No. L 256/45 of 26 October  1995. 

(26)  Resolution of the Council and the representatives of the governments of the Member States, meeting within 
the Council  of 23 July  1996 concerning the European  Year against  Racism (1997), Official Journal No. C 
237/1  of  15 August  1996. 

- 6-

2.  Grants awarded  in  1995 and  1996 

In the first two years of SOCRATES, grants totalling 364.5  MioECU  have been awarded  under the  terms 
of  the  programme/271 As  the  box  below  shows,  support  has  been  provided  to  a  very  large  number  of 
projects  and  individual  participants, in all  sectors of education. More detailed figures are provided  in  the 
Statistical  Annex. 

SOCRATES  SUPPORT  IN  1995 AND  1996 

Mobility  and  Exchanges 

•  mobility  grants  to  enable  up to  316,000  higher  education  students  to  carry out  an  integrated 

and  recognised  period  of  study  in  another  participating  country 
integrated teaching assignments  abroad for  some  26,000 professors  and  lecturers 

• 
•  some  80,000 young  persons  participating  in joint  educational projects  and  exchanges 

designed  to  motivate  them  to  communicate  in  other  European  languages 

•  over  16,000  participants  in  European  in-service training  courses  for  language  teachers 

Cooperation  networks 

•  2,673  inter-university  cooperation programmes,  involving  over  1,800 higher  education 

institutions 

•  28  major  Thematic  Networks  designed  to  develop  the  European  dimension  in  a wide  range 

of  disciplines  and  areas of  special  interest  in  higher  education,  involving  over 70 
institutions  each  as well  as  a total  of 85 European  associations  in the  academic  community 

•  1,620 multilateral  school partnerships,  involving  some  5,000  schools 
m  around  3,500 Joint  educational projects  designed  to  stimulate  young  people's  motivation  to 

learn  other  European  languages 

•  over  600  transnational  projects,  involving  some  2,700  institutions,  designed  to  enhance 
cooperation  in  the  field  of  Open and distance  learning, Adult  education,  lntercultural 
education,  language-learning  and  the  initial  and  in-service  training  of  teachers 

As  regards the  overall  allocation  of  funds  between  the  different  parts  of  the  programme,  it  has  already 
been  possible  in  this  initial  period  to  adhere to  the  principle  laid  down  in  the  Decision  that  during  the 
entire  quinquennium  to  1999,  at  least  55%,  10%  and  25%  must  be  spent  on  Chapters  I,  II  and  III 
respectively. Chart  1 in the Statistical Annex refers. This  is a further  indication that the new funding  areas 
in Chapters  II and  III of the  programme  have  already been  well  received. 

In  order  not  to  disappoint  too  many  good  quality  applicants  in  the  initial  years  of  the  programme,  the 
Commission's  approach  in  1995  and  1996  has  generally  been  to  provide  at  least  a  certain  amount  of 
support  to  as  many  good  projects  as  possible,  despite  the  limited  budget  available,  while  nonetheless 
awarding  a  critical  mass  of  support  to  each  project.  However,  the  analysis  of  the  first  two  years 
demonstrates that  under certain key parts of the programme, the unit  grant  is already slipping  down  to an 
untenably  low  level and  may  in some cases no  longer  be adequate  for  ensuring  that  projects  achieve the 

(27)  For  1995, this  figure  includes  in  addition  to  the  Community  budget  contributions  from  the  EFTA-EEA 
countries  and  Switzerland  (1995  was the  last  year  covered  by the  bilateral  agreement  providing  for  that 
country's participation in the Erasmus part of the programme), as well as funds recycled from previous years. 
For  1996, it includes contributions from  EFTA-EEA countries. 

-  7 -

desired  results <28). The  situation  is  particularly acute as  regards: 

Erasmus, where  funds  available  in  1996  averaged  ECU  1,000 per  institution  for  each  of  its  inter-
university cooperation programmes (ICP). Furthermore, if all the students within  approved  Erasmus 
exchange programmes were to be awarded a grant to help finance their study period abroad, the grant 
per  student  including  travel  and  all  other  cost  elements, would  be just  750  ECU  for  a  full  year's 
study  (or just  75  ECU  per  month)  -  some  15% of  the  ECU  5,000  maximum  allowed  under  the 
Decision. Although  there are non-pecuniary advantages of being an  Erasmus student (full  academic 
recognition  of  studies  abroad,  non-payment  of  fees  at  host  university  etc.), the  conclusion  to  be 
drawn from  the analysis of the first two years of Erasmus support within  SOCRATES is that the low 
level  of  grant  both  to  students  and  to  universities,  is a  genuine  and  growing  cause  for  concern. If 
allowed  to  continue  after  the  introduction  of  the  Institutional  Contracts  system  in  1997/8(29),  this 
situation  could  seriously  impede the  success of this  crucial part of the  SOCRATES  programme; 

Comenius, within  which:  the  maximum  grant  for  each  school  participating  in  a  school  partnership 
project  is normally only ECU 2,000 per annum (ECU 3,000  in the case of schools coordinating such 
partnerships). This  figure  is  extremely  low,  and  pressure on  education  budgets  at  national  level  is 
making  it  difficult  for  schools  to  obtain  significant  complementary  funds  from  other  sources.  In 
several  countries,  the  SOCRATES  grant  is  seen  as  an  insufficient  incentive  to  encourage  more 
schools to  participate, particularly  in the absence of support  for  mobility  of  participating  pupils. 

The  situation  now  emerging  militates  in  favour  of  persons  and  institutions  who  have  greater  economic 
means  at their  disposal.  Experience in  1995  and  1996  has  also  shown  that  the  inadequacy  of  resources 
may tend to dissuade several National Agencies from  disseminating  information  on the programme even 
more  widely,  with  unfortunate  consequences  for  institutions  and  individuals  who  have  not  previously 
participated in European cooperation and are not yet  fully  aware of the opportunities which  SOCRATES 
provides.  Such  factors  adversely  affect  the  programme's  capacity  to  uphold  the  principle  of  equal 
opportunities  set out  in the  Decision. 

3.  Outcomes of  the support  provided 

The results achieved by each part of the programme in  1995 and  1996 are set out  in  Part B of this  report. 
In overall terms, it may be said that already in this comparatively short space of time, the programme has 
given  rise to  a significantly  increased  volume and  improved  quality  of  European  cooperation,  notably 
in  fields  such  as  school  education,  adult  education  and  open  and  distance  learning  which  had  little 
previous  tradition  of  structured  collaboration  at  transnational  level.  It  is  furthermore  encouraging 
institutions to adopt a more strategic approach to European cooperation, and to give it a more prominent 
place than  hitherto  in their plans  for  future  development. SOCRATES has  in  particular: 

•  made  a  substantial  contribution  to  the  mobility  of  students, young  people  and  teaching  staff  as 
regards both  the  volume  of exchanges and the  quality  of their organisational  framework;(30) 

• 

stimulated  broad  and  intensified  cooperation  between  educational  institutions 
in  different 
participating  countries,  notably  through  the  creation  of  multilateral  networks.  Many  of  these  are 
already demonstrating their potential for developing  into durable structures for collaboration  which 
will have beneficial effects  long after the completion of the particular project for which  SOCRATES 
support  was  provided.  A  total  of  over  16,000  institutions  in  all  sectors of  education  have  actively 

(28)  Cases  have  even  been  reported  of  project  coordinators  declining  the  offer  of  a grant,  since  the  amount 

proposed was felt  to be inadequate  for sustaining the viability  of the projects  in question. 

(29)  See the  Erasmus section  in Part B of the present  document. 

(30)  The main obstacles to transnational mobility have been identified in the Commission's Green Paper: Education 

-  Training - Research:  The obstacles to transnational mobility,  COM (96)462 final of 2 October  1996. 

-  8 -

participated  in  SOCRATES  in  the  first  two  years of  the  programme:1'0 

contributed  to  enhancing  the  European  dimension 
measures  relating to  the  initial  training  and further  professional  development  of teaching staff; 

in  various  educational  sectors,  notably  by 

given  a  new  impetus  to  the  academic  recognition  of  study  periods  carried  out  and  qualifications 
obtained  abroad: the  European  Credit Transfer  System  is being  extended  to well  over  1,000  higher 
education  institutions;  projects  addressing  the  recognition  of  qualifications  in  adult  education  and 
those  obtained  through  open  and  distance  learning are also  being  supported; 

continued  to  make  progress  in promoting  the  teaching  and  learning  of  less  widely  used  and  less 
taught  languages  of  the  Union,  particularly  in  the  Lingua  part  of  the  programme  but  also  within 
Erasmus; 

provided  a  focal  point  for  a broader  use  of  open  and  distance  learning  and  new  technologies  in 
various educational sectors, and helped to ensure that  in the development of multimedia  approaches 
pedagogical  considerations are taken  more  fully  into  account; 

led to the production of a large and varied range  of teaching  materials,  curricula,  training  schemes 
and  other  educational  products; 

provided  new  opportunities  for  widespread  exchange  of  knowledge  and  experience,  thereby 
spreading  expertise and  fostering  the  process of  innovation  throughout  the  participating  countries; 

been  instrumental  in  ensuring that  European cooperation  benefits  all  Member  States, including  the 
located at the periphery  of the  Community. 
countries  which are economicallydisadvantagedand/or 

In  all  these  ways,  the  SOCRATES  programme  is  making  clear  and  demonstrable  progress towards  the 
objective, set out  in Article  126 of the  EC Treaty(32), of contributing to quality  education  throughout  the 
Community  Just  as  importantly,  it  is  helping  to  make  the  "European  dimension  in  education"  a 
meaningful  concept for  hundreds of thousands  of teachers and  learners of all ages. Considerable progress 
has been  made  in preparing the ground  for the extension  of these benefits  of the  programme to the  wider 
Europe, in  accordance with  the terms  of the  Decision. 

The  support  provided  has also clearly helped to generate  considerable  levels of complementary 
from  a variety  of  other  sources  (JJ). 

funding 

4.  Obstacles  encountered 

Experience from  the first two years of the programme has served to  identify  a number of obstacles  to the 
programme's  further  development.  This  is  particularly  the  case  with  secondary  and,  above  all,  primary 
schools,  since  few  such  institutions  have  a  tradition  of  international  cooperation  or  a  network  of 
international  contacts on  which  to  draw. The  requirement that  all  projects  must  be  multilateral  from  the 
outset, therefore gives  rise to considerable difficulties.  Other difficulties  encountered by schools  are that: 

(31)  The real  extent of participation  in networks  is far  wider than is immediately apparent, given  that a project 
'partner* is often a Europe-wide organisation with many member institutions. The Statistical Annex provides 
an  overview of  participation of  each country  in  transnational  projects  within  SOCRATES. 

(32)  Official Journal N° C224 of 31 August  1992. 

(33)  As the Statistical Annex shows, SOCRATES grants in  1996 cover under 40% of the total project cost under 
almost all the programme's centralised  Actions; in the case of higher education, this percentage  is far lower 
still, amounting at most to  15% of total  project  cost. 

they  tend  to  be  much  more tightly  controlled  by  national, regional or  local  government  authorities, 
as regards the administrative regulations governing the institutions, the conditions of work of teachers 
and  the  content  of the  curriculum; 

in particular in the  primary sector, they do not  always have a legal status as an organisation  in  their 
own  right,  which  has  sometimes  made  it  difficult  for  them  to  find  an  appropriate  contractual  and 
financial  framework  for  their  involvement  in  projects; 

the competent authorities have  in many cases proven  unwilling to reduce the  statutory  work-load  of 
teachers responsible  for  projects  and/or to  give  them  satisfactory  recognition  for  this  work; 

both schools and in-service teacher training institutions have found  it difficult  to find complementary 
funding  particularly at a time of severe budgetary constraints at the national, regional and  local  level. 

For Adult education, the  lack of a history of transnational collaboration, the disparate nature of  provision 
in  the  participating  countries,  the  size  of  the  target  population  and  the  novelty  of  the  cooperation 
opportunities  provided  within  SOCRATES,  have  also  been  a  challenge.  But,  as  information  begins  to 
percolate through  to the  institutions  in the field, the  added value of multilateral cooperation  at  European 
level  is quickly  finding  expression  in  E wide  range of valuable  projects. 

In the higher education sector, the main  problem  to be tackled during the  implementation  phase has been 
that  of  achieving  a  smooth  transfer  from  the  funding  structure  used  during  the  preceding  Erasmus 
programme, namely the award of grants to  multilateral  "Inter-university cooperation programmes", to an 
approach based  on  "Institutional  Contracts" covering the  bulk  of each  university's  European  cooperation 
activities, without  endangering the commitment of the academics involved  in theses activities at the  level 
of the  departments  and  faculties  of  each  university. 

Within the Lingua part of the programme, the pilot year of the scheme for language assistantships has also 
highlighted  a number  of obstacles, relating to various  sectors of education. These  include  administrative 
barriers to the  free  movement  of the  participants, who are  in many cases neither workers  nor students, as 
regards such matters as work permits, insurance and taxation; national regulations restricting the  mobility 
of  teacher-trainees;  financial  problems  resulting  from  differences  in  the  costs  of  living  between  the 
assistant's  home  and  host  country;  and  various  practical problems  such  as  accommodation. 

A further  difficulty  has been the adverse circumstances under which  National  Agencies  have  sometimes 
had  to  operate. At  the  outset,  this  was  partly  due  to  the  difficulties  of  establishing  the  Agencies  and  of 
launching  the  various  Actions  against  extremely  tight  deadlines as  a  result  of  the  delay  in  adopting  the 
programme.  A  further  problem  derives  from  the  level  of  resources  made  available  to  Agencies  by  the 
competent  national  authorities  in  certain  participating  countries. The  clear  signs  from  the  experience of 
the first two  years are that  if this  were to persist,  such  under-resourcing could  have a number  of  serious 
consequences: it  could  dissuade  Agencies  from  disseminating  information  on  the  programme  as  widely 
as  possible,  thereby  restricting  the  realisation  of  the  programme's  full  potential,  reduce  the  assistance 
which  Agencies  can  provide  in  identifying  partners  and  advising  applicants.  It  could  furthermore  limit 
their capacity to  deliver full  and  timely  management  information  to the Commission,  and  their  readiness 
to  participate  in  what  are  wrongly  perceived  as  important  but  less  urgent  activities  such  as  monitoring 
and  evaluation. 

As Part B of this  Report shows, considerable progress has already been made towards resolving a number 
of the  obstacles  identified  above. Though  others will  be rather more  intractable, the  experience from  the 
first two years augurs well for the willingness of the key 'actors' involved to adopt a constructive approach 
and  seek  innovative  solutions  as difficulties  arise. 

A  cause  for  more  structural  concern,  however  are  the  budgetary  difficulties  which  the  programme  is 
already facing  and  which  will  become much  more evident still  in  1997 and  thereafter, as the  momentum 
of the  programme grows  and  the  full  level of demand  makes itself felt. They  will  be  further  exacerbated 
by the extension  of tiie programme to  include the associated countries of Central and  Eastern  Europe and 
Cyprus.  On  the  basis  of  the  present  analysis  of  the  first  two  years  of  SOCRATES,  and  the  detailed 

-  10-

projections  which  this analysis  facilitates with  regard to the coming years, financial constraints  constitute 
the  greatest  impediment  to  the  further  development  of  the  programme  and  its  capacity  to  fulfil  the 
objectives  set  out  in  the  Decision. 

IV.  CHALLENGES  FOR SOCRATES  IN  THE  PERIOD  AHEAD 

The  initial  phase covered by this  report has served to  highlight  a considerable array of  challenges  in  the 
period  ahead. These  include  notably: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Dissemination  of outputs and experienceresulting  from  SOCRATES activities. Already, many steps 
are being taken  in this regard, for example the  inclusion  of effective  dissemination  arrangements as 
a key selection criterion for projects; inter-project meetings and thematic seminars; cooperating with 
European associations as a vector for dissemination; production of Manuals of good practice  relating 
to  various types of projects; fostering  ongoing  contacts between  former  individual  participants. The 
next  step  is  to  develop  a  more  integrated  approach  to  these  dissemination  activities,  both  at 
Community  level and in cooperation with National Agencies, and to supplement them with  new ones 
such  as  the  publication  of catalogues of products  resulting  from  projects  and  the  increasing  use  of 
electronic means  for  disseminating  project  outcomes, notably  data  bases  available via  the  Internet. 

Achieving  greater  interactivity  between  the  SOCRATES  Actions.  In  adopting  SOCRATES,  the 
intention  was  not  to  create a  framework  programme  within  which  quasi-autonomous  programmes 
would  pursue  separate  aims.  Rather,  SOCRATES  was  conceived  as  an  integrated  programme 
characterised by  creative  interaction between  the  sub-programmes  relating to  each  sector  or  aspect 
of education. Now that each Action has been  launched, increased attention will  need  to be paid  both 
at  Community  and  national  level to  creating greater synergy  between  the  different  Actions. 

Consolidating  of the network of National Agencies.  A key challenge for the next phase is to ensure 
that  all  Agencies  are  provided  with  the  means  to  perform  effectively  the  role  which  the  Decision 
assigns them. Increasing attention should also be given to ensuring effective coordination at national 
level  between  the  Agencies  working  on  different  Actions  of  SOCRATES,  and  between  of  the 
SOCRATES  Agencies  and  those  performing  similar  functions  in  the  context  of  other  European 
programmes.  Promoting  operational  complementarity  between 
the  grants  available  within 
SOCRATES and  those on  offer  from  sources within  the participating countries, should  be a  further 
priority. 

Implementing  the  monitoring  and  evaluation  arrangements  for  the  programme.  The  strategy, 
methodology  and  operational  arrangements for  the  interim  and  final  evaluation  of  the  programme 
are currently under  discussion  with  the  SOCRATES  Committee. 

The smooth  integration  within the programme  of the associated countries of Central and  Eastern 
Europe  and  Cyprus.  In  facing  this  challenge,  all  organisations  involved  in  the  delivery  of 
SOCRATES  will  be called  upon  not  only  to  cope  with  a general  increase  in  work-load  but  also  to 
handle new types of needs and problems. Additional  knowledge will  be required, notably  as regards 
staff  members' insights  into  the  educational  systems  of the  newly  participating countries. 

Informing the educational  community of the opportunities which  SOCRATES provides. This  work 
must continue  particularly as regards new Actions such as school  partnerships and  Adult  education, 
and  for  countries which  have only  recently had  access to  Community  programmes. 

Finally,  there  is  the  growing  challenge  of  continuing  the  overall  forward  momentum  of  the 
programme  in  the  face  of  the  growing  budgetary  constraints.  In  many  sectors,  this  includes  in 
particular achieving the difficult  balance between continued support for existing projects, which have 
proven to be effective and successful, and support for new networks, projects and mobility activities. 

In addition  to these challenges affecting  SOCRATES as a whole, each Action  within  the  programme has 
its own  specific  agenda of priority  issues to be tackled. These are indicated  in the box on  page  13 below. 

11 

V.  CONCLUSIONS 

The  present  Report  shows  that  SOCRATES  has  begun  to  make  a  significant  contribution  to  preparing 
the young  people  of today  for  life and  work  in the  Europe of tomorrow;  it has demonstrated  its  potential 
for  enhancing  -  through  European  cooperation  -  the  quality,  creativity  and  sense  of  innovation  in 
education;  it  is  helping  to  develop  a  keener appreciation  of  the  opportunities  opened  in  the  educational 
field  by  the  information  society;  perhaps  above  all,  it  is  making  a  powerful  contribution  to  making  the 
European  Community  an accessible, living  reality for  hundreds of thousands  of  European  citizens  of  all 
ages,  from  pre-primary school  through  to  adult  and  higher  education. 

However,  the  analysis  has  also  shown  that  the  programme  will  not  be  able  to  sustain,  consolidate  and 
build  on these promising early results without  additional  funds. This  Report is therefore accompanied, as 
envisaged  by  the  above-mentioned  Joint  Statement  of  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the 
Commission, by proposals for an enhancement of the financial  framework. The budgetary  considerations 
are set out in detail  in the Explanatory Memorandum and the related Financial Statement. Essentially, they 
consist  of three elements, based  on  the  findings  of the  present  Report: 

firstly,  it  should  be recalled that the overarching objectives  of SOCRATES are to contribute to  high 
quality education  in Europe and to bring Europe closer to the citizen. For this reason, it is vital that  under 
each  of  the  programme's  Actions  a  critical  mass  of  good  quality  projects  and  activities  be  supported. 
Given  that  the  target  groups  addressed  by  the  programme  are extremely  large, a  high  number  of  grants 
must  be  awarded; 

secondly,  it  is  not  possible  to  keep  up  the  programme's  momentum  towards  achieving  this  critical 
mass  by  further  reducing  the  average amount  of  support  to  each  beneficiary.  For  example, the  support 
given  to  each  school  within  a Comenius  school  partnership  (ECU  2,000)  is  barely  enough  to  facilitate 
even a minimal amount of contacts between the teachers involved; the level of grants awarded to  students 
under  Erasmus  is  only  15% of  the  maximum  allowed  by  the  Decision.  Furthermore, severe  constraints 
on  public  spending  in  the  educational  sector,  as  well  as  the  difficulties  faced  by  private  enterprise, are 
making  it  increasingly  difficult  for  educational  establishments  to  obtain  high  levels  of  complementary 
funding  from  national  sources; 

thirdly, as demonstrated  by the present Report, the demand  for support  under the  programme greatly 
outstrips  the  available  financial  resources and  for  structural  reasons  will  continue  to  rise.  In the  case  of 
a  programme such  as  SOCRATES, of which  a key objective  is to bring  Europe closer to a  large number 
of  citizens,  the  option  of  having  an  even  higher  level  of  selectivity  than  at  present,  also  among  good 
quality  projects, is undesirable. This would  create frustration  among a wide  section of the citizens, at the 
very  moment  when  it  is  crucial  for  the  Community  to  demonstrate  that  it  is  responding  to  their  real 
concerns. 

12 

CHALLENGES  FOR  THE  SOCRATES  ACTIONS  IN  THE  PERIOD  AHEAD 

Higher  education  (Erasmus) 

• 
• 

• 
• 

• 

• 
• 

• 

providing  a  European  dimension  for  all  students,  not  merely  those  who  spend  a  period  of  study  abroad 
implementing  the  Institutional  Contract,  to  make  European  cooperation  a  strategic  feature  of  institutional 
planning  while  preserving  the  commitment  of  individual  academics  at  departmental  level 
fostering  the  Thematic  Networks  as  a  vehicle  for  innovation  and  quality  enhancement 
sustaining  the  motivation  of  students  to  study  abroad,  and  maintaining  equality  of  opportunity  to 
participate  in  mobility,  despite  the  low  level  of  financial  support  provided 

sustaining  the  quantitative  expansion  of  multilateral  school  partnerships,  and  in  particular  involving  the 
primary  and  pre-primary  school  sectors  to  a greater  extent  than  hitherto  (Action  1 ) 
reinforcing  the  support  provided  for  the  education  of  disadvantaged  groups  in  inner  cities  (Action  2) 
ensuring  that  in-service  training  undertaken  within  Comenius  Action  3  is  full  recognised  by  the 
competent  authorities  in the  participating  countries,  on  a  par  with  national  in-service  activities 
promoting  greater  interaction  between  the  three  Actions,  notably  as  regards  feeding  back  the  results  from 
in-service  activities  under  (Action  3)  into  the  development  of  school  partnerships  (Action  1) 

Language-learning  (Lingua) 

• 

• 

• 
• 

further  intensifying  efforts  to  promote  linguistic  diversity,  and  in  particular  the  teaching  and  learning  of 
the  less  widely  used  and  less  spoken  EU  languages 
achieving  more  structured  feedback  from  research  on  language-learning  into  the  Lingua  activities,  and 
from  these  into  national  education  systems; 
promoting  greater  involvement  of the  initial  training  sector  within  European  Cooperation  Programmes 
encouraging  more  intensive  interlinkages  between  the  Lingua  Actions,  and  between  these  and  other  parts 
of  SOCRATES  such  as  school  education 

Open  and  distance  learning  (ODL) 

• 

• 
• 

• 

adapting  to  the  changes  in  ODL  resulting  from  the  advent  of  the  new  technologies,  and  ensuring  that 
approaches  using  ODL  become  more  education-  and  less  technology-driven 
doing  more  to  help  enhance  the  quality  of  ODL  tools  and  products 
strengthening  this  Action's  contribution  in  the  area  of  accreditation  and  recognition  of  qualifications 
obtained  via  ODL 
achieving  greater  involvement  of  the  school  sector  in  the  activities  supported 

Adult  education 

• 

• 
• 
• 

continuing  the  dissemination  of  information  on  this  Action  in  general,  given  the  heterogeneity  and  the 
diversity  of  the  adult  education  sector 
targeting  key  areas  and  key  groups, within  the  perspective  of  lifelong  learning  and  social  exclusion 
promoting  the  assessment  of  prior  experiential  learning 
fostering  greater  cooperation  between  different  types  of  adult  education  organisations,  and  helping  to 
build  bridges  between  non-formal  and  formal  adult  education 

Exchange  of  information  and  experience  on education  systems  and  policy 

• 

• 

• 

• 

launching  of the  operational  activities  under  Chapter  III, Action  3.1  of  SOCRATES,  and  above  all  the 
first  pilot  projects  on  quality  assurance  in  school  education; 
consolidating  the  work  of  the  Eurydice  network  in  the  production  of  reliable  comparative  studies  and  key| 
indicators  for  educational  cooperation  at  Community  level; 
implementation  of  the  new  allocation  formula  for  Arion  study  visits, and  further  enhancing  the  quality  of 
the  study  visits  on  the  basis  of  feedback  from  participants  and  other  evaluations; 
smooth  integration  of  the  associated  countries  of  Central  and  Eastern  Europe  and  Cyprus  within 
Eurydice,  Arion  and  the  Naric  network. 

13  -

PART B:  RESULTS  ACHIEVED  BY  EACH  PART  OF  THE 

PROGRAMME 

• 

HIGHER  EDUCATION  (ERASMUS) 

The  higher  education  Chapter  of  SOCRATES  carries  forward  in  revised  and  extended  form  the  previous 
Erasmus  programme (1987-1994). Its  purpose  is to  promote  quality  in  higher education  through  European 
cooperation.  Its  best  known  aspect  is Action  2,  which  provides  student  mobility  grants  to  help  cover  the 
cost  of  spending  a  recognised  study  period  abroad.  However,  with  the  incorporation  of  Erasmus  within 
SOCRATES,  increased  emphasis  is  placed  on  enhancing  through  Action  1  the  European  dimension  of 
universities'  work,  enabling  students  to  benefit  from  European  cooperation  even  if  they  do  not  directly 
participate  in  exchanges. 

The  impact  of  Erasmus  on  both  the  quantity  and  quality  of  European  cooperation  has  been  independently 
evaluated  since  its  establishment.(34) In  terms  of  numbers,  Erasmus  has  transformed  the  situation  which 
existed  prior  to  its  adoption,  and  has  contributed  more  than  any  other  single  factor  to  the  increased 
importance  which  universities  now  attach  to  European  cooperation  compared  with  a  decade  ago.  Its 
qualitative  impacts  are  also  clearly  discernible,  as  revealed  by  the  thematic  conferences  conducted  during 
1995  and  1996. For  the  universities,  the  range  of  benefits  include  raised  teaching  standards  through  the 
pooling  of  expertise  and  experience,  improved  teaching  of  foreignTanguages,  more  effective  dissemination  of 
information,  improved  academic  recognition,  and  better  internal  administration  procedures,  notably  as  regards 
the  management  of  international  cooperation  at  institutional,  faculty  and  departmental  levels.(35) New  or 
intensified  research  collaboration  has  also  resulted  from  the  many  contacts  between  academic  staff.  The  great 
majority  of  Erasmus  students  report  enriched  academic  experience  through  frequent  contact  with  the  teaching 
staff  of the  host  institution.  Studies  of  former  participants  reveal  that  the  Erasmus  experience  assists 
graduates  in  obtaining  employment  and  leads  to  their  being  given  work  assignments  requiring  international 
knowledge  and  experience.(36) 

The  above-mentioned  benefits  have  been  continued  and  further  expanded  in  the  first  two  years  of 
SOCRATES,  spanning  the  academic  years  1995/6  and  1996/7: 

• 

In order to  give  the  universities time  to adjust  to  the  Institutional  Contract arrangements, the  former 
funding  structure  based  on  Inter-university  Cooperation  Programmes  (ICP)  was  continued,  on  the 
recommendation of the  SOCRATES Committee, during this two-year transitional  period.(37) In  1995, 
the  highest  ever  total  of  2,673  Inter-university  Cooperation  Programmes 
(ICPs)  were  supported, 
involving  an  average  of  8  institutions  each. The  funds  requested  in  1995  and  1996,  totalling  some 
400  MioECU,  outstripped  available  resources  by  a  factor  of  9:1.  In  1996,  2,530  ICPs  were  given 
a  further  instalment  of  support.  While  student  mobility 
remained  a  central  concern  of  the  vast 
majority  of  ICPs, other types  of  cooperation also  figured  prominently. Thus  demand  for  curriculum 

(34)  Notably  by  the  Centre  for  Research  on  Higher  Education  and  Work  at  the  Universitat-Gesamthochschule 
Kassel,  which  produced  a  series  of  quantitative  and  thematic  evaluations  throughout  the  lifetime  of  the 
Erasmus  programme,  and  in  an  evaluation  by  the  consultants  Price  Waterhouse  concluded  in  1993. 

(35)  Cf.  Review  of  the  Erasmus  Programme:  Final  Synthesis  Report,  Price  Waterhouse,  1993. 

(36)  Cf. Friedhelm Maiworm, Wolfgang Steube and Ulrich Teichler, Learning in Europe: the Erasmus  Experience, 
London  1991; ibid.: Experiences  of Erasmus Students  1990/1,  Kassel  1993 (=  Erasmus  Monographs  No.14 
and  17  respectively). 

(37)  A  last  full  ICP  selection  was  carried  out  in  1995, but  as  no  new  ICPs  or  new  activities  were  subsequently 
funded,  and  the  funding  for  certain  ICPs  was  discontinued,  this  has  resulted  in  an  apparent  stagnation  in 
growth  in  1996/97.  This  development  has  thus  been  'artificially'  created,  and  does  not  reflect  any  basic 
downturn  in  demand,  as  the  tir^t  year's  applications  for  support  of  "Institutional  Contracts"  (cf.  infra)  has 
shown. 

-  1 4-

Intensive 
development  support  was  once  again  high, and  there was  a  further  increase  in  demand  for 
Programmes.  These  provide a valuable opportunity  for students  and  teachers  from  several  countries 
to come  together and  exchange experience, knowledge  and  ideas  in a concentrated course, and  many 
le^d io  the  development  of joint  teaching  material  and  the  emergence of  common  research  projects 
staff  mobility  has  also  risen  in 
involving  staff  and  students.  Demand  for  support  of  teaching 
importance.  Its  intrinsic  value  in  enhancing  the  quality  of  higher  education  curricula  and  teaching 
methodologies,  as  well  as  its  importance  as  a  means  of  providing  the  students  who  cannot  benefit 
directly  from  mobility  with  a European dimension  to their studies, have clearly  become  more  widely 
recognised.(38) 

Under  SOCRATES,  joint  curriculum  development  gains  a  much  greater  role  in  line  with  the 
objective  of advancing and  reinforcing the  European  dimension  fora  larger number  of  students.  The 
("Masters"-typecourses,  European modules,  integrated 
three new  curriculumdevelopmentmeasures 
language  courses)  are  being  piloted  op  a  very  limited  basis  in  1996/97,  prior  to  their  full 
implementation  from  1997/98  within  the  Institutional  Contracts.  41  pilot  projects  are  being 
supported,  in  subjects  identified  in  consultation  between  the  Commission  and  academic  and 
professional  organisations as being of key importance for human resource development  in  Europe.(39) 

The  European  Credit  Transfer  System  (ECTS)  is  undergoing  a  remarkable  phase  of  expansion. 
Introduced  on  a  pilot  basis  from  1989/90  to  1994/95,  ECTS  has  been  widely  welcomed  as  an 
effective  framework  for  providing  mobile  students  with  course  credits  that  are  fully  transferable 
between  European  universities.  An  in-depth  evaluation  underlined  its  capacity  for  facilitating  and 
raising  the  quality  of  student  exchanges.(40) During  1995/96  ECTS  was  extended  to  include  almost 
1,000  departments  or  faculties  in  some  230  institutions,  and  when  ECTS  becomes  available  to  all 
institutions  in  Europe  with  the  start  of  the  Institutional  Contract  arrangements  in  1997/98,  it  will 
be  greatly  expanded  once  more. 

1996  has  seen  the  introduction  of  the  new  Thematic  Network  Projects,  which  provide  support  for 
developing  the  European  dimension  an  academic  discipline  or  other  area  of  common  interest  (e.g. 
a  transdisciplinary  area  of  study  or  an  aspect  of  higher  education  management  or  administration). 
Projects  involve  cooperation  between  a  large  number  of  university  faculties 
in  all  or  most 
participating countries, along  with  academic, professional  and  other  associations. They  are  intended 
to  have  a  lasting  and  widespread  impact  across  Europe  in  the  fields  concerned.  Almost  500 
expressions  of  interest  and  over  100  full  project  proposals  were  submitted,  but  due  to  budget 
limitations  only  28  could  be  selected  for  Community  support.(4I)  The  response  by  European 
universities  to  the  opportunities  offered  by  Thematic  Network  Projects  shows  that  they  meet  a 
keenly  felt  need,  and  the  evidence  of  this  first  year  is that  many  Networks  will  be  in  a  position  to 
contribute  significantly  to  the  improvement  of  quality  and  sustained  innovation  in  their  respective 
areas. 

(38)  However,  most teaching  assignments  abroad  have  been  of  short  duration,  thereby  frequently  limiting  their 
impact. From  1997, an additional new type of teaching staff mobility, Erasmus Teaching Fellowships, is being 
introduced.  These  will  involve  longer  teaching  periods  of  2-6  months  abroad,  and  are  designed  to  have  a 
lasting  impact  on  teaching  methodology. 

(39)  The  subject  areas  for  the  1996/7  pilot  projects  are:  cultural  management,  health  services  management, 
management of small and medium-sized enterprises, new labour market policies, the function  of the engineer-
manager,  new  materials  and  industrial  technology,  new  technologies  in  the  service  sector,  design  in  civil 
engineering, urban development, environmental protection and development, changes  in social and economic 
geography, educational policy, international health education, European  legal databses, intellectual  property, 
women's  legal  status. 

(40)  Evaluation  of  the  Pilot  Phase  of  the  European  Community  Course  Credit  Transfer  System,  Coopers  & 

Lybrand,  1993. 

(41)  The  Thematic  Networks  cover  fields  as diverse  as  quality  management,  biotechnology,  social  work,  sport, 
!  iman  resource 
' 
medical  didactics,  arts  education,  electrical  engineering,  archaeology  to> • ' 
development for humanitarian aid, textile technology, veterinary science, uniiku ju 
. _. yi uiection of citizens 
in  Europe,  aquaculture,  economics,  translation  and  interpreting,  physics,  chemistry  and  teacher  education. 

-  15  -

• 

Around three-quarters of the Erasmus budget is devoted to funding student  mobility  grants.  In  1995 
and  1996,  mobility  was  approved  for  up  to  316,000  students,  with  an  average  7ftmonths*  study 
period abroad. Demand  has grown  consistently more quickly than the budget available, and  though 
several  participating countries  have made efforts  to  provide  complementary  funding,  the  financial 
conditions for mobility  have greatly deteriorated over time. The average grant per approved  student 
is  now  only  some  15% of  the  maximum  amount  allowed  by  the  Decision  -  a  situation  which  is 
giving rise to increasingly widespread concern(42). The Commission's efforts to ensure that peripheral 
countries,  those  with  less  widely  spoken  languages,  and  those  with  less  favoured  economic 
circumstances, are  fully  involved  -  both  as  senders  and  receivers -  in  student  mobility,  are  now 
clearly  bearing  fruit.(43)  A  further  pilot  initiative  was  established  in  1996  whereby  students  from 
different  Member States may follow  intensive  linguistic  preparation  in  Portuguese, Greek, Finnish, 
Danish  and  Italian, these  being  the  languages of those  countries  which  have  encountered  greatest 
difficulties  in  attracting Erasmus  students. 

Since the incorporation of Erasmus within SOCRATES, considerable emphasis is placed on  strengthening 
the European cooperation strategies of higher education  institutions themselves. From the  academic year 
1997/98  onwards,  most  direct  Community  support  to  universities  will  therefore  be  provided  through 
"Institutional  Contracts".  This term  denotes an agreement between the  European Commission  and  each 
university  setting  out  the  university's planned  European  cooperation activities  and  the  support  provided 
by  the  Community  to  assist  in  their  development  and  implementation.  Each  university  seeking  such  a 
contract must  provide  a  European  Policy  Statement describing  its  strategy  for  international  cooperation 
as the context  for  its specific  proposals. 

The  Commission  has now  received the  universities' first applications  for  Institutional  Contracts  relating 
to  the  academic year  1997/98. Far  from  leading to  a diminution  of  interest,  as  some  had  predicted, the 
implementation of the new arrangements has given rise to a very considerable further  upsurge  in  volume 
and  some  significant  changes  in the  nature of demand  for  European  cooperation  activities. 

A  total  of  1,582  Institutional  Contract  proposals  have  been  received,  from  almost  all  major  higher 
education  institutions  in  the  18  participating  countries  and  almost  all  institutions  involved  so  far  in 
Erasmus ICPs. The universities' proposals contain a budget request amounting to some 250 MioECU, 25% 
more than  in the  last year of normal  ICP funding.  Salient features of the  proposals  are as  follows: 

• 

• 

• 

Some 95% of the submissions include student mobility. The number of students for whom grants have been 
requested has risen by a further 20% since  1995 to over  180,000, continuing the regular increase in demand 
for student mobility evident from the very start of Erasmus. Some two-thirds of all the universities applying 
for Institutional Contracts have also requested support to introduce ECTS - a fourfold  increase compared with 
the number of institutions currently  implementing the system. 

The  increase  in  demand  for  teaching staff  mobility is stronger  still. No  fewer  than  85% of  applications 
include  teacher  mobility,  involving  over 31,000  staff  assignments abroad  compared  with  only  14,000 in 
1995/6. 

The  number  of  Intensive programmes proposed  has  almost  doubled,  from  605  in  1995/96  to  1,138  in 
1997/98. This may be in part due to the new definition  of Intensive Programmes under SOCRATES, giving 
the opportunity of European activity to disciplines which have traditionally encountered difficulties  in taking 
part  in student mobility. 

(42)  This  is also  evident from recent  media coverage  of the  transition  of  Erasmus to SOCRATES, notably  in 

Germany. See for example the recent articles "Hoffhungslos unterdotiert" in the Deutsche Universitdts-Zeitung 
of 3 May  1996-and "Weniger Geld  fur den Studentenaustausch",  Handelsblatt,  29 May  1996. 

(43)  Between  1988/9 and  1995/6, the number of approved  Erasmus students from  Germany, France and the UK 
grew by a factor of 7 to around 78,000; the number from all other participating countries rose by a factor of 
14 over the same period (from  under 6,000 to over 82,000). 

-  1 6-

• 

The total  of almost  1,200  curriculum development projects  proposed  for  1997/98  is well  over double the 
1995/96 figure of 514. They comprise 287 initial/intermediate level curricula projects, 355 proposals for the 
development  of  advanced  level  ("Masters-type")  courses, 453  European  Modules  and  100 proposals  for 
Language courses  integrated  with other subjects. 

The  Institutional  Contract  proposals  therefore  demonstrate  not  only  continuing  commitment  to  student 
mobility as a cornerstone of Erasmus within  SOCRATES, but also a particularly high demand for  support 
of  activities  designed  to  bring  a  European  dimension  into  the  study  programmes  of  the  wider  student 
population. 

The transition  from  the  Erasmus  programme to the  new arrangements within  SOCRATES, has  revealed 
exciting  potential  for  future  development.  But  this  part  of  the  programme  is  encountering  increasingly 
serious  problems  resulting  from  the  gap  between  the  demand  for  support  and  the  funds  available. 
Availability  of  funds  will  materially  affect  the  capacity  of  Erasmus  to  continue  making  its  vital 
contribution  to  the  development  of  high  quality  human  resources  and  the  enhancement  of  mutual 
understanding  in  Europe. 

• 

SCHOOL  EDUCATION  (COMENIUS) 

Comenius  constitutes  the  first  comprehensive  instrument  for  the  promotion  at  Community  level  of 
European cooperation  involving  all  types  of  schools: pre-primary, primary and  secondary. 

The  challenge involved  in  making  a success of this  part of the  programme, is very considerable  indeed. 
This  is  firstly  due  to  the  sheer  size  of  the  target  population.  As  mentioned  above, there  are  well  over 
300,000 schools, 4 million  teachers and some 70 million  pupils  in the countries currently participating in 
SOCRATES. Disseminating information to all those potentially interested is therefore a major undertaking. 
Nor does the  school  sector have the  same tradition  of  international cooperation to  build  upon  as was the 
case  with  the  higher  education  sector;  added  to  which,  schools  tend  to  have  far  less  autonomy  in  the 
management of their affairs  than  their higher  education  counterparts. 

A  phased  approach has therefore been  adopted to the  implementation  of Comenius. The  funds  allocated 
to  this  Chapter  in  1995  were  comparatively  modest,  whereas  in  1996  they  have  been  substantially 
increased as the demand for  support  begins to  make  itself  felt.(44) After just  two  years of  support,  a new 
'culture of cooperation' is quickly  beginning  to  emerge: 

• 

In  the  case  of  the  European  Education  Projects  developed  by  multilateral  school  partnerships 
under Action  I,  whereas in the preceding pilot action only 40 partnerships had been supported, over 
11 times  this  figure  (462)  were  immediately  launched  in  1995  when  Comenius  support  became 
available, and this has again almost quadrupled  to around  1,600  partnerships  in  1996. Some 5,000 
schools are now participating. These figures will  increase considerably in coming years, as the  full 
effects of the  information  measures and of the 4,300 preparatory visits  carried out  during  1995 and 
1996  materialise. 

Multilateral school partnerships are already beginning to confirm the promise of the preceding pilot 
action, providing an effective context for a wide range of collaborative initiatives between schools, 
and for the generation or intensification  of the European dimension  in the classroom. They are also 
revealing their potential as a source of innovative practice and professional development of teachers, 
through  intensive  transnational  contacts  between  colleagues  and  through  the  elaboration  of  new 
European  teaching  materials; they  are  reported as having  a positive  effect  on  participating  pupils' 
motivation  to  learn. By working  with  their counterparts on  a common  project arising  from  the the 

(44) 

In accordance with the requirement contained in the Decision, at least  10% of the programme's overall five-
year budget must be devoted to this Chapter. However, both the Commission and the SOCRATES Committee 
have expressed the intention  of achieving  a higher percentage than this if possible. 

-  1 7-

mainstream  curriculum,  pupils  are  given  closer  insights  into  life  and  learning  in  other  European 
countries. Using new information and communications technology to maintain contacts with  partner 
schools  abroad  familiarises  pupils  with  this  crucial  aspect of  modern  society. 

Projects  in  1995  and  1996  have  been  undertaken  in  a  wide  range  of  thematic  areas,  such  as: 
environment;  cultural  heritage;  school-industry  links;  regional,  local  and  European  identities; 
equality  of  opportunities.  Many  involve  an  interdisciplinary  approach  links  with  the  extra-school 
community. 

In  addition  to the  projects  as such,  1,700  teacher exchanges have  been  supported,  and  grants  have 
been  awarded  to  enable  over  600  teachers  to  carry  out  transnational  placements  in  industry, 
commerce and other organisations outside the education sector, thereby helping to develop a clearer 
link with enterprise and to prepare pupils  more effectively  for the world  of work. Over 2,300  study 
visits  have  enabled  headteachers to  be  briefed  on  the  partners  involved  in  their  schools'  projects, 
while facilitating  a critical comparison of management and  leadership approaches between  schools 
in  different  countries. 

• 

The  potential  of Action  2  of  Comenius  (Intercultural  education)  as  an  instrument  for  promoting 
social cohesion in today's increasingly multicultural society is apparent from the range of more than 
200  projects  supported  in  1995  and  1996. These  have  been  devoted  in  particular to: 

the  introduction  of  migrants'  languages  as  foreign  languages  for  other  pupils; 
the  raising  of  awareness  of  the  impact  of  the  formal  vocabulary  used  in  classrooms  (the 
teaching  language) on the  levels of achievement of pupils  from  disadvantaged  backgrounds; 
the  use  of  new  technologies,  and  in  particular open  and  distance  learning,  for  Gypsies  and 
Travellers; 
the  introduction of  intercultural approaches in mainstream education  for an understanding of 
different  cultures, religions and  languages; 
the creation of prerequisites for the exercise of active European citizenship, based on  mutual 
respect and  human  rights  for  all,  irrespective of  culture, race or  creed; 
the  regeneration of  inner-city schools  and  projects  focusing  on the  specific  needs of  schools 
in  difficult  districts  in  large  metropolitan  areas  through  the  development  of  integrated 
approaches and cooperation between educational institutions, city authorities, pupils, parents, 
and  local  associations. 

The Action has already achieved a good  balance between its various target groups, approximately 
40%  of  the  projects  being  devoted  to  improving  education  for  the  children  of  migrant  workers, 
30%  addressing the needs of Gypsies, Travellers and  persons with  itinerant occupations, and  the 
remaining 30% being concerned with  intercultural issues relating to  school education  in  general. 

The  European  networks  supported  are already  proving  to  be  an  effective  means  for  exchanging 
ideas and examples of good  practice, and as a vector for  general communication  on  intercultural 
issues.  Many  have  already  yielded  concrete  outputs  such  as  and  teaching  material  for  migrant 
children, Gypsies, Travellers and itinerants, teaching modules for intercultural education, and data 
banks  to  facilitate  transnational  cooperation.These  include  a  data  base  containing  some  5,000 
referencesto  organisations and institutions active in this field, and a data bank for all  pedagogical 
material for  intercultural education  in  Europe. 

• 

Action  3  (in-service  training)  of  Comenius,  targets  the  teacher  as  the  key  person  who  will 
help  change  the  learning  experience  of  young  people  in  schools.  128  completely  new  projects 
have  so  far  been  funded,  involving  around  500  institutions  engaged  in the  in-service training  of 
teachers  in the  18 participating countries. Demand  more  than  doubled  between  1995  and  1996. 
Participation  figures  for  1996  were  markedly  on  the  increase  for  all  countries,  and  the 
geographical distribution  of coordinators and  participating  institutions  was  more even. The  1996 
projects also demonstrated a broader range of themes, greater diversity  in the types  of  institution 
involved  and  to  a better  spread  of educational  sectors. 

-  i: 

Already, the grants awarded  for the development of training activities are beginning  to  bear  fruit. 
Though  only 47 such grants were awarded in  1995, their productivity  has been such  that no  fewer 
than  81 European courses are already becoming available in the school  year  1996/7. The courses, 
a detailed description of which  is contained  in the Comenius Action  3 catalogue, will  provide  in-
service training opportunities  for between 2,200 and 2.500 teachers in the period to August  1997, 
thereby  placing  an unexpectedly early  strain on  the  resources available  under  Action  3.2  (grants 
to enable  individual  teachers to  participate in  in-service courses). The  involvement  of  several  in-
service institutions  from  a number of different  countries in preparing and  organising the courses, 
and  the  subsequent  participation  in  the  courses  of  teachers  from  several  countries, constitute  a 
demonstrable  added  value  compared  with  in-service  activities  developed  and  delivered  in  the 
national  context  alone. 

Notwithstanding  the  many  difficulties  inherent  in  launching  such  scheme,  the  three  Comenius 
Actions are taking root in the educational community, and both the quantity and quality of activities 
augur  well  for  the  future  impact  of this  new  and  ambitious  part of  SOCRATES. 

• 

PROMOTION  OF  LANGUAGE-LEARNING  (LINGUA) 

Promoting improved command of languages, and particularly those  least widely used and taught,(45) is one 
of  the  principal  objectives  of  the  SOCRATES  Programme.  It  is  a  key  not  only  to  improving  human 
resources  in  a  European  context,  but  also  to  enhancing  mutual  understanding  and  a  sense  of  European 
citizenship  across the  Community.  The  activities  supported  within  SOCRATES continue  those  initiated 
under  the  Lingua  programme  (1990-94). New  activities  have  also  been  added,  and  further  perspectives 
are  opened  by  the  opportunities  for  interaction  with  other  parts  of  SOCRATES.  All  the  11  official 
.languages  of  the  European  Union  are  covered,  together  with  Irish,  Letzebuergesch,  Icelandic  and 
Nqrwegian. 

s. 

Lingua  aims  to  improve  the  quality  and  quantity  of  language-teaching  and  learning,  by  creating  an 
environment  in  which  languages can  be effectively  learned, by  promoting  language-teacher training  and 
the  development  of  language-related  materials,  and  by  increasing  citizens'  motivation  to  learn  and 
communicate in languages other than their own through enlarged opportunities for transnational contacts. 

•  Over  300  institutions  have  been  involved  in  the  54  European  Cooperation  Programmes  for 
language teacher-training (ECPs) supported  under Action A  of Lingua.  Almost  all target  languages 
of  Lingua  are  represented.  Projects  supported  so  far  within  SOCRATES  are  characterised  by  a 
growing  diversity of topics and educational sectors. Increased attention  is being  paid to key areas for 
innovation  such  as  the  early  teaching  of  foreign  languages,  the  use  of  multimedia  and  other  new 
technologies, and  the  role of  open  and  distance  learning  in  language-teacher training. 

As  previous  appraisals have  shown,  ECPs  have  a significant  impact  on  the  quality  of  the  language-
teacher training  provided  by  the  participating  institutions  and  beyond.  Via  the  ongoing  activities  of 
these  institutions,  the  modules,  materials  and  curricula  developed  within  ECPs  are  an  important 
vehicle for innovation, contributing not only to improving teachers'and trainers' linguistic  competence 
and  their  confidence  in  the  use  of  the  target  language, but  also  to  extending  their  understanding  of 
the  cultural  environment  of  the  language  and  refining  their technical  and  methodological  expertise. 
The  networks  of  institutions  developed  within  the  Programmes  are  an  important  dissemination 
resource whose  potential  should  be  systematically  exploited  in  the  future.  The  inclusion  of  initial 
teacher  training  within  the  sector  covered  by  this  Action  has  not  yet  been  fully  realised  by  the 
educational community. As awareness of this  innovation  spreads, a significant  increase in demand  is 
expected. 

(45)  More recently, this need  has been  highlighted  again  in Objective  4 of the Commission's  White  Paper on 

Education and Training, Towards a learning Society (cf. supra), which pinpoints the need to make proficiency 
in at  least two EU foreign  languages at schopl  a priority. 

19 

In  1995 and  1996, over  16,000 language teachers have received a grant within  the  Lingua  scheme of 
grants  to  enable  individual  language  teachers  to  attend  in-service  training  activities  in  another 
pMTncipating country  (Action  B).  It can  therefore  be estimated that  its  benefits  have  reached over a 
million  pupils  during  this  period.  The  scheme  has  been  given  broader  scope  within  SOCRATES, 
through  the  inclusion  of  teachers  seeking  to  teach  other  subjects  through  the  medium  of  a  foreign 
language. 

The  support  provided  within  this  Action  has  several  types  of  impact:  it  boosts  the  transnational 
mobility  of language teaching staff;  improves the quality of language tuition;  strengthens the cultural 
and  European dimension  in classroom teaching; contributes to enhancing the professional  motivation 
of  teachers;  and  creates  a  growing  pool  of  persons  with  a  potential  for  initiating  other  forms  of 
cooperation  within  SOCRATES,  both  within  Lingua  and  in  the  area  of  school  cooperation 
(Comenius). 

The  school  year  1995/6  was  a pilot  year for Lingua  Assistantships  (Action  C),  with  the  placement 
of  some  200  future  teachers of  languages  in  schools  throughout  the  EC  Member  States and  EFTA-
EEA  countries.  In  1996/97,  550  Lingua  assistantships  are  being  supported.  There  are  already 
indications  that  demand  will  heavily  outweigh  the  limited  supply.  In  1996,  some  countries  are 
reporting a ten-fold increase in applications for an Assistantship grant compared with  1995, and others 
have  witnessed  a  five-fold  increase  in the  number  of  schools  wishing  to  host  an  Assistant.  Several 
countries are having  to  limit  the  length  of assistantships  in order to  allow  more  persons  to  benefit. 

The  new  Action  is  having  a  significant  impact  in  terms  of  extending  the  provision  of  language 
assistantships  in Europe. Before  its inception, only 3 of the  18 countries participating in  SOCRATES 
had assistantship schemes of any size, namely the countries with the largest population and the widely 
spoken  languages  of  the  EU.  Furthermore, Lingua  Assistantships  have  a  number  of  'added  value' 
features  compared  with  most  of  those  funded  nationally,  in  that  they  target  only  future  language 
teachers, emphasise teaching methodology as well as the mere enhancement of linguistic  competence, 
and  prioritise the  less widely  spoken  EU  languages. 

The  pilot  year  has  revealed  this  Action's  potential  to  help  improve  the  quality  and  diversity  of 
language teaching, notably  by  perfecting  future  teachers' knowledge  of the  language  they  will  teach 
and  its culture; helping  new  language teachers to  add  another  language to  their  teaching  repertoire; 
giving  new  teachers and  established  professionals  a chance to  learn  from  each  other,  improving  the 
range of European languages taught by schools; and encouraging more pupils - and even teachers and 
parents - to take up a new European  language. Other benefits  include the role of using the  assistants 
in  forging  links  with  foreign  partner  establishments  or  local  enterprises,  creating  new  teaching 
materials, and  bringing  European  languages and  cultures  into  non-language  lessons. 

During the first two years of SOCRATES, 84 cooperative projects  concerned  with  the  development 
of  tools  for 
language  teaching  and  learning  (curricula,  materials,  evaluation  and  assessment 
instruments  etc.) have been  aided  under Lingua Action  D. The first two  years of  SOCRATES  have 
innovation,  particularly  for  producing 
confirmed  the  importance  of  this  Action  for  stimulating 
materials. Products under  design  within  the  1995  and  1996  projects  relate notably  to: 

the use of information technology and telematics, including notably the exploitation of CD-ROM 
and  the  Internet as supports  to  language teaching and  learning; 
the  cultural  dimension  of  language-learning; 
the  early  learning of  foreign  languages; 
assessment of  language  skills  and  competence; 
tools designed  to provide educationally disadvantaged young  people with  a better opportunity  to 
take  part  in and  benefit  from  mobility  programmes. 

- 20 

Many  of  the  products  whose  development  is  supported  would  never  have  existed  without  Lingua 
support,  in  particular those  relating  to  the  teaching  and  learning  of  the  less  widely  used  and  less 
taught  languages.(46) However, this is another Action of the programme in which demand  far outstrips 
the  resources available. Only  20% of  the  applications  for  new  projects  were accepted  in  1995, and 
a  number  of  project  proposers  have  withdrawn  their  projects  because  the  contribution  which  the 
Commission  was  able to  offer  was  insufficient  for  the  projects  concerned to  appear viable. 

• 

In the  school  years  1995/6 and  1996/7, SOCRATES support  is being provided  for  some  3,500  Joint 
Educational  Projects  (JEPs) under Action  E of Lingua, culminating in two-week exchanges for over 
80,000  young  people across the  participating countries. JEPs  have a  long  track  record of  success  in 
making a real contribution to the motivation  and  linguistic competence of young  people, particularly 
those  who  have  fewer  opportunities  to  learn  languages: around  56% of  participants are  following  a 
technical/vocational course. The priority for the least widely used or taught languages is also gradually 
making  itself  felt. 

By  taking  part  in  such  projects,  pupils  come  to  realise  that  there  is  a  valid  reason  for  learning 
languages,  which  they  need  in  order  to  communicate  with  their  partners  before  and  during  the 
exchange in which each JEP culminates. Participants gain practical experience of the lives and studies 
of their counterparts in other European countries, and thereby an increased understanding of European 
diversity and  commonality. A wide variety of topics have been covered by the projects supported  so 
far  within  SOCRATES,  each  of  which  -  in  addition  to  the  exchanges  -  also  results  in  a  range  of 
practical and  tangible  products  such  as exhibitions,  magazines, technical  vocabulary  lists,  bilingual 
multimedia  programmes and  so  on. 

Experience with  the  first  two  years of  Lingua  within  the  SOCRATES  programme  suggests  that  greater 
interactivity between the Actions of Lingua is starting to be achieved. For example, greater priority  in the 
award of grants under Action B is being given to teachers participating in  in-service activities developed 
within Action A; courses developed within Action A and Assistantships under Action C can assist teachers 
in  the  development  of Joint  Educational  Projects  under  Action  E.  Furthermore, the  Lingua  Actions  are 
exploring  possibilities  for closer  interaction with  other  parts of  SOCRATES. For example, the design  of 
materials and curricula with the specific aim of promoting mobility  is now a priority area for support, and 
various  cooperation  opportunities with  Comenius  are emerging. 

•  OPEN  AND  DISTANCE  LEARNING 

The  development of  open  and  distance  learning, including the  use of  new  information,  communications 
and  multimedia  technology  in education,  is a key  factor  enabling  citizens to  take advantage of  an  open 
area for educational cooperation in Europe, and has a vital role to play in the strategy to upgrade the  level 
and  accessibility of  education  at all  levels and  throughout  life. 

The ODL  Action  within  SOCRATES  is the  expression  of  an  increasing awareness of the  importance of 
promoting more  intensive European cooperation in this field. This has previously found  expression  in the 
Commission's  1991 Memoranduml*7\ the  1992 Conclusions of the Council(48)and the  12 ensuing  national 
reports.  More  recent  developments  have  included  the  creation  of  the  Commission's  Task  Force  on 
educational  software  and  multimedia(49),  which  has  led  to  the  publication  of  a joint  call  for  proposals 

(46)  The substantial contribution which this Action continues to make to the diversification  of language provision, 
is further  demonstrated  by the  fact  that  in  1995 a total  of 61 projects  relating  to  Danish,  Dutch, Finnish, 
Greek,  Irish, Norwegian, Portuguese and Swedish were supported, whereas only  11 related to English. 

(47)  Open and distance learning in the European Community,  COM (91) 388 final, 12 November 1991. 

(48)  Conclusions  of the Council (British  Presidency), Official Journal No. J 92/C 336 of 27 November  1992. 

(49)  Educational software and multimedia,  Final  Report, July  1996, SEC(96)1426  final. 

-21  -

spanning  several Community  programmes(î0),  the  May  1996  Council  Resolution  in  this  field,(5l) and  the 
strategic action plan  for "Learning in the information  society" launched by the Commission  following  the 
European  Council  in  Florence in June  1996(52). The- project on  language  learning which  forms  part of  the 
G7 actions  relating to the  learning society, should  also  be  mentioned  in  this  context. 

The  Action  is  oriented  towards  two  aspects: the  provision  of  educational services at  a distance, and  the 
use of multimedia products and services in all existing or potentially emerging educational contexts. Two 
types  of  projects  are  supported: 

European  partnership  projects,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  achieve  greater  synergy,  exchange  of 
experience  and  sharing  of  resources and  expertise  at  European  level  in  the  production  of  specific 
outputs  or the  provision  of  specific  open  and  distance  learning services  in  Europe; 

Observation projects,  each of  which  is  intended  to  provide  a comprehensive picture of  the  state  of 
development  of  a  particular  aspect  of  open  and  distance  learning,  including  the  use  of  new 
educational technologies, across a broad cross-section of the countries participating in  SOCRATES. 

The  Action  is  clearly  responding  to  needs  which  are  not  being  met  by  through  other  Community 
programmes.  In  the  two  selection  rounds  for  new  projects  so  far,  241  applications  were  submitted,  of 
which  74  were  accepted.  The  sharp  increase  between  1995  and  1996  suggests  that  the  full  extent  of 
demand has not yet become apparent. Budgetary constraints seem certain to become a real obstacle to the 
development  of  this  Action  as  from  1997,  due  to  the  need  for  renewed  funding  of  the  multi-annual 
projects  first  supported  in  1995  and  1996 as  well  as  a  probable  continuing  increase  in  demand  for  the 
support  of  new  projects. 

By  its mere existence the Open  and  Distance Learning Action  within  SOCRATES has already generated 
a  significant  increase  in  the  volume  of  European  cooperation  in  the  ODL  domain.  In  particular,  it  has 
begun  to  facilitate  cooperation  between  different  types  of  'actors'  who  had  little  prior  tradition  of 
partnership  in  this  domain:  users,  providers,  software  developers  and  disseminators,  education  system 
managers and  so on. The  networks  thus  far supported  involve  a broad  range of  organisations,  including: 
associations  and  other  non-governmental  organisations,  distance  education  institutions,  conventional 
universities (and to some extent schools and adult education organisations) concerned with the use of new 
technology  in  teaching  and  the  introduction  of  distance  learning  schemes;  publishers  of  pedagogical 
materials, especially in the field of multimedia. In this way, the Action  is also contributing to a generally 
increased visibility  of  ODL  across the  participating countries. 

A wide range of key topics are covered by the  1995 and  1996 projects. They  reveal a growing  awareness 
of  the  need  to  explore  the  implications  -  for  both  teacher/trainers  and  education  managers  -  of  the 
introduction  of  innovative  approaches  based  on  ODL.  They  also  reveal  that  whilst  the  role  and 
contribution  of  information  and  communications technology  are widely  seen as a central element of this 
process, there  is a vital need to place renewed emphasis on the pedagogical aspects such as course design 
and the role of teachers/tutors. Organisational  issues relating to the collaborative  development/adaptation 
of curricula and  educational materials, the introduction  of  information  and  communications  technologies 
in  different  educational  contexts,  or  the  development  of  specific  services  or  support  environments  for 
students  or adult  learners, also  figure  prominently  among  the  projects' concerns. 

(50)  Official Journal No. C 381/24 of  17 December  1996. 

(51)  Council Resolution of 6 May  1996 relating to educational multimedia software  in the fields of education and 

training (96/C  195/03), Ojficial JournalNo. C  195/8 of 6 July  1996. 

(52)  Learning in  the  Information Society. Action  plan for  a  European education initiative  (1996-1998). 
Communication  by  the  Commission  to the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  Economic  and  Social 
Committee and the Committee of the  Regions of 2 October  1996, COM (96) 471 final. 

- 2 2-

•  ADULT  EDUCATION 

The  Adult  Education  Action  is  an  important  area  of  innovation  within  SOCRATES.  It  seeks  to 
complement the training and skills-related measures within  Leonardo da Vinci by enhancing the  European 
dimension  in  all  areas of adult  education  - general, cultural  and  social.  It  is  to  be  seen  in  the  context of 
the increasingly apparent need fora  vigorous policy of lifelong  learning at European level and within  each 
of the  participating countries. To this  end,  European  projects  are supported  which: 

envisage the  development  of adult  education  courses  or  the  production  of  learning  materials  which 
may  lead  to  a better  understanding  of  political,  economic, social, cultural  and  historical  aspects  of 
the countries participating in SOCRATES and  of the  European Community  as such. In this  context, 
projects  on  European  civic education  and,  more  broadly, on  active citizenship are also  supported: 

foster transnational cooperation, networking, exchange of experience and  information  between  adult 
education  organisations, thereby contributing  to  the  quality  of  adult  education  in  Europe. 

In  the  past,  structured transnational  cooperation  in the  Adult  education  sector  has  been  embryonic. The 
68  European  projects  already supported  during the  first  two  years of  SOCRATES  therefore  constitute  a 
major  expansion  of  such  cooperation.  Particularly  gratifying  is  the  fact  that  each  project  involves  an 
average of almost  5 partners (over 300  in all), demonstrating the high degree of multilaterality which  this 
Action  has  achieved  in a short  space of time. Demand  for  support  doubled  between  1995  and  1996. 

The type and volume of supply of adult education vary greatly from  country to country, and the  potential 
of the  Adult  Education  Action  within  SOCRATES as  an  instrument  for  productive  sharing  of  exchange 
of experience and  expertise  is  already becoming  apparent. The  projects  supported  thus  far  cover a  wide 
range  of  topics  and  activities. Those  which  focus  on  the  promotion  of  knowledge  and  awareness  about 
Europe and active citizenship are typically engaged in the development of materials and/or modules which 
will  be made  available  in  printed  and/or  electronic form  in  due  course. Topics  covered  include  the  arts, 
media  literacy,  health  education,  and  the  fight  against  racism,  xenophobia  and  social  exclusion.  The 
projects  which  emphasise  the  enhancement  of  adult  education  through  European  co-operation  focus  on 
the  development  of  new  teaching  methods,  new  structures  or  programmes  for  adult  education,  the 
development  of  information  networks  and  data  banks  and  the  preparation  and  dissemination  of 
publications (guides, manuals, periodicals). Many of the projects are concerned with the  improvement  of 
educational opportunities for senior citizens, socially excluded or marginalised groups, disabled or illiterate 
persons, and  the  unemployed.  Some are being  developed  in cooperation  with  trade  union  groups. 

Some  of the  major  issues  facing  adult  education  in  Europe  today  are  tackled  in  the  projects  supported. 
These include methodological questions, se If-learning strategies, assessment of prior experiential learning, 
quality  management  of  adult  education,  issues  of  access  and  motivation,  core  skills  of  disadvantaged 
groups, the training of adult educators and tutors, accreditation systems suitable for use in formal and non-
formal  adult  education, and  ways  of  building  bridges  between  these  systems. 

The  projects  are  actively  involving  a broad  spectrum  of adult  education  providers,  from  all  parts of  the 
adult  education  'system',  whether  formal  or  non-formal,  public  or  private, professional  or  voluntary,  at 
national,  regional  or  local  level.  Particularly  encouraging  has  been  the  fact  that  the  majority  of 
organisations  applying  are  national  or  local  adult  education  organisations  or  non-governmental 
organisations, suggesting  that  the  Action  is also  beginning  to  make  itself  felt  at  the  grass-roots  level. 

• 

EXCHANGE  OF  INFORMATION  AND  EXPERIENCE  ON  EDUCATION  SYSTEMS  AND 
POLICY 

Based  on  the  mandate  contained  in  Article  126  of  the  EC  Treaty,  one  of  the  key  objectives  of 
SOCRATES  is  to  enhance  the  quality  of  education  by  encouraging  exchange  of  information  and 
experience between the  participating countries. To  this  end,  four  types of activity  are  supported: 

- 23 

Analysis  of  questions  of common  educational  policy  interest 

In  order  to  promote  well-founded  and  in-depth  discussion  among  educational  decision-makers, 
SOCRATES promotes studies and analyses, exchanges of experts and study visits, dissemination activities, 
coUoquia, workshops and - from  1997 onwards - pilot projects on  key policy  issues. These are  identified 
in close cooperation with the Education Committee of the Council. Project proposals are assessed  against 
the  triple  criteria  of  policy  relevance,  scientific  quality  and  the  demonstration  of  a  clear  European 
dimension,  defined  in  this  case  as  the  added  value  of  addressing  a  topic  in  a  comparative  perspective 
and/or  European  context  as distinct  from  doing  so  in a  merely  national,  regional  or  local  framework.(î3) 
Preferenceis  given to supporting a limited number of comprehensive analyses rather than a larger number 
of  studies with  less  broad  and/or  in-depth  coverage. 

The analyses which began in  1995 and  1996 fully  meet these requirements. They relate to topics of central 
concern to educational policy-makers in all  European countries, namely  aspects of the role  of  education 
in addressing the  problem  of young  people  leaving the educational system  without  adequate  preparation 
for active life, and quality assurance in school education. The potential of this Action to pool the expertise 
of  organisations  active  in  the  field  of  policy  studies  on  education,  and  stimulate  structured  dialogue 
between  research  and  policy-making  is  quickly  emerging.  Projects'  progress  is  carefully  monitored  to 
guarantee that their focus remains relevant in policy terms. The capacity to assimilate project results  into 
the  policy discussion  is of prime  importance. 

The  Information  Network on  Education  in  Europe  (Eurydice) 

The  purpose of  the  Eurydice network,  consisting  of  national  units coordinated  by  the  European  Unit  in 
Brussels, is to  provide  the  authorities  in  the  participating countries and  at  European  level  with  reliable 
comparative  data  and  analysis  on  the  development  of  education  systems  and  policy.  The  network 
collaborates with  Eurostat, CEDEFOP, the Council  of  Europe, OECD and  other  bodies. 

The two years which  have  elapsed  since the  incorporation of the  Eurydice  network  within  SOCRATES, 
have been  a particularly productive  period. Outputs  include  notably: 

nine authoritative overviews on specific topics of interest such as the situation of pre-school, primary 
education and secondary education, the role of parents and consultative bodies  in education, teacher 
education, reforms  in compulsory  schooling, and the  role of the  headteacher; 
the second edition of the comprehensive compendium on the education and initial vocational training 
systems  of  the  EC  Member  States, produced  in  close  collaboration  with  the  European  Centre  for 
Vocational Training (CEDEFOP)(54); 
the  second,  significantly  enhanced  edition  of  Key  Data  on  Education  in  the  European  Union{55). 
Produced in close collaboration with  Eurostat and now  issued annually, this document  illustrates the 
increasingly  important  role which  Eurydice plays  in underpinning  the decision-making process and 
providing authoritative data on a wider basis. The second edition contains an  in-depth dossier on the 
teaching  profession  in  Europe. 

(53) 

In this way, the  Action  complements the  more research-driven  projects  funded  within  the  education  and 
training sub-programme of the programme for Targeted socio-economic research within the Fourth Framework 
Programme for Research and Technological Development. Close cooperation is maintained with the important 
measures contained in the Leonardo da Vinci programme for the analysis of vocational training systems and 
policy  issues! 

(54)  Structures of the Education and Initial Training Systems in the European Union, second edition, Luxembourg: 

Office  for Official  Publications  1995. 

(55)  Key data on education in the European  Union,  1995 edition, Luxembourg: Office  for Official  Publications 

of the European  Communities 1996. 

- 2 4-

1995-6 has also seen important further development of the network's EURYBASE data base. This  contains 
a  wealth  of  data  on  the  education  systems  in  the  participating  countries,  including  descriptions  of 
important  legislation,  key  bibliographical  references,  an  inventory  of  institutions  and  a  glossary  of 
terminology. 

Considerable efforts  have been  devoted  over the  past two  years to  extending  Eurvdice's activities to  the 
EFTA-EEA  countries  and,  progessively, those  to  which  SOCRATES  is  now  being  opened;  to  ensuring 
that publications are produced  in more Community  languages; and to making  the  network's outputs  such 
as the studies  and  the EURYBASE data base available not  only to educational  policy-makers but also to 
the wider  public, notably  via  the  Commission's  EUROPA  server on  the  Internet. 

Study visits  for educational  decision-makers  (Arion) 

During  1995/6  and  1996/7  some  2,600  grants  have  been  awarded  for  Arion  study  visits, the  purpose  of 
which  is to  facilitate exchange of  information  and  experience in areas of  common  interest, especially in 
the  fields  of  primary  or  general, technical  and  vocational  secondary  education.  Each  one-week  visit  is 
attended  by  a  group  of  persons  from  several  different  countries.  An  annually  published  catalogue 
facilitates  an  informed  choice of the. visit  best  suited  to  each  participant's needs. 

The qualitative results of Arion have continued during the first two years of SOCRATES. Feedback  from 
thousands of reports, and from  contact meetings with  local organisers, National Agencies and participants, 
have  demonstrated  that  the  scheme  provides  educational  experts  and  policy-makers  with  a  unique 
opportunity to discuss their concerns with colleagues on a multilateral basis and re-think and modify  their 
professional  work  in  a European context.  Lasting  contacts  and  networks  are created  between  persons  in 
key educational  functions  in the  participating countries. In  many cases, participation  in  Arion  gives  rise 
to  further  co-operation and  projects  under other  SOCRATES Actions  and  other  EC  programmes. 

The  priority  topics  for  Arion  visits  are determined  by the  national  authorities and  agreed at  Community 
level. In the first two years of  SOCRATES they  have centred on education  systems  and  their values, the 
'players'  in  the  educational  process,  the  curriculum,  and  aspects  of  the  school  and  its  environment. 
Flexibility  is  exercised, to  adapt  to  changing  needs: thus  study  visits  on  quality  assurance  in  education 
were  introduced  as a result  of the  deliberations of the  Education  Council  in October  1995. 

In  1996/7  the  budgetary distribution  formula  used  in  previous years was  adapted  to  take  account of  the 
terms of the  SOCRATES Decision. This  has  led to  significant  changes  in the allocation  to  each  country, 
and  the  implications  of  the  new  formula  are  currently  under  review.  The  scheme  is  currently  being 
extended  to  the  associated countries of Central and  Eastern  Europe. 

Increasing attention  is  devoted  to  disseminating  the  results  of  visits.  Reports  on  visits  are  being  given 
wider  circulation,  and  thematic  seminars  are  being  organised  with  a  view  to  updating  the  comparative 
insights  obtained  and  further  consolidating  the  networks  of  persons  concerned. 

Network of National  Academic  Recognition  Information  Centres  (Naric) 

Each participating country has designated a national centre whose task  is to contribute to student, teacher 
and  researcher  mobility  by  providing  information  and  advice  on  academic  recognition  matters.  Most 
Narics also serve as  information  counters  in the  framework  of  implementing the  "General  Directive" for 
the professional  recognition  of higher education  qualifications/56* The Commission  networks the  centres 
in  order to  secure close  cooperation  and  optimum  exchange  of  information.  Twice  yearly  meetings  are 
organised,  one  of  which  is  a joint  session  with  the  "ENIC"  network  of  the  Council  of  Europe  and  the 

(56)  Council Directive of 21 December 1988 on a general system for the recognition of higher-education diplomas 
awarded on completion of professional  education and training of at least three years' duration (89/48/EEC), 
Official Journal No. L  19/16 of 24 January 1*989. 

- 25  -

UNESCO  Centre  for  Higher  Education  CEPES.  Support  is  also  provided  for  study  visits  between  the 
Narics  and  the  implementation  of joint  projects,  particularly  studies  and  summary  reports.  Members  of 
the  network  have  prepared training  modules  on  the  assessment  of diplomas  and  certificates  issued  abroad, 
thereby  facilitating  wider  dissemination  of  the  knowledge  and  expertise  acquired. 

Special  attention  has  been  given  in  1995  and  1996  to  assisting  the  Associated  countries  in  Central  and 
Eastern  Europe  in  their  preparations  for  joining  the  network,  for  example  by  enabling  them  to  attend 
network  meetings, providing  them  with  training sessions, facilitating dissemination  of key  documentation, 
and  providing  access  to  electronic  communication  networks.  The  Narics  in  the  countries  currently 
participating  in  SOCRATES  are  playing  an  active  role  in  many  aspects  of  this  process. 

• 

COMPLEMENTARY  MEASURES 

Within  Chapter  III  of  SOCRATES,  support  is  available  for  Complementary  Measures,  comprising  in 
particular  activities  of  associations  working  in  the  education  field,  information  activities  by  National 
Agencies, monitoring  and evaluation, and awareness-raisingactivitiesof many  kinds. A total  of  160  grants 
were  awarded  in  1995,  of  which  23  were  in  the  higher  education  sector,  70  in  the  area  of  school  and 
general  education,  and  13  in  the  area  of  language-learning,  the  rest  being  awarded  for 
information 
activities  related  to  the  launching  of  the  programme.  The  activities  covered  related  notably  to  the 
organisation  of  conferences,  seminars  and  workshops,  publishing  newsletters  and  other  publications,  and 
the dissemination  of project results, pedagogical materials and  innovative  methodologies. Support was  also 
provided,  for  the  "Europe  at  School"  competition,  organised  in  cooperation  with  the  Council  of  Europe. 

Of  particular  importance  in  this  context  is  the  support  provided  for  activities  of  European  associations, 
the  pace  of  emergence  which  has  quickened  in  recent  years(57).  Several  of  the  associations  have  played 
a  vital  role  in  pioneering  educational  cooperation  at  European  level(58),  and  they  are  a  key  partner  in 
ensuring the  success of  SOCRATES. They  constitute  an  important  channel  for  disseminating  information, 
sharing  experience and  expertise, facilitating transnational  contacts and  initiating  networks  of  institutions, 
assisting  in  the  design  and  preparation of  projects, and  providing  training  for  teaching  staff  and  education 
managers  in  a  truly  European  context.(59)  SOCRATES  has  therefore  actively  promoted  the  associations' 
work  -  53  of  the  grants  awarded  under  the  Complementary  Measures  were  awarded  to  European 
organisations  of  this  kind  -  and  has  cooperated  closely  with  them  in  the  pursuit  of  the  programme's 
objectives. 

Article  5(1)  of  the  Decision  explicitly  provides  for  consultation  with  the  associations,  as  well  as  with  the 
social  partners.  To  this  end,  a  major  conference  was  held  in  November  1995  to  which  all  the  relevant 
associations  were  invited.  This  has  been  followed  up  with  a  number  of  more  targeted  discussions  with 
certain  of  the  associations  concerned,  and  by  a  general  consultation  meeting  with  representatives  of  16 
associations  and  social  partner  organisations  in  January  1997. 

(57)  The Commission estimates that the number of associations operating at European  level  in the various  sectors 

of  education  has  more  than  doubled  over  the  past  three  years. 

(58)  Such  associations  vary  widely.  They  include  for  example  associations  of  professors  and  teaching  staff  in a 
particular discipline, student associations and associations of university  rectors or non-university  institutions, 
associations  of  headteachers  and persons  involved  in guidance  and  counselling,  associations  specialising  in 
language-learning  or devoted to educational  issues in other fields such  as the environment,  health or the  new 
technologies, associations addressing the needs of a particular  category  of educational  users such as disabled 
persons,  and  associations  concerned  with  a  specific  educational  sector  such  as  primary  education,  adult 
education  or teacher-training. Of particular importance are also the groupings formed within the organisations 
representing  the  social  partners  at  European  level. 

(59)  The  importance  of  several  of the  major  associations  as a means of contact  with  the educational  community 
and  achieving  a genuine  multiplier  effect,  is evident  from  the  sheer  dimensions  of some  of those  involved. 
For  example,  the  European  Trade  Union  Committee  for  Education  (ETUCE)  embraces  between  3  and  4 
million  teachers  within  its member unions  Europe-wide, and the  largest  federation  of  parent  associations  at 
European  level, the  European  Parents  Association,  covers  some  50 separate  bodies  with  potential  outreach 
into  over  135,000  schools. 

- 2 6-

STATISTICAL  ANNEX 

Version  19/12/96 

?i 

Tabic 1: Number of applications received within the Centralised Actions (1) in 1995 and  1996 

1995 

1996 

1995 + 1996 

New 
Projects (2) 

Renewals 

Total 

New 
Projects 

Renewals 

% of 
eligible 
projects 
requesting 
renewal(S) 

Total 

%  change 
from  1995 

New 
Projects 

Renewals 

Total 

2870 

2870 

2530(3) 

[88  %]( 3) 

2530(3) 

(3) 

2870(3) 

2530(3) 

5400 

221 

66 

56 

162 

97 

58 

37 

_ 

109(4) 

. 

109 

221 

66 

56 

162 

97 

58 

37 

68 

101 

22 

93 

144 

89 

64 

96 

39 

22 

32 

29 

23 

4 

60 %(5) 

164 

-26 %(5) 

8 3% 

140 

+  112% 

51 %(5) 

63 %(5) 

8 8% 

8 4% 

44 

-21 %(5) 

125 

-23 %(5) 

173 

+ 78 % 

115 

+ 98 % 

100% 

68 

+ 84 % 

109 

289 

167 

78 

255 

241 

147 

97 

. 

96 

39 

22 

32 

29 

26 

4 

109 

385 

206 

100 

287 

270 

173 

105 

Erasmus  (Inter-univ. 
Coop.  Programmes) 
Erasmus  (Thematic 
networks) 
Comenius 
(Intercultural educ.) 
Comenius  (In-service 
training) 
Lingua (Europ. Coop. 
Programmes) 
Lingua  (Language 
instruments) 
Open and  Distance 
Learning 

Adult  Education 
Studies on  education 
policy 

& 

(1) Actions in which the decision  on the projects to be selected  is taken directly by the Commission. 
(2) In  1995, all projects are defined  as "new", since this was the first  year of the programme,  irrespective of whether they had received  support  under a previous 

Community programme or action. 

(3) Comparison  with  1995 is not significant  for this Action, since no additional  ICPs were allowed  in  1996 and many  ICPs reached  the* end of their funding  period  in 1995. 
(4) Full applications. These were submitted after  preselection  among 486 expressions of  interest. 
(5) Comparison  with  1995 is not significant  for these Actions, since a high proportion  of projects supported  in  1995 were ones which had reached  the end 

of their funding  period that year. In addition, with regard to Comenius (Intercultural  education), the criteria  for support  were changed considerably  in  1996 
as a result of the SOCRATES  Decision 

(6)  There is also one decentralised  Action (i.e. where selection  is carried  out by National  Agencies)  in which  renewal of funding  is a systematic  feature,  namely 

Comenius Action  1  (European  Education  Projects within school partnerships).  13 of the  18 participating countries report renewal rates of over 90 %, and  for  8 of these 
the rate was  100 %; the other countries report renewal rates of 84 %, 77%, 75 %, 69 % and 67 %. 

cs/smilh/centra-1 .xls  18/02/97 

Table 2: Number of grants awarded in 1995 and 1996 (Centralised Actions(I) ) 

ta 

1995 

1996 

1995+1996 

New 
Projects  ,2) 
(= Total 
1995) 

Acceptance 
rate 

New 
Projects 

Acceptance 
rate 

Renewal 
grants 

Acceptance 
rate 

Total 
grants 

Acceptance 
rate 

New 
Projects 

Acceptance 
rate 

Renewal 
grants 

Acceptance 
rate 

Total 
grants 

Acceptance 
rate 

Erasmus  (Inter-univ. 
Coop.  Programmes) 
Erasmus  (Thematic 
networks) 
Comenius 
(Intercultural  educ.) 
Comenius  (in-service 
training) 
Lingua  (Europ. Coop. 
Programmes) 
Lingua  (Language 
instruments) 
Open and Distance 
Learning 
Adult  Education 

Studies on  education 
policy 

2673 

93% 

2504(3) 

99% 

2504 

99% 

2673 

93% 

2504 

99% 

5177(5) 

160 

47 

43 

51 

33 

31 

4 

72% 

71% 

77% 

32% 

34% 

53% 

11% 

28 

42 

81 

11 

33 

41 

37 

9 

26 %(4) 

62% 

80% 

50% 

35% 

28% 

42% 

14% 

70 

34 

20 

24 

29 

20 

4 

73% 

87% 

9 1% 

75% 

100% 

77% 

100% 

28 

112 

115 

31 

57 

70 

57 

13 

26 %(4) 

68% 

82% 

70% 

46% 

4 1% 

50% 

19% 

28 

202 

128 

54 

84 

74 

68 

13 

26 %(4) 

. 

70% 

77% 

69% 

33% 

3 1% 

46% 

13% 

70 

34 

20 

24 

29 

20 

4 

73% 

87% 

9 1% 

75% 

100% 

77% 

100% 

28 

272 

162 

74 

108 

103 

88 

17 

96% 

26 %(4) 

71% 

79% 

74% 

38% 

38% 

51% 

16% 

(1) Actions in which the decision on the projects to be selected is taken directly  by the Commission. 
(2) In 1995, all projects are defined as "new", since this was the first year of the programme, irrespective of whether they had received support under a previous Community programme or action. 
(3) Comparison with  1995 is not significant for this Action, since no additional ICPs were  allowed in  1996 and many  ICPs reached the end of their funding period in 1995. 
(4) 6 %, if measured against the initial expressions of interest. 
(5) Within these ICPs, it is estimated that a total of 26,641 staff members  have received support for teaching assignments  abroad. 646 Intensive programmes were also supported (acceptance rate 70 %) 

as well as 383 curriculum development  projects (acceptance rate 52 %). 

cs/smiih/ceiura-2.xls  18/02/97 

Table 3: Participation of each country  in projects supported  under the Centralised  Actions(1) in  1995 and  1996 

(number of partners  (  including numbers of coordinators) 

1 

1 

Country 

BE 

DK 

DE 

GR 

ES 

FR 

IE 

IT 

LU 

NL 

AT 

PT 

Fl 

SV 

UK 

IS 

LI 

NO 

EUR 

Total 

Actions 
Erasmus  (Inter-univ. 
Coop. Programmes)(3) 
Erasmus  (Thematic 
networks) 
Comenius  (Intercultural 
educ.) 
Comenius  (In-service 
training) 
Lingua  (Europ. Coop. 
Programmes) 
Lingua(Language 
instruments) 
Open and  Distance 
Learning 

t* 

1060 

559 

2869 

763 

2374 

3128 

643 

1998 

15 

1162 

436 

835 

664 

606 

3347 

38 

1 

368 

3 

20869 

107 

67 

166 

81 

135 

173 

60 

178 

9 

99 

59 

79 

86 

91 

301 

9 

32 

85 

1817 

. 

. 

. 

_ 

. 

. 

. 

„ 

. 

. 

. 

. 

_ 

— 

• 

31 

28 

46 

19 

60 

67 

32 

55 

5 

31 

17 

34 

26 

25 

105 

13 

10 

36 

11 

33 

44 

8 

35 

3 

11 

6 

17 

12 

9 

53 

26 

15 

29 

42 

27 

30 

13 

39 

3 

27 

1 

18 

8 

7 

58 

30 

17 

35 

30 

40 

46 

20 

54 

1 

23 

6 

28 

18 

23 

72 

4 

0 

2 

2 

1 

1 

0 

0 

8 

3 

5 

0 

24 

1 

6 

0 

0 

2 

0 

2 

594 

304 

352 

469 

374 

Adult  Education 

26 

22 

34 

16 

38 

32 

19 

33 

2 

31 

9 

8 

17 

21 

56 

(1) Actions in which the decision on the projects  to be selected  is taken  directly by the Commission. This table does not  include the Studies on  educational 

policy as in this case the number of partners is not considered  relevant. 

(2) The number of "partners" is not necessarily  identical with the number of "participating  institutions", since an  institution  may be participating  in more 

than one project. 

(3)  1995 only (no new projects were accepted  in  1996). 

cs/smith/ccntra-3.xls 18/02/97 

Table 4: Financial aspects of the applications for support under the Centralised Actions(,) in 1995 and  1996 (in MioECU) 

1995 
All  projects 

N ew  p r o j e c ts 

Total 
cost 

Amount 
requested 
from 
SOCRATES 

Request 
from 
SOCRATES 
as % of cost 

Total 
cost 

A mo unt 
requested 
from 
SOCRATES 

% 

Total 
cost 

1996 
R e n e w a ls 

A m o u nt 
requested 
f r om 
SOCRATES 

T o t al 1996 

Amount 
requested 
f r om 
SOCRATES 

N ew  p r o j e c ts 

% 

Total 
cost 

Amount 
requested 
from 
SOCRATES 

% 

Total 
cost 

% 

Total 
cost 

1995 + 1996 
R e n e w a ls 

A m o u nt 
requested 
f r om 
SOCRATES 

Total 

Amount 
requested 
f r om 
SOCRATES 

% 

% 

Total 
cost 

Erasmus  (Inter-univ. 
Coop.  Programmes) 
Erasmus  (Thematic 
networks) 
Comenius 
(Intercultural  educ.) 
Comenius  (In-service 
training) 
Lingua  (Europ.  Coop. 
Programmes) 
Lingua  (Language 
instruments) 
Open and Distance 
Learning 

Adult  Education 
Studies  on education 
policy 

n/a 

200.0 

n/a 

n/a 

200.0( 2) 

n/a 

n/a 

200.0<2) 

n/a 

n/a 

200.0 

n/a 

n/a 

200.0 

n/a 

n/a 

400.0 

n/a 

32.1 

15.3 

48% 

32.1 

15.3 

48% 

32.1 

15.3 

48% 

. 

. 

32.1 

15.3 

48% 

17.3 

5.3 

11.4 

38.6 

27.4 

9.9 

4.9 

9.1 

2.5 

4.9 

18.5 

16.1 

6.5 

2.8 

53% 

7.8 

3.8 

49% 

10.0 

4.9 

49% 

17.8 

8.7 

49% 

25.1 

12.9 

5 1% 

10.0 

4.9 

49% 

35.1 

17.8 

5 1% 

47% 

6.4 

2.6 

4 1% 

2.4 

1.0 

42% 

8.8 

3.6 

4 1% 

11.7 

5.1 

44% 

2.4 

1.0 

42% 

14.1 

6.1 

43% 

43% 

4.1 

1.7 

4 1% 

6.2 

2.7 

44% 

10.3 

4.4 

43% 

15.5 

6.6 

43% 

6.2 

2.7 

44% 

21.7 

9.3 

43% 

48% 

17.0 

8.8 

52% 

11.9 

4.0 

34% 

28.9 

12.8 

44% 

55.6 

27.3 

49% 

11.9 

4.0 

34% 

67.5 

31.3 

46% 

59% 

36.5 

22.3 

6 1% 

8.6 

4.5 

52% 

45.1 

26.8 

59% 

63.9 

38.4 

60% 

8.6 

4.5 

52% 

72.5 

42.9 

59% 

66% 

16.4 

10.4 

63% 

5.7 

3.8 

67% 

22.1 

14.2 

64% 

26.3 

16.9 

64% 

5.7 

3.8 

67% 

32.0 

20.7 

65% 

57% 

8.4 

5.0 

60% 

0.8 

0.6 

75% 

9.2 

5.6 

6 1% 

13.6 

7.8 

57% 

0.8 

0.6 

75% 

14.4 

8.4 

58% 

(1) Actions in whirh the decision on the projects to be selected is taken directly by the Commission. 

(2) Increase in demand was structurally excluded by the nature of the transitional measures for this Action. The figure has increased to around 250 MioECU for 1997. 

cs/smith/centra-4 xls 18/02/97 

Table 5 : Financial aspects of projects supported under the Centralised Actions (1) in 1995 and 1996 (2) 

1995 
All  projects 

New  projects 

1996 
Renewals 

All  projects 

Total budget 
of accepted 
projects 
5 (MioECU) 

Amount 
awarded by 
SOCRATES 
(MioECU) 

SOCRATES 
grants as a 
V. of total 
project 
budgets 

Average 
grant 
awarded 
(ECU) 

Total  budget 
of  accepted 
projects 

Amount 
awarded by 
SOCRATES 
(MioECU) 

SOCRATES 
grants  as a 
% of  total 
project 
budgets 

Average 
grant 
awarded 
(ECU) 

Total  budget 
of  accepted 
projects 

Amount 
awarded by 
SOCRATES 
(MioECU) 

SOCRATES 
grants as a 
% of total 
project 
budgets 

Average 
grant 
awarded 
(ECU) 

Total budget 
of  accepted 
projects 

Amount 
awarded by 
SOCRATES 
(MioECU) 

SOCRATES 
grants  as a 
% of  total 
project 
budgets 

Average 
grant 
awarded 
(ECU) 

Erasmus  (Thematic 
networks) 

Comenius 
(Intercultural  educ.) 

Comenius  (In-service 
training) 

Lingua  (Europ. Coop. 
Programmes) 

Lingua  (Language 
instruments) 

Open and  Distance 
Learning 

Adult  Education 

Studies  on  education 
policy 

15.2 

2.3 

15% 

82,100 

15.2 

2.3 

15% 

82,100 

13.2 

5.4 

4 1% 

33,500 

4.6 

1.6 

35% 

39,000 (3) 

4.4 

9.9 

13.3 

9.8 

4.6 

4.9 

1.1 

3.0 

4.2 

4.1 

25% 

23,400 

5.0" 

1.9 

38% 

23,500 

30% 

69,100 

32% 

82,200 

2.2 

5.9 

0.8 

4 1% 

77,000,4) 

3.1 

53% 

97,000 

42% 

123,800 

10.4 

4.2 

40% 

102,200 

2.9 

63% 

94,800 

0.5 

10% 

125.000 

6.7 

1.3 

3.0 

45% 

80,600 

0.7 

52% 

75,600 

8.3 

2.0 

5.6 

6.7 

8.6 

5.0 

0.8 

3.2 

39% 

46,100 

12.9 

0.8 

40% 

24,500 

2.1 

38% 

102,800 

7.0 

7.7 

2.3 

34% 

94,100 

12.6 

4.8 

2.7 

2.9 

5.4 

37% 

42,900<3> 

39% 

23,500 

38% 

93,500(4) 

43% 

^4.700 

3.0 

35% 

104,800 

19.2 

7.2 

38% 

102,900 

2.1 

42% 

106,100 

11.7 

5.1 

44% 

89.500 

0.6 

73% 

142,500 

2.1 

1.3 

62% 

103.700 

( I ) Actions  in which  the decision  on  the projects  to be selected  is taken  directly  by the Commission.  Including contributions  from,  and grants  to projects  involving,  FFTA-EEA  countries. 
(2) The  figures  for  1996 are provisional,  as the final data  for  1996 were not available  at the time of completing the present  document. 
(3) The average grant rose in  1996 due to the new requirements  concerning  the profile  of projects  (at  least  2 institutions  from  each  of at least  3 participating  countries). 
(4)  the  average  grant  rose in  1996 due to the process of concentration  within  projects  (fewer  projects, more  institutions  within each  project)  actively encouraged  by  the  Commission. 

cs/smith/centra-5.xls  18/02/97 

Table 6 : Amount requested and grants awarded under each of the SOCRATES Actions 

(total for 1995 and 1996) (in ECU)  (,) 

H^^^S^M&^UiM 

-;,'.  • . ••-. 

Action  1: European  Dimension  of  universities 

Action  2: Student  mobility 

Amount 
requested 

% of  total 

• ;tV?977\1 

t:&*78.6 % 

Grants 
awarded 
X:vr2or.3 

% of  total 

>K%56.9% 

415.3 

561.8(2) 

55.5 

151.8 

ItôSCMOOL ET^CATION (Comenius)  ^ .

,

i, 

- 

,  ,; 

. 

Vvv.v;57i0 

'~Ï'&J4.6% 

* 

, ^ 4 8 .3 

/

:f  Ï3:2% 

Action  1: School  partnerships/European  Projects 

Action  2: Intercultural  education 

Action  3: In-service training  of  teachers 

30.9 

17.4 

8.7 

30.9 

11.5 

5.9 

IHj*Horjzorjta|^^ 

:-.  •< 

j^f,^ 

4*";3'208.4 

,â^16.8% 

'.<.;*>  M 08.9 

*  >H29.9% 

Action  1: Promotion  of  language-learning  (Lingua) 

Action  2: Open and distance  learning 

Action  3: Exchange  of  information  and  experience 

99.5 

42.9 

66.0 

62.5 

11.8 

34.6 

Total  SOCRATES 

1,242.5 

100% 

364.5 

100% 

(1) Provisional figures, as the final data  for  1996 were not available at the time of completing  the present  document. 
(2) For the purpose of calculating the amount requested  for student grants, it is assumed  that students request  only 

50 % of the maximum  grant allowable  under the Decision, modulated  downwards by the number of months to be 
spent abroad compared  with a full  academic year, rather than  the maximum  grant  as such. 

cs/smith/centra-6.xls 

S£ 

Chart  1:  Overall  utilisation of funds  in  1995 and  1996 

Categories  to be used 
A - Erasmus  (universities) 
B - Erasmus (student grants) 
C - Comenius 
D - Lingua 
E - Open and distance  learning 
F - Adult  Education 
G - Exchange of information  on education 

systems and  policy 

H - Complementary  measures (including 

information  activities of National  Agencies) 

Total  allocation 
Chapter 1:  56.9% 
Chapter  II:  13.2  % 
Chapter  III: 29.9% 

B 
41,21% 

cs/sm iuVchart-l.xls  18/02/97 

Chart 2: SOCRATES budget, relative to (a) total project costs and (b) amounts  requested 

under the Centralised Actions (1) and Erasmus student grants (total for  1995(2) 
and  1996 (3)) (expressed as an index, whereby  SOCRATES budget = 1) 

Index 

D Total project cost 

•  Total amount  requested 

D Total budget  available 

(1) Actions  in which the decision  on the projects to be selected is taken directly by the  Commission. 
(2) In  1995 also including  contributions from EFTA-EEA  countries and  Switzerland, as well as funds  recycled  from 

previous years. 

(3) Including contributions from EFTA-EEA  countries. 
(4) Budget = All Action  1  expenditure except Thematic networks. Total project  cost  is not available  for  ICPs. 
(5) For the purpose  of calculating the amount  requested  for  student  grants, it is assumed  that students request  only 

50 % of the maximum  grant allowable under the Deoision, modulated  downwards  by the number of months to be 
spent  abroad  compared  with a full  academic year, rather than the maximum  grant as such. 

Proposal for a decision of the European Parliament 
and of the Council 

amending the Decision 819/95/EC  establishing the Community action programme Socrates 

25^ 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

I. 

INTRODUCTION 

The Community action programme in the field of education, entitled SOCRATES1, spans the period 
1995-1999  and  is  applicable  to  the  15  Member  States  as  well  as  to  the  partner  countries  in  the 
European  Economic  Area.  Its  overall  aim  is  to  promote  quality  by  increasing  mobility,  boosting 
cooperation  and  strengthening the European  dimension  in all  sectors of education.  Its  contribution 
to the further development of the European Community  is threefold: 

• 

• 

• 

SOCRATES  is a cornerstone of the policy to bring the European Community closer to all  its 
citizens.  Some  70  million  young  people  in  the  Community  are  taught  by  over  4  million 
teachers.  Some  11 million  students  are  studying  at  over  5,000 higher  education  institutions 
and  millions  of  adult  learners  are  attending  full-  or  part-time  classes.  The  potential  of 
SOCRATES  for  encouraging  a positive  sense  of  identification  with  the  process  of  building 
Europe is second to none. 

SOCRATES has a vital role to play in developing high-quality human resources,  a key  factor 
in  stimulating  employment,  promoting  competitiveness  and  achieving  greater  economic 
growth. 

SOCRATES  is centre-stage  in the process of enlarging the Community to embrace the wider 
Europe 
through  the  pre-accession  extension  of  strategically  important  programmes  to  the 
associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Cyprus  . 

This contribution  is achieved at extremely low cost. Taking into account the increase  in the  financial 
framework  envisaged  in  the  Commission's  present  proposals,  SOCRATES  will  account  for  some 
0.2%o of the Community budget in 1998. 

SOCRATES  has built on previous Community  programmes, such as the highly successful  Erasmus 
It  contains  carefully 
and  Lingua  schemes,  and  extended  them  to  the  whole  field  of  education. 
targeted  measures  for  each  educational  sector,  agreement  on  which  was  reached  without  undue 
difficulty  during  the  negotiations  on  its  establishment.  Both  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council repeatedly stressed the importance which they attached to the programme's adoption. 

To have  a significant  impact,  it requires  a financial  framework  fully  consistent  with  the  objectives 
set out in the Decision. The financial framework was the subject of a conciliation procedure  between 
the European  Parliament  and the Council. The figure  adopted,  namely  850 MioECU  for  the  period 
1995-99, fell far short of the Commission's original proposal of  1,005.6 MioECU, even though  it has 
to cover the  needs  of the enlarged  European  Community  of  15 Member  States, compared  with  the 

Decision  No  819/95/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  14  March  1995  establishing  the 
Community action programme 'SOCRATES', Official Journals  L 87/10 of 20 April  1995. 
The  decision  establishing  SOCRATES  also  makes  mention  of  the  possibility  of  extending  its  actions  to  include 
Malta.  Negotiations  have  been  conducted  with  a  view  to  enabling  Malta  to  participate  in  the  programme  in  the 
context  of  its  pre-accesion  to  the  Community.  However,  the  government  of  Malta  having  recently  taken  the 
decision  to  freeze  its  application  to join  the  Community,  the  Commission  has  been  mandated  by  the  Council  to 
take  preliminary  technical  contacts  with  a  view  to  clarifying  the  future  relations  between  the  Community  and 
Malta.  The  final  position  to  be  adopted  by  Malta  and  the  Community  not  being  known  at  the  present  time,  the 
present  text makes no reference  - positive or negative  - to a possible opening of the programme to Malta at a later 
date. 

%€> 

12  countries  on  which  the  Commission's  proposal  was  based,  as  well  as  additional  programme 
elements  introduced  during the negotiations.  The European  Parliament assented to this  compromise 
only on condition  that a mid-term  review be undertaken. Accordingly, at the end  of the  conciliation 
procedure, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission agreed that: 

"Two years  after  the  launching of  the programme,  the European Parliament  and  the  Council 
will (assess) the results achieved by the programme.  To that end,  the Commission  will submit to 
them  a  report  accompanied  by  any proposals  which  it  considers  appropriate,  including  any 
concerning  the funding  set  by the  legislator within  the meaning  of  the Joint  Declaration  of 6 
March  1995  The European  Parliament  and  the  Council  will  act  on  those proposals  at  the 
earliest opportunity. 

On the basis of the mandate contained  in the Joint Statement, the Commission  has produced  a report 
analysing the first two years of SOCRATES (1995 and  1996) , accompanied  by the present proposal 
for a Decision to modify the financial framework of the programme. 

n.  RESULTS ACHIEVED BY SOCRATES IN 1995 AND 1996 

The  SOCRATES  programme  has  been  eagerly  welcomed  by  educational  circles  across  the 
Community. It has given rise to a significantly  increased  volume and  improved  quality of European 
cooperation,  notably  in  fields  such  as  school  education,  adult  education  and  open  and  distance 
learning which had little previous tradition of structured collaboration  at transnational  level. It has in 
particular: 

•  made a substantial  contribution  to the mobility of students, young people  and teaching  staff,  as 
regards  both  the  volume  of  exchanges  and  the  quality  of  their  organisational  framework.  In 
higher  education,  grants  have  been  awarded  to enable  up to 316,000  higher  education  students 
and  26,000 teaching  staff  to  study or teach  within  a structured  programme  in  another  Member 
State; 

• 

• 

• 

3 

4 

5 
6 

stimulated  broad  and  intensified  cooperation  between  educational  institutions  in  different 
participating  countries, notably through the creation  of some 2,600  inter-university  cooperation 
programmes  and  over  600  transnational  projects  in  other  educational  sectors.  Over  16,000 
institutions have taken part in the programme so far; 

given a new  impetus to the academic recognition  of study periods carried out and  qualifications 
obtained  abroad.  In  the  field  of  higher  education,  the  successful  European  Credit  Transfer 
System  is in the process of extension to well over  1,000  institutions; 

contributed  to  enhancing  the  European  dimension  of  education,  notably  as  regards  the  initial 
training and further  professional  development of teachers; 

Declaration  by  the  European  Parliament, the Council  and  the Commission  of 6 March  1995  (95/C  293/03), Official 
Journal No. C 293/4 of 8 November  1995. 
Joint  Statement by the European  Parliament  the Council and the Commission  concerning  Decision  819/95/EC of the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  14  March  1995  establishing  the  Community  action  programme 
'SOCRATES', OffïcialJournal^o.  L132/18 of  16 June 1995. 
Document COM (97) [...]  final. 
The  principal  obstacles  impeding  transnational  mobility  within  the  European  Community  have  recently  been 
identified  in  the  Commission's  Green  Paper:  Education  -  Training  -  Research:  The  obstacles  to  transnational 
mobility, COM (96)462 final of 2 October  1996. 

b> 

continued  to make progress  in promoting the teaching  and  learning of the  less widely  used  and 
less taught languages of the Union; 

provided  a  focal  point  for  a  broader  and  more  pedagogically  as  distinct  from  technologically 
driven  use  of  open  and  distance  learning  and  multimedia  approaches  in  various  educational 
sectors,  and  led to the production  of a  large and  varied  range  of teaching  materials,  curricula, 
training schemes and other educational products; 

provided  new  opportunities  for  widespread  exchange  of  knowledge  and  experience,  thereby 
spreading  expertise  and  fostering  the  process  of  innovation  throughout  the  participating 
countries; 

been  instrumental  in  ensuring  that  European  cooperation  benefits  all  Member  States,  by 
providing  economically  disadvantaged  and/or  peripheral  countries  with  greater  opportunities 
for cooperation than would have otherwise been available; 

helped to generate considerable complementary funding  from  a variety of other sources, thereby 
substantially  increasing overall European investment in mobility and cooperation. 

In  all  these  ways,  the  SOCRATES  programme  is  making  clear  and  demonstrable  progress  towards  the 
objective,  set  out  in  Article  126  of  the  EC  Treaty  ,  of  contributing  to  quality  education  throughout  the 
Community. Just as importantly, it is helping to make the "European dimension  in education" a  meaningful 
concept  for  hundreds  of  thousands  of  teachers  and  learners  of  all  ages.  Considerable  progress  has  been 
made  in preparing the ground  for the extension of these benefits  of the programme to the wider Europe, in 
accordance with the terms of the Decision. 

m.  THE NEED TO INCREASE THE FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK FOR SOCRATES 

For  the  period  beyond  1997,  the  resources  allocated  for  SOCRATES  will  no  longer  be  adequate  for 
attaining the objectives  set out  in the Decision. This  is the clear conclusion  to emerge from  the analysis of 
the  first  two  years  of  the  programme,  and  the  resulting  detailed  projections  for  the  coming  years.  The 
Commission therefore proposes an increase of 50 MioECU (or 5.9%)  in the overall financial  framework  for 
the  programme,  to  be  implemented  during  the  final  two  years  (1998  and  1999)  of  the  programme's  first 
quinquennium. No other modifications  to the Decision  are considered  necessary  in the  light of  experience 
to date. The reasons which have led the Commission to propose the increase are set out below. 

1.  The need to reach a critical mass of the target population 

The  overarching  objectives  of  SOCRATES  are  to  contribute  to  high  quality  education  in  Europe  and  to 
bring Europe closer to the citizen. For this reason,  it is vital that under each  of the programme's  Actions a 
critical mass of good quality projects and activities be supported. Given that the target  groups addressed  by 
the  programme  are  extremely  large,  a  high  number  of  grants  must  be  awarded.  As  indicated  in  point  3 
below,  it  is  not  possible  to  keep  up the  programme's  momentum  towards  achieving  this  critical  mass  by 
further  reducing  the  average  amount  of  support to each  beneficiary.  The  option  of  having  an  even  higher 

Official Journal C 224 of 31 August  1992. 

as 

level  of  selectivity  than  at  present,  also  among  good  quality  projects,  is  undesirable.  This  would  create 
frustration  among a wide section  of the citizens, at the very moment  when  it is crucial  for  the  Community 
to demonstrate that it is responding to their real concerns. 

2.  The high existing level of demand for participation 

In  1995, the  very  first  year  of  implementation,  the  total  financial  request  of  well  over  500  MioECU  was 
around three times higher than the budget available.  1996 has witnessed  a further  sharp rise in the  number 
of grant requests compared with  1995.  For example, the number of schools wishing to participate  in school 
partnerships  has  gone  up  by  a  factor  of  5, and  applications  have  doubled  in  other  new  programme  areas 
such  as  adult  education  and  open  and  distance  learning.  In  certain  parts  of  the  programme,  the  amount 
requested by applicants  is already running at around 9 times the annual budget available. In all, the amount 
requested has risen to over 700 MioECU in 1996, compared with the  173 MioECU available. 

3.  Problems resulting from the inadequate budgetary resources 

The imbalance  between demand and supply  is a source of real concern  for  a programme  like  SOCRATES 
which  has the  potential  to  bring the  advantages  of  European  cooperation  to  a  very  wide  population.  The 
problems resulting from  the increasingly  inadequate financial framework for the programme are notably as 
follows: 

•  Due to financial constraints, the  level  of grants  awarded  under certain  key  parts  of the  programme  is 

already falling to an untenably low level. 

The Erasmus  scheme has been one of the major  successes of Community  funding.  Now  incorporated 
within  SOCRATES, it remains a key element for attaining the programme's  objectives.  But the  further 
development  of  Erasmus  is jeopardised  by the  budgetary  situation  affecting  SOCRATES  as  a whole. 
This applies  both to  student  mobility  grants and to support  for  developing  a European  Dimension  for 
students who do not directly participate in mobility: 

Student mobility grants are probably the  best-known pillar of Erasmus, but their effectiveness  is under 
threat. The  maximum  grant  is ECU  5,000 per  student,  but  if all the  eligible  students  within  approved 
Erasmus exchange programmes were to receive a grant, the amount per student for a full  academic year 
would  be  only  some  750  ECU  -just  15% of the  maximum  allowed  and  inadequate  except  for  those 
with considerable additional financial  means. 

From  now on, each  university will have a single "Institutional Contract" with the Commission  for  the 
bulk  of  its  European  Dimension  activities.  This  will  have  an  important  impact  in  encouraging 
institutions  to  adopt  a  strategic  stance  towards  European  cooperation  and  will  ensure  the  long-term 
return  on  SOCRATES  investment.  The  response  of  universities  has  been  extremely  encouraging. 
Almost  1,600  institutions throughout  the Community have applied  for a contract  in the academic  year 
1997/8. The  total  grant  request  amounts  to  250  MioECU.  On  the  basis  of  the  present  figures,  each 
university, would  receive  an  amount  of  only  ECU  10,000-50,000 
for  the  entire  spectrum  of  its 
European dimension  activities. This would risk endangering the whole new strategic approach to  inter-
university cooperation  in the Community. 

The  situation  is  similar  in  the  case  of  Comenius,  the  scheme  for  cooperation  in  the  schools  sector 
which  is one of the key innovations within SOCRATES and brings a European  dimension  in education 
to a much wider population. 

& 

The  backbone  of  the  scheme  is  formed  by  the  multilateral  school  partnerships  linking  schools  in 
different  Member  States. This  new opportunity  has  been  eagerly  awaited  by  Europe's  schools,  but  in 
the  first  two  years 
the  maximum  grant  for  each  school  participating  has  normally  been  only  ECU 
2,000  per  annum  (ECU  3,000  in  the  case  of  the  schools  coordinating  partnerships).  This  figure  is 
extremely  low, and pressure on education budgets at national  level across the Community  is making it 
particularly difficult  for schools to obtain significant  complementary funds  from  other sources. 

Achieving  a  maximum  return  on  the  investment  of  Community  funds  requires  three  elements:  some 
continuity of funding  in order to create durable cooperation  networks; maintaining the regular  injection 
of  "new  blood"  participants;  and  the  dissemination  of  results  to  non-participant  institutions  and 
individuals. Underfunding  would jeopardise this approach. 

The  inadequacy  of  resources  to  meet  existing  demand  is  already  beginning  to  dissuade  National 
Agencies from disseminating  information  on the programme widely. This will  lead to the exclusion  of 
some  types  of  institutions,  disadvantaged  regions  and  categories  of  individuals  who  have  not 
previously  participated  in European  cooperation. Together with the  low  level  of grants  being  awarded 
under certain parts of the programme, this will adversely affect  the programme's capacity to uphold the 
principle  of equal  opportunities  set out  in the Decision  - an  aspect to which  the  European  Parliament 
attached particular importance during the negotiations on the programme's adoption. 

4. 

Increasing budgetary problems during the remainder of the 5-year period 

Though demand has already been high  in  1995 and  1996, it is not until  1997, and  more acutely  from  1998 
on, that its full  force will be felt. This is because: 

• 

• 

• 

there will be a need to provide funding  not only for new initiatives but also for a renewal of support in 
Years 2 and 3 of the pluriannual projects which are encouraged under most parts of SOCRATES; 

the number of applications for support of new projects will rise significantly,  as the full  impact of the 
information  campaigns conducted  in  1995 and  1996, works  itself through  into project  proposals. The 
participation  of  the  three  new  EC  Member  States  in  certain  Actions  is  also  likely  to  show  further 
significant  growth; 

certain Actions within the programme will become fully available for the first time, notably: 
-  Institutional  Contracts  within  Erasmus.  As  indicated  above,  the  1997  demand  figures  under  this 
action are already known. They constitute a request for some 250 MioECU (+ 25% compared  with 
1996); 

-  grants  to  enable  teachers  to  participate  in  in-service training  courses  (Comenius).  These  are  an 
essential  means  of  ensuring  that  the  innovation  potential  of  projects  to  enhance  the  European 
dimension of teaching actually find their way into the classroom; 

the  effects  of  certain  other  policy  contexts,  such  as  notably  the  1996  European  Year  of  Lifelong 
Learning  and  the  1997  European  Year  against 
Learning  and  the  1997  European  Year  against  Racism  ,  will  make  themselves  felt  in  terms  of 
increased demand for support within SOCRATES. 

9 

• 

The budgetary  increase proposed  by the Commission  is therefore justified  in relation  to the  programme  in 
its  present  form  and  with  its  present  geographical  coverage.  It  does  not  even  make  provision  for  the 

Decision No. 2493/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October  1995 establishing the 'European 
year of lifelong  learning', Official Journal No.  L 256/45 of 26 October 1995. 
Resolution of the Council and the representatives of the governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council of 
23 July  1996 concerning the European Year against Racism (1997), Official Journal No C 237/1 of  15 August  1996. 

Ho 

budgetary impact resulting from  the extension of SOCRATES to the ten associated countries of Central and 
Eastern Europe and Cyprus, which will also have to be absorbed during the coming period10. 

IV.  CONCLUSIONS 

SOCRATES  can  look  back  on  considerable  achievements  during  the  first  two  years  since  its  adoption. 
However,  the  experience  from  this  period  has  shown  that  the  programme  will  not  be  able  to  sustain, 
consolidate and build on these promising early results without a significant  increase  in the overall  financial 
framework  for  the  programme,  to  be  implemented  in  the  last  two  years  of  the  programme's  first 
quinquennium  (1998 and  1999). In a more favourable  overall  budgetary  situation,  the Commission  would 
have  had  no  hesitation  in  submitting  a  proposal  for  a  much  more  substantial  increase  than  the  one 
envisaged.  This  would  be fully justified  in terms of the cost-benefit  relationship  of the  activity  concerned 
and the demonstrated need for additional resources. 

The  amount  of  900  Mio  ECU  now  proposed,  an  increase  of  around  6%,  is  considered  the  minimum 
necessary  in order to enable SOCRATES to realise its potential as a means of moving towards a genuinely 
open space for educational cooperation  in the Community, and to avoid widespread  disenchantment  among 
a  broad  and  influential  section  of  European  citizens  at  a  crucial  moment  for  the  Community's  further 
development. 

10 

The operational  costs  (grants)  directly  related  to  the participation  of  persons  and  institutions  from  the  new  participating 
countries  will  be  met  from  the  contribution  to  be  made  by  each  of  the  countries  concerned  either  using  funds  drawn 
entirely  from  the  national  budget  of that  country  or  partly  using  national  funds  and  partly  using  the  country's  PHARE 
allocation  (up  to  10% of  which  may  be  used  for  this  purpose).  However,  cooperation  with  the  new  countries  will  also 
involve substantial costs for the institutions in the countries currently participating in SOCRATES. 

«rA 

Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament 

and of the Council 

amending the Decision 819/95/EC  establishing the Community action programme Socrates 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular  Articles  126 and 

127 thereof, 

2 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of Regions, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article  189b of the Treaty,3 

Whereas  Decision  No  819/95/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  14  March  1995 

establishes the Community action programme SOCRATES, 

Whereas  Article  7 of  this  Decision  provides  for  a  financial  framework  for  the  implementation  of  the 

programme during the period  1.1.1995 - 31.12.1999, 

1 

Official Journal L 87/10 of 20 April 1995. 

fm 

I 

t  r-? 

Whereas  the  Joint  Statement  by the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  concerning 

the  above-mentioned  Decision  of  14  March  1995  provides  that  two  years  after  the  launching  of  the 

programme,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  will  (assess)  the  results  achieved  by  the 

programme,  and  that  to  this  end  the  Commission  will  submit  to  them  a  report  accompanied  by  any 

proposals  which  it  considers  appropriate,  including  any  concerning  the  funding  set  by  the  legislator 

within the  meaning  of the Joint  Declaration  of 6 March  1995  , and that the  European  Parliament  and  the 

Council  will  act on those proposals at the earliest  opportunity, 

Whereas the  report  submitted  by the Commission  pursuant to the  above-mentioned  Joint  Statement  has 

set  out  the  outstanding  results  achieved  by  the  programme  during  the  first  two  years  following  its 

adoption, 

Whereas  the  programme  has  been  particularly  well  received  in the educational  community,  and  there  is 

a  need to maintain  its forward  momentum  towards  achieving  its  objectives, 

Whereas  the  demand  for  support  is  already  many  times  higher  than  the  available  resources  and  is 

continuing to  rise, 

Whereas there  is a need to ensure that a critical  mass of funding  is maintained,  thereby  ensuring  that  the 

quality of the collaborative  activities to be supported  is not  endangered, 

Whereas  there  is a  need  to  provide  continuity  of  support  for  projects  during  their  developmental  phase, 

while  nonetheless  reserving  sufficient  funds  to  support  new projects  and  activities, thereby  safeguarding 

the programme's  potential  for  contributing  to  innovation, 

Whereas  there  is  therefore  a  need  to  adjust  the  financial  framework  for  the  programme  in  order  to 

maintain  the  programme's  capacity  to  fulfil  the  objectives  set  out  in  the  Decision  establishing  the 

programme, 

Declaration  by  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  of  6  March  1995  on  the 
incorporation  of financial  provisions  into legislative acts (95/C 293/03), Official Journal No C 293/4 of 8 
November  1995. 

7 

8 

Official Journal N° L  132/18 of  16 June 1995. 

COM(97)  [...] 

<£</ 

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

Article 7(1) of  Decision  819/95/EC of the  European  Parliament  and  of the Council  of  14 March  1995 

shall be replaced by the  following: 

"The financial  framework  for  implementation  of this programme  for the period  referred  to  in Article 1 

shall be ECU 900 million." 

Article 2 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication  in the Official Journal  of the European 

Communities. 

U) 

FINANCIAL  STATEMENT 

1.  TITLE OF  OPERATION 

Modification  of the  Community  action  programme  "SOCRATES",  established  by  Decision 
No 819/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of  14 March  19951 

2.  BUDGET HEADING  INVOLVED 

B3-1001 

3.  LEGAL  BASIS 

Articles' 126 and  127 of the EC Treaty 

4.  DESCRIPTION  OF  OPERATION 

4.1 

General  objective 

The  programme's  main  aim  is  to  help  to  improve  the  quality  of  education  by 
encouraging cooperation between Member States. 

The  activities  envisaged  under the programme  are  intended  to  gradually  build  up  an 
open European  area of education by strengthening  the capacity  of education  to  adapt 
and  keep  abreast  of  political,  social,  economic  and  technological  change  so  that 
young  and adult  learners  can receive  an education  enabling  them  to  live and work in 
the new framework  of the European  Community. 

More specifically,  the specific  objectives  of the programme are: 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

to  develop  the  European  dimension  in  education  at  all  levels  so  as  to  strengthen 
the  spirit  of  European  citizenship,  drawing  on  the  cultural  heritage  of  each 
Member State; 

to  promote  a  quantitative  and  qualitative  improvement  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
languages  of the EU, and in particular those which are least widely  used  and  least 
taught,  leading to  greater understanding  and  solidarity  between  the peoples  of the 
EU, and to promote the intercultural  dimension of education; 

to  promote  wide-ranging  and  intensive  cooperation  between  institutions  in  the 
Member  States at all levels of education, enhancing their intellectual  and  teaching 
potential; 

to  encourage  the  mobility  of  teachers, so as to  promote  a European  dimension  in 
studies and to contribute to the qualitative improvement of their skills; 

to encourage mobility for students, enabling them to complete  part of their  studies 
in another  Member  State, so as to contribute to the consolidation  of the  European 
dimension  in education; 

Official  Journal No L 87/10 of 20 April  1995. 

LfS 

- 

- 

- 

- 

to  encourage  contacts  among  pupils  in  the  Community  and  to  promote  the 
European dimension  in their education; 

to  encourage  the  academic  recognition  of  diplomas,  periods  of  study  and  other 
qualifications,  with  the  aim  of  facilitating  the  development  of  an  open  European 
area for cooperation in education: 

to  encourage  open  and  distance  education  in  the  context  of  the  activities  of  this 
programme; 

to  foster  exchanges  of  information  and  experience  so  that  the  diversity  and 
specificity  of  the  educational  systems  in  the  Member  States  become  a  source  of 
enrichment and of mutual  stimulation. 

4.2 

Period covered and arrangements for renewal or extension 

Five-year  action  programme  (1995-99).  Renewal  will  depend  on  the  results  of  the 
programme's  interim  evaluation. 

5.  CLASSIFICATION  OF EXPENDITURE  OR REVENUE 

5.1 

Non-compulsory  expenditure 

5.2 

Differentiated  appropriations 

5.3 

Type of revenue involved: none. 

6. TYPE OF EXPENDITURE OR REVENUE 

the  public  or  private  sector  (institutional  partnerships 

Generally  speaking,  the  basic  principle  will  be  that  of  a  subsidy  for  the  co-financing  with 
other  sources  from 
involved: 
universities  and  schools,  associations  operating  at  the  European  or  national  level,  NGOs, 
adult  education  establishments,  local  authorities, private  ventures, the  business  sector, etc.). 
The percentage  represented  by the Community  contribution  can be higher and  may  go up to 
75% in particular in the following  cases: 

-  project  in  a  new  area  of  activity  at  European  level,  where  the  volume  of  European 
cooperation  has  so  far  been  particularly  limited  and  where  there  is  an  especially  strong 
Community  interest in stimulating this cooperation; 

-  project  involving a type of organisation whose status or nature is such that it would have a 
manifest  difficulty  in  obtaining  complementary  funding  equal  to  that  of  the  Community 
contribution  (for  example  charitable  organisations  and/or  ones  involving  a  considerable 
element  of  non-remunerated  or voluntary  work  on the part  of  its  members)  or  involving 
one  or  more  organisations  which  has/have  not  yet  participated  widely  in  European 
cooperation; 

-  project  in  which  there  is  a  particular  Community  interest  in  adding  a  transnational 
dimension  to  the  work  of  organisations  hitherto  working  predominantly  in  apurely 
national  framework; 

-  project  involving Member  States where the area of activity concerned  is less developed; 

</} 

-  project  where  there  is a strong  Community  interest  in ensuring  that  its  products  or  results 

are widely  disseminated. 

100%  funding  is  envisaged  only  for  studies  and  analyses  conducted  by  third  parties  and  in 
other exceptional cases subject  to detailed justification. 

7.  FINANCIAL  IMPACT 

7.1  Method of calculating total cost of operation (definition  of unit costs) 

7.1.1  General context 

The  conciliation  procedure  ended  with  a  figure  for  the  SOCRATES  programme  of 
ECU  850  million  for  the  period  1995-99,  a  figure  well  below  the  Commission 
proposal  of  ECU  1 005.6  million,  despite  the  fact  that  the  amount  has  to  cover  the 
requirements  of  a  European  Community  which  has  expanded  to  15 Member  States 
from  the  12 of the time of the initial Commission proposal, along with new elements 
which  have  been  added  to  the  programme  during  the  negotiations,  e.g.  adult 
education. 

The  original  Commission  budget  forecasts  have  been  substantially  confirmed  as 
realistic. In the first year of implementation,  1995, the total  financial  request  for  over 
ECU  500  million  was  already  around  three  times  higher  than  the  available  budget. 
1996  saw  a  further  increase  in  demand  over  1995.  For  instance,  the  number  of 
schools  wishing  to  take  part  in  the  school  partnerships  under  Comenius  grew  five 
fold  in  one  year,  and  the  amount  requested  by  applicants  was  several  times  greater 
than  the  budget  available  in  1995  and  1996  for  several  chapters  of  the  programme, 
including  the  new  areas  of  Community  funding.  The  result  is  a  situation  which  is 
increasingly  alarming,  given  that  the  mission  of  SOCRATES  is to  reach  the  widest 
group possible in each sector of education and generate thus a feeling  of identity  with 
Europe among the citizens. 

The overall impact of demand has not even fully filtered through as yet, for a number 
of  reasons.  As  from  1997,  and  particularly  1998,  demand  will  again  increase 
particularly because of the following  factors: 

- 

the  full  impact  of  the  multi-annual  nature  of  the  projects  will  be  felt:  the  annual 
budget  will  have to  cover  not  only  "new" projects,  but  also  the  second  and  third 
years of three-year projects envisaged under various chapters of the programme; 

- 

for  requests  for  support  for  new  projects,  the  full  impact  of  the  information 
campaigns and preparatory visits conducted  in  1995, 1996 and  1997 will be  felt; 

- 

the participation of the new Member States is also likely to rise considerably; 

-  certain new actions will become fully  effective;  these include: 

- 

the  "institutional  contract"  under  Chapter  I  (Higher  education  -  Erasmus), 
Action  1,  for  which  the  demand  for  1997  shows  a  25%  increase  over  the 
previous financial arrangement and reaches for this action alone the figure  of 
ECU 250 million; 

W 

- 

grants for teachers to take part in in-service training under Chapter  II (School 
education - Comenius), Action 3.2; 

- 

the impact of certain other Community  measures will be fully  felt, particularly  the 
European  Year  of  Lifelong  Learning  (1996)  and  the  European  Year  against 
Racism (1997). 

The Commission  proposes  that the total  programme  budget  be  increased  by  ECU  50 
million  (5.9%  of  the  current  provision).  This  amount  is  considered  to  be  the 
minimum  compatible  with  consistency  with  the  programme's  objectives.  The 
Commission  would  have  no  hesitation  in  putting  forward  a  higher  figure  if  the 
budgetary picture were conducive, taking it up at least to the amount envisaged  in the 
initial  proposal. This increase, be it said,  is justified  in relation  to the progress  of the 
programme  with  its current  geographical  scope. It does not  even take account  of  the 
substantial  budgetary  impact  of  extending  SOCRATES  to  the  ten  associated 
countries  of  Central  and  Eastern  Europe,  and  to  Cyprus2,  which  also  has  to  be 
absorbed during the period in question3. 

7.1.2  Method of calculation 

Bearing  in  mind  the  arrangements  set  out  in  the  annex  to  the  Decision,  the  method 
for  calculating  the  overall  cost  of  the  operation  is  based  partly  on  the  unit  cost 
deemed  to  be  appropriate  to  the  different  types  of  activity  supported,  depending  on 
their specific  features,  and partly on their frequency  (annual rhythm of selection)  and 
the number  of projects/people  making  up the  critical  mass  for  each  of these  actions. 
Account  has  also  to  be  taken  of  the  need  to  secure  renewal  of  the  support  for  an 
adequate period, generally  not exceeding three years, and a sufficient  number of new 
projects to guarantee the innovatory  impact of the programme. 

The  experience  derived  from  the  first  two  years  of  the  programme  has  been 
painstakingly  considered  when calculating  the unit cost and the estimated  number  of 
recipients. This relates to key factors  such as: 
- 
- 
- 

the rate of assistance; 
the minimum amount needed to make the subsidy  useful; 
the percentage of projects  in multi-annual  actions which require the aid granted  to 
be renewed; 

The decision  establishing  SOCRATES  also makes  mention  of the  possibility  of extending  its actions  to  include 
Malta. Negotiations  have  been  conducted  with  a view  to enabling  Malta to participate  in the programme  in the 
context  of  its  pre-accession  to  the  Community.  However,  the  government  of  Malta  having  recently  taken  the 
decision  to  freeze  its application  to join  the Community,  the Commission  has  been  mandated  by the  Council  to 
take  preliminary  technical  contacts  with  a  view  to  clarifying  the  future  relations  between  the  Community  and 
Malta. The  final  position  to  be  adopted  by  Malta  and  the  Community  not  being  known  at  the  present  time,  the 
present  text  makes  no  reference  -  positive  or  negative  - to  a  possible  opening  of  the  programme  to  Malta  at  a 
later date. 

Operational  expenditure  arising  directly  from  the  participation  of  people  or  institutions  from  the  new  countries 
taking  part will be covered  by the contributions  from  each  country  concerned  either  using  funds  drawn  entirely 
from  the  national  budget  of  that  country  or  partly  using  national  funds  and  partly  using  the  country's  PHARE 
allocation  (up to  10% of which  may be used for this purpose). However, cooperation  with the new countries  will 
also  involve  substantial  costs for  the  institutions  of the  18 countries currently  taking  part  in SOCRATES, and  if 
these  are  not  covered  by  additional  resources,  it  will  not  be  possible  to  maintain  Community  achievements  in 
terms of volume of cooperation  between  the Member States. 

V9 

- 

the  number  of  projects/people  making  up  the  minimum  critical  mass  needed  by 
each of the actions. 

The approximate  number of beneficiaries  and  the average  amounts  it  is envisaged  to 
grant under the different  actions  in  1998 are as  follows: 

Chapter I (Erasmus) 
-  Action  1 (institutional  contracts): within  a bracket  generally  ranging  from  10 000 
to  50 000  ecus,  each  institution  will  receive  an  average  17  000 ecus  for  all 
activities  having  a  European  dimension.  Approximately  1 586  institutions  will 
receive  support; 

-  Action  1 (thematic  networks):  each  network  will  receive  an  average  70 000 ecus. 
This  will  make  it  possible  to  renew  funding  for  the  30  projects  selected  in  1996 
and  1997 while maintaining the feasibility  of funding  five new networks; 

-  Action 2 (student  mobility  grants): assuming  a very  slight  1% increase  in demand 
-  which  is  considerably  below  the  growth  rates  of  the  previous  years  -  the 
maximum  number  of  students  likely  to receive  a grant  is roughly  182 0004. If  all 
these  students  who  have  been  approved  for  mobility  under  Erasmus  receive  a 
grant  in  respect  of  their  stay  in  another  country,  each  student  will  receive  an 
average 400 ecus for an average duration of seven months (57 ecus per month). 

Chapter II (Comenius) 
-  Action  1 (school  partnerships/European  education  projects):  each  school  taking 
part will receive an average 2 000 Ecus per year, with an additional  1 000 ecus  for 
coordinating  schools to offset  the additional  work  generated  by this  function.  The 
total  amount  envisaged  will  enable  support  to  be  given  to  8 500  schools,  thus 
maintaining the advance towards the quantitative objective  set by the  Commission 
of associating  10 000 schools in this action in the very near  future; 

-  A  budget  of  ECU  5  million  will  be  provided  for,  in  addition  to  the  ECU  19.7 
million  earmarked  for  the  partnership  projects,  in  order  to  arrive  at  an  estimated 
total of  10 000 teachers and head teachers taking part in exchanges and visits; 
-  Action  2  (intercultural  education):  each  project  will  receive  an  average 
40 000 ecus. A total  of  124 projects  is envisaged,  46  being  new and  78 for  which 
the aid will be renewed; 

-  Action  3 (3.1: continuing  training  prpjects):  each  project  will  receive  an  average 
20 000 ecus. Support  will  be provided  for  a total  of  128 projects.  28 of  which  are 
new and  100 renewals; 

-  Action  3 (3.2:  grants):  every  teacher  taking  part  will  receive  an  average  grant  of 
1 000 ecus.  The  total  number  of  participants  receiving  a  grant  will  be  around 
1 900. 

Chapter III (Horizontal  actions) 
-  Action  1  (point  2a:  European  cooperation  programmes):  each  programme  will 
receive  an  average  75 000 ecus.  Support  will  be  provided  to  a  total  of  36 
programmes,  14 of which are new and 22 renewals; 

-  Action  1 (point  2b:  continuing  training):  each  teacher  taking  part  will  receive  an 
average grant of  1  000 ecus, with a total of approximately  6 900 participants; 

Now  that  Erasmus  is part  of  SOCRATES,  a distinction  is drawn  between  Erasmus  students  who  receive  or  do 
not receive a (part) mobility  grant, this grant being paid to students most  in need. 

p 

-  Action  1  (point  2c:  language  assistantships):  each  of  the  500  assistants  will 

receive an average grant of 5 300 ecus for one full  school  year: 

-  Action  1 (point  2d:  instruments  and  tests): each project  will  receive  an average of 
85 000 ecus,  support  being  provided  for  a  total  of  35  projects.  10  of  which  new 
and 25 being renewals; 

-  Action  1 (point  2e: joint  education  projects  for  young  people):  each  project  will 
receive  an  average  of  6 000 ecus.  Support  will  be  provided  for  an  approximate 
total  of  1 770 projects,  with  some  33 000  young  people  and  3 300  teachers  being 
involved in the exchanges; 

-  Action  2:  each  project  will  receive  an  average  of  77 000 ecus.  Support  will  be 

provided  for a total of 85 projects, 20 new projects  and 65 renewals; 
-  Action 3: this very wide-ranging action will, for instance, allow  for: 

• 

the  provision  of  support  for  approximately  20 transnational  activities  varying 
(comparative  analyses,  study  visits,  exchanges  of  experts, 
in  scope 
conferences,  seminars,  pilot  projects)  relating  to  common  education  policy 
issues; 

•  grants  of  an  average  1  000 ecus  to  allow  around  1 150  education  policy 

makers to conduct study visits under Arion; 

•  Community  support  for  the  National  Academic  Recognition  Information 

Centres (NARIC), each centre receiving an average  13 300 ecus; 

•  support  averaging  72 000 ecus  in  the  adult  education  sector.  Support  will  be 

• 

provided for a total of 75 projects, 30 new projects and 45 renewals; 
the  granting  of  some  300  subsidies  averaging  approximately  10 000 ecus  to 
associations, etc., active in the education sector at European level; 
•  grants to support the information  activities of the national  agencies; 
the funding  of the evaluation and follow-up  of the programme. 
• 

For the preparatory visits requiring support under various chapters of the programme, 
the average amount granted will be between  500 and  1  000 ecus per person for a one-
week  visit,  inclusive  of  all  travel  and  subsistence  expenditure,  the  exact  sum 
depending inter alia on the duration of the visit and the length of the journey. 

7. /. 3 

Impact of the anticipated increase 

The anticipated  increase in the budget will be used strategically  rather than in a linear 
manner.  In a situation  characterised  by a substantially  rising  demand  and  a declining 
budget, it will be used in particular to: 

-  prevent  the  average  amount  in  certain  chapters  of  the  programme  from  falling 
below the minimum  threshold  needed  to preserve the effectiveness  of the  subsidy 
and even the credibility of the programme  in certain cases; 

-  ensure  that  at  least  a minimum  level  of resources  remains  available  to be  granted 

to new projects, thus safeguarding  the innovatory  impact of the programme; 

-  create  the  conditions  whereby  a  certain  growth  in  the  number  of  projects  or 
recipients  of  grants  becomes  feasible.  This  is  an  essential  condition  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  quantitative  impact  of  the  programme  in  relation  to  target 
group  size  which  is  rising  markedly  in  several  education  sectors  throughout  the 
countries of the Community; 
forestall  a situation in which the budgetary  constraints  result  in the cancellation  of 
the  resources  needed  to  disseminate  the  results  of  the  projects  receiving  support, 
thus  detracting 
the  cost-effectiveness  of  Community-supported 
investment. 

from  of 

- 

__^ 

As  regards  the  unit  costs  which  underpin  the  financial  proposal,  the  calculation 
principle  has  had  to  take  account  of  a  situation  which  already  arose  in  1996  and 
which  is  making  itself  felt  even  more  in  1997.  The  analysis  of  the  first  two  years 
shows  that  the  unit  support  for  certain  key parts of  the  programme  is already  falling 
to  an  extremely  low  level  and  could  in certain  cases  no  longer  be  enough  to  ensure 
that  the  projects  achieve  the  desired  results.  A  situation  which  would  favour  the 
persons  and  institutions  having  the  most  economic  resources,  thus jeopardising  the 
programme's  capacity  to  maintain  the  principle  of equal  opportunities  set  out  in  the 
Decision,  must  be  avoided.  Furthermore,  the  experience  accumulated  in  1995  and 
1996  showed  that  if resources  are  insufficient  to cater  for  even  high  quality  demand 
for  certain  types  of  transnational  projects  and  individual  mobility  activities,  this 
could  be  a  disincentive  to  the  national  agencies  to  disseminate  information  more 
widely  on  the  programme.  The  result  of  this  would  be  particularly  unfortunate  for 
disadvantaged  institutions,  regions  and  categories  of  persons  which  have  not  yet 
taken  part  in  European  cooperation  and  are  not  yet  fully  aware  of  the  potential 
SOCRATES  offers. 

These concerns are particularly relevant to the following  points: 

-  Chapter  1 (Higher education/Erasmus): within a bracket  ranging  from  10 000 and 
50 000 ecus, each  institution  will  in  1997 receive  an  average  of  only  16 000 ecus 
to  cover  European  dimension  activities  in general  under  its  institutional  contract. 
What  is  more,  if  all  the  students  of  the  exchange  programmes  approved  by 
Erasmus  were  to  receive  a  grant  to  go  to  another  country,  the  per  capita  grant, 
inclusive of travel and other cost factors, would come to a mere 550 ecus for a  full 
year  of  studies  (i.e. a  meagre  55 ecus  monthly)  -  some  11%  of  the  5 000 ecus 
maximum  authorised  under  the  terms  of  the  Decision.  While  being  an  Erasmus 
student  also  entails  advantages  which  cannot  be  expressed  in  purely  monetary 
terms,  the  overall  impression  is  that  this  situation  could  seriously  jeopardise  the 
success  of  this  essential  part  of  SOCRATES.  The  increase  anticipated  for  1998 
will  at  least  make  it  possible  to  stabilise  the  level  of  the  grant  at  almost  60 ecus 
per  student  per  month  and  that  of  support  universities  at  around  17 000  ecus  per 
establishment  even though the numbers are steadily rising all the time; 

- 

the  school  partnerships  under  Chapter  II  (Comenius).  These  partnerships, 
developed  in  each  case  around  a European  project,  form  the  very  basis  of  school 
cooperation  which  is  the  major  challenge  and  one  of  the  most  significant 
innovations  of  SOCRATES.  Every  school  taking  part  in  a  partnership  project 
generally  receives  financial  support  of  only  2 000 ecus  yearly  (3 000 ecus  for 
schools  coordinating  these  partnerships).  This  is  an  extremely  low  figure  and 
national  education  authorities  are so cash-strapped  that it is difficult  for  schools to 
obtain  substantial  additional  funds  from  other  sources.  It  is  essential  to  at  least 
stabilise these amounts which would henceforth  have to be considered  as averages 
rather than as maximum  amounts, while maintaining the increase in the number of 
schools taking part so as to achieve an initial critical mass of schools; 

- 

the  average  unit  amount  granted  under  several  actions  of  the  programme  for 
support  for  transnational  cooperation  projects  will  markedly  fall  in  1997. This  is 
particularly  true  of  intercultural  education;  Lingua  transnational  projects;  open 
and  distance  learning; and  adult  education. The budgetary  increase  anticipated  by 
the  Commission  proposal  will  make  it  possible  to  avoid,  at  least  during  the 
remaining  period  of the present  five-year  period  under  SOCRATES,  a  continuing 
decline in these amounts. 

>2_ 

7.2 

Itemised breakdown of cost (million Ecus) 

1995 

1997 

1998 

1999 

TOTAL 

% 

+ 

1996 

I.  Higher education  (Erasmus) 

197.5 

96.1 

102.2 

107.0 

502.8 

55.9 

Action  1 : European  dimension 

51.9 

27.3 

29.4 

30.8 

Action 2: Student mobility 

145.6 

68.8 

72.8 

76.2 

II.  School education (Comenius) 

46.8 

28.6 

34.2 

35.8 

145.4 

16.1 

Action  1 :  School partnerships/ 

30.0 

19.7 

24.7 

26.1 

European  projects 

Action 2: Intercultural  education 

11.0 

Action 3: Continuing training 

3.1:  Projects 

3.2: Grants for  participants 

5.8 

4.8 

1.0 

4.7 

4.2 

2.9 

1.3 

5.0 

4.5 

2.6 

1.9 

5.1 

4.6 

2.6 

2.0 

III.  Horizontal  measures 

104.6 

46.8 

49.1 

51.3 

251.8 

28.0 

Action  1 :  Promotion of  foreign 

60.0 

24.9 

25.9 

27.1 

language learning  (Lingua) 

Action 2:  Open and distance  learning 

11.4 

6.3 

6.6 

6.9 

Action 3:  Exchange of  information 
and experience 

33.2 

15.6 

16.6 

17.3 

TOTAL  SOCRATES 

348.9 

171.5 

185.5 

194.1 

900.0 

100% 

7.3 

Schedule of commitment/payment  appropriations 

Budget  for  the  overall  duration  of  the  programme  (preferential  point  of  reference): 
900 million ecus. 

Article  7 of  the  Decision  establishing  the  programme  indicated  850  million ecus  as 
the  amount  provided  for  (as  the  preferential  point  of  reference).  The  European 
Parliament,  the  Council  and the  Commission  agreed  that two  years  after  the  start  of 
the  programme,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  would  assess  the  results 
achieved.  The  Commission  will  accordingly  be  submitting  a report  accompanied  by 
any  proposals  it deems  appropriate, including  any  concerning  the funding  set by  the 
legislator within the meaning of the Joint  Statement  of 6 March  1995. The  European 
Parliament and the Council will act on those proposals at the earliest  opportunity.5 

5  Official Journal  No L132/18 of  16 June  1995. 

35 

In  accordance  with  the  aforementioned  Joint  Statement,  the  Commission  has  drawn 
up  the  report  envisaged.6  This  financial  statement  accompanies  the  Commission 
proposals to increase the programme budget from  850 to 900 million ecus. 

Implementation  period:  1995-1999 (in million ECU) 

CE 95 

CE 96 

CE 97 

CE 98 

CE 99 

Total 

175.9 

173.0 

171.5 

185.5 

194.1 

900.0 

124.4 

51.5 

143.1 

29.9 

147.2 

24.3 

159.0 

26.5 

166.3 

124.4 

194.6 

177.1 

183.3 

192.8 

175.9 

173.0 

171.5 

185.5 

194.1 

900.0 

27.8 

27.8 

Operational  expenditure on studies, expert meetings etc. included  in Pan B 

Breakdown 

1998 

1999 

In MioECU 
Total 

CE 

CP 

1995 

1996 

1997 

1998 

1999 

ult. 

Total 

- Studies 

- Experts' meetings 

- Conferences and congresses 

- Information  and publications 

TOTAL 

0,500 

0,250 

0,250 

3,000 

4,000 

0,500 

0,250 

0,250 

3,000 

4,000 

1,000 

0.500 

0.500 

6.000 

8.000 

6  COM (97)  [...] 

8.  FRAUD  PREVENTION  MEASURES 

All contracts, agreements  and  legal commitments  between  the Commission  and  recipients of 
payments  provide  for  first  degree  and  second  degree  in  situ  checks  (i.e.  with  the  direct 
recipient  of  the  Community  grant  or  with  the  second  degree  beneficiary  in  the  case  of  an 
activity  managed  under  decentralised  arrangements)  by  the  Commission  and  the  Court  of 
Auditors.  Recipients  of  aid  for  specific  actions  are  under  the  obligation  to  provide  a  report 
and  financial  statement  which  are analysed  from  the point  of view of content  and  eligibility 
of expenditure  in accordance  with the objective  of Community  funding  and  bearing  in mind 
the contractual obligations and the principles of sound and efficient  management. 

In  the  agreements  between  the  Commission  and  the  entities  designated  to  manage  the 
decentralised  activities  minimum  agreements  will  be  included  which  these  entities  must 
include  in  the  agreements  with  the  final  recipients  in  order  to  ensure  the  highest  possible 
level of protection of the interests of both the final beneficiaries  and the  Community. 

9.  ELEMENTS  OF COST-EFFECTIVENESS  ANALYSIS 

9.1 

Specific  and quantified  objectives; target  population 

9.1.1  The SOCIL4 TES programme  in general 

The  aim  of  the  SOCRATES  programme  is  to  improve  the  quality  of  education  by 
stepping  up cooperation  and  increasing  mobility  at  European  level.  In the  pursuit  of 
this  objective,  the  programme  will  also  seek  to  establish  the  conditions  for  better 
synergy  between  the  different  education  sectors  by  involving  education  players  in  a 
cogent  manner  but  at the  same time  in  accordance  with  patterns  appropriate  to  their 
role  and  their  requirements  (mobility,  cooperation  on  curricula,  etc.)  and  providing 
support for establishing cooperation links between different  sectors. 

As  for  the  cost  effectiveness  of  the  activities,  the  results  of  the  first  two  years  as 
recorded  in  the  report  for  this  period  in  accordance  with  the  Joint  Statement  of  the 
institutions  mentioned  above,  reveal  several  significant  structural  aspects  which 
include: 

-  The  support  given  to  transnational  projects  under  several  chapters  of  the 
programme  have  produced  several  hundred  multilateral  networks,  most  of  which 
have  already 
their  potential  for  becoming  durable  cooperation 
structures.  The  benefits  of  the  establishment  of  these  networks  will  therefore  be 
felt  over  a  period  extending  far  beyond  the  duration  of  funding  through  the 
SOCRATES  programme as such. 

illustrated 

-  The  support  has  enabled  all  Member  States  to  participate  fully  in  the  different 
including  those  whose  remoteness  and/or  economic 

types  of  cooperation, 
circumstances had previously been a major obstacle to European  cooperation. 

-  Community  aid  has  proved  an  effective  instrument  in  enabling  project  leaders  to 
locate  additional  funds  from  other  sources.  The  SOCRATES  aid  in  higher 
education  on  average  represents  only  10%  of  the  total  cost  of  the  different 
mobility activities and  15% of that of new thematic networks. 

9> 

-  Moreover,  the  programme  has  led  to  a  rationalisation  of  management  structures, 
more  decentralisation  and  thus  better  proximity  in  relation  to  the  targets  of  the 
action. 

However, the analysis of the first two years has also shown  increasing  shortcomings 
in the funding  of certain chapters, particularly  as regards the minimum amount  which 
should  be  granted  in  order  to  preserve  the  impact  of  Community  support.  The 
Commission proposal which this financial  statement accompanies has been drafted  in 
order to provide an albeit minimum solution to this situation (see point 7.1 above). 

Considering  the  increase  proposed  by  the  Commission,  the total  programme  budget 
in  1998 represents approximately  0.2% of the total Community  budget. 

9.1.2  Specific programme  actions 

As regard the specific  quantifiable  objectives,  the approximate  number  of projects  it 
is intended to support is given in 7.1 above. 

Chapter I -  Higher  education -  Erasmus 

Specific  objectives 

Action  1 :  Promotion of the European dimension in universities 

A. 

Institutional  contracts 

The  most  innovatory  idea  in Chapter  I is the  institutional  contract  concluded  for  the 
first time for the  1997-98 academic year with universities and the result  of which has 
been  a  rationalisation  in  cooperation  activities,  economies  of  scale  in  fields  of 
common interest (languages, management, accommodation, etc.) and a much broader 
involvement of teaching staff  and university authorities in cooperation activities. 

The first round  of applications  relating to the institutional  contract  clearly  shows  not 
only  continuing  commitment  for  student  mobility,  a  cornerstone  of  Erasmus  up  to 
now, but also a particularly  high level of demand  for  activities  intended  to  introduce 
the  European  dimension  in  the  syllabuses  for  students  in  general.  This  concerns  in 
particular: 

- 

- 

teacher  mobility:  the  cost-effectiveness  of  this  activity  is  twofold.  While  its 
intrinsic  value  is  in  terms  of  improvement  of  the  quality  of  higher  education 
courses  and teaching  methods, it is also an important  way of bringing  a European 
dimension to studies for students who cannot take direct advantage of mobility; 

the joint  development  of  curricula:  this  support  element  is  an  excellent  way  of 
increasing  the  potential  for  innovation  and  quality  of  teaching  and  at  the  same 
time  bringing  a  European  dimension  into  studies.  These  activities  can  involve 
developing  specific  European  content  courses  (on  Community  law,  for  instance) 
intended  for  all  students.  Alongside  types  of  curricula  cooperation  already 
supported  under  the  former  Erasmus  programme,  the  Erasmus  chapter  under  the 
SOCRATES  programme  provides  for  three  new  measures  to  develop  syllabuses: 
courses  of  the  'master'  type  catering  for  human  resource  requirements  of  certain 
sectors  suffering  from  shortage  of  such  resources  up  to  now;  European  modules; 
integrated courses including specific  training accompanied by language  tuition; 

.<£ 

- 

intensive programmes:  these  provide  an  invaluable  opportunity  for  students  and 
teachers  from  several  countries  to  come  together  and  exchange  their  experience, 
knowledge  and  ideas  in  a concentrated  course.  Many  lead  to  the  development  of 
common  teaching  material  and the .emergence of joint  research  projects  involving 
teachers and students. 

The value of these measures is increasingly widely  recognised  by the universities and 
demand has more than doubled  for  1997 in relation to the previous  year. 

Organising  student  mobility  nevertheless  remains  a  crucial  element  within  the 
institutional contracts. The Community  gives two types of financial  support: 

-  aid  intended  to  facilitate  contacts  between  universities  in  order  to  optimise  the 
quality  of  the  organisational  framework  within  which  mobility  takes  place.  This 
relates  to  factors  such  as  academic  recognition,  reception  of  students,  language 
tuition,  consideration  of  special  needs  of  disabled  students  undertaking  mobility, 
etc.  Under  the  institutional  contract,  each  university  is  expected  to  make 
appropriate  arrangements  for  managing  the  transnational  flows  of  students, 
designating  central  departments  to  be  responsible  but  also  persons  entrusted  with 
the tasks within  faculties  and departments. The best possible cost-effectiveness  of 
Community  support  can  thus  be  achieved.  Applications  from  universities  for  the 
1997/98  academic  year  show  that  the  establishments  have  been  prompted  by  the 
institutional contract to set up appropriate  structures  in this context; 

- 

the European  Credit  Transfer System  (ECTS), introduced as an experiment  during 
the  1989/90 to  1994/95 period, provides an effective  framework  for  giving  mobile 
students  course  credits  which  can  be  transferred  across  the  different  European 
universities.  An evaluation  of the pilot  phase  has stressed  its capacity  to  facilitate 
and  increase  the  quality  of  student  exchanges.  The  system  has  substantially 
increased  the  transparency  of  courses,  a  key  factor  in  academic  recognition  but 
also  in academic  cooperation  in general. In  1995/96, the pilot phase  was  extended 
to  include  almost  1  000  departments  or  faculties  from  some  230  establishments, 
and once the  ECTS  is accessible  to all  institutions  in Europe  when the  provisions 
of the  institutional  contract  are launched  it is clear that its implementation  will  be 
still  further  extended.  Approximately  two-thirds  of  all  universities  requesting 
institutional  contracts  have  asked  for  aid  to  introduce  the  ECTS  in  at  least  one 
department  or  one  faculty.  This  means  a  four-fold  increase  in  relation  to  the 
number of institutions currently implementing the system. 

B. 

Thematic Networks 

from 

in  SOCRATES.  The  experience  gleaned 

The thematic networks  are the second  major  innovation  under the chapter  given  over 
to  higher  education 
the 
implementation  of  the  inter-university  cooperation  programmes  (ICP)  has  provided 
the  Community  with  the  basis  for  supporting  projects  involving  universities  linked 
within  the  framework  of  thematic  networks  to  promote  cooperation  and  facilitate 
contacts between  faculties,  and to generate  food  for  thought  on the future  of  training 
in a particular  discipline. Themes  relating to the management  of universities  are also 
covered.  These  networks  thus  provide  excellent  forums  for  achieving  curricular 
synergy,  carrying  out  prospective  analyses  of  requirements,  and  will  thus  provide 
impetus  and  direction  for  the  efforts  of  universities  to  provide  quality  education 
which  takes  account  of  the  socio-economic  trends  in  progress.  The  networks  thus 
make  for  increased  efficiency  and  for  savings  in the  level  of  investment  which  each 

institution  makes  in order to adapt and  improve the teaching  it provides.  Community 
support  has  been  very  warmly  welcomed  by  the  university  world.  Nearly  500 
expressions  of  interest  in  creating  networks  have  been  submitted.  The  28  networks 
selected  have  brought  together  70 universities  on average;  some  85 associations  and 
academic  societies  are  also  involved.  Community  aid  represents  only  15%  of  the 
total  cost  of  the  projects  envisaged  by  the  networks  selected,  but  has  proved  the 
catalyst  for  intensive  pooling  of academic  resources throughout  the Community.  The 
situation thus reflects  a high level of  cost-effectiveness. 

Action 2: Encouragement  for student mobility and funding  of mobility  grants 

Under SOCRATES the Community  is pursuing the development  of the grants  system 
set up under Erasmus and which has up to now led to mobility  for  over half a million 
students.  The  specific  needs  of  students  who  are  disadvantaged  from  the  economic 
point  of  view  or  of  disabled  students  are  taken  into  account.  The  Community,  in 
doing  this,  will  pursue  and  strengthen  one  of  the  most  remarkable  aspects  of  its 
action, i.e. its capacity  to direct flows of students to countries  which because  of their 
languages in particular would  not otherwise have benefited  from  the presence  within 
the universities of young people from other Member  States. Moreover, the cost borne 
by  the  Community  to  achieve  this  readjustment  of  flows  and  to  encourage  mobility 
in general  is really  very modest. It covers but  a minute  fraction  of the overall  cost  of 
mobility,  but  has  nevertheless  been  the  instigator  of  co-funding  from  public  and 
sometimes private bodies, reflecting  realisation by the Member  States of the need  for 
and value of mobility  in higher  education. 

The  impact  of  Erasmus  in  both  the  quantity  and  quality  of  European  cooperation 
have  been  carefully  and  independently  evaluated  since  its  establishment.  For  the 
universities,  the  range  of  benefits  include  higher  teaching  standards  through  the 
pooling  of  expertise  and  experience,  improved  foreign  language  teaching,  more 
effective  dissemination  of  information,  improved  academic  recognition,  and  better 
internal  administration  procedures,  notably  as  regards 
the  management  of 
international  cooperation  at  institutional,  faculty  and  departmental  levels.  New  or 
intensified  cooperation  in  the  field  of  research  has  also  been  shown  to  result  from 
many  of  the  close  contacts  between  academic  staff  which  Erasmus  promotes.  The 
vast majority  of students involved in Erasmus report enriched academic  experience at 
the  host  institution  of  higher  education  through  frequent  contact  with  the  teaching 
staff  of the host  institution.  Studies  of the  former  participants  have  revealed  that  the 
Erasmus  experience  assists  graduates  in  obtaining  employment  and  leads  to  their 
being  given  access  to  work  assignments  requiring  international  knowledge  and 
experience. 

Target population 

Erasmus targets all the 5 600 higher education establishments, the 600 000  university 
teachers  and  11 million  students  of the Member  States. The  Erasmus  chapter  is open 
to  all  areas  of  studies  and  all  types  of  higher  education  establishment.  Special 
attention  is  paid  to  non-university  establishments  which  do  not  have  the  same 
infrastructures  as  universities,  and  to  certain  subject  areas  which  require  specific 
encouragement, e.g. languages or teacher training. 

jg 

Budget 
<sv 

The  budget  for  Action  1 (ECU  29.4  million  in  1998)  represents  29%  of  the  total  budget  under 
Chapter  I. It is mostly  allocated  to the activities  mentioned  in A) above, which  form  the basis for 
developing  cooperation  activities. 

During  recent  years, the  financial  contribution  from  the  Community  to  the  universities  for  these 
activities  has  greatly  declined,  bringing  about  very  favourable  cost-effectiveness  ratios.  The 
budget  envisaged  is  aimed  particularly  at  maintaining  limited  support  for  all  higher  education 
institutions  offering  high-quality  activities  with  a  European  dimension.  Despite  being  an 
extremely  low  percentage  of  the  total  cost,  this  assistance  has  been  shown  to  be  of  prime 
importance in enabling establishments to assemble funds  from  other public and private sources. 

Activities  aimed  at  introducing  the  European  dimension  into  studies  for  all  students  will  have 
priority. More emphasis must be given to the strategic  importance  of these measures  in order  that 
non-mobile  students - who represent the vast majority  of the student body - acquire an  intellectual 
and social  "'qualification"  of a European nature, giving  them  the possibility  of developing  within 
the new framework  of the Community,  profiting  from  it and bringing to their  own Member  State 
an openness  and  competence  in tune with  current  social  and  economic  requirements.  The  proven 
impact  of  these  activities  makes  it  possible  to  anticipate  an  extremely  favourable  cost-
effectiveness  ratio. 

1998  will  be  the  first  year  of  full  operation  of  the  thematic  networks,  since  the  networks 
supported  for  the  first  time  in  1996  and  1997  will  still  be  subsidised  in  that  year  alongside  the 
new networks. Their share of the total budget under Chapter I is approximately  2.4%. 

Action  2  accounts  for  the  lion's  share  of  the  budget  allocated  to  Chapter  I  (71%);  it  represents 
39% of the total  budget  of the programme. The added  value of Community  action  in  the  field  of 
student  mobility  is  recognised  by  the  national  bodies,  universities,  young  people  and  their 
families.  If  one  considers  the  large  number  of  students  benefiting  from  it,  the  role  this  physical 
mobility  has  played  as the  driving  force  behind  cooperation  and the  importance  of  Erasmus  as a 
tool demonstrating  and incorporating  the closeness of the Community  to its citizens  at the time of 
the  Intergovernmental  Conference,  cost-effectiveness  again  seems  extremely  positive.  For  these 
reasons, student mobility continues to be a priority  in the SOCRATES  programme. 

Chapter II - School  education - Comenius 

level  which 

Chapter  II  is a genuine  novelty  in Community  action  in the field of education.  It  is the  first  tool 
for  promoting  European  cooperation  at  Community 
involves  all  types  of 
establishment:  pre-school,  primary  and  secondary.  The  challenge  of  making  this  part  of  the 
programme  a  success  is  quite  considerable.  This  is  explained  in  part  by  the  size  of  the  target 
population: the countries currently  taking part  in SOCRATES  account  for approximately  307 000 
schools,  4  million  teachers  and  approximately  70 million  pupils  in  school  and  pre-school 
education.  Disseminating  information  to all  those  potentially  interested  is therefore  a  large-scale 
undertaking.  Furthermore,  the  school  sector  cannot  rely  on  the  same  tradition  of  international 
cooperation  as the higher education  sector; to this may be added the fact  that  schools tend to have 
much less autonomy  in running their affairs  than higher education  institutions. 

S°> 

Specific objectives 

Action  1 : Partnerships between  schools 

Bringing together  a number of establishments  from  at  least three  Member  States, the  partnerships 
comprise  a  framework  for  cooperation  which  is  particularly  effective  and  has  high  educational 
value,  as  they  are  based  on  educational  projects  (European  Education  Projects)  adopted  by  the 
school  as a whole. They result  in educational  activity  and social  and personal  attainments  among 
pupils and teachers of long-lasting  effect.  This has not only been shown in the pilot project  which 
preceded  the  launch  of this  measure  under  SOCRATES  but  also  confirmed  by  the  experience  of 
the first two years of SOCRATES itself. 

The  intrinsic  educational  value of the  European  Education  Projects  framing  the partnerships,  and 
the  priority  given  to  projects  demonstrating  effective  systems  for  disseminating  the  experience 
obtained, encourage a multiplier effect  and positive feedback  for the socio-economic  environment 
of the establishment  and for other schools in the areas concerned. 

Through the partnerships, this measure should reach at least  10 000 schools between  now and the 
end of the first five-year period of the SOCRATES programme, tens of thousands of teachers  and 
hundreds of thousands  of pupils, at modest  average unit  cost per establishment  (ECU 2 000  for  a 
participating  school  and  ECU 3 000  for  a coordinating  school).  Care must  be  taken,  however,  as 
mentioned  above, to ensure that this unit amount does not fall  below this threshold,  considered  to 
be the  minimum  for  retaining  an  incentive  effect  for  schools.  Activities  eligible  for  Community 
assistance  are  aimed  primarily  at  permitting  cooperation  without  recourse  to  physical  mobility, 
except  in  the  case  of  teacher  exchanges  and  training  courses  and  study  visits  carried  out  by 
headmasters.  One  may  therefore  anticipate  a  high  and  long-lasting  impact  at  minimum  cost; 
according  to  a  survey  carried  out  among  headmasters,  it  appears  that  almost  all  say  they  are 
potentially ready to participate in partnerships. 

Even at this early stage of implementation,  it is clear that multilateral  school  partnerships  confirm 
the  promise  of the  preceding  pilot  project.  The  experience  of the  first  two  years  of  SOCRATES 
has  shown  that  they  offer  an  effective  framework  for  developing  a wide  range  of  activities  and 
initiatives  for  cooperation  between  schools  and  for  the  generation  or  intensification  of  the 
European  dimension  in  classrooms.  They  also  reveal  their  potential  as  a  source  of  innovative 
practice  and of professional  development  for  teachers as a result  of intense transnational  contacts 
between  colleagues  and  of the  development  of new teaching  materials; in addition,  they  are  said 
to have a positive  effect  on the general  motivation  to  learn  of participating  pupils; working  with 
their counterparts on a joint project  resulting from the mainstream  curriculum, pupils gain a much 
clearer  idea  of  life  and  learning  in  other  Member  States.  The  use  of  new  information  and 
communication  technologies  to maintain  contacts with partner  schools  abroad  familiarises  pupils 
with this crucial aspect of modern society. 

In  addition  to  the  projects  themselves,  grants  for  teacher  exchanges  and  training  courses  in 
industry  and commerce, and  in other  organisations  outside  the teaching  sector,  help  to develop  a 
clearer  link  with  local  business  and  to  prepare  pupils  more  effectively  for  the  world  of  work. 
Study visits not only enable headmasters to be fully  informed  about the partners  involved  in their 
schools'projects,  but  also  enable  a  critical  comparison  of  management  and  administrative 
approaches  between  schools  in  different  countries;  this  has  an  important  potential  effect  on 
improving the quality of education  in general. 

G? 

Action  2:  Education  for  children  of  migrant  workers.  Gypsies,  travellers  and  persons  with 
itinerant professions  and intercultural  education 

The  importance  of  this action  as an  instrument  for  promoting  social  cohesion  in  today's  society, 
which  is increasingly  multicultural,  is becoming  ever clearer. This  will  apply  in  particular  to  the 
years  1998 and  1999, as a growing  number of initiatives arising from the  European  Year  Against 
Racism ( 1997) will need to be integrated  into this action. 

The  children  of  migrant  workers,  Gypsies  and  travellers  now  attend  a  very  large  number  of 
schools and require access to an education which really promotes equality of opportunity. 

Moreover,  the  political  and  social  context  calls  for  vigorous  action  in  support  of  an  intercultural 
education  for  all,  and  the  specific  activities  referred  to  in Action 2 constitute  a  laboratory  and  a 
valuable source of innovation  for all young people. 

The relevance of the subjects  dealt with is evident from  1995 and  1996, namely: 

- 
- 

- 

- 

introduction of the languages of migrants as foreign  languages for all pupils: 
increased  awareness  of  the  impact  of  the  formal  vocabulary  used  in  the  classroom  (the 
language of instruction) on the results of pupils from disadvantaged  backgrounds; 
the  use  of  new  technologies  and,  in  particular,  of  open  and  distance  learning  for  gypsies  and 
travellers; 
the  introduction  of  intercultural  approaches  in  general  education  for  understanding  different 
cultures, religions and languages; 

-  creation  of the  conditions  for  exercising  active  European  citizenship,  based  on mutual  respect 

and human rights for all regardless of culture, race or creed; 

-  regeneration  of  schools  and  projects  in  underprivileged  areas,  concentrating  on  the  specific 
needs  of  schools  in  problem  districts  in  large  metropolitan  areas  through  the  development  of 
integrated  approaches  and  cooperation  between  schools, urban  authorities,  pupils, parents  and 
local  associations. 

The  major  problems  of  educational  and  social  integration  for  young  immigrants  (9%  of  young 
Europeans  of  school  age),  especially  in  problematic  urban  areas,  the  resurgence  of  xenophobic 
and  violent  attitudes  and  the  influx  of  groups  of  travellers  and  gypsies  from  the  East  (a  million 
young  people  of  school  age)  mean  that  the  problem  is  highly  relevant.  Greater  efficiency  of  the 
measures  is  ensured  by  exchanges  of  experience  and  improved  training  for  the  teachers 
concerned.  Extending  these  measures  to  cover  the  entire  educational  structure  will  bring 
significant  economies  of  scale  and  improve  established  systems,  as well  as  a knock-on  effect  in 
terms  of  promoting  educational  achievements  for  other  groups  in  danger  of  exclusion.  The 
Community's  contribution  is based  on transferable  activities  with  high  educational  potential  and 
on their  dissemination.  To  this  end,  the rules  governing  participation  now  lay  down  that  in  each 
country  (a  minimum  of  three)  taking  part  in  a  project,  at  least  two  establishments  are  to  be 
involved, and particular priority  is given to projects  providing evidence of well-defined  structures 
for  dissemination. 

This action has now reached  a balance between its various target groups, with approximately  40% 
of projects  devoted  to improving the supply of education to the children of migrant workers. 30% 
meeting the needs of Gypsies, travellers and those with an itinerant  profession,  and the  remaining 
30% concerned  with intercultural  matters relating to school education  in general. 

The action  is highly  cost-effective,  particularly  in the light of the stricter  requirements  relating  to 
the  number  of  schools  taking  part.  The  European  networks  supported  are  proving  to  be  an 
effective  means  for  exchanging  ideas  and  examples  of  good  practice,  as  well  as  a  vector  for 

QJ] 

communication  on  intercultural  problems  in  general.  Furthermore,  a  high  percentage  of  the 
projects  supported  yield  concrete  results  which  have  a  significant  impact  far  beyond  the 
establishments  taking  part  directly  in  the  networks.  This  applies,  for  example,  to  manuals  and 
teaching  material  for  the  children  of  migrants,  Gypsies,  travellers  and  itinerant  professionals, 
learning  modules  for  intercultural  education  and  to  the  creation  of  data  banks  to  facilitate 
cooperation between institutions  in different  countries. The latter, in particular, include a database 
containing  approximately  5000 references  to organisations and institutions active  in this field and 
a  data  bank  for  all  educational  material  on  intercultural  teaching  in  Europe.  Another  element 
which  will  reinforce  cost-effectiveness  is the integration  within  projects  of methods  of open and 
distance education, as these provide greater opportunities for reaching  itinerant  groups and ensure 
that they have access to education of the highest quality. 

Action 3 : Updating the skills of educational  staff 

By its very  nature, this action has a high potential  multiplier  effect.  On the one hand,  it is aimed 
primarily  at those responsible  for updating the skills of teaching staff;  on the other,  it is aimed at 
all  education  professionals  making  a  decisive  contribution  to  the  quality  of  education.  In  so 
doing, it helps take education  as a whole  into  account,  integrating  psychological  and educational 
guidance and assistance and thereby providing  increased efficiency  for a modest  input. 

The  procedures  for  this  action  are  aimed  above  all  at  adding  the  European  dimension  to  the 
updating  of skills, transferring  positive  experiences  and creating  teaching  material, which  should 
result  in  significant  economies  of  scale  by  broadening  the  range  of  tools  available  for  the 
continuing training of staff.  One important  aspect of this action is continuing  training  for teachers 
dealing  with  disadvantaged  people  and  improved  approaches  to  avoiding  failure  at  school,  an 
important  element from the point  of view of strategic  investment  of Community  support,  since it 
should  help  avoid  the  much  more  significant  costs  -  both  human  and  financial  -  of  failure  at 
school in the education systems of the Member States. 

The  participation  of  a  number  of  continuing  training  institutions  in  various  countries  in  the 
preparation  and organisation  of courses,  and the subsequent  in\ olvement  in courses  of  teachers 
from a number  of countries,  represent  a demonstrable  added  value  compared  with  in relation to 
continuing training developed  and supplied within a purely national  context. 

The procedures (joint  projects and development of teaching material) are such as to encourage the 
transfer  of the more promising elements of each system implemented by the Member  States while 
respecting their diversity. 

In terms of cost-effectiveness,  the projects  supported under this action are highly productive: each 
project  leads  to  the  design  of  a  continuing  training  course  to  be  carried  out  within  a  specific 
period,  namely  the school  year  following  that  in which the support  is provided.  Output  is of the 
order of  1.5 courses per project  during this period, but in reality this figure  is significantly  higher 
still, given that a substantial  proportion of courses will be organised on a number of occasions. A 
second  element  for  efficiency  relates  to the  link  established  between  courses  produced  through 
this action and the award of grants for those taking part in such courses. At the same time, the fact 
that the grants  awarded  to participants  under  strand  3.2 of the action  are reserved  exclusively  for 
participation  in courses designed  under  strand  3.1 is an important  factor  in quality  assurance and, 
therefore  in  ensuring  optimum  use  of  the  resources  available  for  grants.  The  47  instances  of 
support  for  projects  in  1995  gave  rise  to  81  European  courses  providing  continuing  training 
opportunities  for  between  2200  and  2500  teachers.  The  scale  of  the  action  is  to  increase 
significantly  in the coming years. 

It  should  also  be  noted  that  particular  importance  is  attached  to  recognition  by  the  competent 
authorities  in  the  participating  countries  of  the  continuing  training  given  in  this  context.  In  this 
way.  the  activities  supported  tend  to  become  better  integrated  into  the  fabric  of  the  education 
systems, thus  giving  greater  assurance  that  Community  investment  produces  effects  in the  longer 
term.  More  generally,  this  action  forms  part  of  those  within  the  SOCRATES  programme  which 
are  aimed  at  providing  multiplier  effects,  with  teachers  and  other  staff  in  the  education  sector 
comprising particularly appropriate target groups in this regard. 

Target population 

Comenius  is aimed  at schools  at all  levels (+/- 307 000 in the Community),  pupils,  including  the 
children  of  migrants  and  Gypsies  (approximately  70  million  pupils  in  secondary,  primary  and 
pre-school education) and teaching staff (>4 million in the Community). 

The approach used by the measures  in this section of the programme  is to multiply the number  of 
indirect  beneficiaries,  since direct  beneficiaries  can only be a very low percentage  of such a  large 
target group. For this reason, the intended measures are concentrated on four  elements: 

the creation of partnerships and networks; 

- 
-  dissemination  of the results; 
-  continuing  training for teachers and educational personnel  in general, as a multiplier  effect; 
- 

the production of courses and teaching material with long-term  applicability. 

Given the  size of the target  audience,  individual  mobility  is not the  main  aim  in itself.  However, 
some  degree  of  mobility  is  necessary  in  order  to  support  the  creation,  maintenance  and  later 
development  of the networks, to test the viability  of modules, courses  and teaching  materials  and 
to compare the approaches adopted  in the various participating countries. 

Since the target  group  of continuing  training  institutions  is  smallerln  comparison  to  the  number 
of schools, the  aim  is, over time, to  touch  all  of these  institutions,  directly  or  indirectly,  through 
the activities  supported. 

Budget 

The  allocation  of the  appropriations  deemed  necessary  for  these three  actions  takes  into  account 
the approach set out above, providing  for the following  elements: 

- 

-  72%  of  the  Comenius  budget  will  be  allocated  to  Action  1,  which  has  the  broadest  target 
group.  However,  given  the  limited  budget,  it  is  likely  that  only  a  small  percentage  (3%)  of 
those  schools  wishing  in  principle  to  participate  in  a partnership  will  be  able  to  benefit  from 
what will be very  limited  assistance. A more significant  increase would  be required  in order to 
extend  the  action  to  a  proper  threshold  in  quantitative  terms,  i.e.  10%  of  schools  throughout 
the  Community; 
the  budget  for  Action  2 represents  15% of  the  Comenius  budget.  This  is  considered  to  be  the 
minimum  possible,  given  the  increasing  importance  of  the  social  problems  addressed  by  this 
action; 
the budget  for  Action  3 is divided  into two  sections: section  3.1  relates to  the development  of 
projects  leading  to  the  organisation  of  continuing  training  courses;  section  3.2  relates  to  the 
award  of  grants  for  those  taking  part  in  the  courses  that  have  developed.  The  budget,  which 
amounts to  13% of the total  for  Comenius, will be divided on a 58:42 basis  between  these  two 
elements. 

- 

Chapter HI -  Horizontal  measures 

This  chapter  draws  together  the  horizontal  actions  applied  at  all  levels  of  education  and 
supplementing  those set out in the first  two chapters. 

Action  1 : Promotion  of language skills (Lingua) 

Specific  objectives 

This  action  offers  a  package  of  coherent  activities  to  promote  knowledge  of  Community 
languages  in the field of education  (see second objective,  section 4.1 above). It takes and  extends 
measures  from  the  Lingua  programme  (1990-1994)  aimed  at  the  world  of  education.  More 
specifically,  the action seeks to: 

-  promote  transnational  cooperation  to  improve  the  quality  of  initial  and  continuing  teacher 

training through the development of joint training projects  for language teachers; 

-  encourage  mobility  among  teachers  and  future  teachers  of  languages  in  order  to  give  them 
direct contact with the language and lifestyles  of another Member State of the Community; 

-  promote  cooperation  in  the  development  of  innovative  teaching  material  and  methods, 

particularly  for the less widely used and  less taught official  languages of the EU; 

»  -  motivate  young  people  to  learn  and  communicate  in  another  language,  particularly  in  the 

technical and professional  sector where the learning of languages is less widespread. 

With regard  to the cost-effectiveness  of the various  strands of the action, the  following  particular 
points should be noted: 

- 

in  the  European  cooperation  programmes  for  the  training  of  language  teachers  (ECP) 
supported  under  item  2(a)  of  the  action,  almost  all  the  target  languages  in  Lingua  are 
represented.  The  projects  supported  so  far  under  SOCRATES  are  characterised  by  an 
increasing  diversity  in the subjects  and sectors tackled.  Greater  attention  is given  to key  areas 
for  innovation,  such  as  early  teaching  of  foreign  languages,  the  use  of  multimedia  and  other 
new  technologies  and  the  role  of  open  and  distance  learning  with  regard  to  the  training  of 
language  teachers.  As  previous  assessments  have  shown,  the  ECPs  have  a  significant  impact 
on the  quality  of  training  for  language  teachers  provided  by  the  participating  institutions  and 
beyond. Through  the activities underway  in these  institutions, the modules, material  and  study 
programmes developed are an important vector for innovation, helping not only to improve the 
language ability of teachers and training staff  and their confidence  in using the target  language, 
but  also  in  broadening  their  understanding  of  the  cultural  environment  of  the  language  and 
refining  their  technical  and  methodological  skills.  The  networks  of  institutions  developed 
under  the  programmes  are  an  important  resource  for  dissemination,  the  future  potential  of 
which is to be exploited  systematically; 

- 

the grants  enabling language  teachers to take part  in continuing training activities  in  another 
Member  State  (item  2(b)  of  the  action)  have  a  wider  scope  under  SOCRATES  with  the 
inclusion  of  teachers  wishing  to  teach  other  subjects  in  a  foreign  language.  The  support 
provided  under  this  measure  has  an  impact  in  several  areas:  it  extends  transnational  mobility 
for  language  teachers,  improves  the  quality  of  language  teaching,  reinforces  the  cultural  and 
European  dimension  in  classrooms,  helps  reinforce  general  professional  motivation  for 
teachers  and creates  a growing  reservoir  of people who  are potentially  capable  of  undertaking 
other  forms  of  cooperation  under  SOCRATES,  both  within  Lingua  and  in  the  field  of  school 
cooperation  under  Comenius.  It  is  therefore  a  low-unit-cost  measure  bringing  about  an 

£V 

- 

- 

- 

important  series of effects,  which will be made more effective  in future  by closer  links with  the 
ECPs referred  to above; 

the first phase  of  the pilot  action  for  assistantships  (item  2 (c) of  the  action  has  highlighted  a 
number  of  elements directly  relevant  to the  cost-effectiveness  of the  measure: this  is a  highly 
significant  instrument  in terms  of extending  the  concept  and  the  supply  of  qualified  language 
assistance  in  Europe.  Assistant  posts  under  Lingua  display  innovative  characteristics  in  that 
they are aimed only at future  language teachers, emphasise teaching  methodologies  rather  than 
simply  improving  language  skills  and give priority  to the  less widely  spoken  languages  in  the 
European  Union. The  action  helps  to  improve  the  quality  and  diversity  of  language  teaching, 
particularly  by improving  future  teachers' knowledge of the language they will teach and of its 
culture,  helping  new  language  teachers  to  add  another  language  to their  repertoire,  increasing 
the  range  of  European  languages  taught  by  schools  and  encouraging  more  pupils  -  and  also 
teachers  and parents -  to  learn a new European  language. It should  also  be noted  that, prior  to 
launching  this  action,  only  three  of  the  participating  countries  had  a  significant  assistantship 
programme, involving the most widely-spoken languages; 

the  cooperation  projects  for  the  development  of  tools for  language  teaching  and  learning 
(study programmes, material, evaluation  and assessment  tools, etc.) supported  under  item  2(d) 
of Lingua has proved to be a vector in stimulating  innovation, particularly  in the production  of 
teaching  materials.  The  products  designed  in  this  context  relate  in  panicular  to  the  use  of 
information  and  communication  technology,  especially  the use of  CD-ROMs  and  the  Internet 
as aids in teaching  and learning; the cultural  dimension  of language learning; early  learning  of 
foreign  languages;  assessment  of  language  skills;  the  design  of  tools,  offering  young  people 
disadvantaged from the educational point of view a better chance of taking part in and  deriving 
benefit  from  mobility programmes; 

the joint  educational  projects  (JEP)  supported  under  item  2(e)  of  the  action  make  a  real 
contribution  to  motivating  and  improving  the  language  skills  of  young  people,  particularly 
those who. in general, do  not have the opportunity  of  learning  languages;  approximately  56% 
of  participants  are  enrolled  in  technical/vocational  education.  The  priority  given  to  the  less 
widely-used  and less taught languages is gradually  making its presence felt.  The projects  cover 
a  wide  range  of  subjects;  each  leads  to  specific,  practical  products  such  as  exhibitions, 
magazines, technical vocabulary  lists, bilingual multimedia programmes, etc. 

Target population 

The target population is divided into four sections: 

-  People of all ages wishing to learn one or more languages and/or assess their language skills; 

-  Teachers  and  future  teachers  of  foreign  languages  in the  Community;  these  may  be  estimated 

at over 300 000; 

- 

Initial  and  continuing  teacher  training  institutions  and  bodies  involved  in the  development  of 
teaching materials; 

-  Young people in the school sector, particularly the technical and vocational aspects. 

é  > 

Budget 

o* 

The  budget  necessary  for  implementing  these  actions  should  be  considered  in  the  light  of  the 
following  points: 

-  The  integration  of the  initial  training  sector  for  language  teachers  alongside  that  of  continuing 

training as an eligible target group under Action  1, item 2(a), requires additional  funding. 

-  According  to  experience  acquired,  it  appears  essential  to  increase  the  number  of  language 
teachers  eligible  for  assistance  to  carry  out  a  period  of  linguistic  immersion  under  Action  1. 
item  2(b)  in  relation  to  1997. The  effect  of these  training  periods  both  on the  way  the  teacher 
carries out his/her duties and on the establishment where he/she teaches calls for  reinforcement 
of this measure to assist  mobility. 

-  Evaluation  of the "Lingua  assistant" pilot  project  having  been  very  positive,  it  is necessary  to 

ensure funding  for a minimum number of grants under Action  1, item 2(c). 

-  The  increased  demand  resulting  from  the  accession  of  the  new  Member  States  is  gradually 
making  itself  felt,  particularly  as  a  result  of  the  priority  given  to  the  less  widely-spoken 
languages. 

-  With a view to maintaining  equality  of opportunity  for those target groups disadvantaged  from 
the  point  of  view  of  learning  languages,  particularly  the  technical  and  vocational  sectors  of 
education, it will be worthwhile  ensuring that the support  given to the joint  projects  supported 
under Action  1, item 2(e) is not further  diminished. 

Bearing  in  mind  these  aspects,  and  experience  acquired  in  the first two  years  of  the  programme, 
the  available  resources  will  be  allocated  in  the  approximate  ratio  ll%/27%/10%/12%  and  40% 
across the five  measures comprising the action. 

Action 2: Promotion of open and distance  learning 

Specific  objectives 

Open  and  distance  learning  is a favoured  method  for  diversifying  the  supply  of  education  for  all 
and,  in  particular,  those  unable  to  benefit  from  teaching  requiring  an  actual  presence,  with  the 
addition of a European  dimension. 

It  is a key  factor  in enabling  European  citizens to profit  from  the  educational  resources  available 
throughout  the  Community,  and  has  a  vital  role  to  play  in  the  strategy  aimed  at  improving  the 
level and accessibility  of education at all levels and at all stages of life. 

Through  the  use  of  open  and  distance  learning  methods  as  a  tool  to  support  and  disseminate 
measures  under  Erasmus,  Comenius  and  Lingua,  this  action  is  aimed  at  promoting  and 
developing  open and distance  learning  in its own right, by establishing  transnational  partnerships 
between  the  bodies  involved  in  distance  education  or  in  the  use  of  new  information  and 
communication  technologies. 

As  confirmed  by  the  Task  Force  report  on "Educational  software  and  multimedia",  Community 
action, by  facilitating  the development  of human networks  in this field,  improves the exchange of 
information  and experience between users, producers and providers  involved  in open and distance 
learning.  This  action  stimulates  exchanges  relating  to the  methods  used  and  the  development  of 
high-quality  common  materials  at  European  level.  It will,  in  time,  enable  economies  of  scale  in 
the production  of teaching materials. 

a 

The  experience  of  the  first  two  years  has  shown  clearly  that  the  action  is  giving  rise  to  a 
significant  increase  in  the  amount  of  European  cooperation  in  the  field  of  open  and  distance 
learning.  In  particular,  it  has  begun  to  facilitate  cooperation  between  a  wide  range  of  "players" 
with  little prior tradition  of partnerships  in this field: users, suppliers, developers  and  distributors 
of  software,  education  system  administrators,  etc.  The  networks  so  far  supported  involve  a  wide 
range  of  organisations,  including  associations  and  other  non-governmental  organisations,  open 
and distance  learning  establishments, traditional  universities (and. to a certain  extent, schools  and 
adult  education  organisations)  interested  in  the  use  of  new  technologies  in  teaching  and  the 
introduction  of distance  learning  systems, and publishers  of teaching  materials, particularly  in the 
multimedia field. The action is therefore  also improving the overall visibility  of open and  distance 
learning in the participating countries. 

In addition,  the  action  increases  awareness  of the  need  to explore  the  implications  - both  for  the 
teacher/trainer  and  for  the  directors  of  education  -  of  introducing  new  approaches  based  on 
distance education. However, even  if the role and contribution  of information  and  communication 
technology  are  a key  element  in  this  process,  increasing  emphasis  is  placed  on  teaching  aspects 
such  as  course  design  and  the  role  of  teachers/tutors.  Organisational  questions  relating  to  the 
development/adaptation  on  a  cooperative  basis  of  study  programmes  and  school  materials,  the 
introduction  of  information  and  communication  technologies  in  various  educational  contexts  or 
the  development  of  specific  support  services  or  environments  for  students  or  adult  learners  also 
figure  in the project  objectives.  In this way, the action contributes to improving  the quality  of this 
type of education by bringing together the resources and expertise of all the Member States. 

The  experience  of  1995  and  1996  has  shown  that  the  action  responds  to  needs  which  have  not 
been  taken  into  account  by  other  Community  initiatives.  Nevertheless,  it  will  continue  to  be 
implemented  in  close  cooperation  with  the  other  initiatives  concerned:  the  most  specific  and 
operational  expression  of this  cooperation  was the joint  call  for  proposals  involving  a number  of 
Community programmes, published  in December  1996. 

Target population 

The action  is aimed  potentially  at  all  citizens  wishing  to  improve their  education,  and  especially 
those  unable  to  benefit  from  face-to-face  teaching.  This  is  an  important  contribution  to  the 
implementation  of  a  lifelong  learning  strategy,  a joint  priority  for  all  the  Member  States  of  the 
Community. 

Budget 

This  is  a  new  action  in  Community  support  for  education  which  is  growing  rapidly.  The 
important  thing  is to  allocate  the  minimum  amount  necessary  to  obtain  a  critical  mass  ensuring 
the  effectiveness  of  the  Community  action.  Demand  will  continue  to  increase,  particularly  as  a 
result of the visibility  of the Community  assistance  created  by the joint  call  for  proposals  linking 
the  multimedia-related  programmes  (SOCRATES,  Leonardo  da  Vinci.  Telematics,  Esprit,  etc.) 
referred  to above. 

Budgetary  constraints  are  obviously  set  to  become  a  real  obstacle  to  the  development  of  this 
Action  from  1997,  due  on  the  one  hand  to  the  need  to  renew  funding  for  multiannual  projects 
supported  in  1995  and  pursued  in  1996  and,  on  the  other,  to the  probable  continuing  increase  in 
demand  for  assistance  for  new  projects.  The  planned  budget  will  enable  some  reinforcing  of  the 
average grant, which is very  low in  1997, while retaining a significant  mass of projects. 

Action 3: Promoting  the exchange of information  and experience 

Specific  objectives 

Action  3  covers  the  exchange  of  information  and  experience,  covering  questions  of  common 
interest relating  to education  policy, the  Eurydice  information  education  network, the  programme 
of  visits  for  decision-makers  in  the  field  of  education  (Arion),  the  Naric  network  of  National 
Academic  Recognition  Information  Centres  and  other  measures  covering  adult  education  and 
complementary  measures. 

These activities have their own specific  characteristics, linked both to their role in the  information 
chain and to their target audience. 

-  The  exchange  and  creation  of  information  through  analyses  and  exchanges  of  experts  and  in 
the  form  of pilot  quality  assurance  projects  in the  education  sector  are  intended  primarily  for 
those  responsible  for  decision-making  in  the  field  of  education.  They  encourage  greater 
consideration  of  trends  and  educational  questions  within  the  Community.  They  also  aim  to 
provide reliable and precise references  for decision-makers. 

-  The study  visits  are both  a measure  for  information  and  awareness-raising  on certain  subjects 
of common interest to the Member States and a means of facilitating  cooperation  in the field of 
education.  They  are aimed  at specialists, targeted  according  to different  subjects  and  having  a 
true potential multiplier effect  in their Member State. 

-  Measures  to  promote  adult  education  are  aimed  at  raising  awareness  of  other  Member  States 
and  of  the  European  Community  and  improving  the  quality  of  adult  education  by  creating 
cooperation  networks. 

-  Complementary  measures  will  make  it  possible  to  raise  the  awareness  of  and  inform  a  wide 
audience,  i.e.  all  educational  operators,  in  particular  through  information  activities  by  the 
national agencies; they will also cover programme  evaluation. 

All  these  elements  demonstrate  a  favourable  degree  of  cost-effectiveness.  These  are  measures 
which  make  available  to  decision-makers  the  means  to  integrate  the  experiences  of  ail  other 
Member  States into their education  systems, thus permitting  them -  with a low percentage  of the 
SOCRATES  budget -  to take the appropriate  measures with the maximum  probability  of  success 
and of sound  investment: 

- 

the  analyses,  exchanges  of  experts,  pilot  "quality"  projects  and  dissemination  activities 
pursued  under Action  3.1  relate  to  key  policy  aspects  identified  in  close  cooperation  with  the 
Council's  Education  Committee. The proposals  are evaluated  in the light  of the triple criterion 
of  political  relevance,  scientific  quality  and  a  demonstration  of  a  clear  European  dimension, 
defined  in  this  instance  as  the  added  value  provided  by  dealing  with  a  question  in  a 
comparative  and/or  European  context  rather  than  a  purely  national,  regional  or  local  one. 
Preference  is given to supporting  a limited number of full  analyses rather than a larger  number 
of studies  covering  a smaller  area and/or  in less depth. The potential  for  this  measure  to  bring 
together  the  skills  of organisations  active  in the field of education  analyses  and  forecasts,  and 
to  stimulate  a structured  dialogue  between research  and  policy  development,  rapidly  emerges. 
Particular  importance  is given to following-up  projects  and to processing  their results in such a 
way as to render them usable by political  decision-makers; 

- 

the  Eurydice  network  (Action  3.2),  consisting  of  national  units  coordinated  by  a  European 
Unit, plays a key  role  in providing  reliable comparative  data to  the authorities  in  participating 
countries  and  at  European  level  on  the  development  of  education  systems  and  policies.  The 

ç.? 

network's productivity  is extremely  high in relation to its cost, as is shown  by the results of the 
first two  years  of  support  under  SOCRATES.  In  particular,  funding  will  enable  comparative 
summaries  to be drawn  up on specific  subjects  of  interest, compendia  on aspects  of  education 
systems, a major  publication  containing  Key data on education in the European  Union and  the 
continued  development  and  updating of the EURYBASE  database.  Particular  attention  will  be 
given  to  providing  publications  and  other  network  projects  in  more  Community  languages; 
they  will  be  made  accessible  by  electronic  means  to  a  much  wider  audience,  in  particular 
through  the  Internet.  These  measures  will  increase  the  cost-effectiveness  of  the  network  even 
more; 

the  qualitative  results  of  Arion  study  visits  (Action  3.3)  have  long  been  documented.  The 
feedback  from  thousands  of  reports  and  from  many  contact  meetings  with  local  organisers, 
national  agencies  and  participants  has  shown  that  the  visits  provide  experts  and  decision 
makers in education with the unique opportunity to discuss their concerns with their  colleagues 
on a multilateral  basis and,  in so doing, reconsider  and  alter their  working  methods  in a  more 
European  context.  Long-lasting  contacts  and  networks  are  established  between  people 
occupying  key posts in education  in the participating  countries. In many cases, participating  in 
Arion  gives  rise  to  new  cooperation  and  new  projects  as  part  of  other  measures  under 
SOCRATES  and  other  Community  programmes.  Considerable  and  increasing  attention  is 
devoted  to  ensuring  dissemination  of  the  results  of  the  visits.  Reports  on  visits  enjoy 
increasingly  wide dissemination,  and thematic  seminars are organised  with a view to  updating 
the  comparative  summaries  obtained  and  to  consolidating  further  the  networks  linking  those 
concerned; 

the  usefulness  of  the  network  of  National  Academic  Recognition  Information  Centres 
(NARIC),  which  constitutes  Action  3.4,  is  obvious;  each  Member  State  has  appointed  a 
national  centre  with  the  task  of  contributing  to  the  mobility  of  students,  teachers  and 
researchers  by  providing  information  and  advice  on  problems  concerning  the  recognition  of 
diplomas. The contribution  from  SOCRATES  provides  for the networking  of the Centres, thus 
obtaining extremely  important benefits  at European  level with minimum  funding.  The  majority 
of Naric centres also serve as information  points as part of the implementation  of the  "General 
Directive" on the professional  recognition  of higher education qualifications.  The  Commission 
will  continue  to  oversee  the  network  in  order  to  ensure  close  cooperation  and  an  optimum 
exchange of information.  Meetings will be organised twice annually,  one being  a joint  session 
with "ENIC" network  of the the  Council  of  Europe  and UNESCO's  CEPES  centre  for  higher 
education.  Assistance  will  also  be  given  for  study  visits  between  NARIC  centres  and  the 
implementation  of  joint  projects,  particularly  summary  reports.  Training  modules  on  the 
evaluation  of  diplomas  and  certificates  issued  abroad,  developed  by  network  members,  will 
provide  for  wider  dissemination  of  knowledge  and  skills  acquired.  The  work  of  making 
databases  available  by  electronic  means  will  continue.  All  these  measures  are  designed  with 
the aim of generating maximum "fallout"  in relation to the support  provided; 

Action  3.5A,  involving  Adult  education,  is  an  important  field  for 
innovation  in  the 
SOCRATES  programme.  Its  aim  is  to  strengthen  the  European  dimension  in  all  sectors  of 
adult  education -  general,  cultural  and  social. Adult  education  is a key  element  in  the  context 
of  the  increasingly  apparent  need  for  a  vigorous  policy  of  lifelong  learning.  To  this  end,  the 
action  supports  a broad  exchange  of experience  and  information  at  European  level,  especially 
through  projects  aimed  at  developing  adult  education  courses or producing  teaching  materials 
providing  a  better  understanding  of  the  political,  economic,  social,  cultural  and  historical 
aspects  of  the  Member  States  and  the  Community.  In  this  context,  projects  on  the  subject  of 
European  civic education  and,  on  a wider  scale, on  active  citizenship  are  also- supported.  The 
action  is also  intended  to  stimulate  the development  of  transnational  cooperation,  networking 
and the exchange  of experiences  and  information  between  adult  education  organisations,  thus 

& 

helping  to  improve  the  quality  of  adult  education  in  Europe.  The  type  and  volume  of  adult 
education  supplied  vary  considerably  from  one  country  to  another,  and  the  importance  and 
potential  of  the  "Adult  education"  action  under  SOCRATES  as  an  instrument  for  the 
productive exchange of experience and skills are therefore  all the more evident. 

The  projects  supported  cover  a  wide  range  of  aims  and  activities.  Those  which  focus  on  the 
promotion  of  knowledge  and  awareness  about  Europe  and  active  citizenship  are  typically 
engaged  in  the  development  of  materials  and/or  modules  which  will  be  made  available  in 
printed  and/or  electronic  form  in due  course. Topics  covered  include  the  arts,  media  literacy, 
health  education,  and  the  fight  against  racism,  xenophobia  and  social  exclusion.  The  projects 
which  emphasise  the enhancement  of adult  education  through  European  cooperation  focus  on 
the development  of new teaching  methods, new structures  or programmes  for  adult  education, 
the development  of information  networks and databanks and the preparation  and  dissemination 
of  publications  (guides,  manuals,  periodicals).  Many  of  the  projects  are  concerned  with  the 
for  senior  citizens,  socially  excluded  or 
improvement  of  educational  opportunities 
marginalised  groups,  disabled  or  illiterate  persons,  and  the  unemployed.  Some  are  being 
developed  in cooperation with trade union groups. 

Some  of  the  major  issues  facing  adult  education  in  Europe  today  are  tackled  in  the  projects 
supported.  These  include  methodological  questions,  self-learning  strategies,  assessment  of 
prior  experiential  learning,  management  of  quality  in  adult  education,  issues  of  access  and 
motivation,  core  skills  of  disadvantaged  groups,  the  training  of  adult  educators  and  tutors, 
accreditation  systems  suitable  for  use  in  formal  and  non-formal  adult  education,  and  ways  of 
building links between these systems. 

The  projects  are  actively  involving  a  broad  spectrum  of  adult  education  providers,  from  all 
parts  of  the  adult  education  'system',  whether  formal  or  non-formal,  public  or  private, 
professional  or voluntary, at national, regional or local level. Particularly  encouraging  has been 
the  fact  that  the  majority  of  organisations  applying  are  national  or  local  adult  education 
organisations  or  NGOs.  suggesting  that  the  Action  is  also  beginning  to  make  itself  felt  at 
grass-roots level. 

Given  the  importance  of  this  field  and  the  considerable  impact  obtained  with  the  help  of 
Community  support, the cost-benefit  ratio of these measures, which account for only  3% of the 
SOCRATES budget, is particularly positive; 

as regards the complementary measures, which make up Action  3.5.B of SOCRATES,  support 
is  available  in  particular  for  activities  by  associations  working  in  the  education  field,  the 
information  activities  of  national  agencies,  programme  monitoring  and  evaluation,  and 
awareness-raising  activities  of  many  kinds,  including  for  the  "Europe  in  the  School" 
competition  organised  in cooperation  with  the  Council  of Europe. Of particular  importance  in 
this context  is the support  provided  for the  activities  of European  associations, many  of which 
have played a vital role in pioneering educational cooperation at European  level. The  European 
associations  are  a  key  partner  in  ensuring  the  success  of  SOCRATES.  They  constitute  an 
important  channel 
information,  sharing  experience  and  expertise, 
disseminating  information  with  a  bearing  on  the  design  and  preparation  of  projects,  and 
providing  training  for  teaching  staff  and  headteachers  in a truly  European  context.  This  holds 
equally  true  for  the  National  Agencies'  information  activity  measures  -  such  activities  being 
crucial  in  the  drive  to  ensure  that  the  educational  community  is  fully  informed  about  the 
opportunities  under  SOCRATES -  as well  as for  the other awareness-raising  activities. As  for 
the cost of monitoring  and evaluating the programme, these are fully  in keeping with the order 
of  magnitude  set  down  by  the  Commission  under  its  Sound  and  Efficient  Management 
approach,  SEM 2000. 

for  disseminating 

h-

Target population 

This strand of the programme  is focused  mainly on people working  in education,  decision-makers 
and specialists  in particular, all educational  bodies, national  agencies and associations  working  in 
the educational field. These elements play various roles but are of great  importance  for the quality 
of  education  in  Member  States,  dissemination  of  information,  etc.,  because  they  all  act  as 
multipliers at national or local level. Adult  learners are also targeted. 

Budget 

These measures  account  for  9 % of the programme's  overall budget  for  1998. The  lion's  share of 
this  9%  will  go  on  adult  education  (33% of  the  budget  sub-total  for  this  measure)  and  is  on  the 
increase in view of this sector's  growing  importance  for Member  States against  the current  socio 
economic  backcloth. 

9.2 

Grounds for the action 

The  purpose  of  this  Community  action  in  the  educational  field  is  to  foster  quality 
education  through  cooperation.  At  a  time  when  our  societies  require  their  citizens  to 
possess  increasingly  sophisticated  knowledge,  know-how  and  abilities  (and  when  their 
development  basically  depends  on  their  capacity  to  call  on  human  resources  capable  of 
evolving  within  an  enlarged  framework,  in  the  European  Community  in  particular),  the 
Community  action  must  endeavour  to  contribute  to  the  solutions  which  Member  States' 
put in place to meet this challenge. 

The  Community  also  wished  to provide  a new boost  to  its action  in the  educational  field 
by  incorporating  a  specific  article  to  this  end  in  the  EC  Treaty.  In  November  1995  the 
Commission  adopted  the  White  Paper  on  Education  and  Training,  which  reinforces  the 
community's  role  in  the  educational  field  and  mentions  several  measures  needed  to  face 
the challenge of the learning  society. 

For  over  ten  years  now  the  Member  States,  Council  and  Parliament  have  consistently 
shown  interest  and  support  for  the  development  of  such  Community  action  by  adopting 
action programmes  in this field and actively  participating  in their implementation,  and  the 
potential beneficiaries  have shown growing interest in these programmes. 

The  activities  under  the  SOCRATES  programme  underpin  and  complement  the  measures 
taken  by  Member  States  and  allow  them  to  use  the  input  and  results  of  cooperation  in 
education to improve the quality and effectiveness  of their systems and structures. 

The  measures  are  founded  on  cooperation  programmes  between  establishments,  on 
partnerships  and  on  networks  which  have  proven  their  worth  in  lending  a  European 
dimension  to  education.  Their  aims have  to  do  with  areas  in which  the  Community-level 
input,  while  respecting  the  principle  of  subsidiarity,  engenders  greater  effectiveness  and 
makes  a  special  contribution  in  terms  of  knowledge  of  EU  languages,  transnational 
mobility,  fostering  exchange  of  information  and  experience,  development  of  innovative 
approaches and materials, etc. 

The complementary  nature of the Community  action  in regard to that  of Member  States is 
all  the  more  effective  given  that  the  budget  involved,  which  is  extremely  modest  by 
comparison  with  the  funds  invested  by  member  countries,  helps  to  prime  the  pump  for 
measures  in  sectors  related  to  transnational  activity  and  educational  innovation  where 
budgetary  restrictions  are  making  themselves  increasingly  felt  at  a  time  of  severe 
constraint. 

?" 

In  some  sectors  -  open  and  distance  learning,  for  example  -  being  able  to  disseminate 
educational  materials created with Community  aid will very likely open  the way to higher-
quality  production better targeted on the various groups. 

Through  such  actions  SOCRATES  is  making  a  specific  contribution  to  the  quality  of 
education,  in  keeping  with  the  mandate  enshrined  in  Article  126  of  the  Treaty.  The 
activities planned aim to make it easier for all citizens to access an open  European area  for 
education, where comparison of methods and references  will make for greater  pedagogical 
diversity  fostering  successful  access  to  education  for  all.  Furthermore,  by  promoting 
widespread  dissemination  of  the  educational  systems'  best  points,  the  programme  helps 
develop each of them and will foster  the transfer  of results likely to generate economies at 
national  level. 

As  regards  higher  education,  the  Community  action  is based  on  institutional  contracts  to 
encourage  mobility,  especially  that  of  students;  the  impact  of  such  contracts  on 
universities  and  the  growing  interest  shown  in  them  by  national  and  local  authorities  -
willing  to  inject  large  amounts  of  co-funding  - not  only  highlights  their  role  as  a  driving 
force  in developing  the university  system  but also  Member  States^  need  to be  able  to call 
on  young  graduates  with  first-hand  experience  of  another  EC  country.  In  addition,  the 
measures  proposed  in  the  higher  education  field  also  entail  a  more  integrated  approach 
aimed  at  involving  all  academic  bodies  in  transnational  cooperation.  This  approach  will 
produce  economies  of  scale,  extending  the  benefits  of  an  education  with  a  European 
dimension  to  all  students,  and  will  contribute  to  transparency  and  recognition  of 
qualifications,  a  crucial  element  in  turning  freedom  of  movement  for  individuals  into 
reality. 

In the  school  education  field,  we  must  meet  the  needs  for  transnational  cooperation.  The 
investment  this  entails  is  so vast  that  the  Community  action,  through  its  ability  to  spread 
and foster  innovation  while engendering  economies  through  better utilisation  of  resources 
(in particular  as regards teaching aids and methods) will make an appreciable  contribution 
to the various systems. 

The  activities  undertaken  relate  to  specific  actions  firmly  based  on  the  needs  of  schools 
and  giving  rise to  transferable  products,  so that  the  measures  in  question  will  very  likely 
make a major  contribution despite the modest funds  available. 

Finally, it should be stressed that Community  action in the field of education  lends a high 
profile  to Community  measures, thus making all citizens more aware of the endeavours  to 
build  Europe  - given that education  affects  all citizens, is often  at the very heart of  debate 
within  society,  is of great public interest and affects  the future  of individuals, families  and 
Member  States. By focusing  on children, young  people, adult  learners  and  those  teaching 
them,  the  Community  actions  in  the  field  of  education  help  to  focus  people's  minds  on 
what  Europe  is about,  to  forge  enlightened  attitudes  to  Europe  and  to promote  a sense  of 
belonging  and  of  adherence  to  the  fundamental  values  driving  the  creation  of  the 
European  Community. 

9.3  Monitoring and  evaluation 

An  internal  working  group  was  set  up  at  the  beginning  of  1996  to  monitor  and  evaluate 
the  programme  under  the  direction  of  a  new  Unit  in  charge  of  cooperation  in  education 
and  ongoing  evaluation  of  the  SOCRATES  programme.  The  group  drew  up  an  initial 
report  on  how  the  programme  had  operated  during  its  first  two  years,  as  well  as 
methodological  documents concerning greater in-depth evaluation. 

^U 

9.3.1  Monitoring 

The programme  has been continuously  monitored  since its launch  in  1995. with  use  being 
made  of  information  gathered  directly  by  the  Commission  from  projects  under  centrally 
managed  strands  and  of  information  on  decentralised  schemes  forwarded  to  it  by  the 
national  agencies.  Such  feedback  made  it  possible,  in  particular,  to  draw  up  an  initial 
report  on  programme 
two  years  after 
SOCRATES was instituted  and forming  the basis for the proposed changes. 

implementation  summing  up  the  situation 

9.3.2  Performance  indicators 

By way of example, the programme could be monitored  and measured  against  some of the 
following  performance  indicators: 

9.3.2.1  Output  indicators 

Quantitative 

Chapter I - Higher education 

Action  1 :  European dimension of universities 

-  number of faculties,  students, teachers  involved; 
-  breakdown  of  flows  of  students/teachers  to/from  Member  States,  plus  the  various 

disciplines  involved; 

-  number  of  curricula,  their  geographic  spread  and  distribution  by  discipline,  especially 

in leading-edge fields of study; 

-  number  of  intense  programmes  organised jointly  with  other  establishments,  especially 

in leading-edge fields of study; 

-  number,  nature  and  geographic  distribution  of  faculties/departments,  academic 
associations and other bodies belonging to (or associated  with) thematic  networks. 

Action 2: 

Student mobility 

-  number  of  grants,  broken  down  by  Member  State  and  region,  participating 

establishment, sex, discipline, etc.; 

-  number of students unable to participate in mobility  for want of resources; 
-  average amount of grant. 

Chapter II - School education 

Action  1 :  School partnerships/European  education  projects 

-  number  of  schools  participating  in  school  partnerships  (by  country,  region,  school 

sector, etc.); 

-  number  of  teachers  having  taken  part  in  exchanges/placements  (by  country,  region, 

school sector, etc.); 

-  number of headteachers  having been on study  visits abroad  (by country, region,  school 

sector, etc.); 

i* 

Action  2 

Intercultural  education 

-  number of schools taking on board intercultural  education elements: 
-  number  and  nature  of  bodies  participating  in  intercultural  projects  (by  country, 

establishment  type, characteristics of regions/localities  involved, etc.) 

Action 3 : 

Continuing training  for educational  staff 

-  number  of  bodies  participating  in  transnational  projects  involving  continuing  training 

for educational  staff  (by country, region, educational sector, etc.); 

-  number of educational  staff  members undergoing continuing training  courses  generated 
by  transnational  projects  (by  country,  region,  school  sector,  professional  status  as  a 
multiplier, etc.). 

Chapter III -Horizontal  measures 

Action  1 : 

Promotion of language skills 

- 

- 

range of languages  involved  in the various measures within the action, especially  as an 
indicator of the action's impact on learning of the least widely used  languages; 
the  number  of  bodies  participating  in  European  cooperation  programmes  covering 
initial  and  continuing  training  for  language  teachers  (by  country,  region,  language 
taught, educational  sector, initial/continuing  training, etc.): 

-  number  and  range  of  courses,  trainers  and  (future)  teachers  reached  by  the  European 

cooperation  programmes; 

-  number  of  teachers  taking  part  in  continuing  training  placements  (by  country,  region, 
school sector, type of teacher, language taught, professional  status as a multiplier, etc.); 

-  number of assistants, duration of assistantships, types of host  establishment; 
-  number  and  nature  of  joint  education  projects,  number  and  types  of  establishment 

participating  therein; 

-  number  of  young  people  participating  in joint  education  projects  (by  country,  region, 

establishment type, etc.) 

Action 2: 

Open and distance learning 

-  number  of  bodies 

involved 
establishment type, educational  sector involved, etc.); 

in  or  associated  with  partnerships  (by  country, 

-  number,  nature,  quality  and  import  of  results/products  generated  by  partnerships  and 

observation  projects; 

-  number of persons benefiting  from  courses via/for  open and distance  learning  thanks to 

SOCRATES projects  (pupils, teachers, administrative personnel, etc.). 

Action 3 : 

Exchange of information  and experience 

-  number of Arion study visit  beneficiaries; 
-  number  and  nature  of  bodies  participating  in  adult  education  projects  (by  country, 

establishment type, characteristics of regions/localities  involved, etc.); 

-  number of education  associations supported  (by country, educational  sector, etc.). 

ÏV 

Qualitative 

Chapter I - Higher education 

Action  1 : 

European dimension of universities 

-  degree  of  satisfaction  on  the  part  of  students,  teachers,  university  rectors/vivr-

chancellors, administrators; 

-  actual  degree  to  which  European  cooperation  is  firmly  anchored  in  the  establishment 
(involvement  of  senior  staff;  level  of  responsibility  for  European  affairs  within  the 
administration;  monitoring  of  implementation  of  establishment's  policy  statement  on 
European cooperation; details of how responsibility  for European  cooperation  is spread 
among the establishment's  decision-making bodies); 

-  distribution and quality of socio-economic/cultural  courses on other Member States; 
-  distribution and quality of modules on European  integration; 
-  distribution and quality of comparative courses, depending on discipline  studied; 
-  quality  and  linguistic  distribution  of  integrated  language  courses  offered  to  students 

and teachers; 

-  number, nature, quality and import of projects undertaken within thematic networks. 

Action 2: 

Student mobility 

-  students'  level of satisfaction  with grants; 
- 

level  of satisfaction  with use of the term  "Erasmus  student"  for  students  taking  part  in 
approved mobility arrangements but not having an Erasmus grant. 

Chapter II - School  education 

Action  1 : 

School partnerships/European  education  projects 

-  quality  of  school  activities  connected  with  injection  of  a  European  dimension  into 

studies; 

-  nature and quality of other results/products  from  European education  projects; 
-  nature  and  pertinence  of  mobility  aspect  by  comparison  with  partnerships'  aims  and 

needs. 

Action 2: 

Intercultural  education 

-  participation  by  bodies  active  in  the  intercultural  fields  concerned,  and  nature  of 

partnerships between schools, local authorities and the bodies referred  to; 

-  pertinence of products resulting from  intercultural  projects. 

Action  3: 

Continuing training for educational  staff 

-  pertinence  and  thematic/geographical  spread  of  continuing  training  courses  generated 

by transnational  projects  and of the related teaching material. 

-\< 

Chapter III - Horizontal  actions 

Action  1 : 

Promotion of language skills 

pertinence,  distribution  by  target  language  and  topic  of  initial  and  continuing  training 
courses and other products generated by European cooperation  programmes; 
innovative impact of Lingua assistantships; 
distribution  and  pertinence  of  products  for  language  learning  and  for  evaluating 
language skills. 

Action 2: 

Open and distance learning 

-  diversification  of approaches based on open and distance learning; 
-  development  of  approaches  based  on  open  and  distance  learning  in  other  activities 
supported  under  the  SOCRATES  programme  (Erasmus,  Comenius,  Lingua,  Adult 
Education, etc.). 

Action 3 : 

Exchange of information  and experience 

-  quality  and  pertinence  of  transnational  activities  supported  under  Action  3.1 
(comparative  analyses,  study  visits, exchanges  of experts, conferences,  seminars,  pilot 
projects); 

-  pertinence,  extent  and  validity  of  comparative  data  and  analyses  supplied  and 

exchanged via the Eurydice  network; 

-  quality and pertinence of results from  adult education  projects; 
-  pertinence and extent of national agencies'  information  activities; 
-  pertinence  and  quality  of activities  undertaken  by associations  thanks to support  under 

SOCRATES. 

Indicators  relating to all chapters 

-  quality  of  method  adopted  to  take  into  account  the  needs  of  disabled  students  and 

teachers taking part in SOCRATES activities; 

-  extent to and manner in which the principle of equal opportunities  between women and 

men is taken into account with regard to participation in SOCRATES  activities; 

-  degree  of  satisfaction 

the  approaches  adopted  and  administrative 
arrangements  for  the  implementation  of  the  actions  at  European  and  national  level, 
including cooperation between the National Agencies; 

regarding 

-  degree of satisfaction  with the amounts granted; 
-  nature and degree of interaction between the programme's various actions; 
-  how  the  SOCRATES  measures  stand  out  by  comparison  with  similar  measures  at 

national  level (where applicable); 

-  degree  of effectiveness  of methods  used  to  spread  the  results  of  the  projects  and  other 

activities. 

% 

9.3.2.2  Indicators of impact 

Chapter I - Higher education 

Action  1 : 

European dimension of universities 

- 

impact  of  the  institutional  contract  or  the  work  done  by  the  thematic  networks  in  the 
way of helping to improve the quality of tuition; 

-  availability  of services offered  by establishments  (guidance, accommodation,  help with 
administrative  matters,  language  preparation  of  students  in  all  languages,  monitoring 
and reintegration, academic recognition procedures, etc.); 
funds  complementing  Community  funds; 

- 
-  measures taken to continue activities once Community  funding  ends. 

Action 2: 

Student mobility 

-  size of funds  complementing  Community  funds  and sources of such  funding; 
-  degree and nature of the impact on students academically  and as regards their entry  into 

the world of work. 

Chapter II - School  education 

Action  1: 

School partnerships/European  education  projects 

-  scope  and  nature  of  changes  made  in  schools  when  injecting  a  European  dimension 
into the curriculum,  in working methods, pupil-teacher  ratios, pedagogical  approaches, 
interdisciplinary  cooperation, etc.; 
reinforcement  of  links  between  the  school  and  its  local  environment  (other  schools 
nearby, businesses, etc.). 

- 

Action 2: 

Intercultural  education 

arrangements  made  for  including  intercultural  elements  in  school  curricula  as  well  as  in 
initial and continuing training for teachers and other categories of school  staff; 
legislative  or  administrative  provisions  fostering  intercultural  education  and  adopted  in 
connection with the action. 

Action 3: 

Continuing training for educational  staff 

-  nature  and  degree  of  skill  enhancement  of  educational  staff  having  participated  in 

- 

continuing training courses; 
recognition  of  the  continuing  training  course  devised  under  the  action  (integration  of 
courses 
individual 
participants'  qualifications,  etc.) 

into  nationally  available 

training  courses, 

recognition  of 

7> 

Chapter III - Horizontal  actions 

Action  I : 

Promotion of language skills 

-  changes  in  curricula  and  methodologies  for  updating  language  teachers'  skills  as  a 

result of transnational  cooperation; 

-  nature  and  degree  of  skill  enhancement  of  teaching  staff  having  participated  in 

continuing training courses; 

-  degree of skill enhancement  and boost to motivation  to learn a language engendered  by 

- 

joint education  projects; 
impact  of  Lingua  action  on  innovation  and  diversification  of  language  learning,  in 
particular as regards the least widely used languages. 

Action 2: 

Open and distance  learning 

-  diversification  in use of approaches based on open and distance learning  (establishment 

types, disciplines and students involved); 

-  account 

taken  of  pedagogical  needs  and  of  user-friendliness  when  designing 

educational software  products in Europe; 

-  endeavours  undertaken  to  achieve  recognition  of  qualifications  obtained  through  open 

and distance  learning at national and European level; 

-  scope and intensity of use of open and distance learning services in Europe. 

Action 3 : 

Exchange of information  and experience 

- 

- 

improvement  in  participating  countries'  educational  structures  as  a  result  of  the 
exchange of information  and experience promoted under strands  1  to 3 of Action 3; 
improvement  in  arrangements  for  recognising  academic  achievements  stemming  from 
cooperation between national centres as supported by strand 4 of Action 3; 

-  diversification  of adult  education  courses  on offer  due  to exchange  of  information  and 

experience at European  level; 

-  degree of effectiveness  of information  and awareness-heightening  measures  in terms of 
numbers  and  diversification  of  interest  shown  by  the  educational  community  towards 
European  cooperation. 

9.3.3  Evaluation 

An  initial  report  was  drawn  up  towards  the  end  of  1996  in  accordance  with  the  Joint 
Statement  by  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  as  mentioned 
earlier..It contains  an initial  analysis  of the first two years of programme  operation  and  is 
designed  to accompany  the  Proposal  for  a Decision  amending  the  Decision  setting  up  the 
programme. The results highlighted  in the report are outlined briefly  below. 

Furthermore,  in accordance with  Article  8 of the Decision establishing  up the  programme, 
the  Commission  was  called  on  to  ensure,  in partnership  with  the  Member  States,  regular 
monitoring  and  evaluation  of  the  programme  with  the  objective,  if  necessary,  of 
readjusting  the  programme  in the  light  of  needs  arising  during  its  implementation.  It  was 
required  to submit  an interim  report  on the  launch phase before  30 September  1998 and a 
final report  on  implementation  of  the  programme  before  30  September  2000.  In  order  to 
initiate 
the 
SOCRATES  Committee,  at  its  meeting  of  18 and  19 November  1996  and  in  accordance 

this  monitoring  and  evaluation  procedure,  the  Commission 

informed 

?/ 

with Article 4(3) of the Decision, of the methodological  approach  it intended  to adopt. The 
evaluation  arrangements  were  dealt  with  in  greater  detail  at  the  Committee's  meeting  of 
28 and 29 January  1997. 

Appraisal  of results 

Analysis of the programme's first two years showed that a wide range of tangible results had been 
achieved  thanks  to  the  support  provided.  This  analysis  is  set  out  in  the  Report  submitted  by  the 
Commission  to  accompany  its proposal  for  a Decision  amending  the  Decision  which  established 
the  programme.  In  a nutshell,  it  noted  that,  even  in  the  comparatively  short  space  of  time  since 
SOCRATES  had  been  launched,  the  programme  had  boosted  mobility  and  given  rise  to  a 
significantly  increased  volume and  improved quality  of European  cooperation,  notably  in  fields 
such  as  school  education,  adult  education  and  open  and  distance  learning  which  had  little 
previous  tradition  of  structured  collaboration  at  transnational  level.  SOCRATES  was  also 
encouraging institutions to adopt a more strategic approach to European cooperation, and to give 
it  a  far  more  prominent  place  than  hitherto  in  their  institutional  development  plans.  More 
particularly  SOCRATES  had: 

•  made  a  substantial  contribution  to  the  mobility  of  students,  young  people  and  teaching 
staff, as  regards  both  the  volume  and  the  quality  of  the  organisational  framework  for 
exchanges; 

•  stimulated  broad and intensified cooperation  between educational  institutions in  different 

participating  countries; 

•  greatly  contributed  to  strengthening  the  European  dimension  in  various  educational 
sectors, notably through measures concerning teachers'  initial and continuing training; 

•  given  a  new  impetus  to  the  academic  recognition  of  study  periods  carried  out  and 
qualifications  obtained  abroad.  In  the  field  of  higher  education,  the  successful  European 
Credit  Transfer  System  was  in  the  process  of  extension  to  well  over  1,000  institutions, 
and the programme was also giving priority  support to projects  addressing  the  issue of the 
recognition  of  qualifications  in the adult  education  sector  and those  obtained  through  the 
vehicle of open and distance  learning; 

•  continued  to  make  progress  in promoting  the  teaching  and  learning  of  the  least  widely 
used and spoken languages of the Union, particularly  in the Lingua part of the programme 
but also within Erasmus; 

•  provided  a  focal  point  for  a  broader  use  of  open  and  distance  learning  and  of  new 
technologies  in  various  educational  sectors,  thus  ensuring  that  educational  needs  were 
better catered  for when devising educational  software  and multimedia approaches; 

• 

led  to  the  production  of  a  large  and  varied  range  of  teaching  materials,  curricula, 
training schemes and other educational products; 

•  provided  new  opportunities  for  increasing  exchanges  of  knowledge  and  experience, 
thereby  spreading  expertise  and  fostering  the  process  of  innovation  throughout  the 
participating  countries; 

•  ensured  that the benefits  were shared by all Member States,  including  those which  would 
have  found  it  particularly  difficult  to  participate  in  European  cooperation  on  account  of 
their geographic or economic  situation; 

^ 

•  prepared  the  ground  for  opening  up  the  programme's  advantages  to  the  associated 

countries of Central and Eastern  Firope  as well as Cyprus. 

The report  added  that  despite  the  relatively  modest  sums  invested, their  impact  as a catalyst  had 
been  highlighted  by  the  complementary  funding  made  available  by  the  Member  States,  regions 
and  various  educational  establishments,  thanks  to  which  an  extensive  public  had  already  been 
reached. 

In quantitative terms the Community aid had made it possible to support a considerable  number 
of activities, viz.: 

Mobility and exchanges 

•  mobility grants to enable up to 316 000 higher education students to engage in an  integrated 

and recognised period of study in another Member  State 

• 

integrated teaching assignments abroad for some 26 000 teaching  staff 

•  over 80 000 young persons participating  in joint  education projects  and exchanges designed 

to motivate them to communicate in other languages of the EU 

•  over 16 000 participants in European in-service training courses for language teachers. 

Cooperation networks 

•  2 673 inter-university cooperation programmes,  involving over 1 800 higher education 

institutions  Community-wide 

•  28 major thematic networks designed to develop the European dimension in a wide range of 

disciplines and areas of special interest in higher education, involving over  70 institutions  each 
as well as a total of 85 European associations  in the academic  community 

•  1 620 multilateral school partnerships,  involving some 5 000 schools EC-wide 

•  around 3 500 joint  education projects  designed to stimulate young people's motivation to learn 

EU languages, involving over  7 000 institutions 

•  600 transnational projects,  involving some 2  700 institutions, designed to enhance  cooperation 
in the field of open and distance learning, adult education, intercultural education,  language-
learning and initial and in-service training of teachers. 

The analysis also highlighted the cost-benefit  side of the results from  the various measures. These 
were dealt with in section 9.1 above. 

With regard to the overall allocation  of funds  between the different  parts of the programme, it has 
already been possible in the initial period to adhere to the principle  laid down in the Decision,  i.e. 
that  at  least  55%,  10% and  25% must  be  spent  on  Chapters  I,  II  and  III  respectively.  This  is  a 
clear indication that the new areas of funding  contained  in the various chapters of the  programme 
have been well received by their respective target groups. 

iPO 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(97) 99  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

16  15  01 

Catalogue number  :  CB-CO-97-091-EN-C 

ISBN  92-78-16682-0 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European  Communities 

L-2985  Luxembourg 

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