EDUCATION.

European countries have a long tradition of education; schools and universities have existed in Europe for more than eight centuries. Early formal schooling was provided by religious orders, as part of training for the priesthood, or for the sons of the wealthy. State funding for education followed, although attendance was initially subject to the payment of fees. By 1914, compulsory, free elementary education was virtually universal throughout the twenty-five countries that comprised the European Union (EU) in the early twenty-first century: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

The period since 1914 has seen very different political and economic developments, not least the occupation by—and subsequent liberation from—totalitarian regimes, which affected virtually all of Europe. Although all systems have been subject to increasingly frequent reforms, there are similarities in the patterns of control, structure, curriculum, and assessment, and evidence of convergence over time.

This article summarizes the key characteristics of the educational systems of the twenty-five EU countries in the early twenty-first century and explores the factors influencing convergence, namely, a shared heritage, common challenges, and, in particular, the increasingly powerful role played by the European Union.

THE EDUCATION SYSTEMS

It should be noted that, for historic political reasons, in Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom, there are multiple education systems. The Flemish-, French-, and German-speaking communities in Belgium control separate (albeit similar) education systems for their respective areas. Each of the sixteen Länder (states) in Germany exercises autonomous power over the school system in its jurisdiction. As a result, there are differences, for example, in the duration of compulsory education and the ways in which schools are organized. Within the United Kingdom, Scotland has always exercised control over its education system. U.K. education legislation applied to England, Wales, and Northern Ireland until 1999, when the Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies gained devolved powers over education in their respective areas.

Despite the competition—and even wars—between nations, European education systems share many common characteristics.

Aims and priorities

The aims and priorities expressed in national documentation focus particularly on participation, learning experiences, and outcomes.

The first objective is to ensure that all young people participate actively in their education, during the compulsory phase and beyond. Yet, despite the high levels of investment, disaffection among secondary school students leads to disengagement and truancy, and up to 30 percent of students leave school without having satisfactorily completed compulsory education.

In terms of learning experiences and outcomes, education aims to enable young people to:

• master the basic skills of literacy and numeracy and demonstrate confident use of information and communication technologies and, in virtually all countries, at least one foreign language;
• lay the foundations for lifelong learning by developing the dispositions, motivation, and skills to learn, and to find, select, critically evaluate, and use information;
• develop the capacity to solve problems creatively and to work independently and with others, in preparation for (self-)employment;
• develop a shared knowledge of the histories, heritage, and values of the different groups in society, so that they can participate as active, informed and responsible citizens within a diverse (European) community.

Policy and control

Initially under church control, education became a matter of state policy in Europe during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The role of the churches

The earliest "schools" were established by the (Christian) churches, initially to train clerics and subsequently to provide education for the sons of the wealthy. Nondenominational schools quickly followed—still for privileged boys—to promote literacy. The role of churches diminished over time. The role of the church and the state were separated in Finland (1869), France (1905), and Czechoslovakia (1948), and church schools were absorbed into the state-funded system (usually subject to their being allowed to continue to offer religious instruction) in England, Scotland, and Ireland.

In the Netherlands, the unequal treatment of public schools (founded by the municipality or the state) and private schools (founded by churches and other independent bodies) led to the so-called schools dispute, a political battle to achieve complete equality under the law for both types of school. Catholics and Protestants wanted their own schools with a pronounced Roman Catholic or Protestant stamp but with equal state funding. The Liberals, too, wanted the freedom of education guaranteed by the constitution to be reflected in equal financial treatment of public and private schools. The battle, which raged from the middle of the nineteenth century, was finally settled in the 1917 amendment to the constitution, in what is known as the Pacification of 1917. After 1917, the principle of financial equality was extended to secondary and higher education. There are now nearly twice as many privately run as state-run schools.

In Belgium, the inclusion of freedom of education in the 1831 Constitution has been the cause of much conflict and struggle. Educational establishments may not be subjected to any restrictive measure, and schools can be established without being in any way connected with the official authorities. Private schools, however, must satisfy certain criteria in order to receive state funding and to have the qualifications they award formally recognized.

In Northern Ireland, integrated schools have been established for children of both Roman Catholic and Protestant families, specifically to promote mutual understanding and reduce the tensions between these religious communities.

Religious values are reflected in curricula in different ways. For example, in France (except Alsace and Lorraine, which were under German control) religious instruction is banned in state schools. In the United Kingdom, religious education is a compulsory part of the curriculum, although parents can apply to have their children excused.

The role of the state

In the early twenty-first century, education policy, structure, and financing are determined at national level, except in Germany, where responsibility for school education lies with the sixteen Länder, and Belgium, where responsibility lies with the three (Flemish-, French-, and German-speaking) communities.

Administration may be decentralized, whereby central policies are locally implemented without discretion (for example, in France) or devolved, whereby regional, district, or municipal authorities enjoy differing degrees of discretion. For example, the Länder in Germany have full devolved powers to determine funding, structure, curriculum, and inspection arrangements, while the Autonomous Communities in Spain can exercise some discretion within central policies and guidelines.

Since the early 1980s, European education has seen a tendency toward devolving financial, managerial, and curricular responsibility to schools (at the expense of local authorities' powers), within a framework of externally determined outcome targets, assessment, and inspection. School governing bodies or boards, especially in Belgium, England, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, and Wales, have considerable autonomy. Elsewhere (in Denmark, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia), they enjoy less autonomy or may have a purely advisory role. In both cases, they serve as a focal point for parental and community views.

Duration and structure of compulsory education

Virtually all the education systems in Europe had instituted compulsory education, at least for the primary years, by the beginning of World War I. Compulsory education, however, was not always free. For example, education was made compulsory in 1869 in Hungary, but was not free until 1908, and in Scotland the relevant dates were 1872 and 1890. The duration of compulsory education also varied, ranging from two years in Italy (1877, extended to eight years in 1948), through four years in Portugal (from 1956 for boys and 1960 for girls, extended to six years in 1974), to eight years in Czechoslovakia (1869), Slovakia (1927), and Spain (1931), and nine years in England (1870) and Luxembourg (1912).

During the twentieth century the period of compulsory education—whether at school or elsewhere—was extended so that it now starts between the ages of four and six and lasts between nine and twelve years. Preschool classes, although not compulsory (except in Hungary, Latvia, and Luxembourg) are attended by the vast majority of children.

Two main models of provision exist for compulsory education:

• The "single structure" model aims to avoid the transition between schools during the compulsory phase and is common in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Sweden. The school may have a lower and upper division, to reflect differences in the content and organization of the curriculum. Students leaving compulsory education progress to upper-secondary education, vocational training, or employment.
• The two-tier structure (prevailing in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom) involves a transfer from primary to secondary education, usually around age ten to twelve. Some schools cater to students over compulsory school age, but in other cases, students transfer again to upper-secondary or vocational education.

In most countries, compulsory education was provided in elementary schools; secondary education was restricted to an elite minority. This restriction was usually imposed by means of fees, although scholarships were available (for example, in England and Northern Ireland) for students who showed exceptional ability. Intelligence testing was used from early in the twentieth century onward to identify those suitable for academic education.

As (lower-) secondary education became compulsory for all (starting from the middle of the twentieth century), separate schools or tracks were established to provide general education (preuniversity academic and less advanced general courses), technical education, and vocational courses. This stratification was intended to meet the perceived needs of future leaders of society, workers, and housewives and mothers, respectively. The trend to early specialization was based on an assumption of inherent aptitude—or lack of it.

"Grammar" schools, which stressed the classics, the sciences, and theoretic knowledge, were to prepare the future leaders. Admission was often controlled by means of entrance examinations, and students were expected to continue their studies beyond the statutory school-leaving age to secure the qualifications necessary for admission to higher education. The Nordic countries tended to defer specialization to the postcompulsory (upper-secondary) phase.

Technical schools emerged from the strong tradition of apprenticeships and guilds. These offered training for young people (especially boys) for technical and manual occupations. In Italy, for example, there were separate secondary schools offering courses (from age fourteen) in the classics, the humanities, and the sciences (leading to university education); technical schools; vocational schools; training for nursery and primary school teachers; and fine art schools offering early specialization. Indeed, until the 1960s or beyond, primary school teachers in many countries were trained in "secondary" schools.

A third category—general schools—emerged to provide for those deemed to be unsuited for either academic or technical education. These were sometimes designated as "extended primary" schools.

Two factors have led to the widespread adoption of all-ability (lower-) secondary education since the early 1960s. First, institutional differentiation in terms of status and funding led to calls for more egalitarian provision, and second, a higher level of basic education is required to meet the demands of a more highly mechanized and computerized society. During the second half of the twentieth century stratification was deferred until the upper-secondary phase in all countries except Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Northern Ireland. But results from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment demonstrate that the gap between the best and weakest students tends to be wider in countries with differentiated systems. This finding may lead to a review of these structures.

Curriculum

Curricula that prescribe the aims and desired outcomes for each educational phase, the subjects to be studied, and the amount of time to be allocated to each, exist in virtually all countries to safeguard students' entitlement, to allow for mobility between schools, and, more recently, to facilitate a degree of local responsiveness or specialization.

Two countries provide examples of the ebb and flow of control. In the United Kingdom, religious education was the only compulsory subject until 1988. The national curriculum introduced that year in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland was very detailed, and proved to be unmanageable. (There is no compulsory curriculum in Scotland, although guidelines exist for all subject areas.) Successive reductions in prescription have culminated in "Curriculum 2000," a framework that sets a compulsory entitlement to learning for all students (aged five to sixteen years) in terms of content, attainment targets for learning, and requirements for the assessment and reporting of performance, but that gives schools discretion regarding the detailed content, timetable, teaching methods, and materials. In a contrasting example, the government in power in Italy in 2003 increased centralized control over the curriculum, thereby reversing its predecessor's trend toward devolving responsibility in these matters.

The status and political ideology of countries affect their approaches to the curriculum. The reestablishment of nation-states (for example, the unification of Italy in 1871; the unification of the Czech and Slovak lands and the Transcarpathian Ukraine into Czechoslovakia in 1918; the liberation from foreign occupation of Lithuania in 1918; and the liberation of the territories occupied by the USSR) was accompanied by education systems that sought to establish a sense of nationhood in the different territories brought together or to "replace the alien cultural foundations with its own." In these cases, the use of the national language and inculcation of the culture(s) were crucial.

Dictatorships and foreign occupations sought to impose particular ideologies and structures. Examples include the emphasis on Catholic and patriotic values during the regime of Francisco Franco in Spain, and the centralization and Russification of the territories incorporated into the USSR after World War II.

The education systems of these latter countries (Czechoslovakia, Estonia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland) were subjected to a strict control of the Communist Party and central power, and therefore autonomy on the school level was minimal. Education was aimed at glorifying the Soviet Union and at educating pupils for the benefit of the collective Soviet nation; the development of individual abilities was encouraged only if it had potential value for the Soviet system. Regulations issued by the party and the government were the supreme guidelines in designing the education system, dictating the operation of education institutions and the organization of instructional work in schools. Schools worked on the basis of a statute approved by the USSR Council of Ministers, and the Ministry of Education of the individual Soviet republics established the foundations for educational and instructional work in general schools; approved syllabuses, curricula, and statutes of instructional work organization in schools; and gave specifications and orders to direct the schools' activities and performance of tasks.

Despite the ideological pressure and restrictions set, some differences were maintained, especially in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In Estonia, for example, Estonian was retained as a language of instruction, alongside Russian; textbooks were written in Estonian by Estonian authors; the syllabus of upper-secondary schools was longer by one year—providing eleven years; and the volume of studies in some subjects differed. In Latvia, some schools still provided some "nationally oriented" education with Latvian language of instruction. In Lithuania, despite the intensive process of russification, the national cultural resistance continued. A network of secret Lithuanian schools operated for forty years. Training at these schools was very poor, but they offered an opportunity to study, and they encouraged interest in reading the illegal Lithuanian press. In terms of education, these small schools played a unique role in promoting the patriotism of the people and expanding their experience.

In early-twenty-first-century Europe, the areas of "essential" learning are remarkably consistent, namely: national and regional language(s) and literature, mathematics, science, information technology, technology, the humanities (history, geography, social studies), physical education and health, the arts (fine arts, music, dance, drama), citizenship, and moral or religious education. The place of foreign languages is particularly interesting. Although member states may have resisted the intervention of the European Community in their school curriculum, "foreign" occupation, proximity to a border, and the size of a country has led to the teaching of more than one language. Foreign languages are compulsory in virtually all countries (often from primary school), and most schools teach a second foreign language. English is the most popular choice, probably because it is the principal language of the entertainment industry and the Internet.

For a number of reasons, however, foreign languages are less widely studied in some parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland. First, students in Ireland and Wales are required to learn Irish and Welsh, respectively (in addition to English), and these are not classed as foreign languages. Second, the prevalence of English speakers reduces the motivation of students, and there is no obvious "first" foreign language for them to learn. Finally, a serious shortage of foreign-language teachers in England and Wales made it impossible to implement the requirement for compulsory foreign-language teaching to all students aged eleven to sixteen. Despite several government initiatives to encourage the teaching and learning of foreign languages, many students in the United Kingdom lag behind their continental peers in this area.

The school timetable is generally organized by subject or subject areas. Concern about students' failure to transfer knowledge and skills across subject boundaries and the need for higher-order skills for employment in a "knowledge society" are leading to a greater emphasis on the understanding, evaluation, and application of knowledge in different contexts. Learning outcomes are therefore increasingly expressed in terms of key skills such as communication, problem solving, creativity, cooperative working, and the appropriate use of new technologies.

Assessment

Diagnostic assessment takes place regularly as part of the teaching and learning process in all countries, and periodic tests provide a summative record of student progress. Grades are based on classroom participation, homework, extended projects, tests, and end of term/year examinations. Many countries have official grading schemes and performance criteria, and all the teachers of a school-year group collectively determine whether a student has mastered the knowledge and skills required for promotion to the next class. Internal school grades are used to award school-leaving certificates (in fifteen countries) and upper-secondary qualifications (in ten countries). The remaining countries require students to take an externally set examination.

The use of high-stakes, external assessment of student performance as an indicator of the quality of schools and the education system is not widespread in the EU. Samples of the school population are assessed in Hungary (throughout compulsory education) and Spain (at ages 12 and 16), and standardized assessment is compulsory for all students in England (at ages 7, 11, and 14), France (ages 8 and 11), and Wales (ages 11 and 14). The results of standardized assessments are published in England (by school) and in France and Spain (anonymously). Standardized assessment is optional in Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

INFLUENCES ON CONVERGENCE

Factors that have most influenced the convergence of European education systems are heritage, political and ideological values, economic and technological change, social change, and international "competition."

Heritage

Geographical, political, and linguistic boundaries have shifted as a result of colonization, invasion, and wars. This may result in shared or "inherited" aspects of control and provision. The thirty countries described herein have experienced numerous geographical and political changes. The following serve as examples:

• Finland was ruled by Sweden for four hundred years, then Russia for one hundred years, before gaining independence in 1917. Finland joined the EU in 1995.
• Poland was successively invaded by the Swedes and Turks; suffered partition by the Russians, Prussians, and Austrians; was annexed by the German Third Reich; and then fell under the USSR's sphere of influence (until 1989). Lithuania united with Poland (as self-governing partners) in the eighteenth century and subsequently followed the fate of Poland. Both countries joined the EU in 2004.
• Slovakia has been, successively, part of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the USSR (until 1989). It joined the EU in 2004.
• Slovenia sought—unsuccessfully—to unite the Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs occupying Habsburg lands as a new nation in 1918. To resist further territorial raids by Italy, Slovenia became part of Yugoslavia in 1929. World War II saw Yugoslavia divided between Germany, Italy, and Hungary. Following the Yugoslav resistance and the break with Soviet Union (1948), a milder version of socialism, based on common ownership and self-management, was established. Slovenia achieved independence in 1991 and joined the EU in 2004.

While the Swedish and Russian occupations do not appear to have had a negative influence on the education system of Finland, the same cannot be said for the political changes that affected the other three examples cited above.

Invading powers and totalitarian regimes have used education to influence and control behavior and thought (or at least the expression of thought) by means of the form and content of education and, in many cases, the medium of instruction. Hence, several countries have more than one official language (for example, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, and Wales), and the languages of former regimes may continue to be taught because of the prevalence of their use (for example, Russian in Estonia). Regions that were absorbed into nation-states or kingdoms have vigorously defended their right to retain their language (for example, Flemish in Belgium, Friesian in the Netherlands, Catalan and Basque in Spain, and Welsh in Wales).

Challenges

When governments identify economic and social problems, they often attribute the cause to education systems, which therefore undergo frequent reforms. The speed and nature of changes has increased during the past century as a result of a number of factors.

Political and ideological values

Following the introduction of universal suffrage, governments have had to take account of a wider range of expectations. The approach of elections therefore stimulates a rethinking of education policies so that values, their interpretation, and their enactment match the perceived preferences of the electorate. Thus, systems that offer differentiated provisions intended to meet the needs of different groups (as in the selective secondary education systems common during the middle of the twentieth century) are replaced by those that stress a common, equal entitlement for all.

In the past, education was respected as an unquestioned public good, whose aims, nature, and resources were centrally determined. As indicated above, some schools exercise devolved responsibility for school governance and management and have developed particular curricular or philosophical approaches, to raise student achievement. Indeed, in a few countries, an education "market" is developing, as parents are encouraged to express a preference, and schools compete to attract students and the funding that accompanies their enrollment. Such competition is intended to "drive up standards." Within a market model, however, it may be difficult to manage demands and expectations on the one hand, and the individual actions of providers (schools) on the other, and there are cases in which parents or students seek legal redress and compensation for perceived inadequacies of the system.

Economic and technological change

Advances in information and communications technology enable people to do more, faster, more cheaply, and from a distance. Many routine jobs are computerized, and higher-order skills are required from those seeking employment. As a result, career paths become fragmented, and those unable or unwilling to update their skills may become unemployable. In this context, education must

• be overtly "relevant" both in the eyes of students (to reduce the dropout rate and disengagement from the learning process) and of employers (who complain that young people are ill-equipped for employment);
• incorporate new approaches in the teaching and learning process, with the emphasis moving from learning facts to the selection, evaluation, and application of knowledge and skills; and
• change the focus from one-off, standardized initial education and training to flexible and lifelong learning.

Social change

At the turn of the twentieth century, European societies were largely rural, predominantly Christian, and relatively homogenous. Subsequently, mobility within Europe—stimulated by political unrest, persecution, or pursuit of higher living standards—and immigration from beyond its borders have created heterogeneous societies that must recognize, tolerate, and accommodate differences in culture, religion, language, and traditions. Compulsory education, therefore, has to find a balance between transmitting the traditional or predominant culture, and raising awareness and understanding of the diversity within the community and beyond. Education systems are also expected to secure economic and social advancement for the individual and for society as a whole.

International "competition"

Education policy is increasingly seen in a global context, with outcomes expressed in terms of "world-class" benchmarks, as policy makers assess the performance of their students relative to those in other countries. For example, between thirty and forty countries worldwide participate in international surveys and education databases and studies that compare education systems and outcomes. Pressure to overcome perceived deficiencies weighs particularly heavily on governments, which seek to demonstrate achievements within three- to five-year electoral cycles. This may lead to ad hoc policy changes, which may be neither feasible, nor even desirable, given the social, cultural, and educational context and the long-term educational aims in the country concerned.

The elements assessed in international surveys reflect the collective—but not necessarily the individual—priorities of the participating countries. Thus, as each new survey is reported, changes are introduced to compensate for perceived national deficiencies, and priorities are realigned. For example, the findings of the 1995 Third International Mathematics and Science Study caused England to change the focus of mathematics teaching from higher-order skills to basic computation (in which students from, in particular, Singapore and Hungary outperformed those from England). Subsequently, the Programme for International Student Assessment for 2000 focused on "young people's capacity to use their knowledge and skills in order to meet real-life challenges, rather than merely looking at how well they had mastered a specific school curriculum," which redirected attention to higher-order skills. This focus has given rise to growing curricular emphasis on core or transferable skills and independent learning. Yet, it may be difficult for teachers who were trained and spent much of their professional life under totalitarian regimes to model and encourage open-ended, autonomous learning.

A further example of the influence of international surveys is the possible introduction of national standards in core subjects for school leavers in Germany, in apparent contravention of educational autonomy accorded to the Länder by the constitution.

The emerging European response

During the second half of the twentieth century there emerged an understandable desire to avoid a repeat of the devastation caused within this small continent by the two world wars. The early steps focused on economic cooperation and a common market allowing free movement of individuals, goods, and services. The contribution of vocational training to enhancing mobility was recognized as crucial and therefore a "legitimate" concern of the emerging European Economic Community (EEC). Hence, the Treaty of Rome (1957), which established the EEC, proposed a common policy on vocational training (Article 128), in pursuit of improved living and working conditions (Article 117), cooperation with respect to the initial training and ongoing development of professionals (Article 118), and the guarantee of free movement, nondiscrimination, and the mutual recognition of qualifications (Article 57). Higher education was included under the umbrella of "vocational education" but—possibly understandably, given the Continent's history—all external intervention in education was rigorously resisted, on the grounds that it was, and should remain, a matter of national sovereignty.

There are tensions between retaining national sovereignty over the transmission of values, heritage, and culture, and a willingness to accept common education and training objectives, and to support collective programs and initiatives, with a view to enhancing economic strength and social and political harmony. Nevertheless, in 1992, thirty-five years after the signing of the Treaty of Rome, member states agreed to include education as a legitimate area for community policy. This was achieved through a four-pronged action plan:

1. the establishment of a legal basis and administrative structures
2. the dissemination of information on education systems and policies
3. the creation of programs to support cooperation between institutions, teachers, and students
4. the development of education policies that contribute to the achievement of European economic, social, and political objectives.

Legal basis and supporting structures

In 1974 the (nine) ministers of education adopted a Resolution—a voluntary commitment, with no legislative power—that set the ground rules for cooperation and established the Education Committee. The Resolution recognized the different educational policies and structures and acknowledged that their harmonization could not be an explicit objective. Starting in 1978, the Education Committee, comprising civil servants from all member states, met regularly to discuss matters of common interest and prepare for the biennial meetings of the ministers of education in council. The European Commission provided the secretariat.

An administrative support structure was gradually built by bringing together the (separate) education and training divisions within the Directorate-General V (Employment, Social Affairs and Education) in 1981. In 1989 a Task Force on Human Resources, Education, Training and Youth was established; it achieved the status of a Directorate-General (XII) in 1995, and was redesignated the Directorate-General Education and Culture (incorporating culture and audiovisual media) in 1999.

Careful progress, by means of exchange of information and a series of Community Programmes to promote voluntary cooperation, prepared member states to open up aspects of their education policy to cross-national and EC involvement. A watershed was reached in 1992 with the signing of the Treaty on European Union. Article 126 of the treaty formally recognized the importance of education in the creation of a single Europe and assigned to the European Commission the role of supporting and complementing this work. However, the principle of added value and subsidiarity restricted the commission's involvement to those actions collectively approved by member states and that added value to national initiatives. Crucially, the Act respected member states' responsibility for the content and organization of education and for cultural and linguistic diversity; all harmonization of education systems was excluded.

Exchange of information and study visits

In 1976 the ministers of education identified the collection of documentation and statistics as a priority action. Eurydice, the European education information network, became operational in 1980 and provided a question-and-answer service, primarily for educational policy makers. In this way it was hoped that national education policy would take account of good practice elsewhere. By 1990, the network had produced detailed descriptions of the education systems, and its primary role became the preparation of comparative studies (1992) and indicators (1994) to support the work of the Education Committee. The Eurydice network was enlarged to include thirty countries in 1996, and participation in the network served as an introduction to cooperation within the EU framework for countries that were candidates for admission into the EU.

A program of study visits (later named Arion) was instituted to bring together senior school staff, regional policy makers, inspectors and other professionals from several member states. Each visit focused on a specific aspect of education (for example, teacher training in Finland, or special educational needs provision in Italy), but participants invariably broadened their discussions to include general priorities and issues in their respective countries. The number of participants grew from eighty-five in 1978 to twenty-one hundred in 2005.

The National Academic Recognition Information Centres (NARIC) were set up in 1984 to advise higher education institutions and students on the recognition of courses of study and qualifications.

Actions and programs

The first Resolution adopted by the ministers of education (1976) identified six priority actions. But the lack of a legal basis paralyzed action for three years (1978–1980), and proposals relating to the introduction of a European dimension in secondary education, the teaching of foreign languages, the admission of students to higher education institutions in other EEC member states, and equal opportunities for girls in education and vocational training, were blocked. Nevertheless, the Resolution gave rise to some transnational pilot projects and laid the groundwork for Eurydice and Arion.

During the 1980s, the member states agreed to finance a series of Programmes to support and facilitate cooperation in priority areas. The main education Programmes were Erasmus (student mobility and cooperation between universities) and Lingua (the development of foreign language teaching). After the signing of the Maastricht Treaty (1992), the education Programmes were reorganized as elements of the Socrates program and expanded for a second phase of funding (1995–1999). New actions were added to support secondary school cooperation and exchange (Comenius), open and distance learning, and adult education. These programs were progressively opened to participants from the nations that joined the EU in 2004: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia.

The programs were extended for a third phase (2000–2006), and a fourth phase (2007–2013), as of 2006 still being planned, aimed to bring together Socrates and the former vocational training program (Leonardo da Vinci) into a single "lifelong learning" program. Funding increased tenfold from 0.1 percent of the community budget (in 1986) to more than 1 percent for the fourth phase.

Development of policy

Article 126 of the Maastricht Treaty provided the legislative basis for the European Commission to make policy proposals in the field of education for consideration by member states. Accordingly, the EC published a series of papers stressing the important role of education and training systems in the development of a single Europe; the need for systems to adapt to meet the challenges of globalization; the information society, and the scientific and technical developments; and the importance of lifelong learning and the creation of a knowledge society.

The four-pronged action plan has led—surprisingly quickly—to the development of shared aims and indicators, and agreed-upon monitoring processes to create a European educational space in both the university and school sectors, known as the Bologna Process and the Lisbon Strategy, respectively.

The Bologna Process

In 1998 the education ministers called for the harmonization of higher education structures, to make the sector more comparable and competitive and to create a "European higher education space." The resulting Bologna Process involves thirty countries in the convergence of higher education systems. It builds on, and is supported by, a number of established initiatives: Erasmus, NARIC, transferable credit units of study (ECTS), and the Internet Portal on Learning Opportunities throughout the European Space (Ploteus). The Erasmus Mundus program aims to make higher education in Europe (and not only in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) more attractive to students from within and beyond the European Union by offering a cross-national master's degree involving study at two or more of three participating institutions, drawn from three countries.

The Lisbon Strategy

The Lisbon Strategy, proposed by the education ministers in 1999, aims to make Europe the most competitive knowledge economy, by modernizing and harmonizing education and training systems to achieve "world-class" standing by 2010. The strategy comprises the adoption of the (first) EC framework of common benchmarks, together with an implementation program and agreed-upon monitoring and reporting procedures. Because it aims to promote the exchange of good practice, the development of indicators to measure progress, and peer review, the so-called open method of coordination goes far beyond the "rolling agenda" that ministers had originally envisaged. This was not achieved without reservations on the part of some member states, who did not wish their policies to be so closely aligned with that of other countries. The method nevertheless has enormous potential for a higher shared quality and efficiency of education and training systems in Europe, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity.

The process depends heavily, however, on the ability and willingness of individual member states to adopt the common objectives at a national level. Interim progress reviews conducted in 2003 and 2004 reveal that, despite widespread reforms in all countries, progress toward the creation of a knowledge society is lagging behind that of major international competitors, and national investment in human resources is deemed inadequate to meet the challenge. The Education Council and the EC therefore called on member states to make greater and more efficient efforts and investments to implement global and coherent lifelong education and training strategies and to develop a knowledge society and a European education and training space. The qualifications framework and the European dimension in education are seen as especially important.

CONCLUSION

The diverse political, economic, and social contexts of the participating countries mean that the objectives set for the Bologna Process and the Lisbon Strategy are ambitious. Member states resist what they perceive as unreasonable pressure from the center, as the rejection of the proposed European Constitution by France and the Netherlands in 2005 shows. Nevertheless, educational cooperation in Europe has come a very long way since the 1950s, and, provided that the spirit, as well as the letter, of subsidiarity is respected, the omens for increasing cooperation are very positive.

See alsoChild Care; Childhood and Adolescence; Citizenship; Welfare State

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). "Programme for International Student Assessment." Available at http://www.pisa.oecd.org.

——. Problem Solving for Tomorrow's World: First Measures of Cross-Curricular Competencies from PISA 2003. Paris, 2004. Also available at http://www.pisa.oecd.org.

——. Education at a Glance, 2005. Paris, 2005.

Pépin, Luce. Histoire de la coopération européenne dans le domainedel'éducation et de la formation. Luxembourg, 2006.

Joanna Le MÉtais