Brussels, 22/08/2003 (Agence Europe) - "Although there are many initiatives, it is more in their visibility and accessibility as well as their coordination that some weaknesses can be found", consider the authors of a study on the place held by the European Union in secondary school education in the Member States and candidate countries, a study commissioned and published by Directorate General for Studies of the European Parliament. The authors, Julien Nicaise and Christiane Blondin from the University of Liège, propose several ways to improve teaching on Europe in both Member and candidate States. They consider that it would be necessary to prepare teachers with an initial training and adequate continuous training, and suggest involving vary broad subjects in an interdisciplinary approach to the European dimension. Using the fact that "one can no longer count the specialised documents, internet sites and the various pedagogic tools that can be used by teachers" to back their argument, they consider it appropriate to create a European quality label for these pedagogic tools that relate to the European Union. They also propose perfecting a common European package of knowledge and competence in order to "facilitate the choice to be made at national level, as well as the production of tools and documents". The authors strongly encourage the Member States to strengthen coordination and complementarity between initiatives so that redundancy in particular may be avoided. Furthermore, they consider that it would be useful to help the creation of national websites on the European Union intended for pupils and teachers, as well as publish a guide on the European dimension in education.
"There are great differences from one country to the next with regards implementation of European teaching, but all must envisage it", the study states, specifying that "everywhere in Europe, on the basis of local, national or international initiatives, many resolutions have been taken in order to allow growing development of the notion of the European dimension in education, and especially in secondary education".
The study gives details of the very many European, national and local programmes in partnership with States, created to help prepare school programmes or the work of teachers on the subject of the European Union, or to promote exchanges.
Language courses, history and geography are the main vectors for European teaching, which may also be found in civic education, social and political sciences, or literature. The study stresses that several candidate countries, including Lithuania and Poland, are proposing specific courses on the European Union, in certain sections.
In France, the European and international sections propose enhanced teaching in a foreign language as well as certain classes using that language (history, geography, literature). In Portugal, European clubs group together pupils and teachers.
As far as the tools made available to teachers are concerned, the study cites, for example, the initiative taken by the British Council, which has set up a "real resource centre supporting the European dimension of education in British education" with its European Resource Centres for Schools and Colleges. The study is also interested in exchange programmes between pupils and teachers of different countries. Thus, for example, a Swedish pupil may spend one year in Germany, France or Sweden, while a pupil of that country goes to Sweden. The Robert Schuman European Centre in Scy-Chazelles (Moselle, France) hosts "European Days".