Brussels, 04/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - Today more than ever, reinforcing social cohesion and the active participation of the citizens in social and political life are central to the concerns of governments and of the European Union. Eurydice has just published a study entitled "Citizenship Education at School in Europe", which takes stock of developments in this area, at primary and secondary education levels in 30 European countries.
The study draws the following conclusions: 1) "Responsible Citizenship", a concept which is largely shared: this term is rarely explicitly used, but it is very much present in official documents concerning education policy in several countries. In general, it covers knowledge and the exercise of civic rights and responsibilities. In the former countries of the communist bloc, preparing young citizens to take part constructively in society is a central objective of educational reforms which have been put in place since 1990; 2) similar objectives, but different approaches: citizenship education is considered to be a principle of teaching. At primary level, it is generally part of one or more subjects on the teaching timetable, whereas at secondary level, it more often appears as a subject in its own right. Three major objectives are shared by almost all countries in question: acquiring a political culture, developing the attitudes and values necessary to become a responsible citizen, and stimulating the active participation of schoolchildren within the school and local community; 3) towards a more participative schooling culture. All countries stressed the importance of involving all players in the school process. Most of them concentrate on pupils' rights, and some of them also on their duties (school attendance, for example). The pupils are given the opportunity to take part in school life in different ways (as a class spokesperson, as members of student associations, etc). The active participation of the parents is also strongly supported in many countries; 4) assessment of civic behaviour: in most of the schools examined, assessment criteria and methods are laid down by the teachers or the headteacher. Some dozen countries have created recommendations or standard criteria for this. In some cases, external examiners are tasked with assessing the way in which schools favour the development of civil behaviour; 5) training of teachers: teachers at both primary and secondary level are rarely trained as specialists in citizenship education. Only half of the countries examined include this subject on the obligatory programme of studies. However, in all the countries, continuous training on offer includes citizenship education. Furthermore, non-government organisations play a fundamental role in national initiatives in favour of citizenship education; 6) training European citizens: in the majority of countries, the European dimension is included among the general objectives of study programmes, particularly in secondary education programmes. Language teaching is very often accorded priority, both as a vehicle to understand sociocultural differences and as a means of communication with other European populations. The study is available in French and English on the Internet, the following address: http: //http://www.eurydice.org/Documents/citizenship/en/FrameSet.htm