Development of education chapter in Council of Europe e-book 'Shared Histories for a Europe without dividing lines'

1. Development of Education in context
of project ‘Shared Histories’
Education is today a predominantly national
concern with few possibilities for supra-national
intervention.
However we can explore a number of
convergences and interactions in the
development of education in Europe

2. Examples of convergent experience
• Rationale of Education systems
• Role and responsibility of the state
• Centralisation or decentralisation
• Definition of compulsory education
• Certification procedures
• Status, role and training of teachers
• Legal and administrative structures
• Curriculum definition and development
• Textbook policy

3. Examples of interactions
• Philosophy of education
• Gender equality
• Pedagogical reform
• Balance between general and professional
education
• Comparison of national systems
• Trans-national developments
• PISA shocks

4. In exploring aspects of
these convergences
and interactions a
number of recurrent
ideas emerge, leading
to three broad areas
on enquiry:

5. Areas of enquiry
• Education systems
• Education in the classroom
• Education philosophy

6. Areas of enquiry and the Themes of
the e-book
• Development of education systems:
– Access to education
• Education in the classroom:
– Reform of pedagogy
• Education philosophy:
– Exchange of knowledge, ideas and actors

7. (Widening) access to Education
– Social segregation or integration
– Gender issues: Co-education or separate;
– Streaming and selection for differentiated education;
– Democratisation;
– Massification; Institutionalised schooling;
– Length of formal schooling; lifelong learning;
– Flexibility; diversity of offerings and multicultural
education; inclusivity or discrimination; choice
– Barriers to education (language; literacy deficiency)
– Access for special groups (disabled; girls and women;
ethnic minorities, migrants emigrants

8. The reform of pedagogy
• Sources of inspiration; shifting authorities
• Church, State
• ‘Inventions’ of childhood
– Stage of life; born sinful; respond to reason; -to nature; in need of
protection; personality development; children’s rights
• Learning and teaching processes
– Child psychology; cognitive and affective aspects; development of critical
thinking
• Curricular aims
– Knowledge, understanding, experience; skills; values; attitudes;
competences; wisdom
• Influence of different philosophers

9. Exchange of knowledge, ideas and
actors
• Early universities
• Traditional or progressive methods
• Mobility and Globalisation
– migrations; greater permeability of ideas; exchanges (including
virtual) of pupils, students and professors; Bologna and Pisa
processes; IB.

10. Trends
Product
Elitist
Male
Local
Passive
Preparation
Lingua franca
Teacher centred
Process
Democratic
All
World
Active
Lifelong
Mother tongue
Learner centred

11. Development of education
1. How far are the activities in these sections suitable
for pupils and students in your country?
2. Could you suggest ways in which you might adapt
the activities in order to make them more
relevant for pupils and students in your country?

12. Access to education
• General
- Develop a case study showing how access has either widened or become more
equitable in your society over time in respect of one of the points on page 229
- Look at the list of points in the last paragraph on page 229. Do you agree that all
these aspects are shared throughout Europe? What other aspects regarding
access to education do you think are indisputably shared in Europe?
• Gender
- Ouline the successive steps taken to include girls in general mainstream education
in your country. Specify dates. Distinguish progress on primary and secondary
education; on separate or mixed schools; on separate or same curricula
pages 230-32 and focus on exercise 2 on page 232

13. Access to education (2)
• Social segregation
• what evidence can you supply from your country regarding differentiation in
the education system linked to social segregation? Consider economic
differences; rural/urban divide; education of minorities; housing differences
• pages 236-7
• School leaving age and lifelong learning
• pages 240-1: discuss the issue surrounding leaving age and starting work
age.
• How far do you think the paradigm change regarding lifelong learning
suggested as necessary is likely to happen/has happened in your country?
Do you agree that all of the dimensions mentioned on page 239 are
necessary for a paradigm shift?

14. Reform of pedagogy
• Influence of religion
- How relevant is the discussion on pages 246-7 regarding Catholicism and
Protestantism to you? What can you say about the role of Orthodoxy in education
during the same period?
• Role of the state
- When did state education start in your country?
- What has been the relationship between church and state in regard to education?
- In relation to the case study about state provision of basic education in England
(pages 253-7) develop a similar account of the role of the state in your country.
Compare key developments with dates.

15. Reform of pedagogy (2)
• Changing views on learners and learning
• On pages 260-5 a number of key educational thinkers are noted. Research
any of these educators. Which of these thinkers do you think has had a
major influence on your education system? Are there other thinkers you
would like to add to this account?
• Reading pictures; page 268
• Collect a set of pictures showing education in your country at a defined
period. Ask someone from another country to comment on these and say
what they show about your education system in their view.

16. Exchange of ideas, knowledge and
actors
• General
- Discuss aspects of ‘unity’ and ‘diversity’ in universities today. Does this reflect the
idea of the medieval university?
•
• Early universities
- Research other early universities and devise a short description similar to those on
pages 276 and 277
- Universities and shared heritage; page 279 exercises 3 and 4
• Globalisation
- Do the figures for student mobility reported in the seminar paper (page 360)
accord with your experience?