SCHOOL EDUCATION (COMENIUS)

What is COMENIUS?

COMENIUS is the name given to the School Education section of the European Community action programme in the field of education "SOCRATES". Adopted on 14 March 1995 and spanning the period until the end of 1999, SOCRATES is applicable to the 15 Member States of the European Union as well as to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway in the framework of the European Economic Area agreement. SOCRATES supports European cooperation in six areas:

• 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.

What are the objectives of COMENIUS ?

COMENIUS constitutes one of the main innovations of the SOCRATES programme as a whole. Building on the possibilities for Community level action in the field of education opened up by the Treaty of Maastricht, it provides support for a number of initiatives designed to enhance the quality of school education and promote the development of a stronger European dimension in the educational process.

COMENIUS seeks to enrich and complement the education systems of the participating countries, helping those learning and teaching in schools to enhance their sense of belonging to a broader and outward-looking European community - a community characterised by diverse tradition, culture and regional identity, but rooted nevertheless in a common history of European development.

COMENIUS contains specific actions designed to improve the educational opportunities of social groups in danger of marginalisation or exclusion because of their life-style and ethnic origins, such as Gypsies, travellers and persons with itinerant occupations. Similarly, intercultural education is seen as an important priority area. COMENIUS supports transnational projects designed to share European experience relating to schools with large numbers of pupils from different cultures and linguistic or ethnic backgrounds. In this way, pupils also learn to reject racism and xenophobia, develop a critical sense of their own cultural identity and discover a shared humanity which transcends all cultures.

Areas of priority include:

• teaching the language and culture of the host country and country of origin to the children of migrant workers;
• integration of the children of Gypsies and travellers into primary / secondary school systems and assistance in facilitating their transition from school to working life;
• development of school networks, specific teacher training measures and the use of open and distance learning to facilitate access to education systems for the children of occupational travellers.

Action 3: Projects for the in-service training of teachers and other educators

This Action supports transnational in-service training projects with one of the following orientations:

• promoting the European dimension of teaching through exchange of information and experience on strategies and methods for achieving this objective;
• raising levels of school achievement and participation by enhancing the skills of educational staff directly involved in improving school performance in general and ensuring full participation of children with special educational needs and capacities.

Support is provided both for the preparation, development and implementation of projects (Action 3.1) and to enable individual teachers/educators to participate in the in-service training activities (Action 3.2).

Other support

Support is also provided for:

• European activities of associations working in the field of schools cooperation (e.g. associations of teachers or parents)
• awareness-raising activities related to promoting European cooperation in this sector, including support for the "Europe at School" competition.

Links to the European Union:

• European Union
• Sokrates- Link wird in Kürze aktualisiert
• Comenius- Link wird in Kürze aktualiesiert