DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 076 367 SE 015 691

TITLE Council of Europe Information Bulletin 3/1972.INSTITUTION Council of Europe, Strasbourg (France). Documentation

Center for Education in Europe.PUB DATE Dec 72NOTE 81p.

EDRS PRICE [CIF -$0.65 HC-$3.29DESCRIPTORS *Conference Reports; Educational Change; *Higher

Education; International Organizations;Organizational Change; *Program Descriptions

IDENTIFIEPS *Council of Europe

ABSTRACTEducational, cultural, and scientific activities of

the Council of Europe are reported in this bulletin. Part I reviewsthe areas of higher education and research, general and technicaleducation, out-of-school education and cultural development, andeducational research and documentation together with a resume of the22nd session of the Council for Cultural CoopPration. Part IIhighlights higher education reform and the concept or permanenteducation. Four lectures presented at the Symposium on HigherEducation, held in Vienna, Austria, June-July, 1972, are included:"Development of Higher Education Structures in Europe," "StudentUnrest and Student Participation," "Study Reform and PermanentEducation," and "Post-School, Recurrent and HigherEducation--Proposals for an Overall Reform." The purpose of theSymposium was to study, from the standpoint of politicalresponsibility, problems raised by the organization of highereducation in a post-industrial society. In addition, there is areport to the Consultive Assembly (October, 1972) about theSymposium, "Present Trends in Higher Education Reform and FurtherProspects With a View to Permanent Education," and a speech by theSecretary General of the Council of Europe, "Towards a EuropeanPolicy in Higher Education." (BL)

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December 1972

Contents

FIRST PARTpage

Council for Cultural Co-operation1

Higher Education and Research 3

General and Technical Education 10

Out-of-School Education and Cultural Development 16

Educational Research and Documentation 24

SECOND PART

Higher Education Reform and the Concept of Permanent Education

Present trends in higher education reform and further prospects with aview to permanent education, J. Capelle 28

Towards a European policy in higher education, L. Toncic-Sorinj, SecretaryGeneral of the Council of Europe 49

Development of higher education structures in Europe, W. Taylor 51

Student unrest and student participation, B. E. Ingelmark 60

Study reform and permanent education, E. A. van Trotsenburg 66

Post-school, recurrent and higher education. - Proposals for an overallreform, F. Edding 69

PUBLICATIONS 77

The Information Bulletin which is distributed free of charge three times a year in anEnglish and a French edition, informs on the educational, cultural and scientific activitiesof the Council of Europe and reprints important policy documents of European interestin. these fields.

First Pan

Council for Cultural Co-operation

The twenty-second session of the Council for Cultural Co-operation which took place inStrasbourg from 22nd to 28th September 1972, was chaired by M. V. Depasquale (Malta).It was attended by delegates from all member States, a representative of the ConsultativeAssembly, the Chairmen of the CCC's Permanent CommitteeS, as well as observers fromUNESCO, the Commission of the European Communities and the European CulturalFoundation.

After having heard the Statement made by Rector J. Cape lle, Chairman of the Committeeon Culture and Education of the Consultative Assembly, and the reports of the SteeringGroups and Steering Committees on Permanent Education, Educational Technology, Edu-cational Documentation and Educational Research, the CCC examined the various itemson its agenda and adopted its programme for 1973.

Intensified European Co-operation in the Educational Field

The main business of the Session was to reach agreement on the proposals to be put tothe Committee of Ministers concerning the future role of the CCC as a focus for intensifiededucational and cultural co-operation against the background of "existing educational co-operation within groups of European countries and of the discussions at present takingplace in Brussels concerning possible co-operation in this field between the countries ofthe Community". Having concluded that "these activities and initiatives together withthe development of its own activities should be regarded as complementary", it adoptedOpinion No. 10 on Recommendation 649 (1971) of the Consultative Assembly on Europeanco-operation in the field of culture and education.

At is twenthieth session, the CCC had adopted a first Opinion on an earlier AssemblyRecommendation [567 (1969)] calling for the creation of a "European Office of Education".On that occasion the CCC had affirmed that its own flexible structure would enable it tocarry out the tasks envisaged by the Assembly, if it were provided with the necessaryresources in finance and personnel.

Having subsequently been invited to study the long-term aspects of the Assembly recom-mendation and after having considered the report of the special Working Party set up toprepare concrete proposals, the CCC has now advised the Committee of Ministers that thework of such an "Office" or -7-- as it prefers to call it "focus" for educational co-opera-tion in Europe should be based on the following functions :

". Information and documentation. This is principally a question of helping the mem-ber governments to keep one another informed, particularly as regards innovations,of assisting them to improve and modernise their own instruments of educationalinformation and documentation, and of facilitating their comparability.

Exchanges of specific categories of persons by encouraging projects aiming atensuring the dissemination of ideas and experience and by helping to carry themout.

Contacts between the different educational systems and their comparison, in parti-cular in their more innovatory aspects, by joint consideration of specific problemsconfronting member governments.

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. Encouraging by all suitable means (surveys, research, pilot projects, etc.) a commonapproach and where appropriate, concerted action between the member countrieson priority problems."

Further excerpts from Opinion No. 10 are given below :

These different functions may be regarded as having the common objective of pro-moting projects of intensified co-operation, which in particular cases may take theform of 'special projects', i.e. projects with which only some of the governmentsrepresented in the CCC wish to be associated.

If the CCC is in the future to help governments by the promotion of joint action, it willhave to be provided with the means to enable it at the same time to work more indepth and to arrive more speedily at results corresponding with the governments' realneeds.

For intensified action in the education field to be successful it would be advisable:. to secure more direct participation by national educational authorities, in the CCC's

work ;. to give more weight to projects likely to result in a common approach or in con-

certed action (EUDISED, for example).

It follows that, without profoundly modifying the present structures of the CCC andthe means of action available to it, the CCC should be able, through the progressivestrengthening of these means, to take upon itself the essential tasks of a focus for co-operation between the countries composing it. It is convinced, however, that the per-formance of these tasks need not and should not involve the creation of a cumbersomebureaucratic machine. In this connection more direct participation in the work bynational educational authorities would be particularly valuable.

The CCC recognises that if it is to carry out the tasks described above so as to contri-bute effectively to meeting the needs of member governments in the education field, itwill be more than ever necessary for it to set strict priorities. Concequently, it willensure, through its normal procedures, in particular by consulting its Permanent Com-mittees, that it will be in a position to indicate clearly the themes, which it considersshould receive priority treatment in an intensified programme. On the basis of theseproposals, the CCC will submit to the Committee of Ministers a programme for 1974including the examination in depth of certain problems considered by the membercountries to require particularly high priority.

In Recommendation 649, the Consultative Assembly requested the Committee of Mi-nisters to establish a plan with a view to at least tripling :)grind of five yearsthe governmental contributions to the Cultural Fund so as to permit that b( '-provide adequate finance for the harmonious expansion of a European programme forpermanent education and long-term cultural developmei I in consonance with the aimsof the Council of Europe. The CCC considers that it sho,ad be possible for it to under-take the tasks described above with a more modest increase in the resources of moneyand staff made available to it. (A detailed plan of expansion was appended to thisOpinion.) In this context, it has borne in mind that voluntary contributions by govern-ments for 'special projects', exchange and fellowship schemes, etc. would augmentconsiderably the resources devoted to European educational co- operation within theCCC framework without burdening excessively the budget of the Council of Europe.and could bring them up to a level comparable to that recommended by the Consulta-tive Assembly.

In conclusion, the CCC repeats its conviction of its readiness and ability to fulfil thefunctions of a "European Office of Education", provided that certain conditions aremet. These conditions amount essentially to a careful concentration on priority issues,greater involvement by governments, and an appropriate increase in rsources. If these

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conditions can be met and they do not appear excessive then a new phase ofeducational co-operation in Europe can begin.

Four other questions closely related to the future role of the CCC were raised in theCCC's reply to Recommendation 567 and in Recommendation 649 of the ConsultativeAssembly :

. The representation of Ministers of Education and Culture in the CCC.

. The establishment of closer relations between the CCC and the senior officialsresponsible for preparing meetings of the Standing Conference of European Ministersof Education.

The advisability of changing the title of the CCC in order to show more clearly itseducational competence. In order to mark a new phase in the development of theCCC and to give due prominence to its educational responsibilities, it is proposedthat the title be changed to "Council for Education and Culture (CEC)".The possibility of establishing a conference of European Ministers of Culture. TheCCC proposes to limit itself for the time being to considering whether it would beadvisable to convene an ad hoc Conference of Ministers of Culture on a theme whichwould lead to concrete results."

Cultural Development : UNESCO's Intergovernmental Conference, on Cultural Policies inEurope

The CCC was informed of certain aspects and issues of the UNESCO IntergovernmentalConference on Cultural Policies in Europe, held in Helsinki in June 1972. Covering thefull geographical area of Europe, the Helsinki Conference brought together representa-tives of 31 countries, including practically all t.le countries signatory to the EuropeanCultural Convention and participating in the work of the CCC.

After discussion, the CCC decided to ask its Permanent Committees, in particular theCommittee for Out-of-School Education and Cultural Development, to examine the resultsof the Helsinki Conference, with particular reference to their implications for its futureprogramme. At its next session, basing itself on the opinions of its Committees, the CCCwill discuss this matter in greater detail and reach a decision on the questions raised.

Document : CCC (72) 33.

Higher `ducat'^n rind Research

Strasbourg 6th - 8th Novembre 1972

Twenty-sixth meeting of the CommitteeThe autumn meting of the Committee, chaired by Professor U. Hochstrasser (Switzer-land), was attended by senior officials and academic representatives of member States,and by obsen ers from UNESCO, the Commission of the European Communities, the Inter-national Association of Universities and the International Institute for Educational Plan-ning,

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With regard to curriculum reform and development the Committee adopted the followingguidelines for future action :

The introduction of short-cycle study courses and periods of orientation would beincomplete, if these were not combined with curriculum research.

Governments and institutions of tertiary education must co-operate in curriculumreform ; neither is able to solve the problems alone.

A certain decentralisation in the elaboration of study courses would be useful.

The question of methods and procedures for the planning of curricula is of vitalimportance.

Curricula should not take professional patterns for granted but aim at preparing thestudents for critical thinking.

Working Parties will have to draft recommendations for curricula reforms in indivi-dual disciplines.

A European Register of Selected Curriculum Reform Experiments should be initiated.

The Committee was informed about the conclusions of the Working Party on Multi-MediaDistant Study Systems in Higher Education as regards the proposed creation of a Euro-pean Institute for the Promotion of Multi-Media Distant Study Systems in Higher Educa-tion. It unanimously approved this feasibility study and decided to transmit it to the CCCwith a favourable recommendation.

In discussing a United Kingdom proposal for a multilateral (post-graduate) scholarshipscheme open to all CCC count..:_s and implemented under the auspices of the Council ofEurope, the Committee agreed to convene in January 1973 a Working Party to agree onthe criteria for scholarship offers to be included into the proposed European scheme andon the role of the Council of Europe. Its conclusions will be sent for comments to allCommittee members and submitted to the CCC in March 1973.

Furthermore, the Committee took note of theCCC's intention to intensify co-operation in anumber of fields so that the CCC would assume progressively the functions of a "Focusfor European educational co-operation". Invited to express an opinion on priority areassuitable for intensified co-operation, the Committee selected the following themes inorder of preference : equivalence of qualifications ; mobility ; curriculum reform anddevelopment ; reform and planning of the structure of higher education. The Committeeadopted its draft programme of work for 1974.

Documents : CCC/ESR (72) 87.

Strasbourg 20th - 21st June 1972

Reform of medical education(Meeting of experts)

This meeting, jointly organised by the Division for Higher Education and Research andthe Public Health Division of the Council of Europe was attended by university teachersfrom fifteen member States and one official from a national public health service. Obser-vers from international organisations, i.e. OECD, the Commission of European Communi-ties and the World Health Organisation as well as students representing the InternationalFederation of Medical Students' Association, also took part.

The present reform trends in member countries and recommendations or guidelines for

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the reform of medical education were the two main discussion items of the meeting. Ninenational reports on "Reform and new trends in medical undergraduate education" consti-tuted the basic working papers arid were presented by the following countries : FederalRepublic of Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkeyand the United Kingdom.

Participants were unanimous in considering that the objectives of medical education needto be re-defined. Medical knowledge expands very rapidly into very detailed specialisa-tions. This situation calls for urgent reforms within the system of medical teaching,effecting in particular :

the duration and planning of studies (shorter undergraduate education followed bypost-graduate and refresher courses ; more responsibility in participation in clinicalwork) ;

curricula (selection of content ; introduction of new subjects such as behavioural andsociological studies ; more emphasis on the human aspect of the medicine) ;

teaching and evaluation methods (lectures supplemented by work groups and indivi-dualised instruction ; use of audio-visual aids, continuous evaluation, careful compu-terised testing).

Emphasis must be laid on compulsory continuing education and consequently the under-graduate period of training must be shortened. At graduation the student must be in aposition to participate in further training in the particular branch of medicine of hischoice.

In the light of these considerations, the meeting concentrated its discussions around topicssuch as "numerus clausus", selection, curricula, teacher training, specialist training, newmedia and techniques. A summary of the main conclusions is given below.

The problem of "numerus clattsus"

The simultaneous teaching of subjects to a vast number of students is a matter for concern,for they involve both practical classes and close supervision if the teaching is to beeffective. At the clinical level, moreover, the examination of patients by a large numberof students proves to be inefficient both from the practical and the social point of view.This would imply a severe reduction of the size of classes if students were expected tohave personal contacts with their patients. Over-crowded classes will inevitably haveserious negative results : either a severe and sometimes an unjust in-course selection oran ill-trained surplus of future doctors.

Consequently, where fm- social and political reasons the intake of medical students cannotbe restricted to accord with the proper facilities available for their efficient education,adequate steps be taken to solve these problems, in particular those of in-course selectionand of providing alternative careers.

All countries should attempt to estimate the future need for medical doctors. Propertraining facilities could then be introduced in medical schools, accompanied by selectionprocedures.

Selection

Selection techniques should not be developed into a uniform pattern. The medical profes-sion comprises a very large range of specialities, which require a wide spectrum of diffe-rent skills and aptitudes. Research on flexible selection methods should be undertaken ona wide scale, for selection solely by secondary school performance is certainly neitherefficient nor sufficient.

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Curricula design and .evaluation

Although it is necessary to maintain medical education standards, at least at nati lallevel, it was agreed that flexibility in the concept and design of medical curricula is vital.Faculties must be given considerable freedom to experiment. It would be sufficient toestablish a fairly limited core curriculum leaving ample time for experiment and forintroducing new disciplines, options and electives.

It was considered of the greatest importance that in all countries this core curriculumshould contain the basic elements of community and preventive medicine.

Similarly, in preparing the curriculum for undergraduates university faculties should seekand collect information from various sources such as students, recently qualified physi-cians from outside the faculty, practising community doctors and responsible lay opinion.This, and co-operation between educational authorities and health services would reflectthe needs of society to a greater extent than at present and would provide a continuousstream of ideas for the modification and adjustment of objectives, to be attained in facultycurricula. Once these objectives are defined, faculties would be enabled to design thedetails of their curricula. It was felt also that some system of regular feedback fromstudents should be built in.

Any decision on the curriculum, traditional or newly introduced, should be carefullyevaluated to assess whether its effect is in accordance with the overall objectives laiddown. At a technical level evaluation is needed to determine continually the effectivenessof different educational methods.

As for the more highly gifted, interested and well-motivated students, possibilities should,be made available for them to study the relevant subject matter in greater depth.

Teacher training

Teachers of medicine, at undergraduate or post-graduate level, should receive instructionin teaching, learning and assessment methods.

Documents : Document grouping the nine national reports ; CCC /ESR (72) 60.

Tiibingen 11th - 12th July 1972(Fed. Rep.of Germany) Multi-media distant study systems in higher education

(Working Party)

This Working Party was set up to carry out a feasibility study of the creation of a Euro-pean Institute for the Development of Multi-Media Distant Study Systems in HigherEducation. It first meeting which took place in March 1972 at Bletchley (United Kingdom),had decided to make an enquiry among possible users of the proposed Institute in variouscountries, i.e., among Ministries of Education, national rectors' conferences, selected insti-tutions of higher education, and institutions or organisations planning to introduce multi-media distant study systems.

The results of the enquiry and the findings of the Bletchley meeting were examined byparticipants who represented the following institutions active in the application of multi-media distant study systems ; The Open University (United Kingdom) ; OFRATEMEoffice frangais des techniques modernes d'education (France) ; TRU Committee - Komittenfor television och radio i utbilningen (Sweden) ; Deutsches Institut Rh Fernstudien (FederalRepublic of Germany) ; the educational branch of the Italian Radio-Television.

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The proposed Institute could help member countries to meet many of the problems whichface the universities at present. such as the student influx and the use of new teaching.learning and assessment methods. It could also help to make higher education accessibleto a wider public and facilitate the continuing of such education. Its main aim. would beto promote multi-media distant study systems in memocr States and advise educationalauthorities and institutions on the production of soft-ware packages.

The Institute's activities would cover all media such as television, radio. films. video-casettes. video-tapes, correspondence and other printed material. provided that these formpart of a system whereby the student need not always be physically present. All multi-media systems must however include face-to-face teaching such as tutorial classes and

,sidential courses.

The Institute's function can be grouped as follows :Exchange of information and collection of selected materialOrganisation of meetings and training courses ;Co-ordination, initiation and organisation of research, comparative and evaluativestudies ;Co-ordination of the planning of multi-media distant study projects.

Other questions concerting the Institute were also discussed : working methods, organi-sation and structure, status, categories of staff, the public to be addressed. the differentphases of the operation, location, and financial implications.

Documents : CCC/ESR (72) 24 : 25 ; 72.

London 14th - 15th September 1972

Equivalence of diplomas(Working Party)

The Working Party was convened to prepare guidelines for the establishment of the systemof equivalence discussed at a meeting held earlier in Strasbourg in April 1972. (Anaccount of the April meeting is to be found in the Information Bulletin, No. 2/1972.)

The London meeting enabled participants to take advantage of the United Kingdom's longexperience in dealing with problems of equivalence between Commonwealth universities.Three reports on the situation in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth countriesillustrated the main issues in this field : "United Kingdom universities' practice in evalua-tion of overseas qualifications, with particular reference to the University of London" byW. J. Dey ; "Present practice in equivalence of qualifications between Commonwealth Uni-versities" by T. Craig, and "Practical problems in establishing equivalence" by M. Wane.

The Working Party expressed the opinion that at present European agreement on mutualglobal recognition of all final qualifications at university level is still impossible toachieve. It would be equally unrealistic to try to work out a European system of equi-valences based on a classification of the different institutions and their diplomas. Thereare several reasons for this. The most outstanding obstacles are the increasing variety ofdegree courses in member States and the diversity in the level attained. However, theparticipants stressed that efforts should be continued to secure a gradual recognition ofdiplomas and degrees. The Working Party therefore recommended that the system ofequivalence information (facilitating recognition of foreign qualifications on the meritsof the individual case) be improved and that the present network of bilateral agreementsbe enlarged.

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The Working Party discussed furthermore the proposal to introduce a European Students'Record Book. Unless migration of undergraduate students increases considerably, there isat present no need for the general introduction of such a booklet describing lectures,tutorial classes and course texts. Only a small number of students would be. at least forthe time being, interested in obtaining it. A document, issued by the university or college,giving details of the study course and listing the texts and examinations taken wouldmeet the needs of students studying abroad.

The Working Party confirmed its earlier view that an agreement on the acceptability offoreign diplomas and qualifications which are based on examinations is preferable to toodetailed a definition of minimum requirements in individual disciplines. However, thedefinition of academic minimum requirements is a necessity in some study fields andshould be tested in branches such as the exact sciences, the newly emerging fields, (e.g.cybernetics. information sciences) and in subjects preparing for a clearly defined profes-sional career (e.g. engineering, medicine, dentistry).

Finally, considering the fact that many universities in Europe are now introducing com-puters in order to deal with data concerning students, the Working Party stressed theurgency of seeking some European agreement on the standardisation of such data.

Documents: CCC/ESR (72) 20 ; 33 ; 86.

Saalbach 15th - 23rd September 1972(Austria)

Non-linguistic aspects of modern language teachingat university level(Symposium)

In examining the place of non-linguistic aspects of modern language leaching at univer-sity level, the participants representing thirteen member States dealt also with questionspertaining to reform in progress in their own countries and the means for a more effectiveEuropean co-operation.

The emphasis in the discussions was put on the definition and status of civilisation courseswithin modern language curricula. In this context, two additional fields were examined :

the methods used in this teaching and the relation of civilisation courses to literature.Papers dealing with a number of topics were presented to the Symposium : "Aims andpurposes of university courses on civilisation" by Professor A. Spicer, Essex ; "Pragma-Linguistics" by Professor W. Dressler, Vienna ; "Contrastive studies in the field of civili-sation" by Professor G. Nickel, Stuttgart and "The Study of institutions and customsin interpreter courses" by Dr. V. Petioky, Vienna. The Symposium included also thelectures given by Mr. M. Vanhelleputte (Belgium), Dr. W. Kacowsky (Austria), ProfessorF. K. Stanzel (Austria).

A large part of the dis.!,assions was devoted to the concept of "civilisation" and it wasdecided for practical reasons to use the term to describe all different but complementaryphenomena, which constitute the historical and contemporary elements pertaining to theuse of a language but which are not formally linguistic in character. Geographical, social,political, economic, philosophic, religious, aesthetic and scientific aspects are importantfactors in the teaching of civilisation and consequently in the teaching of modern langua-ges. Contrastive analysis might be indicated to circumscribe the field of definition of aparticular "civilisation".

The study of civilisation is necessary in order to understand the semantic level of the

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language. It would be ideal if the teaching of civilisation could be given in the targetlanguage.

The civilisation courses at university level might usefully be considered in terms of apyramidal structure :

Introductory surveys, dealing also with the socio-cultural background and the rele-vant historical references, of the country or the countries whose language is beingstudied. This introduction should be seen as a pre-requisite for all further study inthis field and should be fully incorporated in all stages of modern language andliterature courses at undergraduate level.Specialised options, the nature and number of which would depend on the particularpriorities of each individual institution.Research work at advanced level into the more specialised and as yet unexploredaspects of the field.

Considerable attention was given to study periods abroad, to take place at an intermediatestage in the course of the student's undergraduate studies and in any case after the intro-ductory survey had been given. It was recommended that, the student before going abroad,should be given a specific project on a non-literary topic for which he should assemblehis source material in the country of the target-language, and which he should submit forassessment on his return.

Socio-cultural studies need re6u1 up-dating. The introduction of recurrent educationperiods could be beneficial not only to those in teaching careers, but also to those in stateservice, public and private industry.

General principles were adopted concerning the rationalisation of methodology, emphasis-ing, in particular the necessity to be on guard against distortions by cliché-ridden judg-ments. The foreign language teacher should not try to impose his own ideas on hisstudents, but guide them to form their own impressions of the culture of the targetlanguage.

One other point stressed was the need for expertise in the field of teaching aids, films,slides, tapes, etc. It was urged that the findings of research into the technology of educa-tion be directly related to the training of university teachers, so that they might make thebest use of such teaching aids.

Measures should be taken by the Council of Europe, in co-operation with competentnational institutions to provide universities and teacher training centres in Europe withlecturers in the field of socio-cultural studies.

All university professors and teachers of foreign languages and literature should includein their teaching the findings of cross-cultural research in the fields of civilisation andsocial history. They should consequently encourage and guide the efforts of those studentswho may not be attracted by purely literary studies and who show on the other hand agenuine inclination to investigate other aspects of the civilisation of the foreign _ountryconcerned.

Literature and civilisation teachers must meet frequently to elaborate common and cohe-rent programmes. However, the methods of literary and socio-cultural criticism are notidentical. For a critical examination of literary works it could be beneficial for studentsto be acquaint:1d with both methods.

In order to ensure continuity for the work undertaken in civilisation courses at universitylevel, it was proposed to establish a permanent study group entrusted with the task offollowing up the recommendations of the Symposium.

Documents : CCC /ESR (72) 65 : (73) 1.

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General and Technical Education

Strasbourg

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23rd - 27th October 1972

Eleventh meeting of the Committee

The annual meeting of the Committee was chaired by Mr. T. Sirevaag (Norway) andattended by delegates from all member States, as well as observers from the Commissionof European Communities, and the European School& Day.

The Committee examined past, present and future activities of its programme under fiveheadings : structure and organisation of fundamental education ; teachers ; curriculamedia and methods : assessment and guidance. It discussed in particular the possibilitiesfor intensifying European co-operation in education.

After having taken note of the latest CCC decision to concentrate the programme onpriority themes and having examined the specific examples of intensified co-operation assuggested by the CCC, the Committee decided to consider two activities as priority fields

. pre-school education and its relation with primary educationtechnical and vocational education for the 16-19 age grcup.

The programme for 1974 will include several meetings on both subjects.

In discussing education for the 16-19 age group, the Committee decided that its activity inthis field should follow several lines : the connection between lower and upper vocationaleducation ; units/credits in technical education ; problems of continuity and co-ordinationbetween compulsory education and secondary education. Meetings of experts will bedevoted to the examination of new trends in member States, with particular reference tonew solutions, such as the "New Sixth Form", "Oberstufenkollee, "Gymnasieskolan".

In connection with curricular matters the Committee focussed its attention, in particular,on three fields : interdisciplinary studies, the up-dating of curricula and the extension andimprovement of modern language teaching in fundamental education.

As regards interdisciplinarity in secondary education, reform of the teaching of humansciences and of natural sciences will be considered as a major theme. The introductioninto upper secondary education of such subjects as economics, ecology, computer scienceswill be another main topic in discussions concerning the up-dating of curricula.

In addition to the Symposium to be held in Turku (Finland) in December 1972 on "Theconnection between the teaching and learning of the mother tongue and the teaching andlearning of other languages", the Committee will make a further contribution to themodern languages sector of its programme by launching case studies on national, bi-national and multi-national pilot experiments.

After having reminded the Committee of the proposals put forward by the Assemblyconcerning the creation of a "European Office of Education", Mr. J. Capelle, Chairmanof the Committee on Culture and Education of the Consultative Assembly, stressed, inaccordance with the CCC decision, the need to concentrate action on a few specific educa-tional projects. In his opinion, a starting point for such intensified co-operation would bethe democratisation of education based on three priority sectors : the development of pre-school education, the co-ordination of general and technical education and the educationof the 16-19 age group. During the debate which followed Mr. Capelle's report each ofthese sectors was examined.

The Committee further discussed details concerning the next meeting of the StandingConference of European Ministers of Education, to be held in Switzerland in 1973, and in

particular its contribution to the Conference. This will consist of two analytical reports.dealing with the pedagogical and sociological aspects of education of the 16-19 age group.prepared respectively by Mr. L. G6minard (France) and Mr. H. Janne (Belgium) and basedon national reports submitted by all member States.

Documents : CCC'EGT (72) 31.

Louvain 18th - 23rd September 1972(Belgium)

Religion in school history textbooks in Europe(Symposium)

University historians. specialists in history teaching, and sociologists met in Louvain toreview one aspect of history teaching, namely the place of religion in history textbooks.

The purpose of the Symposium, which was the first organisational contribution by theHoly See to the Council of Europe programme in this field, was twofold : to determine thepart played by religion in history in general, and to analyse the qualitative and quantita-tive presentation of religion in a number of secondary school textbooks.

These central themes were developed in two general lectures. The subject as a whole andits impact on the history of mankind was dealt with by Professor G. Parrinder, London.Three case-studies were selected from different periods and different sectors of humanactivities to illustrate this theme in greater detail : "Education and religion in classicalantiquity" by Professor H. I. Marrou, Paris ; "Religion and the Risorgimento" by ProfessorF. Valsecchi, Rome ; "The influence of the c7turches on society in Germany since 1945" byProfessor M. Brecht, Tubingen, and Professor K. Repgen, Bonn.

The second lecture, "The treatment of religion in school'history textbooks in Europe" byProfessor A. D'Haenens, Louvain, was based on the findings of a team composed of histo-rians. The material collected was intended : to stimulate the discussions at the Sympo-sium ; to provide examples of the presence or absence of the various aspects of religion inhistorical textbooks and and to elucidate the importance, structure and function assignedto the religious phenomenon. Textbooks examined come from Belgium, France, the FederalRepublic of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. The greatvariety of European languages and the vast area of study make it difficult to give a fullpicture of history presentation in ali countries and in all textbooks. In this context, threeother case-studies were devoted to the question whether the selected textbooks give anaccurate account of the manner and extent of its subject-matter : "The conversion ofConstantine" by Professor M. Sordi, Milan ; "The Reformation" by Dr. L. Hantsche, Duis-berg ; "Religion and the Enlightenment" by Professor T. L. Ortega, Madrid, and ProfessorM. Batllori, Rome.

Basing themselves on the reports and lectures, all participants were in full agreementthat dogmatic, tendentious presentation should be avoided and that as much impartialityas possible should be achieved in the treatment of this subject in school history books.The participants were equally critical of the fact that religion had almost completelydisappeared from most of the textbooks examined by Professor D'Haenens and his team,and from contemporary syllabuses. This absence, they felt, was even more striking,because religion for centuries had been the source of inspiration of many undertakingsand works of art. An understanding of history would be quite incomplete without pre-sentation of the religious element. A summary of recomrnandations adopted at the Sym-posium is given below.

The religious phenomenon should always be presented in all its aspects. One should not

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limit oneself to an analysis of structures or to a problem of relationship with the politicalauthority. It is undoubtedly necessary to adapt the presentation to the mental age of thestudents by taking account of recent research into the ability of pupils of different ages toappreciate abstract ideas. This mry lead the teachers to place emphasis on one or anotheraspect, but there can be no question of confining oneself to the "structural" and "political'influence" aspect, or 'even of maintaining a privileged place for this aspect.

The history teacher should not present one faith as being superior to all others, all themore superior in that the other faiths are distant in space and more different in dogmaand practice. If the textbooks used in Western Europe accordingly devote a pre-eminentplace to European forms of Christianity (Catholicism. Protestantism, Orthodoxy) theyshould not lose sight of the role of other religions (Judaism, Islam) and their contributionto the development of European culture. They will thus serve historical truth as well ascontributing towards a spirit of openmindedness and oecumenism.

It is desirable to show in the religions of the past and other cultural spheres not only theiroriginal aspects but also what they had in common with the religions which are beingpractised today in the country where one is teaching.

Secondary school teachers will be unable to present the religious phenomenon if they arenot introduced to it during their training in the same way, for example, as they are intro-duced to political economy. In this context, it was proposed that the CCC should organisea symposium on the initial and continued training of secondary school history teachers.

The solution of scientific and pedagogical problems raised by the adequate treatment ofthe religious phenomenon in history textbooks calls for various forms of co-operation, e.g.between scholars and teachers, between the CCC and the International Committee ofHistorical Sciences. Special reference was made to co-operation between scholars andteachers in the preparation of teaching packages illustrating the role of religion in history.

The Symposium did not attempt to define the term "religion". It was agreed that this taskshould be carried out by scholars : historians, theologians, philosophers, sociologists. Thesame was felt about the drawing up a list of errors, distortions, omissions and clichéswhich mar textbooks. This matter too should be the subject of a joint examination byscholars from various subjects, members of different faiths, and agnostics.

Documents : DECS /EGT (72) 61 ; 65 ; 26.

Nottingham 22nd - 29th September 1972(UnitedKingdom) The teaching of technology in secondary schools

(Symposium)

Progress in education cannot be separated from economic, social, technological changes.Although science and technology have completely revolutionised many sectors of society,education has not received proportional benefits. The teaching of technology in secondaryschools is arousing an increasing interest, in particular, in circles outside the school, suchas the world of commerce and industry. Also it has been one of the main discussion topicsat international level at several symposia organised within the framework of the Councilof Europe's Committee for General and Technical Education programme.

Delegates from seventeen member States, observers from the United Kingdom andBelgium attended the meeting at Nottingham. Participants in various working groupsdiscussed the contents of technological education and its place in general education, theorganisation of technological education and the planning of technological information inEurope. The Symposium furthermore examined questions relating to technological educa-

12

tion in England and Wales, and, in particular, to the United Kingdom experiment ofSchools Council "Project Technology". The Project states that technology is -a disciplinedprocess using scientific material and human resources to achieve human purpose... It isessentially a design process, in which purpose, achievement, resources and restraints haveto be considered". In the Schools Council paper it is furthermore stressed that the "Pro-ject Technology has been concerned with all aspects of the relationships between techno-logy and the various parts of the whole school curriculum. It has been concerned withproject-type activities. and has had its effect upon the teaching of science and craft. butthese subjects have not been its sole concern".

The working definition of "technological education" as used by the "Project Technology"was generally approved by participants. Nevertheless, it was felt that there had been toolittle evidence in the examples of the work seen from the economic, social, aesthetic andhistorical background. However, it was generally agreed that many aspects of the workcould be used with considerable benefit in school programmes in the member States. Par-ticipants, on the other hand, feared that there were still certain circles in the educationalworld, who were unconvinced that technology must have a place in the education ofevery child.

The problem facing the educationalist today is that of finding the best way of presentingrecent advances and achievements in particular in science or technology in order to enrichhis students. Technological education, if appropriately introduced, would instil in pupilsan awareness of technological forces and the need to control these forces which affecthuman lives and create environmental changes. It would furthermore involve schoolchildren of all ages and abilities in the technological design process enabling them toappreciate the value of resources as well as preparing them to tackle conflicting factorswhich they will face in life. Moreover, it vould increase the academic and practical know-ledge and skill of pupils and would consequently provide a realistic link between school-life and the outside world.

In the light of these observations, participants made the following recommendations :

Teaching of technology should be extended throughout general education in the lowerand upper secondary stages. Some participants felt that member States should make ita compulsory part of education included within the basic subjects.

Steps should be taken to set up working parties to examine the problems concernedwith the training of teachers for technological education, particularly in-service train-ing and the provision of material resources, at national and European levels.

The possibility of setting up an international technology teaching centre should beexplored as a matter of urgency. Its main task would be to publish a catalogue dealingwith research, studies, documents supplemented by a description of teaching situations.The Centre would also collect and disseminate material such as films, TV programmesand other audio-visual aids,

Research should investigate the role and the place of technological education in thewhole curriculum, stressing in particular some of its aspects :

the motivation of pupils of widely differing interests and abilities ;the evaluation of technological education, with special emphasis on projects similarto the United Kingdom "Project Technology" ;the close links between mathematics and experimental sciences with technologicaleducation ; the relationship between theory and practice.

The Council of Europe should assume an on-going policy for technological educationand should promote the exchange of research workers in this field.

At the same time, another meeting took place in Nottingham from 26th to 27th September1972. Seven experts attending it viewed and selected twenty-one films, slides and other

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BadHof gastein(Austria)

14

audio-visual material concerning the teaching of technology in upper secondary schools.Films and other documents were grouped into three main categories :

the training and information of teachers ;the motivation of pupils ;the material to be used as audio-visual aids.

The following films were selected and presented to the participants of the Symposium :"Teknisk orientering" (Sweden) ;"An intelligent concern" (United Kingdom) ;"Le montage au sable" (France) ;"Cerclage, rivetage, frettage" (France) ;

"Herstellung von Gebrauchsporzellan" (Federal Republic of Germany).

In view of the increasing importance assumed by technology in secondary education andthe relative lack of audio-visual aids to back this teaching in the majority of memberStates, the participants recommended the setting up of a group of experts. Its task wouldbe to establish a system of co-production of media within the Council of Europe to enableand to facilitate :

the preparation of audio-visual aids, as already provided for various educational sub-jects ;

the information, through the mass media, on technological developments in memberStates, pointing out similarities and differences ;

the information and training of present and future teachers of technology.

To this end, the educational objectives of this co-production should be well defined byspecialists from member States and submitted to the Group of experts for the co-produc-tion and exchange of teaching material.

Documents : CCC/EGT (72) 12 ; 17 ; 77.

9th - 14th October 1972

Equipment of workshops for technical education in the light oftechnological progress(Symposium)

Delegates from eighteen member States, lecturers, and observers discussed the variousquestions concerning equipment for training and production workshops : needs, uses andthe content and form of accompanying instructions.

Their main conclusions are outlined below.

The delegates agreed that, as equipment served the dual purpose of providing practicaltraining through the execution of a piece of work and giving demonstrations to supple-ment theoretical instruction, it must, first and foremost, meet teaching requirements.They stressed that a plan should be worked out and training aims defined before anyequipment was purchased. They considered that the main criteria governing the purchaseof equipment should be the following : appropriateness for occupational and economicneeds, and acquisition only of really essential machines, sophisticated models beingavoided.

To ensure that the machines were used with maximum efficiency, it was advisable to :

draw up a precise utilisation plan taking into account the estimated number of pupilsin the establishment, training levels, curricula and time-tables ;

appoint a co-ordinator to organise a rotation system for the operation of differentmachines by pupils ;make all the equipment available to trainees, whether they be apprentices, full-timestudents or adults (permanent education) ;set up "central" workshops, open to pupils of all the schools and colleges belonging toa town, or to several neighbouring districts (district workshops). The concentration ofcostly equipment in central workshops, besides preventing a dispersal of effort andresources, would considerably reduce the number of expensive heavy or complex ma-chines that needed to be bought ;creat mobile workshops.

Schools and industry should co-operate closely in the equipping of workshops. It would bedesirable that firms should place at the disposal of pupils and schools certain equipmentwhich, though indispensable, are too costly for schools, and trained personnel to supple-ment school instruction. Similarly, workers should be permitted to avail themselves ofschool equipment in order to complete their training.

With regard to the question whether school workshops might be able to construct someof their equipment themselves, the delegates concluded that this could be beneficial inthat it would afford a closer insight into the real manufacturing problems, encourageemulation and prevent instruction from staling. It must not, however, distort trainingaims or entail too great changes in the complement of machines.

As numerically controlled machines are machines for mass-production, they cannot beused in schools. Consequently, it is desirable to use models for teaching purposes, or betterstill, to organise courses for pupils in the factories themselves. The pupils would thus beable to study and use the machines on the actual shopfroor. It would be extravagant toequip schools with such expensive machines, simply for demonstration purposes.

The delegates acknowledged the new educational possibilities afforded by the use ofsimulators, especially in operational strategy. In several countries they are already beingused successfully for instruction in work and repair processes. One of their advantages isthat they stimulate pupils' analytical thinking. They have the unerring precision of themachine. They can also be used to demonstrate certain important phenomena which couldbe exaggerated at will. They have significant advantages from the point of view of safety,as they eliminate dangers resulting from errors (chemistry, piloting, etc.).

It is none-the-less important not to go too far away from the practical, and to bear in mindthe pupils' faculties for abstract reasoning brought into play by the simulators. Particularattention must be paid to the pupils' capacity to relate the functions performed by thesimulator to those actually encountered in the exercise of the relevant occupation.

In the present state of knowledge it is difficult to calculate the cost/effectiveness ratio ofequipment, effectiveness being virtually impossible to determine with any precision as itis a parameter which varied over a period of time.

The delegates made several recommendations regarding European co-operation in thissector, emphasising co-research and the co-production of models, simulators and otherworkshop equipment. In addition to proposing the establishment of European schools foradvanced specialisation, they advocated that experts and advisers be made available toindustrially-developing countries.

Documents : DECS/EGT (72) 86 ; 90 ; 30.

15

Out-of-School Education and Cultural Development

Strasbourg 6th - 10th November 1972

Third meeting of the Committee

The third session of the Committee for Out-of-School Education and Cultural Develop-ment was held in Strasbourg from 6 to 10 November 1972. with Mr. II. Bourdillon (UnitedKingdom) in the Chair.

This Committee, which meets once a year, is required to propose to the Council for Cul-tural Co-operation the major guidelines for future action in the sectors within the Com-mittee's purview, viz. :

Permanent educationEducational technologyAdult educationManagement of cultural affairsCultural enrichment"Sport for All"Youth questions

OUT-OF-SCHOOL EDUCATION

Permanent EducationAn outline was given of the work of the Steering Group on Permanent Education. set upby the CCC, which met for the first time in July 1972. After examining the various phasesin the Steering Group's plan of work for 1973-78, the Committee reaffirmed the importanceof this priority project extending to all stages of education and expressed the hope thatproposals for intensified activity as from 1974 would be submitted to the CCC.

Educational Technology

Several activities in this sector were discussed. especially the conclusions of the Sympo-sium on the role of correspondence tuition within multi-media learning systems. held atBad Godesberg irSeptember 1972.

After taking note Or the draft phased plan of work of the Steering Group on educationaltechnology, the Committee came to the conch..ion that the project concerning modernlanguages in adult education, and possibly also the ecology ^onstituted the nucleusof an educational technology programme within the framework of intensiiieu 12-*meanco-operation.

Adult Education

In the Committee's opinion, too modest a place had hitherto been given to the educationof adults in the overall CCC programme. As an integral part of an educational and cul-tural system aiming at permanent education, adult education must play an increasinglyimportant role in the future. The Committee therefore recommended that a EuropeanConference on Adult Education be convened to cover such aspects as :

Integration of adult education in educational systems, responsibility of the publicauthorities ;

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Extension of adult education to the undo -p-ivileged members of societyDevelopment of the liberal services of Id ,It education to include opportunities forfunctional learning ;Intensification of international co-operation.

In the context of intensified European co-cpei ation. the Committee recommended that thefollowing projects be retained in the CCC s programme for the coming years :

. Training and retraining of adult ediica ors,Organisation. content and methods of adult education : this means structuring adulteducation previsions against the back ,round of permanent education in order to makethem adaptable to individual needs ,nd motivations and to socio-economic require-ments (labour market).

. Modern languages in adult education.

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

Cultural development comprises two major fields of activity:Management of cultural affairsCultural enrichment.

Management of Cultural Affairs

Here the Committee's aim is to help the responsible authorities to rationalise culturalpolicies by providing them with the means of drawing up cultural strategies. Culturalstatistics, together with the study of cultural needs and aspirations and of culturalexpenses and their distribution nationally and locally, should enable the "decision-makers"to evaluate their operations.

An experimental study of the cultural development of thirteen Europeans towns is beingcarried out : Annecy (France) ; Arelduorn (Netherlands) ; Bologna (Italy) ; Esjberg (Den-mark) : Exeter (United Kingdorri ; hrems (Austria) ; La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland) ;Luneburg (Federal Republic of Germany\ ; Orebro (Sweden) ; Stavanger (Norway) ; Tam-pere (Finland) ; Turnhout and Namur (Beigium). Its purpose is to test the value of theseinstruments of on the spot assessment.

Cultural Enrichment

The relations between the third generation of audio-visual media (television and its morerecent extensions) and cultural development are also among the Committee's major con-cerns. The series of exploratory stu lies will be continued in 1973 and a medium-termprogramme will be drawn up an sty mitted to the governments.

The Committee has ilso taken a keen int ?rest in new contents corresponding to the needsof contemporary man.

Following a series of preliminary research projects, the activities proposed in connectionwith the aesthetic dimension of cultural enrichment are intentionally focussed on the useof mass media for cultural dissemination, especially television, to provide a new visualeducation . "nderstanding and crittcal niading of the visual and sound language of televi-sion, stimulation ct .%,,t,sa viewers le sensibility and creativity, introducing the public tothe language of art, researc. into new types of art exhibition, relying partly or wholly onmass media to widen their impact.

Traditional methods of teaching art must be modernised in view of environmental chan-ges in our industrial civilisation and the explosion of mass media for cultural dissemina-tion, which have had far-reaching effects both on individual sensibility and means of

17

access to culture. Research along these lines into the out-of-school side of the problemhas already begun under the Committee's sponsorship. The Committee is also consideringa project to study relations between public authorities and the "cultural industries" asthey are generally known, since the latter undoubtedly influence the content and form of"cultural products". How to arouse sensibility to the aesthetics of our surroundings isanother subject for which a preliminary study has been recommended.

Sport for All

The physical aspect of cultural enrichment, under the heading "Sport for All", involvesthe close co-operation of non-governmental sports organisations on a European scale. TheCommittee's activities in this sector are aimed at providing those responsible for sportspolicies with food for thought by encouraging exchanges of information and co-ordinationof research.

Youth

During recent years, activities in this sector have been concentrated on the EuropeanYouth Centre, the European Youth Foundation, co-operation with non-governmental orga-nisations and research on youth questions.

The Committee considered that the Council of Europe should concentrate on seekingsolutions to certain youth problems which the member States were having to tackleincreasingly in our rapidly changing society. It was therefore agreed that a working partywould be convened to draw up a medium-term plan and details of projects to be under-taken from 1975 onwards.

The Committee also took note of the activities of the European Youth Centre and progresswith the establishment of the European Youth Foundation.

Document : CCC/EES (72) 131.

Strasbourg 18th - 19th July 1972

Steering Group on Permanent Education

The Steering Group on Permanent Education was set up by the CCC at its twentiethsession to select, for study and evaluation, on the basis of criteria established by the CCC,pilot experiments in progress in member States and to act as a body available to the threePermanent Committees for purposes of consultation.

The first meeting of the Steering Group, held in Strasbourg in July 1972, was devoted tothe selection of pilot experiments. Experts from thirteen member States concentrated theirefforts on the definition of particular fields and aspects of these and on the examinationof national pilot experiments illustrating practical applications and implications of thepermanent education concept. Moreover, they discussed the planning and the preliminarytimetable of visits to countries of the selected pilot experiments.

A summary of the conclusions is given below :

The proposal of the Project Director, Mr. B. Schwartz (France) concerning a plan to beestablished covering at the outset every aspect of education from pre-school to adult edu-cation, was approved by the Steering Group.

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N

After discussion, the following pilot experiments were selected by the Steering Group :

pre-school experiments in Ma lmi.1 (Sweden) ;

elementary schools : group of schools in the United Kingdom :

secondary schools : certain German schools in the Land of North Rhine 'Westphalia(Gesamtschulen);

university studies : the Open University in the United Kingdom :

adult education : the French community experiments :. Tele-promotion rurale (educational television in rural areas).

Lorraine iron-ore basin.. Mulhouse potassium basin.

Where pre-school education was concerned, the members of the group were requested toinform the Secretariat as soon as possible of any interesting projects which, to theirknowledge, were in progress.

The Steering Group recommended that national and visiting experts should co-operateintensively. For each experiment, it is expec ted that the authorities of the host countrywill appoint a representative or local agent to be responsible for practical arrangementsfor the visits.

The Steering Group was divided into sub-groups, each of which is going to deal with oneof the selected pilot experiments. On the basis of the criteria accepted by the CCC and theanalysis guide prepared by Mr. J. J. Scheffknecht (France), Assistant to the Project Direc-tor, the sub-groups drafted preliminary questionnaires intended for the organisers of eachpilot experiment.

Having examined the analysis guide and prepared the questionnaires, the Steering Groupconsidered that if full and effective answers to its queries concerning each experimentare to be obtained, a dialogue should be established with the local agents and those incharge of each experiment.

During the visits, which will take place early in 1973, experts will draw up technical dos-siers on each experiment. On the basis of these technical dossiers, the Project Directorwill prepare a consolidated report which will be discussed at the next meeting of theSteering Group and then submitted to the three Permanent Committees of the CCC forcomment in Autumn 1973. The first phase of evaluation will be completed when the con-solidated report is submitted to the CCC in Spring 1974 for adoption.

Documents CCC/EP (72) 3 ; 4 ; 5 ; 6 ; 7 ; 8.

Strasbourg 1 1 th - 12th September 1972

A European unit/credit system in the field of adult languagelearning(Meeting of experts)

Three preliminary studies dealing with theoretical and methodological aspect' of adultlanguage learning within a unit/credit system constituted the basis of discussions at thismeeting attended by experts from seven countries. These studies are :

"A model for the definition of adult language needs" by R. Richterich. The paper liststhe elements needed to serve as reference points in the analysis of objective language

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needs. It also proposes a method for defining the content of the learning units and theirpedagogic strategies. It is an open model, non-language specific. applicable to themaximum number of individual cases.

"The linguistic and situational content of the common core in a unit credit system" byD. A. Wilkins. This study attempts to define what grammatical knowledge of languageis required by virtually all types of learners (common core) as a basis for the subse-quent learning of situational units. The paper rejects the idea of attempting a synthesisof existing grammatical syllabuses,or of creating a new syllabus along traditionallines. It proposes instead a notional approach whereby the question is asked : "Whatdoes the language learner want to communicate through language ?".

"Proposal for a definition of a threshold level in foreign language learning by adults"by J. A. van Ek. The study suggests, in operational terms, a basic competence level (orthreshold level) i.e. the lowest learning objective in the framework of a unit/creditsystem. The threshold level is defined in terms of the linguistic content and theterminal behaviour of the successful learner.

Basing themselves on the results of the studies participants agreed on further steps to betaken within a development and research programme aiming at investigating the feasibi-lity and planning the introduction of the units/credits system.

The work in this next phase will primarily consist of preparing a model for the opera-tional specifications of adult language learning objectives in terms of communicationsituations. This model will be exemplified by a detailed specification of the content of thethreshold level of competence in English and possibly also in another language.

Participants furthermore discussed the preparatory work for the symposium which will beheld in Austria in 1973 as a fact-gathering and opinion-sounding step within the develop-ment and research programme. The symposium should be the focus of a working pro-gramme which is to provide on the basis of a questionnaire and of sample surveysstatistical data and relevant information on existing provisions for language learning byadults in member countries.

Documents: CCC/EES (72) 17 ; 49 ; 67 ; 72 ; 92.

Bad Godesberg 20th - 27th September 1972and Berlin

Role of correspondance tuition within multi-media systems inout-of-school education(Symposium)

Delegates from sixteen member States and a representative of the Committee for higherEducation and Research examined, in particular, four aspects of the problem :

The integration of education by correspondence in an overall system of education(permanent education).The integration of education by correspondence in multi-media systems.Curriculum development, unit/credit systems.The mechanism of control, evaluation, certificates (relation between "occupationalprofile" and "educational profile").

The terms education by correspondance or "distance teaching" connote systems of teachingand learning based mainly on non-personal media, whose efficiency for student perfor-mance is controlled by two-way communication (feedback). Terminological confusion,

20

however, arises from the fact that these media are also used in face-to-face tuition and.conversely, that traditional distance teaching is supplemented by face-to-face methods.

Distance teaching is of growing importance, especially in post-school education, for thefollowing reasons :

It provides greater flexibility than formal schooling because it is able to react to theincreasing demand for education faster and more effectively ;It enables optimum use to be made of learning psychology and educational techno-logy ;

It holds out prospects for introducing a systematic strategy of apprenticeship inaccordance with the most modern principles of psychology ;It is likely to be more economical than conventional systems ;Its appropriate control by the educational authorities will increase the public's con-fidence in it.

In the development of multi-media forms of instruction to encourage supported self-education, distance teaching and face-to-face tuition should not be regarded as conflictingtechniques.

Little consideration has been given to distance teaching so far in educational planning.Main reasons for this are the lack of statistical data (analysis of target groups, institutions,courses offered, cost, efficiency, etc.) and the lack of basic research (e.g. motivation forlearning, taxonomy of applications suited to educational goals). Also, certain countries,have not yet established adequate co-operation between State authorities and distanceteaching institutions.

On the basis of the considerations set out above, the participants made the followingrecommendations :

In each member State an institution should be made responsable for research, develop-ment and experiments in distance teaching as well as for the collation of information anddissemination of its results to all other interested bodies. This institution should also pro-mote the development and implementation of unit/credit systems in the country.

Member States should, when.zver necessary, supervise the quality of distant teaching.This control should also cover the contractual relationship between students and the insti-tution providing this teaching. Likewise, guidance should be provided for students ineducational and professional matters.

Educational planning at national level should take into account the contribution whichdistance teaching can mahe to the improvement of education and in particular to thedeveloprhent of multi-media systems.

Unit/credit systems must be elaborated and greater use must be made of then': asessential elements in individualised education. They enable students to select subjects anda rate of study suited to their needs and interests and to gain full benefit from any studiesthey have engaged in outside the traditional educational system.

Central institutions concerned with the development of multi-media systems as a wholeshould also engage in research and development in the field of unit/credit systems andtheir applicability at all stages of education. Questions relating to the transferability ofunits/credits from one educational establishment to another, and, indeed, between coun-tries should be seriously studied by educational planners and administrators.

Recognising that educational technology and systems analysis are basic tools for thestudy of didactic problems concerning multi-media methods, the consequences of suchtechniques should be accepted in tackling some of the problems which beset distanceteaching. These are :

When decisions are to be made regarding the choice of methods to be employed inmeeting educational needs, the objectives of the course should not be the sole deter-

21

minant of the methods chosen. The availability of the respective media. comparativecost analyses. as well as individual needs should be considered in devising an indivi-dualised learning situation which is as efficient as possible within the availableresources.

The combination of distance teaching with phases of face-to-face tuition should becompulsory for the educational institution and the students only where necessarywhen all other possibilities of distance teaching to achieve the learning goals havebeen exhausted.

Special attention should be paid to the instruction and training of the teaching staffresponsible for giving face-to-face tuition when such tuition is planned as an integralpart of distance teaching Or as a supplement to it. so that face-to-face tuition, didact-ically, forms a homogeneous whole with the other distance teaching media.The development of distance teaching and the implementation of permanent educa-tion entail social measures. such as facilities to participate in the training coursesduring work-time, educational leave. scholarships, etc. Students should, moreover. beassociated as far as possible with the definition and forms of implementation of theseeducational courses.

The introduction of new educational systems. especially multi-media systems. mayentail heavy expenses ; the costs of such systems must be assessed in relatior. tothe number of auditors and pedagogical efficiency, and this requires a thoroughstudy, both technical and financial, of the hardware and software involved.

In the implementation of the above proposals and recommendations the setting up of aEuropean Institute or Centre of Distance Teaching would help to :

provide as comprehensive a documentation as possible on educational pregrammesavailable in Europe, regardless where and by whom these programmes are preparedand produced :

perform co-ordinating functions with a view to progress towards a definition of com-mon unit/credit systems, at least in certain fields ;facilitate co-ordination and promote co-production of European educational program-mes ;

act as a European bank for educational programmes widely open to all countries.

The Council for Cultural Co-operation for its part should facilitate the co-ordination ofresearch and development work undertaken at national level and assemble the statisticaldata collected by national institutions in order to establish distance teaching on a scientificbasis.

Documents : EES /Symposium 56, 2 - 56, 5.

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Strasbourg 27th - 29th September 1972

European co-operation for the development of Sport for All

Rationalising sports policies(ild hoc meeting of experts)

The aim of the meeting was to formulate an opinion on the outline of a methodology setout in the study on -Rationalising sports policies- by Mr. 13. Castejon-Paz. so that theCommittee for Out-of-School Education and Cultural Development could decide on theform of the follow-up to be given to this study.

In approving the conclusions worked out byfollowing points :

The sod() sports reality is composed of abut at the sarne time contradictory in manysport and its corresponding situation of sport.

Mr. Castejon. the participants stressed the

set of social forces which are interdependent.ways. of which the result is a given level of

Experience shows that very frequently this situation and the standard of sport leave agreat. deal to be desired given a humanistic conception of sport. and in any case imply afailure to exploit rationally the resources available for sport 'n society. This indicates theneed to co-ordinate these socio-sports forces in an overall policy.

At national level such co-ordination is indispensable for the definition of a rationaloverall policy. It should lead to the adoption of a standard terminology and a set of con-ceptual and operative tools thanks to which sport can he channelled towards humanisticends and maximum use can he made of the resources available.

The adoption of standard terminology and methodology will also enable countries toderive maximum benefit from international co-operation, since it is at this level that theyneed to compare the objectives, methods and results of their national policies in order todiscover how to improve them and bring them gradually into line.

The study prepared by Mr. Castejon gives a view of sport which, from its practice,should take into consideration all socio-sport forces, and outlines a set of instrumentsdesigned to co-ordinate all these forces around a common sporting aim.

In each country, experts directly or indirectly dealing with sport and physical educa-tioncoaches, instructors, teachers of physical education, authorities, administrators, archi-tects, managers of sports facilities and sports doctors assisted by econometicians andstatisticians should analyse the situation in detail using the system and concepts ;:iz.,posed.Thus they can establish quantitative relations between the factors and elements of thesituation of sport. This will enable them to co-ordinate their sports policies at Europeanlevel.

Documents: CCC/EES (72) 65 ; 119.

23

Educational Documentation and Research

Sevres(France)

24

2nd - 6th October 1972

Research into the education of the 16-19 age group(Symposium)

The main aims of the Symposium, which brought together researchers and officials fromeducation ministries, were to draw up an overall picture of the state of research into theeducation of the 16-19 age group ; to review the problems which teaching and guidance inthe upper secondary school raised for researchers in such areas as subject matter taught.methods, attitudes of teachers and students ; and to contribute to drawing from theseproblems conclusions which would be of use for future research and/or future policyconcerning the education of the 16-19 age group. Eighteen member States were repre-sented at the Symposium.

Professor H. Janne presented a paper on the sociological aspects of the education of thisage group ; Professor F. Edding and Professor S. Henrysson on the economic and psycho-logical aspects respectively. Professor J. Wrigley discussed curriculum planning, and Mr.L. Geminard dealt with new developments in technical education. These papers served asthe starting point for intensive group discussion. Mr. L. Legrand. at the end of the Sym-posium summarised its results.

The participants were particularly concerned that the bodies deciding on the broad line ofthe curriculum for the 16-19 age group should be as representative as possible. They feltit essential that teachers be fully represented in this process, not only because of theirspecial knowledge and experience but also because they were the ones who would have toimplement the curriculum. The Symposium noted that since the education of this age grouphad so many implications for the whole of society, it was also necessary that the views ofmany other agencies be taken into account. As it was vital that any new curriculum shouldcommend itself to the students, every effort should be made to take into considerationtheir views. Curricula should, in any case, be kept constantly under review.

The Symposium was in general agreement that the educational structures should favour asystem of continuous guidance which would take into consideration behavioural changesand the acquisition of new knowledge, in order to facilitate the integration of youngpeople into the path which suited them best, and which would allow them to leave schoolat various levels of attainment after having received a preparation for entry into gainfulemployment. The structures should be conceived with lifelong education in mind, and inthis spirit a large amount of time should be made available for individual study or teamwork. There should be induction courses for those who wished either to be integratedinto an educational system after having left school, or to change course especially byvarying their choice within the framework of the fundamental options.

The Symposium envisaged a system whereby all young people would receive a minimumof training in the following subjects : mother tongue, a foreign language, mathematics,science and technology, the latter being interpreted in a broad sense. A very importantplace would be given to options, which should never be looked upon as being of subsidiaryvalue. The choice of an option should not constitute a move towards specialisation, exceptin the case of direct preparation for gainful employment. The option system should beconsidered as a method of approach permitting the study in depth of an area which cor-responded to the interests of the students. The organisation of studies and the allocationof time should be compatible with the demands of an interdisciplinary approach. Indeed,within the full-time education system technical and vocational training should not beorganised in isolation. Training for industry should be integrated with the whole educa-tional process. Although industry should be free to define in exact detail the final, or

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specialist, training it required, the State had the duty to see to it that basic training andeducation made a meaningful whole. This basic vocational education and training shouldnot be too general nor too academic, and it should be so arranged and so accredited thatyoung people could take up further study or training for up-dating. up-grading or re-training in their jobs.

Participants made the point that it was idle to hope for innovation in an education systemas long as examinations remained unchanged. and were disappointed at the small amountof progress made towards getting away from traditional examinations. It was stressed thatassessment techniques must be tailored to the needs of individual work. as it was an essen-tial feature of the education of 16-19 year-olds that they be encouraged to work more andmore on their own initiative, to assess their progress themselves. Participants felt that oneway of reducing the impact of examinations on curricula would be lo bring about anabatement in the pressure for places in certain institutions of higher education. There wasgeneral agreement that particular attention should be paid to providing for assessment bythe teacher, the school and not least by the student himself. although it was noted that theproblem of external standardisation required fuller study. It was recommended thatgreater priority be given to the task of adapting evaluation procedures to the kind ofeducational experience envisaged for this age group.

Furthermore, the Symposium made several suggestions concerning areas that Ilseded fur-ther research. In particular were mentioned the effectiveness of guidance and counselling,and the extent to which a study of technology within the general education at lowersecondary level could enrich that education and at the same time serve as a basis forfurther studies for those choosing a technical career. In addition, further research shouldbe undertaken into curricula with options that would secure varied educational aims andyet provide a balanced education, into the planning of curricular elements in distinct unitsso as to enable the students to receive credits for progressive success, and into the construc-tion of model curricula patterns with common cores suited for industrial. commercial orsocial education.

Documents : The Symposium papers will shortly be published in English and French.

25 %,

Second Part

HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM AND THE CONCEPTOF PERMANENT EDUCATION

Giving effect to Resolution 463 (1970) of the Consultative Assembly of theCouncil of Europe, the Committee on Culture and Education has over the lastjew years pursued its development studies for permanent education, and theSymposium held at Vienna on the 30th June to 1st July therefore concerneditself with the problems of the reform of higher education and particularly itsrole in the development of permanent education.

Lectures and discussions dealt with the following four subjects : "Developmentof higher education structures in Europe", by Professor W. Taylor, Bristol;"Student unrest and student participation", by Professor B. E. Ingelmark,Gothenburg ; "Study reform and permanent education", by Professor E. A. van7'rotsenburg, Klagenfurt ; "Post-school, recurrent and higher education -Proposals jor an overall reform", by Professor F. Edding, Berlin.

In. the October 1972 annual Consultative Assembly debate devoted to culturaland educational questions, Rector J. Capelle, Chairman and Rapporteur of theCommittee on Culture and Education, discussed the four subjects of the ViennaSymposium and, in presenting his report on "Present trends in higher educationreform and further prospects, with a view to permanent education", informedthe Assembly of the results of this Symposittn.

After the debate, the Assembly adopted the Resolution reprinted below, whichis followed by the report of Mr. Capelle, the speech of the Secretary General'of the Council of Europe, Mr. L. Toncic-Sorinj, and the four lectures given atthe Vienna Symposium.

RESOLUTION 533 (1972)

on present trends in higher education reformand further prospects, with a view to permanent

education

The Assembly,

Recalling its Recommendation 611 (1970) andits Resolution 463 (1970), on permanent educa-tion in Europe ;Having regard to the report by its Committeeon Culture and Education on present trends inhigher educational reform and further pros-pects, with a view to permanent education,and taking note of the results of the Symposiumon Higher Education, held in Vienna (Austria)on 30 June and 1 July 1972, in pursuance )f theabove resolution ;

Noting that the purpose of this Symposiumwas to study from the standpoint of politicalresponsibility, problems raised by the organi-sation of higher education in a post-industrialsociety ;

Believing that, at a time when a concern forliving standards is accompanied, and indeedbeing dominated, by a concern for the qualityof life, higher education, in its various forms,should be made available to all who aspire toit and are capable of benefiting from it ;Believing, in this context, that higher educationshould be overhauled as regards its content andmethods, as well as its diploma-awardingsystem, so that it may be used as a means ofobtaining, revising and extending knowledge ;Believing that a coherent structure needs to be

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established for permanent education, whichcovers the entire range of educational facilitiesfrom an individual's early childhood to thelatter part of his working life ;Believing that, within such a structure, theeducation provided by universities at the usualstudying age becomes a period of initial educaTtion, to be co-ordinated with the new subse-quent period, that of continued or recurrenteducation, during which the occupational sphereand educational establishments should combinetheir efforts so as to ensure maximum indivi-dual and social effectiveness for higher educa-tion ;

Noting that the Vienna Symposium was con-cerned with the following themes, on whichproblems regarding the reform of higher educa-tion in Europe are mainly centred :

Development of higher education structures ;

Student participation and career opportuni-ties ;

Harmonisation of initial education and recur-rent education ;

The conditions for recurrent education at ahigher level,

Calls on the Conference of European Ministersof Education and the Council for CulturalCo-operation to be guided by the principles andmeasures set out in the report of its Committeeon Culture and Education. in their efforts towork out a reform of higher education in acontext of permanent education to be proposedto the States which are parties to the Euro-pean Cultural Convention.

PRESENT TRENDS IN HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM AND FURTHERPROSPECTS WITH A VIEW TO PERMANENT EDUCATION

by Rector J. CAPELLE,Chairman of the Committee on Cultureand Education

I. DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATIONSTRUCTURES

Diversification of higher education

"Higher education" is taken to mean all educationfollowing the completion of secondary education,so that those wishing to undergo higher educationhave generally completed successfully a course ofsecondary education. Secondary studies are them-selves understood here in the broadest sense,covering not only the general studies which usedto make up the traditional education formerlyknown as secondary, but also technical studiesinvolving a general training programme of a levelcomparable with that of traditional secondaryeducation.

Formerly, it was only those who had successfullycompleted a course of general training who weredestined for university education, while nowadaysthose who have successfully completed a course oftechnical or even specialist studies are similarlyentitled to access to universities.

It is not the intention here to look at the variouskinds of higher education institutions existing in

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Europe, from country to country. It is interestinghowever, to note, as a felicitous heritage-from theuniversal character of the earliest univemities inChristian Europe, which is that the level demandedfor admission to contemporary Europe's nationaluniversities is appreciably the same. Moreover, itis to be noted, as a situation common to all thecountries, that higher education is required moreand more for professional purposes, and that thediversification of occupations produces a diversi-fication of the institutions and sections makingthem up. Needless to say this practical trend mustnot militate against the disinterested nature andthence the all-round nature, when it comes toapplication of the general education peculiar tothe university.

After brief analysis, it is possible to distinguishbetween two kinds of higher education : short-cycle educational courses, in which specialisationis introduced immediately, and long-cycle educa-tional courses, generally consisting of two succes-sive stages : one in which the aim is to extendgeneral knowledge, so as to provide a solid basisfor the second, which is concerned with the acqui-sition of an advanced professional qualification.

Even if European universities do not cover thesame field in the training of senior executives andparticipation in scientific research, they havesomething in common, namely that they are con-cerned solely, or at least predominantly, withlong-cycle courses of higher education.

Some long-cycle educational courses may be avail-able in non-university institutions whose prestigeis possibly equal or even superior to that of theuniversity : this is the case in France, for instance,with the "Grandes Ecoles", which provide advancedtraining for engineers, senior civil servants andsenior officials of universities and other institu-tions. The converse is also true, however, in certaincountries where university-level technical educa-tion is accorded less esteem than legal studies orthe humanities.

It sometimes happens too that short-cycle educa-tional courses are attached to universities, althoughthe are of an immediately practical nature andconcerned with application rather than research,and so should not normally find their place in auniversity setting. This is the case with institutesin France where officials of the "technicien supe-rieur" level receive their training, which have thedesignation "Institute universitaires de Technolo-gie". These establishments, where the period ofstudies is two years following the baccalaureat,are at times in an ambiguous position vis-à-vistheir ultimate purpose, because they are a part ofthe university, particularly when the majority ofthe staff teaching in them belong to the universitystaff or intend to seek a university Chair ; itsometimes happens that students at such establish-ments and their teachers, spurred on by an entirelypardonable ambition, being more concerned withobtaining university prestige than with trying tofind the best answer to the requirements of indus-trial production, bring pressure to bear so thatthe teaching provided by the IUTs shall be recog-nised as the equivalent of the basic course in theuniversity, so that the next stage is generally themore advanced university courses. The result ofthis polarisation is that only the less able or lessambitious students effect studies that are directedtowards the prime aim of the institute

It appears perhaps inadmissible that short-cyclecourses of higher education should provide prepa-ration for technical training in a professionalspecialisation and at the same time provide thebasic scientific education which constitutes thestage preceding university instruction at a moreadvanced level. Professor Taylor indicated in hislecture that the Carnegie Commission had recentlyurged a change of course in the United States,

whereby the short-cycle institutions should findtheir own mission and no longer act as streamingand sifting mechanisms for the university proper.He also pointed out, however, that the opportunityof transferring from short-programme courses tolong-programme courses, if not taken immediatelyduring the initial training periods, is liable not topresent itself again so readily given present re-sources and attitudes : "The claim that a post-secondary course in a short-cycle institution.followed by a period of employment and subse-quent opportunities for further study, still offersa route to the top, will have to be proved andtested before it is acceptable to secondary schoolleavers and their parents."

A wide range of short-cycle higher educationestablishments has grown up in an attempt to caterfor the wide range of professional requirements,most being separate from the universities : thisseparation has the advantage of safeguarding theirvocation better. although not ruling out co-opera-tion with the u.aversities, or the provision of pre-university studies. Examples of non-universityshort-cycle institutions are provided by the districthigh schools in Norway, the Ingenieur-Schulen inthe Federal Republic of Germany and the "peritos"high schools in the Latin countries.

Over ten years ago Yugoslavia experimented withthe incorporation of several short-cycle technicalinstitutes into the, universities: according to OECDexperts the experiment cannot be regarded as asuccess, because it was only the institutes thatremained independent which retained their pros-perity and prestige.

Notwithstanding, as experiments carried out in acountry are rarely taken into consideration byneighbouring countries (and sometimes not evenby the country in question), possibly because con-ditions are never identical, some countries arecurrently thinking of bringing together short-cyclehigher education establishments and long-cyclehigher establishments, which have hitherto beendistinct within a single university complex. Arran-gements of this kind are being advocated at themoment in the Federal Republic of Germany, forinstance.

It is worth mentioning particularly a move whichis as yet confined to a small area, admittedly, byway of reaction to the excessive duration of long-cycle courses of instruction.

Prompted by the desire to enhance their ownprestige, certain institutions would constantlyextend the duration of their studies, such as thosefor engineering degrees, which in the Netherlands

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last easily seven post-secondary years. This rat-race for book learning and over-loading of brainswas encouraged by a distressingly naive conceptof the level and prestige of certain degrees ; insteadof being based on selection or quality criteria, thatconcept claims that the prestige of a universitytraining can be measured by the number of yearsbetween the end of secondary studies and theaward of a degree. Quite recently, the duration ofpost-secondary engineering studies provided in theFrench Instincts nationaux de Sciences appliqueeswas increased from four to five years, so that theprestige of such studies might be enhanced. On theother hand, all praise is due to the British andSwedish authorities, who in the interests of effi-ciency and economy have refused to extend thelength of engineering studies (which last eitherthree of four years, depending on the university).It is gratifying, too, that in Germany the FederalMinister of Education and Research is recommend-ing shorter periods of university engineeringstudies, at least for certain sections. The outcomeof this shorter period must not, of course, beconfused with short-cycle instruction, which ismore practical and does not require so high astandard of basic scientific knowledge. Thesetrends are perfectly in keeping with the idea of theestablishment of permanent education ; they re-present a bid to curb the academic tendency toaccumulate knowledge and revise it under thestimulus of certain types of examinations, andinstead to emphasise the acquisition of an actionmethodology, the capacity to select, judge and putinto practice. Both wittily and correctly, BernardShaw maintained that there was no need to learnwhat books said, as it was all written down inbooks anyway. Needless to say, if long-cycle studiesare abbreviated with the introduction of a shiftin the conventional concept of initial training, thispre-supposes that efforts in the form of continuededucation will be maintained. These two features,a new attitude towards knowledge during initialtraining, and the effect of continued training, arecentral to the problems of permanent education.

Equal opportunities

Admissions to higher education and especially touniversity are dominated by the preoccupation,common to the different up-to-date countries, thataccess to the most responsible functions in societyshall be more democratic.

The word democratic means precisely that allsocial classes shall have equitable access to aneducation that was the preserve, until more or lessrecent times, and depending on the country, of

30

children from the most privileged social back-grounds not through any classified form ofprivilege, but merely through the combination ofwealth, the degree of culture pervading the dif-ferent backgrounds, and the type of educationadministered for the purpose of training, for as-sessing abilities and the award of degrees.

Because of these three elements, it is extremelydifficult to bring about "equal opportunities", theprinciple of which is designed to put all youngpeople on an equal footing vis-a-vis life's compe-titions.

The easiest inequality to overcome is no doubt thatof wealth firstly by differentiated financialassistance with studies, and secondly because thewealthy student is a prey to distractions that apoorer student cannot afford so that he isencouraged to work harder.

It is harder to know where we stand with culturalinequality, resulting from the social background,and to correct that inequality ; the pre-school ageis of the utmost importance for acquiring thehabit of observation, curiosity and fluency ofexpression, so that even before they go to school,certain children are in possession of advantageswhich will put them ahead of their contemporariesfor good, while others will have lost certainfacilities, which their teachers will not be able torevive. It is for this reason that educationists havefor a long time urged that receptiveness to nor-mative education, which starts with primaryschool, should be made equal through nurseryschool plus "schools for parents". It is safe to say,accordingly, that it is to nursery schools that theuniversities must look, if they are to be made moredemocratic.

Having emphasised adequately the significance ofthis factor, we think it is only right and honest toacknowledge that not all children have the samenatural gifts. Willy-nilly, there is genetic inequal-ity : children of parents of superior intellectualability are more likely to show particular aptitudesthan are children of parents who are intellectuallyundistinguished. This factor has something to dowith the proportion of children from successfulfamilies completing their studies successfully, evenin the most egalitarian societies, being larger thanthe proportion of children from other backgroundswho distinguish themselves academically.

It is reasonable not to accept unreservedly theargument that university education tends to main-tain social privileges despite the way that argu-ment is exploited for purposes that are seldomdisinterested. It is hard to see how scientific disci-

plines. which are directly subject to scrutiny andbased on impartial facts and logic, could helpmaintain social privileges. Even in disciplineswhich are concerned with the study of individualand group behaviour, scientific methodology andethics should militate against the conditioning ofindividuals and brain washing. This is clearlyapparent at present in countries which seek toimpose, through education, a pattern of thinkingand attitudes which complies entirely with theestablished order ; despite attempts to keep outextraneous or conflicting information, scientificmethodology, the quest for truth and an inextin-guishable love of freedom encourage many intel-lectuals to point to other paths than that of officialorthodoxy.

In ',ems of mere arithmetic, universities could beregarded as completely democratic if all socialgroups were represented by their children in exactratio to their numerical force in society. An ob-jective of this kind may provide a suitable guide,although it has never been achieved even bygovernments which have sought, like the EastBerlin authorities immediately after the war, tobar universities to young people whose parentswere professional people.

It is fair to take the view, however, that even ifuniversity democratisation came very close to theabove arithmetical situation, it would not beenough to dispose of the ambiguities inherent inthe subject of democratisation.

Is university the sole condition for major successin life?

Must the principal objective of short-cycle highereducation institutes be access for their students touniversities or preparation for immediate entryinto an occupation?

The expression "mass university" is at present abye-word among many politicians, but it is pa-tently obvious that the two ideas going to make itup are antinomic, unless we agree to regard uni-versity institutions as a kind of hyper-market inwhich luxury items and everyday necessities areto be found cheek by jowl.

The corollary of universal entitlement to universityeducation is liable to be belief in the universalentitlement to a better job. How is this to bebalanced, without causing frustration, with theneed for a certain distribution and a certainhierarchy of functions in real society, regardlessof its historical or ideological structure?

How far must higher education give priority togeneral education, in order to develop an aptitude

for change. or to specialist training. in order toensure the acquisition of a skill ?

All these are questions to which higher educationinstitutions have failed to provide a satisfactoryanswer ; it may be that they will never be able tofind the answers, since society will at all times nodoubt include functions not so highly esteemedas others.

Growth and selection

The fact that entry into the world of work withoutthe seal of approval of a university degree isregarded as an academic punishment, a socialfailure or an injustice, depending on circumstances,accounts for the pressure brought to bear in poli-tical circles especially in favour of university forthe masses. The assumption seems to be that thereis only one opportunity for an ambitious individualto achieve social advancement (something that isperfectly legitimate and desirable in all families),namely the pursuit of studies while he is of schoolage, in accordance with the traditional pattern. bymeans of a form of secondary education that isuncontaminated if possible, by any idea of speciali-sation or occupational purpose ; the alternative istechnical education recognised as equivalent withfacilities for moving over to general secondaryeducation.

Hand-in-hand with this polarisation of ambitionstowards the maximal solution, i.e. the long cycleof higher education, is the rejection of occupationalguidance at the secondary level.

The liveliest controversy in most European coun-tries, in the last few years, has been centred aroundselection. Apart from certain exceptions, govern-ments have gone along with the wishes of most ofthe public by promoting massive university en-trances, regardless of the difference between thenumber of graduates and the number of corres-ponding jobs ; in some cases they have evenbrought down the level of minimum requirementsfor university entrance : the result has been aproliferation of diplomas testifying to the comple-tion of secondary studies, equivalence for technicaldiplomas which in some cases give only an in-adequate guarantee of general education, and even,in extreme cases, the admission of students whohave failed to complete their ordinary secondarystudies successfully.

Certain politicians have raised such a hue and cryagainst selection that people not refusing to seeselection as a basic law of the dynamics of allhuman societies, and as a law of life, have been

31

made to feel guilty ; people no longer dare assertthat the most exacting studies ought not to beoffered, mirage-like, to young people unable torise to their challenge. So it is that demagogy, insome cases, conviction, in others, and lastly resig-nation, in still others, produces a very generalform of consent that opens wide the universitygates to anyone wishing to enter, with everyoneanxious to avoid laying himself open to the cri-ticism that he has in any way whatever prejudicedthe "universal right to culture".

As a result, there has been helter-skelter entryinto universities, a rising wastage rate, discontentamong the young and the squandering of publicmoney. There is an abundance of evidence to thiseffect in countries where university entrance isunrestricted. But to regret the presence in theuniversities of a large number of unsuitable stu-dents does not necessarily mean that there are toomany students although in some cases, bearingin mind employment opportunities, it is safe to saythat there are too many students even giftedstudents in several sectors.

It is hard for the universities, which naturally tendto regard all higher education as essentially desir-able, to admit this harsh reality. But it is impor-tant to make sure that the right to education is notapplied so blindly that another right, that to a job,is thwarted.

When all is said and done, selection occurs sooneror later. It may be rejected at the pre-universitystage, but it goes on during the course of universitystudies, and if the free-and-easy regime of 1968meant that university degrees were handed out inisolated cases almost automatically, the lack ofesteem in which uncertified documents are in-evitably held has meant that the graduates inquestion have felt the full effect of the selectionthat ineluctably takes place later on, in the em-ployment market.

Failures caused by late selection failure instudies or the inability to find a job that matchesthe degree obtained are in fact more painfuland more difficult to right than are failures at theadmission stage, since if a candidate finds one doorclosed to him, at that initial stage, he may findhard by another than is open, by means of whichhe can move towards success without wastingtime, and without society wasting money. Althoughthe advocates of "unrestricted entry" do not ques-tion the painful conse,,iences that that policy maymean, they claim that at least students are givenevery opportunity and cannot blame anyone fortheir failure but themselves.

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Such an attitude is reminiscent of Pontius Pilate.It is no good washing one's hands of responsibilityfor having led young people up a blind alley, whenguidance better adapted to their scope might haveled them to "success".

The increased numbers in establishments of highereducation is still far from having reached a steadyratio vis-à-vis the population numbers, as certainsocial backgrounds are still under-represented.

Together with this increase in the-nuniber of full-time students, there is going to be a relativelygreater increase in the number of workers who arestudents, because they are receiving continuedhigher education.

Against this, there will be a doubtless smallerincrease in demands for responsible executives.This will raise the problem of how men and womenwho have received a higher education are to beinduced to agree to work in a medium capacity, oreven as operatives, without too great a shock totheir sensibilities. This is a problem that willrequire a radical change in attitudes and even inthe fabric of social relationships.

In an OECD report entitled "Towards new struc-tures of post-secondary education" (1971), the pro-blem of the new targets in higher education isposed in the following terms :

"Most countries are at an intermediary andcritical stage, between elitist and mass highereducation, the former having to be abandonedunder the pressure of numbers and of a seriesof socio-economic factors, the latter requiringstructures, content and organisational arrange-ments which have not yet been developed andonly partly identified."

Mass higher education thus gives rise to conflictswhich will have to be resolved

between equality and high standards

between the studies one wants to pursue andemployment opportunitiesbetween innovatory and conservative impulsesbetween university expansion and resources.

In the meantime, the increase in sums of moneydevoted to education prompts the question of anew golden rule being put forward, Whereby theproportion of public monies to be spent on educa-tion, either by the State or local authorities, canbe defined. There is also the question of the pro-portion to be contributed by the private sector,this term being taken to include companies plusthe families concerned, at the same time.

Professor Taylor gave the following percentages ofpublic expenditure earmarked for education. forthe 16 European countries questioned :

1 over 20 °./o

6 between 20 (1t.g. and 15 °A7 between 15 "io and 10 0/02 less than 10 (1io.

On the basis of extrapolation of trends in thesecountries to 1980, it can be argued that over halfof them will be devoting over 20 ",t) to education.

It is important to distinguish, in these amounts,

the proportion to be allocated to basic education(pre-school education, compulsory education.general and technical secondary education) ;the proportion to be devoted to higher educa-tion and to research, which is a part of highereducation ;

the proportion to be made available for thedifferent activities making up continued educa-tion (general and occupational).

At the same time, the question of the effectivenessof the enormous social investment represented bythe development of higher education will inevi-tably become more and more acute : it will beessential to ensure the optimum use of facilitiesand the largest possible field for man's action ; itwill also be necessary to ensure that universityactivity, and especially that part of the instructiondispensed at university which is connected withoccupational activity, is better geared to employ-ment scope and demand, such scope and demandbeing projected, in accordance with socio-economicforecasting and "political" choices, over the nextdecade.

Continued education is already feeling the effectin industrialised countries of substantial develop-ments, which need to be harmonised so as toprevent a series of duplication and wastage. Thisis particularly necessary since under the variousacts already voted on or at the draft stage sub-stantial appropriations are going to be madeavailable : under the French continued vocationaltraining Act of 16 July 1971, for instance the sumsto be levied will in 1975 total 2 (1/0 of total wages.

In the case of training for engineers, there arealready specialist organisations and means of co-operation with higher technical education institu-tions, enabling technicians to achieve advancement.In the United Kingdom further education of thiskind is expanding more and more, facilitated byday-release or block-release arrangements (whe-

reby wet kers are released from work for a workingday or a term), or again by sandwich courses.More than one-third of chartered engineers qua-lifying every year do so by means of sandwichcourses, in which education has been combinedwith periods of professional activity. It is hopedthat the "Open University" experiment will renderinvaluable assistance to the cause of permanenteducation.

In the Netherlands, vocational establishmentsproviding higher education are attended by 72,000full-time students and 51.600 part-time students.

In France, the Conservatoire National des Artset Métiers and its associate centres attract a grow-ing number of technicians every year, severalhundreds of whom acquire qualifications as engi-neers, recognised by the Qualified Engineers'Committee.

It is to be noted that drives for continued educationhave been mainly initiated by the private sector,in major undertakings, so as to meet the demandfor executive and managerial staff. It was easierin those cases, h. fact, to "make a start with Theceiling". The principal effort will now have to bedirected towards the foundations, by better harnes-sing the existing potential in maintained andprivate education, and also by harnessing thematerial and human potential available to industryand arranging for the whole to be properly co-ordinated.

In this way continuous education will be inte-grated, as it should be, within permanent educa-tion, which can be seen as was pointed out atthe Symposium as a "strategy for planning".

The resumption of studies at a certain stage ofprofessional activity, usually without any breakaway from the material, social and cultural neces-sities represented by that professional activity, is afurther undertaking that awaits definition andlaunching on a large scale.

Professor Taylor does not think that substantialsavings can be effected by enabling young peopleto defer post-compulsory education and traininguntil a later stage in life. He doubts very muchif provision for a return to full-time study at laterstages of life will do much to slow down theincreasing tendency for young people to remain atschool until 18 and to wish to continue their educa-tion after this age, even in the absence of anymotivation. It is important to emphasise, however,that the possibility of resuming studies by meansof continuous education presupposes that initialtraining provides an adequate grounding in generalculture.

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Main points

Higher education has expanded in a widevariety of directions in order to meet the profes-sions' needs for highly qualified staff. and in-creasingly so as to satisfy advancement require-ments, which are now concerning all social classes.Higher education in the singular has given rise toseveral types of higher education, and is graduallycoming to be "higher education for the masses".

University, the principal higher education estab-lishment, is feeling the effect of socio-economicchanges the most : its evolution is being questionedand deplored, and has assumed the propc.rtions ofa full-scale crisis of civilisation.

This crisis stems in the first place from the needto reconsider the purpose of higher education interms of individual happiness, society's welfare.progress in work and scientific research.

A distinction can be made between two kinds ofhigher education :

short-cycle education, catering for an occu-pational speciality, following secondary stu-dies immediately and lasting from two tothree years ;long-cycle education, providing first generaleducation extending further than secondarystudies, without any specific occupationalpurpose, and in a second stage providingoccupational training that is broad enough topermit adjustment to developments andguided developments.

Interchanges frequently take place betweenestablishments and staff dispensing these twokinds of education. The prime responsibility of theuniversities is for long-cycle higher educationcourses, but in some countries they do not provideall long-cycle training courses ; conversely, theyare sometimes responsible for a greater or lesserproportion of short-cycle higher education courses.

An answer still has to be found to the questionof separating short-cycle higher education institu-tior.3 from institutions providing long-cycle instruc-tion (general universities and technical univer-sities).

There is a growing tendency to regard short-cycle higher education institutions as a jumping -off ground for university, although neither theirvocation nor their curriculum is geared to thatrole. In the Netherlands, for instance, 600 out of1,900 students having successfully completed short-cycle courses enrolled for university courses. Thereis scarcely any scope, in fact, for students attending

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short-cycle institutions to go on to universityexcept by means of academic transfer during thecourse of their studies.

It should be possible io s'.udents having suc-cessfully completed short-c, cle higher educationcourses .0 go on to geek long-cycle higher educa-tional qualifications normally and efficiently. byundergoing a period of occupational activity whichprovides rewards and security. Despite the successwith this formula recorded in the United Kingdom.however, experiments must still be carried out inmost countries, and on a sufficient scale to beconvincing.

Access to higher education tends to appear asthe ultimate goal of educational democratisation.This results in increased contempt for occupationaltraining not forming a part of higher education,and a concentration of ambition on higher educa-tion and particularly university education, oftenwithout any precise motivation, as though univer-sity entrance were a raison d'être.

The situation thus depicted indicates the insuf-ficient place occupied by the "second way". i.e.continued education ; it also indicates that it isgenerally agreed that functions in life shouldconform with a hierarchy, based on earlier, andoften very remote, academic achievements. Thesetwo defects demonstrate the need to bring aboutchanges in institutions and attitudes (not to men-tion matters not covered by this report, such aswages and style of living).

The distortions arising out of an over-naïveconcept of advancement through initial educationare indicative of the size of the effort still requiredin informing families and making for easier pupilguidance, throughout secondary studies, and mostof all during the latter part of those studies, beforeentering university.

Difficult problems arise in connection with theautomatic regulation of the channelling of studentsinto the different occupational sectors in highereducation, so as to match the jobs that will beavailable for them at the end of their initialtraining. These include :

the constant adjustment of curriculum con-tent to the pattern of future needs, in whichthe aim will be polyvalence, permitting adap-tation and innovation ;the approximative adjustment of numbersrecruited for occupational training to foresee-able needs in the corresponding activities.

There is still a certain contradiction between

the achievement of "right to culture" through theexpansion of "university for the masses- and thepurpose which universities must unflinchinglyserve, that of providing "centres of excellence".

Education and initial training methods stillhave to be revised, in order to achieve a calculatedincompleteness, so as to maintain curiosity andencourage "self-culture". It is clear that there isstill a tendency to extend further studies and forthe final consecration to be seen as investigatingstatic knowledge rather than providing a guaran-tee of the ability to select, put into practice anddecide.

In other words, the present concept of examinationsand degrees, despite certain praiseworthy but ill-regulated intentions, is far from the concept onwhich the preparation for continued educationthrough initial education ought to be based.

Far too little attention is paid in most kinds ofuniversity education to what is gratuitous, social.to communication (for instance. foreign languages)

except in the case of training given in mostoccupational training institutions whose purpose iswell determined.

This defect is especially to be noted in the earlyyears of university courses (propaedeutical educa-tion).

The proportion of public funds devoted toeducation is going to continue to increase, althoughno doubt not so fast. What part is to be set asidefor higher education, remembering its two-foldpurpose, namely initial training and research andcontinued education ? It may be that a "goldenrule" could bt. suggested.

It would be as well to determine in advance aswell the areas in which the private sector shouldbe asked to contribute, and the extent of its con-tribution.

The presence of two or three outside personson university boards is not enough to ensureeffective links with the pattern of socio-economicrequirements.

There is a strong case for carrying out researchinto the conditions in which higher education insti-tutions' potential is utilised for reception, teachingand laboratory activities, with a view to improving,where appropriate, the internal efficiency of theservice and assessing the proportion to be devotedto continued educational activities.

II. STUDENT PARTICIPATION AND CAREEROPPORTUNITIES

It is quite legitimate that students should approachhigher education with a view to using it to achievea position in society that corresponds to theirinterests and ambitions.

Undoubtedly some students enrol at universitymore because it is easy to gain admission thanfrom ideas of a specific vocation, to postpone theresponsibility of a job rather than to experiencethe joys of learning, to benefit from the materialand social advantages which their status as stu-dents confers than to devote themselves to theuniversity community.

This category comprises less motivated or giftedyoung people for whom university is a waitingroom where they can pass the time fairly pleas-antly and a base from which they can assume theeasy task and self-importance of denouncing theevils of society unless they prefer to rest contentwith distractions not involving such aggressiveurges.

However, although the university becomes a re-ception centre for young people lacking in a senseof vocation, the fault lies far less with them sincethey will in the long run suffer for it than withthose who bear responsibility for a system ofeducation which rejects competition and encoura-ges the idea that one is entitled to a place in thecommunity as of right rather than as a reward forhard work.

However much capital may have been made outof misunderstandings of this kind, and of a certaininactivity which is no more than an interimappeasement, generally speaking students areactive, open and aware of the need to work. Unlikecertain complacent adults, they have been faster indrawing the right conclusions from the unrealisticschemes of 1968 -nd have reassessed their problemsin the light of reality and common sense.

However, the relative calm typical of this attitudein no way indicates acceptance of a return to paststagnation. Students are aware that it is not enoughto overthrow an unsuitable construction to build.as if by magic, a better alternative. They haveexperience of the apostles of student unrest readyto enlist them in the service of their own ideologyand revolution. They have also made a practicaland sincere attempt to bring about a universitycommunity more deserving of that name.

Whatever sympathetic cords questions of equalitymay strike in the soul of young people, problemsthat concern them more closely have often been

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avoided. These problems have still not been solvedin many cases and students often feel that they arealone in facing them. Summarised very simply,this is the situation created by the considerableexpansion in higher education.

The difficulties involved arc essentially the samein all European countries and are associated withthe relationship between the "academic commu-nity" constituting the institution of higher educa-tion and the everyday world in which students areentitled to find their own place and play at part.

Disappointment and anxiety are often to be felt inthe atmosphere in which the hard-working studentseeks his way.

Disappointment is the outcome of the mountain ofpromised improvements which has given birth toa mouse, in the form of diluted participation.

The anxiety is due to the increasing danger, espe-cially in those faculties where admission is easiest.of the student not finding employment at the endof his studies, even though his marks are good.

The teacher-student relationship is now a moreopen one. There is less false deference but thereis always genuine respect whenever the teacher isable to show his students individual proof of hisinterest. The anonymity of relations is the truecause of lack of understanding and distrust. Withthe increase in students, professors, whose numbershave not risen proportionately, have seen a barrierof anonymity rise between their students andthemselves. The influence of assistants has growncorrespondingly, though this does not always gua-rantee the same level of objectivy.

The aloof professor has become suspect, like thecultural values which have been challenged by thehighest authorities. Large numbers have resultedin faculties being split up and the community ofteachers and taught, typical of universities in theMiddle Ages has become a mosaic of units morecut-off than independent.

In the circumstances, teaching and human relationsare not sufficiently personal to arouse any desireto take up post-graduate studies.

In the absence of direct relationships, the schemesfor participation introduced in answer to the eventsof 1968 and the provisions along these lines alreadymade in a number of countries have not been ableto give students the opportunity of establishingpersonal relationships with their teachers nor themeans of contributing constructively to more ef-fective teaching arrangements.

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Often such participation has given rise to a semi-electoral pattern. procedural formalism and endlessmeetings on routine matters. all leading to a feelingof general inertia. At committee meetings. lackingtraining in how to lead discussions and above allin subjects corresponding to their interests, stu-dents and teachers have grown weary and absen-teeism has become a feature of elected assembliesjust as it had been earlier in elected student bodies.

Strong in the authority conferred on them byscientific mastery of their specialised field, en-trenched in their subject by the splitting-up offaculties and exploiting the general inactivity, theuniversity 'bosses ", even those who have a sinceredesire to find some form of participation, havefound that they are as all-powerful and feudal aspreviously.

If students who have just completed their studieswith success are to be naturally receptive toentering into the game of recurrent education,bonds of interest and emotional ties must link themto the institution where they received their initialtraining.

To this end, action must be taken in severalspheres :

against. single subject isolation, by putting intoeffect the scheme so often recommended inrecent years : multidisciplinary education ;against isolation in teaching, by making rela-tions between students and teachers easier asregards curricula, ttnching methods, methodsof assessment and evaluation. However, herethe solution is definitely not to set up commit-tees with equal representation since it is ridi-culous to make this kind of co-operation intoan "equal" match between those who know thesubject and those who do not ;against human isolation, by taking action likelyto create bonds of friendship between studentsthrough their work, recreation activities andpossibly their hostel life, and by furtheringopportunities for "informal" meetings betweenstudents and teachers, whether assistant or fullprofessors :against civic isolation, by providing more infor-mation, which is not the same as abandoningthe university campus to the clutches of un-scrupulous adventurers ;against the isolation of poverty, by ensuring,through the appropriate bodies preferably inthe form of a study loan rather than a grant notrequiring repayment that all deserving stu-dents receive the necessary means to lead atolerable life free from anxiety and depression ;

against social isolation, by providing oppor-tunities and projects to encourage joint activitiesinvolving students and workers of the same age :for example, sports or cultural activities, sharedcivic or military service or co-operation on someventure of social value (e.g. the restoration of avillage, archaeological excavations. etc.) ;lastly, against professional isolation. with thehelp of participatory bodies, by providing regu-larly updated information on careers and cour-ses arranged by business concerns and, on apermanent basis, ensuring effective contact foreach student, throughout his higher studies.with representatives for the various social andprofessional activities that correspond to hisstudies.

In the last instance, considerable progress has yetto be made. It is totally unreasonable to quote, ashas been done in certain cases, the autonomy and"rights" of the university as an excuse to hand thecampus over to anyone on condition that he advo-cates rebellion against accepted values or the classstruggle yet at the same time refuses access tothose who actually control society as it is and arethe future employers of students.

By endeavouring to do away with the obstacles wehave listed above, the foundations will be laid fora successful appeal to recurrent education : quali-fied young people will thus be more receptive tothe idea involved if they already know and appre-ciate the realities behind it.

These realities have still to be defined and orga-nised on a national scale as regards their promo-tional aims, methods and above all the effective-ness of the co-operation to be required betweenthe world of education and the world which needseducated people.

When considering unrest among students the Sym-posium's attitude was not to condemn the mani-festations that may have resulted from it nor toreproach students for the unfortunate events thatmay have arisen out of student claims or theworkings of the first organs of participation inuniversity life ; members concentrated on therecognition of student needs, their sincerity andthe need to provide a constructive outlet for thelegitimate hopes they had built up of breakingdown the barriers that for so long had hamperedthe evolution of the university community.

Professor Edding referred to prolonged educationin an exclusively academic environment as one ofthe causes of unrest. The developing personalityneeded a more open framework and particularly

a less selfish way of life than that which could beprovided by an existence composed of periodsspent in the family alternating with attendanceat lectures. which in a good many cases did noteven include participation in the social life of theuniversity community.

Some countries had put an end to the systemwhereby students completed their civil or militaryservice after their higher studies. that is to sayafter the age of 25 service was completed at theage of 19 or 20. thus constituting a sort of socialcourse fitted in between secondary and higherstudies ; though this system may mean a loss of acertain amount of knowledgk. which is not aserious disadvantage, it encourages greater ma-turity and gives the student direct contact withsocial environments which he had not knowneither at school or in his family.

The path to community life thus opened up leadsto a more direct awareness of the overall problemsof permanent education.

In the course of national or civil service studentscan, on the basis of the various situations whichenable them to get outside their usual environ-ment and learn of other patterns of life, realiseabove all that society includes men of high calibrein every form of activity and that the outstandingmerit which these may have acquired was notnecessarily produced by university training andresults in the main from the generous and intelli-gent exercise of social and professional respon-sibility. They may also, by seeing things from apoint of view that is at least for a time externalto the university, assess the artificial and ralrenature of slogans such as the "bourgeois univer-sity" (ntiversite bourgeoise), "alienating educa-tion" (education alidnantc) catchwords whichrefer to situations that have not been experiencedby most of those who describe them with suchcomplacency. The simplicity of the models con-structed and the generous spirit underlying theircriticism may seduce high-minded young intel-lectuals who have not yet had an opportunity torealise that university education, through the veryexercise of the scientific critical faculty which itdevelops is in fact a liberating force and a meansof inducing a sense of responsibility.

Main points

There is a certain degree of unrest amongstudents in higher education mainly in those de-partments which are easiest of access and wherevocational objectives are not clearly defined (lite-rary and even science departments).

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The rapid increase in the number of studentshas prevented the establishment of vital humanrelationships.

Another consequence of growth is that facultieshave been split up into departments or highlyspecialised units : the community which was onceblamed for a certain degree of feudalism has nowbroken up into a mosaic of small-time feudaldomains.

Isolation of this sort is encouraged by the toohighly specialised character of certain forms ofpreliminary teacher training in universities. It willbe rectified by the introduction of genuine multi-disciplinary forms of training and by teamwork.

The hopes placed in participation have some-times given way to weariness and disappointment,probably because methods of participation werefrequently impromptu and not carefully enoughprepared in accordance with the object in view.We must distinguish between the following :

. routine questions which must be left to thepeople who are responsible for day-to-dayorganisation :

. educational questions where participationcannot be such as to place teachers and stu-dents on an equal footing because of theobvious disparity of knowledge between thetwo ;

. questions of general organisation particularlywith regard to external relations. jobs, andsocial questions, in which students shouldparticipate on a broad basis and even, incertain cases, predominate.

It would be a good thing to define, presumablyat European level, a teachers' code defining theirfreedom to teach in the framework of their res-ponsibilities, particularly with regard to respectfor the opinion of their student audience and forthe moral values recognised by society.

It would also be a good thing to work out acode of rights and duties for European studentsin connection with their participation in universitylife in their countries and their behaviour in anyforeign universities.

A vocational or social course should be orga-nised or a period of civil service between thecompletion of secondary studies and the beginningof higher studies so as to encourage the develop-ment of maturity and social responsibility andthus to harness the gregariousness which readilydevelops among young people still receiving edu-cation.

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By means of sports associations. orpmsedtravel and courses students should be put in contactwith young workers as frequently as possible.

The various relations which Students maydevelop through external activities should avoidthe risk of paternalism and arrogance which couldresult from a naive belief in the superiority con-ferred by university studies : they should learn toappreciate the sterling qualities and education ofmen and women of all professional levels andrealise that the university does not have a mono-poly on the production of men and women ofcalibre. Besides modesty, this realisation shouldencourage a taste for self-improvement and respectfor the mastery of every form of know-how.

Co-operation between European universitiesshould make it possible to bring legislations in linewith one another so as to provide even more scopefor the recruitment of foreign teachers and for theexchange of lecturers and assistants.

While continuing work on the equivalence ofdiplomas it would be a good thing. and a verysimple matter, to extend inter-university Conven-tions between European countries so that a yearcompleted by a student in a foreign university inspecific conditions could be recognised by hisuniversity of origin. An agreement on this questionhas happily been concluded between the TechnicalUniversity of Karlsruhe and the National Instituteof Applied Science of Lyon.

Among the instruments of participation whicheach institution of higher education might develop,a particularly suitable one is an external relationsdepartment dealing with courses, information andjobs.

III. HARMONISATION OF INITIAL EDUCATIONAND RECURRENT EDUCATION

The longer the education the more it was believedto be sufficient in itself and those who had receivedit, because better equipped to know and to passon the curricula and methods of correspondingcourses than most of their fellow citizens, werethought to possess all the qualities necessary totackle the future.

However, higher executives in an undoubtedlygood position to assess the requirements of scien-tific, technical, economic and social developmentshave been the first to become aware of the need tobring their knowledge regularly up to date and thefirst to encourage preliminary projects, courses,symposia, etc. to this end.

Following the success of these projects and in thelight of experience acquired in this manner. it wasfound that needs were much greater than at firstrealised and that many executives whose fellowemployees were aware of their having "grown oldon the job" were unfortunately unaware of theirneed for new blood, accepting implicitly like mostof their forerunners of the previous generationthat the impetus provided by a university educa-tion would carry them through with ease to theend of their working lives.

This factor, combined with the difficulties of adap-tation encountered by persons conscious of theirneed for renewal, has raised the question whetherinitial education itself should not be rethought sothat recurrent education, now generally acknowl-edged to be a necessity, does not become a supple-ment to be acquired at the cost of a more or lesspainful return to studies long since forgotten, but isregarded as the natural extension of initial educa-tion so that the professional diploma in which itculminates is considered more as an initial spring-board than as a finishing post.

Once the philosophy of initial education haschanged extensively, the conditions under whichsuch education is provided and confirmed must bemodified accordingly. The individual should betrained to be capable of acquiring and wishing toacquire knowledge which will be needed later onbut which cannot be predicted.

Nothing is more difficult than to prepare for theunknown by acquiring new information ; but someapproach can be made by developing dynamicattitudes in the shape of methodological skillanimated by a constantly alert curiosity.

Knowledge and the processing of knowledge aretwo aims to be combined appropriately duringinitial training in higher education.

.By stressing knowledge above all else, uinversitystudies, in accordance with tradition, have helpedto bring about the "life diploma" ensuring totalsecurity and thus providing little incentive ever tochallenge what has been learned. By laying greaterstress on ability to process knowledge (adaptabilityas it is sometimes termed) or on the capacity to"learn to learn", the stagnation of the "life di-ploma" gives way to the stimulation of "lifelonglearning".

There is no paradox in saying that the self-taughtmust be prepared by initial education and giventhe necessary means by continued education. Ininitial education the student is subjected to animposed system ; in continued education the

worker-,,tudent has initiative and responsibility inhis options and his work.

How should the modern university be organised soas to initiate and maintain the process of lifelonglearning ? This is the great difficulty when re-stucturing the university to meet the requirementsof permanent education. The prospects are so im-mense that they stimulate the imagination butthey must also be approached with caution if weare not to lapse into pipedreams.

Professor van Trotsenburg suggests that this atissue should be approached pragmatically. on thebasis of extensive information and concrete expe-riences, without excluding the re-adapatation ofsubject matter which might be justified but notunderestimating the vaiue of the guidance andincreased efficiency which can be expected froma comprehensive forecast. Several countries havemade studies and carried out experiments inhigher education. but such efforts are still frag-mentary and not properly co-ordinated. The firstrequirement for uccess is to arouse the interestof teachers and students and gain the support ofboth teachers and taught in putting into practiceconcrete experiments corresponding to specificproblems.

To guide discussion on the definition of a frame-work designed to encourage such an approach. theSymposium programme suggested three subjectsfor consideration :

. change in the duration of studies ;development of syllabuses and teaching me-thods ;changes in methods of assessment.

Duration of studies

Although no-one would advocate res.tricting thepossibilities of access to higher education. threeconditions should be taken into account :

in social investments the expansion of highereducation should take other requirements intoconsideration. particularly the need to assist.people from underprivileged backgrounds whooften do not voice theif difficulties. and some-times even acute poverty ;the general public must realise that higherstudies are worthwhile for their own sake in sofar as they develop the individual by improvinghis culture, his possibilities of self-expressionin his familiy life and in particular his profes-sional skills. In other words it must be acceptedthat higher studies do not necessarily lead onto higher jobs ;

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in higher studies, the choice between short orlong courses should lead to a balanced distribu-tion of numbers, i.e. the former should beregarded as designed primarily to meet clearlydefined professional purposes and not as consti-tuting the introductory cycle of long courses inhigher studies.

Attempts to achieve this balance which is notat variance with the way skills are actually distri-buted have emphasised the value of promotingshort cycle courses providing rapid specialisationand of maintaining the standard and guarantee ofquality of long cycle courses which make higherintellectual demands. In this way, Professor vanTrotsenburg reconciles the two requirements ofhigher education in modern society : mass-produc-tion and quality.

The shortening of courses made possible, and un-doubtedly desirable, by a system of recurrenteducation is quite another matter, as has alreadybeen pointed out, to changing certain long coursesinto short ones. The syllabuses and teaching me-thods of long courses must be re-examined and theconsequences drawn from the change from asituation where priority was given to learning toone aiming at the development of a dynamicapproach to knowledge.

Fortunately efforts are being made on these lines.Because of conservatism and the pressure of pre-judices, however; there is still a tendency to in-crease the duration of long courses. Here again, itis influence of habit and the need for an informa-tion drive to change attitudes.

Syllabuses and methods

In these matters it is easier to diagnose the defectsof the current situation than to put forward solu-tions more in keeping with the principles of per-manent education. At present teaching is toocompartmentalised, and adaptation to meet newrequirements will not be achieved, by adding"package deals", to use Professor van Trotsenburg'swords.

Where teaching methods are concerned, it is uselessto reiterate the often sweeping criticisms whichhave been voiced on frequent occasions, especiallysince 1968, of the excessively unilateral, dogmaticand passive manner in which the message is tra-ditionally conveyed from teacher to pupil. "Lec-tures" have been held up to public obloquy, oftenin oratorical performances, themselves not unlikeex-cathedra lectures, only to find that this method

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of communication was not entirely without itsvirtues.

We know roughly what we want but not how toget it. I should like to add if I may use my ownwords as quoted in a study on permanent educationwhich appeared in May 1968 by Mr. Chenevier.President du Cercle d'etudes du Conseil Nationaldu Patronat francais (Chairman of the Study Circleof the French Employers' Association) :

"According to Mr. Capelle. modern educationshould be the product of a genuine change of mindwith regard to knowledge, entailing from a child'searliest years :

training in how to gain access to information :to find facts, select those that are useful andapply them to problems (thus developing bothmemory and imagination at the same time) ;a more equal balance between lesson., and prac-tical application ;a wider curriculum and the breakdown of dis-tinctions between theoretical and technicalsubjects ;more effective integration of subjects, at pre-sent too artificially compartmentalised ;more group work ;establishment of a system of guidance not basedon coercion."

There are indeed insufficient scientific data makingit possible for the moment to undertake consistentradical changes in teaching methods. For instance,on a specific point, when organising higher studies,it is not clear yet whether to start with practicalwork and then go on to higher studies or whetherit is best to provide general education first andthen exploit it later by practical training. This issurely a false dilemma since there are probablyseveral valid compromise solutions. The questionis nonetheless an interesting one since it challengesthe difference at present accepted between longand short studies, i.e. that as the first part of longcourses is theoretical, a short cycle course, i.e.specialised on the practical side, cannot take itsplace.

However, improvement of teaching methods coversa far wider field : new and effective methods,whose resources and extensions can only be gues-sed, are already available to us. These are the"media" which arouse hope in some and anxietyin others. These media also bring into play consi-derable commercial interests and this aspect oftheir development can bring fears that they maynot always be adequately based, because of profit

motives on pedagogic knowledge which is in-evitably fairly slow to progress.

Professor van Trotsenburg notes some kind ofreluctance or "inability to use modern media". Weare indeed only at the beginning of the mediarevolution which will be marked by a developmentof educational technology organised and put intoeffect by educational "managers".

The dissemination and reception of knowledge andassessment of its assimilation are all processes,some collective and already highly developed andothers individual and still necessitating discoveryand perfection, which go considerably beyond thepromising products already on the market.

It is of vital importance that the universities.whose research function is of primary importance,overcome the old prejudices which have made themregard teaching problems as routine matters wherethe possibilities of progress were limited, to be leftto more lowly institutions.

Communication between human beings, includingteaching problems, in fact afford a huge fieldworthy of the most ambitious research, especiallyin respect of the use of media to increase theimpact and effectiveness of teaching in terms bothof dissemination and of feedback and assessment.

A new technology with scientific foundations touse the English term "software", or as it might becalled in French, "genie pedagogique", remains tobe built up with its research workers, experts,teachers and technicians.

Needless to say, much information can be derivedfrom experiments and activities already under-taken on a large scale, especially ;ing open orclosed circuit television, cinen Ave under-estimated potential for teaching purposes. TheOpen University in the United Kingdom, the Tele-kolleg in the Federal Republic of Germany andother distant study establishments are the testinggrounds for the introduction of permanent educa-tion, not only in terms of recurrent education butalso of initial education.

If genuine continuity is to be achieved betweenthese two stages of permanent education, it is notenough merely to encourage a favourable outlookbut, from initial education onwards, the studentmust be made familiar with the media which willundoubtedly play a primary or even exclusive rolein recurrent education.

Aware of the importance of the evolution that canbe expected, which will benefit all forms of edu-cation and especially higher studies, the Committee

on Culture and Education, followed by the Con-sultative Assembly of the Council of Europe.proposed that a European inter-university institutefor the development of multi-media distant studysystems (the European Television University) beset up at Florence. The function of this institute.which it is hoped to be set up in the near future.will be to co-ordinate, inspire and apply experi-ments in practice and to further research on distantstudy systems. It can thus be hoped that it willbecome a meeting-place open to European univer-sities for discussions, seminars and demonstrationof the teaching uses of present and future media.

Assessment

There is almost general recognition of the need' tochange traditional methods of assessing teachingresults. However, this matter was not specificallystudied in relation to initial education at the Sym-posium, probably because the problems it raisesare even more difficult and have received lessattention than the modernisation of syllabuses andteaching methods. It is inconceivable that an in-dustry can develop its products and not acknowl-edge at the same time the decisive role of itsassessment service. Similarly, it would be uselessto claim to develop education through new me-thods and revolutionary technology if at the sametime more subtle and reliable methods of assess-ment were not introduced.

To recognise the teaching function of higher educa-tion, in particular the universities, and to consideraccordingly the question of their efficiency, oreven productivity, in no way reflects adversely ontheir high quality and moral function. Such aims,which can never be fully realised and will there-fore always be a target for educational technology,also involve factors other than those to which wewill confine ourselves here : assessment of studiesand of students.

Although not underestimating the work carriedout for almost half a century on docimology or theresearch done on examinations under the aegis ofinternational bodies, in particular the Council ofEurope, there is far more material on the subjectcriticising and analysing the defects of traditionalexaminations than putting forward constructiveproposals for solutions.

The concept of permanent education has helped tocounteract the idea deeply rooted in tradition ofan examination leading to a final diploma. Indeedit encourages the outlook that a diploma cannotguarantee that the abilities and knowledge attested

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by the examination panel will be preservedthroughout life nor, a priori, a capacity to meetnew responsibilities and master knowledge arisingout of subsequent scientific and technological ad-vances.

To enable adults to resume their education, therehave been plans to make the organisation andassessment of initial education more flexible bybreaking down syllabuses into modules, for eachof which credits are given, with no requirementsof continuous study and no time limit, in the eventof the person subsequently taking up recurrenteducation. There has even been talk of making theinitial diploma an educational cheque.

Lastly, there has been no lack of criticism of finalor end-of-year examinations which are regardedas artificial mere spot checks and haphazard. Imyself advocated at a Symposium held in Brusselsin 1966, at the Council of Europe's instigation, theidea of a continuous record. It is not possible to doaway with examinations or diplomas altogether assome assessment must be made if all educationalefforts are not to be mere shots in the dark, withno way of distinguishing success from failure.

The purpose of this assessment is threefold : tostimulate assess progress and make an appraisal :

Studies need to be stimulated by regular tests.Although it may well be unpleasant to haveone's deficiencies detected, it is very helpfulto get some indication as to what line thenecessary corrective steps should follow and ifthe results are positive, this is a further sti-mulus to continue with the studies. To do awaywith examinations during the year on thegrounds that this lightens the student's workload is a psychological mistake which, all thingsconsidered. will not help his studies ;To assess progress means evaluating whetherthe results expected of a particular lesson orpart of the syllabus have been obtained. Theway in which this is done can be varied : itmust not be too time-consuming or requireexcessive concentration on a given section of aparticular subject to the neglect of the rest.Programmed teaching or computer assessmentmay provide particularly attractive solutionssince they do not encroach on study time and,above all, are constantly and discreetly acces-sible to the student as if conducting some formof frank self-assessment. This is the moment oftruth which shows the way, either the workhas to be repeated or one is ready for the nextstage.

To make an appraisal at the end of a year's

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work or a study cycle is obviously a complexprocedure. It is also of vital importance whenthe award of a diploma usually serving as acertificate of proficiency giving access to aprofession is involved.

Two important factors are entailed in the finalevaluation. One is to give an appraisal of thepupil's progress through his "study record". i.e. arecord of all the work in which he has taken part.the tests he has taken and, generally speaking, anyactivities which have been the subject of qualita-tive or quantitative evaluation.

Methodological science has still a long way to goto judge by the difficulty experienced even at thelevel of the class council in establishing exactlywhat qualities should be evaluated in the student's"work" and how this should be marked. A lexiconof qualities characteristic of scholastic achieve-ment for various subjects has yet to be compiledas the foundation for constructive docimology.

The second objective, which is more difficult toachieve, is to go from objective knowledge ofschool results to an appraisal of the student'sintrinsic qualities so as to draw up a profile of hisability to deal with problems and situations. Thisprofile, a genuine identity card of the student'spotential behaviour, is obviously primarily a pipe-dream. Perhaps it will not always remain so andthen the certificate of proficiency to be awardedat the end of a course will like the results of amedical examination remain an objective andreliable document for some time.

Obviously considerable progress has yet to bemade before the present assessment of attainmentscan become a forecast of the student's capacity forfuture attainments.

Viewed from this angle, the diploma becomes astrictly personal matter and the information itprovides is confidential in the same way as thatof a medical diagnosis. As it refers to a particularpoint in time, it will require regular confirmationin the same way as flying certificates awarded toairline pilots.

It should be remembered that syllabuses, teachingmethods and assessment were discussed at theSymposium held at Pont-A-Mousson in early Ja-nuary 1972. In our opinion, little can be added tothe general ideas expressed at this meeting andthe moment had come to take action on a smallscale and on a pragmatic basis through experimen-tation. This was the view taken by Professor vanTrotsenburg in his lecture when he expressed hispessimism as to the chances of over-ambitious

projects succeeding. He added . -too wide a conceptof permanent education is likely to lead to chaos".

The conclusion to be drawn from these discussionsis that we know very little about the kind ofeducation designed to instill the capacity to act andarouse at the same time an appetite for continuedstudy : the field is open for reflection throughresearch and action through experimentation.

Main points

Traditional education encourages a false sensa-tion of completion and does not encourage aware-ness of the need to update knowledge.

The aims of traditional education should be re-examined by transforming it into initial education.Instead of amassing knowledge whose assimilationwas inadequately assessed, students should acquirea dynamic approach to knowledge. A methodologyfor processing knowledge is more important thanthe assimilation of a specific syllabus.

The previous "life diploma" should become atemporary certificate of proficiency requiring re=gular confirmation in forms to be determinedaccording to the individual situation concerned.

Permanent education integrates and co-ordina-tes suitable initial education and recurrent educa-tion, whose philosophy and structures have yet tobe defined. It requires some degree of continuitybetween the means employed by these two typesof education and is more an educational strategythan a new institution.

Through permanent education, the duration ofinitial education can be cut down without makingconcessions to easiness. This does not mean thatshorter university studies are to be confused with"short" vocational training courses usually con-sisting of specialised instruction following imme-diately on secondary school studies.

Syllabuses and teaching methods in highereducation should be reviewed in the light of thenew aims and resources. Media should be intro-duced in initial education, not only to increaseefficiency but also to pave the way for the necessarycontinuity with recurrent education.

The growing importance and the variety ofeducational techniques call for the setting-up of anew branch of applied sciences which could becalled "software".

Experiments in distant study systems of highereducation at present being carried out in variouscountries should be studied and their results corn-

pared with a view to systematic application forthe development of recurrent education. The pro-posed inter-university institute at Florence for thestudy and development of "software" and primarilyof distant study systems, corresponds in line withthe wishes expressed by the Consultative Assemblyof the Council of Europe, to a major requirementof our age.

Assessment of students' work and the establish-ment of a profile of their ability to deal withproblems and situations is an ambitious aim. None-theless, this is the line which should be takenwhen attempting to modify the professional diplo-mas at present awarded by the universities andother higher educational establishments.

Knowledge and experience in the specific sec-tors of syllabuses, teaching methods and assessmentof students are very limited for the moment. It isnot clear how these three factors should be de-veloped to encourage a favourable approach torecurrent education. This major issue requiresresearch.

Rather than embarking on comprehensive deci-sions in fairly unknown territory, research andexperiments should be increased on a pragmaticbasis In this way hopes of permanent educationwill not be disappointed and will lead to construc-tive efforts.

IV. THE CONDITIONS FOR RECURRENTEDUCATION AT A HIGHER LEVEL

The purpose of discussing this subject is to definea strategy for continued education on the basis ofexperiments, which have been carried out in largenumbers, but sporadically, by reason of particularcircumstances and not directed towards a generalobjective.

Experiments were in the first place determined byconsiderations of improving efficiency in work.But this utilitarian target, perfectly reasonable inorder to start off continued education on realisticand accepted foundations, should be rapidly wi-dened to include needs that spring from familylife, civic life and leisure activities.

In other words, a broad non-materialistic rangeshould be included together with vocational con-siderations in the organisation of continued educa-tion ; education and culture are the two largelyoverlapping and complementary aspects of con-tinued education to be furthered at the higherpoint as at other levels.

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Politicians, subjected to such a wide variety ofpressures, tend to fall back on familiar solutionsand are thus apt to be "conservatives" in education.Increases in the educational expenditure are fairlyeasily accepted, especially in a period of economicprosperity, in the hope of increased prosperity,especially since these increases would have thesupport of a very wide public. But the selectionof priorities within overall educational expendi-ture, especially as regards the portion allotted tohigher education, depends more on tradition or onthe strength of demand for higher education thanon a clear recognition of needs, which is a far morevital matter when endeavouring to steer towardsthe society of the future.

A higher education diploma is sought after by anincreasing number of candidates because it offersthe best entrance ticket to life one may expectfrom it both prestige and remuneration. Yet,whereas all the candidates for higher diplomasexpect to obtain by that means a privileged posi-tion, the fact that they are increasing in numberand are frequently distributed among the varioussectors of higher education and the various voca-tional categories in such a way as bears no relationto employment prospects means that a growingproportion of them will not attain that privilegedposition.

Non-university diplomas of vocational qualificationare underestimated in the case of all forms ofpost-secondary education. The university degreewill be forced, in view of its increasingly wide dis-tribution, to "sell more cheaply", but that willhardly slow down the rush on studies which areconsidered to have the most prestige.

There is talk of selection in order to apportionstudies according to needs. But what is the valueof it ? How is it to be done ? What is to be offeredto those who did not win the selection match ?

The last question is one of vital social importance,as much as the need to persuade universities thatan academic education is perfectly compatible withthe exercise of a professional activity that may betechnically accessible on the basis of a less ad-vanced form of general education.

Continued education will offer a real alternative inour new society to those who have not had the"luck" to pursue their studies or to complete themsuccessfully at the age of full-time education. Itsextension and "credibility" will justify any pre-university selection and it will be self-regulating,in that many young people knowing that they arekeeping their opportunities open, will elect to entersome career spontaneously at some lower level

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without insisting at all costs on settling downindefinitely as students. Thus continued educationshould eliminate that social parasite : the "profes-sional student".

In the quest for conditions favourable to thedevelopment of continued education two construc-tive psychological factors should first be notedwhich are naturally strengthened through initialcontact with family, social and professional res-ponsibilities they are maturity and motivation ;these two incentives are sometimes absent in stu-dents who, as a result of continuous study, arelimited to the family and school environment incircumstances of unbroken docility under a formof guardianship which shelters them from all needsand relieves them of all anxieties, and who havethus proceeded, without the intervention of anystriking events, from the nursery school to uni-versity. The insertion between secondary andhigher studies of a period involving a change ofenvironment and the assumption of new respon-sibilities has, whenever tried, always resulted inthe reinforcement of the student's maturity andmotivation, whether the time was spent on a voca-tional course, social work or even military service,which is not always a deliberate source of culturalenrichment : the insertion of a break in the se-quence of studies for the purpose of activity andresponsibility offers many more advantages thandisadvantages if it is a disadvantage that someknowledge will be forgotten as a result of thebreak ; for we may reasonably suppose thatthe forgotten knowledge will soon be regained ifit is of any use and that it is not a bad thing tojettison it when its only purpose was to help getthrough examinations.

If, then, a break lasting about one year prior tothe commencement of higher studies is profitablefor full-time students, it is certain that profes-sional life may, under certain circumstances, becombined with continued education and thusenable the worker who has reached the levelrequired to enter higher studies to pursue themwith a chance of success comparable to that en-joyed by full-time students.

It might even be thought that higher educationcombined with the pursuit of normal family, socialand professional life may often be more efficaciousthan a prolonged stay in the artificial environmentof full-time post-secondary institutions organisedmore as factories for the anonymous production ofsocially privileged persons than as centres whereeach individual can put his life and inclinations inharmony with studies corresponding to clearlyidentified ambitions.

As a result of the university's participation in thetask of continued education we may expect arevaluation of the university as an institution andin any case a profound transformation of its socialstanding and its methods.

The practical conditions of the expansion of recur-rent education at post-secondary level are to bedefined in particular in three fields : structures,objectives, teacher training.

Structures

One of the first conditions of the resumption ofstudies by a professional worker is that his pro-fessional activity should contribute as far as possi-ble by its very nature or by its implications to thesupport of his continued educational endeavours.

When the applicant has provided proof of hisdetermination and aptitudes, for instance by com-pleting a trial period of "evening classes" or"correspondence courses" he must be freed frompart of his working time for the sake of hiscontinued studies. This condition can be fulfilledwithout financial loss to the person concerned bymeans of an agreement or of social legislationadapted to the various situations. In certain coun-tries a complete break in professional activity hasbeen provided for, together with the payment ofcompensation almost equal to salary in order toenable the recipient to devote himself entirely tothe resumption of his studies. This system may bethe best one in certain particular cases but itcannot be introduced generally for several reasons :first it is very costly to the community and alsoto the firm, which loses a good worker ; it tearsthe applicant out of a stable environment andputs him in a strange setting which does notnecessarily act favourably upon his development.Lastly, it substitutes for security of tenure thechance of a post presumed to be better, indeed, butonly if the studies are crowned with success.

Objectives

A typology of the operations involved in recurrenteducation has already been established and maybe outlined as follows :

Bringing knowledge up-to-date is the operationwhich enables a person exercising professionalresponsibility to keep abreast of the times andthus fulfil the obligations resulting from newdevelopments in his job.Refresher training is an operation closely relatedto the previous one but a somewhat feebleand pathological image of it ; for, although the

word is often used in the sense of bringingup-to-date, its real meaning is more "gettingback into form" ; it applies to a person who forvarious reasons has lost his touch and needs toget on top of his job again. It may be said thatrefresher training is remedial whereas bringingup-.to-date is preventive.Redeployment goes beyond bringing up-to-date;it consists in acquiring a new professional skill ;the case arises, for example, when openings aretoo limited in the branch in which one isoperating and the decision is taken to movetowards a different kind of activity.Promotion reflects the ambition of a personwho wishes to obtain the requisite skill toassume higher responsibilities than those al-ready exercised. The preparation required atpost-secondary level includes extension ofscientific education along with the acquisitionof more advanced technical knowledge.General culture, in so far as it pursues no ma-terial interest, cannot be excluded from recur-rent education schemes ; the satisfaction ob-tained from personal cultural enrichment infamily and social life and in leisure pursuitsis deserving of support, for the pursuit of gainmust not be the only motive force in thedevelopment of continued education. This ap-proach does in fact produce material benefits ;the most disinterested forms of general culturaldevelopment frequently have indirect but verypositive effects on the social vocation and hu-man relations of executives and, more generally,of everyone assuming some social or economicresponsibility.

Teacher training

Continued education faces the tutor with new pro-blems : the psychology of the worker, his motiva-tion, the influence of his social environment, hishigh degree of maturity, and not least his sensi-tivity radically alter the relations between teacherand taught as compared to the generally acceptedrelationship that meets with varying degrees ofsuccess between masters and students in thetraditional forms of education. This fact has raisedthe question of whether a special corps of tutorsshould be formed for continued education in orderto meet the needs of adults engaged in professionalactivities. The reply to that question is firmlynegative. We can accept the fact that it is whollybeneficial for teachers in traditional education toobtain appropriate sociological and psychologicaltraining by means of courses and regular relationswith professional circles and thus to acquire the

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skills and understanding required for the develop-ment of fruitful relations with professional wor-kers. This experience will also contribute to thesuccess of their teaching with students undergoinginitial education.

There has been talk of monitors and group leadersto supply the needs of continued education ; theexpressions denote the desire to avoid the tradi-tional style of teacher rather artificial andacademic, in fact a caricature. The modern teacher,not only in his relations with adults but also in hisrelations with full-time students must also be agroup leader. But it would in fact be going too farin one's desire to refashion the type to try tosubstitute for knowledge, the fundamental qualityof the teacher, the skills of a master of ceremonies.

Finally, continued education will, in view of itsrange and the specific nature of certain of itssubjects, call for the assistance of occasionalteachers ; here we refer. without condenscensionto qualified persons who travel around the variousactive environments of society and exercise aresponsibility in them. The use of such travellingteachers alongside professional teachers and inclose co-operation with them will be beneficial toboth. Since every member of the "managerialstaff", every highly qualified person, will belooked upon as a potential occasional teacher inthe new world of permanent education. higherforms of education, even the most specialised formsand those most remote from the teaching profes-sion itself, will have to be founded on a generaleducation including a degree of training in the artof communication ; men who have received andmastered a certain skill will have to accept theneed to transmit it ; those who have responsibilityfor others will have to receive training in thepractical skill of communication, preferably duringsome initial period, since teaching is nothing morethan the development of communication in oneparticular direction.

We are well aware of the fact that it is not suffi-cient to stress the need for such education ; weneed to conceive of methods capabl-. of sustainingit and to introduce into the educational systemwhatever arrangements may be needed. The gene-ral questions which have just been referred topoint to the various paths of action. But they donot guarantee that action will be taken.

All the concrete measures proposed by ProfessorEdding do in fact define a new structure for educa-tion in close relationship with the professions forthe purpose of putting recurrent education intopractice. They form a coherent system of proposalswhich combine and sometimes amplify the conclu-

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sions concerning the main ideas contained in thethemes of the Symposium.

The "second chance" offered by continued educa-tion is not a complement to initial higher education:it is a logical arrangement to meet a new need anda right that must be recognised.

In the immediate future relations between teachersand the world of work must be encouraged andput, on an institutional basis in order to promotemutual understanding and permanent adjustmentof education.

The productivity of the educational system mustalso be studied as a whole and resources must beused to the full particularly at higher educationallevel where they cost more and achieve morevaluable results. Lastly, it is necessary to do justiceto professional qualifications and recompense skilland responsibility, not diplomas.

Our conceptions of examinations and diplomas arcarchaic but we must not go the other way andrecommend higher studies without any form ofcontrol the essential thing is that the certificatesof qualification which conclude training should betruly meaningful. Thus we shall not be coveringtoo large a field if we call for Europe-wide expe-riments in order to compare results and on thebasis of a broad survey define objective and ac-ceptable methods of assessment.

Finally, as was to be expected, the question ofwhat means are to be employed in providing acoherent system of continued higher education toall who can benefit from it raises a number ofproblems for which only partial solutions havebeen found.

Whether we are tackling the question of how todisseminate knowledge among workers who areboth widely dispersed and consumed by profes-sional obligations, how to supervise their studiesand provide individual assessment of the skillsacquired, or what social measures to introduce ifmore than a small minority are to receive con-tinued education, the problem is to a very largeextent a political one. It is a worthy subject ofinter-governmental co-operation and the outcomeought perhaps, in the first instance, as far as thepost-secondary level is concerned, be the emer-gence of a European policy on recurrent education.

In its new guise, higher education will cost morethan in its traditional form, as it is likely thatthere will eventually be twice as many workingstudents as full-time students. This should causeno consternation : much can be done to increase thefunctional efficiency of the academic investment in

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men and material which our universities and otherhigher educational institutions represent, and largesums have already been assigned, for example, bybig firms. to providing their managerial andexecutive staff with courses for refresher trainingand for bringing knowledge up-to-date ; evenlarger amounts have been earmarked by law insome countries for the development of continuededucation.

The time has come to embark on concerted peda-gogical research, to initiate experiments, to com-pare results and to display a great deal of imagina-tion, good sense and an ardent desire for socialprogress.

Main points

Preconditions for the establishment of recur-rent education, particularly at post-secondarylevel :

very widely diffused information,introduction of eminently credible educatio-nal and social measures to promote equalopportunity of access to higher educationafter the commencement of working life,a policy on higher education to marry initialeducation with continued education and bringboth within a policy aiming at the modelsociety of the future.

Vocational training should offer specialisationto all who require it ; it must also aim to endowpeople with the capacity to specialise. Continuededucation must not fail, even in the field of voca-tional training, to make room for general educa-tion, i.e. education in communication and culturalactivities.

An opportunity must be provided to move fromshort-term post-secondary education leading toqualifications as a high-grade technician tolong-term education at university level, on thebasis of careful preparation so as to avoid theabandonment of professional activity and requiresimply a reduction in weekly work while providingthe same guarantee of quality and the same chanceof success as full-time university education.

Continued education facilities will help to re-gulate the flow of full-time students who all toooften select their specialised studies haphazardlyor for futile reasons. A well-developed system ofcontinued education will put right any malforma-tions and waste that at present result from acentering of ambitions on full-time long-termhigher education.

The various forms of teaching provided undercontinued education require special structuresthe break-down of programmes into ''units' meansthat knowledge can be built up as time goes on.A recurrent system provides a very flexible meansof alternating work and education or combiningboth. Experiments at present being carried outshould be watched closely and made use of in theestablishment of reliable and appropriate teachingmethods.

Assessment of the work of widely dispersedstudents taking part in continued education raisesnew and difficult problems. Self-assessment shouldbe developed at least as a means of control and asa stimulus.

Use of the media in continued education will bea pre-condition of success.

The problem of the diploma, that is to say themeans of certifying professional capacity acquiredin continued education, is not essentially differentfrom the same problem as it occurs in full-timeinitial education. New difficulties arise howeverwhen it comes to developing arrangements adaptedto students dispersed throughout the world ofwork.

The educational implications of professionalactivity and the co-ordination of professionalactivity with studies carried out parallel to it couldbe a useful subject of further research

Teachers in full-time education should be pre-pared to help in the education of adult workersas well.

Qualified staff in firms and administrationsshould be prepared to co-operate with teachers inimplementing continued education.

The institutions and equipment already avail-able for full-time education will as far as possiblebe used for continued education.

Purposeful permanent relations between uni-versity teachers and teachers in other highereducation establishments and qualified representa-tives from social, economic and administrativeorganisations should be established and strength-ened.

The political aspects of the problem of con-tinued education spring from a number of needsand policies :

. selection of a model for society and corres-ponding paths for the future,

. social measures intended to achieve equalopportunity of access to higher education,

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the need for teachers to extend their field ofresponsibility,

financial measures to support a large-scalecoherent system of continued educationestablishment of contributions by the State,local authorities, firms and the persons con-cerned.

Bearing in mind that continued educationprovides a second path, European standardisationof conditions of access to higher education, as faras initial education is concerned, would be a verygood thing. If that cannot be achieved, conditionsof admission generally applied in some countrieswill, when considered. too severe, result in thesurplus candidates going off to higher educationestablishments in other countries the benefi-ciaries in such a situation will not be the beststudents but the richest.

CONCLUSION

Since 1968 the university, which has been rudelyput in the pillory, has endeavoured to reform itself,but the reforms applied under the pressure ofcircumstances could not be properly co-ordinated ;

a university searching for the right path is still asorry spectacle, part building site part demolitionsite.

Evidently there was no real guiding light to helpin the transition from what was to be rejected towhat was being groped after.

We may well think that permanent education, withall the risks it entails as a long-term arrangement,offers a final objective and thus makes it possibleto lay down guidelines for action. The ViennaSymposium showed that higher education, whichshould embrace both full-time students for initialtraining and working adults for continued training,is required to make far. -eaching changes ; thechanges needed are but poorly expressed in thefacile formula of a transition from the educationof an elite to mass education.

It is not enough to change the scale of higher edu-cation by putting up new buildings and recruitinglarge numbers of new teachers if thereby wespread throughout all levels of education first anillusion of facility and then the bitterness ofdisappointment.

Professor M. Marien of the University of Syracuse(United States) urges those responsible to remem-

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ber that manual workers and incompetent intel-lectuals, badly informed citizens. irresponsibleparents, parents exposed to the -shock of thefuture" cannot make a desirable society. It will benecessary not only for young people but especiallyfor our oldest citizens to learn more, better anddifferently. For it is not so much young peoplewho have most need of reformed education asthose who have already left school and whoseresponsibility it is to shape the future.

Such reform is a vast undertaking ; it will requireimagination, breadth of understanding and pa-tience ; it is vitally important that it should be thesubject of carefully co-ordinated European re-search and experiment.

As permanent education expands the universitywill probably change its nature. The quite recentintroduction of the media, the growing opportunityprovided for student responsibility, the mainte-nance of permanent relations between the worldof higher education and research and those whohold positions of responsibility in the world ofwork, are factors which will help to do away withexisting barriers, sweep away prejudice and helpto establish a new scale of values ; thus contem-plative workers full-time students and opera-tional workers continued education studentswill be more closely associated with one another.

The mass university considered as a factory forthe distribution of distilled knowledge and for theaward of permanent diplomas will no longer exer-cise an exclusive appeal if knowledge ant its reco-gnition are accessible along other less artificialpaths.

Just as the barriers between the world of work andthe academic work will fall so national frontierswill no longer stand in the way of circulation andexchange within the new community of highereducation and research.

The university of tomorrow will have no frontiers ;the authors of "Reflections for 1985" refer to it asan educational centre par excellence where citizenswill come to obtain new knowledge throughouttheir lives ; even part of their leisure time may bespent there in acquiring the knowledge to whichthey aspire, provided the appropriate pre-condi-tions are fulfilled -- adaptability and attractiv-eness.

It was these pre-conditions which the ViennaSymposium tried to clarify.

TOWARDS A EUROPEAN POLICY IN HIGHER EDUCATIONby Mr. L. TONCIC-SORINJ,Secretary General of the Council of Europe

This meeting of parliamentarians who, in thevarious member States, are concerned with policydecisions concerning higher education, is poten-tially of great importance, at the national and atthe European levels. In all countries of Europe weare at present confronted with a situation of un-precedented growth in enrolments to post-second-ary education : an ever-increasing number of stu-dents are demanding admission to universities andcolleges. This expansion has led to an equallyunprecedented growth in public expenditure onhigher education. This raises a first problem, withwhich all national parliaments have to cope : Howfar can we afford to go on financing the expansionof higher education in view of the legitimateclaims of the other sectors of education such aspre-school, primary and secondary, and adult edu-cation ? Furthermore, what priorities must be setwhen deciding on the overall size of the educationbudget as compared to that of other public serviceslike those concerned with social security, healthand environment ?

In many member States we are already witnessinga situation in which the limits to further radicalexpansion of the present system of higher educa-tion seem to have been reached. A number ofcountries have had to introduce a numerus claususto limit access of students to certain faculties andstudy courses. At the European level this develop-ment has had the unwelcome effect of spreading thenumerus clausus from country to country. Studentswho cannot for instance gain admission to a me-dical school in one country tend to seek admissionto such studies in another ; in this way the over-crowding of universities and, as a consequence,the numerus clausus are exported from one countryto the other. We all adhere to the principle that ineach European country "every student who seekspost-secondary education should be able to find afully acceptable opportunity". But how far can wemaintain this principle in future in view of thescarcity of financial and personnel resources whichmust set a limit to the exponential growth ofhigher education which we have witnessed sincethe 1950s ? Where exactly should the dividing linebe drawn between justified and unjustifiable ex-pansion ?

At the same time these problems of expansion arelinked to the more complex problems of reform.Student unrest is a widespread phenomenon. It hasemerged in the advanced and affluent universities

of North America, permeated Europe and Japan.probably also to Eastern countries, and spread toLatin America and almost all other countries ofthe third world. Public opinion, and with it par-liamentarians of all political parties, have beenalarmed by anarchist activities of radical minoritieswhich have abused the academic freedom of uni-versities to prepare for violent revolution. We allfeel that the stage has now been reached at whichthose who bear political responsibility for thepeaceful evolution of our societies must interveneto stop such anarchist and violent activities. On theother hand it is obvious that the task with whichwe are confronted cannot consist only in main-taining law and order at the universities ; we mustalso ensure their progress and further development.This raises the problem of where the dividing lineshould be drawn between repression of violenceand promotion of new insights into the overalldevelopment of society and of new value structuresin this changing world of ours.

The reform of post-secondary education can beachieved only if there is agreement on the guidingprinciples of the reform. Such agreement is, in myopinion, at present about to be reached in Europe.It is becoming more and more apparent that theguiding principles of educational reform can befound only in the new notion of permanent or re-current education which your Committee, underthe able chairmanship of Rector J. Capelle, sup-ported by the Council for Cultural Co-operationand its various bodies, has so effectively developed.This concept will make it possible to integrate allforms of post-secondary education into a life-longeducational process in which each individual willobtain the education which is best suited to hisinterests and abilities. Under this new conceptpost-secondary courses may be divided into unitsto be taken in a sequence which in many cases thestudent himself will determine. Periods of studyand periods of practical work may alternate ac-cording to the student's needs and interests. Creditsobtained in individual study units may be accu-mulated towards the final degree. In this way wewill achieve a great flexibility of study program-mes and will be able to ensure that the educationalneeds of the individual and of society are metwhere and when they arise. Return to the univer-sity for retraining and reconversion will become anormal feature in a system of life-long educationand those bored adolescents who linger on today's

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campus wil be replaced by mature, motivated andresponsible students.

There is a further element which has to be takeninto consideration in our discussions. It is theimpact of the rapid growth of research and tech-nology on the education and training which theuniversities and colleges are called upon to provideto the young generation, and to the society at large.The universities must remain the centres of excel-lence in which fundamental research is carried outon the basis of independent scholarship thus addingnew knowledge to our common intellectual heri-tage. However, research has also assumed an ever-growing importance outside the university. Wher-ever political or economic management has to takedecisions the researcher is being brought in as itsjunior partner. This is evidenced in the politicalfield by the numerous committees in which re-searchers and civil servants share the responsibilityof introducing more rationality into the process ofdecision-making. In all countries we are thusconfronted with the problem of how to integratethis new function of university-based research intothe traditional machinery of politics.

These are only a few aspects of the issues withwhich your meeting will have to deal today andtomorrow. There are certainly no uniform solu-tions to be offered for general application in allour member States. However, it is of paramountimportance that we develop common lines of policyin the field of higher education in all EuropeanStates. Throughout many centuries of Europeanhistory the universities have been one of the mainelements of European unity, and students andscholars have traditionally moved freely from oneuniversity to another finding the same intellectualenvironment and the same fundamental valuestructures at each. This European role of the uni-versity must be maintained and strengthened, andthis can be done only if we can agree on commonbasic principles of national policies concerned withexpansion and reform of post-secondary education.

In the documents which have been submitted tothe meeting, you find the discussion paper whichthe Senior Officials Committee prepared for theBrussels Conference of European Ministers of Edu-cation in 1971. You may find in this paper usefulguidance for your own discussion. You also havebefore you hi the documents the resolution whichthe Conference adopted on policy and planning inpost-secondary education. How far do you agreewith this statement of the Ministers of Education ?How far should this resolution be revised oramended in the light of recent developments ? Ifeel that the documents of the Brussels Conference

should be taken into consideration in your owndiscussions because a European higher educationpolicy can only result from the common delibera-tion of parliamentarians, ministers and experts.

The role of the Council of Europe and of its Councilfor Cultural Co-operation in this process of elabo-rating common principles of convergent nationalpolicies in higher education can, in my opinion. bea very important one. The Council of Europe canprovide the forum for discussion and the basis forcommon action at various levels. The ConsultativeAssembly and your Committee can deal with theshirt -term, as well as with the long-term, aspectsof such policies from the point of view of the par-liamentarian, who bears a national as well as aEuropean responsibility. The Standing Conferenceof European Ministers of Education, the Secretariatof which is provided by the Council of Europe. canissue recommendations on all aspects of educatio-nal policy in Europe and in particular on thepriorities which have to be set in educational co-operation. The Conference is at the same time aco-ordinating body which can advise the individualinternational organisations active in its geograph-ical region on how best to meet the real needs ofmember governments in this field. The Council forCultural Co-operation and its permanent Com-mittee for Higher Education and Research canprovide the necessary expertise for contributingto the solution of these tasks, particularly sincethe latter is, as you know, composed of represent-atives of universities and colleges on the one hand,and of governmental delegates on the other.

It is for your Committee and the ConsultativeAssembly to give political guidance to these variousbodies and thus to ensure the convergence ofnational policies and the further development ofpost-secondary education in Europe. It is only bysuch a close and fruitful co-operation betweenparliamentarians, ministers and experts, at thenational and at the European levels, that we willbe able to meet the challenge of our time and findnew and forward-looking solutions to our problemsin this field.

This co-operation in elaborating common policiesof post-secondary education in Europe must beguided by objectives which can be reached in thenear future. There is general agreement that oneof the main objectives in this field is to increasethe mobility of students, teachers and researchersand thereby to establish the European intellectualcommunity which must parallel the economic com-munity. In this connection, I would like to recallthat, as you know, the United Kingdom Govern-ment has recently taken a remaikabie initiative

and offered fifty post-graduate fellowships toscholars from other countries of the Europeancultural community. If this initiative were takenup by all other member governments, we couldeasily arrive at sonic three hundred such fellow-ships which could annually be awarded to distin-guished young academics from all over Europe topursue their studies and research in a Europeancountry other than their own. In this way. wecould create a truly European elite based on aca-demic merit and experience gained abroad. I wouldtherefore like to join Rector Capelle in appealingto all parliamentarians here present and through

them to all national parliaments to examine thisproposal and to find the ways and means to setup a common European scheme of post-graduate.fellowships. This British initiative might. in myview, serve as a model for a similar scheme in thecultural domain. European unity is not only aquestion of politics and economics. These must beparalleled by the determination to unite all ourresources and mobilise all our imagination to buildup the European intellectual and cultural com-munity. We have no time to lose if Europecannot become more than an economic community,it will cease to be a community at all.

DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION STRUCTURES

Introduction

I have been asked to talk about structures forpost-secondary education. I welcome the emphasisthe organisers have placed upon the discussion ofstructures. As I hope to show, agreement isemerging concerning certain principles that mightguide the further development of post-secondaryeducation in Europe. But there is less clarity con-cerning the institutional forms in which theseprinciples might be embodied, and the proceduralsteps that are necessary in order to promote theevolution of these forms.

I want to divide my talk into four sections. In thefirst I shall list some of the points of principlethat have emerged in recent years from nationaland international discussions of post-secondaryeducation. I shall then go on to make some genera-lisations about how member States have sought toimplement these principles in their post-secondarypolicies. I shall argue that although there arereasons for optimism concerning the extent towhich we have been able to convert principles intopractice, there is a danger that short-run solutionsto certain immediate problems and difficulties mayhazard the possibility of successfully bringingabout appropriate structural and institutionalchange. Finally, I want to suggest that the conceptsof permanent education and recurrent educationoffer a valuable approach to the problem ofevolving a long-term strategy for the reform ofpost - secondary education.

by Professor W. TAYLOR,Director, University of Bristol School of Education

Developmental principles

It seems to be generally accepted that the overallprovision of opportunities in post-secondary educa-tion will be determined by the principle that (asthe United Kingdom Robbins Committee put it)courses should be available for all those who arequalified by ability and attainment to pursue them,and who wish to do so. Two caveats must beentered at this point. Manpower considerationsremain dominant in determining the numbers pur-suing certain professional courses, such as teachertraining and medicine. Furthermore, the so-calledprinciple of "social demand" or "private demand"that I just enunciated, whilst it implies the avail-ability of some kind of course, somewhere, does notrequire that the provision of particular coursesand the size of particular institutions will bewholly determined by demand. In other words, anumerus clausus can exist in specific sectorswithout prejudicing the principle. Whilst this is inaccordance with the way in which the UnitedKingdom Robbins Committee defined social de-mand, it does not quite meet the NorwegianOttesen Committee's formulation, viz. that "... allwho seek (post - secondary education) should beable to find a fully acceptable opportunity at theacademic level for which they are qualified".

The second c4neral principle that can be identifiedconcerns equality of access. There is general agree-ment that all those who are capable of benefitingfrom post-secondary education must have the

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opportunity to qualify themselves for entry toappropriate courses, and that access shall not bedenied on the basis of criteria such as race, colour,poverty, social class, regional origin or religion.

Yet social disparities in participation in post-secondary education are everywhere large, andthere have been few signs of any substantial dimi-nution in the importance of such factors duringrecent decades. The sons and daughters of upperclass, professional and middle class families areeverywhere over-represented in terms of the pro-portion of the male labour force from the samestrata, and youth from working class and lowerclass families are everywhere under-represented.Statements of intent concerning equality of accessand attempts by means of financial measures toimprove the chances of working class youth havemet with comparatively little success (Mostellerand Moynihan 1972 ; Little and Smith 1972). Itseems clear that the roots of inequality lie muchfurther back in the educational and social system,and that reforms of admissions policies at ageeighteen are unlikely to have any substantialimpact on such deeply rooted social tendencies.

In a number of countries, the proportion of womenenrolling in university or non-university post-secondary education has shown a substantial in-crease, but there are no very clear associationsbetween this and the overall expansion of oppor-tunity. Nonetheless, it remain.:z true that in somethree-quarters of European countries, men stillhave two to four times the chance of women tofollow courses of post-secondary education (OECD1971 (i)).

Thirdly, most countries appear to have recognisedthat continuing improvements in the quality ofprimary and secondary education, a projected risein the proportion of each age group that attainsthe necessary qualifications for post-secondaryeducation, greater personal affluence, demographictrends and, despite short-term fluctations, a con-tinuing high private rate of return frcm post-secondary education, are all likely to requirecontinuing expansion of provision in the 1970s. Inmany countries such expansion is unlikely to beat such a rapid rate as characterised the previousdecade, but it will nonetheless be substantial.

Fourthly, in determining the scale and nature ofexpansion, greater attention is being given to thepressures that increasing demand places uponpublic expenditure, and especially to the oppor-tunity costs involved, i.e. the other possibilitiesforegone. Among 16 European countries recentlysurveyed, only one devoted more than 20 °i'o of

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total public expenditure to education, a further6 spent between 15 and 20 °Fo. 7 between 10 and15 "to and 2 spent less than 10 9/o. On the basis ofextrapolation of present trends to 1980, it has beenargued that of these 16 countries, 8 or 9 would bedevoting more than 20 °,10 of public expenditure toeducation and some even exceeding 30 ° 0. Suchfigures must indicate the possibility that if demandand unit costs increase, education will be demand-ing a share of national resources that will almostcertainly give rise to resistance from other sectorsof the economy.

But the problem is not simply one of overall edu-cational expenditure Within such expenditure,post-secondary education poses particular pro-blems. In a recent speech, the Se.xetary of Statefor Education in the United Kingdom has pointedout that an annual growth of 6 9/0 is necessary tomaintain existing opportunities for those with therequired qualifications who seek places in highereducation. Such a growth rate would account fornearly half the projected increase of expenditureon education over the next 10-year period. Thiswould necessarily pre-empt possibilities for impro-vements elsewhere in the education service. Amongthe opportunity costs might be the renovation ofschool buildings, the provision of longer and moresystematic in-service training of teachers, theimprovement of teacher/pupil ratios, and moreexpenditure on non-teaching staff and equipment.It is coming to be recognised that anticipatedbenefits from alternative forms of expendituremust be calculated, and decisions concerninggrowth in post-secondary education must neces-sarily take account of such calculations.

Fifth, there appears to be a growing measure ofagreement that post-secondary education cannot bethought of as the period of three or five years offull-time study following upon the successful com-pletion of secondary education and terminating,for all except that proportion of students whocontinue with highly specialised post-graduatestudies and research, at around the age of 22 or 23.The need for a broader conception follows fromthe nature and pace of technological and socialchange, which render skills obtained in the firsttwo decades of life obsolescent long before theindividual's working life is over, from the episodiccharacter of personal development, and from theneed to provide for those who, through lack ACmotivation, absence of appropriate opportunities,or personal circumstances, were denied post-secondary education at an earlier stage. All thishas given rise to the principle that post-secondaryeducation should be organised in such a way as tostimulate the student's desirt and capacity for the

subsequent refreshment and up-dating of hisknowledge and skills, that it should provide. suita-able courses and financial support whereby adultstudents may undertake initial, post initial andmid-career training and education, that it shouldembody flexible entry requirements. and that itshould be characterised by appropriate modes ofexamination and assessment.

Sixth. there is a desire to minimise differences ofstatus between institutions by, fer example. en-suring that qualifications of equal standing areawarded for courses of the same duration andlevel. irrespective of where they have been pur-sued, and facilitating the transfer of students andcourse credits between institutions. In the wordsof a recent OECD document, "The urgent question.in all member countries, is how best to developnew structures for planning and control whichpromote diversity without creating new kinds ofdiscontinuity ".

This list of six principles social demand. equalityof access. expansion of facilities, attention to pro-blems of opportunity cost, the implementation oflife-long education, and the promotion of diversitywithout discontinuity is intended to be sug-gestive rather than exhaustive.

Structures of post-secondary provision

I have argued elsewhere that there are broadlyeight kinds of institutional development that needto be incorporated within any valid model ofinstitutional change on the European level (Taylor1971). First, the last ten years have seen the crea-tion of many new universities, which have incommon their full and unequivocal official statusas university institutions entrance standards andcourse requirements that are legally similar tothose that exist elsewhere in the country con-cerned ; the right to award their own academicdegrees or to present candidates for a nationaldegree ; and a level of research activity. multi-faculty or multi-subject structure and a basis offinancing that is the same as that of existinguniversities. Many of these new institutions havebeen very innovative in their organisation of fa-culties and departments, and the structure andcontent of their degree and diploma courses.

Second, a number of new 'universities have beencreated from existing structures, either by divisionor amalgamation (as in Paris, Louvain, Brussels,Newcastle and elsewhere) or by the upgrading ofexisting non-university institutions. With the tra-ditional university as the predominant model of

post-secondary education there has been a tendencyfor other kinds of institution at this level to seekand to obtain full university status. Whilst thismay help to create higher standards and a dynamicsense of purpose, it can also lead to neglect of thekinds of work for which the institution was origin-ally founded in favour of more advanced study andan involvement in research, and thus a failure tosatisfy institutional objectives.

Third, many countries havc established new non-university institutions for post-secondary studies.again either by upgrading from existing institu-tions for adult or technical studies, or by providingnew structures within which high level post-secondary courses are provided of shorter durationthan a normal university programme of studies.The French Instituts universitaires de Technologicand the Norwegian District Colleges are examplesof this type of development.

Fourth, there has been the creation of new struc-tures by the federal association of new and existinginstitutions. The Danish University Centres, andthe German Comprehensive University, representan attempt to create a unified structure withinwhich there can be a substantial diversity ofcourses and levels of provision.

Fifth, there have been efforts to set up institutionalframeworks which offer university level studythrough correspondence, television, radio, vacationcourses and local and regional tutoring and super-vision. The most substantial such development hasbeen the United Kingdom Open University, whichis now the largest university in the country, withover 40,000 students.

Sixth, there is in all countries a variety of non-university vocational, technical and professionaleducational institutions, that involve entrance re-quirements and/or course demands and:or quali-fications and awards that are generally regardedas making fewer intellectual demands than univer-sity institutions, and which prepare for a somewhatlower initial occupational level than universitycourses.

Seventh, the development of teacher education,partly in response to a chronic shortage of teachersin many member countries during the fifties andsixties, led to an expansion of teacher trainingfacilities on a scale that has made a substantialcontribution to the overall numbers of studentsfollowing courses of post-secondary education. Inmany countries (e.g. Finland and the Federal Re-public of Germany) there has been a move to bringteacher education closer to the universities. It hasindeed been argued that, since in a fully developed

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system of permanent or recurrent education allthe adult members of the "learning society" assumeteaching roles, there should be much more generalprovision of courses on pedagogy and communi-cations than exist at the present time. The up-grading to which I have already referred in rela-tion to the creation of new universities and non-university type post-secondary institutions hasbeen equally prominent in the field of teachereducation, and many former teacher training col-leges are now able to award degrees to theirstudents and to provide courses other than thoseleading to a career in the classroom.

Finally, there have been many developments in theprovision of adult, in-service and post-work educa-tion. These again, are so varied as to defy readycategorisation and they are in some respects linkedto other developments such as the Open Universityand new patterns of technical education.

There have been several attempts to summarise allthis diversity of institutional change in terms of alimited number of models. For example, ProfessorBurton Clarke of Yale University has recently putforward the idea that there are really two polarmodels among non-university institutions, whichhe has labelled "the alternative university" and"the first tier college" [OECD 1971 (ii)]. WhatClarke calls "the alternative university" is mostclearly embodied in the English binary system.where polytechnics and other post-secondary insti-tutions compete with traditional universities andprovide courses that lead to both first and higherdegrees. It is intended that the graduates of suchinstitutions will compete for positions of majorresponsibility and high status with graduates fromtraditional univers;ties.

The "First tier college" is very different. It cantake various forms, either recruiting all the stu-dents entering higher education, and serving as ascreening and selecting device for subsequentstages, or providing for only short programme ter-minal students through courses which have imme-diate vocational relevance, or some combination ofthe two. A recent report on post-secondary educa-tion in the United States, where the "first tiercollege" has been extensively adopted, and wherethe Carnegie Commission has recommended thatsubstantial further development of this kind isrequired, has claimed that junior and communitycolleges are being transformed into :

"amorphous, bland, increasingly large, increas-ingly State dominated two-year institutionswhich serve a number of interests other thanthat of their own students... Academic leadersin four year colleges and universities see them

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as buffers which will allow their institutions topreserve their 'academic integrity' and concen-trate on what they like best. High school officialssee them as institutions which can relieve highschools of the burden of preparing students formeaningful careers. The public sees them asfulfilling a major social commitment to educa-tional opportunities for all without realisingthat the majority of college students nevercomplete their course of study" (Newman 1971).

The report urges a change of course. in which theshort cycle institutions would find their own mis-sion, and would no longer act as streaming am'sifting mechanisms for the university proper.

All this highlights the problem of reconciling unityand diversity, of ensuring that there are oppor-tunities for transfer of students and of creditsbetween institutions and courses, whilst at thesame time making it possible for non-universitytype institutions to find :heir own mission and toavoid becoming dominated by traditional univer-sity ideologies. It is impossible to avoid the feelingthat in some countries, policy makers have almostgiven up hope' of changing these ideologies, andbelieve that the best prospects for reform in post-secondary education is in the development ofalternative courses ? nd institutions, resulting in aneven more selective, elitist and, possibly, irrelevantuniversity sector.

Recent papers by the OECD Secretariat have pro-posed a somewhat more complex four-fold classi-fication of post-secondary development. This com-prises the integrated comprehensive universitymodel, within which all the previously separatedforms of short cycle and long cycle, academic andvocational courses and institutions are unified ;

the binary model, in which the separation betweenuniversity and non-university provision is retained,but the non-university sector is given opportunitiesto compete with the universities ; the combinedmodel, in which the Imiversity and non-universitysectors co-exist with close linkages, mobility ofstudents and teachers being facilitated and en-couraged, and finally, the first cycle multi-purposecollege model, resembling Clarke's "first tier col-lege" whereby everyone intending to pursue stu-dies after secondary school has to pass through afirst stage short cycle course on leaving school.

Models of this kind are useful in indicating certaingeneral tendencies. But however simple or complexthe categorisations we employ in trying to describewhat has been happening in Europe during thepast ten or twenty years, it is difficult to claimthat it all adds up to any very coherent or well

thought-out system of post-secondary provision.Today's discussions of permanent and recurrenteducation represent an attempt to incorporate awide variety of institutions and courses within amore clearly articulated framework, one which hasgreater relevance to the likely needs of societyand the economy, and to the way in which indivi-dual motives and aspirations develop.

The coming crisis in post-secondary education

What to an actor looks like an encouragingly halffull theatre can to a manager or backer look likeone that is depressingly half empty. In the sameway. developments in post-secondary educationover the past twenty years can be viewed either asa triumph over many kinds of financial, politicaland academic adversity, or as a build-up to aseries of major problems, the full dimensions andimport of which have yet to be recognised andfaced. But I detect a certain tiredness with talkabout educational crises. Just as newspapers nowneed a disaster a day to maintain their readers'interest, so educationists and conference organisersseem to generate a crisis a year in order to filltheir halls and the pages of their journals. Whatjustification is there for talking about anothercrisis ?

I want to suggest that we arc at present facingproblems of legitimacy and problems of expecta-tion that, despite apparent calm on the campuses,do justify the reference to crisis. The most obviousand striking developments in post-secondary edu-cation in the sixties were largely quantitative ;between 1955 and the end of the sixties numbersof students doubled or more than doubled in mostEuropean countries. This was not simply a responseto demographic trends. It represented a majorincrease in the proportion of youth who weredesiring and obtaining places in universities andother forms of post-secondary education. It im-posed very substantial pressures indeed upon theseinstitutions and upon the systems of which theyformed a part, and was a major factor in bringingabout some of the institutional reforms that arestill working themselves out. In every Europeancountry attempts to forecast and control the effectsof further growth by reforms and systematic plan-ning all followed, rather than preceded, the periodof maximum expansion ; it has taken time to re-cognise that quantitative trends are creating qua-litatively different problems.

The tendency for a large number of boys and girlsto complete a full period of secondary education,which gave rise to the explosion of demand forpost-secondary study, is still continuing. The scope

for further growth is enormous, since in mostEuropean countries only something in the orderof a quarter of the population of the correspondingage group at present obtain secondary schoolleaving certificates that entitle them to post-secondary study.

In those countries where attempts have been madeto extrapolate present tendencies in what is called"th,: secondary survival" and secondary transi-tion rate, together with demographic trends andother factors, it seems likely that the demand forpost-secondary places might double again by theearly 1980s.

Despite the emergence, especially in the last de-cade, of alternative forms of post-secondary courseand institution, it is university type study that hasrecorded the most rapid rate of growth. Whilst inseveral European countries, non-university typehigher education now constitutes up to one halftotal post-secondary provision, there has been ageneral trend for university and non-universityexpansion to keep pace with each other during theperiod under review.

We have told ourselves that all this is all rightbecause for the past twenty years there has beenin most developed countries a shortage of mostkinds of highly qualified manpower, and in anycase, more higher education contributes to the kindof growth that provides additional employmentopportunities.

We are now beginning to reap what we have sown.During the past two years student unrest has beenpushed from agendas and front pages by a concernwith graduate unemployment and the relevance ofstudies. Just as the granaries have begun to fill,the kind of economic growth which generates ademand for highly qualified manpower has becomemore difficult to achieve, and more seriously, evenunfashionable. Prophets of ecological doom, ex-perts on resource depletion, and political radicalshave combined to produce a climate of opinion inwhich a high rate of economic growth and aburgeoning GNP are disreputable ; what was onceindicative of social health and vitality has becomea symbol of some kind of moral degeneracy. Gra-duates have been finding it harder to secure thetypes of employment for which they see them-selves qualified, and they have been raising theirvoices in complaint. Because they and the socialgroups from which they come are politically signi-ficant, and because there are those who fear theexistence of an unemployed or frustrated instelli-gentsia as an actual or potential threat to socialorder, their complaints have evoked a sympatheticresponse. Yet in most countries the numbers of

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such graduates who want jobs and do not obtainthem is still quite small. What is involved here isnot so much a crisis of employment, but a crisisof expectation.

When I went to university 25 years ago I was oneof the only two or three per cent of the relevantage group. Given a minimally acceptable level ofdiligence and social competence, I and my contem-poraries could reasonably look forward to somekind of high status professional employment. Buttoday we are providing post-secondary educationfor 10, 15, even 20"/1) of our 18 to 22 year olds. Thedemand for highly qualified manpower has plainlyincreased in the past 25 years, the proportion ofwhite collar and professional jobs has certainlygrown. But not to the extent that all of today'sgraduates can expect to obtain the kinds of workthat was available to the much smaller proportionof those who graduated in the previous generation.

Some people appear therefore to have concludedthat the time has come to call a halt to the growthof opportunities in higher education. They appealto the burgeoning costs of the enterprise, and thestrains that these costs impose on public finance.In the United Kingdom, for instance, the cost perplace at universities and colleges of education isapproximately ten times that per place in a pri-mary school ; furthermore, for courses of com-parable length and standard, costs in non-univer-sity higher education are not significantly differentfrom those in the university sector. In some casesthey may even be higher. But it will not be possibleto call a halt to expansion if the basis of policycontinues to be "private demand", and it is ar-guable that in democratic societies no other basisis possible. Although the growth of demand maybe influenced by employment difficulties, it isunlikely that these will have any great long-termeffect (Ashby 1971). As the quality of primaryeducation is enhanced, as the proportion of youthcompleting a full secondary education grows, sothe desire to pursue post-secondary studies will befurther stimulated. But what is clear is that theemployment and status expectations of the pro-ducts of such post-secondary education will needsubstantial modification if widespread frustrationand fears of graduate unemployment are to beavoided. To some extent, the existence of suchfears and frustrations is a consequence of con-tinuing to educate and train the majority of ourpost-secondary students within an institutionalframework which has for long been the nurseryand training ground of a social, economic andpolitical elite. It is hardly surprising if traditionaluniversity courses generate false expectations ; thewhole curriculum and social organisation of uni-

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versifies is designed for a task quite different fromthat which they are called upon to perform for themajority of their students today.

What. then. to do ? We are now being urged togive. attention to the need for greater "relevance"in post-secondary studies. Students and employersalike are asking that studies should have somekind of demonstrable vocational relevance. To usethe English colloquialism, they should offer somekind of "meal ticket". Those who fear the socialand political influence of large numbers of un-employed and under-employed sociologists, philo-sophers and lawyers have joined in the cry forrelevance, remembering that at least in the UnitedKingdom, students in professional schools aregenerally short-haired and well behaved. To theextent that they are in evidence during periods ofuniversity unrest, they are usually to be found onthe other side of the radicals' barricades. Yet thisis an essentially short-sighted view. Our knowledgeof social and technological change, our capacity topredict future manpower requirements, and thematch between educational provision and em-ployment opportunities are not such as to enableus to plan courses that are "relevant" in the sensethat some contemporary critics demand.

Our experience with manpower planning in thesixties should have convinced us that we cannotplan the scale and pattern of post-secondary pro-vision in accordance with any narrowly conceivedinterpretation of economic and occupational"needs" (Ahamad, Blaug et al., 1972). The basis ofdecision making, as in most other fields of socialpolicy, must remain political, its direction deter-mined by a subtle combination of attitudes andopinions about education, calculations of electoraladvantage, and the interplay of sectorial and.pres-sure group interests. Post-secondary education isin demand, not simply because it confers personaleconomic benefits, but because an increasing pro-portion of the population values it as a good initself. Most European countries are going througha transition stage in which a kind of educationalexperience formerly reserved for an elite of moneyor of talent, is beginning to be provided on a massscale. They are increasingly having to recognisethat the desire for post-secondary education maycome to be diffused even more widely throughtheir populations, and there is even talk of univer-sal higher education.

All this is not, and I must emphasise this point,just a matter of better jobs for individuals andfaster economic growth for societies. Putting thematter at its simplest, can we really be satisfiedwith a system in which the majority of youth

leave the educational system at the point whentheir knowledge of the conflict between Englandand Spain in the XVIth Century is limited to avision of brave British seamen chasing galleonsup the channel, when they have but little compre-hension of how government works, and what col-lective bargaining means, and why revolutions cannever make a completely fresh start ? There islittle hope of creating the kind of peaceful, civil-ised, person-centred world that most of us wanton the basis of education as limited and deficientas that. More, much more is required. Yet onething is certain, we should not be trying to providea traditional university course for the very muchenlarged proportion of the population that will bedemanding, and for whom any civilised societywill try to provide, post-secondary education.Something quite new is needed.

We are all of us heirs to a diversity of traditionsand institutional forms, and very seldom are wein a position to sweep away what we already haveand create a completely new structure. Indeed,despite the wishes and the hopes of the moreapocalyptically minded members of our societies,it is rather doubtful if we should gain very muchfrom such an opportunity. We must start fromwhere we are.

The core of the problem can be stated simply. Howdo we continue to furnish an environment in whichexcellence in research and scholarship will bepreserved, and to which scholars and researchworkers of the first rank will be attracted, withinwhich the new knowledge that is so essential tothe achievement of the technological and socialprogress of society will be developed and nurtured,whilst at the same time continuing to expandprovision, democratise both access and internalgovernment, and satisfy the needs, of groups ofstudents who intellectually, socially and in termsof motive may be very different from those withwhom we have been accustomed to deal ?

How do we reconcile what Martin Trow called the"autonomous" and the "populist" functions ofhigher education ? The shaping of mind and char-acter, the cultivation of aesthetic sensibilities,broad human sympathies and capacity for criticaland independent judgment, the creation of newknowledge through basic research and scholarship,the selection, formation and certification of mem-bers of elite groups all these "involve valuesand standards that are institutionalised in theuniversities and elite private colleges, and aremaintained by them autonomously and even inresistance to popular demands and sentiments". Onthe other side, there is the populist function of

providing something to study, somewhere, for allthose secondary school graduates who want to goon, and "the provision of useful knowledge andservice- to nearly every group and institution thatdemands it (Trow 1972).

How do we do all these things without appearingto provide inferior substitutes for what manygroups in society continue to regard as "real" post-secondary education, and whilst keeping open foras long as possible opportunities for all those whoshow the necessary capacity to be able to benefitfrom courses and contribute to research of thehighest standard ?

None of us here is naïve enough to assume that thestructural and institutional developments that havetaken place in European countries during the past15 years are the result of ca. ,ful planning inaccordance with clearly articulated developmentalprinciples. For the most part, we have been res-ponding to events in an ad hoc fashion. What wecall the "system" of post-secondary education isall too likely to be a mixture of the traditional andthe aggressively riew, the carefully planned andthe expedient, the elegant and the ramshackle. Wehave modified and made do, merged and assi-milated, prodded and encouraged, pushed andsqueezed. Yet whilst the realities of political lifemake it clear that our objectives and the systemsto which they give rise will seldom be as tidy oras logical as we might wish, there is now a widerrecognition of the value of attempting to introducesome coherence into our planning, and in trying toconceptualise and articulate the relationships be-tween the diverse courses, institutions and pro-grammes with which we deal. Let me end bysaying a few words about the basis of such plan-ning, particularly as it involves notions of per-manent education and recurrent education.

Permanent education as a strategy for planning

Much of the contemporary discussion of such con-cepts as recurrent education, lifelong educationand permanent education is vitiated by a failureto recognise the strength and pervasiveness of thesocial forces which stand in the way of achievingfull equality of access to post-secondary education.In particular, there is a danger that advocacy ofrecurrent education will be seen as embodying thephilosophy of "jam tomorrow". The claim that apost-secondary course in a short cycle institution,followed by a period of employment and subse-quent opportunities for further study still offersa route to the top, will have to be proved andtested before it is acceptable to secondary school

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leavers and their parents. Obviously enough. the:,is implied here the need for changes in employ-ment. personnel, promotion and staff developmentpolicies of a far-reaching kind. Unless the profes-sions, commerce and industry are able to institutethe necessary reforms. the alternative route is allloo likely w be seen as ending in a swamp, and thehigh road will become even more congested thanat present.

Another weakness is the absence of adequate stu-dies of the costs and benefits of introducing apattern of recurrent education. I have seen itargued that there might be major savings to bederived from the willingness of young people todefer post-compulsory education and training untila later stage of life. I do not believe this. In coun-tries where a full secondary education is universal.and a large proportion of the qualified 18 to 22age group is already in colleges or university, itmay be sensible to think of the savings that wouldresult from providing shorter and cheaper firstcycle courses for the additional numbers thatmight be moving on from secondary school duringthe next decade. But there are few European coun-tries that are as yet in this position, and I doubtvery much if provision for a return to full-timestudy at later stages of life will do much to slowdown the increasing tendency for young people toremain at school until 18 and to wish to continuetheir education after this age. In any case, theeconomic and social value of young people enteringthe labour market at an earlier age is problematic ;

depending on the level of technological develop-ment achieved or envisaged, an inadequate levelof general and specialist education at the point ofentry to employment could well be a major socialhandicap.

The case for permanent education cannot be madesolely in cost benefit terms. Yet at tiine of burgeon-ing expenditure, it is inevitable that those respon-sible for policy and political decision making needassurances concerning the benefits that might followfrom the introduction of recurrent education asthe structuring principle of the educational systemas a whole, rather than, as at present, as the super-imposition of certain additional opportunities ontop of existing structures. Preliminary cost benefitanalyses of recurrent education suggest that it willhave a very low rate of return (Gannicott 1971 ,

on the decline of learning capacity with age, seeRussel 1971). It may well be that for social andpolitical reasons it will come to be so highly valuedby the community that high costs and low economicbenefits will be acceptable ; it remains to be seenif the case that can be made for recurrent educa-tion as the basis of future structures will carry

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conviction among those responsible for educationand social policy.

By now it is obvious to everybody that the educa-tional system is not autonomous. that the rela-tionships between educational provision. the nor-mative structure of society. and the state andprogress of the economy a' re and important.that educational objectives :Lich as equality ofopportunity and the establishment of a system ofpermanent education require major political ini-tiatives and radical social changes. and that. indemocratic countries. the political feasibility ofsome of our educational goals is highly question-able. Yet in how many specialised discussions ofeducational issues is any real effort made to placedesired objectives and recommended procedures intheir proper context of political and social action ?The task is difficult enough at the national levela realistic overall perspective is even more diffi-cult to achieve internationally. Quite apart fromthe fact that we inhabit different linguistic com-munities, most of us, however well informed aboutformal structures and the background of recentdebates are seldom sufficiently sentitive to thosefiner nuances of opinion and attitude that exist inother countries, of a kind which sometimes makeapparently plausible recommendations such as,for example, some of those of the recent Jamesreport on teacher education in the United Kingdom

unacceptable to many people in their ownnational context.

I hope that I have said enough about what Iregard as weaknesses in discussions of recurrenteducation and of post-secondary reform in thecontext of permanent education to make clear thatI am by no means uncritical of these notions. Yet,at the same time, I believe that it is only by awillingness to plan in terms of such ideas that weshall overcome our present problems, including thecrises of legitimacy and of expectation to which Ihave already made reference.

We need the careful analysis of the economist andthe statistician, but our problems do not disappearwhen we hand them over to the specialist. Some-times we must be willing to step outside theorderly realm of the economist's models into thatmore uncertain, contingent and ambiguous realworld in which we must often agree to makeshiftsolutions, reach partial compromises, take decisionson the basis of inadequate data. In such a world,the concepts of permanent education and of recur-rent education designate, not so much systems ofeducational provision which have been designedab initio, but overall planning strategies in termsof which particular decisions and policy issues may

evolve and be evaluated. Educational change isnearly always piecemeal in character. What isimportant is to ensure that each proposal, each newstep. is in accordance with a coherent pattern ofdevelopment. a pattern which embodies certaingenerally accepted principles yet which is itselfcontinually tinder discussion and review. In eachof our countries. there is a need to build modelsof an educational system which embodies the prin-ciples of permanent education. with a view toidentifying more clearly the connections that existbetween courses and institutions at different levels.the gaps in provision, the inter-connections be-tween education and occupation, the significanceof education in the normative structure of society.Whilst much of the data needed to construct sucha model is as yet not available, there would beheuristic value in providing its skeletal outlines.if only to focus the attention of educationists andpolicy makers on the global significance of thepiecemeal changes and structural reforms withwhich they are concerned.

It. is in this respect that the papers and discussionsinitiated by the Council of Europe, by OECD,UNESCO, the European Communities and by manyother international agencies have helped in en-abling us to make generalisations about the direc-tion and pace of educational development. At theirbest, such generalisations can help us to perceivethe common elements in the ways our differentsystems are developing, can give us a new per-spective on the problems of our own system, canenable us to benefit from the experience of othercountries, and can help us to evaluate the likelyconsequences of our own policies.

Some questions for discussion

If the principles of post-secondary developmentthat I have suggested now command general assentand are related to the kinds of structural and insti-tutional changes that have been taking place, weare left with a series of questions which I hopediscussion may help us to answer.

The first of these concerns how we might best goabout the business of adopting the notions of per-manent education and recurrent education asoverall planning strategies for the future develop-ment of post-secondary education in our respectivecountries. I emphasise planning strategy since Ibelieve that it is in this respect that many of theideas that are currently being canvassed in inter-,national gatherings and elsewhere are likely to bemost fruitful. I have to confess that I am notparticularly hopeful about the possibilities of our

being able to reconstruct the whole of post-secondary education so radically as to enable us toclaim that it constitutes a systemz of permanent orrecurrent education. Our systematising is nearlyalways of the post hoc. ergo, propter hoc variety.

Second. given the costs involved. are we suffi-ciently convinced of the claims of post-secondaryeducation for a larger share of public expenditure.as to be able to persuade our political and admi-nistrative colleagues of the necessity I'm policiesdirected towards continued growth ? Is there anyreal alternative in democratic countries to theprinciple of "private demand" as the basis forpost-secondary provision ? To what extent, byappropriate guidance and counselling. and by theprovision of "recurrent" opportunities at a laterstage. can we modify the likely scale of demand ?

Third, do we recognise with sufficient clarity thedangers in responding to present anxieties con-cerning graduate unemployment by creating largenumbers of allegedly -relevant" short cycle courseswhich involve immediate vocational specialisa-tion ? I have argued that this is an exaemely short-sighted stance, and one that will serve us verybadly in the future. Instead; we need to be able todevise kinds of post-secondary education that inaccordance with the principles of permanent edu-cation recognise the high degree of substitutabilityof qualifications, that give the individual a base ofknowledge and motivation which will enable himto go on learning throughout life, and that generatebackwash pressures encouraging appropriate kindsof post-compulsory secondary education, andavoiding the dangers of narrow specialisation inthe upper reaches of the secondary school.

Fourth, is there a danger that present day reformsby concentrating on new institutions, especiallythose offering short cycle courses, will pay insuf-ficient attention to the reform of university levelstudies, with a consequent threat to the possibilityof alternative forms of post-secondary educationdeveloping their own mission, sense of worth andcriteria of excellence ?

Fifth, are the available mechanisms for the plan-ning and co-ordinating of post-secondary provisionin our various countries such as to enable ussuccessfully to overcome the problems that un-doubtedly face us during the next decade ?

Finally, do we recognise tendencies in the crisis ofmorale and purpose that highly developed indus-trial nations are at present experiencing that willmake it either easier or more difficult to carrythrough our policies in the field of post-secondaryeducation ? Anxieties about the quality of life,

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attacks upon 'allegedly technocratic values. anawareness of difficulties in meeting the claims ofunder-privileged groups and of minorities, and thedifficulty of maintaining a balanced position in aworld economy, all have important implications foreducation. Unfortunately, the study of such valuechange is so inchoate and uncharted that it hasattracted little attention from serious academics,many of whom prefer to travel within the saferterrain of an established specialist field. If byretreating into such specialisms we lose sight ofthe really significant issues, and choose as oursocial and political indicators only those issueswhich are manageable in terms of study and ana-lysis, then it is all too likely that the future willcatch us unawares. In this context, occasions suchas this assume value, providing as they do oppor-tunities to exchange information and opinion onthe broadest front, and without the limitations ofspecialist frameworks of discourse.

REFERENCES

Ahamad, B., Blaug, M. et al. (1972) : The practiceof manpower forecasting. A collection of casestudies; London, (forthcoming).

Ashby, E., (1971) : Any person, any study ; NewYork, McGraw Hill.

Clarke, B. R. (1971) : "Conclusions" to meeting onshort-cycle higher education, Grenoble, 15-17

November 1971. DAS, EID/71.92 ; Paris. OECD.Directorate for Scientific Affairs.

Gannicott, K. (1971) : Recurrent education : A pre-liminary cost/benefit analysis : Paris. Centrefor Educational Research and Innovation.OECD, CERI/E0/71.04.

Little, A. and Smith, G. (1972) : Strategies of com-pensation ; Paris, Centre for Educational Re-search and Innovation, OECD.

Mosteller, F. and Moynihan D. P. (eds.) (1972) : Onequality of educational oportunity ; NelkVintage Books.

Newman, F. et al. (1971) : Report on higher educa-tion ; Washington, US Department of Health,Education and Welfare.

OECD 1971 (i) : Development of higher education1950-67 ; Paris, OECD.

Russell, W. R. (1971) : "Learning, that cobweb ofthe brain" ; London, The Times, 2 June.

Taylor, W. (1971) : Policy and planning for post-secondary education : A European overview ;Strasbourg, Council of Europe.

Trow, M. (1972) : "Autonomous and popular func-tions of American higher education" in Archer,M. S. (ed) : Students, university and society ;London, Heineman Educational.

STUDENT UNREST AND STUDENT PARTICIPATIONby the late Professor B. E. INGELMARK*,Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg,Sweden.

Worry over the present and the future has beencharacteristic of young people all through the ages.The unrest which is to be found among our stu-dents is not therefore typical merely of our time.But the expression of their unrest has taken newand often serious forms.

The causes of this unrest are many- and have nodoubt changed over the years. In recent times thepolitical situation, the wider recruitment of stu-dents, the economic conditions during and after

* We record with regret the recent death of ProfessorB. E. Ingelmark.

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university studies, the conditions at our universi-ties together with the reduced contact betweenstudents and teachers, have probably been themost important factors.

Political causes

Young people are usually more radical than theirelders. They want to change the established orderof things. This attitude has probably become muchstronger during the last ten or twenty years. Astrong egalitarian movement has emerged. Throughcloser communications world problems have been

presented to the young with more intensity thanever before.

It has become natural for our students to strive forthe removal of class barriers within their owncountries and for equality between nations. Thisgeneral egalitarian philosophy is something whichstudents today also wish to introduce into ouruniversities, in a way which to the older genera-tion often seems both unrealistic and mistaken.They also take the same attitude towards thecentral authorities whose task it is to direct acountry's higher education. These circumstancesare, in my view, an important cause of studentunrest in recent years.

Conditions at the university

Within the university it is necessary for the workat departmental level to be directed, with the helpof staff meetings and chosen heads of department.This direction is often seen by the students as awielding of power, without any real value. Thisleads to a negative and suspicious attitude, if thestudents do not have an opportunity to get toknow the arguments behind the decisions made.Few things are therefore more important, to coun-teract unrest, than to allow the students insightinto the working of the university at differentlevels.

As such insight can obviously only be given to arelatively small number of students, it is importantthat everything should be done to see that infor-mation for students is as good and objective aspossible. Information requires large personnel andeconomic resources. In my opinion, however, thecost is well worthwhile if through information wecan reduce student unrest at an early stage. Wide-spread unrest among students is so disturbing forall the work of the university that it costs muchmore than the diffusion of accurate information.

The time is long past when students treated theirteachers with respect and spontaneous gratitude.Today's liberal educational methods have madeyoung people in many parts of the world openlycritical of their environment. This has a verydefinite value. But it also results in greater de-mands being placed on teachers, if the relationshipbetween them and the students is to be good. Onlythrough his knowledge and his ability to teach inan inspiring way, together with openness, can theteacher today establish a good relationship withhis students.

The growing political awareness among studentshas resulted in their tending to assume that

teachers are conservative and therefore also lessattractive people. It is, however, important thatteachers should not express their own politicalviews in their actual teaching. It is indispensableto demand of the teachers the greatest possibleobjectivity in their work. Political discussions,which in themselves are valuable, should takeplace outside the actual teaching.

University conditions have also changed in recentyears. The great increase in the number of stu-dents has usually not been followed by an equallyrapid increase in the number of qualified teachers.This has meant that the junior staff have had totake over more of the teaching than before. At thesame time personal contact between the highlyqualified teachers and the students has beenreduced. This may possibly have increased studentunrest. In large groups of students the individualstudent does not, in fact, have the same feeling ofsecurity as before. He feels more like a numberthan an individual. In subjects where there aremany students it is therefore desirable to dividethem into smaller teaching groups. This leads tobetter personal contact, which increases the feelingof security and counteracts unrest.

A similar change has affected examinations. For-merly they were almost always oral, with a dialo-gue between student and teacher. Now this face toface situation has to a great extent been replacedby impersonal written examinations

The universities have had to expand considerablyto meet the increase in student numbers. I per-sonally do not favour the single campus system.The students feel herded together in a large agglo-meration of buildings. There is limited scope forexpression of individuality and some risk of irrita-tion. It is better to place the various departmentsin separate buildings with a suitable distancebetween them, preferably arranged according tofaculties. This makes students, and teachers aswell, feel that they belong to their institution ; itcreates solidarity and thereby calm. If unrestshould occur in a department, the risk of itsspreading is much less than in a large universitycity or on a crowded campus.

In the past, when recruitment to higher educationwas less widespread, students came from homeswith a relatively similar background and intel-lectual outlook. Nowadays students come from allsocial levels. There are, in consequence, greaterdifferences among students than previously, withregard to ways of life, ideas, cultural and politicalattitudes. This easily creates conflicts between.individual students or groups of students, together

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with a negative attitude towards the teaching staff.So far, the majority of the teachers have the samebackground as students had previously.

The increase in the number of students also meansthat the average intellectual level of the studentsis lower. This gives rise to teaching and methodproblems and there has been an increase in thenumber of students who do not complete theirstudies within an acceptable period of time. Allthis creates discontent and unrest among the stu-dents affected, if grants are made to depend onexamination results as is the case in Sweden.

If we are to succeed in counteracting all this, wemust ensure an adequate flow of information tostudents. When they have problems connected withtheir studies, advisers and appointments' officersmust be readily available for them to consult. Itis not enough that such persons should only beavailable at certain hours for consultation. Peoplewith problems often isolate themselves and lone-liness tends to increase personal problems. It istherefore necessary for the student advisers andappointments' officers to take the initiative andcontact students who have problems connectedwith their studies and help them to put themright.

Such difficulties are often accompanied by a neu-rosis which cannot be treated by student advisers.Here contact with fellow students can have a goodeffect, but it is often necessary to get help fromsocial welfare workers and doctors. There must bean organisation within the university which cangive prompt aid to students in such a situation.

A factor of the greatest importance is the co-ordination between the level of knowledge ofstudents leaving secondary school, and the demandsput on them when they begin their higher studies.Reforms in the secondary schools have changedthe profile and, to some extent, also lowered thestandard of students' knowledge When they cometo the university. University teachers are ratherunwilling to lower the standard of their teachingso that it becomes a direct continuation of schoolstudies. This is understandable, as they do notwant students to leave the university with a lowerstandard than in the past. In Sweden no increasein the period of time allowed for study at theuniversities has been authorised by the authorities.

Students quite rightly see all this as a lack ofunderstanding and bad organisation. It is neces-sary therefore to insist upon close contacts betweenthe secondary school and the university in thisrespect. Without this, there will always be a nega-tive attitude amongst the students.

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Another significant factor is the student& attitudeto their future professions when they begin theirhigher education. A fair number of students knowwhat they want to be. They opt for a course whichleads to their chosen profession. Their studies aremotivated and they generally carry them out in asatisfactory way. There are not many signs ofunrest amongst these students.

It is quite a different matter for school leaverswho cannot decide what career they would like tofollow after university. They feel insecure abouttheir studies, hesitate over what subjects to read,have no definite aims, change subjects when theyfind that they are losing interest in them or thatthey cannot succeed in their studies. This grouphas increased not only absolutely but probably alsorelatively in recent years. These young people needtime to mature during their studies ; they alsoneed advice on their work and future professions,without too much pressure from economic worriesand threat of expulsion. It is within this groupthat opposition to teachers, universities and societythrives, even if the criticism is often voiced bygifted student representatives with good examina-tion results. Greater attention should be paid tothis problem than has so far been the case at manyuniversities.

Another important factor is the co-operation be-tween higher education and society to ensure thatstudents' education is adjusted to the knowledgerequired by their future employers. This appliesboth to the public and to the private sector. Thiscontact is relatively good when it is a question ofeasily defined professions such as those of en-gineers, economists, teachers, dentists, veterinarysurgeons, etc. It is much worse in the field ofpublic administration and in free enterprise mana-gement, above all in industry, the mass media,etc., where a satisfactory definition of professionaltraining presents great difficulties. In these sectors,at least in my country, employers are not suffi-ciently well informed about the knowledge provid-ed by higher education. They often prefer peoplewith only secondary school education or its equiva-lents, people who have experience and who havereceived training in the firm. This reaction isunfortunate, partly because full use is not beingmade of the country's intellectual capacity andpartly because it is difficult for those who havecompleted their studies to find work. Awareness ofthese problems causes unrest among the students.

The same effect is caused by uncertainty about thefuture of society. Conditions are changing fasterthan ever before and it is oecoming increasinglydifficult to foresee future developments.

Student unrest often results in loud student cri-ticism of the educational system and society. Thiscreates scepticism in other groups of society, whoconsider students to be a privileged, expensive .and.to some extent, parasitical group.

Over and above the individual unrest which Ihave mentioned, there is also group unrest amongstudents. which can only be removed by an ade-quate flow of information.

Possibilities and limits of the participation ofstudents and junior staff

The possibilities and limits of the participation ofstudents and junior staff on the various boards ofa university depend to a great extent on the con-ditions prevailing in and the organisation of theuniversity. These vary from country to country.Even so it should be possible to discuss three typesof board at the following levels :

At the lowest level in the organisation there isthe educational unit, the department. It has adouble function, namely to give higher educa-tion and direct research studies. In addition,qualified research is carried out there. For theeducational work a department board is neces-sary.Our universities are usually divided into fa-culties or schools which cover the various fieldsin education and research. Each faculty consistsof a number of departments. For the co-ordina-tion of the education given there, some kind offaculty educational board is necessary.At the head of the university is the highestgoverning board the council of the university.

On one board of the department there should betwo different types of student, namely those stu-dents who have just arrived at the department andthose who have taken one or more courses there.University teaching is of course strange to thestudent new to the university. He cannot success-fully take part in all the discussions of the depart-ment board. However, it may be a good thing tohave young students represented on such a boardas they gain insight into the working of thedepartment, which they can pass on to their fellowstudents. It is important that these students havethe chance on such a board to express their viewson methods of teaching.

The students on the board who have recently beentaught at the department know what the coursesare like and can see how they fit in with the restof their education. Student representation on the

boards of the departments gives students a feelingof security. as they can have their views put for-ward and thereby often influence the teaching ina positive way. Their views can also provide astimulus for the teachers.

In my opinion the students should not have theright to decide about the appointments of teachersor other personnel co. about financial matters inthe department.

The junior staff consists of persons who for one ormore years have been educated at the departmentand been successful in their studies. They areusually taking research courses at the department.These young people have therefore quite a goodgeneral view of higher education and at the sametime they are likely to be on a friendly footingwith the students. They should therefore be re-presented on the board. Through their presencethey may be able to influence research teaching atthe department.

It is questionable whether the junior staff shouldhave any influence on the appointment of membersof the senior staff and be allowed to do more thanoffer an opinion on financial matters.

Representatives of the students and junior staff onthe department boards must recognise their re-sponsibility to the group they represent and seeto it that the group is kept informed at all times.It is therefore necessary for them to be elected bytheir entire group in a democratic manner. Thesenior staff of the department should not haveany .influence here.

The board of the department should be relativelysmall and not contain a majority of any one of thegroups represented there : the senior staff, thejunior staff, the students and other personnel.

Even if the board is small it should not deal withroutine problems. These should be handed over toan experienced, well trained and administrativelyAble member of the senior staff. If this irritatingand ineffective procedure is not adopted there areoften long discussions.

Representation of students and junior staff at thefaculty level is difficult to analyse. The organisa-tional structure varies greatly from country tocountry. In Sweden there was formerly only onereal board, the faculty. The members of the facultywere the professors and the readers holding per-mament appointments. They had to take decisionson higher education, research studies, scientificquestions, appointments to posts up to full profes-sorships, faculty administration and expenditure.

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Some years ago educational matters were trans-ferred from this body to a special board. thefaculty educational board. This consists of profes-sors, readers, junior staff and students. Usually noone group has a majority here but an attempt hasbeen made experimentally to vary the numbersrepresenting the different groups.

Such a board has advantages. The faculty is freedof a large number of matters. The students gaininsight into higher education and research studies.They can influence educational policy and informtheir fellow students about the decisions taken. Oncertain boards a special sub-committee has beenset up for research studies. As the young studentshave little interest in these problems and no com-petence for judging them, this sub-committee con-tains only representatives of the senior and theresearch staff. On the whole we are satisfied withthis arrangement. It has disadvantages, however.

Contact between the faculty and the faculty edu-cational board can be bad. The board finds itdifficult to plan far ahead both for higher educa-tion and for research studies. As at the departmentlevel, it is important that the number of memberson the board be kept low. Routine matters shouldbe put in the hands of one or two persons. It hasproved valuable to have the dean of the faculty onthe educational board, preferably as chairman. Inthis way there is better co-ordination between thework of the faculty and the educational board.

With an organisation of this type there is no needfor student or junior staff representatives on thefaculty board.

Representation of students and junior staff on thecouncil of the university is dependent on theuniversity's freedom with respect to higher admi-nistrative and political authorities. The greater thefreedom, the more important it is that the councilshould contain representatives of all categorieswithin the university.

As the council is to govern the whole universityit is important that its members should feel thatthey enjoy full confidence. The chairman, therector or vice-chancellor, should therefore bechosen within the university. The council shouldalso include the deans, who have been chosen bythe faculties. Other representatives should also bechosen, in a democratic manner, by the groupswhich they are to represent. All members of thecouncil should have collective responsibility forthe action and the decisions taken. Such respon-sibility prevents unfounded argument and extremeproposals of a negative nature.

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My experience of work on the council of theuniversity of Gothenburg has always been good.For some years the council has consisted of therector and pro-rector. the deans, the junior staff.other personnel and the students. The studentrepresentatives are usually fairly silent in discus-sions when they first become members of thecouncil. They speak above all on matters whichdirectly concern them. There is a great deal ofsolidarity among the students on the council andthey have often decided their attitude before themeeting on questions of interest to them. This doesnot apply to the other groups. It is of specialimportance that no one group within the councilshould have a majority.

All talk about one man one vote within thewhole university and proportional representationon the council I consider an absurdity. Such asystem with a large majority for the students,would mean that there would not be sufficientknowledge, experience and continuity within thecouncil. The result would be that the councilwould not enjoy the confidence of the higherpolitical authorities which give the university itsresources. The university would lose the freedomof action which is necessary if education andresearch are to be satisfactory.

My experience of students on the council hasshown me that their presence has led to a decreasein student criticism of decisions made there. Thismust chiefly be due to the information whichstudent representatives on the council give theirfellow students. By this means we have escaped agreat deal of student unrest.

It should perhaps also be pointed out that with theexception of a few isolated occasions, there havenot been any long, unsatisfactory and irritatingdiscussions at council meetings with representa-tives of the junior staff, other personnel and stu-dents present.

My conclusion is therefore that it is wise tocontinue with the present composition of thecouncil.

Representation of persons from, outside theuniversity

A university, with its education and its researchfunctions, is obviously an important body in thecommunity. Universities must not, as I have saidbefore, be cut off from the secondary school or thecommunity in general, which is where most of thestudents will go when they finish their studies at

the university. Widespread contacts with the com-munity are therefore especially desirable.

It is difficult to say how these contacts should beachieved. It seems desirable to have special natio-nal boards outside the universities which givetheir general opinion on direct professional train-ing, such as teaching, medicine, economics, etc. InSweden we have such national bodies attached tocentral authorities, and also local bodies at thetechnical faculties.

On the other hand, the community is not repre-sented on the university councils. In recent yearsattempts have been made to give the universitiesmore and more freedom in the management of theresources placed at their disposal. This not onlymeans increased responsibility but also demandswisdom and experience from the council. I feelthat it would be a good thing if, when dealing withimportant questions of principle or economicproblems in the council, we had the advice of afew experienced representatives of important sec-tors of the community in the region round theuniversity, namely the local public administrationand free enterprise. This applies to regional, asapart from national, decisions, which are made atthe national level. Such a regional representationwould have the following advantages :

There would be constructive criticism of theeducation provider; by the university.The university would be kept informed of fu-ture regional planning.The community would have greater under-standing and knowledge of education and re-search at the university. By this means thestudents would be able to fit more easily intothe community when they go out into profes-sional life.If in future there are to be more refreshercourses than there have been so far, which Ithink highly desirable, then it is important tohave such contact with the community.In many courses of study it is necessary for thestudent to have practical experience during histime at the university. With the above-men-tioned representation on the council it would beeasier to have such training. Nowadays thereis often a lack of willingness to give studentsa chance to get practical experience.University research often requires co-operationbetween research workers and various organi-sations or firms in society. Both sides profitgreatly from this contact. Such co-operationought to be encouraged.Contact between students and society is often

faulty. If both parties were represented on thecouncil, direct contact would be possible andthis would be valuable.

The representatives of the community on a uni-versity council cannot be expected to have muchexperience or knowledge of the inner workings ofthe university. It is therefore desirable that theserepresentatives should mainly take part in suchbusiness as I have suggested.

Co-operation between universities and otherinstitutions of higher education

In many large towns in Sweden, but also in somesmall ones, there are separate specialised institu-tions or schools for post-secondary education. Suchunits have a tendency to be isolated from oneanother. The chief reasons for this state of affairsare probably the following.

People do not show the generosity necessary forgood co-operation. Each unit is anxious not to loseits own freedom and has difficulty in findingflexible working forms. Moreover, each defendsits identity and inner solidarity.

But there is no doubt that such co-operation canhave advantages. As our knowledge continuallyincreases, so the need grows for specialists in dif-ferent fields. All universities or schools cannotmanage to have such specialists. A pooling ofspecialist resources is of great importance forhigher education and even more for research.

In the future there will probably be a need formore people of mixed academic disciplines. Bythis I mean that they will be the product of twoadministratively separate universities or schools.This arrangement can only succeed if both bodieswork in close co-operation. It is in fact unrealisticto think of starting special schools for mixingvarious disciplines.

Teachers in higher education must have contactwith research, even if they have little time to doindependent research themselves. They must con-tinually refer to the latest research in their subjectif their teaching is to be efficient and up-to-date.But research demands large personal and materialresources if it is to be o,' high quality. For vonomicreasons it is not possible to have such a researchorganisation in several units at the same place.Co-operation between them is therefore of greatimportance. The conditions for success are : asimple form of administration, people good at co-operating and the greatest possible freedom overexpenditure.

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Concluding remarks

Student unrest is one of the greatest difficultieswe have had to struggle with at our universitiesover the last ten years. Even if I have tried to basem lecture on general principles, I have naturallyfounded my views chiefly on experience from myown country. We all need as much knowledge aspossible about student unrest, for it will certainlyexist in the future too and constitute a potentialthreat to the work of our universities.

In my opinion a certain influence of junior staff,

students and other personnel on university activityis of value. The same is true of contact betweenthe universities and society. But it is difficult tofind the right methods and suitable levels. It istherefore necessary for us to have a sincere ex-change of experiences and views. In this way wecan help to advance the good work done by ouruniversities. This is a vital necessity as in thefuture all our countries will need an ever-increas-ing number of well-educated citizens to maintainand raise the standard of material and culturallife.

STUDY REFORM AND PERMANENT EDUCATION

Diagnoses have been made. Various proposals havebeen put forward in earlier discussions. Now isthe time to switch the points, bearing in mindthat even the most trivial measures imply priorjudgment. Ours is in favour of progress "frommass to universal higher education". It was MartinTrow who gave us a brilliant analysis of thistransition, which requires radical decisions, pos-sibly uprooting our old and still carefully nurturedideas on the university.

We can soften the impact of these decisions butwe must then pay the price, for tertiary educationis at present heading for utter chaos. We will notsettle the matter of permanent education bymaking a few openings for post-graduate trainingin the new higher education acts, or by up-gradingadvanced vocational training. We need courage fordecisions on matters of principle.

I am in favour of fundamental decisions expressedin a variety of specific small-scale experiments.consider these small-scale experiments to be neces-sary bee:ause it is our preconceived values andattitudes that prevent us from thinking in :nodernterms. The reorientation we need in order to do soshould be achieved through a well Fanned seriesof small scale experiments. Opportunities for ex-periments of this kind nave been written into someof our recent higher education acts.

For you, who must share in the responsibility forthe future pattern of our education system, theseexperimental clauses should be an essential pre-

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by Professor E. A. van TROTSENBURG,Klagenfurt.

requisite for work that will point the way for thefuture.

I start out from much the same position as Taylor.I see permanent ed ot as an educational stra-tegy rather than ct .ocular institution. Other-wise, quite apart from the danger that distantstudy institutes, for instance, or institutes of adulteducation, might designate themselves the agentsof permanent education, we would be failing torecognise the dynamic nature of the concept.

When ye turn to the matter of harmonisation ofinitial and permanent education, we are alreadytaking for granted more than we actually have.The experiments already conducted towards whatis termed "permanent education" hardly yieldscope for harmonisation (up-dating courses mightactually run counter to the concept of permanenteducation). Signs of chaos can already be seen. Nordo developments in our universities and institutesof higher education meet this need for harmonisa-tion. Perhaps the concept of the university as acollection of working parties in which teachers andstudents co-operate i.e. an academic community

holds greater hope of harmonisation than themore school-like university of today.

Curriculum development in the universities, withthe search for clear objectives and balanced cour-ses, has made the direction clearer, but has alsotended towards comnartmentalisation. Curriculumreform in the universities is still in its early stagesand has therefore hardly yet produced curricula

that may be applied in a given field in a numberof universities.

My problem lies in the fact that the more school likeuniversity of today inhibits rather than encouragesthe development of a "university community in anopen society" (Friedenberg). The issues we aredealing with today are important they have todo with life styles in the 1980s. But they will behammered out in practice and not around theconference table. The strategy of change thisimplies calls for clarification of long-term ob-jectives.

Long-term objectives

We have to realise that the mass invasion of theuniversity and the transition from a dosed to anopen institution can never be achieved within theexisting pattern of the university, a pattern notsubstantially altered even in most cases of univer-sity reform.

With unsuitable tools we are trying to solve thecharacteristic trend of higher education today,which leads to universal higher education in theUnited States there is already talk of compulsoryhigher education. We all cherish the image of theuniversity in which we ourselves were educated,and are therefore little inclined to accept the de-mands of the near future.

If we are seriously concerned about graduate un-employment, we ought to know that we ourselveshave manufactured this unemployment by instil-ling in students and their future employers aimsno longer in keeping with the development ofsociety today.

Perhaps certain students are right when they onlywant to study and have no career ambitions. Weare responsible for organising education whichalso serves this purpose, because we are reachingthe stage when higher education will be taken forgranted. We a- not yet prepared for this stage,and react witn inappropriate measures like re-stricting the number of students, etc.

We will have to learn that the post-industrial ageneeds a new social system. We do not know whatthe role of the university will then be. althoughthere are already pointers. One of these is perma-nent education, which points in the direction of anopen university system.

In institutionalising permanent education in asystem of second and third alternative paths toeducation, we are, I feel, missing the point. Thereare a few academics who have tried to come to

grips with the future role of the university. Thetrend has been set here by Liveright of the Centrefor the Study of Liberal Education for Adults. Hisideas about the university of the future may be adream. but they include a number of points thatwe should bear in mind when considering harmo-nisation of initial education and permanent educa-tion. He says :

-The responsibility of the university does notend with graduation. The research and teachingresources of the university will be applied toproblems in the community as well as to pro-grammes of continuing education. In carryingout these responsibilities the university willidentify and make maximum use of existingresources of the community. instigating pro-grammes itself only if they are especially ap-propriate to a unhwrsity or can serve a germinalor demonstration purpose".

It is my view that harmonisation of initial andpermanent education should work along these lines.This merging of formal and non-formal educationhas not been put into practice so far, althoughthere have been interesting developments in thisdirection in the United States. But we shouldrealise that by including permanent education inour discussions we have accepted the trend to-wards new styles of life and work. This is thebeginning of an experiment in society. At thisstage it seems more important to deal thoroughlywith specific issues than to evolve, prematurelyperhaps, a basic concept.

Sp eci f is issues

With the introduction of short -cycle studies I feelthat the problem of introducing permanent educa-tion has been brought down to a practical scale. Ishould like to make the possibly controversialpoint that we should try to bring about a largenumber of short-cycle studies and substantially tocut down on long-cycle studies.

This does not fit the idea of the university stillcherished by some people. But the facts speak forincreasingly broad participation in higher educa-tion. A system of short-cycle studies would enableus to achieve the kind of flexibility in highereducation that alone makes permanent educationfeasible. Moreover, modern educational researchhas shown that length and sheer quantity of edu-cation are no guarantee of quality. It is considera-tions of prestige that often outweigh other factorsin discussions of this kind.

In my opinion, harmonisation of initial and per-manent education should be achieved by means of

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short-cycle studies. Short-cycle studies are a matterof structure, which may be distorted if such studiesare envisaged only within the framework of uni-versity extension. The units/credits system is cru-cial to harmonisation of initial and permanenteducation. Tb my mind it is Sweden that has ledthe field here. Harmonisation requires objectiveassessment of studies, and this in turn implies aclear description of the various courses (aims.content, methods, assessment procedures).

I mentioned curriculum development in univer-sities at the outset. I expressed the fear that thenewly created learning and teaching packageswould not always make for flexibility, since ourcurriculum work has tended to culminate in re-latively self-contained projects.

The development of modern educational techno-logy is an essential prerequisite for efforts toachieve harmonisation. because the compartmen-talisation of individual educational fields is beingbroken down with the development of educationaltechnology. I am thinking of the feasibility oflearning and teaching packages in formerly sepa-rate fields and also of the increasing opportunitiesfor individualisation.

By encouraging progress in educational technologyand ,. am here using the term in its widest sense,

to include curriculum development we areindirectly encouraging harmonisation of initial andpermanent education. This presents one of themost favourable opportunities for European co-operation.

I have already stressed that permanent educationdoes not fit in with our traditional picture of edu-cation and training. Its introduction implies struc-tural reform. The change of outlook needed toachieve this can be developed only in small-scalespecific projects. Let me give a few examples :

Development of foundation courses at the uni-versity ;

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Post-graduate courses in co-operation with adistant study institute :Development of courses according to the unitscredits system.

Such projects should be based on :Co-operation between various educational insti-tutions ;

Development of software. including tests :

Supporting instruction, taking special accountof socio-psychological factors :Action research :European co-operation.

Important requirements for such developmentsare :

A comprehensive system of documentation :

Working parties of teachers :Gradual development of a network of co-operating European institutes.

Conclusions

Under the heading of harmonisation of initial andpermanent education I have tried to put forwarda few ideas for discussion. I am afraid that per-manent education may develop in the sense of-*extension work", creating still greater distinctionsand possibly giving the impression that there arealready many alternative paths to education. Theneed for unity stressing permanent education as astrategy will not be achieved in this way. I amalso afraid that the trend in post-graduate trainingmay lead away from the universities because theuniversities may soon be unable to cope with thesefunctions, being caught up in the cycle of growingnumbers of students with universities becomingever more another type of school.

None of these trends would be so frightening ifthese questions did not also concern the futuredirection of our post-industrial society.

POST-SCHOOL, RECURRENT AND HIGHER EDUCATIONPROPOSALS FOR AN OVERALL REFORM

by Professor F. EDDING,Director, Educational Research Institute. Berlin.Max-Planck Society.

Critical review of present developments

Higher education has been expanding rapidlyeverywhere for a long time, and it seems to bewidely accepted that this expansion will somehowgo on. Western Europe has seen a tripling ofenrolment in higher education since the middle ofthe fifties. If this expansion continues at the pre-sent rate, we shall have 50 "In of the 20-24 agegroup in institutions of higher education beforethe end of this century.

Enrolment in the traditional institutions of highereducation means living and learning for some yearsin a secluded environment built and maintained toserve all the recognised needs of students, teachersand researchers. Given this pattern will continuecosts per student are likely to follow at least theGNP growth rate per person employed. Assumingcontinued expansion of enrolment, the proportionof higher education expenditure in the GNP wouldthen multiply and by the end of this centurybecome bigger than the share taken at present byall formal education.

At the same time pre-school and school educationwill require strongly increasing funds, and furthereducation in its various forms will also demandlarge resources. Together with the enormous claimsto be expected from other fieids of public respon-sibility, particularly for better environmental con-ditions of living, the burden on public finance willbecome much heavier than today. The difficultiesin the financing of higher education that weobserve at present, therefore, are likely to increaseconsiderably and will become a major constrainingfactor in higher education development.

Another serious tension v II be caused by thecontradiction between the principle of equal oppor-tunity and the privilege given to a minority in theform of a few years enrolment in higher education.Enrolment in higher education is desired by fastincreasing numbers as a value in itself, and as theway opening up the best chances for attractivecareers and high social status. Partly because ofthe high costs, partly in order to protnct qualitystandards, but increasingly also because of theassumed limited absorption capacity of the aca-

demic labour market, the constraints placed uponfuture expansion of higher education are likely tobecome more severe.

However, if applications for enrolment in highereducation are turned down in growing numbers.we shall have a permanent source of politicalconflict. If, in order to avoid this, higher educationenrolment and graduation are allowed to increaseas in the recent past, we shall have a permanentsource of financial crisis and probably, in addition,a serious problem of imbalance between careerexpectations of and demand for academically qua-lified personnel. There is also a danger that politi-cians looking for the easiest way out of thisdilemma will try to solve the problem on the backof those who are on the "low" side of education.those who have suffered for a long time alreadyfrom the priority given to the "high" forms ofeducation. Social polarisation is likely to becomeextremely pronounced in such a situation.

Inequality of opportunity seems to be a charac-teristic feature of higher education in WesternEurope, even where open access is proclaimed tobe an essential goal. European higher educationhas in reality up to this day never been designedto give everybody a chance. In this sense equaloprortunity is not recognised as a goal for highereducation in Europe. To serve a minority, born inthe upper class or carefully selected to become amember of this class, that was the traditionalfunction of higher education. Under various socialpressures and in view of the growing demand forhighly qualified personnel, enrolment ratios haverisen and are expected to rise further. But evenin the richest countries of Europe the long-rangeplanning does not envisage universality of highereducation. Mass higher education, i.e. enrolmentin more than 40 "in-50 "In of the relevant age group,is foreseen as unavoidable, necessary or desirable.The basic design, however, remains : higher educa-tion has to serve a selected group.

Screening and selection are seen as essential func-tions of higher education institutions. Those whoare accepted, and still more those who graduate,consider themselves as belonging to an elite or atleast a privileged group in society. They have the

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privilege of a long period for general personaldevelopment and intellectual enrichment. protectedfrom the pressures of earning an income. Highereducation is also offering to those who are selecteda preparation for certain fields of vocationalactivity. Graduates from higher education expecta career guaranteeing an income and a social statusdistinctly above the average.

Those who are selected will be given privilegedattention. The others are of no concern to highereducation. Higher education considered from thispoint of view is not a level or system of educationfollowing school education and serving in principleall the post-school education needs. That everybodyshould have a real chance to continue educationfor some years beyond the compulsory school invarious secondary level institutions is a widelyaccepted goal. For this phase of adolescence it isgenerally planned to offer everybody some way ofpursuing continued systematic learning accordingto individual ability and demand. The same doesnot apply to the phase beyond secondary school.But is there any valid reason for limiting theapplication of the equality principle to schoolyears ?

The answer often is that only a minority can makegood use of educational beyond secondary school.There is no reliable verification for this hypothesis.But there is much evidence that the dominantpatterns of higher education discriminate againstcertain types of ability and preferences. Highereducation has a strong tradition in favour of cer-tain "academic" values and scholarly attitudes.Even today it is mainly seen as the place for the"pure" sciences. To seek knowledge for the sakeof knowledge, disinterested enquiry, highly ab-stract thinking and language, some contempt forthe application of knowledge and for "practiCal"work in general, these are characteristic attitudesregarded widely as reflecting the true spirit ofhigher education and necessary to keep up stan-dards Higher education is geared to research andresearch seems to require qualities of this kind. Butcan they be expected to become general qualities ?Even if it were true that only the less able and thehandicapped are excluded from higher educationwho can say that these in some ways intellectuallyweaker members of society would not profit fromeducational programmes designed to meet theirneeds ? Equality of opportunity does not meanoffering everybody the same ; it requires givingeverybody his individual chance. Post-school edu-cation in Western Europe is still concentrating onthe traditional selective institutions of highereducation. Those not accepted by the "high" insti-tutions arc given to understand that for them little

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can be done in the way of educational offerings.They also have to accept that they have littlechance of promotion to the more attractive posi-tions or occupations and that their social statuswill remain inferior all their lifetime.

This has two consequences. On the one hand. itincreases the demand for places in the -high"institutions and the proportion of students who arenot really interested in the ways of learningoffefed by higher education. This tendency is feltalready at the secondary level, where young peoplepush against their true motivation and follow themore academic tracks.

The dominance of educational values sat by highereducation increases, on the other hand, the pola-risation between the "haves" and "have nots".Obviously selection for courses of different levelsis necessary. Selection for responsible positions isnecessary as well. But selection for higher educa-tion should not prevent strong efforts from beingmade for other post-school programmes of educa-tion, and selection for responsible positions inemployment should not be linked with highereducation in the way it is now in Western Europe.Both clearly are in contrast with the principle ofequal opportunity.

The strong link between graduation from highereducation and career chances is channelling ever-growing proportions of young people into highereducation institutions. This is probably contrary tothe true preferences of large numbers, who dislikethe highly abstract thinking and the "bookish"way of learning, but dislike even more to remainon the "low" side. The presence of these onlypartly interested students is often deplored becauseit disturbs the spirit of an academic community.This is certainly true. However, one should alsoconsider the situation of the many young peoplewho do not like the academic spirit but are prac-tically compelled by an obsolete system to go theacademic way of education. They are not offeredtheir individual and adequate chance.

The introduction of formal education in schoolswas one of the great inventions of mankind. Theprobability is that the school as an archetype ofsocial organisation will have a long life. Schoolsare needed as organisations where people are pro-tected from influences which prevent them fromsucceeding in certain ways of learning. To retirefor long periods from activities, pleasures andpressures dominant in other spheres of life can beconsidered as a condition for numerous learningtasks requiring, for instance, high efforts of con-centration, high level of abstraction, understandingof complex systems, structuring of a multitude of

facts and thoughts. The hypothesis is that certainlearning processes of this kind can only be optimisedin schools in a particular learning situation cha-racterised by a spirit of detachment, by theavailability of professional teachers and by parti-cular group relations. Schools in this sense cannotbe substituted by other organisations.

But any good idea can be exaggerated. I f to yo toschool becomes the main occupation for twentyyears, this does not seem to be the optimal way todevelop the personality. This has been discussedfor some time now under the heading of "de-schooling". Applied to higher education the de-schooling argument points out that efficiency oflearning is poor if it cannot be related to personalexperience. Persons living from 5 to 25 years ofage mainly in some kind of school have not enoughexperience to motivate them for problem-solvinglearning. This may explain much of the passivity,frustration and protest to be observed among stu-dents. But growing numbers continue to press forthe long courses of study because they have reasonto believe that this will improve their careerchances.

Other students value the long courses for theirlength. They want the many years of highereducation as a phase of life protected from thepressures of economically gainful activities andfrom exploitation in jobs they despise. They feelthat after graduation from secondary school theyneed a long period of participation in the searchfor understanding, for self-identification and forindependent personal development under condi-tions that only higher education institutions canoffer.

But the educational effect of staying in school farinto the twenties seems doubtful in any case.Students tearing the protected seclusion of schoollate in life have misred essential experience, andthey also have missed the chance to reflect sys-tematically on these experiences. Last but not leastthey miss the confidence gained by earning anincome : they are dependent long after they havecome legate; of age.

Another feature of the stay-in-school syndrome isthe ignorance of conditions and tasks in the fieldof gainful employment. Individual decisions con-cerning the choice of some field of occupationalactivity are finally unavoidable. But under presentconditions they are often rather blind chokes.Personal preferences are not founded in practicalknowledge, and advice based on predictions ofmanpower needs is hardly reliable. For the longcourses of study in particular the choices made in

the light of future market opportunities becomeincreasingly an incalculable risk.

The long higher education courses became traditionat a time when it seemed reasonable to concentrateformal learning :n the period of youth. But theyare no longer reasonable in a world characterisedby dynamic development. If knowledge and skillsbecome swiftly obsolescent, the argument againststaying in school as long as possible and for recur-rent learning becomes strong.

There may be now around 5 % of the WesternEuropean labour force in positions requiring,among other qualifications, the kind of educationprovided by higher education. If the inflow ofgraduates from higher education continues to in-crease as in recent years, this proportion willcertainly go up. The absorption capacity of theoccupation system for graduates from higher edu-cation certainly is not exhausted. Partial imba-lances and frictions, however, are already evident.They raise as yet no really grave difficulties butthere is, of course, an absorption problem. Wecould have some day 30 ",,i) or even 50 "/I) of therelevant age group in higher education and wewould benefit greatly from an even larger portionof the population being highly educated, competentto understand and handle all kinds of problems,willing and trained to co-operate, able to enjoy acultured life. But we can certainly never havesuch proportions of the labour force in positionscorresponding to the still prevailing expectationsof those who strive for a higher education degreeas an entrance ticket for high social status andincome. It is a contradiction in itself to expectprivileged positions for a large proportion of theactive population. The university practically gua-ranteeing its graduates such positions belongs toa society which is vanishing quickly. In the nearfuture growing numbers of graduates from highereducation will be forced to sell their services farunder the "price" they expect.

Main directions of a reform strategy

In view of the shortcomings of present highereducation developments, many planners agree thatthe problems cannot be solved satisfactorily insidethe system of higher education institutions. Theypropose an overall reform of the education system,shifting the weight of systematic learning fromthe period of youth into adult life and giving moreimportance to learning outside institutions of edu-cation. These reform plans go under the generalheading "Recurrent education".

The term "Recurrent education" as used in this

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paper implies a thorough restructuring of the tra-ditional system of education and the plannedparticipation of other subsystems in educationalintentions. This understanding of the term differsfrom other concepts of recurrent education, plan-ning only additions to the traditional system duringadult life. Our concept has a deschooling tendency.The type of organised learning called "school"should be developed so as to bring out best itsspecific potential. But more and better educationcannot be had by simply expanding schools.Schools have a monopolistic tendency. They areoccupying too much of young people's time andthey are overdrawing their power in the allocationof life chances.

Recurrent education intends to make the impor-tance of school more relative and to develop newcombinations of learning situations by bringing tobear the educational potential of other institutions,situations and roles. There are learning processeswhich can best be furthered in agencies near thesphere of production, of organisation, of socialservices. The educational potential of such agencieshas specific qualities that school cannot replace.Planned alternating and commuting betweenlearning situations offered in schools and in non-school activities should become the rule. In eco-nomic terms this means that the educational inputsof various agencies should be planned and mixedin such a way that the total relation between costsand benefits is optimised.

Recurrent education understood in this sense callsfor incisive changes of the curricula and it callsfor the intensive co-operation of agencies outsidethe system of institutions whose main. function iseducation. Recurrent education has been seen bymany planners as a distribution of periods oforganised learning over the whole life-span. :Herewe propose not only to plan these periods ofsystematic learning but also to give life betweenthese periods as much an educational function aspossible. This has far-reaching political implica-tions. Many agencies, in particular in privatebusiness, so far care very little, if at all, about theeducational effects of their activities. Some firmsdo much to further vocational training. But theyare a minority. Strong resistance is to be expectedif agencies now outside the system of education areasked to participate regularly in a concerted actionensuring the permanence and effectiveness ofplanned education. Regular leave for full-timelearning will not be achieved easily. Participationin permanent education by organising courses,employing personnel for advice and instruction,finally the reorganisation of work so that it hasan educational effect by itself or motivates for

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education, tht ie are certainly postulates demandinga major change in the understanding of their roleon the part of agencies whose main purpose is noteducation. But this seems to be the consequence ofthinking about the future. We need more andbetter education, but if the traditional institutionsalone are charged with this task, we are runninga big risk of failure.

At present the individual desire to get a goodeducation can be fulfilled only along the way upto the academic diploma. So strong is the do-minance of this pattern that increasing parts ofsecondary education are oriented towards the"high" sector of post-school education. It is neces-sary to break this identification of good educationwith academic education. In order to achieve this,certain certification links with career and statushave to be abolished. On the other hand, it isnecessary to revalue the non-academic kinds ofeducation. In particular, vocational education needsto be developed to a quality and a standing whichmake it attractive to those who want a good edu-cation but are not fascinated by largely theoreticalwork. Vocational education must be freed fromthe narrowness of mere skill training and fromthe dead-end character it often has. We know fromcurricular research that the key qualificationsconstituting the core of a good general education(e.g. knowing how to learn, critical thinking,creativity) can be developed just as well, perhapseven better within the preparation for a field ofvocational activity as in preparing for a period ofacademic study in higher education. The presentsharp separation of vocational and general educa-tion has no valid base in theory and must beabolished. There will be courses of the highest aswell as of lower requirements in both the morevocation-oriented and in the non-vocational educa-tion.

A programme of reform should be centred on fivemain purposes :

to revalorise vocational education.

to spread intervals of systematic learning overthe span of life,

to activate the educational potential of learningby doing,

to develop the various institutions of post-shoo] education including higher education totheir specific optimum,

to break the identification of a good educationwith academic degrees and privileged positions.

,.

Design for a programme of reform measures

Based on the critical views of developments inhigher education, and on the general directives fora reform strategy, some more concrete measuresfor a restructuring of post-compulsory educationare proposed in the following.

Beyond the compulsory school, educational insti-tutions of rich diversity in the form of secondaryschools of practical work with educational inten-tion are offered for choice. The non-school institu-tions comprise part-time apprenticeship and guidedpractical work, combined with courses. This initialphase of youth education will end with the legalcoming of age.

The preparation for a field of vocational workassisted by orientation in out-of-school activitieswill be the core of the curricula at the uppersecondary school. It will determine the shape ofgeneral education and qualify school graduates totake up an occupation immediately after school.Coming of age will then coincide with the be-ginning of economic independence. No graduatefrom school will be "forced" to continue in highereducation because he is not prepared for vocationalwork.

All vocational training and practical work for per-sons under 20 years will be combined with generaleducation. Agencies offering such training andwork need accreditation under public law. Publicsupervision will ensure that courses offered byprivate establishments are qualitatively equal tothose offered by public secondary schools, so thatpressure for public secondary schools is not sup-ported by evidence of their better quality.

Admission to institutions of post-school educationis possible only after two years of gainful employ-ment. All employers are called upon to make theseinitial years of vocational activity meaningful inview of a career.

Everybody is guaranteed by law the right to recur-rent intervals of full-time post-school educationtotalling a minimum of three years and corres-ponding paid leave of absence.

Curricula in post-school education are as for aspossible organised in compact units (modules) oftwo to three months for full-time students andcorrespondingly longer units for part-time stu-dents. These units can be combined in varioussequences (Baukastensystem). They will ensurevertical and horizontal mobility of students insideand between institutions.

Leave of absence under the public education unit/

credit system will as a rule not exceed threemonths at a time. Accumulation for a longer leaveis possible as an exception. Employers may grantleave for extra courses. Awards may take the formof extra leave for learning purposes.

During the periods between full-time absence, part-time learning during and outside working hours isoffered. Assistance is given by radio and television,by private firms, administrations, trade unions,churches, health institutions, armed forces, etc., soas to ensure permanence of educational offerings.

Programmed learning diffused by various mediais offered under public quality control. Institutionsfollowing the example of the Open University inthe United Kingdom will advance the combineduse of modern media and tutorial circles.

Publicly supported information centres, guidanceand tutorial services will be available everywhere.Regional planning will ensure the availability of alarge range of courses in all communities by dis-tributing the location of public post-school institu-tions of education according to population densityand commuting distance, and by encouraging otheragencies to contribute to the programme of coursesand to make facilities available.

All courses or units are offered on various levels.The organisers of courses including the universi-ties, colleges, academies and other institutions ofpost-school education have the right to decide forwhich course they accept the applicant. They willbase their decision mainly on qualifications provedin former courses. If they feel that they cannotoffer any suitable course, they will advise theapplicant where to go or where to get publicguidance. There will be no dead-ends.

Career patterns in the occupation system arechanged by law in such a way that the traditionallink between academic degree and hierarchicalstatus is dissolved. Beyond the minimum paymentfor beginners incomes are regulated according tofunction. Certificates from educational institutionsare necessary for functional qualification but qua-lities proved on the job have more importance forpromotion.

Professional diplomas, where they are needed, areawarded by committees on which the State, theprofession and the competent institution of post-school education are represented. Diplomas areawarded only after several years of practice, andperformance on the job will have at least as muchimportance for the decision of the committee as thecertificates from educational instit ions.

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c

There will be no academic examination awardingglobal diplomas. At the end of each compact courseand course sequence participants have to pass aspecific examination. The results of this examina-tion. together with an evaluation of the partici-pants' co-operative behaviour in the course, formthe basis of a written statement or certificatedescribing qualities and performance Doctoral de-grees will be awarded only to those seeking acareer in research. The procedure will be similar tothat used for professional diplomas.

Curricula are devised so as to make numerouscombinations of courses or standardised units pos-sible. Everybody is free to combine courses as hewishes. But for reasons of comparability andfeasibility the scheme as a whole will be structuredby a restricted number of course combinations.Those who want a certificate for a sequence ofcourses have to make their choice among theseprescribed core combinations. Based on a recurrentanalysis of demands in the occupation system,these core combinations will be designed so as toprepare for tasks in various vocational fields. Allvocational courses should be planned to have hightransfer effects for general education and to givean understanding of the broad context of specialknowledge. Non-vocational courses in the human-ities are a compulsory component of the prescribedcore combinations.

Educational courses can be offered by all agenciesaccredited for this purpose and willing to acceptpublic quality control.

All problems of accreditation of educational insti-tutions, of quality control, of financial allocation,of division of tasks between institutions, of proce-dures in local and regional co-operation, of deci-sions in questionable cases of educational leaveapplications are regulated by committees on whichthe State, the educational institutions, the em-ployers' associations and the trade unions arerepresented. These committees operate at national,regional and local level. They are institutionsunder public law.

All public institutions of education are financedout of the State budget. All accredited institutionsand the costs caused by educational leave of ab-sence are financed out of funds under public lawand under control of the above-described com-mittees. All private agencies, in particular businessfirms, are supposed to provide training facilitieswhich are of direct use for their own purposes.These facilities, however, will be financed by therespective firms individually or collectively.

Funds for the fina.cing of accredited education

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and of the costs caused by educational leave ofabsence are raised by means of general levies frombusiness and by State subsidies. The potentialcourse participants contribute mainly indirectly tothese funds via the prices of all goods and servicesthey need and via general taxes.

Some consequences for the future of lughereducation.

In the view of the author the measures proposedin this paper indicate a way to restructure post-compulsory education according to general princi-ples of social democracy. and to free higher educa-tion institutions from the menaces of presentdevelopments.

The task of education beyond school would bedivided more adequately between educational insti-tutions, and also between these institutions andnon-educational agencies. There would be firmsand organisations providing courses for their im-mediate needs. There would be institutions offeringprogrammes to satisfy the simpler requirements ofrefresher courses in skills, language and otherknowledge, and programmes for retraining and foradditions to the range of competences. A large partof the task of certifying special vocational compe-tence, now often fulfilled by higher educationinstitutions, could be passed on to other agencies.

The institutions of higher education as they existat present would in all probability survive andsome of them would continue to grow. But growthwould not follow the trend observed in the last20 years. Higher education institutions would nothave to cope with the task of doubling and triplingthe number of places again within the next 20years. Once the degree system is abandoned andvarious alternatives for recurrent education areavailable, demand for places in higher educationwill slow down. Freed from the enormous pressureof fast expansion the higher education institutionswill be in a position to prepare a developmentdesigned to bring out their special potential whichmay be seen in the provision of courses of highrequirements in connection with research.

Higher education will profit from the new mixtureof "generations" of students caused by the generalintroduction of recurrent education and from themotivation brought in by students with extensiveexperience outside of schools. The change from theold pattern of having first all the theory and thenall the practice to the new scheme of alternatingbetween practice and theory will increase themotivation and efficiency of learning.

Higher education institutions would co-operatelocally and regionally with other institutions ofpost-school education. but there would be no needto seek integration of all these institutions. Eachtype of institution would try to develop its poten-tial for a specific task. Co-ordination would servethe purpose of rationalisation, for instance byensuring common use of expensive facilities, and itwould serve the mobility of students betweeninstitutions through curricula allowing one u"it tobe taken in one institution and the next unit of asequence in another.

Higher education institutions would in such asystem be reduced to a component in post-schooleducation of equal rank with other institutions.There will be probably a hierarchy of courses, butnot necessarily of institutions. The differences willcome from the quality requirements of courses,and all institutions will be challenged to have somecourses of the highest standard. There will beperhaps more competition with other public insti-tutions on this level and also with institutions setup by private agencies. But more competition mightbe useful. Together with the inflow of more maturestudents it can help higher education institutionsto become livelier than they are now.

The concept of reform discussed in this paperpromises to overcome the main deficiencies ofpresent higher education Mentioned in the intro-duction. There is a long way to go before such areform can e completed. The first step is theconceptual discussion. Are there other possiblesolutions to the problems before us ? Which conse-quences can be foreseen in detail for higher edu-cation institutions, for the relations with the occu-pation system and for the functioning of educationas a sub-system of society ? Much research andmuch experimentation is needed to verify thehypotheses underlying the reform concept pro-posed here. But research should not be used as analibi for postponing decisions to the next decade.

Some steps seem possible in the near future. Theauthor recommends that efforts be concentratedduring the next years on the setting up of a fundsystem, the working out of curricula for recurrenteducation, and the abolition of the degree systemin connection with the introduction of new career

patterns. In order to prepare political decisions.national committees should be set up to analysethe situation in the field of reforms here proposedand to develop programmes of action. These com-mittees should be assisted by competent staffs ofanalysts and planners.

The research and planning needed would profitfrom co-operation between countries moving in thesame direction. It seems appropriate that the com-petent supra-national mgamsations should take theinitiative for a joint effort.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cerych, L. : A Global Approach to Higher Educa-tion. International Council for EducationalDevelopment. Occasional Paper No. 3. NewYork, 1972.

Hake, B. J. : General Secondary Education in theYear 2000, Plan "Europe 2000", Project 1 : Edu-cation, Theme III - Study 9 A ; European Cul-tural Foundation, Amsterdam, 1972.

Deurinck, G.: University Education in the Year2000, Project 1: Education, Theme III, Study8 A, European Cultural Foundation, Amsterdam,1972.

Schwartz, B.: Lifelong Education in the Year 2000,Project 1 : Education, Theme III, European Cul-tural Foundation, Amsterdam, 1972.

Weizsiicker, C. v., Dohmen, G., Richter H. C. u.a.,Baukasten gegen Systemzialinge, Der Weiz-siicker- Hochschulplan, Serie Piper, Miinchen,1970.

Less Time, More Options, Education beyond theHigh School, A special Report and Recom-mendation by the Carnegie Commission onHigher Education, New York, McGraw-Hill,1971.

Draft Report, Commission on Post-Secondary Edu-cation in Ontario, Toronto 1972.

Towards New Structures of Post-Secondary Educa-tion A Preliminary Statement of Issues,OECD, Paris, 1971.

Publications

The two series of educational works "Education in Europe" and the "CompanionVolumes", published in English and French by the Council of Europe, recordthe results of the studies of experts and intergovernmental surveys carried outwithin the framework of the programme of the CCC. We here present someother books published with the support of the Council for Cultural Co-operationel the Council of Europe.

TODAY AND TOMORROW IN EUROPEANADULT EDUCATIONby J. A. Simpson

In Tokyo last August some 400 delegates from thenations and international organisations of theworld took part in the 3rd International Confe-rence on adult education, organised by UNESCO.Although the most urgent problem before theconference was, inevitably, mass illiteracy in thedeveloping countries of the world, the frameworkof discussion was the much wider question of Per-manent Education : the right of adults to oppor-tunities for education throughout life, the place ofinitial education within this concept, and the re-allocation of resources at present concentratedalmost exclusively on the young.

Before the conference was the contribution of theCouncil of Europe, in the shape of the study byMr..J. A. Simpson, former Chief Inspector for adulteducation in the United Kingdom, who has beenclosely involved since 1964 with the work of theCouncil of Europe on adult education.

Without plunging into legal or statistical descrip-tions, and without attempting an exhaustive surveyof every European country, Mr. Simpson has givenan account of the present and likely future con-cerns of adult education in Western Europe. Plenti-fully supported by a wide variety of sources frommany countries, he describes a continuing dynamicresponse to the major challenges of Westernsociety : industrialisation, urban development, theinformation explosion, the growth economy, andtheir accompanying social, psychological and eco-nomic pressures. While efforts in schools anduniversities are redoubled to meet these challenges,adult education has remained, in most countries, aCinderella, poorly supported economically andadministratively. Nevertheless the signs are fa-vourable for expansion in this field : an expansion

which, if the concept and consequences of Perma-nent Education described at the end of this studyare accepted by society, may attain the dimensionsof a revolution.

The book covers the whole range of provisionfor adult education, including premises, resources,teachers, methods, curricula, research and tech-nology, as well as the new demands and newattitudes. Here are a few extracts from the study:

Industrialisation and concentration on youth

"Industrialisation runs like a thick red line acrossthe history of the education of adults. In previousages little distinction was made between the edu-cation of the young and that of their elders ... Thesubsequent concentration of public education uponthe young ... arose mainly because, industrialisedsocieties increasingly demanded that people shouldbe socialised and rendered useful by an initialeducation which would leave an indelible imprint."

Social change

"... Older conceptions of adult education are in-adequate and obsolete. It must be rememberedthat they were evolved for and among peopleliving in societies unaffected by the many com-monplace social forces of today by television,the welfare State, cybernetics, the supermarket,programmed learning, the affluent consumer so-ciety, space travel, nuclear fission and secondaryeducation for all."

Television

"Side by side with public education there is todaythe incalculably wide impact of the educative andpara-educative programmes of radio and televi-sion ... For good or ill, television is the dominant

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medium today whereby adults acquire information,and adult education must start from this fact ...Professional workers in adult education are usuallyprevented from much acquaintance with this com-mon television culture by the timing of theirwork ...,,

Need and demand in adult. education

"There exists a vast need for education of manykinds amongst adults everywhere, and this needwill continue to increase, in intensity no less thanin volume. Need, however, is a very different thingfrom demand ... at present, except in Scandinavia,far from being a status symbol of effective living,attendance at adult education courses sometimesand in some of its reaches carries the stigma ofparticipation in something designed for the un-successful, the unfortunate, those who have missedthe boat, and those who try to compensate forotherwise dreary and empty lives."

Premises for adult education

"It is natural that workers in adult educationshould be gratified by the creation of fixed pre-mises, and even more heartened when these areprovided with a lavish hand and made worthy ofthe dignity of the task of the education of adults.In a sense, however, these premises inevitablyconstitute a form of institutionalisation which maylessen the missionary element in adult education.It may be questioned whether all the cathedrals inthe world have been able to add much impetus toa movement initiated by foot-loose teachers whocarried their equipment in their sacks."

The lecture

"The classical pattern of class-room procedure wasthe lecture followed by questions and discussion,at least for the academic subjects. In the case ofsubjects of a practical or instructional nature thecentrality of the teacher, his dominant position,was even more marked by his exclusive possessionof the particular ex.nertise or information ... Be-cause human beir -to not normally enjoy sub-ordination, this has ,:en one of the deterrents ofadult education, and the authoritarian type ofdecision about curriculum and method has actedin the same way.

Recent developments are marked by a consciouseffort to end this situation. Lectures have, accord-ingly, been made shorter ... Alternatively, theyare broken up into short periods and interspersed

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with discussion or group work. In other instancesthey have been abandoned entirely in favour ofgroup work or a dialectical procedure ... It mightbe added that from Scandinavian sources comereports of a student reaction against this new roleof the teacher, a rebellion against his abdicationfrom the responsibility of being the fount ofknowledge, and a vocal dissatisfaction with the`purposeless time-wasting' of seminar work.-

Participation

"There is constant evidence of the real controlexercised by students over their own learningsituation in the work of the voluntary organisa-tions. Indeed it is the envy of those workers inadult education in the field directly governed bythe statutory authorities ... A real initiative isneeded on the part of the public authorities, in-volving an act of faith in the ultimate goodwill andresponsibility of ordinary people, and a tolerancefor small errors in the minutiae of record-keepingand account-keeping.

... There are, of course, some professional workersin adult education who see this type of auto-gestion,firstly as one more burdensome disincentive for themute multitude, secondly, as one more opportunityfor eminence for the middle-class verbalist, andthirdly, as a piece of structured hocus-pocuswhereby governments, like big industrial firms,use a pseudo-dialogue to avoid the real decisionwhich would emerge from a confrontation."

Group work

"For many adults today, lack of group-life outsidethe family is responsible for a psychological defi-ciency disease ... all those who are familiar withadult education have noted the extent to which itcan answer this desire for social relationship andapproval ...

But, it is claimed, the group work approachactually has advantages, so far as learning a sub-ject is concerned, over the confrontation of a col-lection of individuals with a teacher ... only therecan the proper predisposing attitudes for learningbe adopted, as contrasted with the withdrawnisolation and diffidence and hostility to the tutorwhich affect most students in other methods ... itallows time, scope and encouragement for verbali-sation for those who are at a disadvantage in thisrespect ... No factor in the learning process ismore potent than the explanation or demonstrationto others of what has been learnt. Writing recentlyin "Neue Volksbildung", Dr. Niggerman ... stated

that people take into their consciousness 20 ",0 ofwhat they hear, 30 "in of what they see, but 70 "'oof what they say or do themselves."

Numbers and aims

"It is important that efforts of outreach for agreater numerical impact for adult educationshould not involve a relaxation of standards ofachievement. In the last analysis the central pur-pose of adult education is not the provision of a"social vitamin"... MM. Moles and Muller haveunderlined the necessity of winning the mass ofour population to the hard task of equipping them-selves to be able to structure the plethora ofinformation with which they are over-burdened bythe mass-media so that it forms a system of valueswith which they can face life."

Community development

"Some of the disorderly protest of recent times hasoriginated in the lack of any acceptable patternsfor effective participation in control of the socialenvironment. A more serious symptom is a wide-spread apathy and cynicism about democratic poli-tical forms, arising from a sense of impotence toinfluence decisions that affect individual livesvitally. Community development may, then, havea contribution to make in the welfare States ofWestern Europe where, often, there seems to belittle affection for forms of government that areexplicitly dedicated to the well-being of the peopleas never before in history."

Education. for the young

"One arresting feature of the ideas presented bythe then Swedish Minister of Education, Mr. OlafPalme, at the Versailles Conference of EuropeanMinisters of Education in 1969 is the det.n.minationhe expressed to scrutinise with increasing reservefurther expansion in the field of initial educationfor the young. Over-concentration on this couldstarve the labour market by a further prolongationof schooling and would widen the generation gap ;moreover it would be counter-productive for socialequality by loading the dice in favour of thoseyoung pupils and students who had the ability tocome soonest to academic specialisation or clearcareer objectives. It would estrange students fromworkers, making two castes segregated from eachother at an early age. The report dwells on theextent to which initial education is provided in aschool and college atmosphere where there is acompetitive scramble for marks and other badges

of excellence ; not the best foundation for life as aresponsible, co-operative and compassionate mem-ber of society."

Permanent education

To be satisfactory a society must at all stages oflife allow its members to find the means for self-development, improvement, betterment, adaptation,progress. There is a drive towards these in allhuman beings, a drive which, though disconti-nuous, is co-extensive with life itself, and which,of its very nature, involves learning. It is as mucha feature of a baby crawling as of an old manadjusting to crutches."

Finance

"Financial starvation is the basic reason why agreat deal of the work in adult education ispervaded by an atmosphere of amateurism, ofmere diversion, cultural chit-chat and therapeuticsociability. These things might be excellent if theywere by-products of the serious and progressivemastery of a subject or skill by the students, butthey are deplorable when they are the main achie-vements of a course ...Talk of the "age of affluence" is cruel nonsense inrelation to the substantial sections of the populacein most of our societies who find increasingly thatthey have to exercise the utmost thrift ; this in-cludes many of those who have recently come tobe classified as "middle-class" and the majority ofyounger professional workers at the foot of salaryscales who are married with small children. In-creased fees would mean for them a real deterrentfrom adult education. Moreover many industrialworkers who are now comparatively well-off fi-nancially have inherited attitudes to private edu-cational expenditure which would impel them toreject it, and these are the very people for whom,at this juncture in their lives, adult education cando most to help them as persons and citizens.Hardship clauses in regulations to grant bursariesor loans involve a humiliating process of applica-tion and investigation which will seldom bei nvoked . .

It is true that, at present, adult education is under-financed, but the responsibility for this must beplaced squarely upon governments."

Career-orientated education developments

"Those who object express the fear that if un-checked they will reduce adult education to a

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subordinate role in a system which is preoccupiedwith national economic progress, and with themeasurable "output" of education which adminis-trators and politicians have always been quickestto esteem ... An adult education may arise which,as its prime aim, will cater for the more examin-able, promotable and materially productive sectionsof the people, an education which will give to himwho hath and care little for the have-nots ... Someestimates speak of 20 °A of workers as becomingunassimilable in industry a vast tragedy toblemish the brave new world of increased produc-tivity unless education concerns itself with them.To such criticisms replies are not wanting. Con-tempt for popular demand can never be a soundprinciple in education To show it is also topredict for people, against their inclinations, someideal destiny or "true role" which is a pure pieceof political theory and no more valid than anyother proposition. To expect working people toadopt a questionable "messianic" attitude to theirsociety is more consistent with the café contem-plations of comfortably placed academics thanwith the ambitions and preoccupations of peoplewho have to work for a weekly wage ...It would be sheer folly for adult education not toco-operate with the interest of governments intraining programmes and social promotion."

LIVSLANG UDDANELSE/UDVIKLINGGrundtraekkene i en integreret uddannelsespoli-tik. Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1972. The report "Fun-damentals for an Integrated Educational Policy"by Professor Bertrand Schwartz, published by theCouncil of Europe in 1971, has recently beenpublished under the title "Livslang uddannelse/udvikling" by Gyldendal in Copenhagen.Taking the needs of the individual and the socialgroup as his starting-point, Bertrand Schwartz

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attempts to show how the educational system canmeet these needs, and what means are necessary inorder to put such a policy into effect. He under-lines the practical measures likely to promoteinternational exchanges in this sec'or and harmo-nise the various permanent education policies.

The report, translated into Danish, is followed bya discussion in which eight Danish political partieswere invited to comment on Professor Schwartz'concept of permanent education. The report wasgiven a favourable reception, although it wasdoubted whether its aims could be achievedwithout a change of political system (opinionexpressed by the Socialist People's Party and byLeft-Wing Socialists). The Left-Wing Socialistsrefer, in this regard, to the proposals made by theSwedish Trade Union LO to the effect that everyhuman being should have the right to twelve years'free education. Those who have not yet had thisnumber of yeas of education should rereive grantsto enable them to complete their education now.

The Director for Adult Education in the DanishMinistry of Education, Mr. A. Baunsback-Jensen,has himself put forward certain ideas which accordwith some of those expressed by B. SchwartzA. Baunsback-Jensen believes, for instance, that, inthe traditional teaching system, greater priorityshould be given to the so-called humanist subjects,such as music, drama, history, sports, religion,literature and psychology. These subjects wouldenable all adults, whether their occupations be ofa primarily technical or primarily humanist cha-racter, to acquire, in their leisure-time, the kind ofknowledge which will afford them lifelong intel-lectual enrichment. To achieve this, everyoneshould be granted paid sabbatical leave for culturaland personal refresher training. Hence the crucialrole of teachers, not simply in training people forjobs, but in educating human beings.

Information Bulletin

Main themes in past issues

1/1969 School Reform in Europe

Selected Documents from France, Federal Republic of Germany,Sweden, United Kingdom

2/1969 Sixth Conference of European 31inisters of Education, 20-22 May 1969,Versailles

3/1969 Permanent Education Council of Europe StudiesH. Janne ; F. Bonacina ; W. Rasmussen ; J. A. Simpson ;0. Palme ; K. Eide ; H. Tietgens ; J. Capelle ; B. Schwartz

1/1970 Monuments and Sites : Preservation and Rehabilitation Conferenceof European Ministers, 25-27 November 1969, Brussels

2/1970 Basic and Continued Training of TeachersRole of the University - Strangnas Course and Emrich Report -Gamle Avernaes Course

3/1970 Policy and Planning fcr Post-Secondary Education A EuropeanOverview prepared by W. Taylor

Background Paper for the Seventh Conference of EuropeanMinisters of Education

1/1971 Progress Report of International Organisations 1969/1970Background Paper for the Seventh Conference of EuropeanMinisters of Education

2/1971 Seventh Conference of European Ministers of Education, 8-10 June 1971,Brussels

3/1971 Assessment and Examinations Council of Europe StudiesA. D. C. Peterson ; M. Reuchlin ; W. D. Halls ; J. Capelle

1/1972 The London Colloquium of Directors of Educational Research Organi-sations

2/1972 EUDISED Project Report of the Steering Group 1971

Out of print.

Editor : The Director of Education and of Cultural and Scientific AffairsStrasbourg