Jan De Groof – författare

Europe is going through a sort of "social revolution" with the influence of the church and religious instruction in state schools being open to discussion. Critics claim that providing religious instruction in state schools violates the constitutional separation of church and state. And yet, despite an alleged separation of church and state, in most countries, the church continues to play a considerable public role, especially in education.

This publication is a compilation of studies on religious instruction in state schools. It describes the diversity between states and analyzes the legislative basis of religious instruction in various countries. Whereas in some countries, religious instruction in state schools is optional or compulsory with the possibility to opt out, in other countries religious instruction is banned from state schools.

The comparative analyses in this book will be of great value to researchers in educational research and to educational policymakers.

The chapters are written in the English, French, German, Italian and Spanish language.

At the core of the educational cosmos stands the pupil, the student. He or she has rights sanctioned by a national and international judicial apparatus. The freedoms of parents, teachers and educational establishments are functional in the service of the ''user of education''.

Educational sociologists have for some time been interested in the relationship between the behaviour of pupils and the quality and the effectiveness of the school. Practitioners of law in general, and education law in particular, cannot ignore the legal status of the education user. Education is interwoven with a diversity of disciplines within the legal domain, as well as with other scientific disciplines.

Based on the papers and discussions which arose from the 1996 annual conference of the European Education Law and Policy Association, held in Dublin, this volume contains a combination of in-depth thematic articles, synthetic reports of comparative international research and country reports on the legal status of pupils in Europe.

Together they offer the reader a wide-ranging analysis of this complex and timely topic. Yet there is a common theme which runs throughout this collection--that of the ethical relevance of the law, alongside a concern for the social and cultural equality of every child.

Just how fascinating the discussion between the disciplines of education law and education policy can be was apparent at the ''Annual Congress'' of the European Education Law and Policy Association (ELA) in Rotterdam in December 1997.

Although, on this occasion, the option was for an education policy subject, a multi-disciplinary approach is always to be preferred. Policy-makers interrogate lawyers; lawyers question scientists from other fields of study and lines of practice. It was, at the same time, a further illustration of how inspiring and productive--in the context of the European Union at any rate--comparative analyses can be for national and international education and social policy.

The theme of the 1997 Congress, and consequently of this Yearbook , was urban education policy and its legal form as the touchstone of the modern interpretation of individual and social rights. This collection of thought-provoking essays and country reports thus centres on the question: what challenges for education do urban associations represent?

From time immemorial, culture, education, and training have been assigned an essential role in preserving and developing common values that tie the international community together. Distinguished documents of international conferences and in various treaty texts and protocols show how cultural policy is the pre-eminent driving force for improvement of the intangible quality of individual and social life. Culture and education make an immeasurable contribution to the integration of a person in society and to the European society as such. Also from time immemorial, the principles of freedom and equality find their application in cultural and educational policy. Both support the rights to social multiformity and to protection of minorities; both also remind us that certain human values transgress every ''local'' culture.

This volume considers in detail only the recent trends in the organisation and structure of Art Education, but also the interplay between the two within standard education, the application of the principle of freedom of movement and Mobility of Teachers and Students, the equivalence of diplomas, and more.