The integrated person [antikvár]

Foreword Some years ago the Consortium of Institutions for Development and Research in Education in Europe (CIDREE) decided to issue a yearbook in which important and relevant themes would be examined in depth and to which specialists working within the themes would be invited to contribute. In this way, it was felt that specialised know-how obtained by members of the sixteen (semi-)govemmental institutions could be presented in an accessible manner for a general readership. This is the fourth volume in the series, which began with three books dealing respectively with new trends in education, the absorption of immigrants into the educational system, and educational ambitions of Europe. The CIDREE institutions are all, in one way or another, deeply involved in curriculum development approaches and so the choice of addressing the concept of basic competencies was an obvious and self-evident one. All the institutions that are members of CIDREE are fervent proponents of European collaboration in education. They are particularly involved in reviews and innovations on what children and youngsters should learn at school. Via collaborative projects, exchanges of experiences, by discussing and comparing the practices in different countries, CIDREE is in a pole position when it comes to the identification, the development and the implementation of new tendencies. Currently, the concept of basic competencies - and how this concept is understood by different actors - is subject of a broad debate. I am convinced that the variety and richness of the contributions in this book is part of the best that can be offered in Europe nowadays. In order to guarantee the objectivity of the contributions the authors were specifically requested not to write from the perspective of their organisation or institute but to formulate comments and conclusions from the perspective of their personal areas of expertise. Dr Roger Standaert President of CIDREE