SOCRATES. EPIC Europe Eurofocus 6.

Overview & Synopsis

SOCRATES is the European Community's new education program for the member states of the European Union (EU) (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) and the European Economic Area (EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). Its aims are to contribute to the development of quality education and training and to create of an open European area for cooperation in education. Its specific objectives, which include encouraging open and distance education, are addressed through its three parts: (1) Chapter 1--ERASMUS, the higher education component; (2) Chapter II--COMENIUS, the school education section; and (3) Chapter III--the Horizontal Measures initiatives. The ERASMUS component promotes the European dimension in universities through transnational cooperation and encourages student mobility among the member states. The COMENIUS component promotes partnership between schools, focuses on the education of migrant and transient students, and works for professional staff development. Horizontal measures promote a variety of transnational efforts to promote language skills in the European Community, open and distance learning, and the exchange of information and experience. (SLD)