Education or indoctrination? EU goes to school to get message out

MEPs gathered in Strasbourg this week for a regular plenary session of the European Parliament. As expected, the migration crisis and recent revelations about tax avoidance dominated the agenda, but one other item of interest was a resolution following a report commissioned by the parliament's culture and education committee.

A resolution endorsed by MEPs on Tuesday called for the EU dimension in school education to be enhanced and for more information about the EU to be included in textbooks and in the classroom.

The resolution was timely.

As the decisive No votes in the recent Dutch and Danish referendums on EU matters illustrate, the European Union is struggling to connect with citizens.

Across the bloc, Eurosceptic parties on the left and right flourish as complaints about the so-called democratic deficit – the gulf between the system and the citizens it represents – continue to dog the UK.

With the British referendum on EU membership little more than two months away, the issue is particularly pressing.

Romanian MEP Damian Draghici, who presented the resolution, believes that one answer to the EU's communication problem lies in the education system.

Better understanding

Citing a 2013 survey, which found that 44 per cent of Europeans don’t understand how the EU works, Draghici said that including an EU dimension in education is crucial in helping citizens better understand the EU.

“Enhancing the dialogue in our schools and other educational institutions is crucial in order to bridge the long-standing gap between the European Union and its citizens and to restore their faith in the merits and necessity of the European integration process,” Draghici told MEPs in Strasbourg.

Using education to inform students about the European Union is supported by the European Parliament and European Commission's offices in Ireland.

EU bodies run a number of programmes that aim to engage students with Europe. These include the Blue Star Programme, a government-supported initiative run in co-ordination with European Movement Ireland and the European Commission, focused on primary schools. Schools present projects on the EU throughout the year in order to attain the blue star mark.

More than 100 schools completed the programme in 2015, and more than 20 primary teachers visited the EU institutions in Brussels.

Ireland is also one of six EU countries chosen to run a pilot ambassador school programme, which aims to raise awareness of Europe.

Another popular initiative is the Euroscola programme aimed at 16-18-year-olds. Students from 12 schools across Ireland travel to Strasbourg each year to participate in the scheme, which allows them to experience the European Parliament as they participate in the workings of the parliament for a day.

Participating students take their place in the chamber, deliver a presentation in two languages, and meet with students from across the European Union.

Hazel Byrne, a Leaving Cert student at Scoil Mhuire, Trim, Co Meath, who travelled with her debating team to Strasbourg last year to participate in the forum, says it was a fascinating experience.

“It’s not often you get a chance to stand in a parliament and take part in a debate with students from across the European Union,” she says.

Byrne explains that each student was given a seat number and assigned a seat in the chamber, which is usually occupied by an MEP.

Other perceptions

Her classmate,

Ciara Regan

, said one of the most interesting aspects of the experience was learning about how the European Union is perceived in other member states.

“While in Ireland there is a strong awareness and positive feeling towards the European Union, we learned that this is not always the case in other countries,” Regan says. “It was interesting to get the perspective of other countries, particularly those in eastern Europe.”

But while most students embrace the opportunity to engage with the European Union offered by such programmes, teaching students about the EU is a politically sensitive issue.

Intervening in the debate on Tuesday in Strasbourg, Ukip MEP Steven Woolfe likened the resolution to the seminal communist work, The ABC of Communism, which advocated devotion to the regime.

Woolfe warned against indoctrinating students about the merits of the European Union.

“Having lost the argument that the EU has benefits to the young – youth unemployment is more than 35 per cent in most member states – the EU’s response is to ensure greater propaganda,” he told the chamber.

Evidently, ensuring that the EU’s voice is heard in the classroom involves striking the right balance between fact and opinion.