A working party of the Educational Research Symposium on the "Socio-Culturally Handicapped" rejected the traditional psychopathological model and disadvantaged child syndrome in favor of interdisciplinary, basic and action research directed toward a causal analysis of socio-cultural difference and milieus and the development of more adequate…

Current Trends in European pre-school research are documented with respect to types of pre-school programs, nature of family involvement, compensatory education approaches, diagnosis and assessment, action research and design, as well as recently emerging areas of pre-school research. (EH)

The complex psycho-sociological factors involved in designing compensatory education programs require a concerted effort aimed at all levels of personality and the socio-cultural situation. Attention is drawn to the determination of objectives, a diagnosis in terms of the characteristics of the child, the milieu, and the school, and the selection…

In this background paper to the Educational Research Symposium on the "Socio-Culturally Handicapped", compensatory educational programs are reviewed with particular regard to pre-primary and primary school education. Positive strategies are suggested based on the development of evaluation techniques which link research and action and are tied to…

Complementary research projects on the socio-culturally disadvantaged child, conducted in four Belgium Universities under the auspices of the Bernard Van Leer Foundation, are described with respect to their basic approaches, methodology, and findings. (EH)

This report describes the various programs associated with the British educational priority area (EPA) project whose aim was to identify and evaluate practical means of implementing in the primary and pre-school the recommendations of the Plowden Report that a policy of "positive discrimination" be adopted towards the education of…

This summary paper of the Educational Research Symposium on the "Socio-Culturally Handicapped" details the major themes of the conference, and lists recommendations for further involvement for the Council of Europe in this area. (EH)

There is little use in seeking to identify educational strategies to overcome socio-cultural handicaps since there is no political will to apply them. Schooling functions to maintain the status quo. Therefore, the ruling parties and classes do not want the true democratization of education as it would threaten their position in the social…