ABSTRACT
An aim of primary education is divided into four sections: children as individuals; the requirements and constraints of society; primary education as an educational stage; and some reflections. Widely held tenets of society in Western Europe in the 1980s include respect for the uniqueness and rights of individuals. These are reflected in the aims of primary education by member states of the Council of Europe. In most of the countries, the expressed aim is to provide a wide-ranging education at the primary stage, covering children's intellectual, social, moral and spiritual, emotional and physical development. Teachers of young children must pay a lot of attention to their pupils' need to accommodate to their new circumstances, and there is no shortage of aims reflecting upon children's social attitudes and competencies. The national curriculum introduced in England and Wales in 1989 includes science as well as English and mathematics among its core subjects, and technology among its foundation subjects for primary schools.
