ABSTRACT
It should perhaps not be a surprise that ‘the European dimension’ remains a considerable enigma within the National Curriculum framework. For the obvious paradox of a European dimension in a national framework may be but a reflection of the disquiet and ambivalence within the present Conservative government (and, it must be said, within British society) about a commitment to Europe. In this chapter we start by considering what concept children have of Europe. We then consider what does actually constitute Europe in the late twentieth century. It is a phenomenon which is changing (as it always has done) more rapidly than ever before.
