The process of the transformation of European states towards European integration has gained significant importance for the future of the European continent, particularly after the establishment of the Treaty on European Union in Maastricht in 1992, the enlargement with the CEECs (2003), and the initiation of the process of establishing the European Constitution (2004).

The changes occurring in the rapidly changing international environment highlight the close interdependent relationship that exists within the European Union among the educational institution and the fields of economy, labor, society, as well as with policies on competitiveness, employment, social cohesion, and combating social exclusion.

The process of transforming European societies, especially during the last decade and within the framework shaped by the "Lisbon Strategy," underscores the role and importance of education as a key mediating factor for supporting and achieving the basic policy goals of a united Europe.

The purpose of this book is to contribute to the broader discussion regarding the understanding, analysis, and interpretation of the "discourses" and "practices" of the EC/EU in education and their relations with the fields of economy, politics, society, and culture.

The subject of the study is the formation of the institutional discourse of the EC/EU and the historical-comparative analysis of the genealogy of educational discourses and practices within the European Community, which were shaped during the evolution of regional integration of the Western European states from 1950 to 1999.

Specifically, the study focuses on the comparative investigation of the formation of knowledge, discourses, and practices that prevailed in various historical periods and defined the course of the transformation of educational policy within the Community.