The European dimension is considered a multidimensional and polysemous concept, which is linked to the formation of a newly established conceptual space, that of the European Community. The composite European indicates the direct dependence of the term on the evolution and transformation of the historical formation of the European Community in the post-war decades, while the term dimension precisely defines the direction of spatiotemporal change, simultaneously giving the concept a dynamic, evolutionary, and future-oriented character.

The concept of European dimension was created in the early 70s within the framework of shaping the educational policy of the Community, to support the opportunities as well as the timeless demands of the European integration undertaking. Gradually, the term European dimension in education not only highlighted the central role of education in strengthening and promoting key parameters of European integration (knowledge, competitiveness, employment, citizenship) but was also directly linked to the discussion about the ideological orientation of the content of European unification, as well as the political, economic, social, and cultural character of the transformation of European societies.

The European dimension is not simply the adoption of a series of measures, nor is it limited to the implementation of a series of actions and programs of the European Community. It is also not exhausted in the discussion regarding the teaching about Europe, the expansion of the geographical community, the dialogue about the historical origin and the common cultural heritage of the peoples of Europe. Naturally, it is not merely the sum of all these aspects. The European dimension represents and expresses something much more.

It represents the transcendence of the way of thinking of modern Europe, the way of existence and formation of national societies, and it expresses the break with the one-dimensional character of the national identity and consciousness of ethnic formations. The concept of European dimension expresses and represents the acknowledgment of difference, otherness, polysemy, the existence of the other, and the demand for coexistence with the other within the same geographical, institutional, political, social, and cultural space.

Consequently, the European dimension, as a concept and as a reference field, is linked to the formation of a discourse about Europe, which also indicates the broadening of the discussion from Learning in Europe (Learning for/about Europe) to Becoming Europeans (Learning to be Europeans), a broadening that is connected to and refers to the general discussion about the terms and content of the European idea and European integration.

In this way, the European dimension is directly connected to the creation and prospect of a new collective subject, the European citizen, to the formation of a new collective identity, the European identity, to the establishment of a new dialogue space, that of European public sphere, and to the establishment of a new political formation, that of the European state.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]