Just how fascinating the discussion between the disciplines of education law and education policy can be was apparent at the a Annual Congress of the European Education Law and Policy Association (ELA) in Rotterdam in December 1997. Although, on this occasion, the option was for an education policy subject, a multidisciplinary approach is always to be preferred. Policy-makers interrogate lawyers; lawyers question scientists from other fields of study and lines of practice.

It was, at the same time, a further illustration of how inspiring and productive - in the context of the European Union at any rate - comparative analyses can be for national and international education and social policy.

The theme of the 1997 Congress and consequently of this Yearbook, was urban education policy and its legal form as the touchstone of the modern interpretation of individual and social rights. This collection of thought-provoking essays and country reports thus centres on the question: what challenges for education do urban associations represent?

At the core of the educational cosmos stands the pupil, the student. He or she has rights sanctioned by a national and international judicial apparatus. The freedoms of parents, teachers and educational establishments are functional in the service of the user of educationa (TM).

Educational sociologists have for some time been interested in the relationship between the behaviour of pupils and the quality and the effectiveness the school. Practitioners of law in general, and education law in particular, cannot ignore the legal status of the education user. Education is interwoven with a diversity of disciplines within the legal domain, as well as with other scientific disciplines.

Based on the papers and discussions which arose from the 1996 annual conference of the European Education Law and Policy Association, held in Dublin, this volume contains a combination of in-depth articles, synthetic reports of comparative international research and country reports on the status of pupils in Europe. Together they offer the reader a wide-ranging analysis of this complex and timely topic. Yet there is a common theme which runs throughout this collection a " that of the ethical relevance of the law, alongside a concern for the social and cultural equality of every child.

The push towards greater autonomy is one of the three main trends in every modern educational policy, alongside quality assurance and quality evaluation techniques and the need to devote attention to special a" and often disadvantaged a" target groups. It is, however, difficult to derive a unified concept of autonomya (TM) from the comparative indicators which are published on a regular basis and it has emerged that there are significant differences depending on the specific area and the administrative organisation of education in the country in question. During the discussions of the annual Congress of the European Association for Education Law and Policy (ELA) in Salzburg (1998) it was apparent that autonomy has to be considered in its various applications.

Autonomy for school boards is realised through management, administrative mechanisms, management of staff and pedagogical options. Autonomy of administration requires competence, the willingness to establish an autonomous administration and awareness of each partya (TM)s responsibility in the educational process.

The contents of this Yearbook are an answer to the question of how legislatures are responding to the trend towards greater responsibility, decentralisation and autonomy. It is an overview of the efforts made by the Member States of the European Union to apply the principle of subsidiarity.

In the centre of the whole educational cosmos stands the pupil, the student. He or she has rights, sanctioned by a national and international judicial apparatus. The freedoms of parents, teachers and education establishments are functional in the service of the rights of the "user of education", as is the government's assignment. They hold a joint responsibility with regard to the right of a young person to be educated, and a fortiori of the school-age young person. The context in which education takes place is nevertheless undergoing major change. In recent times, schools have been presenting themselves more as brittle social institutions, sensitive to internal and external conflicts. If every education establishment is a crossroads of legal relationships, this does not leave the pupil or student untouched. He or she can seek recourse to fundamental rights; but against these can be set certain obligations - and in the first place the obligation to take account of the rights of fellow pupils and students. Educational sociologists have for some time been interested in the rela tionship between the behaviour of pupils and the quality and effectiveness of the school. I Practitioners of law in general, and education law in particular, could not ignore the legal status of the education user. It immediately became apparent how interwoven education is with a diversity of disciplines within the legal domain, as well as with other scientific disciplines.