European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

200 EUROPEAN IDENTITY. INDIVIDUAL, GROUP AND SOCIETYRegarding the first aspect, I have already mentioned that theattitudes of the primary groups the students belong to is not aconditioning factor specifically characteristic of identity transmission; itis, on the contrary, a phenomenon observed in more general researchon attitude change. What this research has demonstrated is thatattitudes, being generally rather resistant to change, are even more sosince they do not belong to individuals in an isolated ivory tower butare stances of individuals belonging to social groups, whose locationwithin such groups would be disrupted if their attitudes changed.In this case, the relevant primary groups (or “facie ad faciem”)would be those of the students’ family environment, and for secondaryschool students, “peer” groups (or age groups).What are the current attitudes of those groups with respect toEuropeanness?Unfortunately, the data we have does not inform us about howEuropean membership is actually understood in the studied Europeancountries even though it tells us both about support levels for Europeanmembership and also the existing degree of trust in Europeaninstitutions. If we assume that the press tends to adjust information towhat its average readers are interested in or understand, then we candeduce that the Europe citizens would like to belong to is one whichreally achieves a high and relatively well-balanced standard of living forits members, one whose Member States appear as culturally andtechnologically advanced within the world scenario, and finally onewith real authority and a voice of its own in international forums whenit comes to big military and economic controversies. The emphasis ofthis image would, thus, be on economic prosperity, cultural superiorityand power. And if this is so, then the assimilation of Europeanness bystudents runs the risk of being assumed more as a source of rights andraising self-esteem than as an active commitment to a transnationalsocial experience which also constitutes a source of duties.This is, then, the current meaning of Europe for groups of adults,who are the ones more directly influencing the way the idea ofEuropeanness is received by present-day students. I have alreadyreferred to the misunderstanding which could cause identity receptionto degenerate into discriminatory attitudes of superiority towardsnatives of other continents or countries.However, in the present European context there is yet anotherobstacle to the adequate promotion of European identity in the schoolframework: the difficulties that students will probably find whenwanting to coordinate their feelings of national identity with thoseassociated with European identity. This may go unnoticed in the school