In recent decades the life circumstances of most people around the world have changed enormously. We are again expecting scarcity and economic crisis, the danger of war, terrorism and environmental destruction. However, people’s tendencies toward selfishness and the misuse of freedom, uprooting, dissoluteness and crime are also increasingly being seen as threats to society and individual citizens. The decline of support-giving religious, worldview and moral traditions has given rise to great uncertainty about values. Citizens increasingly experience this as a burden, and are becoming more receptive to a reassessment. More of us are seeking a new orientation. Those responsible for children or youth require this with special urgency, because uncertainty in value orientations also creates uncertainty in education.

Are there ways to escape this dilemma? How can we achieve new clarity on the worldview and moral foundations of education? To what ends should we direct education? With what difficulties should we reckon? What tasks must parents fulfil and which should be assigned to teachers? These are the topics dealt with in this book. It provides answers to the questions of parents, teachers and other educators, as well as to those of politicians, economic leaders and spiritual counsellors. It will serve to stimulate thought and contribute to achieving agreement on the central educational tasks of our time.