The document evaluates present international developments in the area of leave of absence during working hours for educational purposes. Part 1, Educational Leave of Absence: A Comparative Analysis, contains five chapters: (1) Towards a New Right to Education, discussing recurrent education, the world of work, the International Labor Organization, and the world of education; (2) Educational Leave of Absence: The European Situation, examining principles and objectives, adopted legislation, length of leave, types of training, and financing mechanisms; (3) Educational Leave of Absence: The Situation in the United States, discussing collective bargaining, educational leave, negotiated agreements, funds, family education, and conclusions; (4) future Implications of Educational Leave: The Nature of the Problem in Europe and the United States, examining new social mechanisms, the gap between labor and education, financing and relationships within the firms, and social policy; (5) Summary, discussing individual rights, financing mechanisms, and training institutions and worker participation. Part 2, Country Studies, examines educational leave in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Yugoslavia. Appended material (from the International Labor conference, 1974) includes texts of the adopted convention and recommendations and tables of the structure of the economically active population in the countries examined. (LH)