The European Context of Lifelong Learning

1
The European Context of Lifelong Learning

• An engendered perspective

Mary Ann Rukavina Cipetic
2
LLL Definition

• "all learning activity undertaken throughout
  life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills
  and competence, within a personal, civic, social
  and/or employment related perspective."
• European Commission Making a European Area of
  Lifelong Learning a Reality (22.11.2001)

3
LLL Aims

• empower citizens to move freely between learning
  settings, jobs, regions and countries, making the
  most of their knowledge and competences,
• and
• to meet the goals / ambitions of the EU and the
  candidate countries to be more prosperous,
  inclusive, tolerant and democratic.

4
Therefore, LLL is about

• acquiring and updating all kinds of abilities,
  interests, knowledge and qualifications
• Promoting the development of knowledge and
  competences that will enable each citizen to
  adapt to the knowledge-based society and actively
  participate in all spheres of social and economic
  life,
• valuing all forms of learning formal learning,
  such as a degree course followed at university
  non-formal learning, such as vocational skills
  acquired at the workplace and informal learning,
  such as inter-generational learning,
• providing "second chances" to update basic skills
  and also offering learning opportunities at
  advanced levels.

5
Fundamental Principles of LLL

• from pre-school to postretirement,
• the whole spectrum of formal, non-formal and
  informal learning.
• with the objectives of learning, including active
  citizenship, personal fulfilment and social
  inclusion, as well as employment-related aspects.

6
The European Employment Strategy (EES)

• a long-term integrated process for employment in
  Europe, each year
• a) the Commission proposes, for adoption by the
  Council, Employment Guidelines on labour market
  issues currently - employability,
  entrepreneurship, adaptability and equal
  opportunities for women and men
• b) the Member States submit National Action
  Plans for employment for implemention of these
  Guidelines
• c) the Commission and the Council agree on an
  assessment of these Action Plans (the Joint
  Employment Report)
• Following the Lisbon European Council in March
  2000, lifelong learning has become a more clearly
  defined priority within the EES. The role and
  importance of lifelong learning is now stressed
  in a horizontal Guideline and in specific,
  thematic Guidelines.

7
The European Social Fund (ESF) and The EQUAL
Community Initiative

• is the EU's main financial tool for supporting
  the European Employment Strategy, including
• - developing basic skills and upgrading existing
  skills
• - promotion of training cultures in enterprises
  and developing continuous training
• - development of certification and qualification
  frameworks
• - development of new approaches to learning
  through modular and open learning
• - help to reform technical vocational training
  curricula
• - strengthening links between education and the
  workplace
• - promoting better careers information and
  guidance
• EQUAL is funded by the ESF, tests new ways of
  tackling discrimination and inequality
  experienced in the workplace and by job-seekers.
  It has eight themes which are framed around the
  European Employment Strategy. EQUAL includes a
  strong emphasis on lifelong learning both by
  promoting equal access to education and training
  and the role of lifelong learning in addressing
  labour market inequalities.

8
Since EC Resolution on LLL 2002

• In March 2004, the first report from the Council
  and the Commission on progress towards the Lisbon
  goals for education and training was adopted. The
  report sets out four key messages
• Investment in human resources through education
  and training is essential for Europe's future
  economic prosperity and social cohesion.
• Immediate action in three crucial areas
• a) securing greater and more effective public and
  private investment in education and training
  (mobilise the necessary resources more
  effectively and make the profession of
  teachers/trainers more attractive)
• b) making lifelong learning a concrete reality
  (put in place comprehensive and coherent
  strategies target efforts to disadvantaged
  groups
• c) establishing a Europe of education and
  training Higher levels of participation in
  lifelong learning - more specifically, in
  learning in adult life - must be achieved.
• Higher levels of participation in lifelong
  learning - more specifically, in learning in
  adult life - must be achieved.
• Education and training systems reforms must take
  hold more rapidly.

9
Additional findings

• The report also suggests that in Europe adult
  learning is either too closely linked with
  employability or too strongly associated with
  compensatory education. The inadequate levels of
  human resources investment in the EU can only be
  improved by raising the contribution of the
  private sector, and by better use of the
  potential and benefits of diverse public-private
  partnerships.

10
Draft 2006 Joint Progress Report of the Council
and the Commission on the implementation
Education Training 2010 work program

• Negative implementation/outcomes
• Reforms should continue to seek synergies between
  economic and social policy objectives, since they
  are mutually supportive
• Reforms go in the right direction, but
• investment must be increased both public and
  private (private investment is still too low, and
  employers do not invest more than before)
• although public spending on education has
  increased, in higher education spending, in 2001
  the EU (1,28 GDP) (Denmark 2,8, Sweden 2,3,
  Finland 2,1) is far behind e.g. Canada (2.5) or
  USA (3,25). To close the gap with the USA, the
  EU would have to invest 180 billion (Mrd.) per
  year.

11
Further Negative implementation/outcomes

• for many countries funding remains a key
  challenge and an obstacle for implementing the EU
  and national policies, as they emphasise
  financial constraints.
• Insufficient priority and funding has been
  dedicated to increasing access to adult learning
  opportunities, especially for older workers.
• Many countries still do not have developed
  adequate national performance indicators to
  collect necessary data on own performance.
• Many, but not all countries have developed policy
  statements on lifelong learning, like e.g.
  strategy documents, national action plans or
  framework legislation.
• only 10 of adults aged 25-64, have participated
  in LLL. Low rates are considered to be an
  obstacle for increasing labour force
  participation, and are costly to the economy and
  the society as a whole.
• In many countries there are still high numbers of
  young people leaving school without a basic level
  of qualifications and competences.

12
More -

• Unless significantly more efforts are made in the
  areas of early school leaving, completion of
  upper-secondary education and key competences, a
  large(r) proportion of the next generation will
  face social exclusion. (at great costs to
  themselves and the society)
• Although several countries have made effort and
  progress in reforming their educational system,
  national innovation strategies too often do not
  incorporate higher education reforms. There is
  still need to strengthen the collaboration
  between higher education institutions and the
  industry.
• Most countries concentrate their efforts on
  target groups/populations, where VET (vocational
  education and training) groups have positive
  impact, e.g. the youth population early school
  leaving. On the other hand, adults and older
  workers are still given insufficient priority.
• Attention must also be paid to the efficiency,
  quality and equity objectives of the systems.

13
THE Positives 1

• All member states consider (to varying extents)
  that the Lisbon strategy is a factor in national
  education and training policy development.
• An increasing number of countries now have
  concrete arrangements for coordination btw. the
  Ministries (especially for education and
  employment) with responsibility for implementing
  the VET-programmes, and for consultation of
  social partners. Many countries have established
  their own targets that relate (again to varying
  degrees) to the reference levels of average
  European performance (benchmarks)
• Public spending on spending as a percentage of
  GDP is increasing in nearly all EU countries
  (2000 4,9 2002 5,2)
• Many (including most of the candidate countries),
  but not all countries have developed policy
  statements on lifelong learning, like e.g.
  strategy documents, national action plans or
  framework legislation.

14
The positives 2

• Scandinavian Countries make strong progress
  towards the achievement and implementation of a
  national approach which is comprehensive and
  coherent.
• Several countries have changed/reformed their
  educational system (curricula and study
  programmes) with the aim to ensure that key
  competences are acquired by all and that young
  people (especially aimed for early school leavers
  and those with disadvantaged backgrounds) do not
  slip through the net. Most countries
  concentrate their efforts on the young
  population, where VET programmes have a positive
  effect on reducing the early school leavers
  rates.
• In many countries, universities are being
  encouraged to play a greater part in the LLL
  process, by widening access for non-traditional
  learners (such as those from lower socio-economic
  background, or elderly students).
• The development of a European Qualifications
  Framework (EFQ) continues to build and strengthen
  an European dimension regarding the national
  education and training systems (will be presented
  to the EP by the EC in early 2006).