Inequalities persist in all European education and training systems - with devastating consequences for individuals, for the economy and for social cohesion. They reflect - and compound - wider socio-economic inequalities and disadvantage. They can be found at every facet and level of our education systems: in access, in treatment and in outcomes. The aim of the symposium was therefore to point out concrete measures to improve the situation and present supporting evidence that the Commission could put forward to the Member States.
Organized by the DG-EAC of the European Commission and supported by the European Expert Network on Economics of Education (EENEE) and the Network of Experts on Social aspects of Education and Training (NESET)
08-09 December 2011 Hotel Bloom 250, Rue Royale, 1210 Brussels
12:00-13:30 Registration and light lunch
13:30-13:45 Opening Mr. Jan Truszczyński , Director-General, European Commission DG EAC
Speaker: Prof. Alistair Ross , Jean Monnet ad personam Professor of Citizenship Education in Europe, Emeritus Professor of Education, Institute for Policy Studies in Education at London Metropolitan University, Visiting Professor, University of Bedfordshire
14:30-15:00 Discussion (plenary)
15:00-15:15 Coffee break
12:00-13:30 Lunch
Prof. Sally Power (Panel-Chair), scientific coordinator of the NESET network of experts
Prof. Mary Darmanin, University of Malta
Mr. Bernard Hugonnier, Deputy-Director for Education (Directorate for Education) , OECD
Prof. Ludger Woessmann, University of Munich ifo institute, scientific coordinator of the EENEE network of experts
Prof. Sheila Riddell, University of Edinburgh and NESET
Ms. Katja Urbatsch, Ashoka
Mr. Pierre Mairesse, European Commission, DG EAC
Since 2006, a series of European initiatives have stressed that education and training policy should enable all citizens, irrespective of their personal, social or economic circumstances, to benefit from quality educational provision and to develop their full potential. Although national legislation generally acknowledges the right to free education until the end of the compulsory level, in many cases implementation remains a challenge. Research shows that despite official statements the costs of "free" compulsory education are in reality substantial. In several Member States these include a high family expenditure for private supplementary tutoring on core subjects. Hidden barriers and costs need to be removed to enable all learners especially the more vulnerable to participate in and benefit from quality provision.
Despite efforts in recent years to modernise higher education in the EU, evidence suggests that both participation and success in tertiary education remain socially divided. While the number of tertiary students from disadvantaged backgrounds has increased, lower socio-economic parts of the population and disadvantaged social groups continue to be seriously under-represented in both undergraduate and post-graduate levels (particularly in the more prestigious institutions and fields of study) and many more students from these groups drop-out before finishing their studies. Significant differences can be found across Member States. This workshop will engage with questions that include:
The Commission's 2010-2011 Progress Report and other evidence suggest that participation in adult learning and in continuing VET remains very low in several EU Member States and is even lower for the disadvantaged. Currently more than 80 million adults in the EU are hampered by severe deficiencies in basic skills. Many of them do not have sufficient literacy levels to cope with the basic daily requirements of personal, social and economic life. Despite having greater learning needs, the low-skilled and disadvantaged are several times less likely to participate in continuous formal or non-formal learning than the highly-skilled. They have higher unemployment risks and tend to end up in low-skilled, low-quality or temporary jobs. They are facing a future of state-funded training programmes interspersed with insecure low-paid employment and lengthy periods of unemployment. While the social effects of the economic crisis are still unfolding, it is clear that it has increased the vulnerability of the most disadvantaged groups and worsened their job prospects. The early school leavers, the poor, the homeless, the disabled, the unemployed, older workers, people re-entering the labour market (such as mothers or ex-prisoners), migrants, refugees, young people from a public care background and people from ethnic minorities such as the Roma are among the most vulnerable and severely affected. This workshop will engage with questions that include:
A series of recent European initiatives underline that education policies alone are not sufficient to address educational disadvantage. Decades of research suggest that linking up education and training measures with action in related public policy fields (such as employment, health, housing, etc.) can be more effective in preventing or mitigating the impact of multiple and cumulative disadvantage on people's educational experiences and outcomes than purely education related policy interventions. Difficult as they may be to manage for policy makers, cross-policy synergies and coordinated, multi-strand approaches that are consistently sustained offer the best approach to tackling educational disadvantage. Some countries have moved some way towards such an approach, often as part of their lifelong learning strategies, and have established multi-agency partnerships where professionals with different areas of responsibility work together to support disadvantaged children and adults. This workshop will engage with questions that include:
Member States currently work towards national 2020 targets agreed at EU-level for education and training. At the same time, however, Eurostat's Regional Yearbook 2010 and other evidence suggest that there are great disparities in the availability and quality of educational provision and in educational outcomes both between but also within Member States. There is a concentration of educational disadvantage in particular places across Europe's regions where cycles of disadvantage become increasingly entrenched. There is a need to identify these "grey zones", to shift financial resources towards disadvantaged learners and their communities and to implement coordinated, targeted and multi-dimensional interventions to complement nation-wide policies in order to reduce gaps in education and training. More clarity on this topic can lead to more meaningful Country-Specific Recommendations for Member States in the context of the EU2020 Strategy. Also to a better design and targeting of the European Structural Funds. This workshop will engage with questions that include:
The ET2020 Strategic Framework and the 2010 Council Conclusions on the social dimension of education and training underline that education systems need to respond to diversity and provide for the successful inclusion of all learners, including those with special needs. Inclusive education is about the removal of all forms of discrimination and exclusionary assumptions and practices. It is about the well being of all learners including those with special needs. It is based on a positive view of difference in which learner diversity is viewed as a resource. Whereas segregated provision is still common practice in a number of Member States, inclusive education becomes the rule in others as there is now more evidence that quality inclusive education is good education for all learners. In this context, equity requires sustainable inclusive education policies, with a resource-based approach to satisfy individuals' needs. Successful inclusive practices can be found in all EU Member States, at national, regional or local level. This workshop will engage with questions that include:
© 2004 European Expert Network on Economics of Education This e-mail address is protected against spambots. Please activate JavaScript in order to see them. | Home | Site Map | Contacts | Impressum | Printversion
