In the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
education is at the responsibility of its Member States and their
Ministries of education that they have; in such, the European Union institutions play only a supporting and overseeing role. According to Art. 165 of the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Community
The EU also funds educational, vocational and citizenship-building programmes which encourage EU citizens to take advantage of opportunities which the EU offers its citizens to live, study and work in other countries. The best known of these is the
Erasmus programme, under which more than 3,000,000 students have taken part in inter-university exchange and mobility over the last 20 years.
Since 2000, conscious of the importance of Education and Training for their economic and social objectives, EU Member States have begun working together to achieve specific goals in the field of Education. By sharing examples of good policy practice, by taking part in Peer Learning activities, by setting benchmarks and by tracking progress against key indicators, the 27 Member States aim to respond coherently to common challenges, whilst retaining their individual sovereignty in the field of Education policy. This strategy is referred to as the Education and Training 2020 programme (ET2020), which is an update of the
Education and Training 2010 programme.
The European Union is also a partner in various inter-governmental projects, including the
Bologna Process whose purpose is to create a
European higher education area by harmonising
academic degree
An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including und ...
structures and standards as well as academic
quality assurance
Quality assurance (QA) is the term used in both manufacturing and service industries to describe the systematic efforts taken to ensure that the product(s) delivered to customer(s) meet with the contractual and other agreed upon performance, design ...
standards throughout EU Member States and in other European countries.
Building a Europe of knowledge
The European Union adopted its first education programme (the COMETT programme, designed to stimulate contacts and exchanges between universities and industry) in July 1987. This programme was rapidly followed by the
ERASMUS programme, which promoted inter-university contacts and cooperation, as well as substantial student mobility (as, in 1989, did the "Youth for Europe" programme, the EU's first youth exchange support scheme). These programmes were adopted by the
EU countries but with considerable support from the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
which made budgets available even before the legal instruments had been adopted.
The
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
has two different types of instrument to increase the quality and openness of the education and training systems of the EU's Member States: a set of policy instruments through which
EU countries are encouraged to develop their own education systems and to learn from each other's successes; and a substantial programme to support exchanges, networks and mutual learning between schools, universities or training centres as well as between the political authorities responsible for these areas in the different Member States.
Education and training policy
The
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
's interest in Education policy (as opposed to Education programmes) developed after the Lisbon summit in March 2000, at which the
EU's Heads of State and Government asked the Education Ministers of the EU to reflect on the "concrete objectives" of education systems with a view to improving them. The
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
and
the European Union's Member States worked together on a report for the Spring 2001
European Council
The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the ...
, and in 2002 the Spring Summit approved their joint work programme showing how they proposed to take the report's recommendations forward. Since then they have published a series of "Joint Reports" every other year.
The Commission seeks to encourage Member States to improve the quality of their education and training systems in two main ways: through a process of setting targets and publishing the position of Member States in achieving them and by stimulating debate on subjects of common interest. This is done using the process known as the
Open Method of Coordination.
Target setting
As regards target setting, the Member States agreed in the
Council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
on 5 May 2003 on five benchmarks on : early school leavers; number of graduates and decrease of gender imbalance in maths, science and technology; upper secondary education completion; low achievers in reading literacy; lifelong learning.
Under the current policy framework in Education and Policy (ET2020), the seven benchmarks require that by 2020:
1 - ''Early School Leavers'' : less than 10% of school pupils should leave school before the end of compulsory schooling
2 - ''Tertiary education attainment'' : at least 40% of the population aged 30–34 years should have completed tertiary education
3 - ''Early childhood education and care'' : 95% of children aged 4 to the age when primary education starts should participate in early education
4 - ''Low achievement in Reading, Maths and Science'' : no more than 15% of 15-year-olds should be low-achievers in reading, maths and science as measured at level 2 in the
OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment
5 - ''Employment rate of recent graduates'' : 82% of the population aged 20–34, who are no longer in education or training and have successfully completed upper secondary or tertiary education, should be employed
6 - ''Adult participation in life-long learning'' : participation of the 25-64 age group in lifelong learning (i.e. formal or non-formal continuing education or training including in-company skills development) should be not less than 15% per annum
7 - ''Mobility between countries'' : at least 20% of higher education graduates and 6% of 18- to 34-year-olds with an initial vocational qualification should have spent some time studying or training abroad
Since 2012,
progress against benchmarks and core indicators is yearly assessed in the ''Education and Training Monitor'', published every autumn by the
Directorate-General for Education and Culture in replacement of the ''Progress Report''.
The benchmark on ''Early school leavers'' and the benchmark on ''Tertiary education attainment'' are also
Europe 2020 targets.
Policy discussions
In addition to the measurement of progress, the commission also publishes policy papers designed to encourage the EU's Member States to look more closely at particular areas of their education and training policy. The commission has published such papers over many years, but until the
Lisbon Summit in March 2000, few were widely followed. Since then, however, Member States have become more open to mutual exchange and learning, and a number of Commission papers have had significant impact. A recent example (late 2006) may be found in the Communication on "
Efficiency
Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without ...
and
equity
Equity may refer to:
Finance, accounting and ownership
*Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them
** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business
** Home equity, the diff ...
in European education and training systems". This paper was generally welcomed by Member States but it drew criticism from some (in particular Germany and Austria) who felt that it commented negatively on their education and training systems.
Networking
Finally, the commission has supported a variety of networking systems between Ministers (and Ministries) in the EU's Member States, in addition to the thrice yearly meetings of the "Education Council" within the EU's own institutional system. These range from biennial meetings of Ministers responsible for Vocational Education and Training (the "Copenhagen Process"), through regular meetings of Director Generals for Higher Education or for Vocational Education and Training to more specialised networks or "clusters" within the "
Education and Training 2010 programme" in areas such as key competences, foreign language learning or the recognition of informal and non-formal qualifications.
Education and training programmes
Inside the EU
The first European Union exchange programmes were the COMETT Programme for Industry-University links and exchanges, launched in 1987 (and discontinued in 1995); the
Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...
university exchange programme was launched in the same year. Similar programmes have been running ever since, and as from 2007 all the education and training programmes were brought together in one single programme; the
Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013. The Lifelong Learning programme comprises separate sub-programmes for schools; universities and higher education; vocational education and training; adult education; teaching about the EU in universities; and a 'horizontal' programme for policy development.
The schools exchange programme, named after the 15th century Czech teacher, scientist and educator John Amos
Comenius, has helped over 2.5 million school students take part in joint projects across boundaries. The Erasmus programme (named after
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...
, the 16th century Dutch humanist and theologian), has been the icon of university exchange programmes since its launch in 1987. Some two million students have so far spent a fully accredited period of between 3 months and an academic year in another EU university under the programme, which has become a symbol of Europe in universities. The vocational education and training programme is named after the renaissance inventor and all-rounder
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on ...
. It currently helps around 75,000 young people each year to do an apprenticeship or internship in another
EU country. The adult education programme, named after Pastor
N. F. S. Grundtvig, the 19th century Danish theologian, poet, philosopher and thinker, helps those involved in adult education to have access to similar international experience. The sub-programme which supports teaching about Europe in higher education is named after the French politician and architect of
European Unity
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been d ...
,
Jean Monnet
Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French civil servant, entrepreneur, diplomat, financier, administrator, and political visionary. An influential supporter of European unity, he is considered one of the ...
.
The programme entered into force on 1 January 2007, and will continue until projects launched in its final year 2013 are closed - probably in 2016.
Outside the EU
The first EU programme to promote educational exchange and cooperation between educational institutions inside the EU and those outside it was the
TEMPUS programme, adopted on 7 May 1990 by the
Council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
as part of the assistance provided by the European Community of the day to the countries breaking free of Soviet rule.
The idea behind TEMPUS was that individual universities in the
European Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...
could contribute to the process of rebuilding free and effective university systems in partner countries; and that a bottom-up process through partnerships with individual universities in these countries would provide a counterweight to the influence of the much less trusted Ministries, few of which had by then undergone serious change since Soviet domination. The programme was an immediate success; and by 1993 the number of participating countries had grown from five at the start to eleven. The programme was subsequently enlarged to include the
Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union; again to include the countries of the Western Balkans; and finally to cover the Mediterranean countries.
The TEMPUS programme currently supports projects run by consortia of universities in the EU and in partner countries which aim to update curricula and teaching methods; to improve academic management (e.g., strategic development plans, systems of quality assessment and assurance); and to promote the higher education priorities of its partner countries. It also provides Individual Mobility Grants to enable individuals to travel to or from Europe in connection with these themes. The TEMPUS programme is still running, but will be renewed and revised as from 2007.
TEMPUS was followed by a series of smaller programmes built more round the mobility of academics towards the EU. These included the ALFA/ALBAN programmes with Latin American universities; the Asia-Link programme; and others, sometimes time-limited. A number of these appear to have been set up as a means of
development assistance
Development aid is a type of foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. Closely-related concepts include: developm ...
rather than with the development of universities as such, an impression strengthened by the fact that they were managed by the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
's development assistance service
EuropeAid rather than (like
TEMPUS or
Erasmus Mundus programme) by its
Education and Culture department.
Finally, in 2003 the European Union launched the Erasmus Mundus programme, a project to ensure the place of European Universities as centres of excellence across the world; to attract the best students from around the world to Europe; and to enable partnerships between European universities and those in other countries. The programme had strong support both from the
Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or ...
and from the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
.
[see the enthusiastic report on the draft Erasmus Mundus programme by Mme ]Marielle de Sarnez
Marielle de Sarnez (; 27 March 195113 January 2021) was a French politician who served as Secretary of State for European Affairs under Prime Minister Édouard Philippe.
A member of the Union for French Democracy (UDF) until 2008 when she join ...
MEP for the European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
/ref> The first phase of Erasmus Mundus will finish in 2008. The commission has announced its intention to propose a further period. Europe Study Centre (ESC) has lately come up as a reputed and dependable company in Indian providing end to end services in the European overseas education field helping Indian students to avail the Erasmus Mundus benefits.
See also
* Directorate-General for Education and Culture
* Bologna process
* Education and Training 2010
* Lisbon Strategy
* European credit transfer system
*European Day of Languages
The European Day of Languages is observed 26 September, as proclaimed by the Council of Europe on 6 December 2001, at the end of the European Year of Languages (2001), which had been jointly organised by the Council of Europe and the European Uni ...
* European Studies
*European School
A European School ( la, Schola Europaea) is a type of international school emphasising a multilingual and multicultural pedagogical approach to the teaching of nursery, primary and secondary students, leading to the European Baccalaureate as th ...
* European higher education area
*The Eurydice Network
* Global Education Network Europe
* Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013
* The Comenius programme
The Comenius programme is a European Union educational project. It concerns school-level education, and is part of the EU's Erasmus + 2014-2020 Programme. It aims "to help young people and educational staff better understand the range of European ...
- relating to primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
...
and secondary education
Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...
.
* The Erasmus programme - relating to higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...
.
* The Leonardo da Vinci programme
The Leonardo da Vinci programme is a European Commission funding programme focused on the teaching and training needs of those involved in vocational education and training (VET). The programme is part of the European Commission's Lifelong Lear ...
- relating to vocational education and training
Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an i ...
.
* The Grundtvig programme The Grundtvig programme is a European funding programme that is part of the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 and aims to strengthen the European dimension in adult education and lifelong learning across Europe.
The p ...
- relating to adult education
Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ral ...
.
* Ploteus
PLOTEUS is an acronym of Portal on Learning Opportunities Throughout European Space, meant to connote ''πλωτηρ'' (ploter) which means "navigator" in ancient Greek. It is a European Union web portal, coordinated by the European's Commissio ...
* The TEMPUS programme
* Cultural policies of the European Union
European Union culture policies aim to address and promote the cultural dimension of European integration through relevant legislation and government funding. These policies support the development of cultural activity, education or research condu ...
* European Cross Media Academy
* Delors Report
* Franco-German University
References
Further reading
*
External links
European Schoolnet
network of 28 Ministries of Education in Europe
The Official European Higher Education Area website 2010-2020
Eurydice
information on the European school system
eTwinning
partnerships for schools in Europe
EU education News and Policy
EurActiv.com
eLearning Europa
- EU eLearning news
{{DEFAULTSORT:Educational Policies And Initiatives of the European Union
European Union youth policy
Language policy of the European Union