Equity and social exclusion measures in EU lifelong learning policies

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine how EU lifelong learning policies are trying to reach the vulnerable by looking at what measures against social exclusion they offer and how equitable these measures are. It is a qualitative study that focuses on policy documents that form the European Union's legal and political frameworks of reference in the lifelong learning area since 1992. The document analysis has been complemented by semi-structured interviews with EU lifelong learning experts. The findings show that early school leavers and migrants are the main target groups in the policies, leaving many other groups at risk of being excluded from learning opportunities. There is not enough attention to measures addressing wider social phenomena. There is also an overemphasis on basic skills which are understood in a very narrow way as literacy and numeracy when referring to the vulnerable. We argue that a greater variety of measures as well as better targeted measures are needed to address the multiple and complex needs of the vulnerable. Such measures would allow a broader understanding of lifelong learning where those that are hardest to reach are offered learning opportunities independent of their personal and social circumstances

Multi-layered perspective on the barriers to learning participation of disadvantaged adults

“…Fourth, we consider participants in AL which belong to various disadvantaged groups, and which to this moment are in the focus of public policies (Tuparevska et al 2019). It gives us a broader perspective on how barriers potentially differ across different disadvantaged groups of the population.…”

Adult education: Reaching the unreached

“…Unfortunately, high aspirations have not been met by substantially encouraging results (European Commission, 2019). AE is identified in relevant studies (Bağcı, 2019;Boeren, 2009;Kosyakova & Bills, 2021;Tuparevska, Santibáñez, & Solabarrieta, 2020) as the mechanism that has reproduced a Matthew effect 1 , privileging those with an already sound educational background. UNESCO (2019) and OECD (2021) reiterate the lack of equality in education and training opportunities, failing to reach the most vulnerable.…”

Lifelong Learning as a Priority of Development of European Educational Partnership

“…As a result, there was a gradual transition to a supranational educational policy, which was legitimized under the threat of socio-economic losses in the event of non-implementation of the Lisbon Strategy. Similar «evolutionary» processes do notplay any significant role in the European Higher Education Area and, in a specific way, in Ukraine, in the process of developing academic mobility practices (Commission of the European Communities, 2006a;Tuparevska, 2019).…”