Evaluation of Latvian Students’ Learning Experience in the European Education Area

Abstract

<jats:p>The objective of contemporary education is to enhance the competiveness of graduates not only in the local market but also at the European Union scale; therefore, stronger co-operation with foreign education and research institutions can significantly improve the knowledge and skills of Latvian students, which can gradually contribute to Latvia’s competitiveness in high value added activities within global value chains. This, of course, underlines the increasing importance of foreign language skills. In fact, knowledge of the English language in today’s labour market is taken for granted, and the competiveness of those employees, who can speak at least three foreign languages, including one of the Scandinavian languages, is increasing. The aim of the research was to identify Latvian students’ learning experience in European countries in scope of short study mobility programmes. Based on the secondary information sources such as statistical data aggregated by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia and Flash Eurobarometer Report No466, the authors have analysed Latvian students’ mobility destinations and intentions of studies abroad. The research findings suggest that currently there is a contradiction between students’ personal intentions and their real behaviour. The countries that are currently most often chosen as study mobility destinations rather offer valuable cultural experience than practical skills that could be useful in academic and professional work. </jats:p>

Referentiality mechanisms in EU education policymaking: The case of the European Education Area

“…Further, a limited pursuit of inter‐disciplinary studies and participation of adults in lifelong learning (EC, 2017); a shortage of digital equipment in schools and teacher training programmes in IT (EC, 2017, 2019b); and the existence of a big share of low achievers in education most of whom come from poor households (EC, 2017, 2018b). Some of these challenges resonate with what is also discussed in other studies about the EEA, such as academic mobility issues (Grinberga‐Zalite et al., 2018) and digitalisation problems (Salajan, 2019).…”

“…The literature specifically on the EEA is limited. The EEA has been explored from the following angles in the scholarship: digitalisation of education in the EU (Decuypere & Simons, 2020; Salajan, 2019) and student mobility within the EEA (Grinberga‐Zalite et al., 2018), national responses to the initiative illustrated by the case of Croatia (Kasap et al., 2018), the governance of the EEA which resembles the governance of the EU through the creation and expansion of interest groups that coordinate stocktaking and benchmarking (Cone & Brogger, 2020). The first two topics are similar in the sense that they focus on two policy initiatives within the EEA, linked to its action lines.…”

The Role of the European Education Area in European Union Integration in Times of Crises

“…The EEA materials highlight the following crises in the area of education: obstacles to student mobility within the EU because of legal obstacles imposed by borders and financial constraints (Bertaud et al 2017; EC 2017; DG for Communication 2018; EC 2018b), a number of gaps in student participation in education on different levels, particularly gender disparity in choosing to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the lack of pursuing inter-disciplinary studies and the lack of the participation of adults in lifelong learning (EC 2017), the shortage of digital equipment in schools and IT professional development programmes for teachers (EC 2017; EC 2019b), the existence of a large share of low achievers in education, most of whom come from households with low levels of income or education and do not progress upwards on the social ladder (EC 2017; EC 2018b). Some of these challenges resonate with what is also discussed in other studies about the EEA, such as the issues with mobility (Grinberga-Zalite et al 2018) and digitalization (Salajan 2019).…”

“…The literature on the EEA, which is of interest in this article, is limited. The EEA is explored from the following angles in the scholarship: the digitalization of education in the EU (Salajan 2019; Decuypere and Simons 2020), student mobility within the EEA (Grinberga-Zalite et al 2018), a national response to the initiative illustrated by the case of Croatia (Kasap et al 2018), and the governance of the EEA which resembles the governance of the EU through the creation and expansion of the interest groups that coordinate stocktaking and benchmarking (Cone and Brøgger 2020). These standardization tendencies are often presented as examples of the integration of the EU policy field in the area of education, although they are not placed within a wider EU integration process and not discussed in relation to EU integration aspects, such as strengthening the relationships among its MSs, candidate countries and exiting countries.…”

“…The studies about the EEA imply deepening, but never discuss it explicitly. For instance, Salajan (2019) and Decuypere and Simons (2020) discuss the growing digitalization of education in the EEA and relevant standardization trends in education in the EU countries; Grinberga-Zalite et al (2018) analyse the convergence of student mobility opportunities around the EU in the EEA. Additionally, Cone and Brøgger (2020) analyse the international mechanisms in the EU and Kasap et al (2018) look at the national mechanisms that are used to promote the cooperation among the MSs in their development of the EEA.…”