This volume is an important output of the ASSESSnet, an EU-funded project that aimed at investigating assessment practices in Virtual Exchange (VE) projects in Foreign Language (FL) courses at tertiary level. It starts with the discussion of selected aspects of VE and assessment design, and a summary of ASSESSnet project results. The following…

The report, overseen by the Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI) on behalf of the European Commission and of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency is the second report in the series dedicated to promoting inspiring practices in digital education from the 27 European Union…

The Education and Training (ET) 2020 Working Groups (WGs), involving over 400 experts from Member States' administrations and other stakeholders, are one of the main instruments in the toolbox of the Strategic Framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020). Through mutual learning and the identification of good practices,…

Work-based learning (WBL) and in particular apprenticeship have been high on the policy agendas of many countries and international organisations for several years. The five EU candidate countries--Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey--are no exception. Together with the EU Member States, they have…

As national qualifications frameworks in Europe move closer to operation, policy integration becomes a key challenge. Introducing qualifications frameworks based on learning outcomes is now a global phenomenon. According to the recent joint publication by Cedefop, ETF and Unesco, frameworks are either established or being developed in 142…

Enhanced cooperation in vocational education and training (VET) will be an important contribution toward ensuring a successful enlargement of the European Union. The social partners play an indispensable role in development, validation, and recognition of vocational competencies and qualifications at all levels and are partners in promotion of…

This review develops a more systematic understanding of the contemporary significance of learning in Europe by considering the complex connections between the processes of economic restructuring, lifelong learning and partnerships. A brief introduction describes the contested terrain surrounding concepts such as lifelong learning, human capital,…

Benefits and risks of expanding international student exchange in the European Union are weighed, at the levels of both the individual and the host and home nations. A variety of possible approaches to expansion are considered: regulatory; noncooperative; and cooperative (discipline-specific, bilateral, multilateral on norms, and multilateral on…

This document examines employment and social policy in the European Union in 1999-2001. The document begins with an interview with Anna Diamantopoulou, the European Union's commissioner for employment and social affairs and the paper "Balancing Jobs, Cohesion, and Productivity" by Odile Quintin, the European Union's director-general for…

This document summarizes a comparative analysis of the interconnections between technological and socioeconomic developments in agriculture and rural development, human capital formation, and social systems in the 13 candidate countries (CCs) for admission into the European Union (EU) and in the 15 countries of the EU. Specific topics considered…

This report describes policy cooperation in the Education and Training Area in the European Union (EU) in response to the Lisbon strategy and provides a comprehensive plan to respond to the challenges of the knowledge society, globalization, and the enlargement of the EU. It focuses on these three objectives: (1) improving the quality and…

Despite their highly divergent situations, young people largely share the same values, ambitions, and difficulties. Despite the more complex social and economic context in which young Europeans are currently living, they are well equipped to adapt. National and European policymakers must facilitate this process of change by making young people…