Several concurrent trends are increasing the likelihood that short courses, microcredentials, and flexible learning pathways will become a regular and even dominant feature of education and training globally. This policy paper reflects on these trends with special reference to the post-secondary education sector, and explores ways to organize…

This article focuses on neoliberal governing by the European Union of cross-sectoral youth policies directed at young people 'at risk'. The aim is to show how the alliance of discourses of employability and precariousness in these policies has emerged and how these discourses operate in policy. In the article, we analyse European Council and…

The role of expertise has been considered as an important feature in EU governance processes, not least in the context of soft governance and policy coordination. This article focuses on how an advisory group can, over a short period of time, acquire a high degree of stability and legitimacy in a sector where joint action falls under the…

This article investigates what is claimed to be a shift towards national and European education systems based on Learning Outcomes (LO). We propose to delineate LO into three instruments (pedagogical, policy and organisational). When LO are related to a pedagogical debate, they can easily be positioned to constructivist learning theories in which…

The construction of European education policy builds on a widely shared goal of transparency in qualifications, upheld by the popular narrative of mobile students endowed with scholarships from the EU Erasmus programme, which allow them to transfer credit points between universities and across national borders. EU education policy is increasingly…

This European Training Foundation (ETF) assessment provides an external, forward-looking analysis of Azerbaijan's human capital development issues and Vocational Education and Training (VET) policy responses in a lifelong learning perspective. It identifies challenges related to education and training policy and practice that hinder the…

Building on the findings of Cedefop/ReferNet thematic perspectives for EU Member States, Norway and Iceland, this synthesis report identifies recent trends and policy developments in Europe on the initial and continuous professional development of VET teachers and trainers. The report points to the different types of VET teachers and trainers in…

The European Students' Union (ESU) has been writing about the student perspective on the Bologna Process since it get formally involved in it. Four editions of the students' independent stocktaking report "Bologna With Student Eyes" between 2003 and 2009 shed light on the perception of those stakeholders, which are probably mostly…

This article seeks to describe briefly various initiatives taken to ease recognition and comparison of formal qualifications across borders in the EU. It takes a political angle, from binding legal instruments such as directives and decisions to policy instruments such as recommendations and voluntary action and covers 27 Member States with very…

Research was conducted in Europe to determine the following: (1) the current situation in the chemicals industry in regard to transparency, recognition, and transfer of qualifications; (2) the obstacles to transparency and recognition of qualifications in the industry; and (3) the key areas for future action and possible measures to promote…

Research was conducted in Europe to determine the current situation in the health industry with regard to transparency, recognition, and transfer of qualifications. The study identified current and needed patterns of mobility, European policy assisting mobility, and attitudes and practices of institutions and businesses. Data were gathered through…

The possible impact of technological and structural change on employment in the European Union (EU) over the next 20 years was examined through an exploration of the following alternative policy-driven scenarios: (1) business as usual; (2) concentrated technology policy (increases in innovation and research and development [R&D] efforts are…

This brochure, part of a series about good practices in vocational training in the European Union, describes 12 projects that use distance learning to promote lifelong learning in adults. The projects and their countries of origin are as follows: (1) 3D Project, training in the use of IT tools for 3D simulation and animation and practical…

Five areas essential to developing partnerships between the education systems and economies of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe were analyzed: (1) state and social partner roles in supporting links between education/training and the economy; (2) contribution of the world of work to education and training; (3) education/training to…

This book examines existing European environmental education and agricultural practices friendly to the environment. Focus is on studies conducted in five countries Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain--that aimed to define new knowledge qualifications related to environmental issues in producing alternative agricultural products…