Sunday 3 May 2020

Equity and social exclusion measures in EU lifelong learning policies

an article by Elena Tuparevska, Rosa Santibáñez and Josu Solabarrieta (University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain) published in International Journal of Lifelong Education Volume 39 Issue 1 (January/Februart 2020)

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

Full text (PDF 14pp)

Labels:
equity, social_exclusion_measures, lifelong_learning, vulnerable_groups, EU,


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