Practice Doesn’t Have to Make Perfect: Emotional Regulation Is a Lifelong Journey

a post by Weina White for the World of Psychology blog



“Don’t worry, he’ll grow out of it,” says the stranger at the supermarket as your 3-year-old writhes on the floor screaming.

Even if these words are less-than-reassuring in the moment, trust that the stranger is right. Your kid will eventually move on from those eardrum-rattling tantrums that seem like they’ll never end. What they won’t completely grow out of, though, is experiencing BIG emotions and not always knowing how to control them. And that’s okay.

Too often, we treat our children—and ourselves—like robots that will be able to solve all of life’s problems as soon as they download the right software. This chase for perfection is futile and counterproductive. When it comes to emotional regulation, the most we can ask for from our children is that they take each challenging experience as an opportunity to practice. While they will “fail” a good amount of the time, adopting this growth mindset creates room for lifelong learning and improvement.

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The need for lifelong learning

an article by Luke Gerard Christie and Gajendra Kumar (Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, India) published in International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital Volume 15 Number 2 (2018)

Abstract

The more we learn and acquire knowledge, the more empowered and better would our life become. In more than one scenario, people who upgraded themselves or were more knowledgeable came off as being resilient, innovative with the attitude of being socially and emotionally resilient.

The more learning becomes part of our daily life and curious we are, life becomes more gratifying and energetic for achieving one's dreams and goals. Acquisition of more knowledge helps in solving problems effectively with an efficient and innovative bent of mind.

The desire to make learning a life-long activity and a continuous process helps create value and add value to what we do or in living life to the fullest and in reaching out to others with integrity and in principle. Life has to be lived not as a monotonous activity but has to be experienced from within and learning creates that path.

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The potential for lifelong learning in dementia: a post-humanist exploration

an article by Jocey Quinn and Claudia Blandon (Plymouth University, UK) published in International Journal of Lifelong Education Volume 36 Issue 5 (2017)

Abstract

Numbers of people with dementia are projected to grow to 682 million globally by 2050. However, despite this escalation, the widely-promoted positive vision of lifelong learning throughout all ages does not extend to people with dementia. Constructions of learning for those with dementia are predominantly limited to the management of symptoms.

The focus on retrieval of memory does not seem to allow for the emergence of the learner as a ‘new beginner’ or as a teacher. This paper focuses on a recent study, Beyond Words, to challenge dominant assumptions about dementia and learning.

Using a post-humanist theoretical framework, this longitudinal qualitative study explores the benefits of community music for those who face problems communicating with words: such as those with dementias, autism, learning difficulties and brain damage.

Rather than characterising them as ‘non-verbal’ it positions them as ‘post-verbal’ and able to communicate in different ways. Moving away from discussions of ‘selfhood’, the paper uses a post-humanist approach to explore an agentic assemblage including one person with dementia from the study and also explores how another participant teaches important lessons about materiality and time.

It demonstrates that learning and ‘new beginnings’ and ‘becomings’ can and do take place at advanced stages of dementia, challenging the assumption that dementia is a wasteland for learning. It also shows how people with dementia have much to teach researchers about living and learning.

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Cumulative Inequalities over the Life-Course: Life-long Learning and Social Mobility in Britain

an article by Erzsébet Bukodi (University of Oxford, UK) published in Journal of Social Policy Volume 46 Issue 2 (April 2017)

Abstract

This paper examines the possibility that life-long learning promotes intergenerational class mobility. The following two research questions are asked.

• Is it the case that further education provides individuals coming from less advantaged origins with a second chance to improve on their educational attainment?
• Is it the case that the returns to further qualifications, in terms of chances of upward class career mobility, are greater for children from less advantaged backgrounds than for children from more advantaged backgrounds?

The analyses – that are based on the complete educational and class histories of men and women in a British birth cohort – mainly produce negative findings. Children coming from managerial and professional backgrounds seem to benefit most from further education.

More specifically, further education appears to be an effective means of career advancement for individuals of managerial and professional origins who start out in their working lives in relatively low-level class positions. Via further education they can increase or update their qualifications, and in turn enhance their chances of being counter-mobile back to their class of origin.

Overall, based on the findings of this paper, we can conclude that qualifications attained through life-long learning primarily serve to maintain, rather than to narrow, inequalities attached to social origins in Britain.

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The promise of lifelong learning

an article by Patricia A. Gouthro (Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) published in International Journal of Lifelong Education Volume 36 Issue 1-2 (2017)

Abstract

This paper explores how Peter Jarvis’s work offers a comprehensive grounding in many of the key principles and insights offered through the field of adult education. His work directs us to the different factors – psychological, social, economic and political required for understanding lifelong learning contexts.

As scholars and educators, he argues, we can acknowledge the difficulty and reaffirm the promise of lifelong learning to create a better world through our struggles to understand the complexity of human learning processes.

The article begins by examining how Jarvis’s research on topics such as wisdom and the meaning and purpose of lifelong learning. His analysis of how people learn provides a helpful theoretical and philosophical backdrop for researchers interested in biographical and life history approaches to understanding lifelong learning processes.

Using examples from research on fiction writing, the importance of reflective, individual learning and meaning-making is discussed.

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On the way to 2020: data for vocational education and training policies

Country statistical overviews – 2016 update

European policy-making in vocational education and training (VET) needs to be supported by sound evidence. In this report, Cedefop has selected 36 indicators to quantify key aspects of VET and lifelong learning. The selection is based on their policy relevance and their importance in achieving the Europe 2020 objectives.

The report accounts for challenges and opportunities arising from recent developments in the international statistical infrastructure and includes updated comparable data from the European statistical system.

This publication should be regarded as a tool to help policy-makers better understand and assess VET developments in each country. While these indicators do not claim to assess national systems or policies, they could be used to reflect on countries’ situations and progress towards the strategic objectives set for Europe.

The indicators present statistical overviews from all European Union Member States, along with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.

Downloads

PDF On the way to 2020: data for vocational education and training policies
DOI: 10.2801/414017 TI-BC-17-001-EN-N ISBN: 978-92-896-2411-4 15/02/2017 16.12 MB
Epub On the way to 2020: data for vocational education and training policies
DOI: 10.2801/959840 TI-BC-17-001-EN-E ISBN: 978-92-896-2410-7 15/02/2017 10.67 MB
Annex Masterfile indicators EN 15/02/2017 515.53 KB

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Traditional and digital personal learning environment in experiences of university students

an article by Irena Pulak (Jesuit University of Philosophy and Education 'Ignatianum', Cracow, Poland) published in International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning Volume 26 Number 4 (2016)

Abstract

The article showcases results of the research of university students’ experiences in the field of creating the individual learning environment.

Contemporary learning environments can be built both in the traditional and virtual spaces. They consist of information resources, means of transportation and tools for collecting, processing and cleaning up data, administering and presenting in various, often multimedia forms.

Educational institutions in the formal education framework as well as during informal education where the student individually designs and organises their learning environment can create individual experiences of the personal learning environment.

The ability of creating the individual learning environment, tailored to specific needs, is a significant factor contributing to starting lifelong learning.

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A Global Examination of Policies and Practices for Lifelong Learning

an article by Phyllis Cummins and Suzanne Kunkel (Miami University, USA) published in New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development Volume 27 Issue 3 (Summer 2015)

Abstract

Continuous learning over the life course is necessary to successfully compete in a knowledge-based global economy. Workers are increasingly encouraged to remain in the labour force at older ages, which for many will require skills upgrading.

While a wide range of individual and community factors play a role in whether older workers receive skills training and remain in the labour force, national policies and practices are also likely to have an influence. This nation-level study used OECD data to identify associations between participation in lifelong learning activities and outcomes such as labor force participation at older ages and income inequality.

Countries with more hours spent in lifelong learning activities over the life course have higher labour force participation rates between the ages of 55 and 64 and have lower rates of income inequality.

Recognising lifelong learning as a shared responsibility among stakeholders is crucial to successful programme implementation.

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Increasing the value of age: Guidance in employers’ age management strategies

A new Cedefop report draws attention to the mutual benefits to workers and organisations that arise when guidance is integrated in age management strategies. The report offers insights on how to develop guidance activities at the workplace.

As Europe’s population is ageing, many European States have raised pension age and designed incentives for people to stay longer in employment. This results in a steady increase of participation among older workers and a change in attitude towards retirement.

Older individuals face career development challenges such as growing health limitations, skills obsolescence, and changing personal priorities. At the same time, they have enormous value for organisations and the economy, due to their accumulated experience, skills and knowledge.

While age management strategies are increasing in organisations and firms across Europe, they are not necessarily supported by consistent policies and systems; and most still fail to exploit fully the potential of guidance.

Guidance activities help older workers to reflect about their professional experiences and assess their skills, needs and expectations. They support informed decisions on further training, retraining and development of key skills.

Guidance can also help reflect about part-time work, redeployment in new functions or development of entirely new activities. It can assist older workers in planning their mature career stages and exit strategies in a structured, informed way, increasing their motivation and productive contribution.

Firms can use guidance to harness the potential of their human resources, not only via the assessment of skills and knowledge, but also by enabling better allocation of resources and transmission of knowledge between generations of workers. It is a useful complement to validation procedures and the planning of training.

When implemented in a lifelong perspective, guidance allows for even more effective age management strategies, with smooth integration in internal processes and covering all of an enterprise’s staff.

Cedefop’s report aims to inspire actions and help Member States develop institutional frameworks and incentives to help enterprises devise age management and guidance strategies.

NOTE: both links are automatic downloads

Full report (PDF 132pp)

Background material: case studies (PDF 175pp)

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Narrating unfinished business: adult learners using credit transfer to re-engage with higher education

an article by Ann Pegg and Terry Di Paolo (The Centre for Inclusion and Curriculum, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK) published in Studies in Continuing Education Volume 35 Issue 2 (July 2013)

Abstract

This paper seeks to advance our understanding of the credit transfer phenomenon in the UK, specifically how students draw on a credit as a form of institutional cultural capital.

Drawing on interviews with 26 part-time mature learners, this paper examines the progressive and retrospective orientations to study that surfaced in students’ accounts of credit transfer and their lifelong learning journeys. A common theme of ‘unfinished business’ appeared to dominate these accounts and a narrative-oriented analysis of the findings revealed the role of credit transfer in enabling students to complete varied personal projects or forms of ‘unfinished business’.

The findings of this work suggest that in an increasingly complex higher education market, there is a need to understand students’ strategic use of the credit they accumulate. In particular, this paper explores how credit transfer features in the narratives of students’ successful learning journeys.

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Who attends work-related training five years after graduation? A comparison across European countries

an article by Liv Anne Støren (NIFU, Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education, Norway) published in International Journal of Lifelong Education Volume 32 Issue 2 (March-April 2013)

Abstract

What are the driving forces behind the unequal distribution of training after graduation among higher education graduates? Participation in lifelong learning is restricted here to work-related training.

The paper aims at examining the mechanisms that cause variation in training rates, by taking into account fields of study, personal competency profiles, preferences, motivation and effort, as well as job and workplace-related characteristics and social- and human-capital related variables.

International survey data (the Reflex study) five years after graduation are employed.

The results indicate that participation in work-related training is mainly triggered by push-factors at the workplace, as well as by motivational factors.

The training rates vary across countries, with an especially low participation rate in Norway, and a high participation rate in Finland.

The paper discusses the possible reasons for this variation.

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Can Lifelong Learning Reshape Life Chances?

an article by Karen Evans and Ingrid Schoon (Institute of Education, University of London) and Martin Weale (National Institute of Economic and Social Research) published in British Journal of Educational Studies Volume 61 Issue 1 (2013)

Abstract

Despite the expansion of post-school education and incentives to participate in lifelong learning, institutions and labour markets continue to interlock in shaping life chances according to starting social position, family and private resources.

The dominant view that the economic and social returns to public investment in adult learning are too low to warrant large-scale public funding has been challenged by recent LLAKES research that shows significant returns to participants in lifelong learning with improvements in both their employability and employment prospects.

It is argued that, under conditions of growing social polarisation and economic uncertainty, lifelong learning can have a significant protective effect by keeping adults close to a changing labour market. In this paper we review research from different disciplinary and epistemological traditions, providing evidence of the beneficial effects of lifelong learning, especially when taking into account the dynamics of the life course.

Transitions and turning-points in youth and in adult life are markers of diversification of the life course; how far these diversifications amount to ‘de-standardisation’ of the life course is debated. They involve biographical negotiation, in which any decision is consequential upon previous decisions and involves the exercise of contextualised preferences as well as the calculations of ‘rational choice’.

Gaining a better understanding of how changing demands are negotiated at different life stages offers a new perspective, moving from narrow versions of rational choice theory towards models of biographical negotiation as promising avenues for effective policy-making.

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Older people’s learning in 2012: A survey

by Stephen McNair (NIACE)

Summary

This is the report of a survey of older people in Great Britain, carried out in spring 2012.¹ It examined their learning: what they learned, where, when and why, and with what benefits. It also examined whether, and how far, current patterns might be changed.

This follows a similar survey in 2005, and reveals some significant changes since then,especially in the role of employment, in the location of learning, and the role of computing and online learning

The following key points emerge.

Who is learning?

• Around one older person in five reports some form of learning in the last three years. This is unchanged since the 2005 survey, but what they are learning, where and why has changed markedly.
• It is possible that the rise of independent online learning is adding an entirely new form of learning, and cohort of ‘learners’, which is masking an overall fall in traditional forms of learning.
• Employment status is more influential than age itself in determining how likely people are to be ‘learners’, the subjects chosen, the reasons for learning, and the benefits achieved. As retirement patterns become more complex, age may become less relevant.
• Social class, and the age at which an individual left initial education continue to have a major bearing on the likelihood of learning, and on what is learned, whereas the influence of gender is much less.

What are they learning?

• Those learning for work-related reasons are younger, and come from a broader social range. The main subjects they study are health, social work, and occupational health and safety, and they are likely to report studying ‘to help in my current job’ or ‘to get a recognised qualification’.
• Those learning for non-work-related reasons are most likely to be studying languages, arts, history and literature. They are most likely to report studying because of  ‘interest in the subject’, because ‘I enjoy learning’, or ‘to develop myself as a person’.

How do they benefit?

• The benefits of learning are complex. Most older people report more than one kind of benefit.
• Motivations to learn are not the same as benefits from learning. Many of the benefits reported do not match the motives which led older people to embark on learning.
• The benefits of learning which older learners report most often are ‘passing on knowledge and skills to others’ (the most widely cited benefit), ‘to improve my chances of getting or retaining paid work’, ‘to help me get involved in society’, and ‘to help improve my health’. Significant minorities, especially among the older, also report ‘get involved in the digital world’, ‘manage my caring responsibilities’, and ‘coping with life crises’.
• For the oldest groups, learning is important to enable them to remain socially engaged, and to maintain their health.
• Almost two in five learners, particularly women, were aiming ‘to improve my self-confidence’, or ‘to develop myself as a person’. Unlike other motivations, this does not change with age.

Where do they learn?

• The location of learning has changed significantly since 2005. The numbers of older people learning with the major public providers (further education [FE] colleges and universities) has fallen, and they are more likely to be learning in work-related settings, while the proportions learning in adult education centres has risen.
• There has been a large growth in independent learning, both individually and in groups, and a marked growth in the numbers reporting learning online, even among the 75+ age group. Independent learners are older, more likely to be male, and better educated.
• Employers pay for learning for about half of all older employees, and there is little sign that this is affected by the employee’s age, though full-time employees are more likely to benefit than part-timers.

How many ‘non-learners’ are there?

• More than half of all older people say that nothing would make learning more attractive to them, and this rises to three quarters of those aged 75+. For those who might be persuaded, the relevance of the subject is more important than the traditional barriers of location, timing and cost.
• The ‘non-learners’ most likely to be attracted into learning are more likely to be younger, female, and to have done some learning since school (but not in the last three years). They are most likely to be in social classes D and E.

Where would they find out about learning?

• Most non-learners do not know where to go for advice about learning. For those who do, the internet is now the dominant source, followed by public libraries, attracting contrasting clienteles.

What are the policy implications?

The study suggests that the benefits to both individuals and society from older people’s learning are substantial. This suggests some priorities for public policy:

• Strengthen the bridges between employment and retirement, to encourage the wide range of people who learn for work-related reasons to continue with learning in retirement.
• Encourage people to recognise the learning which they do, and to see the potential benefits of extending this.
• Support a wide range of learning opportunities, recognising that the social and personal benefits of learning are only loosely related to course titles and ostensible motivations.
• Review the implications for social inclusion of the shift from public to private services.
• Review the implications for social cohesion of the growth of individualised learning models.

What are the implications for future research?

The study also highlights some critical questions for future research:

• The notion of ‘learning’ is problematic. Despite the clarification at the beginning of the survey, it is clear that many people interpret the term more narrowly than intended, and probably differently by social class. The arrival of online learning as a major new feature of the landscape appears to be changing how people think about learning, as well as how they do it.
• The notion of social class is also problematic as society ages. The traditional model of social class, based on paid employment, can be misleading about the attitudes and expectations of people a decade after retirement, and about people who are phasing into retirement through transitional jobs.
• The nature of independent, self-organised, and online learning is not well understood. Its growth might indicate a decline in the social benefits of learning, which are reported by significant numbers of older people, and especially the oldest. Its relationship to the growth of the University of the Third Age (U3A) also requires further study.

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¹ A representative sample of 4,601 people over 50.

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Fiction, empathy and lifelong learning

an article by Christine Jarvis (University of Huddersfield, UK) published in International Journal of Lifelong Education Volume 31 Issue 6 (November-December 2012)

Abstract

The article aims to demonstrate that the impact of fiction on adult learning could be illuminated by a deeper engagement with research into empathy. It recognises that the lifelong learning literature acknowledges the importance of empathy in adult learning and that discussions of the role of fiction in adult learning often refer to fiction’s capacity to promote empathy.

There is limited adult education literature exploring how fiction generates empathic feelings or how such feelings might lead to sustained changes in perceptions or actions.

This article analyses an example of Hoffman’s work on empathy to illustrate the benefits of engagement with empathy research. This analysis leads to a consideration of fiction’s capacity to promote an involuntary empathy that can help adult learners develop deeper understandings of difference and of excluded groups.

It also shows that an understanding of the factors that inhibit the development of empathy and enable individuals to justify the sufferings of others could be of value to educators.

Finally it suggests that Hoffman’s examination of conditions that lead to empathic anger is helpful for educators wanting to use the potential of fiction to encourage and promote action in the cause of social justice.

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European Union Policy on Older Adult Learning: A Critical Commentary

an article by Marvin Formosa (European Centre for Gerontology, University of Malta) published in Journal of Aging & Social Policy Volume 24 Issue 4 (October-December 2012)

Abstract

This critical commentary discusses the strengths and lacunae in the European Union’s policy on older adult learning. Late-life learning is deemed as a productive investment on the basis that it not only engenders positive returns of economic growth but also improves the quality of life and social development of older persons.

This article argues that although European Union policy on lifelong learning does hold some promise toward more optimum levels of physical, psychological, and social well-being in later life, it remains characterised by a range of limitations ranging from mindless activism, to economic bias, to ageism.

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Motivation for lifelong learning: a biographical account of efficacy and control

an article by Graeme Martin (University of Birmingham, UK) published in International Journal of Lifelong Education Volume 31 Issue 6 (November-December 2012)

Abstract

Research on motivation for learning (or achievement motivation) has flourished in the past 30 years.

Social-cognitive theories dominate the field and have provided many insights, but have been criticised for relying on a traditional methodological base and lacking contextualisation and embeddedness in individual experience. In the current ‘learning age’, sustaining motivation for (often formal/academic) learning across the life span is increasingly expected, but understanding the persistence of such learning across life is not well understood.

Much of the work on motivation for learning is quantitative, employing questionnaires, brief interviews or experimental manipulations. Longitudinal, qualitative research is sparse, though a necessary counterpoint that can provide contextualised and alternative accounts of motivation through time and across culture.

This paper presents a case study applying self-efficacy research, the lifespan theory of control and transitions theory to an individual’s learning trajectory.

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Learning online? Educational Internet use and participation in adult learning, 2002 to 2010

Patrick White (Department of Sociology, University of Leicester, UK) and Neil Selwyn (London Knowledge Lab, Institute of Education, London, UK) published in Educational Review Volume 64 Issue 4 (November 2012)

Abstract

Covering a decade during which the “digital divide” came to popular and political attention, and written at a time when the Internet continues to be championed as a means of widening access to educational opportunities, this paper presents an analysis of the social, economic and educational characteristics associated with using the Internet for educational purposes.

The research was conducted using nationally-representative, individual-level, repeated cross-sectional data (n = 47,001) collected in annual surveys of adults in the UK between 2002 and 2010.

The results of multivariate analyses show that although there was a substantial increase in both Internet access and non-educational use of the Internet during this period, there was comparatively little growth in “educational” Internet use.

As with participation in adult learning more generally, educational Internet use was structured by age, occupational class and educational engagement.

The growth in the availability of Internet access and the development of new technologies appears to have neither increased nor widened participation in adult learning. This growth does not appear to have impacted on the social characteristics of those who use the Internet for educational purposes, nor led to any substantial uptake in Internet-based learning among already educationally-active groups.

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‘The odd couple’: an FE educator’s perspective of the management of behaviour of ‘special needs’ learners in the Lifelong Learning Sector

an article by Lydia Spenceley (Co-ordinator for Teacher Education Programmes, Grantham College, UK) published in Research in Post-Compulsory Education Volume 17 Issue 3 (September 2012)

Abstract

The term ‘Special Needs’ is one which is poorly defined in general and particularly nuanced in the Lifelong Learning Sector, where its meaning has been extended to incorporate economic and social needs in addition to the more ‘traditional’ interpretation of the term.

Although the sector apparently operates inclusively, welcoming learners with special needs, there are differences in the management of the behaviour and relationships of students, which are arguably generated by the varying definitions applied to the type and level of the challenges they face.

This paper explores these differences by examining them from the philosophical standpoints of Bourdieu and Foucault.

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New skills and jobs in Europe: Pathways towards full employment

This report was written by Günther Schmid and supervised by Philippe Keraudren. It was published by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Research Area, Social Sciences and Humanities in July 2012

Introduction: setting the scene

Europe needs more people in employment. About 24 million people are still unemployed (9,9 %), long-term unemployment is deteriorating, levels of job creation are too low and many of the newly created jobs are of low quality. The labour market for young people remains depressed with a level of 5.5 million unemployed (22.1 %)¹. Why is it that our policies do not work? Why is it that even when unemployment improves, it happens at the cost of increasing inequality and labour market segmentation? Are new skills, as the Europe 2020 flagship initiative ‘An agenda for new skills and jobs’² suggests, the solution?

Skills do indeed matter. They ensure the right application of knowledge in jobs in order to complete tasks and solve problems. Old and new jobs will not be sustainable without the continuous evolution of skills. Without the creation of new job opportunities, skills and individual life plans will be wasted. Improving people’s skills and better utilising their skill potentials ‘is a real “win, win” for all – for the economy, for society, for employers and, of course, for individuals themselves’³. It is obvious to policymakers that unemployment is closely related to low skills and employment and labour market participation to high skills. But despite progress in recent years, ‘Europe is still not sufficiently skilled. Nearly one third of Europe’s population aged 25–64 – around 77 million people – have no, or low, formal qualifications and only one quarter have high-level qualifications. Those with low qualifications are much less likely to upgrade their skills and follow lifelong learning.’⁴

This report documents what research says about jobs and skills in Europe.

1. In particular, research convincingly shows that education systems characterised by more equal access to education and continuous vocational training are associated with lower levels of unemployment and higher levels of employment.
2. Research shows that ambitious labour market policies that support a high variability of employment contracts over the life course, and that allow a high level of external as well as internal job-to-job transitions through active securities (making transitions pay), tend to be associated with higher levels of job creation.
3. Research reveals the importance of work organisation for skill formation, skill maintenance and skill utilisation, and emphasises that it is not enough to make people fit for the market (through raising their individual skills) but that it is also of high importance to adjust workplaces reasonably in order to enhance people’s capabilities and to compensate restricted work capacities through, for example, technical assistance, carefully targeted in-work benefits or wage cost subsidies (making the market fit for workers).
4. Research suggests the increasing importance of transversal skills,which means skills that cross the borders of disciplines or occupations and emphasise (not necessarily ‘higher’ but ‘new’) skills like abilities of communication, learning and problem solving, as well as languages and competences in information and communication technologies.
5. Finally, only the good governance of skills (including workplace democracy, negotiated flexicurity, and fair risk sharing of skill investments) ensures the mutual enforcement of skill evolution and job creation under conditions of increasing economic uncertainty.

This report, based on an extensive review of 17 research projects⁵ financed by the Research and Innovation Directorate-General under the sixth and seventh framework programmes, accompanies the Europe 2020 flagship initiative ‘An agenda for new skills and jobs’ from a scientific point of view. These 17 projects have investigated the determinants of skill formation and job creation designed to promote economic and social cohesion, as well as the specific objectives of the Europe 2020⁶ strategy for EU Member States (MS). The report presents the main findings from their final reports, working papers and policy briefs, as well as from books and academic articles from the projects themselves. In addition it draws on related work from other institutions (especially the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), the European Commission and the OECD) and academics in the area.

The report starts with a brief summary of the ‘flagship’ (Chapter 1) and structures the findings of the review around the four main priorities set out by this initiative:

• better-functioning labour markets (Chapter 2);
• a more skilled workforce (Chapter 3);
• better job quality and working conditions (Chapter 4), and;
• stronger policies to promote job creation and demand for labour (Chapter 5).

The final chapters are devoted to specific target groups that are far behind the full employment goal (Chapter 6) and to the role that Europe can or should take over to ensure that the agenda objectives are reached (Chapter 7).

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¹ EU Labour Market Fact Sheet, February 2012.
² European Commission (2010), ‘An agenda for new skills and jobs: A European contribution towards full employment’, COM(2010) 682 final. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ. do?uri=COM:2010:0682:FIN:EN:PDF
³ Expert Group on New Skills for New Jobs (2010), p. 4.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ See Annex 7.2 listing the projects and their website access. Occasionally, the report also refers to publications from TML.net (http://www.siswo.uva.nl/tlm) supported by the Research and Innovation DG under the fifth framework programme.
⁶ European Commission (2010), ‘Europe 2020 — A European strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’, COM(2010) 2020 final.

Full text (PDF 90pp)

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Lifelong guidance across Europe: …

reviewing policy progress and future prospects

CEDEFOP (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training) Working Paper no 11

In the absence of an abstract to this paper I have copied the first two paragraphs of the six-page executive summary to provide a flavour of the whole document.

The current European Union policy and strategy framework for lifelong learning (general education, vocational education and training, higher education, adult learning) and employment sets favourable conditions for establishing holistic and coherent lifelong guidance systems in the Member States to cater fully for the information, advice and guidance needs of diverse target audiences in their learning and career pathways. Many recent EU documents (see Chapters 1.3. and 1.4.) address the importance of guidance in aiding lifelong learning in formal, informal and non-formal settings as well as in improving the employability and active labour market participation of all citizen groups. In this context, the main aim of lifelong guidance is to support individuals’ acquisition and continuous development of knowledge, skills and competences.

Starting from this overall EU-level framework, the aim of this review is to monitor the achievements of the Member States in developing guidance policies, systems and practices against the priorities identified in the Council resolution on better integrating lifelong guidance into lifelong learning strategies (Council of the European Union, 2008b). There are four priority areas: encouraging policy coordination and cooperation; establishing quality assurance mechanisms; widening access to guidance services for all citizens; and developing career management skills. As the review is placed in the context of the current economic crisis, special attention has been given to the empowerment of at-risk groups and to targeted guidance measures launched for them.

Full text (PDF 136pp)

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