Policy Learning: EU investments in Secondary Education in SEE Knowledge Economy Forum IV Istanbul, 23 March 2005 Arjen Vos

2 What is the terminology? EU Competitiveness Educational attainment Low skills Early school leavers Geographical and professional mobility Investment in human resources and quality Innovation in teaching and learning South East Europe Weak governance Poor infrastructure Outdated curricula Rigid structures (early differentiation, lack of pathways) Weak skills teachers and school directors Few links between schools and enterprises Problematic transition from school to work Lack of second chance opportunities for early drop outs Lack of data and information management

3 The Socio-Economic Context in SEE is different Insufficient economic growth, not leading to more jobs Poor investment climate Low technological innovation High levels of unemployment, few job opportunities Large informal sector High poverty Skills mismatch Brain drain

4 Is the EU message about benchmarks? It looks like………………..

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7 ……it only gives a general orientation: The benchmarks are a tool agreed by all EU Member States to measure some indicators of progress They are limited in scope They are about quantity, more than quality They may give rise to questions or competition.

8 Developments in SEE Education Reforms: Strengths Recognition of the problems and what they have to change (awareness) Policy development in particular in general education and IVET Establishment of legislative and institutional infrastructure Open to donor’s projects and innovation

9 Developments in SEE Education Reforms: Weaknesses Insufficient priority setting and little analysis of critical constraints (implementation) Little involvement of and consensus building with social partners and other key stakeholders Discontinuity of reforms “Legalistic” approach to reforms Insufficient tools for decision making and monitoring

10 Which lessons can be drawn from EU for SEE? Lisbon strategy: Human capital is a key asset of Europe Invest more in your human resources: it pays off for economic development and for social development! Make Lifelong Learning a reality Make education more attractive, bring it closer to work Develop partnerships Develop continuously the competences of teachers

11 But it also means: Parity of esteem of general secondary and vocational education is the objective Make learning more flexible, create pathways Develop targeted efforts for disadvantaged groups Develop broad occupational competences through workplace learning, promote key competences Education and training are built on national traditions There is diversity and there is no best model

12 Why does EU invest in Education and Training in SEE, and in particular in VET and Higher Education? VET is considered a key sector with 62.7% of all EU students at ISCED 3 level in 2002 (was 60.5% in 1999) VET can be attractive for large groups of students, for whom general education may be too theoretical VET has been hit hard in the transition process; relations between schools and enterprises to be re-established Large VET infrastructure is available; raise the quality before building up new structures People to people cooperation in higher education

13 How does the EU invest in VET in SEE? Capacity building for policy makers Involvement of key stakeholders Labour market analysis Develop broader qualifications in qualification framework Re-establishing relations schools-enterprises Modernise curricula, include core skills Train teachers

14 ETF Approach: Policy Learning (1) From policy copying and policy taking to policy learning Knowledge sharing and exchange of good examples of practice to enable decision makers to design and implement their reform Evolution more than revolution Reform projects need to reflect local reality, take institutional structure into account and involve all relevant stakeholders VET Reform process is at least as important as the final products

15 ETF Approach: Policy Learning (2) No single best solutions for the ‘HOW’: to organise the system to get the right balance between general and vocational education to define a national qualification framework to structure the involvement of social partners National solutions must be found on basis of well informed decisions!

16 ETF Approach: Policy Learning (3) Policy learning is about: Raising quality of reform process Empowering local decision makers and institutions ETF as a dialogue partner and a facilitator

17 THANK YOU More info: