Page 35 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Contemporary European Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 35
esl in the eu: policy overview and development
criteria: being published between 2009 and 20162, being formed within the
OMC framework.
Studying EU policies on ESL through the OMC lens
Fixing guidelines for the Union combined with specific timetables
for achieving the goals /.../ in the short, medium and long term
By establishing common educational goals, EU member states have aimed
to coherently respond to common challenges, whilst retaining their indi-
vidual sovereignty in the field of education. Establishing common goals
and measuring progress according to specific guidelines demonstrate the
political will to identify the common problems facing European education.
Such identification can unleash the envisioned capacity of cooperation to
foster the greater convergence of ideas (Dehousse, 2002; Gornitzka, 2006).
Common goals of European education are first initiated by general
political strategic directions, such as the well-known anticipation of the
Lisbon Strategy (European Council, 2000): “By 2010 the EU should be-
come the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the
world” and of the EU 2020 Strategy (European Council, 2009): “Smart, sus-
tainable and inclusive growth”. These two high-level EU strategies put ed-
ucation in the heart of the EU integration and recognise its great contribu-
tion to realising the EU’s overall (social and economic) goals.
The EU 2020 strategy establishes two specific interrelated targets in
the education field: to reduce rates of ESL below 10% and at least 40% of 30-
to 34-year-olds having completed third-level education. In order to support
the attainment of these goals, seven “flagship initiatives” have been devel-
oped within the Strategy, with two of them especially targeting education:
An agenda for new skills and jobs and Youth on the Move. Both relate ed-
ucation to employability and at least indirectly point out the importance
of cross-sectoral contributions in realising the EU’s overall strategic goals.
2 Although ESL has been recognised as one of the priority areas of common EU co-
operation since 2002, the article takes into account the second strategic framework
of EU cooperation in the field of education (EU 2020 and ET 2020). References to
their predecessors (Lisbon Strategy and ET 2010) are established only when need-
ed to clarify some current issues. The reason for that is at least threefold: 1) EU 2020
and ET 2020 build on the achievement of the previous working period (2000–2009);
2) availability of the data from the previous working period is quite limited; and 3)
the TITA project addresses the strategic priorities of the second working period (EU
2020 and ET 2020).
35
criteria: being published between 2009 and 20162, being formed within the
OMC framework.
Studying EU policies on ESL through the OMC lens
Fixing guidelines for the Union combined with specific timetables
for achieving the goals /.../ in the short, medium and long term
By establishing common educational goals, EU member states have aimed
to coherently respond to common challenges, whilst retaining their indi-
vidual sovereignty in the field of education. Establishing common goals
and measuring progress according to specific guidelines demonstrate the
political will to identify the common problems facing European education.
Such identification can unleash the envisioned capacity of cooperation to
foster the greater convergence of ideas (Dehousse, 2002; Gornitzka, 2006).
Common goals of European education are first initiated by general
political strategic directions, such as the well-known anticipation of the
Lisbon Strategy (European Council, 2000): “By 2010 the EU should be-
come the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the
world” and of the EU 2020 Strategy (European Council, 2009): “Smart, sus-
tainable and inclusive growth”. These two high-level EU strategies put ed-
ucation in the heart of the EU integration and recognise its great contribu-
tion to realising the EU’s overall (social and economic) goals.
The EU 2020 strategy establishes two specific interrelated targets in
the education field: to reduce rates of ESL below 10% and at least 40% of 30-
to 34-year-olds having completed third-level education. In order to support
the attainment of these goals, seven “flagship initiatives” have been devel-
oped within the Strategy, with two of them especially targeting education:
An agenda for new skills and jobs and Youth on the Move. Both relate ed-
ucation to employability and at least indirectly point out the importance
of cross-sectoral contributions in realising the EU’s overall strategic goals.
2 Although ESL has been recognised as one of the priority areas of common EU co-
operation since 2002, the article takes into account the second strategic framework
of EU cooperation in the field of education (EU 2020 and ET 2020). References to
their predecessors (Lisbon Strategy and ET 2010) are established only when need-
ed to clarify some current issues. The reason for that is at least threefold: 1) EU 2020
and ET 2020 build on the achievement of the previous working period (2000–2009);
2) availability of the data from the previous working period is quite limited; and 3)
the TITA project addresses the strategic priorities of the second working period (EU
2020 and ET 2020).
35
