An article examined the factors that affected progression to university education across Europe. In some countries progression had been a smooth process over a number of decades, whereas in others widening participation in higher education had been only a recent phenomenon.
Source: Marios Vryonides and Iasonas Lamprianou, 'Education and social stratification across Europe', International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Volume 33 Issue 1/2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
A study examined the effects of universal pre-school education and care on reading performance scores and educational inequalities in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Universal pre-school systems boosted pupil scores and reduced educational inequalities, it was found. The UK would have a much higher ranking in international pupil performance tables if a universal pre-school education system had been established in the 1990s.
Source: Tarek Mostafa and Andy Green, Measuring the Impact of Universal Pre-School Education and Care on Literacy Performance Scores, LLAKES Research Paper 36, Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies
Links: Paper | LLAKES press release | Nursery World report
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined how education policies developed in the European Union through the open method of co-ordination (OMC) were received in the United Kingdom. The UK's response could be understood mainly in terms of deflecting EU influence on the process and content of national education policy-making. Few organizational resources were made available for responding to the education OMC. There was limited communication between domestic policy teams and UK civil servants involved in international work. UK education policy-makers retained a commitment to the continued sovereignty of the UK over education policy and its role as a potential leader of education policy agendas in the EU.
Source: Nafsika Alexiadou and Bettina Lange, 'Deflecting European Union influence on national education policy-making: the case of the United Kingdom', Journal of European Economic Integration, Volume 35 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
An article said that the negative effect of early school leaving on income was reduced by educational inclusiveness at the country level in Europe. This was because educational expansion decreased the influence of a disadvantaged family background, which accounted for the net interacting effect of educational inclusiveness itself.
Source: Stan van Alphen, 'The benefit of educational inclusiveness for early school leavers in the European labour market', European Journal of Education, Volume 47 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
A special issue of a journal examined early childhood education and care in Europe.
Source: European Journal of Education, Volume 47 Issue 4
Links: Table of contents
Notes: Articles included:
• Peter Moss, 'Caring and learning together: exploring the relationship between parental leave and early childhood education and care'
• Mathias Urban, 'Researching early childhood policy and practice. a critical ecology'
• Mathias Urban, Michel Vandenbroeck, Katrien Van Laere, Arianna Lazzari, and Jan Peeters, 'Towards competent systems in early childhood education and care. implications for policy and practice'
Katrien Van Laere, Jan Peeters, and Michel Vandenbroeck, 'The education and care divide: the role of the early childhood workforce in 15 European countries'
• Maria Herczog, 'Rights of the child and early childhood education and care in Europe'
Date: 2012-Nov
A paper compared the organization of inclusive and special education systems in the Flemish community of Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, and England.
Source: Leen Sebrechts, Education for Children with Special Needs: A comparative study of education systems and parental guidance services, Working Paper 12/11, Centre for Social Policy (Antwerp University)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Nov
A paper examined the association between education policies (such as ability grouping and pre-school attendance) and equity for children of different abilities in developed (OECD) countries. In most countries the association was evenly distributed across the ability distribution. In some countries, however, the policy variables had an especially stratifying or an especially equalizing effect. Policy-makers needed to take into account the fact that ability grouping or participation in pre-primary education might have a different effect at different ends of the performance distribution.
Source: Anna-Elisabeth Thum, Miroslav Beblavy, and Galina Potjagailo, Do the Effects of Pro-Equality Education Policies Differ Across the Performance Distribution?, Working Paper 4.5.3, NEUJOBS Research Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Nov
A report by the European Commission said that European education and training systems continued to fall short in providing the right skills for employability, and were not working adequately with business or employers to bring the learning experience closer to the reality of the working environment. These skills mismatches were a growing concern for European industry's competitiveness. Despite progress over the previous 5 years in the percentages of those qualifying from higher education, sustained efforts would be needed to reach the headline target of 40 per cent of young people completing higher education.
Source: Rethinking Education: Investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes, European Commission
Links: Report | European Commission press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A paper examined the relationship between schooling expansion and educational inequality in European countries over different birth cohorts. There was evidence of a non-linear relationship between expansion and inequality of education. The length of compulsory education affected inequality only through its effect on average education, while school tracking shaped inequality independently of the level of education.
Source: Elena Meschi and Francesco Scervini, Expansion of Schooling and Educational Inequality in Europe: Educational Kuznets curve revisited, Discussion Paper 61, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Nov
A paper reviewed the economic literature on the impacts of education on intergenerational inequality persistency. Family backgrounds had a 'crucial impact' on educational attainment in all developed countries.
Source: Nathalie Chusseau and Joel Hellier (with Bassem Ben-Halima), Education, Intergenerational Mobility and Inequality, Working Paper 2012-261, ECINEQ: Society for the Study of Economic Inequality
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Oct
A paper said that preferences for educational redistribution in developed countries were not driven by income but by level of education. Although income and preferences for educational redistribution followed the conventional story – rich people wanted less spending – the level of education associate positively with spending on education, which effect was altered by the selectivity of the education system. Highly educated citizens were relatively more likely to support government spending on education in countries where the system was selective compared with highly educated people's preferences in countries with comprehensive systems.
Source: Daniel Horn, Educational Selectivity and Preferences about Education Spending, Discussion Paper 43, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Oct
A report set out a strategy designed to help developed (OECD) countries identify the strengths and weaknesses of their national skills systems, benchmark them internationally, and develop policies that could transform better skills into better jobs, economic growth, and social inclusion.
Source: Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives: A strategic approach to skills policies, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Sep
A report said that higher education tuition fees in England were the highest out of all European Union countries.
Source: National Student Fee and Support Systems, 2011/12, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (European Commission)
Links: Report | European Parliament press release
Date: 2012-Sep
A report highlighted significant disparities in education opportunities and results across – and within – European Union member states. There appeared to be a north-south divide in educational attainment. The lowest rates of low-qualified people were mostly found in the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Geographical inequalities in education persisted despite commitments by member states to promote equity in education and training. The report called on EU countries to work harder to reduce these inequalities.
Source: Dimitris Ballas, Ruth Lupton, Dimitris Kavroudakis, Benjamin Hennig, Vassiliki Yiagopoulou, Roger Dale, and Danny Dorling, Mind the Gap: Education inequality across EU regions, European Commission
Links: Report | European Commission press release
Date: 2012-Sep
The report of an expert group examined the most effective and efficient ways of supporting reading literacy in Europe throughout lifelong learning. It said that comprehensive literacy might reduce unemployment and increase income.
Source: EU High Level Group of Experts on Literacy, Final Report, European Commission
Links: Report | European Commission press release
Date: 2012-Sep
A report examined the performance of education systems among developed countries. It said that governments should increase investment in early childhood programmes and maintain 'reasonable' costs for higher education in order to reduce inequality, boost social mobility, and improve people's employment prospects. Schools in the United Kingdom were among the most socially segregated in the developed world.
Source: Education at a Glance 2012: OECD indicators, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Report | OECD press release | EIS press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | Russell Group press release | UCU press release | University Alliance press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report | Times Higher Education report
Date: 2012-Sep
An article said that a managerial agenda for change was seeking to amplify the space for marketization and control in the educational sphere in the European Union.
Source: Fatima Antunes, '"Tuning" education for the market in "Europe"? Qualifications, competences and learning outcomes: reform and action on the shop floor', European Educational Research Journal, Volume 11 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Sep
An article examined the impact of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on education policy in Europe. It said that the Convention was having an impact on domestic education policy, and that the child rights framework could be harnessed further by those seeking to influence government.
Source: Laura Lundy, 'Children s rights and educational policy in Europe: the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child', Oxford Review of Education, Volume 38 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
A report provided a comprehensive review of recent European research on new skills and jobs. It said that equal access to education (especially at an early stage of life) and continuous vocational training for all were the first priorities for raising employment levels in a sustainable way. This strategy needed to be complemented by a labour market policy that supported a high variability of employment contracts, allowing job-to-job transitions within and between firms according to market needs and individual lifecourse conditions.
Source: Gunther Schmid, New Skills and Jobs in Europe: Pathways towards full employment, European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined the value of flexibility and free choice in learning, and the increasing recognition of the evolving and wide range of appropriate environments for learning, such as the workplace, the home, the community, and the virtual world. This 'lifeplace learning' concept was ideally placed to satisfy not only the European vision of freeing and equalizing learning and qualification recognition, but also the goals of including more people in education, allowing for flexible and apposite learning, and the development of graduates who were 'fit for purpose'.
Source: Margaret Harris, 'Fulfilling a European vision through flexible learning and choice', European Journal of Education, Volume 47 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined the relationship between educational homogamy and educational mobility in 29 European countries. For all countries analyzed, relative educational heterogamy was a stronger indicator of educational inequalities than relative educational mobility.
Source: Tomas Katrnak, Petr Fucik, and Ruud Luijkx, 'The relationship between educational homogamy and educational mobility in 29 European countries', International Sociology, Volume 27 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined how macro-societal conditions determined educational inequality between migrants and natives in the western European Union member states. Majoritarian democracies were more effective than consensual democracies in equalizing educational opportunities between immigrants and natives.
Source: Raphaela Schlicht-Schmalzle and Sabrina Moller, 'Macro-political determinants of educational inequality between migrants and natives in western Europe', West European Politics, Volume 35 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
A paper examined the role that educational improvements were expected to play as a driver of future income convergence in Europe.
Source: Jesus Crespo Cuaresma, Miroslava Havettova, and Martin Labaj, Income Convergence Prospects in Europe: Assessing the role of human capital dynamics, Working Paper 143, Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jul
A paper examined the relative importance of adolescent skills and behaviours for completed schooling and labour market success in adulthood in four countries (the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Sweden, and Finland). Adolescent achievement, particularly in maths, was a stronger predictor of completed schooling than measures of non-cognitive skills. Achievement skills also out-predicted non-cognitive skills with regard to adult earnings, although the differences were not as striking.
Source: Kathryn Duckworth, Greg Duncan, Katja Kokko, Anna-Liisa Lyyra, Molly Metzger, and Sharon Simonton, The Relative Importance of Adolescent Skills and Behaviors for Adult Earnings: A cross-national study, Working Paper 12-03, Department of Quantitative Social Science, Institute of Education (University of London)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jul
An independent report said that, despite commitments by European Union member states to promote inclusive education, children with special educational needs and disabled adults were still getting a 'raw deal'. Many were placed in segregated institutions, and those in mainstream educational settings often received inadequate support. The report called on member states to work harder to develop inclusive education systems, and to remove the barriers faced by vulnerable groups when it came to participation and success in education, training, and employment.
Source: Sheila Riddell, Education and Disability/Special Needs: Policies and practices in education, training and employment for students with disabilities and special educational needs in the EU, European Commission
Links: Report | European Commission press release
Date: 2012-Jul
A paper examined the influence of both demand and supply factors on educational mismatch in a set of 10 European countries (including the United Kingdom). Demand factors generally played a major role in reducing educational mismatch in technologically more advanced countries, whereas supply factors were more important in countries that were lagging behind in the international division of labour. At the same time, important cross-country and gender differences were identified in the way the demand/supply factors operated.
Source: Emauela Ghignoni and Alina Veashchagina, Educational Qualifications Mismatch in Europe: Is It Supply or Demand Driven?, Working Paper 154, Department of Public Economics, Sapienza University of Rome
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jul
A paper said that there was an increasing tendency to treat higher education in Europe as an economic commodity – a tendency fostered by processes such as the Bologna Process and the Lisbon Strategy. It was worrying that many of the most crucial and influential decisions were taken in intergovernmental contexts and implemented by means of 'soft' law, the democratic legitimacy of which was doubtful.
Source: Sacha Garben, The Future of Higher Education in Europe: The case for a stronger base in EU law, LEQS Paper 50/2012, London School of Economics
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jul
A new book examined the contribution of lifelong learning to economic growth and social cohesion across Europe.
Source: Sheila Riddell, Jorg Markowitsch, and Elisabet Weedon (eds), Lifelong Learning in Europe: Equity and efficiency in the balance, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jul
A paper provided an overview of policy instruments in developed (OECD) countries intended to promote employer-provided training – including the stated rationale and objectives, the target groups, and operational design.
Source: Normann Muller and Friederike Behringer, Subsidies and Levies as Policy Instruments to Encourage Employer-Provided Training, Education Working Paper 80, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined intergovernmental reform initiatives in Europe, designed to promote a comprehensive model of skill formation in response to heightened global competition among 'knowledge societies'. Although the European model integrated diverse characteristics of influential national models (including that of the United Kingdom), the ambitious goals and standards codified in the twin Bologna and Copenhagen processes in higher education and vocational training offered a new model to compete internationally.
Source: Justin Powell, Nadine Bernhard, and Lukas Graf, 'The emergent European model in skill formation: comparing higher education and vocational training in the Bologna and Copenhagen processes', Sociology of Education, Volume 85 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined policy reforms of schools in England, Germany, France, and Italy, from 1988 to 2009, with a focus on the introduction of market accountability. Pressing demands for organizational change in schools, shaped by the objectives of 'efficiency' and competition – introduced in England in the 1980s – had been adopted in other European countries, albeit at a slower pace and within the continuing need for domestic institutional conformity. Despite some evidence of convergence between different education systems, England remained the outlier: continental European countries had been much more reluctant to adopt choice and competition policies.
Source: Paola Mattei, 'Market accountability in schools: policy reforms in England, Germany, France and Italy', Oxford Review of Education, Volume 38 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined how socio-economic and educational inequalities shaped the micro-level association between individuals' income position and support for education spending in developed (OECD) countries. Higher levels of socio-economic inequality enhanced the conflict between high-income and low-income groups over public investments in education. By contrast, when access to higher levels of education was effectively restricted, rich people were more likely to support public education spending: this was because higher levels of educational stratification ensured that further public investments in education benefited them relatively more than poorer people, who in turn became less willing to support this kind of public spending.
Source: Marius Busemeyer, 'Inequality and the political economy of education: an analysis of individual preferences in OECD countries', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 22 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined whether the development of qualifications frameworks in Europe yielded the anticipated benefits of the 'shift to learning outcomes'. It reviewed previous experience with learning outcomes and the links with qualifications frameworks, and analyzed trends and challenges within European countries.
Source: Sandra Bohlinger, 'Qualifications frameworks and learning outcomes: challenges for Europe s lifelong learning area', Journal of Education and Work, Volume 25 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined whether there were systematic differences in higher education policies across 19 developed western countries. The countries studied clustered in three groups that corresponded roughly with the classical categorization (social democratic/liberal/conservative). The countries in these clusters did not, however, meet all expectations regarding the level of decommodification and stratification. Countries belonging to the social democratic regime followed the principles of the prototypical social democratic welfare regime well with respect to higher education. However, the higher education systems in liberal and conservative countries only shared some of the characteristics of a prototypical conservative or liberal welfare state. Including higher education in comparative welfare states analysis might result in a less clear-cut categorization of welfare regimes than when the analysis was restricted to social protection and labour market policies.
Source: Nienke Willemse and Paul de Beer, 'Three worlds of educational welfare states? A comparative study of higher education systems across welfare states', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 22 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development published a strategy designed to help countries to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their national skills systems, benchmark them internationally, and develop policies that could transform better skills into better jobs, economic growth, and social inclusion.
Source: Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives: A strategic approach to skills policies, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Strategy | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | Unionlearn press release | Work Foundation press release
Date: 2012-May
A report compared the socio-economic background of students in developed (OECD) countries who attended privately managed schools with that of those who attended public schools. In some countries there was little difference in the profiles. Although the prevalence of privately managed schools in a country was not related to socio-economic stratification within a school system, the level of public funding for privately managed schools was: the higher the proportion of public funding allocated to privately managed schools, the smaller the socio-economic divide. Those countries with narrow socio-economic stratification in their education systems maximized equity and social cohesion, and also performed well in performance surveys.
Source: Public and Private Schools: How management and funding relate to their socio-economic profile, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
A new book examined the emergence of European education policy. It looked at the early development and growth of research networks and agencies, and international and national collaborations.
Source: Martin Lawn and Sotiria Grek, Europeanizing Education: Governing a new policy space, Symposium Books
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
An article examined recent trends (1998-2009) in the number of years of schooling that a child aged 6 could expect to attend up to their 30th birthday, for European Union countries. All countries had seen an increase in the number of expected years of schooling, which was driven mainly by increased tertiary enrolment rates. The dispersion of expected length of education among countries had also decreased. In spite of this progress, some countries would find it difficult to meet their national targets for tertiary educational attainments for people aged 30-34 in 2020. This was largely because the tertiary education participation rates of young males had been falling behind those of females in many countries. It would be preferable to supplement the educational attainment target with an enrolment target for people aged 20-24.
Source: Mikkel Barslund, 'Recent developments in selected education indicators and their relation to Europe 2020 targets', National Institute Economic Review, Volume 220 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
A new book examined the emergence, development, and application of European education policy up to the 2009 Lisbon Treaty and beyond. It charted the historical development of a Europe-wide education policy, and looked at how that policy had sought to address such issues as European citizenship, human rights, and bilingual schooling.
Source: John Sayer and Lynn Erler (eds.), Schools for the Future Europe: Values and change beyond Lisbon, Continuum International Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the education-inequality nexus in the context of the European Union's 2020 strategy for inclusive economic growth. It highlighted the strategic and institutional measures that needed to be implemented for a 'smarter' social inclusion policy:
• A better balance between knowledge-intensive and knowledge-extensive policies.
• An extension of EU anti-discrimination law in the field of education.
• Integration of the open method of co-ordination (OMC) in education and training with the social OMC.
Peer learning focused on structural reform of employment and training systems.
Source: Ides Nicaise, 'A smart social inclusion policy for the EU: the role of education and training', European Journal of Education, Volume 47 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
A new book examined changes in the external relationship between higher education, government, and society in Europe. It charted how autonomy had mutated from being of integral value in higher education to becoming an instrument of policy.
Source: Guy Neave, The Evaluative State, Institutional Autonomy and Re-Engineering Higher Education in Western Europe: The prince and his pleasure , Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
A report provided an overview of the supply of apprenticeship-type schemes in the European Union member states. It discussed the effectiveness of these schemes in raising employability and facilitating the labour market transitions of apprentices.
Source: IKEI Research & Consultancy, Apprenticeship Supply in the Member States of the European Union: Final Report, European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2012-May
A report provided a comprehensive and comparative overview of traineeship arrangements, including legislative/regulatory and quality-assurance frameworks, in all 27 European Union member states.
Source: Kari Hadjivassiliou, Emanuela Carta, Tom Higgins, Catherine Rickard, Suzanne Ter-Minassian, Flavia Pesce, Manuela Samek, Davide Barbieri, Daria Broglio, Sandra Naaf, Philipp Grollmann, Tanja Weigel, Tobias Wolfgarten, and Kristina Hensen, Study on a Comprehensive Overview on Traineeship Arrangements in Member States: Final synthesis report, European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2012-May
A study of developed (OECD) countries found that there was no clear link between performance pay for teachers and raising standards in schools.
Source: Does Performance-Based Pay Improve Teaching?, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the educational situation of young people in Europe with experience of being placed in foster or residential care. Barriers to continued education after compulsory school were found on both the individual and the family level as well as in relation to national policies and welfare regimes – pointing to low expectations from both professionals and carers. Young people from a public care background often lacked the chance to acquire sufficient cultural and social capital, and so chose other pathways.
Source: Helena Johansson and Ingrid Hojer, 'Education for disadvantaged groups – structural and individual challenges', Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 34 Issue 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
A report said that although the prevalence of privately managed schools in developed (OECD) countries was not related to socio-economic stratification within a school system, the level of public funding to privately managed schools was. The higher the proportion of public funding allocated to privately managed schools, the smaller the socio-economic divide between publicly and privately managed schools.
Source: Public and Private Schools: How management and funding relate to their socio-economic profile, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
A new book examined the changing role of trade unions in the provision of vocational education, workplace training, and skill development – drawing on a collection of studies relating to the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Norway (together with Canada, Australia, and the United States).
Source: Richard Cooney and Mark Stuart (eds.), Trade Unions and Workplace Training: Issues and international perspectives, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Apr
A paper provided an overview of what was known about age-skill profiles in developed (OECD) countries. It showed how trend data based on repeated cross-sectional observations of direct measures of skill at the cohort level could be used to estimate skill gain and skill loss over the lifespan and over time.
Source: RichardDesjardins and Arne Jonas Warnke, Ageing and Skills: A review and analysis of skill gain and skill loss over the lifespan and over time, Education Working Paper 72, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined evidence from a European Union-funded project designed to find out how more care-leavers could be encouraged to stay in school longer and enabled to access further and higher education. If children and young people in care were to enjoy equal opportunities with their peers, a much stronger focus was needed in all countries on their formal and informal education throughout their time in care and beyond. With low level educational qualifications or none, they were severely disadvantaged in the labour market, especially at a time of high youth unemployment. In addition, their lack of family support and weak social networks put them at great risk of social exclusion in adulthood. Targeted measures to promote social mobility via participation in higher levels of education should be an explicit aim of welfare authorities.
Source: Sonia Jackson and Claire Cameron, 'Leaving care: looking ahead and aiming higher', Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 34 Issue 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
A paper used data from 19 compulsory schooling reforms implemented in Europe during the twentieth century to quantify the mean mortality effect and explore its dispersion across gender, time, and countries. Men benefited from compulsory education both in the shorter and longer run: in contrast, compulsory schooling reforms had little or no effect on mortality for women.
Source: Christina Gathmann, Hendrik Jurges, and Steffen Reinhold, Compulsory Schooling Reforms, Education and Mortality in Twentieth Century Europe, Discussion Paper 6403, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Mar
A paper examined trends in gender gaps in education in industrialized countries, and their potential policy implications. Female educational attainment had surpassed, or was about to surpass, male educational attainment – this reflected male over-representation among secondary school drop-outs and female over-representation among tertiary education students and graduates. This pattern was a result of a combination of increasing returns to education and lower female effort costs of education. A widening gender gap in education, combined with recent wage and employment polarization, would probably lead to widening inequalities and was linked to declining male labour force participation.
Source: Tuomas Pekkarinen, Gender Differences in Education, Discussion Paper 6390, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined the association between education and levels of trust and tolerance in Europe. The association varied significantly across countries, and a major source of this variation lay in the way in which individuals reacted to the level of diversity in the country where they lived.
Source: Francesca Borgonovi, 'The relationship between education and levels of trust and tolerance in Europe', British Journal of Sociology, Volume 63 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
A paper examined the speed of transition of students to permanent employment in European countries, and sought to identify possible discriminatory effects. The gender discrimination that had affected most countries at the beginning of the 1990s had faded away by the end of the decade, replaced by a positive discrimination in favour of graduates from vocationally oriented programmes.
Source: Christelle Garrouste and Massimo Loi, School-to-Work Transitions in Europe: Paths towards a permanent contract, MPRA Paper 37167, Munich Personal RePEc Archive
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Mar
A report compared higher education systems in Europe and the United States of America. The USA offered a wider and more diversified range of choice in higher education, and more Americans than Europeans attended higher education institutions. Conversely, European universities were more intellectually oriented, and European students generally were better equipped to analyze and adapt to new situations.
Source: Bruno Aguilera-Barchet, A Higher Education for the Twenty-first Century: European and US approaches, Centre for European Studies (University of Oslo)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined whether differences in welfare regimes in European countries shaped the incentives to work and get educated.
Source: Andres Rodriguez-Pose and Vassilis Tselios, 'Welfare regimes and the incentives to work and get educated', Environment and Planning A, Volume 44 Number 1
Links: Abstract
See also: Andres Rodriguez-Pose and Vassilis Tselios, Welfare Regimes and the Incentives to Work and Get Educated, Working Paper 2011/01, IMDEA Social Sciences Institute (Madrid)
Date: 2012-Mar
An article used estimates of the effect of educational achievement on economic growth to simulate the impact of improved achievement for individual European Union countries and the EU as a whole. The gains from educational reforms added up to 'astounding' amounts on the three considered reform scenarios. EU policies aimed at school attainment goals were misplaced without assurances that student achievement also improved. Economic cohesion within the EU appeared to be highly dependent on fostering more equality in achievement across countries.
Source: Eric Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann, 'The economic benefit of educational reform in the European Union', CESifo Economic Studies, Volume 58 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
An article said that the very characteristics of educational systems in Europe generated social segmentation. An egalitarian educational system resulted in two-segment stratification, quasi income equality, and no under-education trap: but an elitist system generated three segments, significant inequality, and a large under-education trap.
Source: Nathalie Chusseau and Joel Hellier, 'Educational systems, intergenerational mobility and social segmentation', European Journal of Comparative Economics, Volume 8 Number 2
Date: 2012-Feb
A report said that almost 1 in every 5 students in developed (OECD) countries did not reach a basic minimum level of skills. In addition, students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds were twice as likely to have low performance. Lack of fairness and inclusion could lead to school failure, with the result that 1 in every 5 young adults on average dropped out before completing upper secondary education. The highest-performing education systems combined quality with equity, and governments should invest more in disadvantaged schools and students.
Source: Equity and Quality in Education: Supporting disadvantaged students and schools, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Summary | OECD press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Feb
A new book examined how contemporary cultural and religious diversity in Europe challenged and redefined national constitutional and legal frameworks and concepts, within the context of education. It offered a critical reflection on the extent and meanings given to religious freedom in education across Europe.
Source: Myriam Hunter-Henin (ed.), Law, Religious Freedoms and Education in Europe, Ashgate Publications
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Feb
A paper said that differences in culture and social norms were crucial determinants in understanding gender differences in educational test scores in advanced (OECD) countries. Girls performed relatively better in both maths and reading in societies where gender equality was enhanced, and the effect varied over the distribution of scores. There was substantial evidence for the intergenerational transmission of gender role attitudes, especially from mothers to daughters, since the performance of girls – but not that of boys – was better in families where the mother worked outside the home.
Source: Ainara Gonzalez de San Roman and Sara de la Rica Goiricelaya, Gender Gaps in PISA Test Scores: The impact of social norms and the mother s transmission of role attitudes, Discussion Paper 6338, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the trend in expenditure per student at higher education institutions in 15 European Union countries during the period 1998-2006. There was a tendency towards convergence, which was higher after 2001 – suggesting that the implementation of European-level policies (such as the Bologna Declaration and the Lisbon Strategy) had had an impact not only in the political arena but also at an economic level. The convergence had been driven more by private financial resources than by public ones, supporting evidence for a gradual transformation of the patterns of financing higher education in Europe.
Source: Tommaso Agasisti, Carmen Perez-Esparrells, Giuseppe Catalano, and Susana Morales, 'Is expenditure on higher education per student converging across EU-15 countries?', Studies in Higher Education, Volume 37 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A paper examined the relationship between equality of opportunities and the characteristics of educational systems in advanced (OECD) countries. It cast doubt on the prominent role attributed by other studies to school composition effects.
Source: Michele Raitano and Francesco Vona, Assessing Students Equality of Opportunity in OECD Countries: The role of national and school-level policies, Working Paper 2011-17, French Economic Observatory (Sciences Po, Paris)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jan
