Lifelong learning policies for young adults in Europe: a conceptual and methodological discussion

2019 ◽  
pp. 3-20
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
National Level ◽  
Unintended Effects ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Complementary Approach ◽  
Cultural Political Economy ◽  
Learning Policies ◽  
Method Approach

In order to be successful, Lifelong Learning (LLL) policies in Europe have to reconcile numerous concurrent aspects related to their different contexts, timeframes, target groups and the specific issues they confront. Failing to recognise these specificities risks producing unintended effects and/or exacerbating the problems they intend to tackle. Further, these may have substantial impact on young adults’ life courses as the policies are often formulated at the national level while having to unfold at the regional level, but also because they often do not take into account the specific needs, diverse social and living conditions and regional/local infrastructures in education and labour markets. The first section introduces conceptual considerations drawn from Life Course Research, Governance Studies and Cultural Political Economy that help us identify and analyse these various aspects across countries in the interplay of levels. The second section describes the implementation of a mixed-method approach. The complementary approach results in a juxtaposition along the project’s sub-studies that generate insights for enhancing each other as we analyse different phenomena interwoven with our research object by approaching them from different viewpoints. The third section reflects on the possibilities, conditions and limits of producing comparative multilevel knowledge that is relevant for policy-making.

Conclusion

2019 ◽  
pp. 241-252
Author(s):  
Siyka Kovacheva ◽  
Xavier Rambla ◽  
Marcelo Parreira do Amaral
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Complexity Reduction ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Cultural Political Economy ◽  
Learning Policies

The chapter takes stock of the insights produced in the different chapters of this collection and draws conclusions based on three theoretical perspectives that guided our analysis. Each of them highlights a few important points that are helpful to make sense of the evidence posited by the thematic chapters. Cultural Political Economy provides crucial insights on the intimate connections between complexity reduction and the institutional normalisation of life courses. Life Course Research sheds light on the equally relevant connections between young adults’ biographies and active learning. Finally, Governance theories account for the regional dimension of lifelong learning policies. Some lessons learned are discussed and a plea to listen to the voices of young adults is made.

The changing meanings of lifelong learning policies: consequences for young adults and their life courses

2019 ◽  
pp. 199-216
Author(s):  
Tiago Neves ◽  
Natália Alves ◽  
Anna Cossetta ◽  
Vlatka Domović
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Research Framework ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Time Space ◽  
Multiple Meanings ◽  
Life Courses ◽  
Learning Policies

Lifelong learning policies have multiple meanings. They change across time, space, theoretical perspectives, and the types of actors that seek to make sense of them. This poses challenges to developing a research framework able to capture the myriad of understandings of lifelong learning ‘policy’. Furthermore, it defies coordinated policy-making and assessing its effects. This chapter aims to gauge such diversity and discuss its consequences for European young adults and their life courses. The chapter then moves on to, and concludes with, a discussion of how the tensions in the ‘growth and inclusion’ agenda interconnect with the movement from standardisation towards de-standardisation in the lives of young adults. In other words, we seek not only to provide an answer to 1) how de-standardisation is taken into account in European lifelong learning policies, but also to 2) how such policies impact and transform the lives of young adults.

scholarly journals Review of Valentina Milenkova and Siika Kovacheva’s book „ Regional Insights to Lifelong Learning Policies in Support of Young Adults in Bulgaria“

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-261
Author(s):  
Vladislava Lendzova
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Functional Region ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
Functional Relations ◽  
Learning Policies ◽  
The University

Valentina Milenkova and Siika Kovacheva's book "Regional Insights to Lifelong Learning Policies in Support of Young Adults in Bulgaria" (Регионални измерения на политиките за учене през целия живот в подкрепа на младите възрастни в България) has been published in English by Avangard Prima in Sofia in this 2020 - ISBN 978-619-239-316-8. This book presents the increased role of education in the modern European societies. An important milestone in the LLL polices in the book are research projects. Such is the project "YOUNG_ADULLLT - 'Policies Supporting Young Adults in their Life Course. A Comparative Perspective of Lifelong Learning and Inclusion in Education and Work in Europe" with Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Marcelo Parreira do Amaral from the University of Munster, funded under the Horizon 2020 program. One of the important features of the project is its commitment to the functional region – a specific amalgam of functional relations between diverse institutions in a particular area (Parreira do Amaral, 2019). The functional region as a key concept was used in the project to indicate specifics in terms of living conditions, education, institutions that form the skills of young people. The structure of the book is: an introduction, five chapters, a conclusion and annexes. The main focus is on the policies and practices of diverse educational institutions and understanding of the link policy- practice as а decisive factor for modern education.

Governing the normalisation of young adults through lifelong learning policies

2019 ◽  
pp. 105-126
Author(s):  
Risto Rinne ◽  
Heikki Silvennoinen ◽  
Tero Järvinen ◽  
Jenni Tikkanen
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Vulnerable Youth ◽  
Policy Actors ◽  
Good Citizen ◽  
Incentive Structures ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Learning Policies

Policies are based on – explicit and implicit – assumptions of well-functioning institutions, a prosperous economy, a good citizen, and so forth. In short, they have a vision of a desired society with reasonably behaving individuals. Against this background the chapter scrutinizes the taken-for-granted logic behind lifelong learning policy measures targeted at so called ‘vulnerable youth’. The term ‘vulnerable’ itself bears within it connotations that influence policy makers’ and policy actors’ perception of the individuals categorized under the label ‘vulnerable’. The chapter is interested in the ways by which lifelong learning policies with their variety of policy measures, projects, regulations and practices, incentive structures and sanctions, aim to govern (regulate, steer, mould) the ‘vulnerable’ young adults to govern themselves – their reasoning and conduct – according to the desired direction. The aim of this chapter is to make visible the underlying assumptions and tacit implications beneath the ‘normal’ life course, how ‘vulnerability’ is produced in policy texts, and how the normalization of ‘vulnerable’ youth is governed. Besides theoretical analysis the article uses policy documents, descriptions of policy measures and projects, and international, national and regional statistics to make sense of practices of governing the normalisation in empirical contexts.

Governing the normalisation of young adults through lifelong learning policies

2019 ◽  
pp. 105-126
Author(s):  
Risto Rinne ◽  
Heikki Silvennoinen ◽  
Tero Järvinen ◽  
Jenni Tikkanen
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Learning Policies

Lifelong learning policies supporting young adults in two Portuguese regions

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-74
Author(s):  
Mariana Rodrigues ◽  
Rita Queiroga ◽  
Ana Bela Ribeiro ◽  
Natália Alves ◽  
Tiago Neves
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Learning Policies

Young adults as a target group of lifelong learning policies

2019 ◽  
pp. 65-84
Author(s):  
Xavier Rambla ◽  
Dejana Bouillet ◽  
Borislava Petkova
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
School Performance ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
Member States ◽  
Learning Policies ◽  
Training Schemes

Lifelong learning policies may construct target groups in two different ways. First, sometimes encompassing systems of lifelong learning policies implement programmes for specific social categories in terms of school performance, gender or ethnicity. Second, lifelong learning policies are much more fragmentary in many countries. There, experts and the very young adults may assume that programmes compensating for early school leaving and vocational training schemes ‘are’ lifelong learning. In these circumstances, it is likely that the same specific social categories become the target of these policies by default. This chapter discusses the consequences of constructing these target groups of lifelong learning policies in nine member states of the European Union. The pros and cons of this policy instrument is considered at different geographical scales such as the whole Union, member states and functional regions. In addition, the chapter will explore to what extent the construction of these target groups draws on wider societal classifications of socio-economic background (e.g. previous school performance), gender and ethnicity.

scholarly journals The bullying phenomenon and the “I am not scared” project in Bulgaria or how and why we need to influence the national school-education system

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Zornitsa Staneva ◽  
Miglena Molhova
Keyword(s):  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Education System ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
National Level ◽  
School Education ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
National School ◽  
El Sistema ◽  
Political Decisions

Abstract: Violence in schools has been recognized as a growing and destructive problem both by educational and policy making authorities at a national level, as well as by the European Commission at an EU level. The graveness of the problem, some of its roots, because they can vary greatly from country to country, has already been analyzed and there are numerous proposals and programs for tackling with the problem or preventing its appearance. Still, political decisions and changes need to be encouraged in order to enforce, to make practicing from proposals and programs obligatory and official. These changes should and could happen in both directions – starting from the national level and reaching out to the Community level, or vice versa. The current and future effects for the Bulgarian school education system of a project - “I am not scared” – supported by the EC under the Lifelong Learning Program are briefly outlined in the present article. El fenómeno del bullying y el proyecto “Yo no tengo miedo” en Bulgaria, o cómo y por qué tenemos que influir en el sistema educativo nacional Resumen: La violencia escolar ha sido reconocida como un problema creciente y destructivo tanto por las autoridades educativas en un nivel nacional, como por la Comisión Europea a un nivel europeo. La gravedad del problema, algunas de sus causas, que pueden variar de modo significativo en función del país, han sido ya analizadas y hay numerosas propuestas y programas para combatir el fenómeno o prevenir su aparición. Sin embargo, aún es necesario estimular el desarrollo de medidas políticas que posibiliten que estas iniciativas tengan un carácter generalizado. Estos cambios pueden y deben ocurrir en dos direcciones: comenzando en un plano nacional que se extienda a las distintas regiones y viceversa. Los efectos presentes y futuros del proyecto “I Am Not Scared”, financiado por la Comisión Europea dentro del programa Lifelong Learning, sobre las escuelas y el sistema educativo búlgaro se discuten brevemente en este artículo

Regional lifelong learning policies and the social vulnerability of young adults in Girona and Vienna

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-60
Author(s):  
Xavier Rambla ◽  
Yuri Kazepov ◽  
Judith Jacovkis ◽  
Lukas Alexander ◽  
Marcelo Parreira Do Amaral
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
The Social ◽  
Learning Policies
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