European ministers discuss development of education policies

Slovakia has hosted the 6th European Ministers of Education Conference between June 16-18 in the capital, Bratislava, which was held under the Spanish Presidency of the European Union.

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education Jesmond Mugliett and Dr Joseph Mifsud, Head of the EU Unit, University of Malta, attended the conference together with education ministers from EU and candidate countries. UNESCO and the OECD also attended this annual EU event.

In her opening speech, the Spanish Minister of Education, Pilar de Castilo, chairing the conference, reaffirmed three strategic objectives of the detailed "work programme for 2010" which is being targeted as the year of benchmarking for all education in Europe.

The three pillars which should tower over European education by that key year aim to (a) improve quality for education and training systems; (b) facilitate universal access; and (c) open up European education to the wider world.

Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Education and Training, focused on these three pillars by recalling the 15 quality indicators of lifelong learning prepared by national experts (including Maltese). These are meant to support the common educational agenda that Europe has agreed to follow in the coming years.

A further study to the document will be made at next year's meeting scheduled to be held in Cyprus under the Greek EU Presidency. The report uses 15 indicators to compare four dimensions of the quality of education in Europe: skills, competencies and attitudes; access and participation; resources for lifelong learning and strategies and systems.

The Commissioner underlined the fact that comparable data are being considered of utmost importance in the development of European education.

In fact, the European Commission had already published two important White Papers, which according to the majority of the ministers present in Bratislava, should not be ignored.

Growth, Competitiveness and Employment published in 1993 and On Teaching and Learning - Towards the Learning Society presented in 1995, have set today's agenda for lifelong learning or learning which should and must have a permanent nature.

In reality every country present at the conference reaffirmed the need for a concerted effort within Europe to face the challenge that the increased significance of non-formal and informal learning is placing on established higher educational and central educational institutions.

European nations are at a crucial point in the consideration of 'new' skills regardless of the way in which these skills have been acquired, and their concurrent validation and certification.

The accreditation of these experiential skills is a clear message of support to all those individuals within civil society who are looking for a second chance education.

Education ministers in Europe were also aware of the danger that the provision of open second chance education might encourage higher student dropouts from formal qualification systems.

The basic dilemma is of making two diverse systems working alongside each other, that is: a conventional academic track with guaranteed higher educational entry and exit points, and a "vocational, open (and perhaps second-chance) path with equal job weighting prospects".

Mr Mugliett, strongly supported by both the German and Greek education ministers, emphasised that the two options must have an intimate and sustainable educational relationship, which would have ultimate bearing on the job markets.

"Lifelong learning must offer different possibilities to both the conventional educational camp and to the informal/non formal sectors," he said.

He also reaffirmed the importance of having links between the two sectors that are in effect interwoven in most societies, including the small state structure of Malta.

There were, however, a number of criteria which make it difficult to find comparability in the performance and in the management of the two tracks.

"Nevertheless, the importance of the social partners in all education has shown that without them, no real knowledge management can be made.

"This is crucial in the age where knowledge and society have intensified their relationship in that the fundamental value in acquiring knowledge lies in what is known and how this knowledge is utilised economically, politically and socially," added Mr Mugliett.

A number of questions for reflection were discussed during the conference. One of the most important resided in the dominant objective for accreditation.

Ministers from both member states and candidate countries dwelt on the importance of facilitating the identification of (new) knowledge skills of the labour force without formal qualifications for the labour market.

Another theme reflected on the offer that national contexts could provide for second chance education for those citizens currently outside the 'conventional' education and training system.

Accreditation for prior learning and certification of the value of flexibility of learning were highlighted as an emerging opportunity outside the formal education system, which must be rewarded and supported.

In the two workshops organised in the context of the conference, the ministers agreed that the quality of education must be measured through the level of outcomes and through the effective access for everyone during compulsory schooling. Education systems should be flexible enough to allow individuals to build on their strengths, developing skills for employability, personal skills and societal values.

It was agreed that this could be best achieved by promoting better planning and professional development for teachers as well as more responsibility at school level. Quality assurance systems, which respect local and national situations, must be developed in order to allow mutual understanding at European level.

In a targeted workshop attended by the Maltese delegation, it was established that lifelong learning addresses a wide spectrum of learning opportunities for which the state has an outstanding responsibility, which must also involve many other actors, such as the social partners, the families, the civil society and individuals themselves.

With this aim, quality standards should be established at national level and exchange of experiences and good practices should be promoted at European level. The basic premise for real education rested on an effective partnership between the actors concerned. These are fundamental for establishing bridges between formal, non-formal and informal learning, in order to make lifelong learning attractive to all citizens.

In the final conclusions, the ministers welcomed the achievements of the enhanced Graz Process/Task Force Education and Youth of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe and its strategy for future activities, which contributes to the implementation of the main objectives in education and training.

A borderless education and the creation of a European educational area are one of Europe's main assets. Student mobility is essential not only for better education but also for personality and social skills development. It applies to both educational programmes and educational/ work placements and is closely related to tolerance and inter-culturalism.

The European debate on education was enhanced by the conference through the recognition that new skills are needed for the development of a knowledge society. These new skills are not necessarily available within a walled academic environment or through a vocational setting but can be acquired experientially or virtually through an open non-campus education.

The recognition of this fact should enrich the European sphere of education once a proper accreditation system is in place. This appears to constitute the major challenge facing a European arena that acknowledges the fact that education must not project itself as a one-size-fits-all but as a versatile, dynamic learning experience available to all.