The Education and Training Monitor 2020 shows insight on the EU’s performance in education and training taking into account the impact of COVID-19.
The European Commission’s yearly publication measures progress across the EU towards the benchmarks set in the Education and Training 2020 (ET 2020) strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training. It offers policy reform suggestions and helps identify where EU funding can help to further improve education and training (ET) systems. Apart from cross-country comparison and thematic analysis, the ET Monitor also provides 27 detailed country reports.
The last edition under the ET 2020 strategic framework, this year’s Monitor puts a special focus on digital education. This comes at a time, where education systems throughout Europe have been heavily disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the development and integration of digital technologies in education has received unprecedented attention due to school closures, and despite the considerable increase of investment in digital infrastructure over the last ten years, it has also highlighted weaknesses and disparities, especially with regards to connectivity, access to digital tools and lack of digital skills. For instance, the survey states that, although youngsters are commonly being perceived as ‘digital natives’, more than 15% of pupils are not equipped with sufficient digital skills, which can impact their ability to deal with distance learning. Furthermore, learners from already disadvantaged groups or with special needs may be particularly negatively affected by the crisis. The Monitor further shows that less than half of the teachers acquired ICT competences for teaching during their training, and that there is an urgent need for upskilling in this field.
Outside of the context of the corona crisis, the past decade has seen progress in the increase of participation in all levels of education, and with 10.2% of early school dropouts, the target of 10% has almost been achieved. Investment in education, in early childhood and primary school education in particular, has increased in almost all EU Member States, which reflects how education is increasingly recognised as a contributing factor for economic growth and social inclusion. Moreover, the target of 40% of graduates completing tertiary education has been achieved and 81% of learners (target 82%) who have obtained their diploma one to three years before the survey were able to enter the labour market after completing secondary or tertiary education.
Nevertheless, quality of and access to education remain a challenge. Whereas the goal was to decrease the percentage of pupils lacking basic competences in literacy, mathematics and science subjects to below 15%, a fifth of 15-year old pupils still show weak performances in these fields, which can have a negative impact on their career opportunities. Furthermore, with 10.8% of adults participating in learning activities in 2019 compared with 7.8% in 2010 (target 15%), EU countries saw only a minor increase during the past decade, and the participation rates vary greatly between different countries.
The Monitor concludes that the socio-economic background of pupils remains one of the main factors affecting their performance in basic and digital skills and thus hindering their future prospects. Regional disparities, the lack of resources or the concentration of pupils with similar backgrounds, for instance with a migrant background, in certain schools can hinder educational progress. The performance of education systems is dependent on quality instruction; however, the teaching profession faces a number of challenges such as demographic change and lack of incentives to take up the profession. The Monitor further highlights that increased investment in education does not automatically lead to better performance. Rather, the resources need to be put to use in a more efficient and targeted manner to achieve sustainable results.
Complementing the ET Monitor 2020, the recently published Eurydice Background Report on Structural Indicators for Monitoring Education and Training Systems in Europe 2020 provides information on 35 structural indicators on education policies in six policy areas as well as an overview of the main policy developments in education systems in these areas across Europe since 2015.
Education and training have been high on the EU Agenda in 2020: In September 2020, the EC presented an education package consisting of a Communication on the European Education Area and the updated Digital Education Action Plan (see SwissCore articles EEA and DEAP). The package introduces a number of new initiatives and investment opportunities that aim at supporting Member States in their task of upgrading their education systems and making them fit for the digital age. Whereas the Communication on the EEA outlines how cooperation in education and training can support inclusivity as well as the green and digital transitions, the new DEAP is a call to action to support the development of a high-quality digital education ecosystem and the enhancement of digital skills and competences.