Microcredentials hold promise for connecting people's skillsets with labour market demand in a rapidly changing world of work. They have proliferated in recent years across economic sectors and education levels, reinforcing European and national efforts to understand and develop them better. They can increase the provision of…

This Eurydice report focuses on the topic of equity and inclusion in higher education in Europe. It analyses the current level of alignment of European higher education systems with the ten 'Principles and Guidelines agreed by all EHEA countries' as a blueprint to take forward the commitment of improving the social dimension. There are ten…

Social demand for higher education has more than doubled in the past 20 years. However, only one-third of all countries' higher education systems are enrolling more than 50% of the traditional age cohort. Despite major advancements in achieving higher levels of access and participation, inequalities and inequities in higher education persist and…

Introduction: Nowadays, providing the access to learning appears as an emphasized priority for every stage of life, due to the demographic changes, even near the place of residence or with the utilization of the possibilities of the new informational and communicational technologies, which bring new possibilities also in the dimension of learning…

This paper looks at the importance of mechanisms that give formal recognition to vocational skills acquired through work-based learning and how such mechanisms might be developed. It describes how skill recognition can benefit individuals, employers and society as a whole, and identifies in which contexts skill recognition has the highest…

Life-long learning is a process. Learning skill ability is common to all as well as individually unique. A learner's beliefs are constantly susceptible to conditioning from external expectations. A discussion reflects on techniques for strengthening distance-learning skills in this technological age.

This article explores the role of the European Union in defining an adult education policy and the way European countries appropriate those guidelines and implement them in their realities. These policies have been widening and diversifying adult education, creating the necessity of qualifying educational professionals. With the implementation of…

This article explores the role of the European Union in defining an adult education policy and the way European countries appropriate those guidelines and implement them in their realities. These policies have been widening and diversifying adult education, creating the necessity of qualifying educational professionals. With the implementation of…

This paper revisits and revisions Education for All (EFA) in the age of global migration with the aim of developing more inclusive approaches towards social justice and equity in education. Drawing on cases of internal and international migration in China and Canada, this paper compares and contrasts policies and practices in the education of…

This article considers the value of flexibility and free choice in learning, and examines 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" is compared to the requirements and visions of the…

Prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) is the practice of reviewing, evaluating, and acknowledging the information, skills, and understanding that adult learners have gained through experiential or self-directed (informal) learning rather than through formal education (Thomas, 2000). As our current economy and workplaces experience rapid…

This article discusses the key features of the common European framework for work-based learning (WBL) of the "Developing European Work Based Learning Approaches and Methods" (DEWBLAM) project (2003-2006). It examines the context of recent European initiatives and comments on the potential implications for policy, practice and theory,…

Starting from the contribution on the "ten principles of effective pedagogy" by James and Pollard, we critically reflect on some of the principles and assess whether these principles can be grounded in the wider European research literature that has accumulated internationally. We conclude that these principles can be supported and…

This article focuses on the tensions between mobility, knowledge and recognition, and what the impact of migration could be on lifelong education and society. This is discussed with the case of Sweden as the starting point. The main issue in Sweden concerning migration is the admission of refugees. Sweden has had a relatively open policy…

Valuing Learning is the process of promoting participation in and outcomes of (formal or non-formal) learning and as such the organising principle for lifelong learning strategies. It aims at the recognition and validation of prior learning (VPL) and further development. Four main models of Valuing Learning can be distinguished: (1) the…