GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ISSUES IN LIFELONG LEARNING

1. GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ISSUES IN LIFELONG LEARNING

2. Introduction • What are the issues in lifelong learning globally – e.g. in Africa and Asia? • Are these different to the issues for Europe and OECD countries? • What about the key issues for the UK? • And for your own local region?

3. Global issues relating to Africa and Asia • The Six Education For All goals set for 2015: • • Expand early childhood care and education. • • Ensure all children, especially girls, complete free and compulsory, good quality primary • education. • • Ensure equal access to learning and life-skills training for young people and adults. • • Achieve a 50% improvement in adult literacy rates. • • Achieve gender equity in primary and secondary education. • • Improve the quality of education – especially in literacy, numeracy and life-skills.

6. Continued … around 70:1, a number which Mozambique aims to bring down to 50: 1 – if it can find the money to train and employ these teachers. Since 2002, Mozambique has built 2,000 new schools. In 2005, the government dropped school enrolment fees, giving every child a chance to go to school. But Mozambique desperately needs additional funds to do much more – to accommodate the children still out of school. Each year, between now and 2009, it will need to construct around 2,500 classrooms. The cost per classroom is estimated to around US$10,000-20,000.

9. AFRICA/ASIA So what do you think the main issues are? • Poverty • Need for targetted aid • Health issues especially HIV/AIDS

10. EUROPE and OECD countries • Concerned with equity • Focus on importance of basic skills to promote such equity

13. 15 year olds struggling with reading – Finland has lowest with about 2% below level 1, while Mexico has the highest with 25% • Students in lowest socio-economic groups in Iceland twice as likely to end up at or below Level 1 maths, but 5.5 times as likely in Belgium • Adults with tertiary education are twice as likely to participate in adult learning in Denmark, but nearly 9 times as likely in Hungary. In UK, five times as likely.

14. Steps 1-4 for fair and inclusive education • Step 1: Limit early tracking and streaming and postpone academic selection • Step 2: Manage school choice so as to contain the risks to equity • Step 3: In upper secondary education, provide attractive alternatives, remove dead ends and prevent dropout • Step 4: Offer second chances to gain from education

15. Steps 5-7 for Fair and Inclusive Practices • Step 5: Identify and provide systematic help to those who fall behind at school and reduce high rates of school year repetition • Step 6: Strengthen links between school and home to help disadvantaged parents help their children to learn. • Step 7: Respond to diversity and provide for the successful inclusion of migrants and minorities within mainstream education.

16. NATIONAL ISSUESWhat do you think these are? • 14-19 year olds gaining full level 2 or level 3 qualifications • Adults in the workplace gaining a full level 2 • Skills for Life for adults • 50% of young people entering HE

17. National priorities • Driven by funding • Promoting employability skills for adults and young people which includes Skills for Life, new vocational qualifications for 14-19 year olds, emphasis on level 2 qualifications. • What happened to “Education, education, education”, the concept of Lifelong Learning for all, etc??

18. What are the priorities in your local area?

19. Sources • Global campaign for education (2007) Class of 2007 Not up to Scratch. www.campaignforeducation.org • OECD (2007 No more failures: Ten Steps to Equity in Education. Executive Summary.