European education – the central point of the 2024-2029 EU Agenda [Promoted content]

The concept of European education continues to be difficult to approach, despite the fact that it seems to be an easy subject to understand. Education should not be considered a “small thing”, in a knowledge society based Union as the one we live in. The connection with European citizenship is obvious, opening the way for a better civic education for which we see a great need in Europe.

By Kirsten Broekema, President of European Students’ Forum / AEGEE-Europe, and MEP Victor Negrescu, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education.

Most of those who analyze European education reduce their study to solely be covering student mobility programs, a fantastic success of a united Europe, without a doubt. However, it is important to get out of this niche in order to have a vision of European education projected on the horizon of 2040.

Education is a pivotal subject, which massively influences other sectoral policies, the most obvious being research, social integration and job creation. This cluster of policies, focused around education, must receive support over the next period.

There is a lack of universal European policies that would apply to all Member States, due to the fact that education is a national competence. Therefore, the national systems must take up the responsibility of co-developing European education. The design of an integrated mechanism, in which the European institutions work together with the Member States, is necessary.

The launch of mobility programs within Europe at the end of the 1980s gave colour to the European education project. The mobility programs must continue, but in a continuously globalized world, where distances no longer matter as much as back in the 1980s expansion of mobility with other continents is a must. The commercial partnerships that the EU establishes with various countries or structures (ASEAN, MERCOSUR, etc.) must be doubled with educational partnerships.

Formal, non-formal and informal education are three main components of the global education system, each with its own unique role in developing individual skills, knowledge and abilities. Understanding the complementarities between these forms of education is essential to fully appreciate the wide range of learning opportunities available. The combined education of the three components must not only be more visible in the future but all three should be supported by a formal recognition framework of the skills and experiences, with a specific focus on the recognition of voluntary youth work.

One of our main concerns in formal education is a lack of adequate pedagogical preparation of academic teachers and lecturers and thus a lack of interpersonal, emotional intelligence, communication skills and the ability to work with students of special needs. Moreover, the needs of today’s students have changed, requiring innovation in the education methods to become more creative than just an expository method. Non-formal education method training would be well-suited as a complimentary training to enhance delivery skills and increase the active learning methods of teachers.

Inclusion in education for youth is not limited to students in higher education, but extends to all young people, regardless of their educational, economic, social or ethnic status or background. The aim is to create an educational environment that is accessible and responsive to the diverse needs of all young people, promoting equal opportunities and active participation.

To foster this educational environment special attention needs to be given to inclusionary digitalisation, as this process must not further exacerbate social inequalities. Access to digital tools and capacity-building in digital literacy are the first necessities for ensuring young people’s digital rights and digital participation. European youth should be taught critical thinking, empowering them to recognise reliable sources and become responsible consumers as well as producers of digital information.

The vision of European education must naturally combine the requirements of the current societal needs. The spring of 2024, just before the European elections, is an appropriate moment to reflect on how Europe is seen through the lens of education, but also to propose concrete actions for the European mandate 2024-2029. European education needs to occupy a central role both on the agenda of European institutions and EU Member States.

The European Commission must focus their strategic priority over the period 2024-2029 on a development of European education, with a new leap in this field like the one realized in the 1990s. The idea of a Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for European education can give a clear signal to everyone.

In addition, we need to boost citizenship education, tackle the skills deficit and define key areas for training and reskilling, but we also need to modernize the education system and learn how to use new technologies to support education, without leaving anyone behind. We call for the creation of a European Education Plan with financial resources to support quality of education and teacher training, and reduce early school drop-out rates. If we are seriously thinking about the future of Europe, then we must think strategically about the future of education. In order to give European education the necessary importance, we suggest the launch of an Intergovernmental Conference in the spring of 2025 to present the integrated vision of the Member States and the EU on the educational perspective for 2040. This could be complemented by the creation of a European Year for Education.