The influence of systemic characteristics on participation in lifelong learning

Abstract

Not all European countries have made equal progress in their pursuit of the Lisbon target of a 12.5% participation rate in lifelong learning by 2010. In this paper we adopt a macro-perspective and examine which macro-level characteristics can explain the variation between the EU-15 countries as regards both the overall participation rate and social inequalities in those participation rates.

Country-level variations in the overall participation rates are mainly caused by variations in the participation rates of people in work. Adding this to the dominant share of work-related training among all lifelong learning activities, the explanatory models clearly favour an employability-oriented interpretation of these variations. As regards the overall participation rate, both the employment rate and the innovation rate in the economy have a major impact. Furthermore, comprehensive education systems appear to generate higher participation.

A high overall participation rate in lifelong learning is strongly associated with fewer social inequalities in participation. This underscores the social inclusion potential of non-selective and widely accessible systems of lifelong learning. In addition to the determinants of the overall participation rate, the system characteristics reflecting government intervention in the areas of education, lifelong learning and active labour market policy play an important part in reducing inequalities in participation. Finally, our results underline the importance of social dialogue and social concertation in designing and delivering policies to enhance participation and combat inequalities in participation

About Prof. Ides Nicaise

Prof. Ides Nicaise has a background in economics and wrote his PhD on 'Poverty and human capital', i.e. the relationships between persistent poverty and inequalities in the education system. He works since 1989 as a research manager, head of the research group 'education and lifelong learning' at HIVA (Hoger Instituut voor de Arbeid), a multidisciplinary research institute of the Catholic University of Leuven (Flemish Louvain). He further specialised in social policy, more precisely the relationships between education, labour market policy and social inclusion (in rich as well as developing countries). He also has part-time teaching assignments at the Universities of Leuven (Dept of Education Sciences) and Antwerp (Univ. of Antwerp Management School). Current subjects include the economics of education, education and society, social profit management, and social security economics.

Besides his professional activities, he is chairing the Belgian Resource Centre for the Fight against Poverty, a centre created by law as an interface between the government, the civil society and grassroots organisations defending the interests of the poor. This centre is linked with the Centre for Equal Opportunities and for the Fight against Racism.

He was involved in many projects at national, European and international levels dealing with education, ranging from educational funding to lifelong learning and initial education for socially excluded groups. Some recent projects include a book on educational policies for socially excluded groups in Europe, the OECD's thematic reviews on adult education and on equity in education, and 'LLL2010' (about the promotion of equal opportunities in lifelong learning) in the context of the EC's 6FP.

Selected publications:

• Nicaise I., D'Addio A., Groenez S., You don't see what you see. Selection bias in the measurement of educational inequality and educational performance, Prague, ECSR Conference 'Quality and inequality in education', 1-2 Sept. 2006
• Nicaise I., Verlinden R., Pirard F., Skills upgrading for low-qualified workers in Flanders, in: OECD, Skills upgrading: new policy perspectives , Paris:OECD, 2006, p.223-259.
• Nicaise I., ESPING-ANDERSEN G., PONT B., TUNSTALL P., Equity in education - Sweden, OECD Thematic Review on Equity in Education, Paris: OECD, 2005, 60p.
• Nicaise I., School dropout in Thailand: causes and remedies, Bergen (Norway): International Conference 'Education, knowledge and development', 30 Sept - 1st Oct. 2004
• Nicaise I., Giving fish or teaching to fish ? A cost-benefit analysis of Belgian employment-training projects for minimum income recipients, in : Public Finance and Management, 2002, 2(2), 22p.
• Nicaise I. (ed.), The right to learn. Educational strategies for socially excluded youth in Europe, Bristol, The Policy Press, 2000

Full paper - downloadable:

[Word document - full paper] Participation In Lifelong Learning In the EU-15: The Role of Macro-Level Determinants

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Steven Groenez, Ella Desmedt and Ides Nicaise, Higher Institute of Labour Studies, University of Leuven May 2007. Paper for the ECER Conference, Ghent, Belgium, September 19-21 2007.