European Commission DG Education and Culture 1 NEW CHALLENGES AND PARTNERSHIPS IN AN ENLARGED EUROPEAN UNION Open, Distance and e-Learning in Support of Modernisation, Capacity Building and Regional Development EDEN 2004 Annual Conference Budapest June, 2004 eLearning: an answer to the challenge of the EU enlargement Maruja Gutierrez Diaz European Commission

European Commission DG Education and Culture 2 Education: a key to the future of the EU Europe to become a worldwide quality reference in education & training by 2010 Barcelona European Council, March 2002 The European Union: 25 Member States Dublin 1st May 2004 Strategic goals for education & training: Quality, Access and Openness to the wider world Stockholm European Council, March 2001 “…the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion” Lisbon European Council, March 2000

European Commission DG Education and Culture 3 Education & Training 2010 A shared work programme for adapting education and training systems to the knowledge society Three core objectives: Enhancing quality Increasing accessibility Connecting to society ICT as a lever and as an essential tool

European Commission DG Education and Culture 4 Education and Training 2010 Success hinges on urgent reforms (1/2) Rates of early school leavers still too high In 2002 almost 20% yrs had only lower secondary education Too few graduates in scientific and technological fields And still 2-4 times more men than women in science Completion of upper secondary education could be better In 2002 only 76% of 22 yrs old completed upper 2nd school Joint interim report of Council and Commission COM (2003) 685 final, Official Journal 30 April /C 104/1

European Commission DG Education and Culture 5 EARLY SCHOOL LEAVERS Share of the population aged with only lower secondary education and not in education or training (2002)

European Commission DG Education and Culture 6 Education and Training 2010 Early school leavers Share of the population aged with only lower secondary education and not in education or training (2002)

European Commission DG Education and Culture 7 GRADUATES IN MATHS, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Total number of tertiary (ISCED 5A, 5B and 6) graduates from mathematic, science and technology fields (2001)

European Commission DG Education and Culture 8 Education and Training 2010 Graduates in maths, science and technology Total number of tertiary (ISCED 5A, 5B and 6) graduates from mathematic, science and technology fields (2001)

European Commission DG Education and Culture 9 COMPLETION OF UPPER SECONDARY EDUCATION Percentage of those aged 22 who have successfully completed at least upper secondary education (ISCED 3), 20021

European Commission DG Education and Culture 10 Education and Training 2010 Completion of upper secondary education Percentage of those aged 22 who have successfully completed at least upper secondary education (ISCED 3), 20021

European Commission DG Education and Culture 11 Education and Training 2010 Success hinges on urgent reforms (2/2) Young people failing to acquire key competences Nearly 20% of young people don ’ t have key competencies Shortage of qualified teachers and trainers is looming 27% primary & 37% secondary teachers are more than 50 yrs old Too few adults participating in lifelong learning In 2002 participation rate was only 8.5% Joint interim report of Council and Commission COM (2003) 685 final, Official Journal 30 April /C 104/1

European Commission DG Education and Culture 12 KEY COMPETENCIES Percentage of pupils with reading literacy proficiency level 1 and lower on the PISA reading literacy scale), 2000

European Commission DG Education and Culture 13 Education and Training 2010 Key competencies Percentage of pupils with reading literacy proficiency level 1 and lower on the PISA reading literacy scale), 2000

European Commission DG Education and Culture 14 PARTICIPATION IN LIFELONG LEARNING Percentage of population aged participating in education and training in 4 weeks prior to the survey (2002)

European Commission DG Education and Culture 15 Education and Training 2010 Participation in lifelong learning Percentage of population aged participating in education and training in 4 weeks prior to the survey (2002) European Union prior to enlargement New Member States Enlarged European Union Data source: Eurostat, Labour force survey prior to enlargement 2 after enlargement 7.9

European Commission DG Education and Culture 16 Education and Training 2010 Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP, 2000

European Commission DG Education and Culture 17 Education and Training 2010 Total expenditure on educational institutions per pupil/student by level of education relative to GDP per capita (2000)

European Commission DG Education and Culture 18 Enlargement and education: a different kind of challenge The open method of co-ordination analysis and monitoring of common concerns Benchmarking and peer learning facilitating exchanges of experience and of good practice Education and training programmes strengthening and extending partnerships eLearning and distance education exploring new opportunities together

European Commission DG Education and Culture 19 eLearning in Education & Training 2010 The ICT working group: Member States Education stakeholders Relevant organisations: OECD, IEA A selection of 40 good practices A selection of 40 good policies A set of recommendations New framework programme for lifelong learning ICT as a horizontal line for innovation

European Commission DG Education and Culture 20 eLearning in Education & Training 2010 Four recommendations of the ICT group: Embed ICT policies and strategies into long term educational objectives Ensure new support services for education Empower educational actors and train them for the management of change Develop research, establish new indicators and provide access to results

European Commission DG Education and Culture 21 Making Lisbon come true: the eLearning initiative 2000: The eLearning initiative A declaration of political will An essential component of eEurope 2001: The eLearning Action Plan Action through partnership 2002: The eLearning Programme Supporting take-up

European Commission DG Education and Culture 22 Exploratory actions The eLearning initiative 2001: assesing demand 11 demonstration projects + 4 strategic studies 2002: exploring new priorities 20 demonstration projects; 4 projects on quality; 16 media literacy projects 2003: supporting sharing and networking 8 peer-reviews; 18 thematic networks; 4 observatories; 16 media literacy projects + 3 strategic studies 96 pilot projects and 7 strategic studies

European Commission DG Education and Culture 23 Action through partnership The eLearning Action Plan The eLearning Action Plan helps to co-ordinate community actions concerned with e-learning, mobilising the educational and cultural communities, as well as the economic and social players in Europe Four action lines : Infrastructures and equipment Training at all levels European quality contents and services European co-operation, networking and dialogue

European Commission DG Education and Culture 24 Fostering communication between e-learning communities: The eLearning Portal elearningeuropa.info Grand Winner 2004, Global Initiative Awards announced at the Bologna children's book fair

European Commission DG Education and Culture 25 Supporting take-up The eLearning Programme Four areas of action: Promoting digital literacy10 % European Virtual Campuses30 % eTwinning of European schools45 % Transversal actions 10 % 44 Million Euro for three years ( )

European Commission DG Education and Culture 26 The eLearning experience: some conclusions Integration of ICT in education has moved From awareness to take-up From research to practice From hesitation to endorsement The new stage requires focussing on Understanding: Observation, analysis, research Mainstreaming: at all learning levels / for all users Creativity: new contents and services

European Commission DG Education and Culture 27 Understanding e-learning: still a long way to go Some encouraging results, but: Lack of a common understanding of basic concepts: e-learning, digital literacy, relevant output indicators Lack of comparable and timely data, Lack of adequate and affordable tools Information on whether the integration of ICT is attaining its objectives is required to enlighten decision makers on the interest and importance of investing in ICT

European Commission DG Education and Culture 28 eLearning policy: a need for an integrated approach Lifelong learning, formal and informal learning eLearning as a common thread, linking different levels of learning and different types of learners Research and practice Fostering technological, pedagogical, socio-economic and, in particular, user-oriented action research Supply and demand Building a solid demand, creating fair conditions for supply, exploiting and sharing public resources

European Commission DG Education and Culture 29 eLearning perspectives: a reason to continue eLearning can be a key contribution to: Empowerment: people, institutions, companies Equity: personal, social, geographical Productivity: personal, social, economic Creativity: innovation, imagination, change Embedding an European dimension in education

European Commission DG Education and Culture 30 Thank you for your attention !