Assessing the achievements of European cooperation in the field of education

BRUSSELS: On the 18th of May, the European Union’s ministers met to discuss education, youth, culture and sport. Several discussions were held on the topic of education, including the midterm review of ET2020 and the follow-up on the Paris Declaration. The successes of European cooperation in the field of education and training (ET2020) were discussed at the meeting. ESU agrees that there have been many successes following the ET2020 framework and that the four common objectives still have a high degree of relevance.

Regarding the objective of improving the quality of education, student-centred learning must be emphasised to assure the much-needed fundamental reform in higher education. In addition to emphasising the importance of student-centred learning, additional funds must also be in place to effectively encourage comprehensive reform. Student-centred learning represents both a mind-set and a culture within a given higher education institution. Innnovative methods of teaching are a core component in this, which must aim to promote learning through dialogue between teachers and other learners. Student-centred learning also involves taking students seriously as active participants in their own learning, creating a learning environment where students can develop transferable skills such as problem solving and critical, reflective thinking. In addition to the emphasis on student-centred learning, it is important to integrate the goals of the Paris Declaration into the midterm review of ET2020. As one of the objectives of ET2020 is to promote equity, social cohesion and active citizenship should be a strong focus linking the Paris-agenda and the midterm review of ET2020. There are many areas that can be addressed to support the agenda based on the Paris Declaration