Council conclusions on equity and inclusion in education and training in order to promote educational success for all

(2021/C 221/02)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

IN THE CONTEXT OF:

1. The European Pillar of Social Rights jointly proclaimed by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission at the 2017 Gothenburg Social Summit, particularly its first, third and eleventh principles.

2. The Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030), which establishes improving quality, equity, inclusion and success for all in education and training as its first strategic priority.

RECALLING the political background set out in the Annex,

IN THE LIGHT OF:

3. The findings from the 2020 Education and Training Monitor, which reveal, among other things, that: (a) participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC) from age 4 is high, at just below the ET 2020 target, thanks to sustained efforts by Member States, but uneven access and quality remain a challenge; (b) the figure for early leavers from education and training stood at 10,2 % in 2019, almost achieving the ET 2020 target. However, for those with disabilities the rate is 20,3 %, and foreign-born pupils are more likely to leave education prematurely than their native-born peers (22,2 % v 8,9 % respectively). More young men than young women leave education early (11,9 % v 8,4 % respectively), and this gap has remained broadly constant over the last decade; (c) the results of the 2018 PISA study show that the EU has not met its ET 2020 target to reduce underachievement in basic skills to less than 15 %. In fact, in the EU as a whole, underachievement increased in science and reading and remained stable in mathematics over the past decade (22,5 % in reading, 22,9 % in mathematics and 22,3 % in science for the EU-27). Marked gender differences in underachievement levels only persist in reading – with higher shares of underachievers among boys. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of the school climate for pupil well-being and performance; (d) the ET 2020 target for tertiary educational attainment of 40 % has been reached by the EU and most of the Member States. However, gender differences persist across the EU, and students with fewer opportunities have lower expectations of completing tertiary education (43,4 %) than their peers (82,3 %). (e) progress in increasing participation in learning among adults has been slow over the past decade, and participation across Member States remains highly uneven. In 2019 the participation rate of adults in learning stood at 10,8 % in the EU-27, a small increase from 7,8 % in 2010, and still far from the 15 % target. (f) socio-economic background is still the most important determinant of educational outcomes in the EU, hindering a sizable share of young people from acquiring an adequate level of basic skills and preventing upward social mobility.

4. The Community survey on ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) usage in households and by individuals which shows that in 2019 a fifth of young people (aged 16-24) in the EU still lacked basic digital skills.

5. The 2020 Eurydice report on ‘Equity in school education in Europe: Structures, policies and student performance’, which identifies policies and structures associated with higher levels of equity in student performance and shows that equity in schools, in terms of both inclusion and fairness, varies widely in Europe.

6. The COVID-19 pandemic which, together with the widespread shift to digital teaching and learning, has put a significant strain on education and training systems throughout the EU and will most likely have an impact on progress towards several of the EU-level targets and indicators in education and training.

CONSIDERS THAT:

7. Within the new strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030), and given its overarching political objective of achieving the European Education Area, it is now time to take stock of the progress made so far in improving equity and inclusion in education and training in order to promote educational success for all, and to give a new impetus to EU-level cooperation and national work in this field.

8. Although the issues of equity, inclusive education and success in education and training have been tackled by the Council, they have yet to be considered as a whole and as intersecting and interdependent points that can help determine the ability of education and training systems to provide truly socially inclusive and cohesive, fair and successful high-quality education and training for all, including lifelong learning.

9. Particularly in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which affected all education and training systems, including ECEC, the importance of improving equity and inclusion in education and training in order to ensure that no one is left behind has been highlighted by EU Education Ministers in several debates held since 2020.

10. European education and training systems should take advantage of the fact that inclusion is one of the main priorities across EU policies, funding programmes and instruments, such as: the new Erasmus+ programme, which contemplates dedicated inclusion measures; the European Social Fund Plus, which supports the promotion of equal access to high-quality education and training at all levels, in particular for disadvantaged groups; and the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, which should be fully mobilised to address inequalities in education, which were aggravated by the current crisis.

11. The potential of education and training to foster inclusion is well recognised in the jointly proclaimed European Pillar of Social Rights, as well as in its Action Plan ( 1 ) recently adopted by the Commission, which underlines that education and training is essential to unlocking new opportunities for all.

RECOGNISES THAT:

12. Equity in access, inclusion and success for all in education and training is a basic principle of education and training, but achieving this is still a challenge for EU education and training systems, with significant differences between and within Member States.

13. Education and training has an important role in reducing inequalities, namely those linked to socio-economic status, migrant background, racial or ethnic origin ( 2 ) , gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, and there is evidence that the highest-performing education and training systems are those that put emphasis on equity and inclusion.

14. The cooperation between institutions of formal and non-formal education and training has a particularly positive impact on social inclusion, as was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic.

15. Since diversity and disparities continue to increase in today’s society, education and training policy has a prime role to play in preventing discrimination and fostering inclusion, integration and respect for diversity in the European Union. Therefore, education and training systems need to be shaped in order to ensure that all groups and individuals have effective equal access to quality learning opportunities and are enabled to successfully complete their education or training path.

16. Efforts must continue to ensure that more learners can successfully complete upper secondary (or equivalent) education and training and continue into further education and training or higher education, enabling them to develop valuable knowledge, skills and competences for life and realise their full potential.

17. In recent years, national and regional education and training systems have been able to improve their performance in providing better equity in access and inclusion, which can support educational success, but there is still a need for further efforts, actions and measures, in order to simultaneously improve equity, inclusion and educational success. This includes the need to provide more accessible and high-quality lifelong guidance at all levels and types of education and training ( 3 )

18. The new Erasmus+ programme is now equipped with reinforced means to better promote social inclusion, equity and improve outreach to people with special needs and/or fewer opportunities, including by making mobility activities more accessible to a wider range of learners, teachers, trainers, teacher educators and other staff.

EMPHASISES THAT:

19. All individuals, at all stages of their lives, should have the opportunity to develop a broad range of key competences ( 4 ) in order to thrive in the world, both professionally and personally, and to cope with current and future transformations in society and the economy, including within the green and digital transitions. This is as much a question of social fairness as it is of the EU’s competitiveness.

20. Education and training have a vital role to play when it comes to shaping the future of Europe and for citizens to enjoy personal fulfilment and well-being, to be prepared to adapt and perform in a changing labour market and to engage in active and responsible citizenship.

21. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted even more starkly the need to address longstanding structural challenges beyond the immediate effects of the pandemic, including as regards the well-being and mental health of children learners and educators. This situation has reinforced the need to ensure inclusive high-quality education and training, including ECEC, and to make it available and accessible to all learners, regardless of their gender, specific socio-economic, ethnic, religious or cultural background, specific educational needs, or other personal circumstances.

22. Equal opportunities for all in accessing education and training are crucial, but not sufficient: particular attention must be paid to the intersectionality of issues, i.e., learners facing additional or overlapping challenges, such as those with special educational needs or those who have a disability, those going through difficult personal circumstances, those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, from migrant background s and from minorities, those from economically depressed areas, from isolated, insular or remote areas, such as the EU’s outermost regions. Following that same logic, the needs of particularly gifted learners must be considered in order to support them and help them realise their full potential.

23. Improving equity and inclusion in education and training also requires developing gender sensitivity in the teaching and learning processes and in education and training institutions while challenging and dissolving both gender stereotypes and biases, and preventing discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.

24. Education and training systems should cater for the diverse individual needs, abilities and capacities of all learners and offer learning opportunities to all, including links to non-formal and informal settings, such as cooperation with adult education centres, youth work institutions or centres and cultural institutions, among others.

25. Efforts must still be made to equip all learners with the social, emotional, civic and intercultural competences needed to reaffirm, strengthen and foster the EU’s democratic values, fundamental rights, equal opportunities, social inclusion and non-discrimination, as well as to promote conscious and active citizenship. For this, citizenship education can play a key role, by ensuring that all learners gain an understanding and respect for all forms of diversity, thus developing tolerance, democratic attitudes, critical thinking and acquiring intercultural and active citizenship competences.

26. Participation in ECEC provides an important basis for future personal, educational and professional success, which is particularly vital for children from disadvantaged or vulnerable backgrounds. There is still a need to raise the quality, inclusiveness, accessibility and affordability of ECEC systems to ensure effective equal opportunities for all children to participate in ECEC ( 5 )

27. Early leaving from education and training and academic failure expose young people to fewer socio-economic opportunities, in particular for those at risk and those most vulnerable to exclusion. Efforts must continue in order to ensure truly inclusive systems, in which all learners receive a high-quality education and their well-being and mental health is promoted and protected. This, coupled with prevention and support measures based on learners’ individual needs and improved quality lifelong guidance, is crucial in bringing down the rate of early leaving from education and training and in steering learners towards the successful completion of upper secondary (or equivalent) education and continuing into further education and training or higher education.

28. It is essential to promote enhanced educational achievement and to support a smooth transition to the labour market, including by promoting, through lifelong guidance, lifelong learning and adult learning, and when necessary within ‘upskilling’ and ‘reskilling’ processes, continuous personal, academic and professional development and active citizenship.

29. The share of underachievers is still too high, and across Europe learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, from economically depressed areas or from isolated, insular or remote areas, such as the EU’s outermost regions, are over-represented among underachievers and early school leavers. Therefore, there is still a need to identify education and training policy measures which can better boost educational success for all learners, including innovative pedagogical approaches.

30. Vocational education and training, including apprenticeships and other forms of work-based learning, contributes to equity by ensuring that vocational programmes are of high quality, inclusive and accessible for all, including vulnerable groups ( 6 )

31. Equally, adult learning provides flexible opportunities to all, including vulnerable groups to access learning and offers a second chance or alternative pathway to skills and qualifications.

32. Cooperation and timely information exchange between education and training institutions, youth work and the social sector would enable early detection of learners at risk of early leaving and provide more appropriate support measures for vulnerable young people, such as NEETs, including through the reinforced Youth Guarantee.

33. Higher education has the potential to foster equity and inclusion by facilitating and supporting students in a smooth transition from upper secondary education into higher education, by supporting access to high-quality and inclusive education for all types of learners and by promoting the participation of underrepresented groups, including non-traditional learners. It can also further engage adults, promote upskilling and reskilling, and play a role in lifelong learning through flexible alternatives to full programmes, by exploring the concept and use of a European Approach to micro-credentials.

34. The work done in the framework of the Bologna process is relevant for the further development of the social dimension in higher education.

35. Digital technology plays an important part in making learning environments, digital pedagogies, tools and tasks adaptable, personalised and suitable to diverse learners. It can promote genuine inclusion – provided that digital gap issues, in terms of digital infrastructure, connectivity, and access to digital devices, equipment, resources and to digital skills, as well as their accessibility for those with disabilities, are addressed in parallel. Furthermore, although digital technology enabled distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic, this situation highlighted underlying disparities in access to digital devices, connectivity, and other forms of digital divide such as the digital competences of learners, educators, and carers and the availability of support related to the latter.

36. An ethical, responsible and inclusive use of emergent technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, might also contribute to bridging the digital divide and to fostering more inclusive teaching and learning.

37. Growing access to virtual learning environments provides many new opportunities. However, the more frequent and growing access to and use of virtual learning environments also expose learners to a greater risk of suffering from cyber-bullying, other forms of online harassment or becoming targets of disinformation, namely through social networks. Efforts must be made to ensure that learners are educated and educators are trained in online safety and are conscious of the potential risks of certain platforms or online tools, in order to truly promote a safe virtual learning environment. In parallel, education and training institutions should have clear guidelines and procedures in place to respond to these issues.

38. Teachers, trainers, ECEC professionals and other pedagogical staff, as well as leaders of education and training institutions and guidance counsellor s, at all levels, are essential to supporting equity, inclusion and success in education and training for all. In order to be able to perform this function, they must be highly competent and equipped with the skills, competences and background knowledge needed to understand and tackle educational disadvantage and to teach and educate in increasingly diverse, multilingual and multicultural environments.

39. Teachers, trainers and other educators’ initial education, induction and continuous professional development should be aligned with the relevant national and regional standards, as appropriate , and education and training institutions’ development processes. This is essential for establishing new approaches to better respond to new and challenging realities, such as those related with the digital and green transitions. Efforts must be made to support teachers, trainers, leaders of education and training institutions and guidance counsellors in boosting equity, quality in teaching and lifelong guidance. Furthermore, efforts must be made to attract the best candidates for the profession and to address teacher shortages, when necessary, through better and more flexible recruitment strategies. In parallel, this will contribute to raising the quality and inclusiveness of education and training institutions, thereby improving the governance of education and training systems.

INVITES THE MEMBER STATES, IN ACCORDANCE WITH NATIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY, TO:

40. Implement educational policy measures and pursue, as appropriate, reforms in education and training systems, looking at the whole spectrum of education and training and in a whole institution approach to enhance equal opportunities and inclusion and promote educational success at all levels and types of education and training, namely through: (a) addressing the increasing diversity of learners and enhancing access to high-quality and inclusive education and training for all learners, including from disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, such as learners at risk of poverty and social exclusion and learners with specific learning needs, persons with disabilities, lower qualified/skills persons, persons with migrant backgrounds, persons from minorities and learners with fewer opportunities because of their geographical location, gender and/or their socio-economically disadvantaged situation; (b) promoting comprehensive educational success strategies at national and regional level, based on strong cross-sectoral cooperation at all levels, in order to foster the successful completion of upper secondary (or equivalent) education and training pathways and to reduce early leaving from education and training and low achievement, including by supporting a whole institution approach and multi-disciplinary collaborations in and around schools, with an overall inclusive learner-centred vision of education and training, promoting early detection of signs of disengagement, reinforcing individualised guidance and support frameworks for learners at risk, and promoting and supporting the involvement of parents, carers, families and communities; (c) working towards ensuring that all learners reach a baseline level of proficiency in basic skills, including digital skills, with a special focus on groups at risk of underachievement and early leaving from education and training, including identifying effective policy reforms to support better achievement in basic skills, specifically concerning curriculum and/or assessment and lifelong guidance, as well as the capacity of institutions and staff to be innovative and develop student-centred learning approaches and environments; (d) working towards ensuring that all learners, including particularly gifted learners, are adequately supported and intellectually challenged, according to their abilities and capacities, while protecting their physical, emotional and psychological well-being; (e) maintaining education and training institutions as safe environments, free from violence, racism, bullying, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, sexism, harmful speech, disinformation, misinformation and all forms of discrimination; (f) stimulating a safe, welcoming and supportive learning environment, including online, in which all learners can grow and develop as individuals and members of the community and feel respected, valued and recognised in their specific talents and needs, while setting appropriately high expectations for all learners and caring for their individual well-being; (g) ensuring that internal and external quality assurance processes in education and training institutions consider the issues of equity in access, inclusion and educational success for all learners. (h) considering, according to national and regional circumstances, implementing effective lifelong guidance policies, providing career guidance and opportunities for career skills development at all levels and types of education and training, including to support citizens’ lifelong career transitions; (i) promoting multilingualism in education and training institutions by valuing and mobilising learners’ linguistic backgrounds, thereby both strengthening proficiency in the language of schooling and supporting the acquisition of further language competences; (j) ensuring accessibility to learning opportunities and inclusive settings, and providing individualised support measures in learning environments that maximise academic and social development for persons with disabilities, in order to facilitate their education (7); (k) working on preventing psychological difficulties among learners and supporting learners with psychological difficulties, including through access to professional support, if necessary.

41. Encourage a broad dialogue, cooperation and innovative approaches between public authorities, education and training institutions and key stakeholders, such as local communities, local and regional administrations, parents and carers, extended family, actors in the youth field, social and cultural mediators, volunteers, social partners, employers and civil society, in order to ensure the establishment of inclusive education and training strategies that promote equity and inclusion and meet the needs of the wider community.

42. Encourage the provision of learning opportunities for all learners to engage in flexible education and training pathways throughout life, including through the validation of prior learning, including within non-formal and informal settings and flexible approaches, including by exploring the concept and use of a European Approach to micro-credentials, while not undermining the core principle of full degree programmes in initial education and training.

43. Encourage and facilitate access to high-quality ECEC to all children, regardless of their individual, family or social circumstances, and pursue the further implementation of the European quality framework for high-quality ECEC systems, including by continuing to invest in ECEC in order to provide access to more children and to enhance quality standards.

44. Offer second chance opportunities, including flexible upskilling and reskilling pathways, to adults who have left initial education and training with no or low qualifications.

45. Explore opportunities for developing and enhancing national data collection and monitoring and evaluation systems, disaggregated by sex and other relevant parameters, which would allow Member States to assess the impact of individual policy initiatives, thus helping to gauge progress in the promotion of equity, inclusion and success in education and training systems.

46. Continue to make use of the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, where appropriate, to implement, monitor, document and disseminate successful inclusive approaches in education and training systems.

47. Make full use of European collaboration tools for education and training institutions, such as the eTwinning platform, the School Education Gateway and the EPALE (Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe), in order to enhance cooperation and the exchange of information, best practices and resources regarding the promotion of equity, inclusion and educational success in education and training institutions.

48. Increase the availability, access, accessibility and quality of digital equipment and infrastructure, connectivity, open and digital educational resources and pedagogies at all levels of education and training, with targeted support to ensure effective access for disadvantaged learners and learners with disabilities at all ages, while also addressing the need for the development of basic and advanced digital skills and competences at all levels and types of education and training in order to fully harness the potential of digital education towards building more inclusive and success-inducing teaching and learning environments.

49. Ensure that teachers, trainers, ECEC professionals, pedagogical staff and other educators, as well as leaders of education and training institutions at all levels are provided with all the support they need, including the necessary initial education, induction into the profession and continuous professional development, in order to understand and tackle educational disadvantage and address personal biases and prejudice, to promote real inclusion and success, to deal with diversity, to foster proper motivation for learning and to deliver high quality learning outcomes for a diverse target group, in cooperation with other stakeholders. This includes supporting the development of basic and advanced digital competences and innovative pedagogies and the development of social and emotional skills, while promoting the well-being and mental health of educators.

50. Address teacher shortages – where they exist - in particular in special needs education and in multicultural and multilingual settings.

51. Continue to implement the commitments of the 2015 Paris Declaration, namely through citizenship education, in order to promote active citizenship and to foster tolerance and democratic attitudes, intercultural competences, digital and media literacy and critical thinking.

52. Make full use, according to national or regional needs, of all available regional, national and EU funding mechanisms and programmes, such as Erasmus+, the European Social Fund Plus together with other European structural and investment funds, InvestEU and the new opportunities under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, towards fostering sustainable investment in equitable and inclusive education and training in order to promote educational success for all.

INVITES THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION, IN LINE WITH THEIR COMPETENCES AND WITH DUE REGARD TO SUBSIDIARITY, TO:

53. Make maximum use of the opportunities available under the new strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030), via the Open Method of Coordination, to promote the exchange of good practices and innovative approaches on how to achieve more equitable and inclusive education and training which promotes success, namely by strengthening mutual and peer learning, and, where necessary, carrying out research and studies in order to promote evidence-informed policymaking and to develop and disseminate successful policy practices on equity, inclusion and success for all in education and training.

INVITES THE COMMISSION, IN LINE WITH THE TREATIES AND WITH FULL RESPECT FOR SUBSIDIARITY, TO:

54. Work, along with Member States, on initiatives announced by the Commission in the context of the European Skills Agenda, the European Education Area, in the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027, which will improve equity, inclusion and success in education and training, as well as the Strategy on the Rights of the Child, the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 and the Action Plan on the Implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, including the Child Guarantee.

55. Work on an initiative aiming to co-develop, along with Member States, policy guidance on reducing low achievement and increasing upper secondary (or equivalent) education and training attainment, contributing to raising competence levels, disassociating educational attainment from socio-economic background and preventing youth unemployment.

56. Implement the Strategic Dialogue with the Member States, focusing on developing a high-performing digital ecosystem as well as enhancing the digital skills and competences for the digital transformation of education and training.

57. Outline policy guidance for Member States on online and distance learning in primary and secondary education to increase the inclusiveness and flexibility of school education and to improve the development of broad competences of all learners.

58. Support cooperation between relevant stakeholder organisations at European, national and regional level and Member State authorities responsible for education and training, so that they may jointly provide input to policy recommendations on innovative and multi-disciplinary teaching and learning approaches for basic skills.

59. Enhance cooperation on equity in access, inclusion and success for all in education and training with relevant European institutions and agencies, such as the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, and with relevant international organisations such as the Council of Europe, the OECD, the United Nations and UNESCO, in collaboration with the Member States.

60. Conduct work on proposals, based on and using the expert opinion of the Standing Group on Indicators and Benchmarks, for possible indicators or EU-level targets in the areas of equity and inclusion.

61. Explore opportunities for developing and enhancing European data collection, namely within Eurostat, in order to facilitate the assessment of policy initiatives and measures that promote equity, inclusion and success in education and training systems across the EU, while avoiding additional burdens for the Member States.

62. Make use of the expert group on quality investment in education and training, in close cooperation with the Member States, to explore how efficient and effective investment in people’s competences and infrastructure could help promote equity and inclusion in education and training.

63. Convene an expert group to develop proposals on strategies for creating supportive learning environments for groups at risk of underachievement and for supporting well-being at school.

64. Convene an expert group to focus on promoting digital literacy and tackling disinformation, which is crucial for creating a safe, empowering and inclusive online experience for all.

(1) COM(2021) 102 final.

(2) Reference is made to Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin.

(3) In accordance with the Council Resolution of 21 November 2008 on better integrating lifelong guidance into lifelong learning strategies.

(4) Council Recommendation of 22 May 2018 on key competences for lifelong learning (OJ C 189, 4.6.2018, p. 1).

(5) In accordance with the Council Recommendation of 22 May 2019 on High-Quality Early Childhood Education and Care Systems.

(6) In accordance with the Council Recommendation of 24 November 2020 on vocational education and training for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience.

(7) In line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030.