Report from the Commission - Implementation of the White Paper "Teaching and learning Towards the learning society"
Date: 2000-01-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU action, continuing education, integration into employment, labour market, young person

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 10.1.2000
COM(1999)750 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION

Implementation of the White Paper "Teaching and learning – Towards the learning
society"

SUMMARY

I.

FROM THE LEARNING SOCIETY TO A EUROPE OF KNOWLEDGE: WHAT
CONTRIBUTION HAS THE WHITE PAPER MADE? ...............................................5

1.

2.

3.

DEVELOPING THE EMPLOYABILITY AND ADAPTABILITY OF YOUNG PEOPLE
AND WORKERS: KNOWLEDGE, APTITUDES AND SKILLS...............................5

BOOSTING KNOWLEDGE POTENTIAL..........................................................6

HELPING TO BUILD A PEOPLE'S EUROPE ....................................................6

II.

FIRST RESULTS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE OF THE WHITE PAPER'S FIVE
OBJECTIVES.....................................................................................................6

1.

EXPERIMENTAL PROJECTS ........................................................................7

A)
B)
C)
D)

AUTOMATED TESTS FOR EVALUATING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS.......7
SECOND-CHANCE SCHOOLS .............................................................8
EUROPEAN VOLUNTARY SERVICE ...................................................9
THE EUROPEAN LABEL FOR INITIATIVES ENCOURAGING LANGUAGE
LEARNING.....................................................................................10

2.

ACTION UNDER COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES ...........................................11

OBJECTIVE I: ENCOURAGING THE ACQUISITION OF NEW KNOWLEDGE......11
OBJECTIVE II: BRINGING SCHOOLS AND THE BUSINESS
SECTOR CLOSER TOGETHER ....................................................................11
OBJECTIVE III: COMBATING EXCLUSION.................................................12
OBJECTIVE IV: BECOMING PROFICIENT IN THREE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGES...........................................................................................12
OBJECTIVE V: TREATING CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND INVESTMENT IN
TRAINING ON AN EQUAL BASIS................................................................13

3.

NEW IDEAS AND EXCHANGES OF EXPERIENCE .........................................13

III. THE WHITE PAPER'S METHODOLOGICAL INPUT ON THE INNOVATION FRONT15

1.

2.

3.

THE EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS' CONTRIBUTION TO THE INNOVATION EFFORT
.............................................................................................................16

COOPERATION WITH THE MEMBER STATES.............................................16

PAYING HEED TO THE INDIVIDUAL'S EXPECTATIONS AND NEEDS ..............17

CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................18

ANNEX

Annex 1 AUTOMATIC TESTS FOR ASSESSING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS ..................19
SECOND CHANCE SCHOOLS.....................................................................20
Annex 2
PRIORITY THEMES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE LEARNING ......22
Annex 3

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IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WHITE PAPER "TEACHING AND

LEARNING – TOWARDS THE LEARNING SOCIETY"

The aim of this report is to describe1 the experimental, action and study phase implementing
the five objectives which were laid down in November 1995 in the Commission's White Paper
"Teaching and learning - towards the learning society"2:

– Objective I : Encourage the acquisition of new knowledge;

– Objective II : Bring schools and the business sector closer together;

– Objective III : Combat exclusion;

– Objective IV : Proficiency in three Community languages;

– Objective V : Treat capital investment and investment in training on an equal basis.

Following its adoption, the European Commission initiated a broad debate on the subjects
covered by the White Paper. The various Community institutions – the Council3,
the
European Parliament4 , the Economic and Social Committee5, and the Committee of the
Regions6 likewise debated the problems raised by the White Paper. The Commission took
stock of all these discussions in 1997 in a Communication entitled "Review of reactions to the
White Paper – Teaching and learning: towards the learning society"7. The various Community
institutions and bodies, the Member States, the social partners, higher education and research
institutions and the NGOs have all made contributions leading up to the series of experiments
conducted under the various existing action programmes in the areas of education, training
and youth8.

This is not the place to conduct a full-scale final assessment of the way the five objectives
have been implemented, since many of the measures are still in progress. However, after a
review of the contribution the White Paper has made to the concept of a Europe of
knowledge (Chapter I), it is nonetheless possible to take stock, at the end of 1999, of what has
in relation to innovative
been done (Chapter II) and evaluate the methodological input

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2

3

4

5

6

7

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The Commission is thereby complying with the undertakings entered into at the Council of 27 June
1997, the conclusions (OJ C 303, 4.10.1997) to which state: "The Council notes with interest that the
Commission has undertaken a series of experiments concerning the various objectives on which it will
report to the Council…".
(Luxembourg : Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 1996)
Council conclusions of 6 May 1996 on the White Paper; OJ C 195, 6.7.1996
Resolution on the Commission's White Paper on education and training; OJ C 115, 14.4.1997
Economic and Social Committee opinion on the Commission's White Paper on education and training;
OJ C 295, 7.10.1996.
Committee of the Regions opinion on the Commission's White Paper on education and training; OJ
C 182, 24.6.1996
(COM(97) 256 final).
This report does not cover the ensemble of Community actions in the fields discussed, such as those
under the European Social Fund.

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measures conducted on the initiative of the Community institutions and bodies in conjunction
with the Member States (Chapter III)9 .

I.

FROM THE LEARNING SOCIETY TO A EUROPE OF KNOWLEDGE: WHAT
CONTRIBUTION HAS THE WHITE PAPER MADE?

The debate which was prompted by the White Paper on the place of education and training in
tomorrow's Europe helped to lay the foundations for
the concept of a "Europe of
knowledge". The Amsterdam Treaty, which was signed on 2 October 1997, expresses in it
is preamble the signatories' desire "to promote the development of the highest possible level of
knowledge for their peoples through a wide access to education and through its continuous
updating". In its Agenda 2000, the European Union made the policies which are the driving
forces behind the "society of knowledge" (viz. innovation, research, education and training)
one of the four main thrusts of its internal policies. The extraordinary European Council
held in Luxembourg in 1997 formulated a coordinated European employment strategy,
placing particular stress on the importance of education and training.

The Commission's communication of November 1997 (COM(97)563) "For a Europe of
knowledge" presented guidelines for future programmes in the fields of education, training
and youth for the period 2000-2006 and was geared primarily towards the gradual building
of an open and dynamic European educational area.

Implementation of the White Paper has helped define the three main dimensions of work on
building a Europe of knowledge:

developing the employability and adaptability of young people and workers;

boosting knowledge potential;

helping to build a People's Europe.

1.

DEVELOPING THE EMPLOYABILITY AND ADAPTABILITY OF YOUNG PEOPLE AND
WORKERS: KNOWLEDGE, APTITUDES AND SKILLS

This is one of the main concerns of the White Paper:

Open new avenues for validating skills, by making it possible for individuals to
have their skills recognised under a flexible and permanent system, e.g. by setting
up credible evaluation and validation tests.

Develop apprenticeship/trainee schemes in Europe. In December 1998, the
Council adopted a decision setting up the "EUROPASS-Training Scheme",
comprising a "Community information document". The Commission is joining
forces with the Member States to set in motion a plan for this scheme to be
implemented from 1 January 2000.

Reintegrate young people into the world of work by way of a tailor-made
training pathway for young people affected by social exclusion, by getting them
into second-chance schools or other types of experimental measures in the
Member States.

Launch the European voluntary service scheme, conceived as a very important
"learning by doing" scheme to enable young people to develop their personalities
in a
and acquire experience. It gives young people the chance to take part

9

A number of other initiatives have been taken by the Member States or other players affected by the
White Paper's various objectives; it has not been possible to deal with those in this report.

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collective activity and acquire new skills and qualities
employability.

to boost

their

Develop language teaching and learning to make people more mobile and help
them to find a job.

Encourage workers to invest in their own aptitudes and skills within a general
framework of lifelong learning and in a spirit of shared responsibility.

2.

BOOSTING KNOWLEDGE POTENTIAL

The White Paper proposed the following practical measures:

Open up new ways of validating knowledge by developing automated
evaluation tests for a range of general or more vocational knowledge – e.g.
chemistry, informatics, management – to encourage people to go in for lifelong
learning.

Strengthen cooperation between schools and business, more especially by
developing partnerships between schools and businesses and by focusing on
teacher training, with a view to improving teachers' knowledge of the business
environment.

Tackle the exclusion problem and encourage lifelong access for all to education
and training. As well as the second-chance schools, there are other ways in which
individuals can acquire the necessary basic knowledge and add on new elements.

Become proficient in at least three Community languages, and improve
everyone's language skills, in line with their vocational abilities.

Get the various players concerned to mobilise the necessary funding to enable
people to acquire the highest possible level of knowledge.

3.

HELPING TO BUILD A PEOPLE'S EUROPE

Creating a shared "educational area" means giving everyone in Europe a real sense of
belonging to a common social and cultural area. This is not something that will come from
the range of knowledge and skills that Europeans have in common – it will also depend on
their acquired skill in sharing "active solidarity" and on a mutual understanding of the
diverse cultures which make up the originality and rich fabric of Europe.

It also means giving everyone equal access to these values and their practical expression. In
a Europe of knowledge, we cannot accept situations where some people have access to
knowledge while others are excluded. That is why the White Paper stressed the need to seek
quality and effectiveness in the teaching and learning of languages and cultures, taking the
view that a knowledge of languages and cultures is an essential element
in practical
citizenship skills.

II.

FIRST RESULTS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE OF THE WHITE
PAPER'S FIVE OBJECTIVES

The White Paper set highly ambitious education and training targets, such as combating
exclusion and being proficient in three Community languages. At the same time, though, it
proposed a series of limited and clearly defined measures, such as creating second-chance
schools and awarding a "European quality label" to encourage language learning. For each of
the general objectives, the White Paper gives examples,
in text boxes, of experimental
projects which could be run at Community level and are intended to give a lead to others.

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By the end of 1999, the Commission had reached the following stage in the five areas
pinpointed by the White Paper:

a number of experimental projects (1); the European voluntary service scheme
has even given rise to a new Community action programme;

additional work on measures which were already in progress under existing
programmes; and a number of new measures (2);

new ideas and studies to find ways and means of putting these idea into effect
(3); the Commission has also taken steps to publicise and circulate its findings.

EXPERIMENTAL PROJECTS

Automated tests for evaluating knowledge and skills

1.

a)

The Commission contacted organisations which had responded to the call for proposals under
the Leonardo da Vinci programmes and to the university thematic networks set up under the
Socrates programme. There were a number of pilot projects (See Annex I) concerned with the
development of prototypes for assessing and validating knowledge and skills in the
following fields:

Socrates pilot projects:
biology, chemistry, environment/water, languages, statistics for engineers

law, geography, environmental and food sciences,

Leonardo da Vinci pilot projects: mathematics, physics, written expression,
informatics, key skills, marketing, banking, customer service, assembly

These projects terminate at the end of 1999.

The Commission has kept a close eye on these projects with a view to:

consolidating the structure of the tests from the point of view of content and
technology (software);

carrying out pre-tests with academic and professional partners and among a
limited number of potential users;

making socio-economic players aware of
knowledge and validating the results of self-assessment;

this new pathway for acquiring

producing feedback and guides for applicants in the tests.

An Internet site has been created on the Europa server, setting out general information on
what the Community is doing and a brief description of existing projects.

In the interests of quality assurance, the projects were subjected to an interim evaluation by
a group of independent experts in June and July 1998. The group noted the great potential
of the various prototypes, and went on to make a series of recommendations for a number of
the projects concerning, for example, the need to define the target groups, the nature of the
tests (training, certification or a mixture of the two) and the need to incorporate a "local"
approach to the various questions and images so as to reflect the cultural traditions of the
various countries and the diversity of languages. Following this evaluation exercise, the
project coordinators were asked to finalise the products with a view to tightening up and
expanding the content of the tests and consolidating the technical and technological aspects.
This phase is due for completion at the end of 1999.

With a view to getting the acceptability of products verified by potential accreditors and
users, the Commission organised a session in February 1999 at which selected prototypes
were presented for a selected group of European organisations representing higher education

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establishments and learned societies, the social partners, professional bodies, students and
representatives of the European institutions.

The prototype tests developed in the course of these experimental projects showed that
automated tests can be used as an assessment
tool, particularly with a view to skills
recognition, and can also act:

as a tool for the self-assessment of individually acquired knowledge (the aim
being to introduce more individual autonomy into skills-building) and

as a tool for the management and support of human resources training in firms.

They cover a number of target groups, viz.

students wishing to acquire additional knowledge in their specific field of studies,
or in fields outside their curriculum;

young people who have not had the opportunity to complete their studies in a
formal system of education and who now wish to acquire knowledge in a specific
field;

adults:

•

•

interested in widening their field of knowledge to meet the needs of the
labour market or to cope with changes in society in general,
wishing to improve or refresh their knowledge with a view to re-entering the
labour market;

any individual who has not completed the compulsory education system or who
has not been through formal education;

any professional who wishes to improve or extend his/her knowledge in specific
fields of education.

The Commission plans, at the beginning of 2000, to organise a campaign to make people
more aware of this new way of validating knowledge acquisition, particularly among the
various "networks", and given the multiplier role played by the transnational partnerships.
Encouraging projects of this type is one of the new activities provided for in the new phase of
the Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci Community programmes.

b)

Second-chance schools

"Second-chance schools" pilot projects are targeted at young people who are "socially
excluded", who have left the education system, who are beyond the compulsory schooling age
and who have neither the qualifications nor the skills needed to find a job or to get into
existing vocational training programmes. The important thing here is to reintegrate young
people into society and the world of work by giving them a wide range of quality training
opportunities, geared to their individual needs and targeted specifically at getting a job.

Clearly, the characteristics of this kind of approach depend to a large extent on conditions
and needs specific to the local and national levels. Nonetheless it was possible to define
certain key elements which should apply in all projects:

a target public made up exclusively of young people who are in all respects
beyond their period of compulsory schooling;

an active partnership of
associations and the private sector;

local/regional authorities, social services, social

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an educational approach targeted at the needs, aspirations and abilities of the
individual, and designed to stimulate active and constructive learning, with a
central role going to the acquisition of computer skills and skills in the other new
technologies;

flexible use of time combining the learning of basic skills (reading, writing,
arithmetic and expression) and practical training modules taught by and in firms;

to ensure an integrated strategy of urban renewal, designed to give new
perspectives to young people and their environment, most of the projects are
located in disadvantaged areas where the young people live and meet.

The Commission has adopted a strategy for identifying pilot projects in close conjunction
with the national and local authorities. This process has involved two sequential phases:

in the first phase, the Commission supported, on the basis of an initiative from
the schools themselves, one pilot project per country, in close conjunction with
the national ministries. Spain, France and Germany each hosted two pilot projects;

given the marked success of the first phase, the Commission then encouraged
Member States with a high level of demand to set up networks or national
arrangements for connecting together all the second-chance schools or their
equivalents. In France (the "New Chances" programme), the United Kingdom (the
"New Start" programme and the "Learning Cities" initiative) and in Italy
(Resource Centre programme against educational dispersion), there are very clear
perspectives, while in Greece, there is a new education law which has introduced
second-chance schools into the education system.

At the same time, the Commission set up a so-called "second pillar" in May 1998. This is an
attempt to bring together all successful measures for achieving the integration of the worst
problem groups of young people. The measures concerned emanate from the Member States,
regional or urban authorities, and companies. A European association of cities with second-
chance schools was created on 4 June 1999 to facilitate contacts between schools,
to
consolidate the whole second-chance schools idea, and to give help to towns and cities setting
out to develop a second-chance school system. The aim was also to encourage exchanges and
examples of good practice so as to circulate outcomes, discover what are the most transferable
elements, and encourage new experiments.

A number of second-chance schools have now, as planned, been included in the Action
Framework for Sustainable Urban Development in the European Union10. School drop-
outs and school failure constitute one of the guidelines in the National Employment Action
Plans, while the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution, on
23 June 1999, on the setting-up of "second-chance school" pilot projects in the 41 member
countries of the Council of Europe.

In the first half of 2000, the Commission will draw up a report setting out the first results
obtained by the second-chance schools and detailing the theoretical and methodological input
they can make towards tackling the problem of socially excluded and unskilled young people.

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COM (1998) 605 final.

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c)

European Voluntary Service

The European Voluntary Service pilot project has developed the concept already present in
the Youth for Europe programme of enabling young people to spend between six and
12 months on voluntary service away from their country of origin, both within the European
Community and outside it. The pilot project preceded the fully-fledged programme European
Voluntary Service, which was adopted in 1998. It enabled more than 2 500 young people to
make their contribution towards the quality of life in their host community. Young volunteers
work full-time on non-profit projects for the common good; it constitutes a period of personal,
social and/or intercultural learning.

The pilot project was a useful means of trying out innovative management tools for placing
and looking after young people and for addressing their training needs before and during their
period of service. Based on a close partnership between the sending and the host structures,
the European Voluntary Service scheme is a good illustration of young people's commitment
to the needs of disadvantaged people and communities. It is also an alternative means of
enabling young people to design their own personal pathway towards integration and social
participation.

d)

The European label for initiatives encouraging language learning

Under Objective IV, the White Paper proposes the creation of a "European quality label".
Following discussions with the Member States, it has been agreed that the European label
should be awarded not to classes, but to European initiatives in the field of language teaching
and learning, with a view to disseminating information on innovative approaches and
encouraging people to initiate projects. This approach, which has the Member States' backing,
benefits from decentralised management.

There is a working party made up of representatives of the Member States, who help define
the project and see to it that it is put into practice in the various countries. The national
authorities are responsible for implementation at national level: they are free to add
national criteria to the existing European criteria; they decide how to identify projects; they
decide on the structure for dealing with applications and they set up the selection board,
which has to include one representative from a different Member State of the European
Union. It is up to the Commission to safeguard the European nature of the label, by
making arrangements for the collection and exchange of information and by supporting the
information campaign in the various participating countries (the European Union plus Iceland
and Norway). The Commission also helps with the dissemination of information on labelled
projects.
Despite the short time available for information campaigns, and the very limited scale of
Community and national resources, the pilot project for the European label generated a great
deal of interest. A total of 545 applications for the label were received by the national
authorities, and 123 labels were awarded, broken down as follows (the total comes to more
than 100% because, in many cases, a single project covers more than one group and/or more
than one language): 41% to projects addressing young learners of between 13 and 18 years;
30% to adult education or training; 18% to primary schools; 4% to the pre-school sector; 15%
to in-service training for teachers or trainers; and 2% to the parents of pupils. All the
Community's official languages were covered, although the lion's share went to the most
widely used languages: 50% of the labelled projects were concerned with English (and often
with other languages too); 43% were French and 30% German.

The pilot project reached a satisfactory conclusion in March 1999 with a European event in
Brussels, bringing together 29 projects typical of those which had been awarded the label.
This served to make the projects known to colleagues in other countries and to decision-
makers and journalists. There was also a publication, a revised version of which will soon be

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available on the Commission's website
(http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/dg22/language/label.html).

A project for assessing the pilot phase has already been discussed with the group of
representatives from the participating countries, and is now being finalised. The assessment
reveals a unanimous desire on the part of the participating countries to continue the initiative
in 2000 and beyond. Future priorities will be to:

– pinpoint, in cooperation with the Member States, the possibilities for:

bringing the scheme more closely into line with the Socrates and Leonardo

*
programmes to which the European label has close connections;

* making it easier to commit Community funds, designed to help meet the cost of
information campaigns, to the national management organisations;

– continue to work on the "lifelong learning" aspect by covering all stages of education and

training;

– continue to ensure broad language coverage and, as far as possible, increase the number of
applications from projects concerned with the less widely-used and taught languages in the
European Union;

– set up a regular timetable for the label, with coordination at European level, to encourage
all the participating countries to go in for annual and open calls for proposals, and to award
labels and organise the award ceremonies between September and December of each year.

2.

ACTION UNDER COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES

In addition to the specific pilot projects mentioned above, mention should also be made of a
number of measures advocated in the White Paper, which normally run under the Socrates,
Leonardo da Vinci and Youth for Europe programmes.

Objective I: Encouraging the acquisition of new knowledge

Mobility: the above programmes enable more than 250 000 young people each
year to take part in an educational mobility scheme.

Recognition of skills: The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) facilitates
the recognition of study periods abroad and removes one of the obstacles facing
students who wish to study abroad. A number of Member States are busy adapting
their national credit systems to make them compatible with the ECTS.

Making use of the new information and communication technologies for
educational ends: In December 1996, the Multimedia Educational Software Task
Force launched an invitation to tender covering six Commission programmes:
Leonardo da Vinci, Socrates, Esprit, TAP, TEN-TELECOM and TSER. 47 of the
800 proposals received have been given funding, the principal objective being to
support innovation in the field of educational and multimedia software, whether it
be technological innovation for developing new tools and services, teaching-
related innovation for experimental educational services, or innovation in the field
of vocational training to encourage more effective and more diverse approaches.
Something like 500 organisations and firms are involved in these ongoing project
partnerships, which got underway at the beginning of 1998.

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Objective II: Bringing schools and the business sector closer together

Transnational mobility schemes for the initial training sector have multiplied, the aim
being to develop a transnational approach to the Leonardo da Vinci programme and
encourage cooperation between schools and the business sector. In five years, something like
150 000 young people will have received help in one mobility scheme or another – young
apprentices or young people in work-linked training schemes, young job seekers and students.
More than 50% of the budget for the second phase of the programme is supposed to be
devoted to the mobility aspect. The stated objective is to assist 560 000 young people in initial
vocational training over a seven-year period (2000-2006).

There are a number of pilot projects which seek to bring companies and education/training
institutions closer together; these have been developed around the "Europass" work-linked
training scheme. Under the Leonardo da Vinci II programme, the stress has been placed on
greater participation on the part of small and medium-sized businesses and the craft trades and
the support provided for exchanges between universities and training instituts and entreprises
is continuing.

The Socrates programme is also keen on bringing schools and businesses closer together by
supporting a large number of school-business partnerships. Special efforts have also been
made to train teachers and bring them closer to the reality of the business environment. What
is more, training placements in firms for students whose courses prescribe a phase of practical
experience have now passed the 100 000 mark under Socrates alone.

Objective III: Combating exclusion

The Commission has adopted a two-pronged approach to intensifying the drive to combat
exclusion. In agreement with national governments, it is using the Structural Funds to support
local and regional authorities working on "second-chance schools" pilot projects. In addition,
the Commission has used the Information Society DG's "Information Society Project Office"
(ISPO) to upgrade and network the various ways and means of combating exclusion in
the Member States. A number of innovative, shared projects will be launched shortly, with
backing from the CONNECT programme, one of the aims being to test promising ways of
combating failure at school and addressing such issues as social and entrepreneurial skills.

The Leonardo da Vinci programme is currently funding a project which seeks to pinpoint and
categorise the skills and qualifications required of "teachers working in second-chance
schools". Further openings might be available under the new Objective 2 urban strand and the
Objective 3 "human resources" under the Structural Funds.

Objective IV: Becoming proficient in three Community languages

The Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci programmes have provided funding for pilot projects,
bearing in mind the subjects pinpointed as priority by the White Paper. As a result, the
selection of projects concerned with developing student materials and teacher training has
been geared more to:

early learning, to make best use of young children's well-known ability to learn
languages early;

teaching other subjects by way of
multilingual/bilingual teaching);

foreign languages (also known as

multilingual comprehension, meaning learning to understand other languages
without learning to speak them or write them, by concentrating on similarities
between languages belonging to the same family.

The following projects have also received funding:

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a publication, designed for policy-makers and the public at
large, analysing
existing experience in the field of early learning and enabling the basic conditions
for success to be pinpointed;

creation of a network (Euroclic) for supporting persons active in the teaching of
other subjects by way of foreign languages; the network is responsible, for
website
instance,
(http://www.euroclic.net): exchange forum for teachers, data base for teaching
materials;

publishing

creating

bulletin

and

for

a

a

creation of a website giving access to available information on multilingual
comprehension, subsequent to a specialist seminar (http://inalco.fr/recomu/);

publication of a guide on the quality of language learning methods and materials;
a booklet setting out the structure and content is available;

development of a virtual resource centre on language teaching and learning
(Lingu@net-Europa) with multilingual access.

Results to date have been satisfactory. By combining activities on the ground and activities
targeting the political decision-makers, the White Paper has helped to put the whole idea of
promoting language teaching and learning (which is a long-term process) well and truly on
the map. In addition, the projects have helped to advance the application of priority innovative
approaches.

Objective V: Treating capital investment and investment in training on an equal basis

This is one of the priority objectives under the Leonardo da Vinci programme. A number of
projects designed to promote innovative approaches to investment have been launched over
recent years, helping to:

promote access to in-house continuing training, by way of human resources
development strategies and plans, individual career plans, new approaches to the
organisation of work, taking account of new forms of working relations and new
learning tools;

developing partnerships between training establishments, especially at local
and regional levels, with a view to eliminating the kind of obstacles that prevent
access to in-house continuing training, particularly in small and medium-sized
businesses;

getting the social partners involved in the development of investment and joint
investment arrangements.

3.

NEW IDEAS AND EXCHANGES OF EXPERIENCE

For Objective I – Encouraging the acquisition of new knowledge – the Commission is
working on the basis that all European countries are seeking to pinpoint key knowledge and
skills and to find the best way of acquiring, evaluating and certifying them. The Commission
is therefore continuing to look into ways of addressing and disseminating the most
appropriate definitions, methods and practices.

The partners in the 18 pilot projects launched by the Commission firmly believe that the
automated tests should be encouraged so as to cover an optimum range of knowledge and
skills, albeit at a quality level which is guaranteed at European level. The Commission has
encouraged the pilot project coordinators to look into the feasibility of setting up a European
structure run by the coordinators themselves, who would be responsible for such matters as
guaranteeing the quality of existing or future projects.

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For Objective II - Bringing schools and the business sector closer together – the Council
adopted, on 21 December 1998, a Decision on the promotion of European pathways in work-
linked training, including apprenticeship. This lays down the content and common principles
for European training pathways and creates the "EUROPASS- Training" scheme, this being a
Community information document testifying to the successful completion of a European
course. 1999 was a preparatory year; implementation proper will commence from 1 January
2000.

The approach used under this Decision deserves to be developed for all forms of mobility
concerned with work-linked training (including apprenticeships), whatever the framework for
that mobility. As far as Europass is concerned, the Leonardo da Vinci programme remains,
for the time being, the most suitable means of developing European courses, either in the
form of pilot projects, or – more especially – in the form of placement and exchange
programmes (although other forms are not excluded).

For Objective III – Combating exclusion – the Commission has organised a number of
meetings to bring together people responsible for second-chance schools. A number of
special seminars have been held to put forward new ideas and ways of putting them into
collaborative practice, relating, e.g. to entrepreneurship on the part of marginalised young
people, and the European-level development of the "Job-Connect" software (software for
guidance on the labour market); there was also a seminar to prepare a "CVCART" software
development plan (building in new, more interactive and dynamic methods for identifying
and upgrading skills), which requires Community pump-priming investment.

The challenge now is to create a real European dimension for second-chance schools by way
of transnational exchanges for teachers and pupils and by organising cultural and sports
events for the children, e.g. second-chance schools sports tournaments.

A further important stage was the electronic networking of the various pilot sites, to enable
each school to have its own site master and to set up a database for the assessment and
comparison of data from the various schools. Apart from that, the Commission has recently
produced a young people's newsletter, with contributions from children in the various
schools, and on a guide for the implementation of second-chance schools.

For Objective IV – Proficiency in three Community languages – the Commission has
organised meetings of groups of experts to consider what should be the priorities for each of
the selected themes (the list is set out in Annex III). There have also been a number of
seminars. To take an example, the conference bringing together early learning experts and
decision-takers produced a highly interesting debate between two groups who rarely get
together. The report of proceedings was circulated widely.

A seminar which brought together the limited expertise currently available on multilingual
comprehension helped greatly to broaden the debate on the subject and launch add-on
projects; a summary of the proceedings was published and generated a website (see point 2
above). It will be a quick matter to take stock of work since the first seminar and ascertain
what progress has been made on developing a multilingual comprehension strategy.

A number of other conferences and seminars have been held on the subject of teaching other
subjects through foreign languages; these were in addition to the development of the support
network (see point 2 above); they have enabled information to be circulated and the approach
to be developed. A website on innovative language learning has been opened on the Europa
server to give access to information on the Commission's wide range of initiatives in this
field.

For Objective V – Treating capital investment and investment in training on an equal
basis – the Commission, mindful of the complexity of the subject, commissioned a study to
establish an inventory of fiscal and accounting provisions in the Member States. The

13

scope of the study covered firms and individual investment on the part of workers – a
particularly important aspect given that the lifelong acquisition of skills requires workers to
take an active part in developing their own armoury of skills.

Based on the preliminary results of this study, an expert workshop was organised in
May 1998 to bring together specialists from organisations with expertise in the field (such as
the OECD) and representatives of the social partners. The basic conclusion was that it is
important to ensure equal treatment for investment in human resources by attaching balanced
importance to the material and non-material factors, despite the inherent difficulties in
this type of (by definition intangible) investment, and given that the effects are difficult to
discern and are generally spread among a number of players (e.g. firms, individuals and
society in general). The European employment strategy, adopted at
the extraordinary
European Council in Luxembourg in November 1997, makes explicit mention of the need to
examine the question of incentives – particularly tax incentives – for investment in human
resources.

The Commission is currently looking into the possibility of developing a policy framework
with a view to giving coordinated support to a range of initiatives at four separate levels:

•

•

•

•

Promoting the development of human resources as a business strategy (this
is the management and micro-economic dimension), e.g. by benchmarking
good practice in firms, in terms of competitiveness, or by using indicators to
bring out the cost of investment and the benefits, for firms and workers
alike.
Improving access to the financial markets (the capital market dimension)
and more generally to sources of finance, by improving information on the
firm's "richness" in terms of intangible capital; and its investment in human
resources (e.g. "social balances" on a voluntary basis). To take an example,
transnational cooperation networks could help establish comparable
methods to supplement the traditional form of balances.
Strengthening employment and growth by developing human resources (the
fiscal and macro-economic dimension); this would benefit from qualitative
and quantitative macro-economic indicators, assigning the various costs and
benefits to private and social levels by way of Community statistics which
should incorporate more information on non-material investment. It would
also be useful to have an exchange of good practice in terms of fiscal
policies to encourage investment in training.
Encouragement should be given to developing mechanisms for co-financing
lifelong training (the social partners dimension) in accordance with the
various interests, and building in the principle of shared responsibility. In
funding might be developed and
this context,
negotiated, and concrete form could be given to the concept of staggered
investment in flexible working conditions.

transparent

forms of

III. THE WHITE PAPER'S METHODOLOGICAL INPUT ON THE INNOVATION

FRONT

Taking stock of the results of the White Paper at the end of 1999 enables us to examine the
various methods used to achieve them. There are,
the
Community institutions; the Member States; and the individual. Innovation can only lead to a
successful conclusion, as far as building a knowledge-based Europe is concerned, if the
scheme involves the European Union, the Member States and the various national and local
organisations and, above all, the individual's own needs.

three different

in fact,

levels:

14

1.

THE EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS' CONTRIBUTION TO THE INNOVATION EFFORT

Under the Treaty, the Commission is entitled to propose innovative measures which are in
compliance with the principle of subsidiarity. By proposing experimental measures to apply
the objectives laid down in the White Paper, the Commission has been acting as an innovator
and has had to reply to a wide range of questions.

It had to explain the importance of the problem it was addressing, the relevance of the
measures it was proposing and the need to take appropriate steps at European level.

Although, in general terms, the objectives pinpointed in the White Paper met with broad
the
agreement among the Community institutions and bodies and the Member States,
proposed activities inevitably required some amount of clarification of concepts and
approaches; as a result, some of the experiments were late starting. Nonetheless, it was
possible in the end, and after much discussion, to make progress on the various objectives in
full accordance with the principle of subsidiarity.

The Commission has also demonstrated the value added in opting for the European level of
action. This may be fairly obvious for European work-linked courses or for transnational
mobility schemes, but things are not quite so clear for, say, automated assessment tests,
knowledge validation, or second-chance schools. The fact is, though, that, by encouraging this
kind of innovation, the Commission has helped give them a European dimension right from
the outset. The people responsible for these projects have been able to take part in meetings
and transnational exchanges and have been given good examples of sound practice and
reduced development costs. To pinpoint what might, for instance, be deemed an "innovative
initiative in language teaching and learning", the Commission has, together with the Member
States, drawn up a list of characteristics and common criteria which all projects have to meet.
The Commission is thus acting as a guarantor of the quality of the experiments it is
encouraging.

The Commission has always been mindful of each project's essential character and setting,
and has endeavoured to provide effective aid for the innovative effort. This aid has taken on a
variety of forms.

The Commission has sought all the available expertise to help back innovative initiative,
calling on the help of high-level groups of experts. It has called in consultants of the highest
calibre. It has organised seminars and symposia to give researchers and other players the
chance to compare and contrast their respective approaches. It has also commissioned studies
which it has subsequently published and circulated.

In general terms, the Commission has given all possible assistance within its financial
constraints, ranging from helping to disseminate information, at the project launch stage, to
the close monitoring and dissemination of results, as soon as the first information emerged.
This systematic information campaign has used multimedia, particularly websites and
electronic networks,
to enable all concerned to compare and improve their respective
approaches.

2.

COOPERATION WITH THE MEMBER STATES

The innovative work has been conducted systematically in conjunction with the Member
States. The representatives of the Member States, the various committees – including the
Education Committee – and the directors general for vocational training have been kept
informed and consulted on the best way of conducting the experimental work. The various
concepts and their characteristics have been defined in common. In some cases, as for the
label award procedure, responsibility for national implementation has even been decentralised
and assigned to the national authorities.

15

In carrying through these initiatives, the Commission has been able to count on the backing
from local and regional authorities, the various decision-makers, and all persons
responsible in firms, universities, associations and on the ground. The Commission has, of its
own volition, favoured a flexible approach, taking care always to take into account the
specific characteristics of each project and its environment.

The Commission has frequently adopted a dual approach, initiating experiments and, at the
same time, collecting and using examples of measures already in operation in the Member
States. This is the case for existing skill validation procedures in the Member States, which
do not lend themselves to automated assessment and validation testing. It is also the case with
the "second pillar" detailing significant examples of measures in operation in the Member
States to combat
the social exclusion of young school-leavers. The Commission has
established a network for these existing provisions, in the process promoting exchanges of
experience and transnational cooperation projects.

3.

PAYING HEED TO THE INDIVIDUAL'S EXPECTATIONS AND NEEDS

The centrality of the individual and the attention paid to the individual's specific needs
constitute the most original element in the White Paper's proposed approach, an element
which has been fully implemented by all the players.

The new needs, on the part of young people and adults alike, in a Europe based on
knowledge have been closely studied, and the prime objective of the various measures has
been to respond to the need for lifelong training, social integration, better language skills, etc.
Such innovations are only of any use, though, if they meet people's real expectations and are
put to practical use. However, there are ways of encouraging and stimulating their utilisation.
Individuals have to be motivated to develop their highest possible level of knowledge and to
update their knowledge throughout their lives. Motivation to learn will only work, though, if
people's investment in learning can be readily and systematically put into practice.

Projects have set out to make tailor-made courses available to all, in the belief that the
individuals themselves should take the lead and assume responsibility. New methods of
assessing knowledge and skills must therefore introduce more individual autonomy into
qualification-building, and should re-instil a desire for training and encourage people to go in
for lifelong learning. The European work-linked training pathway, including apprenticeships,
is based on a pedagogical project of its own. In the second-chance schools, there has been a
systematic drive for individualised courses: young people have received individual attention,
and their specific skills, needs and aspirations have been individually assessed. They have
personally been involved in devising their individual pathway and are expected to run things
themselves.

The European Voluntary Service scheme likewise offers young people the opportunity to
opt for an original way of acquiring social and personal skills to facilitate their transition to
active life and citizenship. Nearly half of all young volunteers see their period of European
voluntary service as a means of acquiring hands-on experience of active live and autonomy.
The experience they gain can be upgraded, confirmed or developed by a "future capital"
project attracting Community support at the end of the period of volunteer service. This is a
tailor-made scheme to give young people the wherewithal to take the initiative in their career
pathways.

In all cases, particular attention has been paid to supervision, the quality of teachers,
trainers and tutors, and the choice of active teaching methods. For instance, pupils at
second-chance schools have received personalised supervision by a tutor who is also
responsible for assessing the pupil's progress (including his/her behavioural progress). The
success of the European work-linked training scheme will depend very strongly on the
qualities of the tutor and the personalised assistance he will be able to give. Language

16

teaching and learning are also strongly influenced by the quality of teachers and trainers
(which is what Community action is systematically seeking to enhance).

The individualisation of training provision is underpinned by the new information and
communication technologies, be it in terms of self-assessment on the Internet, or as a training
aid. Under the second-chance schools scheme, software has been developed to teach the basic
skills (reading, writing and arithmetic) and to provide guidance for young people on the job
market (e.g. the "Job connect" software developed for the Leeds second-chance school).

CONCLUSION

It is clear that some progress has been made in implementing the White Paper. Innovative
experiments and activities have made a very active contribution to creating a Europe of
knowledge. The Commission, in conjunction with the Member States, will continue to think
about and discuss the matter, based on studies, seminars and experts' reports. Symposia will
be organised at the appropriate times to take stock of the experimental phase and to continue
discussions with the Member States on the relative merits of the various experiments.

Provision has been made in the second phase of the Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci
programmes and in the new Youth programme (embracing the European Voluntary Service
scheme and Youth for Europe) to introduce new (formal and informal) education and training
schemes to facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge and skills by all groups in European
society. Further innovative projects are based on the same approach, such as "Flexible
University" and "School of Tomorrow" funded under the RTD programme "Information
Society Technologies". The Decision promoting work-linked training schemes has been
adopted; further legal instruments are planned or are already at the decision-making stage.
The Commission has thus used documents like the White Paper as a basis for promoting and
prioritising innovation.

The people of Europe have to be perpetual innovators. The Commission will support them in
their drive for innovation. It is in the field of knowledge and skills that the battle for the future
will be fought and won.

17

ANNEX I

AUTOMATIC TESTS FOR ASSESSING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

ONGOING PROJECTS

SUBJECT FIELD

CO-FUNDED BY
THE
PROGRAMME:

AEVEM

MAC

EVALING

ECDL

MAPS

MESAS

Banking skills card

REPERES

MECAM

Mathematics

Physics

Written expression

Informatics

Key skills

Marketing

Banking

Customer service

Assembly

MEDIA-EVAL

Industrial processes

TEBE

EACC

ISOCRATES

Water testing

Food and environmental
sciences

Biology

Chemistry

Law

Environment/water

Food/environment

Statistics for engineers

Statistics

Geography

DIALANG
(15 Community
languages)

Geography

Languages

Leonardo

Leonardo

Leonardo

Leonardo

Leonardo

Leonardo

Leonardo

Leonardo

Leonardo

Leonardo

Socrates

Socrates

Socrates

Socrates

Socrates

Socrates

Socrates

Socrates

18

ANNEX II

SECOND-CHANCE SCHOOLS

Country

Town

France

Marseilles

Spain

Bordeaux

Bilbao

Barcelona

Italy11

Catania

Germany

Halle

(State of play)

Number of pupils
(start up number and
maximum capacity)

60 – 400

50 – 150

40 – 150

300

60

50

Cologne

150 – 600

Finland

Hameenlinna

100 – 100

Portugal

Seixal

Greece

Athens

United
Kingdom12

Leeds

60

80

50 – 300

Start up

School operational
(Nov 97)

2000

School operational
(Nov. 97)

School operational
(Nov 98)

School operational
(Feb 99)

School operational
(Nov 97)

School operational
(Nov 97)

School operational
(Nov 97)

January 2000 (ESF
funding still to be
confirmed)

After the summer of
1999

School operational
(March 98)

Denmark

Svendborg

250

End of 99

Netherlands

Heerlen

30 – 100 (to be
confirmed)

Operational (April 99)

Sweden

Norrköping

30 – 100

Operational (Jan 99)

Luxembourg

To be decided

To be decided

Provision has been made
in the new government's
coalition agreement for
a pilot project.

11 Provision has been made for the creation of a national network.
12 Provision has been made for the creation of a national network of 20-30 towns and cities; "New Start"

programme beneficiaries will be included.

19

The location of each project was selected by the Member State concerned on a proposal from
the EC. In total, the Commission received more than 90 spontaneous expressions of interest
from various authorities. There was particularly strong interest in the United Kingdom (25),
France (17), Spain (10), Germany and Italy (7 each).

20

ANNEX III

PRIORITY THEMES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE LEARNING

– Early language learning: quite apart from making use of young children's well
documented ability to learn languages, early learning can free up resources for further
learning at a later stage.

– Using

foreign

as
multilingual/bilingual teaching: from a given time, a second language can be used as a
teaching vehicle.

languages

otherwise

subjects,

known

teach

other

to

– Multilingual comprehension: learning to understand other languages without learning to
speak or write them (i.e. developing partial skills), by making use of similarities between
languages belonging to the same family: this approach facilitates language learning by
is a first stage in
using languages which are already known or have been learnt; it
acquiring "full" skills.

– Evaluating the quality of learning methods and materials: with the growing range of
learning methods and materials, there is an equally pressing need for a tool setting out
quality indicators for developers and users.

– Exchange of information, creation of a virtual resource centre: because of the growing
range of language teaching and learning resources, there is a commensurate need for
better structured information exchange arrangements.

– Languages and cultures: this theme cuts across all the others.

Two other complementary themes were pinpointed during discussions on the White Paper:
language teachers, and language learning by adults.

21