elearning_label_learning_and_society

The survey, called "Lifelong learning: a citizen’s view" (pdf format), was commissioned by the Directorate General Education and Culture with the assistance of CEDEFOP. It was carried out between 15 January and 28 February 2003 in the 15 Member States, Norway and Iceland, and entailed more than 18,000 face-to-face interviews. In this article we summarize the main findings oh this study.

Lifelong learning is important for both social and economic reasons

Nine in ten European citizens think that lifelong learning is important. The vast majority of citizens (eight in ten) see lifelong learning as pursuing both economic and social goals. It helps people to cope with change and labour market demands. It also helps people to take their lives into their own hands and live full and satisfying lives.

Again, a majority of people across Europe consider that lifelong learning is for all ages. In other words, it should not be limited to the young or to the old but rather consist of a continuum of learning throughout people’s lives. However, this view is from unanimous and the idea that lifelong learning is relevant for everyone and at all stages needs some reinforcement in some countries and for some groups.

ICT and scientific/technological skills are not high on citizen’s agenda

Almost everybody (over 90%) agrees that reading, writing and arithmetic are the most useful skills in all areas of life. At the same time, under half consider that using the internet (48%), foreign languages (45%) or scientific – technological tools are important skills in personal life, although these ICT skills are judged to be more important in working life.

People think they need a broader range of skills in working life than in personal life, and this is specially the case for using ICT skills.

Some 50% of people does not feel confident on key ICT skills

Almost everyone in the European Union thinks that they can read, write and do arithmetic, but only 58% of respondents said they could use a computer while half of them said they could not use Internet and 60% said they could not use foreign languages.

The lack of ICT skills is especially marked in Greece and Portugal with two-thirds of respondents claiming they could not use a computer. Around 70% of respondents from Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom said they could not use foreign languages. On the other hand, people from Nordic countries and Luxembourg are much more likely to think that they possess knowledge and skills across the full range.

Gender differences are more marked for felt competence in using computers (65% of male and 52% of female respondents) and in using scientific/technological tools and equipment (53% and 28%respectively).

These results suggest that many citizens are aware there is room for knowledge & skills development of their part.

The majority of citizens think they learn best in informal settings

European citizens consider that their learning experiences are most profitable in non-formal contexts, for example doing activities at home (69%), getting together with other people (63%), during leisure time, (51%) learning informally on the job or in local learning centres/libraries. Formal learning settings (such as schools, universities and colleges) as a recent and relevant learning context were mentioned by only 17% of respondents. It is also worth noting that distance learning channels and learning experience abroad (as part of exchange programmes) are among the least-favoured learning settings.

Learning is linked to formal context in people’s mind and experience

The younger and the better qualified learn in a wide variety of contexts. Those living in Finland, Sweden and Iceland are also much more likely to report having learnt in diverse contexts than those in Greece or Portugal. Students learn in a wider range of contexts: at school, at home, during leisure activities and also through travel. People in paid employment tend to say they learn at the workplace, especially if they are men. However, women are more likely to report that they have learnt something at home and in local learning centres or libraries.

On the one hand, people think that they learn best in non-formal settings. On the other hand, they mention formal settings when they think about how to improve or update their professional skills. This is related to the longstanding ideas about where one is supposed to learn, that is, in schools, colleges, training centres, universities, etc. In everyday life, however, people recognise that they learn in a much wider range of contexts. This supports the emphasis at European level on recognising non-formal and informal learning.

Few people think about open and distance learning to improve their skills

When people think about how to improve or update their professional skills, only 12% of respondents think about open and distance learning and related channel, and a mere 5% choose secondment or excahnge abroad.

Only 31% of people have taken part in some form of education in the past year

The majority of people have either taken part in some form of education or training in the past year (31,4%) or would like to do so (20,2%). This is so for more than two-thirds of respondents from Denmark and Sweden, but for less than one-third in Portugal. Overall, one in five did not participate in education and training during the preceding year, but would have liked to do so. Overall, 32% of European citizens have engaged in structured learning during the preceding year, and 20% would have liked to do so.

Nevertheless, 35% have not taken part in learning that they recognise as such in the past year and had no interest in doing so. Under half the respondents in Nordic countries do not take part in education and training, but in Greece and Portugal only 2 citizens in 10 at most have taken part in the last year. The proportion of those reporting they are simply not interested in learning is especially high in Spain (47%) and Portugal (50%).

The survey also confirms, as expected, that those with higher educational and occupational levels are more likely to participate in education and training.

Many citizens take up learning on their own initiative

This is the case for 44% of Europeans who took part in the survey. Still, half were advised or required to so, especially by employers (22% on average; and especially in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) but also by partners and families (13%; especially in Germany, Ireland and Italy). Employers paid for training for a further 20% (especially in Denmark, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom).

Why people consider learning in future? Social and personal reasons outweigh work-related motives

The main reasons for future learning are to achieve more personal satisfaction, increase general knowledge (31% each), do a job better (27%) and obtain a qualification (20%). Again, a hard kernel of 14% spontaneously reply that they would never want to take up learning again – but not a single Danish respondent said this, as opposed to at least 20% in Belgium, Greece, France and Austria.

Main obstacles to lifelong learning: time and money

Although people recognise the personal and social benefits of learning, they underline that lack of time due to job and family commitments is an important obstacle. In general, money represents a major obstacle: half of the respondents said that they would pay nothing under any circumstances. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that people are ready to make a financial contribution if they judge the benefit to be an exclusively personal one. They do not see work-related learning as only their responsibility.

Individualised and flexible learning options could be effective incentives. People mention diverse incentives, but most common are flexible working hours (21%), individualised programmes of study and personal choice of methods of study (20% each). This suggests that implementing lifelong learning effectively must find ways to enable people to combine activities in ways that suit them practically and personally. This Eurobarometer is one of concrete follow-up actions to the Commission Communication on “Making a European Area of Lifelong Learning a Reality” of November 2001

Consult the full document "Lifelong Learning: citizen's views" (pdf format)

The picture that ilustrate this article was taken from the document "Lifelong Learning: citizen's views"