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This brief discusses cases of neo-nationalist violations of academic freedom in Hungary and Poland. The most prominent case of neo-nationalist violation of academic freedom in Hungary is the fate of the Central European University (CEU). The circumstances of CEU's forced move out of Hungary came before the European Court of Justice regarding it a possible violation of EU law. The Court cited the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) under one of the three pillars of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 1994 agreement, free trade, and the determination that CEU was a form of international educational services that should not be denied to the people of Hungary. Poland has a similar hostile environment to academics and academic freedom, although with a glimmer of hope following recent elections. The brief also discusses how such open breaches of academic freedom as in Hungary or Poland, in which politicians directly try to exert influence on research institutions and professors, are fortunately rather rare in Germany. However, a confluence of factors perhaps obscures the differences between "academic freedom" and the "freedom of opinion." In Germany, academic freedom includes the search for topics, rigorous methodical investigation, and professional norms to express findings and competent opinions, whereas the free speech is outside of these professional norms. The brief concludes with a discussion of the role of universities and the future of democracy in the context of ensuring a space for free and open debate.

The paper presents a first global investigation of the longer-term inequality implications of COVID-19 by examining the effect of school closures on the ability of children from different countries and backgrounds to engage in continued learning throughout the pandemic, and their implications for intergenerational mobility in education. The analysis builds on the data from the Global Database of Intergenerational Mobility, country-specific results of the learning loss simulation model using weekly school closure information from February 2020 to February 2022, and high-frequency phone survey data collected by the World Bank during the pandemic to assess the incidence and quality of continued learning during periods of school closures across children from different backgrounds. Based on this information, the paper simulates counterfactual levels of educational attainment and corresponding absolute and relative intergenerational educational mobility measures with and without COVID-19 impacts, to arrive at estimates of COVID-19 impacts. The simulations suggest that the extensive school closures and associated learning losses are likely to have a significant impact on both absolute and relative intergenerational educational mobility in the absence of remedial measures. In upper-middle-income countries, the share of children with more years of education than their parents (absolute mobility) could decline by 8 percentage points, with the largest impacts observed in the Latin America region. Furthermore, unequal access to continued learning during school closures across children from households of different socioeconomic backgrounds (proxied by parental education levels) leads to a significant decline in relative educational mobility. [This report was prepared by the World Bank Poverty and Equity Global Practice & Education Global Practice.]

The academic professoriate is a determinant of successful higher education systems. Yet, recently, worsening conditions of employment, deteriorating salaries, and threats to job security have made the academic profession less attractive, especially to young scholars, in several countries. This paper investigates the salaries as well as the recruitment and retention procedures in public higher education institutions from a cross country perspective. The UK, Germany, France, and Italy are adopted as case studies to determine the attractiveness of European higher education systems. The evolution over the last decade creates an extremely variegated picture.

This paper presents credible and comparable evidence on intergenerational educational mobility in 53 developing countries using sibling correlation as a measure, and data from 230 waves of Demographic and Health Surveys. It is the first paper to provide estimates of sibling correlation in schooling for a large number of developing countries using high quality standardized data. Sibling correlation is an omnibus measure of mobility as it captures observed and unobserved family and neighborhood factors shared by siblings when growing up together. The estimates suggest that sibling correlation in schooling in developing countries is much higher (average 0.59) than that in developed countries (average 0.41). There is substantial spatial heterogeneity across regions, with Latin America and Caribbean having the highest (0.65) and Europe and Central Asia the lowest (0.48) estimates. Country level heterogeneity within a region is more pronounced. The evolution of sibling correlation suggests a variety of mobility experiences, with some regions registering a monotonically declining trend from the 1970s birth cohort to the 1990s birth cohort (Latin America and the Caribbean and East Asia and Pacific), while others remained trapped in stagnancy (South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa). The only region that experienced monotonically increasing sibling correlation is the Middle East and North Africa. The recent approach of Bingley and Cappellari (2019) is used to estimate the share of sibling correlation due to intergenerational transmission. The estimates show that when the homogeneity and independence assumptions implicit in the standard model of intergenerational transmission are relaxed, the estimated share is much larger. In the sample of countries, on average 74 percent of sibling correlation can be attributed to intergenerational transmission, while there are some countries where the share is more than 80 percent (most in Sub-Saharan Africa). This suggests a dominant role for parents in determining the educational opportunities of their children. Evidence on the evolution of the intergenerational share, however, suggests a declining importance of the intergenerational transmission component in many countries, but the pattern is diverse. In some cases, the trend in the intergenerational share is opposite to the trend in sibling correlation. [This report was prepared by the World Bank Group's Development Research Group, Development Economics.]

This study compares the way IVET and CVET sub-systems interact to support the learning of adults, and thus facilitate lifelong and life-wide learning. By comparing the interaction between IVET and CVET sub-systems in the countries covered, the study analyses the extent to which IVET systems are opening up to adults, and questions whether national and regional policies and practices support or prevent a closer link between CVET and IVET. The study builds on concrete national case-studies, allowing for an in-depth, qualitative comparison and analysis of practices and policies. This allows for a better understanding of obstacles and opportunities in this complex area, directly supporting the stakeholders and policy-makers responsible for taking lifelong and life-wide learning in Europe forward. [The research was carried out by a consortium led by 3s Unternehmungsberatung GmbH (Austria). The consortium includes Ockham IPS (the Netherlands) and the Fondazione Giacomo Brodolino (Italy). The German Federal Institute of Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) supported the project as sub-contractor. For "The Future of Vocational Education and Training in Europe. Volume 3. The Influence of Assessments on Vocational Learning. Cedefop Research Paper. No. 90," see ED626202.]

This report presents a holistic approach to understanding and comparing vocational education and training (VET) systems. The approach has been developed jointly by a group of interdisciplinary VET researchers over a 5-year period as part of Cedefop's research on the future of VET and has been reviewed several times. The framework introduces 50 dimensions for analysing VET systems, as well as parts of them, structured according to three overlapping main perspectives: epistemological and pedagogical, education system, and socioeconomic or labour market. The framework is particularly suited to 'clearing the ground' for policy work and provides a model for how research can support policy. This model can be flexibly adapted and applied in any comparative research or international policy learning activity related to VET. [The research was carried out by a consortium led by 3s Unternehmungsberatung (Austria). The consortium includes Ockham IPS (the Netherlands) and the Fondazione Giacomo Brodolino (Italy). The German Federal Institute of Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) supports the project as sub-contractor. For "The Changing Nature and Role of Vocational Education and Training in Europe. Volume 1: Conceptions of Vocational Education and Training--An Analytical Framework. Cedefop Research Paper. No 63," see ED586251.]

This report describes how entrepreneurship competence is embedded in vocational education and training (VET) in Europe. It complements existing knowledge with examples of methods, tools and approaches that can help policy makers, VET providers and other stakeholders build better entrepreneurial learning ecosystems. The report is based on the research of Cedefop's study "Entrepreneurship competence in VET" and eight national case studies covering Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Austria, Finland and Sweden. [Dmitrijs Kulšs was responsible for the publication and research conducted under the project. Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini Srl SB (FGB) was contracted for research and services.]

This report was prepared in the course of the Cedefop project "The future of vocational education and training in Europe." The main objective of this study is to map and analyse the dominant assessment forms applied in IVET and how these have evolved during the past 25 years. There is a particular focus on exploring the extent to which the objectives set by qualifications, programmes and curricula in terms of content and profile are improved or contradicted by assessment, as well as the extent to which a broadening of the skills and competence base of IVET could influence assessments (responding to increased emphasis on general subjects and greater focus on transversal skills and competences). The study explores to what extent assessment specifications and standards are used to support summative assessments and whether these are aligned with qualifications and programme standards. [For "The Future of Vocational Education and Training in Europe. Volume 1. The Changing Content and Profile of VET: Epistemological Challenges and Opportunities. Cedefop Research Paper. No. 83," see ED622472. For "The Future of Vocational Education and Training in Europe. Volume 2. Delivering IVET: Institutional Diversification and/or Expansion? Cedefop Research Paper. No. 84," see ED626195.]

This study examines the way in which institutional arrangements for the delivery of IVET have changed in response to shifts in skills demand. Although these arrangements vary across countries, it is possible to identify common trends over time, such as institutional hybridisation, the blurring of boundaries between IVET and general education. Despite this development, IVET has been able to retain a distinct identity, which is attractive to learners and has the support of key labour market actors. This reflects IVET's adaptability and resilience in the face of change. Building on a Europe-wide survey of VET providers and in-depth national case studies, the study delivers a timely update of, and insight into, the continually changing IVET landscape. Results show increasing similarities in how countries configure their IVET systems. This is evident in the broadening of IVET curricula, the prominence given to the work-based learning pathway, as well as the growing importance attached to local and regional autonomy. [For "The Future of Vocational Education and Training in Europe. Volume 1. The Changing Content and Profile of VET: Epistemological Challenges and Opportunities. Cedefop Research Paper. No. 83," see ED622472.]

This study examines changes in the way that knowledge, skills and competence are differentiated in curricula, and how learning is organised across different learning sites: in classrooms, workshops or laboratories, and at workplaces. The study collected information through Cedefop's ReferNet network, in-depth country case studies, and an online survey among almost 1 000 European VET providers. Results show that several countries have strengthened the general education component of their VET programmes either by increasing the extent of teaching general subjects or by better integrating them into the vocational curriculum. At the same time, the increased emphasis on general skills has not taken place at the expense of workplace learning; on the contrary, an expansion of workplace learning in IVET curricula has been ubiquitous. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to assess the exact extent of workplace learning, due to increased flexibility allowed at provider and individual level in the combination of different learning environments. [This research paper was produced by Cedefop's Department of VET and Qualifications.]

This study examines the role of microcredentials in supporting learning for employment. The study collected information through an online survey among mostly European VET providers, national authorities, employee and employer organisations, in-depth country case studies and interviews, as well as Cedefop's ReferNet network. While the topic has gained in importance in the context of higher education, focusing on vocational education and training does justice to the complexity of microcredentials in education, training and learning for the European labour market. Results show that microcredentials have only recently become prominent in Europe-wide policy-level debates, despite the existence for many decades of short courses and credentials that support labour-market-related education and training. Although there is uncertainty linked to the naming and function of microcredentials, clear benefits with regards to their flexibility and responsiveness to labour market needs can be observed. The current report focuses on and explores the take-up, characteristics and functions of microcredentials in European labour-market-related education, training and learning. The mapping exercise helps to identify the main characteristics of microcredentials as currently emerging in the context of VET and reskilling and upskilling initiatives.

This Policy Paper aims at analysing the most important aspects of Public Responsibility, Financing and Governance of Higher Educations while seeking to formulate a students perspective on the state of play within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In doing so it touches upon the very foundation of how and in which socio-political environment educational systems and higher education institutions work nowadays. The European Students' Union (ESU) believes that open access to all levels of education is the cornerstone of a socially, culturally and democratically inclusive society, and a prerequisite for individual and societal development and well-being. ESU sees higher education as a human right, which is guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. How education is seen in society, how it is funded and how it is governed are tightly interlinked areas. This policy paper focuses on: (1) Public responsibility of higher education (fundamental values; institutional autonomy and academic freedom; academic integrity; intellectual property; education for sustainable development; human rights and democratic citizenship education; digitalization, artificial intelligence, learning analytics and privacy; commodification; partnerships between higher education institutions and industry; internships; and internationalisation and international trade); (2) Financing of higher education (financing of higher education; the funding gap; optimisation of funding of higher education institutions; performance based funding; and education free of tuition fees); and (3) Governance of higher education (students participation; working conditions of academic staff; committees and ombudsmans and leadership, intersectionality and training). [For the 2016 version, see ED587168.]

The World Bank's focus on foundational skills requires that issues of language and Language of Instruction be brought to the forefront of education policy discussions. Poor Language of Instruction policies harm learning, access, equity, cost-effectiveness, and inclusion. Yet nearly 37% of students in low- and middle-income countries are taught in a language they do not understand. Massive learning improvements are feasible by teaching in a small number of additional languages. The World Bank's first Policy Approach Paper on Language of Instruction offers an indication of the work that will be undertaken to support countries in introducing reforms that will result in more resilient, equitable, and effective systems by promoting teaching in the languages that students and teachers speak and understand best. [The report was edited by John Steinhardt.]

In 2019, 135 million people in 55 countries were in food crises or worse, and 2 billion people did not have regular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. COVID-19 has exacerbated these hardships and may result in an additional 121 million people facing acute food insecurity by the end of 2020. Further, since the beginning of the pandemic, an estimated 1.6 billion learners in 199 countries worldwide were affected by school closures, with nearly 370 million children not receiving a school meal in 150 countries. The paper presents the evidence on the potential negative short-term and long-term effects of school meal scheme disruption during COVID-19 globally. It shows how vulnerable the children participating in these schemes are, how coping and mitigation measures are often only short-term solutions, and how prioritizing school re-opening is critical. For instance, it highlights how girls are at greater risk of not being in school or of being taken out of school early, which may lead to poor nutrition and health for themselves and their children. However, well-designed school feeding programmes have been shown to enable catch-up from early growth failure and other negative shocks. As such, once schools re-open, school meal schemes can help address the deprivation that children have experienced during the closures and provide an incentive for parents to send and keep their children, especially girls, in school.

The feedback between vocational education and training (VET) and the labour market can provide important input for the review and renewal of qualifications. A feedback loop that is based on learning outcomes helps provide deeper insights into what is required on the labour market, what is offered in training provisions and assessed at the end of a learning programme. The aim of this study is to contribute to strengthening the quality and relevance of qualifications and completing the feedback loop between education and the labour market. It examines methods of collecting data on the match/mismatch between qualifications and labour market requirements, including analysis of how achieved learning outcomes are applied and perceived in the labour market (for example methods of collecting the experience of employers with holders of these qualifications). This report addresses the following two questions: (1) which data already exist in the countries, providing insight into the relevance of qualifications to employees, employers and other labour market stakeholders?; and (2) how can survey methodology be designed to systematically capture the experiences and appreciations of employers as regards the content and profile of qualifications? To what extent, based on limited testing, can scalability of the methodology be achieved?

This paper, jointly prepared by Cedefop and the ETF, aims to inform the next steps in VET policy- making at EU level, including the Osnabruck declaration expected to be discussed by ministers in the autumn of 2020. It puts forward key challenges and opportunities for VET which have emerged from the intelligence, research and evidence collected over the years by the two agencies, each within its own remit and geographic scope.

The European Union is likely the most far-developed cross-border public space for higher education. The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and the European Research Area (ERA) both span an even larger number of countries including associate and partner countries of the EU. Based on shared European values, such as academic freedom, cross-border cooperation, and mobility, these policy frameworks have been developed in Europe over the last decades and with much success. HE systems in this area are thus well-positioned to benefit from cross-border mobility and collaboration but may at the same time face a certain loss of control over HE, for instance with respect to access due to the cross-border flows of students. This seems to make them vulnerable to populist tendencies and neo-nationalist politics seeking to inhibit the free movement of students, scholars, and data. Such tendencies have never been completely absent on the "old continent" but resurged over the uneven outcomes of globalization, the effects of the global financial and consequent Euro crisis, and the refugee crisis. Meanwhile, the impact of the coronavirus crisis is still by and large unknown. Populist tendencies seem now to be turning against the EU, with its freedom of movement for persons (i.e. open borders) as one of its cornerstones and are therefore of concern for the HE sector. Countries such as the UK, Switzerland, Denmark, and the Netherlands have a different position in the European landscape but are all struggling with the complexity of combining the virtues of an open system with constrained national sovereignty. Sovereignty is required in terms of steering capacity in order to balance access, cost, and quality, i.e. the well-known "higher education trilemma." In open systems this is challenged by the "globalization trilemma", which states that countries cannot have national sovereignty, (hyper)globalization and democracy at the same time. How are the EU, its Member States, and the HE sector responding? Will the Union stay united (i.e. Brexit)? Are the legal competencies of the EU in HE strong enough? What about the many European university associations, leagues, and networks? And what do the millions of (former) Erasmus students have to say?

The European qualifications framework (EQF), with its eight levels, serves as a translation grid between qualifications acquired in different European countries. Part of Cedefop's work to make qualifications easier to understand and compare, this study takes a closer look at those acquired through initial VET and assigned to EQF levels 3 and 4 via national classifications and frameworks. It explores what they have in common and in what way they differ. It looks at their purpose and value on the labour market or for further learning, and how they are assigned to the national qualifications frameworks (NQFs) and EQF levels. It also sheds light on the different weighting of occupational and transversal skills and competences and levels of complexity, and between qualifications at both levels within the same occupational area; these issues are not that often examined. While it confirms that describing the intended outcomes of learning improves understanding and eases comparison of vocational qualifications, the study highlights other aspects that are equally important, such as their currency and value on the labour market and in further learning.

This paper looks at how countries have mobilized additional resources for education and assesses their impact on access and learning outcomes, using the World Bank's new Learning-Adjusted Years of Schooling measure. The paper shows that global spending on education has risen significantly over the past two decades, although spending as a share of gross domestic product has remained relatively unchanged, at about 4.5 percent. However, global trends mask large differences across regions and country income groups. For example, low-income countries recorded the largest increases in terms of the share of GDP spent on education, but the absolute amount they devoted to education remained low compared to other countries. Economic growth has been the main driver of increases in public education spending. Yet, countries that achieved the largest and most rapid spending increases did this through a combination of increases in overall government revenues, a greater prioritization of education in the government budget as well as healthy economic growth. Increases in public education spending did not generally result in major improvements in average education outcomes. Using the available data, the paper shows that a doubling of government spending per child led to an increase in learning-adjusted years of schooling of only half a year. Preliminary findings also show that countries with lower efficiency and spending are expected to get the most from increases in spending in improved education outcomes. The paper concludes by outlining an approach that allows countries to assess their potential for increasing education funding and the expected effects on their education outcomes, based on benchmarks drawing from the data of comparable countries. It also underscores the urgent need to improve data on public education spending and education outcomes, to extend this analysis to cover a wider set of countries and increase the robustness of country-level benchmarks. [This paper is a product of the Education Global Practice.]

This paper studies the contribution of parental influence in accounting for cross-country gaps in human capital achievements. We argue that the cross-country variation in unobserved parental characteristics is at least as important as the one in commonly used observable proxies of parental socio-economic background. We infer this through an indirect empirical approach, based on the comparison of the school performance of second-generation immigrants. We document that, within the same host country or even the same school, students whose parents come from high-scoring countries in the PISA test do better than their peers with similar socioeconomic backgrounds. Differential selection into emigration does not explain this finding. The result is larger when parents have little education and have recently emigrated, suggesting the importance of country-specific cultural traits that parents progressively lose as they integrate in the new host country, rather than of an intergenerational transmission of education quality. Unobserved parental characteristics account for about 15% of the cross-country variance in test scores, roughly doubling the overall contribution of parental influence.

This publication is the sixth in a series produced as part of the Cedefop project The changing nature and role of VET (2016-18). Based on analysis of developments over the past two decades (1995-2015), the report provides important insights into developments and change processes related to vocationally oriented education and training at higher levels (levels 5 to 8 of the European qualifications framework). Building on detailed national case studies, the report demonstrates the expansion and diversification of vocationally oriented education and training offered at higher levels in European countries and the variations in how countries use the higher levels: there is evidence for strengthening vocational principles at higher levels in various ways as well as for strengthening academic principles. It also covers current debates and potential future challenges, including juggling labour market demands and wider societal values, finding the right balance between academic and vocational principles, and achieving parity of esteem between academically oriented and vocationally oriented qualifications at higher levels, by improving awareness and visibility of the latter. [The research was carried out by a consortium led by 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH, and includes the Danish Technological Institute, the Institute of Employment Research (University of Warwick), the Institute of International and Social Studies (Tallinn University) and Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini. The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Germany is supporting the project as a subcontractor.]

International students are critical to the competitiveness of American higher education in terms of financial, intercultural, and educational contributions. However, recent data indicates that the U.S institutions enrolled 31,520 fewer international students in Fall 2017 as compared to Fall 2016. At average tuition and fees of US$ 25,000, higher education institutions are likely to lose potential revenue of US$ 788 million for the first year of studies alone. This paper examines the shifting landscape of international enrollment from the lens of three overlapping Waves spread over seven years and takes a deeper dive into implications for American universities. Wave I was shaped by the terrorist attacks in September 2001 and resulted in slower overall growth in international student enrollment of 11% between 1999 and 2006. Wave II has its origins in the global financial crisis which prompted universities to search for self-funded students and experienced overall robust growth of 44 percent in international student enrollment between 2006 and 2013. Finally, Wave III is shaped by the new political order and intensified competition from English-taught programs in Europe and Asia which will slow down the pace of projected growth in international enrollment to 18 percent between 2013 and 2020. In this current Wave of intensified global competition, overall international student enrollment is likely to flatten or decline for most universities. While the reputation and quality of American higher education is admired and emulated around the world, resting on its past laurels will not be sufficient for attracting international students in the Third Wave. This means that universities must get proactive and strategic in reaching, engaging and supporting international students throughout their educational lifecycle. Demand for studying abroad among international students remains robust, however, increasing competition and expectations for value for money will requires proactive and concerted efforts to maintain the global competitiveness of American higher education.

This research paper is the fifth in a series produced as part of the Cedefop project The changing nature and role of VET (2016-18). Based on comparative analysis of labour force survey data from 2014, the report analyses the vocational effect on labour market and education outcomes, asking whether any advantages conferred by vocational qualifications in early career would be offset by disadvantages later in life. The report explores the functioning of the safety net and the diversion effects across countries, demonstrating how these vary considerably with the specific institutional structure of schooling and work-based training. The results indicate that VET graduates are potentially sacrificing the longer-term gains associated with further education in favour of short-term benefits. [This research was carried out by a consortium led by 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH and including the Danish Technological Institute, the Institute of Employment Research (University of Warwick), the Institute of International and Social Studies (Tallinn University) and Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini. The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Germany is supporting the project as a subcontractor.]

The aim of the paper is to identify and analyse patterns and trends in enrolment in upper secondary initial vocational education and training (IVET) in Europe over the period 1995 to 2015. The research produced findings on comparability of the international data as well as trends in enrolment in upper secondary IVET and its share of enrolment in upper secondary education. It found that, in countries where there has been a decline in VET enrolment, most of this is due to a declining youth population. It also found that many fluctuations in enrolment figures are artificial in the sense that they are the result of changing national classification and/or reporting practices. When correcting for these factors, findings show that the development of absolute enrolment in VET, as well as its share of enrolment in upper secondary education, has been quite stable in most countries. [The research was carried out by a consortium led by 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH, and includes the Danish Technological Institute, the Institute of Employment Research (University of Warwick), the Institute of International and Social Studies (Tallinn University) and Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini. The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Germany is supporting the project as a subcontractor.]

In a highly competitive global landscape, occupations are transformed, new jobs are created and the skills needed for the labour market are constantly changing. European countries are looking at redefining VET [vocational education and training] to respond promptly to such challenges and take advantage of the opportunities ahead. They are reforming to modernise their VET systems and strengthen the relevance of their national qualifications in an international context. This publication explores national responses to globalisation in 15 countries and five economic sectors. It aims to understand how European and international initiatives help VET renewal across Europe. It shows how countries' reactions are embedded in their national traditions but also depend on their interactions with European, sectoral and multinational players that provide training and award qualifications. [The research was carried out by a consortium led by IBE Educational research institute and 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH.]

During the past decade, national qualifications frameworks (NQFs) have been developed and implemented across Europe. Triggered by the adoption of the European qualifications framework (EQF) in 2008, these frameworks draw attention to the outcomes of education and training, focusing on what learners are expected to know, understand and are able to do. Learning outcomes-based level descriptors are essential to these frameworks. While technical in their character, these descriptors not only help to define and map the (vertical) level of complexity of a particular qualification, they also help to clarify its (horizontal) orientation, be this on theoretical knowledge, practical skills and/or transversal competences. Level descriptors are thus important reference points, aiming to reinforce the learning outcomes orientation of education, training and qualification systems. This publication provides an updated overview of NQF level descriptors of 39 countries participating in EQF implementation. It celebrates the 10th anniversary of the EQF process in 2018 and its contribution to transparency and comparability of European qualifications. It shows the progress made in this area and challenges ahead.

The aim of the paper is to review scholarly attempts to define or explain vocational education and training and to develop a theoretical model to analyse national definitions or conceptions of VET [vocational education and training] and how they have changed over time. VET takes many forms and is, perhaps, the least unitary of education sectors. Based on a literature review of previous attempts to characterise VET, the paper suggests using a multi-perspective framework which combines: (a) an epistemological and pedagogical perspective; (b) a system and institutional perspective; and (c) a socioeconomic and labour market perspective to analyse VET. These perspectives can help to identify appropriate learning approaches, institutional solutions and forms of cooperation to work towards. In Volume 2 of this series, the approach is empirically tested and the different understandings of VET in 30 European countries are illustrated. [This research paper is the first in a series produced as part of the Cedefop project, "The changing nature and role of VET (2016-18)." The research was carried out by a consortium led by 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH. For Volume 2, see ED586252. For Volume 3, see ED586256.]

The digital revolution and automation are accelerating changes in the labour market and in workplace skills, changes that are further affected by fluctuations in international and regional economic cycles and employment opportunity. These factors pose a universal policy challenge for all advanced economies and governments. In the workplace, people seek to acquire contemporary and relevant skills to gain employment and retain transferable skills to maintain employment. The central purpose of this paper is to investigate how other nations or regions are dealing with these issues. What approaches are they taking to understanding the mix and dynamics of the skills attained by individuals and, more broadly, the totality of skills that in aggregate constitute a highly capable and adaptable labour force, one that supports firm viability and greater national productivity. This research has examined a range of initiatives and approaches being developed or in use in selected countries, including the United States, Singapore and New Zealand, and agencies/organisations; for example, the European Commission and the Skills for the Information Age Foundation. In doing so, it showcases the good practices used to ensure that occupational-level skills information remains current and widely accessible. [For "Identifying Work Skills: International Case Summaries. Support Document," see ED579875.]

At some future point, when a definitive history of the assessment movement is written, one of the most frequently cited, influential publications will be "Assessment Update" ("AU"). Since 1989, this bimonthly newsletter has been published by Jossey-Bass in partnership with Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). It is no coincidence that the two most frequent contributors to "AU," Trudy Banta--"AU"'s founding editor and intellectual muse--and Peter Ewell, are also among the most prolific thinkers and writers shaping the scholarship and practice of student learning outcomes assessment. In this featured NILOA occasional paper, Banta and Ewell with the assistance of Cynthia Cogswell mine the pages of "AU" between 2000 through 2015 to distill the major themes and advances that characterize the evolution of assessment as a field of professional practice. [Foreword by George D. Kuh.]

This Cedefop study examines the contribution that vocational education and training (VET) can make to reducing early leaving from education and training (ELET). Published in two volumes, this first looks at quantitative data to understand better the extent of early leaving from VET (ELVET). It analyses mechanisms for monitoring early leaving (at national and EU-levels), and examines VET and labour-market-specific factors, as well as those related to the individual and his/her family background, contributing to this phenomenon. It aims to assist national policy-makers and decision-makers at different levels in developing existing monitoring systems to measure ELVET and inform VET policies to tackle ELET. It also aims to assist European stakeholders to refine the EU indicator to capture the important variations in individual situations of early leavers. The second volume reviews VET-related measures to tackle ELET, either by preventing learners dropping out and/or by bringing those who have already left back to education and training. Contains a bibliography and webliography. [ICF consulting services conducted the research for this report. For "Leaving Education Early: Putting Vocational Education and Training Centre Stage. Volume II: Evaluating Policy Impact. Cedefop Research Paper. No 58," see ED573445.]

This Cedefop study focuses on the contribution that vocational education and training (VET) can make to reducing early leaving from education and training (ELET). Published in two volumes, the first is dedicated to understanding better the learning pathways of young students, providing measurements of early leaving in VET, and understanding the role of VET in breaking the vicious cycle of early leaving and unemployment. This second volume reviews VET-related measures to tackle ELET, either by preventing learners dropping out and/or by bringing those who have already left back to education and training. This volume identifies and discusses the key features of successful policies and practices, plus the conditions necessary to evaluate and upscale successful regional and local practices to national strategies. Contains an annex of reviewed evaluations and main results. Includes a bibliography and webliography. [ICF consulting services conducted the research for this report. For "Leaving Education Early: Putting Vocational Education and Training Centre Stage. Volume I: Investigating Causes and Extent. Cedefop Research Paper. No 57," see ED573444.]

The number of countries that regularly participate in international large-scale assessments has increased sharply over the past 15 years, with the share of countries participating in the Programme for International Student Assessment growing from one-fifth of countries in 2000 to over one-third of countries in 2015. What accounts for this increase? This paper explores the evidence for three broad explanations: globalization of assessments, increasing technical capacity for conducting assessments, and increased demand for the microeconomic and macroeconomic data from these assessments. Data were compiled from more than 200 countries for this analysis, for six time periods between 2000 and 2015, yielding more than 1,200 observations. The data cover each country's participation in each of six cycles of PISA as it relates to the country's level of economic development, region, prior experience with assessment, and OECD membership. The results indicate that the odds of participation in PISA are markedly higher for OECD member countries, countries in the Europe and Central Asia region, high- and upper-middle-income countries, and countries with previous national and international assessment experience; the paper also finds that regional assessment experience is unrelated to PISA participation.

The European labour market is challenged by changes in the demographic composition of the labour force and increasing work complexities and processes. Skills forecasting makes useful contribution to decisions by policy-makers, experts and individuals. In this publication, Cedefop presents the latest results of skills supply and demand forecasts. Alongside the most likely scenario, it shows the impact of alternative labour market activation or migration policies on future labour market imbalances, illustrating the effects of the "highest possible" labour market activity rates based on past and possible future baseline trends. The role of migration in mitigating labour market imbalances is incorporated into the scenario, responding to available job opportunities, income differentials and unemployment levels across Member States. Three annexes are provided: (1) Skills supply: Detailed baseline scenario results; (2) Skills demand: Detailed baseline scenario results; and (3) List of contributing individual country experts.

Cedefop has been conducting monitoring of the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) implementation since 2010; this report covers developments from mid-2013 till 2015. It is based on national responses provided by the ECVET users' group from 28 EU Member States and four EFTA countries. The report examines whether existing credit systems provide conditions for individuals to have their learning accumulated or transferred towards a qualification. It examines key aspects: whether qualifications are based on learning outcomes and organised in units; whether individual units are assessed and validated for further transfer and accumulation; whether units are assigned credit points; and whether VET providers use memoranda of understanding and learning agreements to understand better the learning outcomes they provide. The report also focuses on the ways ECVET is promoted among stakeholders and beneficiaries and on examples of support materials that can be useful to ECVET promoters throughout Europe. Two annexes provide country summaries and websites with ECVET information, by country.