The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the learning process of more than 1.5 billion students and youth around the world. The abrupt and unplanned shift to online schooling had a negative impact on student learning and achievement, with the greatest challenges experienced by the most vulnerable learners. Scientific evidence from across the globe is…

This staff working document is intended to accompany and support the Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation Pathways to School Success, which will repeal and replace the 2011 Council Recommendation on policies to reduce early school leaving. The staff working document sets out in more detail and depth the concepts put forward in the…

A general consensus exists among Member States that gaining academic knowledge on its own is not enough for young people to play a role as active citizens and face the socioeconomic realities in their lives, in order to avoid inequity, poverty, discrimination, marginalisation and exclusion. In the 21st century, education needs to go beyond narrow…

This study identifies, analyses and categorises educational and training (ET) initiatives implemented by local and regional authorities (LRAs) across the European Union (EU). LRAs' responsibility in education and training varies importantly among Member States, but the evidence gathered through this study tells a story of active contribution of…

The Education and Training (ET) 2020 Working Groups (WGs), involving over 400 experts from Member States' administrations and other stakeholders, are one of the main instruments in the toolbox of the Strategic Framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020). Through mutual learning and the identification of good practices,…

In every policy paper European Students' Union (ESU) seeks to outline their vision for a truly modern and collegial higher education and student interests. This paper provides an overview of ESU's main policies on higher education. It begins with the following sections: (1) What is higher education?; (2) Who is higher education for?; (3)…

Compared to previous years where every aspect of the Bologna process was analysed from a student perspective we have chosen to highlight some key issues for the future that are important for students. Some of the key areas for the the European Students' Union in this edition are student-centred learning, the social dimension, recognition and the…

TEMPUS is a European Union funded Programme which supports the modernisation of higher education in the Partner Countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean region, mainly through university cooperation projects. It also aims to promote the voluntary convergence of the higher education systems in the Partner…

Higher education plays a vital role in society and the quality, accessibility, and form of higher education is highly dependent on financing. Financing of higher education is conceived to be of central importance for the future creation and dissemination of knowledge and research. Therefore, the financing of higher education is a topic that has…

The Bologna Process is one of the largest endeavours ever undertaken aimed at reforming higher education continent-wide. It has created a framework of measures and policies aiming to foster greater compatibility and comparability of the national systems of higher education across Europe. Despite the impact reforms and change in higher education…

European Students' Union (ESU) has been representing students since 1982. In these, almost 30 years, ESU has been going from strength to strength as a European organisation. Each year has been crucial. This report brings to the fore its notable achievements and work done in 2011. The carousel of higher education reform on the national level was at…

This Toolkit forms part of the project entitled "Time for a New Paradigm in Education: Student-Centred Learning" (T4SCL), jointly led by the European Students' Union (ESU) and Education International (EI). This is an EU-funded project under the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) administered by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture…

The European Students' Union (ESU) has been writing about the student perspective on the Bologna Process since it get formally involved in it. Four editions of the students' independent stocktaking report "Bologna With Student Eyes" between 2003 and 2009 shed light on the perception of those stakeholders, which are probably mostly…