Abstract
The Memorandum on Lifelong Learning was launched in October 2000 by the European Commission and has been debated ever since in all member states of the European Union, leading to the publication of a follow-up document in 2001 which promoted a “European area of lifelong learning”. The Memorandum was a unique document in terms of both form and content, and its outcome and immediate impact were remarkable. But what is the long-term effect of this document, considering policymaking processes and scholarly debates in various EU member states and beyond? The authors of this article aim to answer this question by highlighting the Memorandum’s “key messages” and analysing how it is referenced in academic papers and publications. Their main findings confirm the Memorandum’s significant impact, including a long-term one, particularly in raising awareness of the importance of adult education in the political debate. Despite a decrease in explicit references to the document in policy papers over the past ten years, other more recent references to the Memorandum can still be identified in the latest policy documents and academic debates. Scholarly papers are particularly interested in critical content analysis, pointing out the strengths and limitations of the Memorandum and its follow-up document. During the past decade, the academic debate has become more active than in the first ten years since the Memorandum’s publication, demonstrating its long-term impact on various sectors in the field of lifelong learning, even outside Europe.
Résumé
Retracer les effets et impacts du Mémorandum sur l’éducation et la formation tout au long de la vie dans le débat intellectuel depuis sa création – Lancé en octobre 2000 par la Commission européenne, le Mémorandum sur l’apprentissage tout au long de la vie a fait depuis l’objet de débats au sein de tous les États membres de l’Union européenne et conduit en 2001 à la publication d’un document de suivi intitulé : « Réaliser un espace européen d’éducation et de formation tout au long de la vie. » Le Mémorandum était un document unique quant à sa forme et à son contenu, et le résultat qu’il produisit lors de sa parution, de même que sa répercussion immédiate furent remarquables. Toutefois quels en sont les effets à long terme compte tenu des processus politiques et des débats intellectuels dans les différents États membres de l’UE et ailleurs ? Les auteurs de cet article entendent répondre à cette question en mettant en lumière les « messages » du Mémorandum et en analysant la mesure dans laquelle des articles et publications scientifiques y font référence. Leurs principales conclusions confirment l’impact considérable du Mémorandum, y compris à long terme, notamment en ce qui concerne la sensibilisation accrue à l’importance de l’éducation des adultes dans le débat politique. Malgré une baisse des références explicites à ce document dans les documents politiques de ces dix dernières années, on relève encore des références dans les tous derniers documents politiques et débats scientifiques. Des articles scientifiques s’intéressent en particulier à l’analyse de contenus stratégiques, soulignant les points forts et les limites du Mémorandum et de son document de suivi. Ces dix dernières années, le débat scientifique a été plus animé que durant la décennie qui a suivi la publication du Mémorandum, ce qui prouve son effet à long terme sur les différents secteurs de l’apprentissage tout au long de la vie, même hors d’Europe.
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Notes
We are aware that the number might vary depending on the location from where the search is conducted. A search in Romania, for instance, may yield slightly different results from a search in Germany. We conducted our own search in Germany.
In Germany, for instance, general education is funded mostly by the learners, while “[t]hree parties contribute towards the financing of vocational education and training: the companies, the public sector and the trainees themselves” (Müller et al. 2017, p. 33).
For more information on the Adult Education Survey (AES), visit https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/microdata/adult-education-survey [accessed 13 March 2024].
Our own preference in the present article is the term competence[s].
The study “map[ped] and analyse[d] key data, the sources, the mechanisms of funding approaches and relevant recent developments with a particular focus on the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and United Kingdom as well as Norway and Switzerland as EEA countries and – in order to compare Europe’s adult learning policies with those of major competitors – the four non-European countries Australia, Canada, Korea and the USA” (FiBS and DIE 2013, p. 4).
The EU’s GRUNDTVIG (adult education) and LEONARDO (vocational education and training) programmes were part of the European educational programme of lifelong learning (LLP 2007–2013). In 2014, LLP was replaced by ERASMUS+ (2014–2020/2021–2027). For more information, visit https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/about-erasmus/history-funding-and-future [accessed 13 March 2024].
The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) helps university students to have their academic qualifications recognised when they move between countries. For more information, visit https://education.ec.europa.eu/education-levels/higher-education/inclusive-and-connected-higher-education/european-credit-transfer-and-accumulation-system [accessed 13 March 2024].
Launched during the first International Conference of Learning Cities held in Beijing in 2013, the Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) meanwhile has 356 members in 79 countries. For more information, visit https://www.uil.unesco.org/en/learning-cities [accessed 13 March 2024].
For more information about the European Education and Training Monitor, visit https://education.ec.europa.eu/about-eea/education-and-training-monitor [accessed 13 March 2024].
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Nuissl, E., Sava, S. Tracing the effects and impacts of the Memorandum on Lifelong Learning in the scholarly debate since its inception. Int Rev Educ 70, 223–252 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-023-10044-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-023-10044-8