Young Europeans: an urgent educational challenge
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 24 April 2013 (15th Sitting) (see Doc. 13155, report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education
and Media, rapporteur: Ms Komar). Text
adopted by the Assembly on 24 April 2013 (15th Sitting).See
also Recommendation 2014
(2013).
1. The Parliamentary Assembly recalls
that education is a pillar of youth empowerment and a prerequisite for
personal fulfilment, social inclusion, active citizenship, employability
and entrepreneurship. It welcomes the recently adopted Committee
of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2012)13 on ensuring quality education, which
calls for educational provision that develops each pupil’s and student’s
personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their
fullest potential.
2. The Assembly regrets the current very high rates of youth
unemployment. It notes the mismatch between the skills of the unemployed
and those required for the available jobs, which questions the capacity
of the education and training systems across Europe to provide pupils
and students with the necessary skills for them to access the job
market.
3. Bearing in mind the principle of lifelong learning, the Assembly
notes that non-formal and informal education are in general undervalued
in comparison with the higher status given to formal education.
There is a need to recognise the contribution that all learning
experiences can bring to personal development. The validation of
competences acquired through non-formal learning and youth work
should be considered an important element for the promotion of young
people’s autonomy.
4. Education, however, is not only about preparing pupils and
students to become part of a highly skilled workforce, but has a
value in itself. It must be aimed at nurturing human talent and
creativity, and at contributing to personal development, including
the capacity to appreciate culture and to get involved in cultural
life, as well as to the sustainable cultural, socio-economic and
political development of society at large.
5. The Assembly calls on member States to adopt a more holistic
approach to education, to secure the provision of adequate resources
for education – not below 6% of the gross domestic product – and
to take action to:
5.1 enhance
the traditional formal education setting, and in particular to:
5.1.1 invest in effective guidance and counselling for all pupils
and students, helping them to get an overview of different learning
and career opportunities and supporting them in finding an educational
and/or career pathway suitable for them;
5.1.2 develop policies in youth mobility – including mobility
through international student exchange programmes at European level
– out-of-school education/learning, voluntary service and youth
information and participation;
5.1.3 integrate education for democratic citizenship and human
rights in national curricula and ensure that schools promote mutual
respect and develop anti-violence and anti-discrimination policies,
to combat different forms of violence, bullying, intolerant behaviour
and self-harm;
5.1.4 establish attractive conditions for, and explore ways
of enhancing, the status of the teaching profession;
5.2 improve recognition of and support for new learning settings,
and in particular to:
5.2.1 intensify efforts aimed at
the recognition of youth work and non-formal and informal learning,
taking into account the proposals put forward by the “Strasbourg
Process” on the recognition and validation of non-formal and informal
learning;
5.2.2 support the use of formal education facilities by civil
society organisations providing both students and teachers with
additional opportunities for non-formal and lifelong learning;
5.2.3 encourage different forms of practical occupational experiences
which allow pupils and students to apply what they have learned
and to familiarise themselves with different career paths and opportunities;
5.2.4 promote entrepreneurship education and value the role
that youth organisations can play in supporting the development
of self-employment prospects for young people;
5.2.5 encourage the development of youth workers’ leadership
competences by promoting the use of the European Portfolio for Youth
Leaders and Youth Workers;
5.3 ensure inclusion, and in particular to:
5.3.1 facilitate
access to education for children and young people from disadvantaged
groups;
5.3.2 ensure proper information to parents about the educational
system and its different pathways and help them support adolescents
in their educational choices;
5.3.3 provide teacher training to equip teachers with intercultural
competences, and the capability to deal with ethnic, cultural and
religious diversity;
5.3.4 create conditions to prevent young people from disadvantaged
groups from leaving school early, including through targeted financial
support for secondary students to enable them to stay in full-time
education.
