MEET for “An ECI that works!”

MEET - Movement towards a European Education Trust - is the 8^th European Citizens Initiative for a “High Quality European Education for All”. MEET believes that Europe’s future depends on Education, how to educate citizens, how they learn. Common education goals reflecting European basic values opening the minds of the future Europeans children growing up with tolerance for languages and cultures, celebrating diversity should be at the heart of a solution to today’s challenges. MEET called the creation of a multi-stakeholder platform on Education - not so much to discuss more about education but rather bring existing recommendations together and see how best to implement them by creating a European educational model, accessible to all children and teachers in all Member States.

MEET’s intention was to use the European Citizen’s Initiative to raise awareness about a quality, pluralistic educational model for all Europeans. Also about European schooling leading to the European Baccalaureate, a system of European Education started in 1953 by parents and teachers and which has produced already syllabi created by teacher from all over Europe and approved by the Ministries of education of all member states and their inspectors.

Opening Up Education: mainstreaming digital access in education and training - EUCIS-LLL policy paper

“Disruptive innovation”, “tsunami”, “first genuine revolution since Gutenberg”… a lot of hopes and fears have emerged in the past years on Open Educational Resources (OERs), making more vivid than ever the debate on harnessing the potential of ICT for education and training. While the 2013 Commission’s Communication on “Opening Up Education” strives for a new learning ecosystem enriched with digital environments and contents, we see that in reality not everyone benefits from these new possibilities. In 2010 only 39% of Europeans used the Internet for any training and education related activity with huge disparities across countries. We know that the main barriers to access to ICT are technological but also linked to attitudes, interests and abilities. In this context there is a huge potential for progress, and there are more open questions than solid answers and reliable solutions in the field; therefore a critical and responsible approach is recommended. While the European Council recently discussed the digital economy, innovation and services, it is timely for European decision-makers to reflect on what digital learning can really do to modernise our education and training systems, unveiling its expected impact in terms of both growth and social cohesion. EUCIS-LLL thus supports the plea made by the European Commission for an integrated and collective approach to the digital agenda seen both as a challenge and a great opportunity especially to support a cultural shift in the way we teach and learn in Europe.

More:

• EUCIS-LLL policy paper on Opening Up Education
• EAEA position on Opening Up Education

• EUCIS-LLL database of good practices
• European Commission communication “Opening Up Education“, 25 October 2013
• Open Education Europa: an EU portal to provide a single gateway to European OER

Source: EUCIS-LLL website

Challenges and Opportunities for Organised Parents in the Future of Europe

EPA held its second General Assembly and Conference in Brussels. The topic was the role and possibilities of parents in the next budgetary and parliamentary period of the EU both starting in 2014. Our Slovenian member, ZASSS collected lots of useful links based on the conference programme that all parents' associations in Europe can use to broaden parents' information on Europe as well as for planning new projects.

Opening and welcome words

• Dr. Renate Heinisch, EESC
• Mrs. Silvana Koch-Mehrin, MEP ALDE
• Mrs. Edit Herczog, MEP PES

Parenting Support in Europe, Daniel Molinuevo, Eurofund

• 2013, Daniel Molinuevo, Parenting support in Europe
• Comment Paper for the Eurochild peer review seminar, Daniel Molinuevo
• Access to parenting services for Roma and migrant families for Roma and migrant families, Daniel Molinuevo, Dublin, 5th February 2013

European Platforms and Initiatives for EU2020

• Audrey Firth, EUCIS-LLL – the European Life-Long Learning Platform
• Ana Gorey, MEET - ECI on a High Quality European Education for All
• Ana Gorey, President of MEET, speaks about the ECI on European Education
• Sarah Cooke O’Dowd, SIRIUS Network
• Daniel Kropf, Learning for Well-Being
• L4WB Children's Charter
• Learning for Well-being - Daniel Kropf

European NGO’s for EU2020

• Kathy Kikis-Papadakis, European Policy Network on School Leadership
• EPNoSL Parent Questionnaire
• Agnes Uhereczky, COFACE
• Interview with Agnes Uhereczky on cyberbullying
• Andrea Witt, Eurochild
• Early intervention and prevention in family and parenting support
• Ida Kreutzman, OBESSU
• Marie-france Mailhos, AEDE
• Association Européenne des Enseignants (The European Association of Teachers)
• 2009/10, Sens [public], MARIE-FRANCE MAILHOS, Apprendre et enseigner l'Europe : un jeu de piste dans les champs disciplinaires
• Blandine Smilansky, Euroclio

Workshop

• EUROPEAN GOVERNANCE, A WHITE PAPER
• parentsparticipation.eu
• IPPE Project (Indicators of Parental Involvement in Compulsory Education)
• IPPE Indicators
• June 2003, Professor Charles Desforges with Alberto Abouchaar, The Impact of Parental Involvement, Parental Support and Family Education on Pupil Achievements and Adjustment: A Literature Review
• Epstein's Six Types of Involvement
• Epstein's Framework of Six Types of Involvement
• Highlighting Parent Involvement in Education
• PARENT INVOLVEMENT, Tips, Tools, and Strategies for Parents and Professionals
• Parental Involvement
• Parental Involvement: From Communication to Conferences
• Parent Involvement In Early Childhood Education
• Parents as Partners in their Children's Learning
• What is Parent Involvement?
• The Six Slices of Parental Involvement
• Help Your Child Succeed in School

Thank you for this collection, Janko Korosec!

Education priorities of the Greek EU Presidency

Education's 'crucial role' in the efforts to overcome the crisis Europe and its citizens are facing today is stressed by the current EU Presidency.

In its programme, the Greek EU Presidency, which was launched officially on 8 January, states that 'given the current economic environment and the consequent curtailment and tight control of public spending' it will 'focus considerable attention' on the contribution of education 'to economic growth, jobs and social cohesion'.

The document stresses that 'high quality, efficient and equitable education and training systems are crucial for the enhancement of the employability of Europe's workforce.'

Among other initiatives, Greece will hold a conference on vocational education and training, focusing on skills mismatch.

Read more about the Presidency's plans on education (pp 54-55):
http://gr2014.eu/sites/default/files/gr%20pres%20programme_teliko_7.1.2014_0.pdf

Source: Cedefop