Lifelong Learning Policies for Young Adults in Europe

“A good reference point for future work on policy document formulation and transition to implementation. A great contribution to international policy studies and comparative education.” Peter Mayo, University of Malta

Professor Marcelo Parreira do Amaral is Professor of International and Comparative Education at the University of Münster, Germany, and a member of NESET II (Network of Experts on the Social Aspects of Education) funded by the European Commission.

He is currently working on the EC funded (EC H2020) project YOUNG_ADULLLT - Policies Supporting Young People in their Life Course. A Comparative Perspective of Lifelong Learning and Inclusion in Education and Work in Europe (2016 - 2019). His main research interests include international and comparative education, education policy, international educational governance and its implications for education research, practice and policy.

Dr. Siyka Kovacheva is Associate Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. She undertakes research in Social Policy and Social Science specializing in the study of youth transitions from education to employment and parenthood, young people’s experiences of unemployment, life projects and strategies to manage uncertainty. Her research interests also include civic participation and emigration. She has participated in research projects applying a life course perspective and qualitative methodology, including many comparative projects.

Dr. Xavier Rambla is Associate Professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. He has led research projects on educational reform, education, poverty and social exclusion, educational development and policies addressing early school leaving in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Spain. He has also collaborated in projects on education and social cohesion in Europe, and critical co-educational action-research in several regions in Spain. Dr. Rambla has also worked to connect academic research with professional practice by collaborating as a consultant with some civil society organizations. His current research interests are educational governance and its implications for inequalities and human development.

Introduction: Between knowledge and economy: Lifelong learning policies for young adults in Europe - Xavier Rambla, Siyka Kovacheva and Marcelo Parreira do Amaral

PART I: Lifelong learning between knowledge and economy

Lifelong learning policies for young adults in Europe: a conceptual and methodological discussion - Marcelo Parreira do Amaral

Coordinated policy-making in lifelong learning: functional regions as dynamic units - Marcelo Parreira do Amaral, Kevin Lowden, Valeria Pandolfini and Nikolas Schöneck

A social investment perspective on lifelong learning: the role of institutional complementarities in the development of human capital and social participation - Yuri Kazepov, Ruggero Cefalo and Mirjam Pot

PART II: Lifelong learning supporting young adults

Young adults as a target group of lifelong learning policies - Xavier Rambla, Dejana Bouillet and Borislava Petkova

The effectiveness of lifelong learning policies on youth employment: do regional labour markets matter? - Queralt Capsada-Munsech and Oscar Valiente

Governing the normalisation of young adults through lifelong learning policies - Risto Rinne, Heikki Silvennoinen, Tero Järvinen and Jenni Tikkanen

Tackling vulnerability through lifelong learning policies? - Thomas Verlage, Valentina Milenkova and Ana Bela Ribeiro

Are lifelong learning policies working for youth? Young people’s voices - Siyka Kovacheva, Judith Jacovkis, Sonia Startari and Anna Siri

PART III: Young adults’ experiences of lifelong learning in the European Union

Assessing young adults’ living conditions across Europe using harmonised quantitative indicators: opportunities and risks for policy makers - Rosario Scandurra, Kristinn Hermannsson and Ruggero Cefalo

The changing meanings of lifelong learning policies: consequences for young adults and their life courses - Tiago Neves, Natália Alves, Anna Cossetta and Vlatka Domović

Telling the story: exploring lifelong learning policies for young adults through a narrative approach - Mauro Palumbo, Sebastiano Benasso and

Marcelo Parreira do Amaral

Conclusion: Navigating lifelong learning policies in Europe: impacting and supporting young adults’ life courses - Siyka Kovacheva, Xavier Rambla and Marcelo Parreira do Amaral