The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's in-house science and knowledge service, employing a substantial staff of scientists devoted to conducting research to provide independent scientific advice for EU policy. Focussed on various research areas aligned with EU priorities, the JRC excels in delivering scientific evidence for…

This paper discusses the workings of the European Semester (ES) in relation to the policy field of education. My study shows how the ES enables the steering of education policy through encouraging specific economic and employment-related actions by European Union (EU) member states. With a focus on the relationship between the EU institutions and…

In 2017, the European Union (EU) initiated the development of the European Education Area (EEA). The referentiality approach frames an original and timely inquiry into how EU policymakers explain the reasons for the development of the EEA. This inquiry relies on thematic analysis of relevant key policy materials, produced by the European…

Mainland China's domestic academic literature on foreign issues can be regarded as a reference for its policymaking since the early stages of the "Reform and Opening Up". This investigation constructs a multi-theoretical framework for examining and interpreting mainland China's domestic academic narrative surrounding higher education…

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology, whilst in its infancy, presents significant opportunities and risks, and proactive policy is needed to manage these emerging technologies. Whilst AI continues to have significant and broad impact, its relevance and complexity magnify when integrated with other emerging…

Recent scholarly work on higher education institutions (HEIs) within an EU context has focused on how universities and their core activities have been affected by EU education policy. The organisation of HEIs in order to shape European decision-making on higher education, mainly through their presence in Brussels, has received much less attention.…

Comprehending interest group politics is central to studying the European Union's (EU) policy shaping and decision-making, in education as in other policy areas. Yet the contribution of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to EU policy shaping and decision-making in European education has been overlooked. Drawing on organisational studies, this…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the meanings of 'child participation' in international and European policy agendas on children('s rights). The premise here is that policy agendas informed by children's rights principles have the power to shape what a child can (learn) to do and be in a given society. Furthermore, the policy agendas…

We employ a policy assemblage, mobilities, and mutations framework to analyze the geographies that constitute and reflect educational policy circulation at the regional or supranational level in trans-regional regimes and/or quasi-federal polities such as the European Union (EU) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Recognizing that policies are…

Twenty years after the Lisbon strategy, education policy in the European Union (EU) is at a critical juncture, with a new set of strategic goals endorsed for the 2021-2030 decade. This article examines the complex interplay of ideas, institutions and actors, in articulating education policy priorities in the new European Education Area (EEA).…

This document presents a summary of effective policy design measures and practices identified at a workshop of the European Commission's Working Group Schools: Learning for Sustainability that took place at the World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) in Prague on 16 March 2022. The hybrid event was open to members of the working group (who…

The purpose of this study is to trace and document the emerging contours of a Vocational Training, Adult Education and Lifelong Learning (VTAELL) space in the EU via an examination of the policy framework built over time in this area over more than six decades, from the inception of today's European Union to the present day. Nineteen key primary…

Several concurrent trends are increasing the likelihood that short courses, microcredentials, and flexible learning pathways will become a regular and even dominant feature of education and training globally. This policy paper reflects on these trends with special reference to the post-secondary education sector, and explores ways to organize…

European education and training policies have gained momentum with the debt crisis and soaring youth unemployment. In 2013, the 'European Alliance for Apprenticeships' was launched. In Germany, a role model for apprenticeship training in Europe, a national 'Alliance for Initial and Further Training' was signed just one year later. Both Alliances…

The article seeks to refine two central concepts in scholarly accounts of national policy responses to international data: 'selectivity' and 'instrumentalisation'. It does so by broadening, firstly, the empirical focus of research to include forms of international data other than the performance data of global learning metrics and international…