The teaching of IT, entrepreneurial and citizenship skills is fundamental for preparing young people for today’s job market, but, in general, schools are still paying insufficient attention to these transversal skills compared with basic skills in literacy, mathematics and science, according to a new European Commission report. Part of the problem is rooted in difficulties with assessment. For example, only 11 European countries (Belgium Flemish community, Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Finland) have standardised procedures to assess citizenship skills, which aim to develop critical thinking and active participation in school and society. Such testing does not exist at all for entrepreneurship and IT skills in any of the 31 countries which took part in the survey (27 EU Member States, Croatia, Iceland, Norway and Turkey). The report also outlines progress in teaching six of the eight key competences defined at EU level for lifelong learning in knowledge, skills and attitudes.
“It is only by equipping children and young people with the necessary skills, including transversal skills, that we will ensure that the European Union will have the means to remain competitive and to seize the opportunities of the knowledge economy,” said Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. “This study shows us where there is room for improvement and, most importantly, what we need to do to create more opportunities for our youth. Rethinking education, a policy initiative that I will launch tomorrow, will outline concrete proposals for doing this.”
Transversal skills are generally taught as a part of other subjects and national curricula in most countries cover IT, entrepreneurship and citizenship. But the picture is uneven. Nine countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Romania, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium Flemish community and Croatia) do not explicitly cover entrepreneurship education at primary level while digital competences are addressed in primary school everywhere except Croatia. Here to read more.
