Redesign European education policy

Education is the engine for economic growth. Its education systems must prepare students for today’s knowledge-based economy and address the needs of the 21st century workforce. The solution, says software company SAS, is to focus not only on finding funding but increasingly more on how to fundamentally redesign educational systems – spend less energy on testing outdated models and more on trying new technologies.

What are the necessary skills for the 21st century?

• Intelligence: today because of the processing of massive amounts of information one needs to be able to analyse data, learn and adapt
  
  
• Creativity: students and citizens need creativity skills to be able to process and produce with this information
  
  
• Courage (to take action): need for strong emphasis on learning and thinking skills –critical thinking and problem solving – communication, creativity and innovation, collaboration, contextual learning, information and media literacy, eSkills and life skills. Young people have to be taught to take risks. And policymakers have to create a landscape that rewards those who take risk, as well as one that makes failure an acceptable cultural and financial option.

Suggestions for policies for meeting the challenges

1. Ensure access to education and training

• Anytime, anywhere & for all / flexible & varied educational opportunities (on-site, on-line, just-in-time): need to be open to supporting new models, different providers and business partnerships that increase educational success
  
  
• Invest in pre-primary education programs: research suggests that pre-primary spending in education brings the greatest return on investment
  
  
• Ease transferability of students in higher education –both from country to country and from discipline to discipline

2. Continually assess education performance in relation to goals, i.e. learning and earning

• Create strong accountability and transparency in our education systems - put accountability systems in place that will provide educators with insights on what happens to our students after they complete, transfer or take a job.
  
  
• Enable governments and educators with the tools that will allow them to gather and analyse data to create policies based on firm knowledge of which policies will create desired outcome

3. Implement consistent policies that will ensure workforce availability

• Enact a “human capital” tax credit for employers who provide training and education for workers: lowering of public cost + incentive to employers
  
  
• Develop curricula that support disciplines as science, technology, engineering

4. Advance innovative research and development

• Concentrate government funding on basic research
  
  
• Provide a tax structure that rewards companies for engaging in R&D activities

5. Promote social, state and global business/education partnerships

• Work together to enhance the use of technology in learning and to develop the information technology skills necessary for the workplace. Ensure that eSkills become part of the education and life-long learning curricula. (e.g. Cary Academy)
  
  
• Foster a culture of innovation, educate for creativity and reward risk-taking at all levels.