Evidence-based policy-making: the usability of the Eurostat Adult Education Survey |
| |
Authors: | Ellen Boeren |
| |
Institution: | 1. University of Edinburgh, UKellen.boeren@ed.ac.uk |
| |
Abstract: | This article reflects on European education policy which is driven by benchmarks and indicators. While the European benchmark on adult lifelong learning participation—15% to be achieved by 2020—is measured by the Labour Force Survey, the Eurostat Adult Education Survey (AES) was designed to better understand the topic of adult lifelong learning participation in-depth. This article explores the AES as an instrument to inform policy-makers and whether it provides adequate information to empirically testify participation hypotheses. The article argues that analysis of the AES provides limited understanding of the educational supply side. Furthermore, policy-makers should be aware of methodological and conceptual weaknesses before relying on these data in their policy development. |
| |
Keywords: | benchmarks indicators survey monitoring participation |
|
|