INTERNATIONAL LIFELONG LEARNING CONFERENCE

Report of the Istanbul Conference 13-15 November 2012/ Limak Eurasia Hotel

Compiled by John Hart & Nevin Şenol

Contents

Section

1. Foreword

2. The Context of the Conference

3. Opening Speeches

4. Project for the Promoting of Lifelong Learning in Turkey

5. Key Themes of the Conference

6. Session 1: Lifelong Learning Approach

7. Session 2: Innovative Learning Techniques/Methods Supporting Lifelong Learning Approach

8. Session 3: Recognition of Prior Learning

9. Session 4: Lifelong Guidance and Employability

10. Closing Remarks Annexes

2. THE CONTEXT OF THE CONFERENCE

In 2006 a Lifelong Learning Policy Paper, entitled Driving force for the Success of Turkey, prepared under the Strengthening Vocational Education and Training Project, was published In 2009 a National Lifelong Learning Strategy Document and Action Plan was approved by the Higher Planning Board. In addition, in 2011 the Project for Promoting Lifelong Learning in Turkey was started.

In the National Lifelong Learning Policy Paper, lifelong learning is defined as "all learning activities undertaken throughout life with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competencies, within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective." It encompasses formal learning, non-formal and informal learning and there are no restrictions in terms of age, socio-economic status or educational level. Lifelong learning not only takes place at schools, but also in other areas of life, for example at work, and in civic and political, cultural and recreational life.

Since the launch of the Lisbon Strategy (2000), intended to make the EU "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion", lifelong learning has become a guiding principle for the EU education, training and youth action programmes Immediately following the Lisbon Council, the European Commission published their Memorandum on Lifelong Learning, which suggested that any comprehensive and coherent lifelong learning strategy should:

- guarantee universal and continuing access to learning,

- visibly raise levels of investment in human resources,

- develop effective teaching and learning methods for lifelong learning,

- improve the ways in which learning participation and outcomes are understood and appreciated,

- ensure that everyone can easily access good quality information and advice about learning opportunities,

- provide lifelong learning opportunities as close to learners as possible.

This was in 2000. Twelve years later, lifelong learning is clearly on the education and/or economic agenda of many countries around the world, but it is probably still true to say, as was stated in the Memorandum, that lifelong learning is still defined in a variety of ways in different national contexts and for different purposes and that “definitions remain largely informal and pragmatic, wedded more closely to action than to conceptual clarity or legal terms”.1

The International Lifelong Learning Conference drew together a wide range of speakers from different countries and organisations to explain what lifelong learning or some important aspect of lifelong learning means in the context of their work or their national system There were many common themes, but also many differences of approach or emphasis based on different economic or social priorities or differences in background systems of education and training However, there were a number examples of international cooperation on aspects of lifelong learning

1 Commission of the European Communities, A Memorandum on Lifelong Learning, Brussels 2000, p9

The EU has an Integrated Lifelong Learning Action Programme for 2007-2013 comprising sectoral programmes on school education, higher education, vocational training and adult education. The participation of Turkey in these programmes has been arranged in a Memorandum of Understanding between the Republic of Turkey and the EU.

In Turkey, the Ninth Development Plan for 2007-2013 period was prepared with a vision of "Turkey which grows in stability, shares its income fairly, which has competitive power at global scale, which transforms itself into an information society. This plan makes several references to lifelong learning, including the intention to develop a lifelong learning strategy aimed at increasing the employment skills of individuals in line with the requirements of a changing and developing economy and labour market. In order to achieve this, the strategy will include mechanisms which support an increase in both formal and non-formal learning opportunities, strengthen the horizontal and vertical relationships between different kinds of education, and support the involvement of the private sector and NGOs in lifelong learning.

This is the context in which the Project, Technical Assistance for Promotion of Lifelong Learning (The Project for Promoting Lifelong Learning in Turkey) (EuropeAid/128112/D/SER/TR) was proposed It is a two-year project with an operational budget of 15 million Euro and the stated purpose of establishing an institutional framework for lifelong learning and improving capacity in terms of lifelong learning delivery.

The Project is based in Ankara, at the premises of the General Directorate for Lifelong Learning in the Ministry of National Education of Turkey. The activities cover all 12 NUTS II regions in 12 pilot provinces (with their hinterlands 43 provinces)

3. The First Day, 13 November 2012, OPENING SPEECHES

Assoc. Prof. Mustafa Kemal BİÇERLİ, General Director of the General Directorate for Lifelong Learning (DGLLL)

Mr Biçerli welcomed the participants, especially those who came from abroad to share their invaluable experience on lifelong learning He expressed his hope that all aspects of lifelong learning would be discussed at the Conference and informed delegates that the output of this Conference would form an input to a further conference on lifelong learning to be held in 2013.

The General Director went on to give a brief account of the DGLLL, which had been established in the recent restructuring of the Ministry of National Education. The main goal of the DGLLL was to create a sound, efficient and sustainable lifelong learning system based on local, national and international cooperation and strong collaboration with stakeholders. He said that the establishment of the DGLLL was an important sign of political commitment to lifelong learning in Turkey. The motto of the DGLLL is "from learning individuals to a learning society and from a learning society to a learning Turkey".

Mr Biçerli referred to an earlier Project, “Strengthening the Vocational Education and Training System”, which had run from 2002 to 2007 That Project had produced a Lifelong Learning Strategy Paper and Action Plan with sixteen national priorities and Turkey had already started to establish a lifelong learning system around those priorities The present Project, "Promoting Lifelong Learning in Turkey", was working to produce a draft law on lifelong learning and to bring the Strategy Paper and Action Plan up to date Consultation with stakeholders is an important aspect of lifelong learning policy, and the current Project was drawing on the contributions of fifteen working groups representing the main stakeholder organisations The Project was currently working with twelve pilot provinces in the east of the country, but in due course the structures established in these provinces would be extended to all parts of the country

He concluded his speech by saying that it was important to adopt the right principles and policies and maintain strong cooperation with all lifelong learning stakeholders – “we need a national mobilisation to adopt a lifelong learning approach". He hoped that the Conference would assist in the process of developing new policies to meet these challenges.

Mr. Erhan BATUR, Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security

Mr. Batur welcomed all participants in the Conference and expressed confidence that the Conference would be highly beneficial to all.

The Deputy Undersecretary underlined the fact that employment issues lie at an interface between the duties of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and those of the Ministry of National Education so cooperation between the Ministries is of utmost importance. He referred to the book In the Coming Jobs War by Jim Clifton, Chairman of the Gallup organisation This book is based on global surveys on a variety of important issues, including employment and states that finding a good job is the top concern of people around the world The author sees the creation and retention of employment as one of the most important issues in the coming 30 years To tackle this issue, education systems will need to be reformed in line with the constant change in knowledge and technology required in work. Therefore the ministries of education and labour need to work in close cooperation.

In relation to this, the Deputy Undersecretary noted the recent enlargement of the mandate of his Ministry to include all components of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). Priority in IPA is given to employment, education and social inclusion and he said that the Lifelong Learning Project was a good example of action to address all these issues. He also informed the participants that the new Turkish National Employment Strategy was about to be published.

Mr. Batur also drew attention to the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). This would provide governments with a unique and effective tool to assess the quantity and quality of the knowledge and skills of their workforce. It would provide insights into how skills relate to the social and economic well-being of individuals and nations and provide benchmark for assessing how effectively education and training systems are in meeting emerging skill demands. The PIAAC would also allow investigation of the links between key cognitive skills and a range of demographic variables. This would constitute a rich evidence base for policy-relevant analysis.

Mr Batur summed up his remarks by saying that the link between education and employment could be strengthened only by adopting a lifelong learning approach and to achieve that, collaboration among the Ministries should be reinforced

Mr. Bela SZOMBATI, Minister Counsellor, Deputy Head of EU Delegation

Mr Szombati gave a brief account of the EU's 2020 targets for lifelong learning. He underlined three foundations of the EU's policy as: increasing participation in lifelong learning; social inclusion; and enhancing entrepreneurship. He continued by saying that, although the growth in participation in lifelong learning in Turkey was good, there were still some groups - women, disabled people and other disadvantaged groups - suffering from lack of skills and consequent social exclusion In addition, education and training often failed to meet the needs of the labour market. A lifelong learning approach was one remedy for these problems.

He underlined the fact that a lifelong learning strategy should included formal, non-formal and informal learning and all of these should be better coordinated in Turkey. Coordination could be achieved in many different ways, one of which was setting up the bodies like the lifelong learning councils in Finland and Denmark. The need for stakeholders, including the private sector, to participate in policy making on lifelong learning could be met through these types of councils. Mr. Szombati also said that private sector was able to provide high quality training in Turkey and mentioned voc-test centres, TUSKON (the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists) and TUSİAD (the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association) as making important contributions to lifelong learning

He then referred to the constituent components of the lifelong learning system, one of which was setting up Turkish Qualification Framework (TQF) that would ensure public trust in the system. He pointed out the importance of having a trustworthy system for the recognition of prior learning as well Lastly he talked about the necessity of having a robust monitoring and evaluation system which was a prerequisite for the availability of sound and reliable data.

Mr Szombati expressed his appreciation to the Minister of National Education, Mr Ömer Dinçer, who had committed to making LLL reality by establishing the Vocational Qualification Authority and the Turkish NQF, setting up the DGLLL, and merging all directorates dealing with vocational and technical education into one General Directorate for Vocational

Education and Training (VET) to make the system more efficient He concluded by thanking to everybody whose had contributed to setting up the Conference, which he was sure would be a success

Prof. Dr. Ömer Dinçer, Minister of National Education of Turkey

The Minister prefaced his remarks by saying that the 21st century is an information age It is a digital era marked by rapid change and growth, where new knowledge will be needed from everyone. This was challenging to all those involved in education and training – teachers and learners – and a lifelong learning approach was necessary if we were to meet the complex needs of the times.

In 1996 the EU had launched this approach with a Lifelong Learning Year that focused on equal opportunity and social cohesion. Since then, education systems around the world have given importance to lifelong learning. To make lifelong learning a reality in Turkey, a Memorandum of Understanding including Turkey in the Lisbon Strategy had been signed in 2007 and a Lifelong Learning Strategy Paper had been adopted by the Higher Planning Board in 2009. An Action Plan which framed the work towards lifelong learning was attached to the Strategy Paper and work on the Action Plan was now being carried out by the DGLLL, which had been established to provide a strong infrastructure to support lifelong learning The Strategy Paper included the fact that the active participation of stakeholders was essential to a well functioning LLL system.

The adult participation rate for lifelong learning in Turkey was 2.9 percent, while the EU average was 9 percent The Ministry of National Education had set a target of 8 percent participation by the year 2015, and the Promotion of LLL in Turkey Project was contributing to meeting this target by setting up a legislative and institutional framework and developing capacity in the system Lifelong learning action plans would be developed in 43 provinces as part of the Project Another important outcome of the Project was a web-portal through which citizen could enter the system using a password and reach all the information they would need about lifelong learning courses and services.

Mr. Dinçer went on to say that Turkey was working towards the creation of a knowledge society where every person over the age of 50 was literate, at least 50 percent of young people were high school graduates, and every person had a right to enter the university where he/she wished to study. Similarly all educational institutions should be easily accessible places for all segment of society. To bring this about, the Ministry had launched a campaign entitled “Okullar Hayat Olsun” (Let the schools be the life) Project. The idea was to give people access to the facilities of schools, such as computer classes, libraries, rooms for cultural activities etc Meanwhile, 979 public education centres, 333 vocational education centres, 150 maturity institutions and 9 tourism education centres were working hard to reach the target for participation in lifelong learning.

The Minister concluded by expressing his gratitude to those who had organised the Conference and expressing his confidence that it would be a useful event He said that cooperation among stakeholders was of utmost importance in making lifelong learning a reality and thanking participants in the Conference in advance for their contributions.