Publication of EU Council Recommendation Pathways to School Success and EU Education Summit
The EU Council of Education Ministers has approved a new ‘flagship’ recommendation Pathways to School Success to reduce early school leaving and under-achieving in reading, mathematics, and science and promote wellbeing in education. The Recommendation notes that the COVID- 19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on students’ mental health and well-being in general, which provides a greater need to promote well-being in schools. The Council Recommendation is to inform European and national education strategies in the EU until 2030 and the European Common Education Area by 2025.
Professor Paul Downes, Professor of Psychology of Education and Director of the Educational Disadvantage Centre DCU Institute of Education was a member of the Pathways to School Success Expert Group for the EU Commission to inform the development of the Commission’s Proposal for this Council Recommendation.
See Council Recommendation https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/60390/st14981-en22.pdf
See EU Commission's Staff Working Document https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13019-Pathways-to-school-success-tackling-underachievement-in-basic-skills-and-early-leaving-from-education-and-training_en.
Professor Downes was also an invited member at the EU Commission’s European Education Summit, High Level Panel, Every Child Matters: Pathways to School Success on December 1st. Other invited speakers on this Panel were: Pap Ndiaye ‐ Minister of Education and Youth, France, Anita Muižniece ‐ Minister of Education and Science, Latvia, Clifton Grima ‐ Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation, Malta, José Manuel Bar Cendón ‐ Secretary of State for Education, Spain and Larry Flanagan ‐ President of the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE). The Panel Moderator was
Michael Teutsch ‐ Head of Unit, Schools and Multilingualism, Directorate General Education and Culture, European Commission. For the video of the panel see https://mci-captions.master.cdn01.rambla.be/Ycbbc/d0Z45zcd_en_1080.mp4
The opening keynote speech was given by Ursula von der Leyen ‐ President of the European Commission. https://education.ec.europa.eu/event/fifth-european-education-summit-bright-young-minds
Professor Downes was also interviewed by the EU Commission’s School Education Gateway on the Pathways to School Success Council Recommendation: https://youtu.be/Dd8zyhm-VVs