European Commission. Towards a Mobility Scoreboard: Conditions for Learning Abroad in Europe. Eurydice Report. 2014. ISBN 978-92-9201-513-8. Pages: 62.
The first of its kind, the Eurydice report Towards a Mobility Scoreboard: Conditions for Learning Abroad in Europe gives a comparative overview of EU member states’ policies on outgoing student mobility. The study also includes Norway, Iceland and Turkey. Based on the Council Recommendations on promoting the learning mobility of young people adopted in 2011, the authors present six areas:
- Information and guidance;
- Foreign language acquisition;
- Portability of public grants and loans;
- Quality of learning mobility;
- Recognition of learning outcomes; and
- Mobility support to students from low socio-economic background.
For each area, the authors examine a number of variables and present the data in two forms – maps and scoreboard indicators. The maps illustrate the differences between participating countries at a glance, while the scoreboard indicators provide more detailed information and country grouping. Within each of the different areas the report analyses questions such as:
- the availability of strategic planning or strategies on information and guidance on learner mobility;
- the length of compulsory first and second foreign language learning at school level;
- the proportion of students receiving public funding and the portability of such grants and loans;
- the adoption of the European Quality Charter on Mobility (EQCM) and external quality monitoring;
- external assessment concerning the correct usage of ECTS and the Diploma Supplement; and
- the monitoring of participation of low socio-economic background students and the availability of additional financial support for these.
The next update for a joint assessment of EU member states’ student mobility policies and practices is planned for 2015. The current report is available here.
