Lifelong Learning Policy Agenda in the European Union: A bi-level analysis

Abstract

Abstract The Lisbon European Summit in 2000 has been a milestone in reframing education policies to foster a ‘knowledge economy’, whilst amid the challenges of the new decennium Lifelong Learning (LLL) has been propounded as a powerful lever for attaining ‘sustainable growth’. The present article aims to elucidate the development of an integrated European Union (EU) policy framework for LLL in light of the ‘Lisbon’ and ‘Europe 2020’ Strategies. Through a bi-level analysis of policy texts with high political significance representing a point of reference for a given discourse, it seeks to explore trends and identify interrelations between EU LLL policy and emerging challenges within the Union, as well as global socio-economic mandates that inform contemporary education policy. On the first level, Critical Discourse Analysis was employed, categorizing the data in five main discourse strands. On the second, the data underwent Implicative Statistical Analysis. The results have indicated a substantial shift in the relationship between education and politics, with education assigned a monolithic role in providing for a flexible ‘up-to-date’ workforce, so as to enable the EU to remain a strong global actor.