Education and Public Policy in the European Union

Crossing Boundaries

Sarah K. St. John, Mark Murphy, Sarah K. St. John, Mark Murphy

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9783030042301
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Public Policy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This book fleshes out activities and initiatives in the field of education from across areas of European Union competence in order to highlight the extent to which education and training have penetrated the European Community's policymaking since its creation. Policies are all too often placed in their individual silos, which can sometimes work against deeper understanding of policymaking and its reach across policy domains. This project avoids such compartmentalisation and instead crosses boundaries to explore education's relationship with other policy areas, as well as its far-reaching role in the construction of a united Europe. It demonstrates education's significance across the broad landscape of European integration by presenting a collection of case studies, which represent policy areas that have experienced the infiltration of education. These include: Migration, Health, Agriculture, Multilingualism, Media and Communications, and the environment.

© The Author(s) 2019

Sarah K. St. John and Mark Murphy (eds.)Education and Public Policy in the European Unionhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04230-1_6

Begin Abstract

Breaking the Language Barriers: Free Movement and Language Learning in the European Community

Guido Reverdito¹ and Sarah K. St. John^{2, 3}

(1)

Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA

(2)

School of Education, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

(3)

European University Institute, Florence, Italy

Guido Reverdito (Corresponding author)

Email: [email protected]

Sarah K. St. John

Email: [email protected]

End Abstract

Introduction

The language of each member state is an official language of the European Union (EU). Beginning with the four languages of the six founding member states (French, German, Dutch and Italian), the complex multilingual webbing of the EU develops with every enlargement; with 27 member states, there are now 23 official languages of the EU. Some other 60 languages are part of the EU heritage, and the EU embraces this unique multilingual characteristic, rather than shunning it in favour of a single or at least limited collection of official languages (European Commission 2008). However, the EU itself is limited to the mere adoption of the languages of its member states and the funding of its own policies for promoting languages: it cannot set language policy for its member states (Johnson 2013).

So tightly bound to identity, linguistic diversity is a powerful contributor to the EU’s identity, so much so that if multilingualism is not embraced within the EU, it could hamper the European integration process (Mamadouh 2002). This is in part due to the spillover that languages exert in other sectors, namely European citizenship, culture and identity; integration and social cohesion; teaching and learning; and employment, competition and economic growth.

This chapter aims to unpack the overarching role of language learning and teaching within the context of European integration. It is possible to focus on concentrated aspects of how multilingualism is woven into the complexities of European integration, but, in line with the overall interdisciplinary objective of the book, this chapter aims to provide a broader perspective to better understand its far-reaching impact.

The Free Circulation of People: A Shifting Social Landscape and the Origins of a Multilingualism Policy

As a fundamental principle , the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Community in 1957 provided for the free circulation of people, allowing individuals, particularly workers, to move between European member states with the same rights as they possess in their own country. At the time the European Community was established, the concept of migration was not a new phenomenon in Europe; military invasion was a primary cause of displacement in Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. However, when in 1957 the Treaty of Rome introduced the free movement of people between the member states of the European Community, it brought dramatic changes to the extent and nature of migration taking place in the Community. Migration within and to Europe greatly increased as a consequence of the economic boom during the 1960s. By 1974, there were more than six million migrant workers in the Community,¹ and if the dependents of these migrants are also to be taken into consideration, the number rises to around ten million, accounting for some 4 per cent of the population. The numbers of migrant workers varied between member states, and industrialized areas were notably more concentrated.² The Commission recognized the great difficulties posed in this field and believed that the European Community had a responsibility to contribute to resolving the pressures that were being exerted on national infrastructure.³

This escalation of migrant numbers put pressure on member states’ economies, which had to absorb more rapid growth as a result. Migrants led to greater flexibility in the system as they meant workers were available in large numbers and often on short-term contracts, but over-concentration in industrialized areas also overloaded the social infrastructure. The majority of migrants were from third countries,⁴ but as national workers of the member states were able to move around the Community with the same rights as they possessed in their own country, it led to an even greater need to foresee provisions in relation to the obstacles created by the free movement of people. To achieve this, it was necessary to coordinate at the Community level national policies linked to migration in order to address especially social and educational measures to improve the conditions of migrants and their families.

Workers from member states moving inside the European Community have the right, through Community legislation, to free movement and the equality of treatment regarding employment, social security, living and working conditions, the exercise of trade union rights, the education of children and the right to be accompanied by their families.⁵ The Council Regulation 1612⁶ of 1968 had provided for the abolition of discrimination based on nationality with regard to employment, remuneration and other working conditions, which was also stated in article 48(2) of the Treaty of Rome.⁷ However, an obstacle faced by migrant workers was access to basic vocational and linguistic training, both before their departure and during their stay in the host country. A lack of such training negatively impacts workers’ ability to find worthwhile employment and to professionally advance once in established employment. Migrant workers needed the opportunity to follow adequate language and vocational training programmes during the working day, as well as more training opportunities before departure in the country of origin.⁸

In response to new circumstances faced by member states, the European Community adopted two action programmes covering all migrant workers, from both member states and third countries: the Social Action Programme set out in the Council Resolution of 21 January 1974, and the Education Action Programme endorsed by the Ministers of Education at their meeting on 9 February 1976. The Social Action Programme’s main objectives were the attainment of full and better employment in the Community, the improvement of living and working conditions and the increased involvement of management and labour in the economic and social decisions of the Community and of workers in companies.⁹

The action programme in the field of education¹⁰ refers to a meeting within the Council on 6 June 1974 on cooperation in the field of education and recalls the Council Resolution of 21 January 1974 concerning the Social Action Programme and the proposals in favour of migrant workers and their families submitted to the European Commission and on the education of the children of migrant workers.¹¹ The programme comprised six main sections: better facilities for the education and training of nationals and the children of nationals of other member states of the Communities, as well as of non-member countries; the promotion of closer relations between educational systems in Europe; the compilation of the up-to-date documentation and statistics on education; cooperation in the field of higher education; the teaching of foreign languages; and the achievement of equal opportunities for free access to all forms of education.

The Emerging Importance of Language Learning as a Component to European Integration: Defining a European Multilingualism Policy

Emerging as a fundamental component to the realization of a successfully united Europe, language learning and teaching took on an important role to break down language barriers. While respecting the diversity of language and cultural traditions of the member states, the Commission believed that all citizens should be granted the opportunity to learn at least one—preferably two—language(s) other than their mother tongue during their time in education.¹² The objective was for as many people as possible to have the linguistic ability to communicate in one language other than their mother tongue, and to be able to understand a second language. In this respect, the Commission would begin by collecting data on language provision in the member states, stimulating surveys and enquiries where obvious gaps exist in order to develop a Community-wide plan for intensified cooperation and development. It would also sponsor pilot surveys of the languages on offer in the various education systems and the use to which these are put in post-school experience and careers. The Commission would also review the provision of language-learning programmes for television and radio.¹³

The aim for European citizens to possess the linguistic capacity to communicate in two languages in addition to their mother tongue became a fundamental mission of the EU, enshrined in the 2002 ‘Barcelona objective’.¹⁴ Discussions in the 2002 European Commission meeting in Barcelona produced the 2004–2006 action plan ‘Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity’ (European Commission 2003). In 2005, the European Commission issued the communication ‘A new framework strategy for multilingualism’ (European Commission 2005) revealing the need for a broader policy promoting multilingualism, and in 2008, it produced the communication ‘Multilingualism: An asset for Europe and a shared commitment’ (European Commission 2008). Reports from two European Commission working groups were produced in 2011 from the ‘Business Platform for Multilingualism’ and from the group on ‘Languages for Jobs’.

A Passport to the Future: CEFR and ELP

Published in 2001 in English and French, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment¹⁵ is the complex outcome of 60 years of linguistic policy carried out by the Council of Europe (COE)¹⁶ since 1954. On 19 December 1954, the ‘European Cultural Convention’¹⁷ (held in Paris) saw the 49 member countries...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• Introduction
• Tracing the Roots: The Origins and Evolution of European Union Education Policy
• Where Migration Meets Education: Case Study of Policies Referring to the Mobility of the Highly Skilled
• Health and Education Policy: Labour Markets, Qualifications, and the Struggle over Standards
• Agriculture with a Social Twist: Vocational Education and Training in the Common Agricultural Policy
• Breaking the Language Barriers: Free Movement and Language Learning in the European Community
• EU Digital Media Policies and Education: The Challenge of a Digital Agenda for Europe
• Raising Long-Term Awareness: EU Environmental Policy and Education
• Conclusion
• Back Matter