Learning at every age? Life cycle dynamics of adult education in Europe

Abstract

Adult learning is seen as a key factor for enhancing employment, innovation and growth. The aim of this paper is to understand the points in the life cycle at which adult learning takes place and whether it leads to reaching a medium or high level of educational attainment. We perform a synthetic panel analysis of adult learning for cohorts aged 25–64 in 27 European countries using the European Union Labour Force Survey. We find that investment across the life cycle by cohorts older than 25 still occurs: participation in education and training as well as educational attainment increase observably across all cohorts. We also find that the decline with age slows down, or is even reversed for older cohorts, for both participation in education and educational attainment. Finally, we can identify cross-country differences in approach. In Nordic countries, adult learning is achieved primarily through participation in education and training without adding to formal educational attainment. In central Europe, adult learning occurs primarily in the form of increasing educational attainment. In Ireland and the UK, a combination of both approaches to adult learning is observable.