School enrolment and levels of education

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Data from September 2011, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

School helps young people acquire the basic life skills and competences necessary for their personal development. The quality of a pupil’s school experience affects not only their development, but also his or her place in society, educational attainment, and employment opportunities. The quality of education may be linked to teaching standards, which in turn are related to the demands placed upon teachers, the training they receive and the roles they are asked to fill.

With this in mind, several European Union (EU) Member States are revising their school curricula in line with the changing needs of society and the economy, as well as reflecting on how to improve teacher training and evaluation. This article presents statistical data on relevant aspects of teaching and education in the EU, such as class sizes and enrolments.

Contents

Main statistical findings

Table 1: Pupils and students (excluding pre-primary education), 2004 and 2009 (1) - Source: Eurostat (tps00051) and (educ_enrl1tl)
Figure 1: Four-year-olds in education, 2009 (1)
(% of all four-year-olds) - Source: Eurostat (tps00053)
Figure 2: 18-year-olds in education, 2009 (1)
(% of all 18-year-olds) - Source: Eurostat (tps00060)
Figure 3: School expectancy, 2009 (1)
(years) - Source: Eurostat (tps00052)
Table 2: Pupil-teacher ratio in primary, lower and upper secondary education, 2004 and 2009 (1)
(average number of pupils per teacher) - Source: Eurostat (tps00054) and (educ_iste)
Table 3: Youth education attainment level and early leavers from education and training, 2005 and 2010 (1)
(%) - Source: Eurostat (tsiir110) and (tsisc060)

The level of educational enrolment depends on a wide range of factors, such as the age structure of the population, legal requirements concerning the start and end of compulsory education, and the availability of educational resources – in particular, access to specialist tertiary education may be limited in some of the smallest Member States.

In 2009, there were approximately 93.0 million pupils and students enrolled in educational establishments in the EU-27. The highest share (15.0 %) of pupils and students in the EU-27 total was accounted for by Germany, where 14.0 million pupils and students attended educational establishments in 2009; this figure was 1.2 million higher than the next largest student population in the United Kingdom, and 1.7 million higher than in France (see Table 1).

The proportion of students found in each level of education varied somewhat between the Member States, most notably for primary and lower secondary levels of education. This variation reflects, to some degree, the demographic structure of each population. However, the high proportion of pupils in primary education in Luxembourg (45.2 % in 2009) reflects the relatively undeveloped tertiary education sector in this country. At the other end of the spectrum, Greece, Slovenia, the Baltic Member States, Romania and Poland all had relatively high proportions (more than one quarter) of their student populations within the tertiary education sector.

The figures above exclude pre-primary education: just over nine out of ten (90.5 %) four-year-olds in the EU-27 were in education in 2009 (see Figure 1). The general objectives for pre-primary education are fairly similar across countries, focusing on the development of children’s independence, well-being, self-confidence, citizenship, and preparation for life and learning at school. Enrolment in pre-primary education is normally voluntary and participation rates of four-year-olds ranged from 100 % in France, to less than one child in two in Ireland. The strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training adopted in May 2009 set a benchmark to be achieved by 2020 that at least 95 % of children between the age of four and the age for starting compulsory primary education should participate in early childhood education.

More than three quarters (77.6 %) of all 18-year-olds within the EU-27 remained within the education system in 2009. However, this ratio rose to above 90 % in five Member States, while just over half of all 18-year-olds were still attending an educational establishment in the United Kingdom; the ratio was lower still in Cyprus (see Figure 2). These figures may reflect a number of factors, in particular the need for students to go abroad to continue their (tertiary) education, or the practise (in some countries) of making students re-take a whole year if their performance at the end of an academic year is deemed unsatisfactory.

School expectancy is an indicator that measures the number of years that a child starting school can expect to stay within the education system. A ranking of Member States based on this indicator is broadly similar to one based on the proportion of 18-year-olds remaining within the education system, as those Member States with longer school expectancy generally have a higher proportion of 18-year-olds in education. Nevertheless, Ireland had a much larger proportion of 18-year-olds in education than the average for the EU-27, but a length of school expectancy that was in line with the EU-27 average. Greece and Portugal had the reverse situation, as they were among those Member States with the lowest proportions of 18-year-olds in education, despite longer than average school expectancy (see Figure 3).

Pupil-teacher ratios

Pupil-teacher ratios within primary education ranged from an average of less than 10 pupils per teacher in Malta, Lithuania and Denmark in 2009, to almost double that rate in France and the United Kingdom (both above 19 pupils per teacher). Between 2004 and 2009 there was a general reduction in the average number of pupils per teacher within primary education establishments in most of the Member States. The most significant of these was recorded in Malta, where the pupil-teacher ratio was halved from 19.0 (one of the highest ratios among the Member States) to 9.4 (the lowest of all Member States); at the other end of the range, the most notable increases in pupil-teacher ratios between 2004 and 2009 were recorded in Slovenia and Luxembourg (see Table 2).

In 2009 the average number of pupils per teacher was generally lower for secondary education than for primary education. Nevertheless, nine Member States recorded higher average numbers of pupils per teacher within upper secondary education than in primary education, most notably Malta, and to a somewhat lesser extent Finland, Hungary and Poland. Luxembourg and Poland recorded notably higher pupil-teacher ratios for lower secondary education than for primary education.

Youth education attainment level and early leavers from education and training

Data on educational attainment show that, in 2010, close to four fifths (79.0 %) of the EU-27’s population aged 20 to 24 had completed at least an upper secondary level of education, a figure that reached 81.8 % for women. However, 14.1 % of those aged 18 to 24 (16.0 % of men and 12.2 % of women) were early leavers from education and training, with at most a lower secondary education. The overall share of early leavers from education and training fell by 1.7 percentage points between 2005 and 2010, down from 15.8 %, with large reductions (in percentage point terms) in Portugal, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Cyprus (see Table 3). The strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training adopted a benchmark to be achieved by 2020 that the share of early leavers from education and training should be less than 10 %, a level already reached in 2010 by eight of the EU Member States.

Data sources and availability

The standards for international statistics on education are set by three international organisations:

The main source of data is a joint UNESCO/OECD/Eurostat (UOE) questionnaire on education statistics and this is the basis for the core components of Eurostat’s database on education statistics; Eurostat also collects data on regional enrolments. Data on educational attainment are mainly provided by household surveys, in particular the EU labour force survey (LFS).

The international standard classification of education (ISCED) is the basis for international education statistics, describing different levels of education, as well as fields of education and training; it was first developed in 1976 by UNESCO and revised in 1997. The current version, ISCED 97, distinguishes seven levels of education: pre-primary education (level 0); primary education (level 1); lower secondary education (level 2); upper secondary education (level 3); post-secondary non-tertiary education (level 4); tertiary education (first stage) (level 5); tertiary education (second stage) (level 6). In 2007, a review of ISCED began and at the time of writing it is expected that the revised version will be presented to UNESCO’s General Conference in November 2011.

The indicator for four-year-olds in education presents the percentage of four-year-olds who are enrolled in education-oriented pre-primary institutions. Day nurseries, playgroups and day care centres, where the staff are not required to hold a qualification in education, are not included.

The indicator of school expectancy corresponds to how many years, on average, a child starting in school can expect to stay at school (calculated by adding the single-year enrolment rates for all ages).

Pupil-teacher ratios are calculated by dividing the number of full-time equivalent pupils and students in each level of education by the number of full-time equivalent teachers at the same level; this ratio should not be confused with average class sizes.

Youth education attainment is defined as the proportion of the population aged 20 to 24 having completed at least an upper secondary education, in other words, those with a minimum education level of ISCED levels 3a, 3b or 3c long; the denominator consists of the total population of the same age group, excluding non-response.

The indicator for early leavers from education and training is defined as the proportion of the population aged 18 to 24 with at most a lower secondary level of education (ISCED levels 1, 2 or 3c short), who are no longer in further education or training; the denominator consists of the total population of the same age group, excluding non-response.

Context

Demographic trends in the last three decades reflect reductions in birth rates that have resulted in the structure of the EU’s population ageing and the proportion of those aged under 30 decreasing in the majority of Member States. These changes can have a significant impact on human and material resources required for the sound functioning of education systems – such as average class sizes or teacher recruitment strategies.

Age is generally the sole criterion for admission to compulsory primary education, which starts at the age of five or six in most Member States, although Bulgaria, the Baltic Member States, Finland and Sweden have a compulsory starting age of seven. In February 2011, the European Commission adopted a Communication titled ‘Early childhood education and care: providing all our children with the best start for the world of tomorrow’ (COM(2011) 66). This noted that early childhood education and care is an essential foundation for successful lifelong learning, social integration, personal development and later employability and that it is particularly beneficial for the disadvantaged and can help to lift children out of poverty and family dysfunction.

In general, compulsory education is completed at the end of lower secondary education, although in some countries it continues into upper secondary education. On average, compulsory education lasts nine or ten years in most of the EU, lasting longest in Hungary, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Most Europeans spend significantly longer in education than the legal minimum requirement. This reflects the choice to enrol in higher education, as well as increased enrolment in pre-primary education and wider participation in lifelong learning initiatives, such as mature (adult) students returning to education – often in order to retrain or equip themselves for a career change. Nevertheless around one in seven children leave school or training early and this has an impact on individuals, society and economies. In January 2011, the European Commission adopted a Communication titled ‘Tackling early school leaving: a key contribution to the Europe 2020 agenda’ (COM(2011) 18). This outlined the reasons why pupils decide to leave school early and gave an overview of existing and planned measures to tackle this issue across the EU.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Main tables

Education indicators - non-finance (t_educ_indic)
School expectancy (tps00052)
18-year-olds in education (tps00060)
Pupils and students (tps00051)
Four-year-olds in education (tps00053)
Median age (tps00061)
Students (tps00062)
Share of women among tertiary students (tps00063)
Pupil/teacher ratio in primary education (tps00054)
LFS main indicators (t_lfsi)
Education and training - LFS adjusted series (t_lfsi_edu)
Youth education attainment level by gender (tsiir110)
Early leavers from education and training by gender (tsisc060)

Database

Education (educ)
Thematic indicators - Progress towards the Lisbon objectives in education and training (educ_them_ind)
Teachers and trainers; age distributions - pupils to teachers ratio (educ_thpertch)
Mathematics, science and technology enrolments and graduates (educ_thflds)
Participation rates in education by age and sex (educ_thpar)
Education indicators - non-finance (educ_indic)
Distribution of pupils/ Students by level (educ_ilev)
Participation/ Enrolment in education (ISCED 0-4) (educ_ipart)
Tertiary education participation (educ_itertp)
Participation/ Enrolment in education by sex (educ_ipart_s)
Tertiary education graduates (educ_itertc)
Pupil/ Student - teacher ratio and average class size (ISCED 1-3) (educ_iste)
Educational attainment, outcomes and returns of education (edat)
Main indicators on education attainment: time series and regional data (edatm)
Educational attainment: detailed tables by labour status (from 2004) (edata)
Transition from education to work, early leavers from education and training (edatt)

Dedicated section

Methodology / Metadata

Source data for tables and graphs (MS Excel)

External links

See also

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