Beyond educational attainment: The importance of skills and lifelong learning for social outcomes. Evidence for Europe from PIAAC

Abstract

Empirical evidence suggests that educational attainment nurtures people's social outcomes and promotes active participation in society and stability. However, it is unclear to what extent other types of human capital also correlate with social outcomes. Hence, we explored the opportunity offered by the PIAAC survey through its provision of information on educational attainment, observed individual key skills proficiency, and participation in adult education and training (adult lifelong learning). We therefore studied the association between these human capital variables and social outcomes, and more specifically interpersonal trust and participation in volunteering activities. Results revealed that these social outcomes were affected not only by the formal qualification obtained, determined by the education variable, but also throughout the life-cycle. Indeed, education and training when undertaken during adult life have a significant impact, especially on volunteering. The fact that the skill proficiency also plays a significant role is extremely relevant, as skills are more likely to change over the life-cycle, either in a positive or negative way. Whilst the formal education received is constant after exiting the educational system, skills reflect competences more accurately: first, because those with the same level of education may have different skill levels because of differences in the quality of education or ability; second, because skills can vary over time. For example, they may increase with work experience or informal education, or decrease as a result of depreciation and ageing. These findings suggest that social outcomes are prone to be affected by many factors other than formal education, suggesting that policy makers can implement recommendations even after formal education has been completed.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

We Are What We Do: Adult Basic Education Should Be About More Than Employability

“… Reference group: Literacy levels below 1 and 1. The data were culled from Costa et al () and Vera‐Toscano et al (). …”

Does Participation in Adult Education Increase Volunteering? An Analysis of British Longitudinal Data

“…However, earlier studies using less restrictive models found much stronger associations (e.g. 70% in Vera-Toscano et al, 2017). Hence, our contribution is that we Does participation in adult education increase volunteering?…”

“…Regarding content, existing research suggests that AE representing distinct pedagogies and promoting public enlightenment can be effective in changing people's values, attitudes and dispositions and hence their preferences (De Greef, Verté, & Segers, 2015;Desjardins, 2017;Paterson, 2009;Vera-Toscano et al, 2017). Analysing British longitudinal data, Paterson (2009), for instance, found a positive effect of AE courses in the social sciences and humanities on socially liberal values and civic participation.…”

“…Research on adults' engagement in educational activities beyond initial full-time education repeatedly reports a positive association between participation in adult education (AE) and civic engagement, like active involvement in the community through club memberships or through political activities (Dolan, Fujiwara, & Metcalfe, 2012;Panitsidou, 2012;Schuller, Preston, Hammond, Brassett-Grundy, & Bynner, 2004;Thomas, 2017;Vera-Toscano, Rodrigues, & Costa, 2017). Whether the association is causal and why AE would exert this effect on civic participation, however, remain only partially resolved questions.…”

Skills for the 21st century

“…Some evidence using PIAAC data reported in OECD (2017b) shows that cognitive skills are positively related to political participation, even after controlling for education. Vera-Toscano et al (2017) analyse the links between education, skills, and participation in adult learning and two social outcomes from PIAAC: interpersonal trust and volunteering. They show that cognitive skills matter for social outcomes, over and above the impact of formal education.…”