Glossary

… refers to the ease of use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as the Internet, by people with disability. Web sites need to be developed so that disabled users can access the information. For example:

• for people who are blind, web sites need to be able to be interpreted by programmes which read text aloud and describe any visual images;
• for people who have low vision, web pages need adjustable sized fonts and sharply contrasting colours; and
• for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, audio content should be accompanied by text versions of the dialogue. Sign language video can also help make audio content more accessible.

Internationally, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, prepared by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) provide standards for web accessibility (World Health Organization, 2013).

E-inclusion refers to the situation where everyone in society can participate in the information society.

This requires affordable access to technologies, the accessibility and usability of ICT tools and services, and the ability and skills of all individuals to use these tools (‘E-inclusion’ in Eurostat, no date a).

E-learning, or electronic learning, also referred to as web-based or online learning:

… encompasses a broad range of knowledge transferred through digital technologies, sometimes as a complement to traditional education channels. The use of information and communication technology (ICT) tools is especially powerful for reaching individuals with no access to traditional education and training, either because they live in remote areas or because of their socioeconomic situation or special needs (‘E-learning’ in Eurostat, no date a).

E-skills or electronic skills include those needed to make use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as well as those required to apply and develop them.

The term *“e-Skills” is defined as covering three main Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) categories:

1. ICT practitioner skills are the capabilities required for researching, developing, designing, strategic planning, managing, producing, consulting, marketing, selling, integrating, installing, administering, maintaining, supporting and servicing ICT systems.
2. ICT user skills are the capabilities required for the effective application of ICT systems and devices by the individual. ICT users apply systems as tools in support of their own work. User skills cover the use of common software tools and of specialised tools supporting business functions within industry. At the general level, they cover “digital literacy”.
3. e-Business skills correspond to the capabilities needed to exploit opportunities provided by ICT, notably the internet; to ensure more efficient and effective performance of different types of organisations; to explore possibilities for new ways of conducting business/administrative and organisational processes; and/or to establish new businesses (‘Digital skills’ in Eurostat, no date a).

‘Early childhood education and care’ or ‘early childhood care and education’ (ECEC, or ECCE as termed by UNESCO) refer to:

‘Provision for children from birth through to primary education that falls within a national regulatory framework, i.e., it has to comply with a set of rules, minimum standards and/or undergo accreditation procedures’ (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice/Eurostat, 2014, p. 155).

ECI is a composite of services/provision for very young children and their families. It is provided at their request at a certain time in a child’s life. It covers any action undertaken when a child needs special support to ensure and enhance their personal development, strengthen the family’s own competences, and promote the social inclusion of the family and the child. Different elements that are relevant to ECI are: availability (a shared aim of ECI is to reach all children and families in need of support as early as possible); proximity (the idea of providing family-focused services); affordability (services are offered free of charge or at minimal cost to families); interdisciplinary working (professionals in charge of direct support to young children and their families belong to different disciplines (professions) and consequently have diverse backgrounds according to the service they are related to); and diversity of services (e.g. the involvement of different services – health, social services and education). (Refer to: European Agency, 2010).

This term is linked with the concept of early school leaving (ESL), and refers to those aged between 18–24 who have only reached a low level of education and are not following any further training. ELET, unlike ESL, includes both vocational education and academic routes.

The result of processes that run through a learner’s life and education up to the point of leaving school. It might refer to the phenomenon of:

• ‘leaving school before the end of compulsory education’ – a point which varies from country to country (formal definition) and/or
• ‘leaving school without adequate skills, knowledge or qualifications to deal with adult life and employment’ (functional definition).

Early school leaving ‘should be seen as closely related to other forms of limitation in educational opportunities, participation and achievement. In many cases, it stems from underlying social disadvantage’ (European Agency, 2016a, pp. 5–6).

‘Drop-out’ is often used as a synonym or as an outcome for early school leaving.

‘Early tracking means the early streaming of pupils by abilities into different types of provision or school; this includes placing children into separate schools’ (European Agency, 2018a, p. 34). This is considered a segregation practice that increases inequality in learner outcomes, especially when it occurs before age 13 (INCLUD-ED, 2009). Therefore, it is suggested that support structures avoid early tracking into vocational or academic routes (European Agency, 2019a).

Education finance is a term used to describe the financial and in-kind resources available for education. The concept of education finance also addresses questions about how resources are allocated, used, and accounted for to achieve sustainable, quality education for all children and youth (USAID Education Links, no date).

(See also ‘Funding’)
 

An international initiative first launched in Jomtien, Thailand, in 1990 to bring the benefits of education to ‘every citizen in every society’. In order to realise this aim, a broad coalition of national governments, civil society groups and development agencies, such as UNESCO and the World Bank, committed to achieving several specific education goals (World Bank, 2014). ‘EFA focused world attention on the basic learning needs of neglected groups and on learning achievement rather than on mere attendance’ (European Agency, 2011, p. 13).

A coherent set or sequence of educational activities designed and organized to achieve pre-determined learning objectives or accomplish a specific set of educational tasks over a sustained period. Within an education programme, educational activities may also be grouped into sub-components variously described in national contexts as ‘courses’, ‘modules’, ‘units’ and/or ‘subjects’. A programme may have major components not normally characterised as courses, units or modules – for example, play-based activities, periods of work experience, research projects and the preparation of dissertations (UNESCO/UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2012, p. 79).

Adapts ‘the functionality of the EPUB 3 format’, which is specific to electronic or e-books, ‘to the unique structural, semantic and behavioral requirements of educational publishing’ (International Digital Publishing Forum, 2015).

Materials that are accessible by a computer or other digital devices. It may include text, images, audio, video or a combination of these.

New technologies or continuing development of existing technologies. The term commonly refers to technologies that are currently being developed or that are expected to be available within the next five to ten years. It is usually used in connection with technologies that are creating, or are expected to create, significant social or economic effects. 

A format of electronic or e-books. More specifically, the ‘.epub is the file extension of an XML format for reflowable digital books and publications’. EPUB is composed of three open standards produced by the IDPF (International Digital Publishing Forum) (DAISY, 2015).

Equal opportunities mean the ‘same chances to take part in activities, access services, etc. with no barriers to education and equal life prospects for individuals’ (UNESCO IITE/European Agency, 2011, p. 102). Equal access to learning, achievement and citizenship opportunities allows learners to have similar achievements to their peers. This is particularly made possible through inclusive education (Soriano, Watkins and Ebersold, 2017).

‘A state of affairs or result whereby all members of a group enjoy the same inputs, outputs or outcomes in terms of status, rights and responsibilities’ (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 419).

‘Ensuring that there is a concern with fairness, such that the education of all learners is seen as being of equal importance’ (UNESCO, 2017, p. 7).

The OECD, in the publication No More Failures: Ten Steps to Equity in Education (2007), highlighted two dimensions of equity in education – fairness, ‘which implies ensuring that personal and social circumstances […] should not be an obstacle to achieving educational potential’, and inclusion, which implies ‘ensuring a basic minimum standard of education for all’. Fair and inclusive education is one of the most powerful levers available to make society more equitable.

According to the Council of the European Union:

… equality and equity are not identical and […] education systems must move away from the traditional ‘one-size-fits all’ mentality. Equal opportunities for all are crucial, but not sufficient: there is a need to pursue ‘equity’ in the aims, content, teaching methods and forms of learning being provided for by education and training systems to achieve a high quality education for all (2017, p. 4).

Ethics is concerned with individuals and groups of people, and how attitudes, actions and decisions may influence and have intended and unintended consequences on their own lives and the lives of others. In practice, ethical approaches are clear in their purposes and processes and intend to benefit all those involved. At every stage, steps are taken to reduce power imbalances and bias and to enable all to participate safely and voluntarily (European Agency, 2022a, p. 23).

‘The act of forming an opinion of the amount, value or quality of something after thinking about it carefully’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

A systematic and objective assessment of an on-going or completed project, programme or policy, its design, implementation and results.

Evaluation focuses on the macro level, considering the context of learning and related factors. Assessment measures learning at the micro or learner level and is one element of evaluation. Evaluation should inform next steps and on-going improvement. 

An evaluation (work) plan should specify what will be evaluated, how and when, together with the evaluation design, practices, and procedures to use in conducting the evaluation.

‘The facts, signs or objects that make you believe that something is true’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

‘A discourse or set of methods which informs the policy process, rather than aiming to directly affect’ the goals of the policy (Sutcliffe and Court, 2005, p. iii).

Davies (1999) has defined evidence-based policy-making as an approach which ‘helps people make well informed decisions about policies, programmes and projects by putting the best available evidence at the heart of policy development and implementation’ (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2017, p. 6).

Evidence-based policy is public policy informed by rigorously established objective evidence. Across policy areas, the use of strong evidence to choose policy interventions, prioritise funding and implement policies/programmes enhances the likelihood of positive outcomes (Duke University, 2009).

‘The act of preventing somebody/something from entering a place or taking part in something’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

‘Any form of direct or indirect prevention of access’ (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 419).

Social exclusion occurs when people cannot fully participate or contribute to society because of ‘the denial of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights’.

[Definitions indicate that] exclusion results from ‘a combination of linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, bad health and family breakdown’.

[…] Groups, communities and individuals who because of deprivation, poverty or discrimination are unable to realise their potential and participate and contribute to society are excluded (UNESCO, no date).

External specialist provision refers to out-of-school resources in the form of external centres and institutions that support individual learners and/or empower schools and teachers.

Some countries call them ‘resource centres for inclusion’, others ‘competence centres’, ‘resource centres’ or ‘reference centres’. This type of resource may be responsible for:

• needs identification and educational planning;
• short-term or part-time support for individual learners;
• provision for training and courses for teachers and other professionals;
• support for parents;
• development and dissemination of materials and methods;
• support for transition between phases of education;
• support in entering the labour market (European Agency, 2019b, p. 24).

(See also ‘Specialist provision’)