Learning mobility for all
Learning mobility is a powerful learning experience, where an individual moves from his/her everyday context, and has to open up and adapt. It is a great way to develop social, intercultural and interpersonal competences for life, and to promote a sense of common European belonging. It is also important to develop one’s employability, and there are many researchers showing these various positive outcomes.
When we know the positive impact of learning mobility for personal development, social inclusion and civic participation, turning learning mobility from an exception into a rule at all levels of education and for all educational actors should be our collective aim. This means overcoming financial but also personal barriers.
Widening access to mobility programmes should not be at the detriment of their quality (see our recently published Erasmus+ survey). This means that the EU but also the Member States and the regional/local authorities should invest much more in learning mobility and include it as part of the curriculum in general education.
Quality learning mobility is about money but it’s more than that. Sending and hosting organisations, families and halls of residence, have also a strong role to play in making the best out of a mobility experience. 10 years after the Quality Charter for Mobility it is important to stake stock on its implementation and identify ways to do things even better.