Mind the Gap

The 'Mind the Gap - education inequality across EU regions' report was compiled for the European Commission by the network of experts in social sciences of education and training (NESSE). The team of authors is led by Dr Dimitris Ballas of Sheffield University, UK. The report draws on Eurostat data and contains over 100 maps which visualise regional disparities. It identifies the top 10 and bottom 10 EU regions for each of the indicators it examines. Other key findings from the report are: - Regional disparities in learning hinder balanced regional development and economic growth; - Regional disparities in education compound inequality between EU regions. They also encourage brain-drain towards the more developed regions; - The nature, scale and effects of educational inequalities vary considerably across EU regions. Policy solutions must be tailored rather than generic; - Effective use of the European Structural Funds can help redress regional disparities in education and their effects; - More systematic collection of data at sub-regional level is necessary to improve the knowledge base and to inform policy-makers on this topic.