The Territorial Dimensions of Education

For all citizens to participate fully in society and to improve employability, a basic level
of education is required. Education is a key factor in preventing poverty, achieving
social inclusion objectives, and in ensuring that Europe can develop a “smart growth”
agenda because the growing numbers of knowledge-intensive jobs require higher levels
of education and those with low levels of qualification could potentially be significantly
excluded (Lennert et al., 2010). The transition towards a more knowledge-intensive
economy can only take place with increasing levels of education. Carneiro (2006, p. 98)
specifically argues that “education directly affects individual employment and earnings
and therefore it contributes to income inequality for a given cross section of
individuals”. The EU2020S itself associates high levels of early school leaving with a
range of negative impacts on individuals, societies and economies (European
Commission, 2011a); improving educational attainment is therefore critical for the
develpment of a smart, inclusive and sustainable Europe.