The European Basic Skills Network, EBSN, is an association of policy level stakeholders engaged in basic skills training for adults.
Our objective: Promoting excellence in policy design and policy implementation, at European and national level, in a field that has considerable impact on education, employment, social inclusion, the fight against poverty, and sustainable economic growth.
Training basic skills teachers is often an overlooked target. EBSN’s Professional Development Series designed, tested and implemented a new type of training to adult basic skills teachers: six OERs and MOOCs (massive open online courses) are available as a form of accredited professional development for teachers wishing to engage in basic skills provision for adults.
The Professional Development Series offers an innovative form of training which differs from the conventional training set up, and gives space for a more autonomous learning process. The OERs and respective MOOCs are thematic in nature, they are about specific fields of basic skills provision.
Completion is rewarded with an EBSN virtual badge, as an attempt for a flexible accreditation mechanism with higher education institutions by using virtual badges.
The main target group are teacher trainers, training institutions, teachers and adult educators.
Access to the resources and read more about PDS
EBSN has been active in supporting the formation of European adult education policy, especially with regards to the European Council’s recommendation on Upskilling Pathways. Our Capacity Building Series (CBS) consists of units on EPALE presenting a collection of open educational resources (OER) and three online learning courses that have been designed to support European policy-makers and other stakeholders involved in the implementation of the European Commission’s Upskilling Pathways recommendation. Basic skills are a core element in Upskilling Pathways. EBSN wishes to support the successful implementation of the recommendation by contributing to raising the level of knowledge of all stakeholders in EU Member States. The main target group are policy-makers in the adult learning sector at local, regional and national level, as well as those working in European institutions that are active in the field.