Do the Numbers Tell a Story? Quantitative Evidence about the Impact of Qualifications Systems on Learning

Quantitative analysis should contribute to a fuller understanding of the link between national qualifications and lifelong learning systems. Earlier chapters and those that follow provide qualitative evidence that comes largely from background reports. This chapter uses a statistical approach drawing upon both macro data (at country level) and micro data (at individual level). Indicators of lifelong learning are available from several sources. Quantitative indicators of national qualifications systems, however, are not so common. This deficiency places serious limits on the quantitative analysis of their relationship. Two alternative “second best” approaches are used to derive aggregated information about country characteristics of national qualifications systems. The first is based on a typology developed for this study in co-operation with the experts from the participating countries. The second approach uses household surveys to derive aggregated indicators of both national qualifications systems and lifelong learning.