Abstract
In this section of our discussion, we look at some of the different ways in which Erasmus is experienced by participants, with emphasis on evidence from studies conducted in Poland. While an exchange visit is predominantly an academic experience, also present is a strong informal learning dimension. This is an aspect of the programme underlined by past participants, with ‘I have learnt so much’ becoming a motto of alumni from across Europe. The chapter includes exploration of the multiple spaces of learning during Erasmus, taking as a key hypothesis the idea that there is growing focus on contributing to labour market integration via employability. In this sense, it can be argued that Erasmus is designed to contribute to overcoming barriers to the successful completion of a degree course and difficulties within the transition from higher education to the skilled labour market, as well as offering opportunities to exercise independent living skills, in some cases for the first time.
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Notes
- 1.
The term ‘learning mobility’ is typically used among European youth policymakers and stakeholders to describe non-formal learning experiences abroad (Devlin et al. 2018). Nevertheless, it was designed to describe both formal and non-formal experiences, as defined by the European Platform for Learning Mobility (see Chap. 8).
- 2.
The data for this chapter includes two focus groups conducted with ESN volunteers that take pastoral care of Erasmus students (1 international group of 10 members, and a second Polish group of 16 members), alongside content analysis of 45 narrative accounts from Polish students who participated in exchanges on Erasmusblog.pl, and nine interviews with Erasmus alumni conducted in Germany and in Poland, with data collected in 2017.
- 3.
In the 2005 evaluation study (Krzaklewska and Krupnik 2005), it was found that only seven per cent of Erasmus students did volunteer work abroad, with this low level of involvement in civic initiatives characteristic of an Erasmus stay at this time. It has also been suggested in subsequent research that Erasmus students are traditionally even less active during their Erasmus stays than in their home countries (Wood 2013).
- 4.
For more information on SocialErasmus, see: https://socialerasmus.esn.org
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Cairns, D., Krzaklewska, E., Cuzzocrea, V., Allaste, AA. (2018). Erasmus Learning. In: Mobility, Education and Employability in the European Union. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76926-4_5
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