About CRELL (Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning)

The policy demand for the monitoring and evaluation of national education systems is increasing on an international level.  The Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning  (CRELL) based on indicators and benchmarks, located at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Ispra, northern Italy, was established in this context and in response to the need to underpin monitoring instruments with sound scientific research.
The European Commission monitors progress towards the Community goals in the area of education and training using a framework of indicators and benchmarks, reported annually in the report on the Progress towards the Lisbon Objectives in Education and Training- Indicators and Benchmarks (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009).
The set of indicators currently employed is less than fully developed. As stated in the Joint Interim Report "Education & Training 2010":
“The work carried out to date has pinpointed the key areas for which there is a lack of relevant and comparable data for monitoring progress in relation to the objectives set. The quality and comparability of the existing indicators need to be improved, particularly in the field of lifelong learning, and regularly reviewed. Priorities should be established for the development of a restricted number of new indicators, taking due account of the work carried out by other bodies active in this area. […] The following areas should come in for particular attention: key competences, and particularly learning to learn; investment efficiency; ICT; mobility; and adult education and vocational education and training."
The Council Conclusions of May 2009 on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training "ET2020" further emphasize the need for periodic monitoring of progress towards a set objective as an essential contribution towards evidence-based policy making. The strategic objectives defined in the "ET2020" strategy are accompanied during the period 2010-2020 by indicators and by reference levels for European average performance (‘European benchmarks’) and work on proposals for possible benchmarks in the areas of mobility, employability and language learning is requested.
Various strategies are underway to address these needs, among them the establishment of CRELL. The European Council Conclusions of 24 May 2005 on new indicators in education and training recognised that it was necessary to develop a coherent framework of indicators and benchmarks to monitor performance and progress, and stated that "the establishment of the research unit on lifelong learning at the Joint Research Centre at Ispra can significantly increase the Commission’s research capacity in terms of the development of new indicators." CRELL is involved in actively supporting the European Commission by providing scientific expertise and research in order to underpin the policy dossiers of  DG Education and Culture. Clickhere for more information on the Strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training "ET2020." Click here for more information on Indicators and Benchmarks. The Econometrics and Applied Statistics Unit at the Joint Research Centre in Ispra has estabished a world-renown scientific expertise in the field of composite indicators. It has co-authored together with the OECD the widely used  Handbook on Constructing Composite Indicators and supports an information server on composite indicators.

Education databases and catalogues
BEI- British Education Index
Index to the contents of 300 education and training journals published in the British Isles, together with some internationally published periodicals. Includes: Education-line, a freely accessible database of the full text of conference papers, working papers and electronic literature which supports educational research, policy and practice; catalogue of professionally evaluated internet sites; conference programmes and papers.
CERUK - Current Educational Research in the UK
CERUK aims to provide a complete record of current or on-going research in education and related disciplines.
EENEE - European Expert Network on the Economics of Education
Network on economics of education with a directory of experts and researchers by field and country, journal databases and other information.
EPPI-Centre - Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordination Centre
EPPI-Centre supports the writing of systematic reviews of research evidence in the field of education. Seventeen review groups undertake reviews of individual topics, and a series of reviews commissioned by the Teacher Training Agency is also produced. All the reviewed research is included in a database.
ERIC - Education Resources Information Centre
Sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the US Department of Education, hosts a large database of journal and non-journal education literature.
ETV Library - European Training Village
The ETV library maintains a host of databases and catalogues on VET, including: European Research Overview (ERO Base); bibliographical database; VET internet resources; training institutions database; collection of 300 electronic-journals.
Eurostat - Eurostat
The statistical office of the European Communities, with extensive data collections in the area of education and training (Population and Social Conditions).
Eurydice - Eurydice
Information network on education in Europe. Includes several databases on education systems, Key Data publications and thesauri.
INCA - International Review of Curriculum and Assessment Frameworks Internet Archive
INCA provides descriptions of government policy on education in Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland (forthcoming), Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the USA and Wales. It focuses on curriculum, assessment and initial teacher training frameworks for pre-school, primary, lower secondary and upper secondary education in schools (3-19 age range).
NCES - National Centre for Education Statistics (US)
Database of US education statistics and analysis. The Education Statistics Quarterly is also available - an overview of all work carried out at NCES, including publications and data products.
PERINE - Pedagogical and Educational Research Information Network for Europe
The 'PERINE Internet Resource Catalogue' is a collection of information about national and cross-national resources supporting educational research in Europe. The catalogue will contain references produced by partners, presented within a multilingual search environment utilising the European Education Thesaurus. Initially the catalogue is experimental, providing information on themes identified by educational researchers connected with the European Educational Research Association (EERA).
VOCED - Vocational Education and Training Research Database
VOCED is the UNESCO/NCVER research database for technical and vocational education and training, an international database of research abstracts, in English.
WIFO - Gateway to Research on Education in Europe
This website has emerged in the context of European research projects carried out by the Research Forum WIFO (Wissenschaftsforum Bildung und Gesellschaft). It is an free information service provided by researchers for researchers. Focus on vocational education, recently also including human resource development. The database also includes a ‘search by method/approach’ facility.