Lifelong learning: citizens' views - European Commission - Europa

14Lifelong learning: citizens’ viewsFigure 6. The contexts in which respondents think they have learnedsomething in the past 12 months, EU 15, % ( 12 )EU 15Being at home 69.1Getting together with other people 63.4Leisure activities 50.8Working (learning on the job) 44.0At the workplace 41.1Using local libraries/learning resource centres 31.6Travelling. studying. working or living abroad 30.0Involvement in social or political work 20.40 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80Training courses neither at work nor in formal learning settings 19.4Attending training courses/sessions at the workplace 17.9At school. college or university 16.8A period of voluntary. social or military service 8.7Courses that combine periods of study with work-based learning 7.2As training placement/as part of an exchange programme 7.1Formal learning settings (such as schools, universities and colleges) as arecent and relevant learning context were mentioned by only 17% ofrespondents, whereas 18% checked the category for training in theworkplace (which could be offered formally or non-formally). The frequencywith which non-formal settings ( 13 ) were chosen varies considerably, but, forexample, a mere 7% selected company placements or exchangeprogrammes.This does not mean that people think they have learned only in informalsettings, but that informal settings are an important component of the varietyof learning contexts. The proportion of the adult population engaged in formaleducation and training is always a fairly small minority (except for youngadults), so that in practical terms most will learn outside such environments.( 12 ) The figure presents learning contexts from the most to the least frequent.( 13 ) That is, structured learning taking place outside formal education and training institutions