Educational governance and the construction of learning outcomes of young adults in Europe: conceptual aspects and empirical evidence

The purpose of this paper is to discuss conceptual aspects and provide preliminary empirical evidence on how learning outcomes (LOs) of young adults are constructed in different European regions. The evidence for this analysis derives from an ongoing European comparative project, which analyses the diverse factors that influence young adults' learning outcomes and their overall quality. The research on learning outcomes is extensive and diverse, encompassing conceptual, implementation, and governance aspects. Our article summarizes the policy discourse on learning outcomes by emphasising its linkages to educational governance and presents some quantitative and qualitative empirical findings regarding the assessment of poor learning outcomes of young adults in vulnerable situation in sixteen European regions in eight EU countries. It underscores the presence of contextual ties, uncertainties and measurement limitations, and pleads for a conceptualisation of educational outcomes as an interactive practice of construction involving multiple factors and actors from different levels.