Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-000389/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Emmanouil Fragkos (ECR)
Most education systems do not teach ‘learning to learn’ strategies as part of their curricula. This means pupils are often overloaded, they waste time, work too hard, repeat, and ultimately fail to use their time efficiently.
When children are taught different methods of studying, how to set goals, manage their time and self-assess, their performance improves significantly. Curricula that focus on metacognitive strategies, such as planning, monitoring and assessing progress, bring about long-term benefits in academic performance. Metacognition means being aware of one’s thought processes and understanding how learning works. Research shows that teaching children how to learn is crucial to building independence, critical thinking and adaptability.
By placing an emphasis on metacognitive skills, education systems can set children up well for lifelong adaptability in an ever-changing environment. Shifting the focus from rote learning to developing the skills needed for independent learning and introducing curricula that explicitly teach metacognition and self-regulated learning strategies can be of great benefit to our pupils.
Bearing in mind the European Year of Skills and the collective vision for a European Education Area, which aim to measurably improve pupils’ results, and taking into account its competence in ‘actions that complement the actions of the education systems of the Member States’, is the Commission considering proposing a free online course on metacognition for EU pupils?
Submitted: 28.1.2025