Educational Challenges for EU Member States in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The purpose of the paper is to assess the impact of public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP on educational effects, measured using indicators included in the Education and Training Program 2010 and 2020 in European Union member states in the years 2010-2018. There was also an attempt to determine the desired directions of educational indicators in the context of Industry 4.0, which is the novelty factor in the paper. Models for panel data (longitudinal data) were used in the research. The results of the research suggest that an increase in public spending on education does not improve the effects of education. What is more, educational indicators used in the European Union do not adequately measure the results of education desired from the perspective of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The occurring socioeconomic and civilization changes impose the shaping of new competences, both cyber-technical, which allow work with artificial intelligence, and social. Therefore, there seems to be a necessity for a comprehensive redefinition of educational policy, both in terms of its subjects, goals and content of teaching and recipients, which cannot be equated with an increase in public spending on education.