The paper focuses on how the institutional design
of education systems shapes opportunities
for lifelong learning. Our main aim is to reveal
to what extent Estonia, as a new member
state, is a specific case for the EU. We expect the
Estonian case to diverge from the patterns of
links, between education systems and participation
in non-formal education, predicted by
the theories and characteristics of the old EU
member-states. The authors use aggregate data
about participation in non-formal learning in a
number of European Union countries, based on
an ad hoc module included in the EU Labour
Force Survey 2003