The expansion of adult education and training in Europe: trends and issues

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 389-390
Author(s):  
Abigail Helsinger ◽  
Oksana Dikhtyar ◽  
Phyllis Cummins ◽  
Nytasia Hicks

Abstract Adult education and training (AET) over the life-course is necessary to participate in economic, social, and political activities in the time of globalization and technological advancement. However, little research has been done to identify mechanisms to fund AET opportunities among middle-aged and older adults from a comparative international perspective. Our study aimed to identify strategies to finance AET opportunities for middle-aged and older adults through an international lens, to help identify barriers and facilitators in effort to best support adult learners regardless of education background or socioeconomic characteristics. We carried out a descriptive qualitative study to facilitate an in-depth understanding of funding mechanisms available to adult learners in the selected countries, from the perspective of adult education and policy experts. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 61 international adult education experts from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and education institutions. Our informants represented 10 countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Data included at least one in-depth phone or web-based qualitative interview per informant in addition to information gathered from written materials (e.g., peer-reviewed publications and organizational reports). We identified three financing options that arose as themes: government-sponsored funding; employer-sponsored funding; and self-funding. We found that government-sponsored funding is especially important for low-skilled, low-income older adults for whom employer-sponsored or self-funding is not available. Our results have implications for lifelong AET policy changes, such as adaptations of successful AET funding programs across global communities.


2014 ◽  
pp. 2026-2042
Author(s):  
Karim A. Remtulla

This article advocates workplace adult education and training researchers and scholar practitioners interested in career and technical education (CTE), adult education and technology, and who are attempting social and cultural critiques of workplace e-learning. The emphasis on the technological and artefactual in workplace e-learning research and study are not producing the expected learning outcomes from workplace adult education and training to the degree anticipated. Given increasingly global and diverse workforces, the research and study of workplace e-learning as a socio-culturally ‘negotiated' space may be an alternate approach toward a more socially and culturally informed understanding of adult learning from workplace e-learning.


Author(s):  
Karim A. Remtulla

This article advocates workplace adult education and training researchers and scholar practitioners interested in career and technical education (CTE), adult education and technology, and who are attempting social and cultural critiques of workplace e-learning. The emphasis on the technological and artefactual in workplace e-learning research and study are not producing the expected learning outcomes from workplace adult education and training to the degree anticipated. Given increasingly global and diverse workforces, the research and study of workplace e-learning as a socio-culturally ‘negotiated’ space may be an alternate approach toward a more socially and culturally informed understanding of adult learning from workplace e-learning.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S4-S4
Author(s):  
A Katherine Harrington ◽  
Phyllis Cummins

Abstract Labor force participation rates for middle-aged and older Canadians have increased substantially over the past two decades, with increases for women outpacing men. Given the importance of adult education and training (AET) to stay competitive in later career, we used a mixed methods approach to examine gender differences. Our analysis of the 2012 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) data indicated that, for ages 55-65, rates of AET participation are similar for both men and women. However, women are less likely than men to have AET funded by their employers. Findings suggest that women are more likely to need alternate funding sources for AET, such as other organizations or through self-funding. In addition, our review of literature, policy-related documents, and key informant interviews identified possible changes in policies and practices for the promotion of AET for middle-aged and older Canadians.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Sha Ha

According to the ‘International Standard Classification of Education’ (ISCED), ‘Continuing Education’ is composed of the ‘Continuing Primary and Lower Secondary Adult Education’ (ISCED1, ISCED2), followed by the ‘Adult Education and Training’ System (ISCED3), including an ‘Upper Secondary Education System’ (ISCED4 and finally, the ‘Tertiary Education’ (ISCED5, ISCED6 and above). In 2016 the percent of ‘early leavers’ from education and training amounted in Italy to 13.8%, while the EU average amounted to 10.7%. In the same period the attendance to ISCED1-ISCED3 Adult Education Courses (age 25-64) amounted to 8.3%, while the EU average amounted to 10.8%. As for ‘Tertiary Education’, the percent attainment of a university degree amounted to 29.5% among Italians and to 13.4% among foreigners residing in Italy, while the EU averages amounted to 39.9% and 35.4% respectively. According to the Author, the relatively higher percent of early leavers from education and training in Italy and the relatively low attendance to ‘Continuing Education’ programs is due to the low employment rate in the Country, particularly significant in the age range 20-34, as a consequence of the severe economic crisis which hit the country in 2008 and still persists, causing the closure of many private enterprises and the block of the turn-over at public educational institutions. In spite of all that, the quality of the Italian Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education System is of an excellent level, as compared with that of similar institutions all over the world. In Author’s opinion, increasing the investment in the educational system would increase the attendance to Secondary and Tertiary Adult Education courses, with a positive feedback on productivity.


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