Training Pathways for Adult Learning Professionals in Higher Education: Case of Hungary and Serbia

The topic of the professionalization of adult education is receiving a great deal of attention worldwide. This is justified because the competencies among adult learning professionals have a significant impact on the effectiveness of adult learning. The professional preparedness of adult learning practitioners is therefore a basic condition for the high-quality realization of the adult learning process. Nevertheless, the training system for adult learning professionals varies greatly from country to country. Professionals in adult education are often andragogically unskilled individuals, and national education policy also plays a key role in this. A comparative approach has been used in this study to examine the historical development and content elements of university-level andragogy programs in Hungary and Serbia. The findings show that although Hungary and Serbia are neighbors, the development of adult education as a profession has followed completely different trends in the two countries.

Supporting the development of sexuality in early childhood: The rationales and barriers to sexuality education in early learning settings

Learning about sexuality is an important part of development in early childhood but is not formally considered in early learning settings. This makes sexuality education for young children both rare and inconsistent across early learning settings. The purpose of this paper is to provide a unique contribution and inform the state of sexuality education in early learning settings in Canada, which is currently an understudied area. We describe the Canadian context of sexuality education in early learning settings and examine its presence in provincial and territorial early learning frameworks. We advocate for the inclusion of sexuality education in early learning settings because it can support children’s development and construction of sexuality, is a critical factor in providing children with personal safety skills and a part of child sexual abuse prevention work, and also sets the foundation for equity and social justice in teaching children about diversity as a norm. We discuss the barriers which act to exclude sexuality education in early learning settings including a lack of curriculum and policy to guide early learning professionals in addressing and supporting this domain, fear of parent reactions, and theoretical constructions of childhood innocence. We conclude with practice and policy recommendations to move the field forward.

Preparing K-12 Teachers for Blended and Online Learning

Personal learning networks (PLNs) are a form of informal professional development in which teachers build and maintain connections to other educators and learning professionals and the resources that will meet their personal continuing education needs. Although PLNs can incorporate face-to-face connections, they typically make heavy use of social networking tools for finding and sharing information and educational innovations. In this chapter, the authors discuss how PLNs have been developed and used by preservice and inservice teachers, discussing the similarities and differences between the two groups along with the progression of PLN development from preservice to inservice teacher experiences. Next the authors discuss the role that PLNs play in helping teachers develop their blended and virtual learning knowledge and skills, along with ideas for how teacher-educators and administrators can provide support for this endeavor.

Managerial e-learning professionals at the corporate university

This study explores the lived experience of managerial professionals. With the pressures on higher education to generate new revenue streams, specifically the professional life and identity of instructional designers are explored regarding the various pressures of academic capitalism and instructional unbundling through the lens of Activity Theory. Including interviews and annotated calendars/journaling, participants provide insights into the daily life and professional negotiation involved in a changing higher education landscape. Ultimately, professional esteem and respect, as well as trusting relationships between these academic professionals, framed a sense of professional identity.

Reflections on Refugees During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the world faces a growing refugee crisis, adult learning professionals must consider the implications of their work within the context of an increasingly complex and uncertain world.

The role of curiosity in workplace automation

Purpose This paper describes the ways automation and artificial intelligence are shifting the business landscape and how learning professionals can use curiosity to enhance their own and their organizations' success. Design/methodology/approach A review of theory and research on automation and artificial intelligence, curiosity, and learning and development challenges was conducted. Findings Although technological advancements are already transforming the workplace, the optimal benefits of these technologies will be realized only in collaboration with human capital. In particular, as certain manual and technical skills are replaced by automation, the jobs that remain will require more highly developed social and cognitive skills such as creative problem solving, interpersonal skills and empathy, and adaptability and continuous learning. Practical implications Learning professionals are encouraged to use strategies that leverage the power of curiosity to cultivate the soft skills critical for success in technologically advanced workplaces. Originality/value Technological advancement creates an ever-changing organizational and learning landscape for employees and development professionals. Cost-effective strategies are needed to close the growing skill gaps that result. Curiosity is a helpful tool for growing needed competencies.

Dominant discourses of workplace curriculum in Iranian organizations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate and analyze the dominant discourses of the workplace curriculum in Iranian organizations. Design/methodology/approach The research data were collected through in-depth interviews with 30 professionals working in the field of workplace curriculum in three groups of consultants, managers and experts who were selected purposefully and with a theoretical sampling strategy. To analyze the data, thematic analysis method was used. The themes are extracted and categorized into three phases, namely, descriptive coding, interpretive coding and determination of overarching theme. To validate the data, collaborative research technique, member checking and researcher review and, to make sure of findings’ reliability, reliability index between two coders were used. Findings Based on the findings, the kind of planner’s look at the workplace curriculum commonplaces will shape the nature of the curriculum and in terms of this look define and redefine the workplace curriculum discourses. Therefore, based on perceptions and attitudes in these areas, 11 different discourses are recognizable from the workplace curriculum. These include suppression discourse, justification discourse, ceremonial/ formality discourse, administrative discourse, engineering discourse, economical discourse, psychological discourse, partnership discourse, research discourse, developmental discourse and, finally, multi-cultural discourse. Practical implications The common goal of all learning professionals in the workplace is to play the role of a strategic partner, or at least be a good partner for the organization. One of the main challenges of learning and development professionals in the workplace is increase in integration and alignment between learning programs and developmental opportunities with business organization strategies. Achieving this important goal is possible when we have a proper understanding of the current situation and condition. Various situations and conditions are identified and described in the form of 11 discourses. If the authors do not look at the context and proper understanding of the main concepts – The main concepts of each discourse are put into a quill – in which any discourse that was created, the authors will not be able to make the appropriate strategies. A good doctor will hear and understand well before the first thing. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the few studies that offer a variety of discourses for the workplace curriculum.

Sieci współpracy i samokształcenia nauczycieli – pozory zmiany czy przestrzeń możliwości rozwoju kultury szkoły i jej uczestników

Setting up cooperation and teachers’ self-education networking has been determined by a top-down regulation of the Minister of Education. It seems that in the course of implementation activities, legislative and administrative interventions related to this recommendation, one has lost the thinking of the nature and special characteristics of this type of learning and knowledge. The article analyses the special features of the collective learning process, and presents the fundamental theories constituting the interpretive and paradigmatic framework for the learning interpreted in such a way: Lev S.Vygotski’s cultural-historical theory, Jerome S. Bruner’s socio-cultural theory, Yrjö Engeström’s expansive learning theory and learning by expanding, Jack Mezirow’s transformative learning, Etienne Wenger’s situated learning theory and Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger’s community of practice concept, a participant of “teaching conversation”, the specific tools and strategies necessary to equip the cognitive box with teachers’ tools, have been selected and characterised. An example of a network of learning professionals is shown. In conclusion, one highlights the apparent activities of the created networks, projecting a certain understanding and instrumental understanding of the practice on practitioners, which hinders Bruner’’s challenge of transforming the school into a culture of learning communities.