Adult Learning and Education in Europe, North America and Israel

1. Adult Learning and Educationin Europe, North America andIsrael CONFINTEA V1 Regional Pre-ConferenceBudapest, December 2008 soitu@uaic.ro

2. ALE • Adult education denotes the entire body of ongoing learning processes, formal, nonformal, informal bywhichpersons: • develop their abilities, • enrich their knowledge, • improve their technical or professional qualifications .

3. Background• Influence of the Lisbon Agenda – EU-27+;IPA; ENP• Influence of OECD/UIL reports• Public policy - employment; - welfare; - health - financing; - provision; - qualifications; - quality

4. Contextual challenges in 2008(Why adult learning?) 1. Economic Competitiveness/Kick-start economies 2. Demographic* ageing* migration 4. PoliticalMaintenance/ development ofdemocratic societies 3. SocialSocial Inclusion 5. PersonalDevelopment (Helen Keogh, Summary Report)

5. Spectrum of Development of ALE c. 6/7 countries c. 16 countries cc.10/11 countries (Helen Keogh, Summary Report)

6. Mixed model ‘Public service’modelALE as ‘public good’Strong involvementof state Mixed model ‘Market’modelALE as ‘privategood’Minimalinvolvement ofstate Spectrum of State Involvement Position dictated by: History and/orIdeology and/orResources Sweden - Germany - Switzerland - Poland (Helen Keogh, Summary Report)

7. Policy Goals • Economic, social and/or cultural policy • Social movement • Learning for a living & learning for living • HRD/employability • Knowledge economy & knowledge society • More & better jobs • A public good & a private good • Political control & market control • Quantity & quality

8. Legislation • Least regulated element of LLL • Specific legislation for VET • Specific legislation for ‘second chance’ • Specific legislation for non-formal ALE • Integrated legislation for formal and non-formal ALE. ( RomaniaisinfullimplementationprocessofEuropeanlegislation).

9. Who pays? • Multi-source - stakeholder co-financing –Employers ; –Individuals – Public authorities; – Civil society – Foreign funders: for countries in pre-adher stage to EU Romania benefited of funds in this way: for instance IIZ-DVV Germany has financed 16 AERC and the Master of Adults Education from Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Iasi.

10. Who islearning? Benchmark – 12.5% of adults aged 25-64 in E&T in any 4-week period by 2010 in EU-27 • 2000 - 7.1% - 2007 - 9.7% • 2006 - 2.3% of adults participated in formal AL; 6.4% participated in non-formal AL • 7 Europeancountries already achieving 2010 target. (What is going to happen to other 20 countries from EU? How about the rest of European countries?) • USA – >50% of adults aged 16+ in some form of ALE in 2001

11. Differences between participants Depending on studies: • Adults with high level of education are > 6 times > likely to participate than low skilled –3 times > likely to participate if have at least upper secondary level Depending on age: • Age - persons aged 55-64 participate 4 times less (4.6%) than persons aged 25-34 years (15.5%) – 61% of aged 55+ have never used a computer

12. Genderdifferences • More women than men in ALE • Participation in CVT of employed women ranged: – from > 55% in DK, FI, SE – to < 10% in EL, HU, IT – and 1,6% in RO • The rate of participation of employed men ranged from 50% in DK to < 1,6% in RO • Gender not significant for ICT skills but age is

13. What are adultslearning? • Adult vocational education & training (VET) including IVT and CVT • ‘Second-chance’ ALE - ‘first-chance’? • Liberal, popular, general, non-vocational non-formal ALE - social and cultural policy and/or social movement • Adult tertiary education –Armenia; Russia

14. LiteracyLearning • Communication in the mother tongue - 1st key competence for LLL • IALS (OECD 1997; 2000) - 25% - 50%+ of adults lacked literacy levels considered minimum for life & work - not just minorities/migrants –> - > mobilisation of forces • A shift from a skills-based approach -> development of competences for processing information & generating knowledge • Multiple approaches – as learning support; stand-alone; integrated - workplace; family; themed

15. VET • 13+ m additional jobs, many at the highest qualification level, 2006 – 2015 • Employers - major providers of ALE in many countries but SE Europe, CIS • Majority of ALE in workplace • Spread in volume of training - 2005 – Finland & Sweden joint first - 50%- 60% of employees reached at work –Most Southern, Central and Eastern MS - barely 20% reached & < 20% in BG, PL, RO

16. Liberal/Non-formal ALE • Not covered by explicit public policy, action priorities or funding • In local communities & social movements; in E&T institutions • Finland - programme for liberal ALE 2008– 2012 in cooperation with key stakeholders • Long tradition in Nordic & other countries of democratic learning/popular enlightenment through residential and day FHSs, study associations &/or study circles

17. Traditions of Adult Education in Romania • For more than 170 years exist parents-schools • Popular Universities • At the beginning of XX century, Romania was considered Europe’s Japan for education • After 1948 is more important the political dimension. That produce the separation between Romania and the developed countries of Europe.

18. Qualifications • FR, IE, MT & UK have NQFs (4) • 17 countries,including Romania, progressing development of overarching NQF • 7 countries not yet formally committed to NQF • SE Europe, CIS and Russian Federation – through IPA & EPN • EQF - 2010 - MS to relate national qualifications to EQF

19. Quality in ALE • Quality explicitly on the agenda, particularly for VET - adults have access to ‘second-chance’ • A Common Quality Assurance Framework (CQAF) (2004) - VET • European Network on Quality - 2005 • 2008 - European Quality Assurance Reference Framework (EQARF) to replace CQAF – • Nordic countries, AT & DE - advanced QA • CZ, RO & SI - introducing QA systems

20. ALE Personnel Professional development of personnel a vital determinant of quality of ALE –Data incomplete – Status, conditions & pay – Full-time : part-time employees –Generally, not a regulated occupation –Many routes – In-service training rather than IPD? – Competence Profiles – CH; DE; FR; UK –Key competences study - EU

21. Research in ALE • Limited – Volume – Scope – Impact • Needed – Infrastructure – A knowledge base – Culture of evidence-basedpolicy-making – Interface for impact – Review

22. Interests The relation between continuing education (CE) – adult education (EA) Accent  on CE – School is essential for the future development of the person and for EA developing. School is the source of joy for learning /joy of work • Source of Continuing Learning skills

23. Interests • The effects of the economicalcrisis: • For the developed countries, • For the developing countries • For the countries in transition • The role of attitudes acquired by education • The relation learning - education Education = what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. • « Steal» the superior attitudes! • The role of local, regional and national politics in this area.

24. Recommendations • Policy • Legislation • Governance • Financing • Provision • Participation • Qualifications • Quality • Research

25. ALE Research in Romania • Educational Sciences Institute, Bucharest; • Lifelong Learning Institute, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University Iasi; • Adults Education Institute, University of West, Timisoara, financed by DVV Bonn • Research projects of Culture Minister

26. Lifelong Learning Institute – LLI “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University Iasi - ROMANIA Research Center recognized by the National University ResearchCouncil http://iec.psih.uaic.ro/

27. LLI - Profile • Learning theories; • Research methods in education; • Strategies of communication; • Education of people with special needs; • Management of vocational training institutions; • Continuing and adult education.

28. LLI - Expertise and experience: Co-operation with institutions outside the country • IIZ/DVV Bonn Germany – in the European project aimed and creating an interuniversity network: European Master in Management of Adult Education; • Hanover University, Germany – in the European project aimed and creating an interuniversity network: European Master in Management of Adult Education; • New Bulgarian University in Sofia, Bulgaria - in the European project aimed and creating an interuniversity network: European Master in Management of Adult Education;

29. LLI - Expertise and experience: Co-operation with institutions outside the country • University of Perugia, Italy and CESI, Paris – co-operation in Tempus program on Social Politics; • The Autonomous University in Barcelona, Spain; • The University of La Laguna (Centro Superior de Educacion), Tenerife, Spain in the National Master’s module on Conflict Mediation, offering to the students the opportunity of studying abroad; • University of Denver, USA.

30. LLI - European Project • 2004 - 2006 Socrates- Grundtvig 1, No. 11493-CP-1-2004-1-PL- GRUNDTVIG - G1, “TEACH -Teaching Adult Educators in Continuing and Higher Education”. Partners : • Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń - Poland • European Association for the Education of Adults, Bruksela - Belgium • University of Bielefeld, Germany • Hanover University, Germany • Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association IIZ/DVV, Bonn - Germany • Latvian Adult Education Association, Riga - Latvia • University of Pecs, Hungary • Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas - Lithuania • Polish Association for Adult Education, Szczecin - Poland • “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Romania • New Bulgarian University, Sofia - Bulgaria • Bogazici University, Istanbul - Turkey • Universities Association for Lifelong Learning, United Kingdom • University of Stirling, United Kingdom

31. LLI - National Project MEDIAEC Platform for interdisciplinary research – Effective Tools for Development- Innovation of Education and Interdisciplinary Research in Training,Communication and Services 1,5 mil. Euro • 1. VS - TheVideoconferenceSystem • 2. LF-NTE Laboratory of training for neweducationaltechnologies(NTE); • 3. LPUFE - Laboratory for productionanduse of educationalfilms; • 4. LEEP - Laboratory for evaluationandprofessionalexpertise. • The MEDIAEC Platformhas a binding role betweenplatformsandotherresearchlaboratories in universities, contributingtosimultaneousconnectionsbetweenresearchunits of theuniversityandother similar institutions in the country andabroad. For exemple: JAPAN SHIZUOKA UNIVERSITY -