Active Participatory Citizenship for and with Young Adults in Situations of Risk – On the Cover and Under-Cover

Francesca Endrizzi,Beate Schmidt-Behlau

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-65002-5_3

Abstract

AbstractDrawing on theoretical research findings of the EduMAP extensive study on national Adult Education (AE) policies in the European Union (EU) and as part of a broader qualitative data collection based on 40 case-studies, the following chapter investigates four selected adult education practices dealing with young people in situations of vulnerability, in France, Austria and Germany, respectively. The intent is to analyse how diverse conceptualisation of Active Participatory Citizenship (APC) and the educational strategies adopted in the different programmes impact on the learning outcomes of the interviewed learners. APC can be either explicit and on the cover, as a core objective pursued through an adopted education strategy, or it acts more implicitly and under cover. To prove this assumption, the findings have been systematised, first scrutinizing the endorsed APC concepts and the implemented educational approaches in the programme’s designs and from the providers and practitioners’ perspectives, and second investigating learners’ points of view on their learning outcomes in terms of competence development and reflected experiences. The third step analyses the factors that are relevant for successfully enabling young people in situations of risk to participate in the society and/or community. The findings bear out that how APC is defined and characterised in the AE programmes is not the only impacting factor but equally important is how this is incorporated in the educational practice and adopted in the pedagogical strategy.

Highlights

The link between Active Participatory Citizenship (APC) and Adult Education (AE) is not always evident and explicit, acting on the cover or under-cover of educational programmes and practices
Based on a first phase of desk research focusing on adult education policies in the European Union (EU), EduMAP first findings revealed that Active Participatory Citizenship often remains under-cover in the education programmes’ visions and objectives as well as in the overall designs
Despite the lack of explicit use of the term, the different APC dimensions have been driven by the national policy framework and agendas, and different AE initiatives have been seen as tools for promoting one or more of its three above mentioned dimensions (Kersh and Toiviainen 2017)

Summary

Introduction

The link between Active Participatory Citizenship (APC) and Adult Education (AE) is not always evident and explicit, acting on the cover or under-cover of educational programmes and practices. Based on a first phase of desk research focusing on adult education policies in the European Union (EU), EduMAP first findings revealed that Active Participatory Citizenship often remains under-cover in the education programmes’ visions and objectives as well as in the overall designs. The APC conceptual approach may be embedded in many European programmes and initiatives. The EduMAP field research has provided the opportunity to collect primary data and give voice to young adults in situation of multiple vulnerabilities and at risk of social exclusion, and participating in AE programmes, about their understanding of APC. The co-author is responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in the article and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization

Schmidt-Behlau DVV International, Bonn, Germany

Methodology

Conclusion