Abstract

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 was welcome globally, mainstreaming sustainability in all sectors, including education and training under Goal 4, which advocated “inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all”. However, is it realistic to attain a substantially equitable adult education policy amidst the hegemony of neoliberal regimes and utilitarian approaches? Our data, drawn from the OECD Survey of Adult Skills and the European Adult Education Survey (AES), highlight, in alignment with relevant research, that education and training opportunities are still significantly unequal, failing to reach those adults more at risk, reproducing a “Matthew” effect. Against this backdrop, the present policy brief reiterates important parameters that have emanated from relevant research, which can formulate a set of concrete measures that bear the potential to facilitate the “unreached” not simply to participate, but also to substantially benefit from adult education, mitigating social inequalities.

Highlights

  • The invisible thread between Adult Education (AE) and social justice, has long been at the forefront of the political agenda, with the two seminal policy papers under the auspices of UNESCO (Delors, 1996; Faure et al, 1972) fueling the debates on the paramount role of AE in alleviating poverty and combating exclusion

  • Among the 17 goals with 169 subindicators, goal 4 is related to education and learning, catering for “inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all” (UN, 2015, p.14)

  • AE was brought to the forefront of European Union (EU) policies due to the confrontation with escalating unemployment rates in the 1990s, endorsing two White Papers which outlined the crucial impact of AE in growth and social justice (European Commission, 1993, 1995)

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Summary

Executive Summary

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 was welcome globally, mainstreaming sustainability in all sectors, including education and training under Goal 4, which advocated “inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all” Is it realistic to attain a substantially equitable adult education policy amidst the hegemony of neoliberal regimes and utilitarian approaches? Drawn from the OECD Survey of Adult Skills and the European Adult Education Survey (AES), highlight, in alignment with relevant research, that education and training opportunities are still significantly unequal, failing to reach those adults more at risk, reproducing a “Matthew” effect Against this backdrop, the present policy brief reiterates important parameters that have emanated from relevant research, which can formulate a set of concrete measures that bear the potential to facilitate the “unreached” not to participate, and to substantially benefit from adult education, mitigating social inequalities

Introduction
Findings
Upper secondary
Elementary occupations

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