Is Adult Education and Training Policy (1999-2011) in Portugal based on a Dilemma? The Critical Construction of the Employable Learner

Abstract

The concepts of competences and employability have been oftenly used in educational policy discourses. They have been based on a category, the employable learner both in the European Union and Portugal. This paper set out to discuss how is the adult learner constructed within adult education and training policy, that is, under two programmes launched since 1999 in Portugal within the European Union's lifelong learning guidelines. A qualitative and interpretative approach was preferred for this paper. Two national policy discourses were subjected to content analysis. The conclusions state an ambiguous understanding of the employable learner.