Adult Education Professionals Research Articles

Grundbildung Medien als Teil erwachsenenpädagogischer Professionalitätsentwicklung. Überlegungen zur medienpädagogischen Professionalisierung angehender Erwachsenenbildnerinnen und Erwachsenenbildner

Der Beitrag nimmt den Umstand zum Ausgangspunkt, dass die Erwachsenenbildung sich sowohl mit der Herausforderung konfrontiert sieht Erwachsenenbildnerinnen und Erwachsenenbildner bei der Aneignung von medienpädagogisch kompetentem Handeln zu unterstützen, als auch zur Vermittlung medienbezogener Kompetenzen zu befähigen (Schmidt-Hertha et al. 2017, 36). Die Ubiquität von (digitalen) Medien in menschlichen Lebenswelten bedarf dabei keiner besonderen Betonung mehr. Medien sind Teil der Lebenswelt von Erwachsenen und in der Folge zu einem Verantwortungsbereich der Erwachsenenbildung avanciert. Die Befähigung erwachsener Menschen zur Teilhabe an der digitalen Welt kann als Kernaufgabe unter den Bedingungen von Digitalisierung gesehen werden, was voraussetzt, dass professionell tätige Erwachsenenbildnerinnen und Erwachsenenbildner Veränderungsprozesse, die mit dem Phänomen einhergehen, in den Tätigkeits- und Handlungsfeldern aktiv mitgestalten. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird der professionstheoretische Diskurs in der Erwachsenenbildung als Hintergrundfolie aufgegriffen, um Herausforderungen und Chancen für die medienpädagogische Professionalitätsentwicklung für die Erwachsenenbildung zu skizzieren. Professionalitätsentwicklung wird dabei als lebenslanger Prozess verstanden, der in einem akademischen Studium mit entsprechendem Schwerpunkt angestossen und in der späteren Berufspraxis weiter geformt wird. Es wird ferner ein Vorschlag unterbreitet, der inhaltliche und thematische Dimensionen einer medienpädagogischen Grundbildung für die Erwachsenenbildung skizziert. Deren Integration in Studiengängen der erziehungswissenschaftlichen Teildisziplin erscheint lohnenswert im Hinblick auf die Professionalisierung angehender Erwachsenenbildnerinnen und Erwachsenenbildner.

Development of the profession and qualifications of adult educators in Lithuania in the context of reforms of adult education

The Baltic countries regained their independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and joined the European Union in 2004. This article seeks to explore institutional development and reforms of adult education and lifelong learning in Lithuania with respect to the processes, the actors and the context of socioeconomic change over the past 20 years. It also looks at the implications of these processes for the professionalisation of adult educators, referred to here as “adult learning teachers” (ALTs). The authors begin with an analysis of the historical-institutional and political-economical aspects of the development of adult education and lifelong learning by providing a retrospective of institutional change in Lithuania. They then move on to analyse the existing institutional and legal arrangements of adult education which shape and institutionalise the profession and qualifications of ALTs. Their empirical research reveals the opinions of Lithuanian ALTs on their current professional occupational profile and its future development.

Professionalisation of adult educators: International and comparative perspectives

Professionalisation of adult educators: International and comparative perspectives

Coaching skills of adult education professionals

Coaching skills of adult education professionals

The development and validation of testing materials for literacy, numeracy and digital skills in a Dutch context

Besides work-oriented training, most Dutch adult learning courses of formal and non-formal education focus on three basic skills: literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments. In the Netherlands, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science recently initiated the development of a new adult education framework concerning literacy, numeracy and digital skills. In order to monitor the progress of literacy, numeracy and digital competencies, it is necessary to develop and validate testing materials for specific competencies. This study validates the testing materials which were developed to assess learners’ proficiency in literacy (reading and writing), numeracy and digital skills based on the new Dutch framework. The outcome is that the materials proved valid and can be used in different courses referring to basic skills and adult learning, though there are still some limitations. Besides adult education professionals (such teachers and trainers), policy makers can also use the results of these tests in order to describe and monitor the impact of adult education on the lives of adult learners.

Improving the Skills for True Wellbeing of Adult Educators and Learners

Working with professionals of the adult education sector and with adult learners inspired a European Lifelong Learning project named “WELNESS” – SKILLS FOR TRUE WELLBEING. On many occasions educators and the learners feel stressed by the challenges in their lives. As a result, they experience decreased work engagement and job satisfaction. This project aims at equipping adult education professionals and learners with skills that will allow them to monitor their level of wellbeing and, to apply self-regulation strategies. The present study focuses on detailing the aims, rationales and procedures to be followed throughout the project.

Transnational Wellbeing Analysis of the Needs of Professionals and Learners Engaged in Adult Education

The study is part of an European Lifelong Learning project named WELNESS – Skills for a true wellbeing that aims to equipping adult education professionals and learners in skills that will allow them to monitor their level of wellbeing and, when needed, to apply self-regulation strategies in order to return to satisfying level of wellbeing. This study represents the transnational wellbeing analysis – a study that aims to examine the needs of professionals and learners engaged in adult education and in particular to assess their baseline level of wellbeing and problems that they have that affect the level of their wellbeing. About 350 learners and 140 professionals in adult education were evaluated through questionnaires assessing their wellbeing and 35 learners and 35 professionals participated in focus-groups assessing their needs in relation to wellbeing.The results of the research will serve as a basis for the development of 6 workshops for educators and learners, workshops that aim to enhance their skills and level of wellbeing.

Between external prescription and local practice The uses of official knowledge by adult education professionals in Portugal

This article presents the results of research where the main objective was to achieve a better understanding of the uses made by professionals in the adult education sphere of the official knowledge that provides the framework and guidelines for their work. The study was undertaken using Bernsteins theoretical model of the structure of official pedagogical discourse, and employed an essentially ethnographic fieldwork methodology to analyse the work of a team of adult education specialists working in a local development association in the north of Portugal. The results of the study show that the team was able to make both reproductive and recontextualising use of official knowledge, thereby demonstrating that, even in workplaces where external prescription is extremely influential, it is possible to put official knowledge to alternative i.e. more effective, locally-adapted use.

Book Review: Grace, A. P., Rocco, T. S., and Associates. (2009). Challenging the Professionalization of Adult Education: John Ohliger and Contradictions in Modern Practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Book Review: Grace, A. P., Rocco, T. S., and Associates. (2009). Challenging the Professionalization of Adult Education: John Ohliger and Contradictions in Modern Practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Product Review: Challenging the Professionalization of Adult Education: John Obliger and Contradictions in Modern Practice

Product Review: Challenging the Professionalization of Adult Education: John Obliger and Contradictions in Modern Practice

Comparative and International Education: A Bibliography (2009)

Comparative and International Education: A Bibliography (2009)

Reflections on the Professionalisation of Adult Educators in the Framework of Public Policies in Portugal

The discussion in this article is based on recent research carried out by the author recently on adult education public policies and her participation in the Adult Learning Practitioners in Europe (ALPINE) project coordinated by Research voor Beleid (The Netherlands) and funded by the European Commission. The analysis presented here stresses the challenges faced by adult educators in Portugal in the last decades and the concerns about the emerging professionalisation process that started in the framework of observed adult education and training public policy.

The Professionalisation of Adult Educators in the Baltic States

Adult education and lifelong learning together form one of the priorities for development in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The important historical and social context in which the professional development of adult educators has been taking place in the Baltic States since they regained their independence in the 1990s is the changes that occurred in the socio-political, economic and social life since then. There is greater concern about the need to qualify adult education practitioners so as to enhance quality in the provision of adult education and training. However, the prerequisites for the professional development of adult educators are a neglected area of research when compared with other fields of education and training. In this article, we shall analyse the professional development of adult educators as follows: • How transformational changes in the Baltic States during the past decade have influenced adult education policy and practice, the adult education profession itself and the professional development of adult educators; • How adult education policies, initial education and training practices affect the process of professional development among adult educators; • What the professional development of adult educators consists in.

Editorial — Adult Learning Professionals in Europe

European Journal of EducationVolume 44, Issue 2 p. 143-144 Editorial — Adult Learning Professionals in Europe MICHAEL OSBORNE, MICHAEL OSBORNE Department of Adult and Continuing Education, University of Glasgow, St Andrew's Building, 11 Eldon Street, Glasgow G3 6NH, U.K.Search for more papers by this author MICHAEL OSBORNE, MICHAEL OSBORNE Department of Adult and Continuing Education, University of Glasgow, St Andrew's Building, 11 Eldon Street, Glasgow G3 6NH, U.K.Search for more papers by this author First published: 28 May 2009 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-3435.2009.01388.xCitations: 3Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume44, Issue2Special Issue: The Training of Adult Education Professionals in EuropeJune 2009Pages 143-144 RelatedInformation

The adult educator in Europe – professionalisation challenges and the alternative of validation of learning outcomes

The paper frames professionalisation of adult educator in Europe as one of the biggest challenges experts in adult education field deal with but it also stresses competence validation system as a reliable alternative in this sense.Europe is experiencing major transformation in which knowledge and innovation are the most valued assets. In this new society, there is an empathic need for offering everyone the opportunities to acquire the relevant skills, knowledge and competences as the route to full involvement in professional and social life. So much the more this need is stressed in adult and continuing education from the perspective of the stringent upskilling demand of Europe's labour force. The driving forces in this domain are the adult education staff and their professionalisation is high on the EU agenda due to the diversity and variety of this professional group.Although a well recognised need, there has been little attention paid to defining the contents and processes of initial training and the further professionalisation of staff working in adult learning. Well qualified staff is needed to support adults in their learning and yet there are few education/training systems for adult education professionals across Europe (Switzerland, Austria, UK) which, in fact, do not allow cross-national qualifications comparability and recognition.In the context of absence of a specific professional development pathway in the majority of European countries, trainers overtake this responsibility and manage their own professional and personal developments which are generally objectified in non-formal and informal learning settings. A lot of adult educators interact with adults in a didactical way without an explicit qualification for their activity. Most of them have acquired their specific professional competencies for dealing with adults on the job, by working experiences, in trainings, voluntary activities etc, in a puzzled way.In these circumstances, validation of adult educators’ prior learning becomes an alternative to the formal educational pathway which contributes to the comparability and transparency of adult educator qualifications in order to facilitate the access and progress in the career.Today, an increasing number of countries have introduced legal and institutional frameworks for validating non-formal and informal learning, and these have become an established element of the existing education and training systems. This general tendency to strengthen validation policies and practices does not hide the fact that several incoherencies and paradoxes remain.

Vocational training in Europe

This paper concerns the state of professionalization of adult education in Europe. The field of adult education is not clearly defined, but it is strictly linked and overlapped to other social sectors. A debate on the professionalization of this fi eld is scarce in all European countries. The field of adult education is characterized by a wide percentage of people dealing with adult learning part time or even by chance, and by a wide variety of working contexts where these people act. For a comparison on the fringe of the fi eld, a common ground can be more easily found in the sphere of vocational training carried out by players that work for adult learning: teaching, management, consultancy, planning, support and media are fields of activity which can be identifi ed in any European country. We think these fields of activity can be taken as starting points to identify the concrete professional tasks, the related abilities and the competence requirements in the sector of adult education.

Adult education and the human journey: an evolutionary perspective

This paper begins by stating that adult education is facing two challenges. First, adult educators need to help people learn to live in harmony with the environment. Second, adult education must assist people in identifying ways to live peacefully with diversity. It is then argued that currently the field of adult education is characterized by a tension between those who subscribe to the professionalization of adult education and those who subscribe to radical adult education. This tension, it is argued, can be better understood as a shift in the structure of human consciousness. This perspective is then explored using as examples the agrarian and scientific/industrial revolutions as historical turning points in the evolution of new organizing structures of consciousness. This is then followed by an in‐depth discussion of the new emerging structure of consciousness and vision‐logic, and a brief discussion of the implications for adult education.

Race, gender, and the politics of professionalization

AbstractSocietal patterns of racism and sexism are played out in the professionalization of adult education.

The Common Concern: Controlling the Professionalization of Adult Education

Using the findings from a study of the adult education handbooks, the purpose of this paper is to present an argument that university researchers in the field of adult education have relied upon a natural science model of empirical analysis to develop the knowledge base of adult education in order to control the development of the field as a profession. This professsionalization process depends upon using scientifically-derived knowledge to standardize professional practice and the training of practitioners in order to develop a market share in a service economy.

Professionalization of Adult Education: an Historical-Philosophical Analysis

Professionalization of Adult Education: an Historical-Philosophical Analysis