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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Transforming adult education from neo-liberal to holistically inclusive adult education in Baltic States

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description

In this chapter, we explore the data of nation-wide adult education programmes in three Baltic states. These programmes incorporate informal learning elements from the perspective of active participatory citizenship (APC) and, therefore, this provision aims to enhance opportunities for young adults in vulnerable positions. We posit that the concept of active participatory citizenship (EduMAP Concept Note 2017) that aims at developing young adults’ politico-legal, socio-cultural and socio-economic proactiveness could be used for illustrating these educational programmes from the holistic education aspects (Jarvis and Parker 2005). Holistic approach to adult education (AE) denotes that knowledge is a multi-faceted social construct which intertwines explicit, implicit and emancipatory (transformative) learning. Individual, social and organizational learning activities can unify persons’ conceptual, perceptual and affectual knowledge facets for personally meaningful learning (Yang 2003, 2006). According to Biesta (2015) education has multidimensional purpose: qualifying individuals with necessary knowledge, skills and dispositions, socializing them into social, cultural and political practices, and enhancing their own initiative and responsibility. As the starting point, the chapter gives an overview of the historical trends in adult education in the Baltic states, and the interpretation of the concept of lifelong learning and adult education. Next, it opens up the two case studies conducted in Estonia and Latvia during the Horizon 2020 project EduMap fieldwork undertaken in 2018. The chapter describes two national adult education practices that target all age groups, but we narrow our analysis down to highlight how these programmes promote learning for and learning through active participatory citizenship (APC) among young adults from vulnerable groups. Since the programmes have not been designed merely to aid the vulnerable adults, we posit that focusing on how the needs of this target group have been addressed, might highlight the general gaps of the programmes to offer holistic adult education for all. In both practices, we explore how different dimensions of APC are manifested in legal acts, programme documents, and among different stakeholders’ (policy-makers, adult educators and the young adults) viewpoints about the programme provision. The interviews with policy-makers, adult educators and the young adults from risk groups have been used to identify the holistic adult education approaches and the gaps in supporting young adults to become active participating citizens.