Transcript a European perspective

FACULTY OF EDUCATION
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
UNIVERSITY OF
WOLVERHAMPTON
Adult learning and education
in a time of austerity – a
European perspective
D R K ATA R I NA P O P OV I Ć , I C A E
W A L S A L L , F e b r u a r y 1 2 TH 2 0 1 6
Adult education in time of crises
 Long relation between crises and adult education...
 What kind of crises?
 What role of adult education
 Two approaches to austerity
and adult education
Adult education in European policy making
 Mainstream – vocational education and training
 Economic paradigm (human capital theory)
imported to education
 Education
learning
 Learning
up-skilling and re-skilling
 Adult education
lifelong learning
 Knowledge
skills
 People
human resources
Adult education in European policy making
 Inconsistente policy („Knowledge society“ = skilled
worker?? Knowledge-based economy = less
nvestment in education...)
 „Two legs“ of EU policy – integral or hypocritical
approach?
 Example: Flexicurity:
 Fast
changing technology demands more than
skills – no flexibility
 Only skills enable employment, but do not make
people employable – no security
Consequences:
 Adult education is not a trend-setter anymore
 Adult education is not ’dangerous’ anymore
 Adult education is not an agent of social change
anymore
 Conforming with the domination of wrong
paradigms and whitdrawal from the European and
global policy arena (also because of the inferiority
complex of the field)
Adult education doesn’t have another role to play in Europe...?
 PIAAC
 Unemployment...
 Widening gaps...
Do we have a problem?
REACTION ?
No, reaction was:
 More control, less human rights, less freedom of
speech...
 Manipulation of the attacks...
 The same after Copenhagen attackts, recents attacks
in Paris, Brussels...
 Good excuse for: Hungary, Poland, Denmark...
Utøya, Norway, July 22, 2011
What happened to the European
concept of adult education
 Reductive approach
 ALE as service to industry
 No transformative potential
 Limited empowering potential
EAEA Manifesto:
“Adult education
can help change
lives and transform
societies.”
TWO EXAMPLES:
Refugee crises
1. Adult education and the refugee crisis
Best practise examples
The city of Vienna and Viennese adult education centers provide information
modules twice a week for free for refugees on the topics « Living together »,
« Education », « Health », « Accomodation », « Social » in Arabic or
Farsi/Dari
 Wrong answer or wrong question:
 What should we do to stop the flow?
INSTEAD OF
 What have we done (or missed to do) to make it not
happen?
AND
 What we should do (or mustn’t do) now and in a
future to change it?
2. Eastern Europe /
Serbia
 The power of
non-formal and
informal adult
education and
learning
„RESISTANCE“ – social
movement and civic groups
against agression of the regime
and against the war – engaging
17
and empowering
people
Non-violent resistance
as the form of adult
education: making
noise during the prime
time news,
’enlightening’ citizens18
19
Street lectures, discussion clubs in
public spaces, performances as a
form of political/civic education
Today:
Real question:
IS IT REALLY ABOUT
EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY?
OR ABOUT POWER
RELATIONS?
Do these facts influence us and
should they influece our adult education
• The World's 85 Richest People Are as Wealthy as the

•
•
•
Poorest 3 Billion–they own more wealth than the
bottom half of the entire global population
Obesity is now killing triple the number of people who
die from malnutrition (Global Burden of Disease study –
’Lancet’)
Every minute 18 (15?...) people die of starvation in the
world
Officialy recorded capital outflows from developing
countries annually exceeded the money flowing to them
(Africa!)
Far more people in India have access to a cell phone
22
than to a toilet and improved sanitation
Does this world need re-newed
adult education?
• China's middle class is now the biggest in the world (’Credit

•
•
•
Suisse’)
2014: 42 active armed conflicts around the globe (The
economic impact of violence on the global economy in 2014
was substantial and is estimated at US$14.3 trillion or 13.4
per cent of world GDP)
Number of forcibly displaced worldwide: 59.5 million
Number of Refugees: 19.5 million
757 million illiterate adults in the world (32 million in the
USA), 3 billion functional illiterate
Look at some of the answers
 „We need to decide about the piorities, we cannot
cover everything“
 „Privatisation of education is solution for the
problems!“
 „Investing in adult education is not paying off“
 „Literacy is not a priority“
 „Let’s focus on quality, not on (adult) education“
 We need better indicators“!
Very popular answer: New skills is what we need!
(„Problem solving in technology-rich environments“ –
PIAAC), online learning, MOOCs...:
Aaron Benavot, GEMR
Any suggestions for the solution?
 Adult education (policy, researchers and practice)
taking more responsability
 ’Educational’ paradigm of education (ALE as the
agent of social change with the transformation
power)
 Reaffirming the role of ALE for the society
 New partnerships and aliances
 Strenghten professionalisation
 Re-include the values...