EAEA

1
EAEA

• European AE Research
• Look towards the future
• ERDI General Assembly, 2004

2
Questions to be answered

• 1. Who define the research agenda on adult
  learning?
• Adult learners, practitioners, researchers,
  authorities, corporations or any others?
• 2. What about the autonomy of research and
  scientific objectives?
• Research and expertise
• -as business is determined by the orders or
• -responds to the challenges of the critical
  issues of present society.
• The moral and social mission of science.
• 3. Are the results of adult learning research
  relevant from the point of view of challenges of
  current European practice?
• 4. Are the findings of research available for the
  target group of practitioners?

3

• ..not only the economic competitiveness of
  Europe should be strengthened through research
  and innovation. What needs to be strengthened
  also in a truly international and global context
  is the compatibility of European institutions,
  values and forms of solidarity that Europe has
  developed over time.
• Helga Nowotny, Prague
• Unity and Diversity the Contribution of the
  Social Sciences and the Humanities to the
  European Research Area, 2001

4
Challenges of adult learning research

• The research agenda most funded in adult learning
  is defined by the economic interests related to
  human resources.
• An overview of research achievements (resources
  in hand) is not available for the practice.
• The research workshops of adult learning still
  represent a small group compared to the whole
  research world
• Is there efficient networking between research
  organisations in order to put better focus on key
  issues?
• Bridges between research and practice in adult
  learning are missing
• Dissemination of research findings in the
  training of facilitators of adult learning is weak

5
Socio-economic ResearchEducation and Training
Project Clusters

• The Fourth and the Fifth EU Framework Programmes
  (FP4 and FP5) funded more than 55 research
  projects and thematic networks that address
  directly issues of Education and Training.
  Briefing papers summarising the results of
  individual projects http//www.pjb.co.uk/npl/inde
  x.htm.

6

• Cluster 1. Education and Labour Market Change
• The Dynamics of Education to
• Work Transitions in Europe
• Cluster 2. Education, equity and social
  exclusion
• Cluster 3. Monitoring and Evaluation of
• Research in Learning Innovations
  (MERLIN)
• Cluster 4. Synergy between Practitioners' needs
  and opportunities
• Cluster 5. Towards the Learning
  Economy-conclusions
• from FP4 and FP5 projects to shape
• European policies in Education and
  Training

7
European research on learning

• European research on learning exists under the
  Sixth EU Framework Programme (2003-2006)
  supported under priority 7 ( Citizens and
  Governance in the Knowledge based Society
  www.cordis.lu/citizens/
• The next call for proposals of priority 7 will
  be published in late 2004.

8
Is there a strategy for adult learning research?

• The Communication "Investing in research an
  action plan for Europe" adopted by the European
  Commission on 30 April 2003, aiming at increasing
  investment in European RD to approach 3 of GDP
  by 2010.
• Do we have an idea about the proportion of
  funding for adult learning research within the
  whole budget of adult learning?

9
A Mobility Strategy for the European Research Area

• The Commission Communication A Mobility
  Strategy for the European Research Area
• (ERA)aims at enhancing the living and working
  environment of researches in order to
• attract and maintain a high level of human
  resources in research.
• Researchers mobility portal http//europa.eu.in
  t/eracareers
• More efficient provision of practical,
  customised assistance to mobile researchers
• through the European network of mobility centres.

10
Mobility and European co-operation

• Benchmarking exercise in order to examine the
  key aspects of research policy
• development of statistic studies in order to
  monitor the fluxes of researchers.
• The second line of action concerns financial
  measures in order to reach a critical
• mass of mobile researchers.
• Resource WORKING GROUP
• MOBILITY AND EUROPEAN CO-OPERATION
• PROGRESS REPORT

11
Challenges of the Lisbon Strategy in the work of
the Concrete Objectives of the Education and
Training systems in Europe

• 1. Promising and demanding policy aims since 2000
  without practice oriented research which supports
  implementation
• Poorly selected indicators on measuring and
  superficially selected benchmarks on
• objectives aimed at 2010 are available
• 3. Low level research exists on inclusive adult
  learning, learning for socially excluded groups
  in general

12
Challenges of the Listbon Strategy

• Deficient statistical data on international
• comparability of adult learning in many fields
  (participation, non-participation, investment in
  adult learning )
• 5. The practice of non-formal and informal
  learning basically lacks evidences on its
  importance, methods, assessment and techniques
• 6. Quality indicators of lifelong learning are
  quite weak and inappropriate for practice
  development
• 7. Studies on investment in learning focus mostly
  on human resources development, research on
  social capital is missing on an operational level

13
Demanding research issues of adult learning from
the view of practice

• 1. Policy formation of lifelong learning
• 2. Validation, assessment of non-formal and
  informal learning
• 3. Guidance and counselling on individual
  lifelong learning paths
• 4. Techniques of needs analyses of adults
• 5. Surveys on participation and
  non-participation
• 6. Tools for motivation of non-traditional adult
  learners
• 7. Funding regime of adult learning
• 8. European dimensions of competence development
  of staff
• Extension of Europe
• Theme Challenges to EU enlargement
• Theme The challenge of globalisation

14
Recommendations for future adult learning
research

• 1. Make opportunities for a discourse on
  co-operation in a joint research strategy by
  identifying some key issues until 2010 and beyond
• 2. Involve all possible stakeholders including
  adult learning providers (practitioners) and the
  organisations of
• learners which may have influence on a
• European and policy level
• 3. Find consensus on some relevant themes in the
• framework of the
• Lisbon Strategy in order to improve research
  funding and its policy consequences
• 4. Develop a set of quality indicators for the
  evaluation of the results of adult learning
  research (application of the open method of
  co-ordination to the Barcelona objective)

15

• Make joint efforts for the accessibility and
  transparency
• of results for practitioners through the
  Internet, joint publications, regular info
  service, forums, regular training.
• Make joint efforts to raise the number of
  researchers and research in the field of adult
  learning in the framework
• of the EU research agenda
• Have joint research projects around the key
  questions
• of practice together with research institutes,
  universities,
• adult learning providers.
• Develop the lifelong learning research agenda and
• co-operation for regions out of Europe
• Dr. Janos Sz. Toth
• President of the EAEA