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Regional capacity for Adult Learning and Education

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RegALE Study Visit to London, May 2022: "Campaigning and Advocacy"

Co-written by Aslan Liivak, ENAEA, Estonia and L&W, the UK.

Campaigning and advocacy play crucial roles in promoting change, raising awareness, and advancing various social, political, and environmental causes. They are essential tools for individuals, organizations, and communities seeking to address important issues and influence decision-makers. Our study trip to London was focused on those very important issues from a practical point of view, starting from planning to actual hands-on tips when trying to engage with media. Our guides through these topics were Alex Stevenson and Sarah Perry, our hosts from RegALE’s UK partner Learning and Work Institute (L&W).  The event took place at City Lit, a nationally leading provider of adult education based in London’s Covent Garden.


We started our first day with a seminar about campaigning, using L&W’s Festival of Learning and Adult Learners’ Week campaigns as case studies.  Campaigning means to get the message out. To get the message out about lifelong learning, it is of utmost important to raise awareness. A good campaign on lifelong learning is also about making people to see their own potential. So, it is about the need for education that benefits learners and all of society.


Then we covered the advocacy part.  This session was led by L&W’s Deputy Chief Executive, Naomi Phillips. Comparing advocacy and campaigning, advocacy is a long-term strategy and campaigning is a tactical step to fulfill that strategy. As with advocacy, campaigning is successful if it also has an impact on policymaking – changes in laws, regulations, and government policies.


The second day of the visit was about practical tips and ways to engage and work with the media. We had an interactive session with Shane Chowen, the editor of FE Week, a specialist newspaper which reports on adult education and the learning and skills sector. Also, we learned about the history and future of City Lit, including a tour around the City Lit building and facilities, guided by Mark Malcolmson, City Lit’s principal.


I have to give a shout out to London’s City Lit for providing an excellent venue, and the opportunity to see the ‘behind the scenes’ side of how City Lit operates. Also thanks to Alex and Sarah for this wonderful opportunity to learn from L&W’s experience. By the end of the visit, we got a lot of useful tips, spent time with a lot of great people and got to enjoy a bit of warm spring in London along the way.

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SAVE THE DATE: Workshop on Lifelong learning for local sustainable growth: Policy and Practices for the Green Transition

Practical Details:

11 October 2023 | 11.30 – 12.30h | Mont Des Art, The Square, 1000 Brussels, Room 206 | Capacity of Room: 52

Short Description:

The workshop will propose an exchange on initiatives that empower local & regional authorities, businesses, and communities to develop the skills needed to achieve a carbon-neutral local economy. Participants will reflect upon a roadmap for building capacity in Adult Learning Education
that was piloted in Europe in the context of the REGALE project, in addition to hearing from practices on building good public-private partnerships, including the example of Skillnet Ireland and Cork City.

Context of the REGALE project:

The workshop is being held in the context of the policy recommendations developed by the Erasmus+ KA3 RegALE – Regional Capacity for Adult Learning and Education – consortium. The policy recommendations are related to the challenges and opportunities of the adult education sector at the regional and local level, and the gaps and needs of the adult learning and education staff to use them for the future steps of the project.

Speakers:

Speakers Include:

  • Kieran McCarthy, Independent member of the Committee of the Regions and Independent Councilor, Cork City Council (Ireland)
  • Aoife O’Sullivan, Head of Network development and innovation at Skillnet Ireland
  • Davide Muraro, Policy and Project Coordinator, EAEA
  • Iva Janežić, Varaždin County
Register here

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PILOTING: Varaždin County is forming Center for education of adults for gifted preschoolers

Written by Iva Janežič, Varaždin county.

By establishing a Professional Development Center for gifted preschool children, meaning clear vertical from kindergarten through primary and secondary education and beyond, Varaždin County is leading the way in caring for and working with gifted children. This Croatian region has already formed 14 centres of excellence over the past 15 years, and five more professional centres of excellence in the last year. They systematically work with children of primary and secondary school age.

Now by forming a Professional Development Centre for Gifted Children where kindergarten teachers will receive a specific type of education their goal is to start working with gifted children from the kindergarten age in order to detect child’s talents at that early age and enable their further development. They also want to encourage all kindergartens in the north of Croatia to take care of children’s talents from an early age. For these purposes a gathering of representatives of Associates of Kindergartens in Northern Croatia (from five counties: Varaždin, Međimurje, Koprivnica-Križevačka, Krapina-Zagorje and Bjelovar-Bilogora) was organized.

First meeting was held in March on the occasion of the Giftedness Day in order to connect people on this unique topic and provide them with sufficient information from eminent experts and persons who deal with giftedness in the field of preschool education.

The second meeting was organized in June where founders, directors of the kindergarten and county representatives gathered and a team to create program guidelines was formed. Robert Kelemen, director of the public institution “European Talent Center Croatia – Centers of Excellence of Varaždin County” explained that intention is to set up a network for talent development that would become nationally recognizable.

"We want to raise the level of competence of educators as well and enable them to recognize gifted children and standardize practices in kindergartens so that we do not lose talents at the transition from kindergarten to school. Trained educators dedicated to work with the gifted will have a crucial role here."
Robert Kelemen,
Director of the public institution "European Talent Center Croatia - Centers of Excellence of Varaždin County"

Head of the Administrative Department for Education, Culture and Sports of Varaždin County, Ph.D. Miroslav Huđek referred to a past work of the Centers of excellence, as well as future plans.

"Every community, whether it is state, a county or another, must have the ability to create talents, but also the ability to retain them later once when they finish their education. This program was designed with this goal in mind. The vertical goes from kindergartens to primary and secondary schools, and there is a part when all our young gifted people finish their education to motivate them to come back as well."
Ph.D. Miroslav Huđek
Head of the Administrative Department for Education, Culture and Sports of Varaždin County

The person in charge of the organization and development of this network will be Dr. sc. Jasna Cvetković-Lay, whose area of speciality is early identification and creation of gifted programs. She introduced the audience to the scientific concept and the work materials necessary for the implementation of the program that encourages the giftedness of children of early and preschool age.

"This networking is a great initiative and we have to take advantage of it. Searching for talents is necessary, and it is possible to spot them already in preschool age. I am glad that I have the opportunity to share my knowledge with you and I believe that we will expand the knowledge of educators about the phenomenon of giftedness and help them to spot such children in their educational groups in a timely manner." and "Even the most famous people were children and if they weren’t recognized early enough, with their abilities and talents and not being further expertly monitored and encouraged, the result would have failed. That’s why it is best to start from kindergarten, from preschool age. Of course, this work is the most specific, because it is very demanding to correctly identify children at this age. But it can be done. Now Varaždin County will have experts in identifying and encouraging giftedness in preschool age that will secure an advantage over other regions."
Dr. sc. Jasna Cvetković-Lay

Additional links

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"Through REGALE to knowledge about community learning in Ireland"

Written by Iva Janežić, Varaždin county.  The original text is available in Croatian.

As part of the RegALE project, which  aims to increase the effects of adult education organizations by establishing or strengthening networks among them and with regional/local authorities, a study visit to Ireland was held where participants had the opportunity to learn
about community education.

It is student-centred adult learning that takes place in local communities across Ireland. The participants were introduced to successful examples of such education, i.e. the engagement of adults who want to return to education, but may not have the confidence or opportunity to do so in a formal environment. Therefore, such “communities” offer them numerous opportunities for developing skills, building self-confidence, ensuring greater community participation and progress towards further education or employment.

Moreover, participants also got to know in detail the educational network of the AONTAS community, founded in 2007. It is a network of over 100 independently managed community education providers who collaborate, share information and resources, participate in professional development, and ensure that community education is valued and resourced through advocacy activities.

On the first day, a meeting and workshop on the preparation of the Erasmus+ projects was held as part of the meeting of AONTAS, so that those present from different European countries could better understand community education in Ireland and the functioning of this educational network.

On the second day, two community education centers in Dublin (DALC and SOILSE) were visited so that representatives of different educational institutions from abroad got to know from the first-hand how these organizations work. DALC annually educates around 650 adults who have left school early and are given a second chance for education. For some, this is an opportunity to improve their own literacy skills, while for others, it is an opportunity to gain accreditation and improve employment prospects. SOILSE, on the other hand, provides a holistic rehabilitation service for people in various stages of recovery from drug addiction, which includes addiction education, group recovery sessions, individual care planning, career guidance and continuing educational support for those going on to further education.

On behalf of the Varaždin County, advisor for development programs Iva Janežić, from the Administrative Department for Education, Culture and Sports, and English teacher Tihana Dvorski Kralj from high school “Arboretum Opeka Marčan” participated in the study visit.

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"Travel to learn": GO!'s experience in Lucca

Written by GO! colleagues. This article includes only an excerpt of the original text. The original text is available in Dutch.

Anyone who wants to help determine policy in their industry must know what is going on and what is needed. If that sector is education, you cannot do without listening to the voice from the schools. Initially in Flanders itself. But learning more about things abroad and seeing how they do things can also be useful. Some colleagues therefore moved to Europe at the end of last school year. Gerd De Roeck (central services GO!, HR policy) went on a study trip to Aalborg in Denmark, Daisy Denolf and Davy Vandenberk (central services GO!, adult education) and some CVO colleagues ended up in Lucca, Italy. And Peter Goyvaerts (central services GO!, Network-wide support and Development) went to Bilbao in Spain together with the management council and general managers of the school groups. We asked them about their experiences.

Where did you go for the study trip and why exactly did you choose this destination?

The study trip to Lucca was a joint initiative, a joint venture between the Adult Education team at the central services and the directors of the 10 GO! Centers for Adult Education. The study trip was part of our Erasmus+ accreditation for adult education. With this collaboration they had two major objectives: on the one hand, they wanted to promote cross-class and subject-breaking work in various degrees of contact and distance education. This also included realizing 100% distance learning with the option for students to put together a package. On the other hand, they aimed to close the digital divide and stimulate online learning for disadvantaged groups. In other words: promoting inclusion in adult education. And of course, this collaboration also served to strengthen the ties between the directors of the (remaining) GO! CVOs , after the heavy restructuring wave that took place between September 2017 and September 2020.

The study trip to Lucca was a second study trip with this group. A year ago they went to Dublin together. This time the trip was prepared by Davy Vandenberk and Marleen Mast. Marleen is director of GO! CVO Crescendo (Mechelen). Marleen has had a network in Lucca for some time and contacts with the Ufficio Scolastico Regionale per la Toscana. For this study visit, Marleen, together with Davy, continued to build on the contacts she has already established with a view to sharing knowledge and expertise regarding adult education and lifelong learning in Tuscany and Italy in general and the two objectives mentioned in particular.

What were the educational themes discussed during the study trip?

One of the issues discussed during our study visit was quality control of education and how you can introduce a different method. The financing of education in Italy and more specifically adult education was also discussed. What role does higher government play, which role is reserved for private initiatives and regional actors? Finally, we also talked about inclusion in lifelong learning.

How can the approach to the educational themes discussed during the study trip

in the country or region of your destination be reconciled with the direction we are taking with the GO!?

They focused on inclusion, among other things, by visiting initiatives and projects such as Club Job in Lucca, where – a form of – second chance education was set up for young people who are at risk of ending up in a NEET situation. The structured approach with a view to avoiding unqualified outflow is a learning point for the Belgian delegation.

In the Polo scientifico Tecnico Professionale ‘E. Fermi – G. Giorgi’ they visited, among other things, the Chef Lab, there was a fully equipped kitchen that was built with the aim of making students self-reliant in the kitchen with the ultimate goal of living independently. The design of the kitchen was that the students use and maintain the space independently, whereby the students are guided in the cooking or baking process by a presentation and supported with a written and visually supported recipe book. The technical institute is very committed to inclusion, where in addition to the Chef Lab, 1-on-1 guidance was also provided for students with specific needs.

How would you like to see the knowledge or inspiration gained flow through to GO!?

The composition of the delegation, especially the broad group of GO! stakeholders in adult education, is in itself a guarantee of the flow of the knowledge acquired.

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NEW PUBLICATION: RegALE at the ESREA Conference on “New seeds for a world to come. Policies, practices and lives in adult education and learning”

10th ESREA Triennial Conference University of Milano Bicocca, Department of Human Sciences for Education

29 September - 1 October 2022

The ESREA community celebrated 30 years of ESREA. The 10th Triennial conference New seeds for a world to come was a great opportunity to gather together, look back with satisfaction, look forward with hope, and enhance a sense of belonging to this community.

In the conference call, they mentioned the “dramatic changes” that were (and are) going on in individual and collective lives, bringing unexpected revisions of common educational and cultural practices, and compelling everyone to deal with the experience of the pandemic, and its consequences. However, they also stated our desire to make the Conference “a positive reflexive moment to look at the future, to mobilize the best energies of adult education research and intervention, and interrogate the controversial, nonlinear effects of the ongoing ecological, economic, and social changes”.

RegALE contribution

The RegALE consortium presented an article titled Survey on Adult Learning and Education Policies and Practices. Opinions of European Regional and Local Stakeholders and can be found on page 107 of the publication. 

Abstract

The opinions European local and regional stakeholders have about the actual situation and the future perspectives of adult learning and education is the object of the international survey herein reported. The goal of the RegALE survey (Regional capacity for adult learning and education) was to get a multilayered view on the challenges and opportunities of the adult education sector at the regional and local level, and gaps and needs of the adult education and learning staff. Using the Delphi method technique, a questionnaire was structured for adult learning policies assessment, drawing on a study by the European Commission (2015), to assess the basic factors influencing the participation in adult education and learning, and staff’s capability to deliver an adequate skills supply both for individuals (equity) and for society (sustainability), at this time (pandemic and Next generation Europe’ implementation). RegALE survey was primarily addressed to public and private experts and stakeholders from 12 European countries. 241 professionals took part remotely, being: 67 politicians and professionals involved in adult education and learning governance at a regional and local level (28%), and 174 professionals responsible for leading, managing and coordinating adult education organizations (AEOs) (72%). Data analysis and interpretation indicated six success factors of the European framework related to five domains: i) Policies, systems, investments, organizations. ii) Adult learning supply, demand and workforce. iii) Disadvantaged groups. iv) Vertical and horizontal governance. v) Internationalization of adult learning organizations. These might have an impact on the development of European cities and regions, as well as on the provision of an adequate adult learning supply, as long as they are accompanied by networks and cooperation of stakeholders on a local level, enabling individual and community growth.

KEYWORDS: learning exclusion equilibrium, governance in adult learning and education, clusters