What role for non-formal adult education?
The above summary of the issue
contents prompts two big questions.
Firstly, is adult education,
especially in the form of non-formal, liberal adult education, a largely
untapped resource in treating youth unemployment?
Pia Cort writes how folk high schools are used
successfully in reintegrating marginalized youth back into education and work.
Haris Doukas tells us that Greece, through the Hellenic
Qualifications Framework, is validating non-formal learning as part of
work-life skills. Still it seems there could be many more instances where adult
education centres, study circles, folk high schools and such could play a
bigger role in alleviating unemployment.
The other question is also related
to non-formal learning. If, as we read, Europe is facing a major realignment of
higher education along the lines of labour market needs, will the university’s
status as the quintessential seat of learning erode? Will the Humboldtian
ideals of free learning and bildung, even slow learning, fade out?
If so, non-formal adult education,
where the student learns for learning’s sake, could be the heir apparent of the
university. In this scenario, an adult education centre could play a far
greater role in the bildung of an individual than any formal seat of higher
learning.
The voice of adult educators should be more audible in the public debate of curbing youth unemployment. That is background for the first issue of the web-magazine LLinE produced in cooperation with InfoNet. The main article of the magazine is a unique overview of youth unemployment in 18 European countries.
The voice of adult educators should be more audible in the public debate of curbing youth unemployment. That is background for the first issue of the web-magazine LLinE produced in cooperation with InfoNet. The main article of the magazine is a unique overview of youth unemployment in 18 European countries.
LLinE, issue 1/2013, is a combined product of LLinE and InfoNet. It
examines what has to change in education and policy to turn the tide of youth
unemployment. (LLinE, issue 1/2013, Youth unemployment
).
Parallel
to participating in the production of this issue of LLinE, InfoNet
correspondents has uploaded about 20 new articles on the InfoNet website since Newsletter 1/2013.
