Task 2.1: The state of the art brings together the available research literature in the field, of national legislation and programmes in the EU, as well as of policy documents and specific programmes related to adult education in the EU 28 and Turkey provides context/facilitates selection of groups of respondents for WP3 and WP4 Task 2.2 An analysis of accessibility of adult education Focuses on the availability and accessibility of AE Aims to attain understanding of the nature of the limitations of AE

1. The projects is funded by the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme, Contract No. 693388
Adult education policies and practices in EU Member States
and Turkey – the relevance to young adults at risk of social
exclusion
Natasha Kersh (UCL Institute of Education) and Paula Kuusipalo (Tampere University),
EduMAP FINAL CONFERENCE
17 January 2019 Brussels
1

2. The project is funded by the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme, Contract No.
693388
Task 2.1: The state of the art
• brings together the available research literature in the field, of national
legislation and programmes in the EU, as well as of policy documents and
specific programmes related to adult education in the EU 28 and Turkey
• provides context/facilitates selection of groups of respondents for WP3 and
WP4
Task 2.2 An analysis of accessibility of adult education
• Focuses on the availability and accessibility of AE
• Aims to attain understanding of the nature of the limitations of AE
WP2: Broad Research on Adult Education in the
EU and Turkey: Desk Study

3. The project is funded by the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme, Contract No.
693388
Desk study: Task 2.1
A ’wider picture’ of adult education in the EU28 and Turkey- factors
that shapes policies and practices in relation to inclusion and active
citizenship of young adults in vulnerable positions
• Conceptions and national approaches – active citizenships and adult
education
• Strategies towards inclusion of VYA (Vulnerable Young Adults)
• Specific Programmes Related to Adult Education
• Definitions/concepts LLL, Adult Education, Vulnerability and Active
Citizenship

4. The project is funded by the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme, Contract No.
693388
Findings from desk study
• Influence of social and political discourses (Evans, 2009; Aspin et a 2012)
• In recent years, the policies for adult education have strongly been influenced
by global economic crisis and the humanitarian migration across the EU and
Turkey.
• Inclusion of VYAs has been related to addressing specific problems defined by
current national political, social or economic agendas (e.g. poor literacy level
or unemployment), rather than by specific needs of VYAs
• Active citizenship - is considered to provide a better understanding of social inclusion
and participation of vulnerable young people, where AC is…
• not seen entirely as a juridical issue but also in terms of people’s participation in political, social
and economic arenas. (Field and Schemmann, 2017 Biesta 2009; Tsitselikis & Pitkänen, 2007)
• With the exception of programmes for newly arrived migrants/refugees, the majority of adult education
courses do not demonstrate an explicit focus on citizenship education/skills. However:
• Three dimensions of active citizenship (economic, social and political), have characterised AE
programmes and initiatives.
• Often ‘citizenship’ is not used explicitly and/or may be embedded
4

5. The project is funded by the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme, Contract No.
693388
Inclusion of refugees
and migrants
NEETs
Socio-economic integration –
employability skills
Different types of AE have become important
tools for engagement and (re-)integration of
young adults into society.
Basic skills programmes
Second-chance education
Retraining
Vocational programmes
Informal learning/liberal education
Adult education -
response to specific needs
of young adults

6. The project is funded by the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme, Contract No.
693388
Further conclusions/recommendations
Awareness
Collaboration
Empowerment
and confidence
Improving active
citizenship
• Inclusion strategies need to be targeted to specific group need
• Setting social, political and economic aspects of AC
• Collaboration among a range of stakeholders is essential.
• Recognise complexity of vulnerability when creating the measures
• Consider vulnerability as a situation of risk (e.g. age, disability) rather than
a label to specific groups at risk of social exclusion
• action for promoting young women’s societal participation (e.g. Turkey)
• Facilitate co-operation, learning and partnerships between different
sectors and levels (European, national, regional)
Supply and use of adult education – meeting the needs of young
adults/providing accessible education opportunities – Task 2.2 Next…

7. The project is funded by the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme, Contract No.
693388
Development of an Intelligent
Decision Support System (IDSS)
• The research findings will be linked back to the educational practices
by developing an IDSS for the use of policymakers, educational
authorities and other relevant stakeholders
• The IDSS will cover broad information on adult education and
targeted information related to vulnerable groups
• More at IDSS presentation
7

8. The project is funded by the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme, Contract No.
693388
WP2WP5 Intelligent Decision Support System (IDSS) in EduMAP
• The aim is to build an Intelligent Decision Support System (IDSS)
prototype to aid policy makers to find out appropriate adult education
interventions for the young vulnerable so that these persons will be
empowered to alleviate the reasons of vulnerability and to become
active participatory citizens.
• Such an IDSS contains:
(1) Relevant data (individual, longitudinal, context bound)
(2) A computed model
(3) A user interface

9. The project is funded by the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme, Contract No.
693388
WP 2.2 Search for relevant data (individual,
longitudinal, context bound)
The task was to search for data that contains information on:
. Vulnerable Youth (individuals / conditions / situations?)
. Participation in adult education (provision / participants / follow-up
data)
. Active citizenship
Socio – economic (employment, participation in formal education,
taxes – level of income)
Socio – cultural (volunteering, self-initiated activities, autonomy)
Politico – legal (residence, juridical citizenship, political participation)
9

10. The project is funded by the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme, Contract No.
693388
WP 2 .2: Findings concerning data access and
availability
• different Member States reflects different traditions of governance and datThe data
availability in a gathering (register vs. survey based data)
• In some country cases OECD, UNESCO and EU data were identified as the primary
sources of information of participation in AE, indicating (1) that the international actors
are regarded as authoritative information sources and their data is used in government
decision-making, and (2) the taken-for-grantedness of international large-scale
comparison as a way of knowing (Gorur 2017)
• Different perception of ethical issues in Member States and organisations: privacy and
autonomy vs. easy access to information – if we don’t have access to participant data,
how is it possible to assess accountability of AE services and their impact for active
citizenship without numeric evidence?
• Even if we accepted European (and other large scale) survey data as information sources,
they have limitations in reaching vulnerability issues since (1) they are often numerically
marginal phenomena and (2) many vulnerable individuals are unreachable or ruled out
through survey methodology and design
• The socio-economic perspective dominates statistics concerning APC

11. The project is funded by the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme, Contract No.
693388
Further reading
The following deliverables are available on the EduMap website
• D 6.5 EduMap Policy Brief
• D 2.1 Broad Research on Adult Education in the EU
• Adult Education as a Means to Active Participatory Citizenship: A Concept Note
EduMap Book - Forthcoming in 2019
Kersh, N., Toiviainen, H., Pitkänen, P., and Zarifis, G. (forthcoming -2019) Adult education
and young adults at risk of social exclusion: towards active citizenship through civic,
social and economic participation, Springer ‘Lifelong Learning Book Series’
Scientific Article – Forthcoming in 2019
Kuusipalo, P., and Alastalo, M. (forthcoming -2019) The early school leaver count as a
policy instrument in EU governance: the un/intended effects of an indicator.
International Studies in Sociology of Education. Special issue: Escaping Numbers.