Based on comparative adult education statistics offered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and country case studies, this book analyses the policies and structures that foster adult learning. It examines a variety of forms of adult learning, ranging from initial forms of post-compulsory education, such as upper secondary tracks and tertiary education, to firm training, compensatory adult education and learning for civic and leisure oriented purposes. Throughout the book, adult learning systems are directly linked to a variety of structural and public policy frameworks using a comparative welfare state approach. Themes such as pathways to learning and transition systems, participation patterns in higher education and participation patterns in other organized forms of adult learning are covered. The countries discussed are the UK, the USA, Korea, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands. Situated at the intersection between scholarship and policy and using a mixed-methods approach, this title contributes fundamental insights into the further study of policies and structures related to alternative post-compulsory learning pathways.

This book explores the formation and development of the cross-national patterns of adult learning systems between 1989 and 2019 in four Central European countries: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. Drawing on the approach of the political economy of adult education and historical institutionalism, the book closely examines (1) how the institutional settings in these countries have formed, evolved and contributed to overall participation in adult education and training, (2) how they have shaped patterns of participation and unequal chances to be involved in this social activity, as well as (3) perceived barriers to access organized learning and related governmental policies. This book offers a contemporary overview of key findings regarding adult learning systems. It delves into the factors that influence participation in adult education and training. Through the utilization of the novel framework, GALS (Global Adult Learning Space), the book not only highlights a crucial distinction among adult learning systems within the region but also presents in-depth case studies of these systems in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia spanning a 30-year period. Despite these countries sharing similar institutional backgrounds and societal challenges, the book reveals that their adult learning systems have undergone divergent trajectories over the past three decades. This book will be useful to researchers and scholars in the fields of adult education, comparative education, welfare policy, sociology of education, and European studies.

With digitalisation, deepening globalisation and population ageing, the world of work is changing. The extent to which individuals, firms and economies can harness the benefits of these changes critically depends on the readiness of adult learning systems to help people develop relevant skills ...

Based on comparative adult education statistics offered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and country case studies, this book analyses the policies and structures that foster adult learning. It examines a variety of forms of adult learning, ranging from initial forms of post-compulsory education, such as upper secondary tracks and tertiary education, to firm training, compensatory adult education and learning for civic and leisure oriented purposes. Throughout the book, adult learning systems are directly linked to a variety of structural and public policy frameworks using a comparative welfare state approach. Themes such as pathways to learning and transition systems, participation patterns in higher education and participation patterns in other organized forms of adult learning are covered. The countries discussed are the UK, the USA, Korea, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands. Situated at the intersection between scholarship and policy and using a mixed-methods approach, this title contributes fundamental insights into the further study of policies and structures related to alternative post-compulsory learning pathways.

In the formerly colonial world, the discourse of development has established an almost unquestioned intellectual and political dominance. Adult educators, their purposes and their programmes, are inevitably deeply shaped by this fact. Frank Youngman believes that adult educators need to have an understanding of the various different theories of development, and how different development strategies and biases impact on their own work. The purpose of his book is to provide a theory of applied political economy to explain the interface between society and adult education in developing countries. The author's own approach is broadly influenced by the Marxist tradition, but one that seeks to transcend many of the limitations and rigidities often prevalent in the past. He introduces adult educators to the main competing theories of development - the modernisation, dependency, neo-liberal and various alternative approaches. He then demonstrates the power of his analytical tools by examining a variety of specific issues affecting adult education. These include the impact of foreign aid, social inequalities (notably class, gender and ethnic inequalities), and the relationship between state and civil society in peripheral capitalist societies. The book draws on a wealth of empirical information and case studies from various parts of the world, but with particular attention to the country which the author knows best, Botswana. Its signal contribution is its elaboration of a theory of the political economy of adult education in the context of development and its demonstration of the applicability of this theoretical framework, including its usefulness in generating appropriate research agendas.

How do you tailor education to the learning needs of adults? Do they learn differently from children? How does their life experience inform their learning processes? These were the questions at the heart of Malcolm Knowles’ pioneering theory of andragogy which transformed education theory in the 1970s. The resulting principles of a self-directed, experiential, problem-centred approach to learning have been hugely influential and are still the basis of the learning practices we use today. Understanding these principles is the cornerstone of increasing motivation and enabling adult learners to achieve. The 9th edition of The Adult Learner has been revised to include: Updates to the book to reflect the very latest advancements in the field. The addition of two new chapters on diversity and inclusion in adult learning, and andragogy and the online adult learner. An updated supporting website. This website for the 9th edition of The Adult Learner will provide basic instructor aids including a PowerPoint presentation for each chapter. Revisions throughout to make it more readable and relevant to your practices. If you are a researcher, practitioner, or student in education, an adult learning practitioner, training manager, or involved in human resource development, this is the definitive book in adult learning you should not be without.

The book examines skill systems and vocational training in a number of coordinated market economies, analysing historical origins and contemporary developments. As well as case studies on Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Denmark, it also contains comparative chapters exploring reactions to common challenges.

Over its lifetime, 'political economy' has had different meanings. This handbook views political economy as a synthesis of the various strands of social science, treating it as the methodology of economics applied to the analysis of political behaviour and institutions.