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Theme 4: Policy,
Legislation and Financing for Adult Education
The ICAE Executive decided in its last
meeting that as one of the thematic contributions to the next UNESCO
World Conference on Adult Education, Brazil 2009 (CONFINTEA VI),
policy, legislation, and financing are of great importance from a
civil society as well as a professional perspective.Policy, Legislation and Financing for Adult Education Background Note for the ICAE Virtual Seminar in Preparation for CONFINTEA VI Paul Belanger Heribert Hinzen Chris Duke 1. Education and Training for Youth and Adults as part of Lifelong Learning 1.1 It is widely accepted that adult learning within lifelong learning is a key factor for economic and social development, as well as being a human right. New policies for adult learning should result in coherent legislation, and laws which clearly spell out ways and means for financing adult learning activities, involving public, private and civil society agencies as well as the individual. 1.2 Taking into account the vast transversal social demand for adult learning across all sectors of human activities and throughout adult life, adult learning then becomes predominant on national educational scenes. One wonders, then, why it takes so much time to readjust the education policy environment to this changing reality? 1.3 There are strong arguments for adopting a two-pronged approach in the development of a national and international lifelong learning policy framework: first, formal initial education, general and vocational, including preschool education, and second, adult learning that includes adult literacy and basic education, work-related adult learning and training, and social and cultural adult learning. Both are important, both for the individual and for society. 1.4 Adult learning provision in most countries is however insufficient either in quantity or in quality to meet the social demand. Often the statistical monitoring remains too limited in scope and out of date to fully observe the situation. All countries face similar challenges: how to increase and sustain participation rates; how to stimulate the motivation of prospective learners; how to shape a system of adult learning and training for youth and adults; and how to create conditions which will ensure higher levels of participation and fairer opportunities for all citizens. 1.5 As higher adult participation is required to enhance and expand human potential, and to allow each citizens to participate fully in her or his community, special attention has to be paid to those who are excluded: those who did not have the conditions to be successful in school and vocational education; those who could not attend schools in the first part of their life; women who, doubling up as workers and caretakers for family and children, lack sufficient time; households where the low level of income makes it financially impossible, etc. 1.6 How can people continuously improve their skills and knowledge, and thus ensure better their right to work, without providing continuous high quality general and vocational training for youth and adults, and without the conditions for people to participate therein? How can we support people’s mobility without providing language and intercultural skills training? Adult learning within a lifelong learning concept fosters active citizenship, strengthens personal growth and secures social inclusion, thus going far beyond employability skills. Our lifelong learning project includes all of these. 2. Why does Adult Learning not get the support that it deserves? 2.1 Governments almost without exception have initial education policies for schools and higher education. Usually there is legislation for both, with financial provision, though often not enough. As confirmed in the last UNESCO World Report, the situation has improved, but still nearly one hundred million children do not have access to initial education, and a majority of people hardly terminate their basic education. 2.2 On the adult learning scene, the situation is critical: lack of adult learning policies, limited resources allocated. Moreover a global social divide tends to emerge, with lifelong learning in the first and second world, whereas the third world struggles with meagre resources even to ensure basic adult literacy provision. 2.3 Part of the difficulty is said to be the complexity of what is described as the adult education and training scene: there are so many players, none of which wants to be regulated or controlled by others. Yet why should learning among older people suffer such severe constraints in the lifelong learning era? 2.4 There is much evidence to show that participation rates in adult learning tend to be higher among adults with higher initial education. Those better qualified are more likely to continue upgrading knowledge and skills via adult continuing education lifelong, at least throughout their working lives. Policy and legislation, good organisation and adequate finances are needed to support a change, so that non-participants in adult education and training, who also tend to be the under- or unemployed, get special support. 2.5 Lifelong learning, including all forms of education and training at all levels, is an essential tool for the improvement of employability as well as of active and creative citizenship. Bridges are needed between formal and non-formal education institutions and agencies. Each provider should play an appropriate role: public and private schools, colleges and universities, voluntary bodies, companies, vocational training centres. Policy debate should centre much more on investment in people and their education by governments, employers and the learners themselves. Governments need to consider the education of adults more as an investment rather than merely a cost. More innovative mechanisms for learners’ accounts, loans and saving schemes should be piloted and evaluated. 2.6 No one kind of institution can manage all this alone. We have and need a mix of contributions from different sources. A substantial proportion of resources may be essential from Government and public sources, only partly because most taxpayers are adults. A more diversified and inter-ministerial approach to policy and resources in the education sector is needed, making it a wider shared public responsibility to support adults’ learning. Partnership and cost-sharing are essential. 2.7 Usually adults already contribute as individuals via fees. Not all courses can cost the same; some should be free, or subsidized for certain groups. Within the private sector many companies see the further education and training of their employees as an investment in their human resources. The investment may not be high enough, and it is commoner among larger companies. The small and medium enterprise sector does very little. Privatizing adult education financing has unavoidable limits, even though individual and company contributions have always provided a significant share.A regulation of the market is needed to ensure accessibility, relevance and quality. 2.8 Many different models for financing adult education have recently appeared in different countries. The consensus, looking at the social demand and the available responses, is that at least a basic level of public funding is essential to achieve accessibility and the necessary quality. Some favour funding the individual more directly, through grant schemes and learning accounts. 2.9 What are the implications for the policy, organisation and financing of adult learning and training? What sort of structural support is needed? Is it more financial input to the providing institutions, more incentives for the individuals, or a mix of both? 3. What kinds of support structures should governments provide? 3.1 As our societies move through this era of globalization there is a dearth of clear thinking about the adult learning agenda of the near future. We need a qualified labour force, but what are the qualifications required for the future labour scene? How will it be possible for women and men to voice their own learning needs and aspirations? Often we re-train unemployed adults for jobs that disappear. Who knows best which adult education and training programmes will anticipate and not merely follow labour market changes, including mastering the information technologies successfully? 3.2 We need government involvement in adult learning as much as in other parts of the education system, and across all dimensions of adult learning, going beyond policy, legislation and financing to include support to informal and self learning, and the recognition of prior and experiential learning. We need much more acceptance of Government’s role in supporting non-governmental (NGO) providers in adult education and other community-based organisations (CBO). These represent a world of diverse situations and needs, especially of excluded groups and neglected issues: from civic and environmental concerns to business-oriented training, from farmers’ associations to workshops on gender mainstreaming, courses run by churches and trade unions. Many reach where neither Government nor employers can reach. In total this activity amounts to much more than any Government does or could do. NGOs need full recognition, respect and often support. 3.3 The role of universities is changing. Many are becoming lifelong learning institutions, not always consciously. The range of post-graduate degrees and diplomas is ever wider. Universities need to think of community engagement and not just individual students. A new balance is needed between older extramural work and the many new academic studies for adult students. As universities’ role in adult learning continues to widen, the concept and practice of lifelong learning should be at the heart of policy and mission, not left to an often peripheral unit. More research is needed to develop adult learning and adult education as a strong academic discipline, for upgrading teaching and supporting staff, and to prepare future generations of adult education professionals. 3.4 In terms of trans-national analysis and benchmarking, indicators are now being developed. This is difficult to do, especially going beyond the more formal and institutionalized providers. It is important to support the development of a more comprehensive system to collect relevant statistics nationally as well as globally, as a basis for monitoring performance and developing policy and even legislation. 4. What can we learn from recent developments and experiences? ICAE is far from alone in advocating improvement in this complex area of policy, legislation, and financing. In preparation for Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2008, some 25 papers were commissioned on non-formal education (NFE) in a variety of countries. Four lead questions were posed for each country (see www.efareport.unesco.org ): · · · · 5. Outputs expected from the Virtual Seminar 5.1 We expect contributions that are important for all areas of adult learning, non-formal, formal or informal, including a more general or vocational education or re-training perspective. Attention may be given to new forms of e- and blended learning. Different dimensions and responsibilities of governments, stakeholders, providers, and learners should be included. The virtual seminar should therefore encompass a wide geographical and political spread, and include governmental, NGO and private sectors, national and the local levels, andprofessional service institutions. 5.2 Inequality remains very central. Despite policy, legislative and financial attention to equal opportunities for women as well as for men, and for disabled persons and different minorities, there is still inequality. We need to document this reality, analyse the reasons, and suggest changes, no doubt including special financial support.As important is the participation of civil society in the formation of future policies. 5.3 The seminar aims to collect information on policies and legislation, structures of organizing, and the financing adult learning. Interesting models have been developed by Governments, by NGOs and CBOs, and by all sorts ofother providers. There are frameworks for smaller and larger companies, for successful learners as well as returning dropouts, funds or saving accounts for financing education, schemes for tax reduction and for investments in education, and efforts to relate different legislative requirements closer to what a system of lifelong learning requires. There is growing interest in viewing adult learning as both an investment and a right. However, knowledge is still limited about the resources needed and how they are best provided, how the adult education sector works in all member countries, and what works best. 6. Invitation Colleagues who are interested to contribute to the Virtual seminar are invited to get into contact with the ICAE Secretariat. Please send us your ideas, suggestions, opinions, research results, materials and documents. Later we will decide how to include contributions and findings in the ICAE Document for the regional pre-conferences in 2008 and the global CONFINTEA VI in Brazil in 2009.
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