Colleagues from various European countries were invited to an international lecture series at the University of Duisburg-Essen to talk about trends in adult and continuing education. Looking back on this lecture series, we intend to examine different approaches to the term “trend” as well as to outline results of current research in adult and continuing education. We will then give an overview of main arguments of the essays presented in the following. Finally, common trends in European adult a…
During the last two decades, widening adult participation in higher education has become a central issue in international and especially European lifelong learning policy debates. At European level this is reflected in the Europe 2020 strategy set out by the European Commission. One headline target is to boost the share of the population aged 30–34 that has completed tertiary or equivalent education to 40 per cent by 2020. In the face of general trends such as the intensive use of ICT, the evol…
In recent years, “popular education” has become a highly relevant topic in the international debate. At the same time, research efforts on this subject matter have been increasing. The concept of “popular education” is understood as different from or marginalized by dominant discourses and institutions. This issue of REPORT will raise awareness for both the historical origins and the current discussions of popular education in adult education. The articles collected will evaluate if such concep…
Eero Pantzar presents the outlines of the development of adult education in Finland from the early beginning in the 19th century up to today. Popular education was seen as one of the necessary preconditions for the growth of general welfare, economic development and the individual’s personal growth. The first decades of the nation’s independence (1917 -) saw a strong boom in liberal adult education. This was most clearly indicated by the growing number of institutions and organisations providin…
