Adult education and lifelong learning in Southern European societies

Abstract

In a context of a generalization of education and centralization of knowledge in today's societies, followed by the "intragenerationality" (Fernández Enguita, 2007) of change, individuals were required to be actively and continuously involved in new stages of education and learning. The right - and the duty - to a relationship with education has been affirmed - beyond initial education and school - which must take place throughout and wide life. The current "cosmopolitanization" of societies (Beck, 2016), underlines the importance of a transnational analysis, for the understanding of social phenomena. Recognizing the importance of a comparing analysis of adult education in Southern European countries, this article aims for the share of regularities and differences that are found in adult education, training, and learning [ALE] systems and in the relationship that adults in each of these countries have with lifelong education. Because we can only understand the adult’s relation with Lifelong Learning [LLL] by previously analyzing his social structure [ALE], firstly it will be presented the result of a documental analysis which compares adult education systems in Southern European countries [their history, educational contexts, public policies, provision, and promotors]. Subsequently, and through secondary analysis of data from the Adult Education Survey (2016), the relationship with lifelong learning in each of these countries, through participation and its main barriers, will be compared. These comparisons will allow improvement in the effectiveness by reaching the generalization of LLL in the so-called Southern European countries, allowing them to learn with each other’s, benchmarking good practices.