Reviewers

Ewa Kurantowicz

Anna Odrowąż-Coates

Scientific Editors

Zofia Szarota

Zuzanna Wojciechowska

Project Coordinator

Małgorzata M. Przybyszewska

Editing and proofreading

Alan Lockwood

Cover Design

Anna Gogolewska

Illustration on the Cover

Kubko/Shutterstock

Layout and Typesetting

Beata Stelęgowska

Published with financial support of the Faculty of Education at the University of Warsaw

© Copyright by Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warszawa 2021

Zofia Szarota ORCID 0000-0002-6342-3135 University of Warsaw

Zuzanna Wojciechowska ORCID 0000-0001-6373-6937 University of Warsaw

ISBN 978-83-235-5397-7 (print)

ISBN 978-83-235-5206-2 (pdf online)

ISBN 978-83-235-5214-7 (e-pub)

ISBN 978-83-235-5222-2 (mobi)

University of Warsaw Press

PL 00-838 Warsaw, 69 Prosta St.

e-mail: wuw@uw.edu.pl

www.wuw.pl

1st Edition, Warsaw 2021

Table of Contents

EDITORS’ INTRODUCTION

PART ONE TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADULT-EDUCATION THEORY
AND PRACTICE: REGIONAL APPROACHES

Zofia Szarota

On Polish research INTO adult-learning spaces

Agnieszka Stopińska-Pająk

Interpersonal space as context for adult learning IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Zdzisław Ludziejewski, Jan Maciejewski

Globalising Educational Security Threats

Oleksandra Kachmar, Liliana Khimchuk

The role of lifelong learning in UKRAINE’S socioeconomic development in the 21st century

Nadiia Ivanivna Lutsan

Trends in Adult-Education Development in Ukraine

Irina Popova

The development strategy of russia’s system of additional professional education

PART TWO COMPETENCES OF CONTEMPORARY EDUCATORS

Miroslav Krystoň, Lenka Rovňanová

Andragogical competences among university teachers

Martin Kursch, Jaroslav Veteška

Co-teaching: Advantages and disadvantages

Agnieszka Szplit

Language-teacher educators’ professional development in the academic space

Małgorzata Kamińska

Mutual learning among teachers in the school space

PART THREE ADULT-LEARNING PROCESSES

Dorota Gierszewski

New perspectives on raising adult-literacy levels in Germany and Poland

Maryla Koss-Goryszewska, Natalia Michalak, Maciej Ostaszewski, Sylwia Walicka

SUPPORT MODELS FOR adults with low basic-skill levels

Tatyana Zelenova, Maria Khegay

development Features of university students’ professional and personal qualities: future social-work specialists under Russian NPO conditions

Wojciech Horyń, Kazimierz Nagody-Mrozowicz

determining Personal competence in light of empirical research

Ewa Dębska

The Integrated Model of Reflexivity as a context of adult learning

Martin Schubert, Zuzana Neupauer

The Andragogical model of docility: a theoretical background

Dorota Ciechanowska

a few subjective determinants of self-directed learning’s purpose and urgency for extramural generation Y, Z and C students

PART FOUR Learning through life experiences

Aleksandra Litawa

The enthusiast as learner: a case study

Zuzanna Wojciechowska

Immersed in learning from life: informal-education paths in the Polish provinces

Kinga Majchrzak-Ptak

Semaphores in university space(s): an (auto)ethnographic study

Klaudia Węc

Time and self-developement as Symptoms of the Subject

Emilia Mazurek

Psychoeducation for Caregivers WITH Chronically Ill Spouses

Danuta Parlak

Learning through perspective taking

PART FIVE Learning Regions and Citizenship Education

Ewa Przybylska

Adult education from a regional perspective

Julia Kluzowicz

Neighbourhood relations as a space of informal civic education for adults

Beata Cyboran

Adult education in cultural policy at the local level

Agnieszka Naumiuk

Non-governmental organiSations as an environment of adult education

Michaela Beran Sládkayová

Citizenship Education of adults as a tool in activating citizenship competence

Recapitulation

ABOUT THE EDITORS

Notes about our authors

Editors’ Introduction

What is adult education today?

It is primarily a multidimensional and diverse mosaic of discourses, approaches and interpretations that reflects the phenomenon of learning in and through life, at work and for work, in leisure time and while fully engaged. It is a patchwork of theories, models and organisational forms, with three key areas of educational practice: formal, non-formal and informal learning processes. The present publication is an investigation of these three areas of adult learning, as well as the spaces that are found within these areas. What do we mean by adult-learning spaces? They are the various dimensions at which contemporary adult learning functions. In liquid postmodern reality it is difficult to refer to a single direction, model or structure of adult education, with the latter clearly more reminiscent of a diverse mosaic of approaches, theories, practical applications and solutions in formal, non-formal and informal areas, and we attempt a holistic view of the state of contemporary adult education in Central and Eastern European countries. Small areas found within contemporary adult-learning spaces are crucial parts of this monograph, with its focus on a range of key issues in the development of theory and practice in the adult-education field.

Adult education as a field of science and practice has been developing dynamically in recent decades. Current international discussions on this topic have been collected in publication including the one edited by Andreas Fejes and Erik Nylander (2019), along with previous studies published in the European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults (RELA, vol. 6/2, 2015: Cartographies of Research on Adult Education and Learning), which provides an overview of international research on adult education and learning in journals, conferences, adult-education associations and unskilled-worker programmes. These discussions are also raised during community congresses of ESREA (the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults), the international association of researchers andragogues (most recently organised by the University of Belgrade in 2019). All analyses (quantitative, qualitative) of issues related to the discipline’s functioning indicate that in Central and Eastern Europe, the research, publishing and environmental activity of adult-education researchers remains low compared to such centres as Sweden and Portugal. The present publication, therefore, may serve as an important element, with its inclusion of discourses and research results from Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian and Russian universities, in the awareness of a wider audience, along with conveying messages about research topics, developing andragogical theories and scientific activities of local andragogical communities in this region of Europe. Our publication is also an attempt to establish a critical dialogue with the publications mentioned above – while they are from the West, we will show perspectives from our part of Europe, perhaps still little known and underrecognised among other research circles.

This publication’s aim is to reflect theoretically on contemporary forms of lifelong educational activity among adults, groups and communities, and to present research results concerning the areas, models, goals and functions of adult education, teacher and educator competences, and adult-learning processes in Central and Eastern European countries.

In the pages that follow, the reader will find the results of research related to contemporary adult-learning spaces, presented from different methodological perspectives and introducing different points of view.

The editors’ aim has been to create a space for discussion, an opportunity to present the latest research findings, thoughts and ways of interpreting educational reality. We seek to explore conditions shaping contemporary adult-learning spaces, including a comprehensive comparative perspective which holds great cognitive value, further enriched by the publication’s international form. Readers are introduced to trends in developing andragogical theory and practice, and to informal learning areas as well. Attention is paid to (auto)reflection, whether shaped through knowledge or by individual experience and even common knowledge. The turn towards positively evaluating the idea of localism and social commitment has brought significant changes in many areas of contemporary adult education. Problems that adult educators face are also raised here, both in terms of their key competences and challenges they must contend with today. Institutional education is a space that researchers have abandoned in recent decades, yet it merits in-depth reflection, exploration and reflection. Activities carried out by associations and foundations, the dissemination of knowledge, activities of open-educational institutions, the sector of non-public educational services: these important topics can all inspire contemporary researchers and practitioners in the adult-education field. We invite the reader to treat this publication as an inspiring, comprehensive, multidimensional, fresh and contemporary overview of the issues of adult learning. The necessity to learn continuously, to redefine both our experiences and the knowledge that comes from experiencing, to form new relationships on different principles and in different forms through the use of new technical means, are particularly fresh, important and necessary topics for reflection.

This monograph collects texts written by researchers, theoreticians and practitioners of adult education from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine and Russia. In these countries, the tradition marked by sociocultural and historical determinants calls for the recognition that the term andragogy defines an academic discipline reflecting the state of research on education and lifelong learning of adults in the intentional and institutional (formal and non-formal) and informal dimensions – sometimes even subconscious, occurring casually. Thus, adult education is a practice space, while andragogy is a scientific approach, based on a chosen paradigm and creating and utilising its own language of scientific discourse. The term comes from the Greek anēr, andrōs (ανηρ, ανδρος), or a brave person and agō (αγω), or I lead. Andragogy was used by Alexander Kapp (1799–1869) in the treatise Platon’s Erziehungslehre ((Plato’s Educational Ideas) of 1833 (meaning: male education) (Henschke, 2016). In Poland, the term andragogy was first used by Helena Radlińska (1879–1954), synonymous with social pedagogy and adult pedagogy, in Stosunek wychowawcy do środowiska społecznego [The Educator’s Attitude to the Social Environment] (Radlińska, 1935). Andragogy then became popular in Eastern Bloc countries. Before 1989, this science had been focused on instrumental support for the development of elements in the institutional system of adult education; nowadays, it is subject-oriented, i.e. it researches adults learning in various contexts: familial, professional and in social life (EPALE 2020).

The chapters in the book are organised in five sections, each of which addresses pertinent issues of adult learning and teaching in the postmodern world.

The first section concerns contemporary problems related to the developing theory and practice of adult education and andragogy from the regional perspective of Central and Eastern Europe. This section provides an overview of Polish research in various areas of adult education presented in recent years, highighting leading problems of Polish andragogical discourse. Considerations are included about adult-learning spaces as a phenomenon of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and as an element within the concept of lifelong learning. Various contexts of the intertwining of adult learning in sociocultural space are explored as well. Furthermore, in this part of the book readers will find a chapter about globalising educational security threats, including such important issues as the ability to assess risk, threats and safety, and a specific educational strategy for safety, built on the basis of knowledge about the impact of various groups of factors. Other authors have sought to evaluate current and prospective possibilities of the lifelong-learning system as an element in Ukraine’s social and economic development, along with trends in adult-education development there. This section concludes with considerations on shaping attitudes about vocational retraining among Russians before retirement age.

In the second section, the focus is on the competences of contemporary adult educators. This part of the book opens with considerations of a topic that has been neglected in recent years, as emphasis has fallen primarily on informal education, with an increasing depreciation in the value of formal education. Universities, as centres of formal education for adults and academic teachers, constitute an important source of knowledge in the recent context of dynamic changes and draw our attention to transformations taking place in formal education. Two research projects are presented, embedded in different research paradigms, each relating to this topic. The first discusses the results of quantitative research about professional identity and quality of university teachers in the context of andragogical competence, with analyses of the current state of and prospects for andragogical competences among academic staff and their development. The second research project is qualitative; in seeking to explore the university as a learning space for teacher educators, it reveals three spaces within university life: space for actions, cultural practice and in relations with others. We then turn to the issue of mutual learning among teachers in the school space, which means, first of all, gaining practical knowledge and self-knowledge. Issues considered here include the mutual transfer of knowledge, skills and professional and personal experiences through active, conscious participation in a team cooperating on the basis of partnership and open communication. This topic is directly related to the issue of competence experience in teachers of adults. This problem is explored in phenomenographic research on competence experience based on individual interviews of twenty adult educators. The aim of this part is to reflect individual concepts and their consequences in the context of expected learning outcomes or that of the learning process. We also raise the issue of EU key competences for lifelong learning and the attendant four categories (the educator is someone who...). Considerations of key competences lead to conclusions related to pre-employment teacher training. This section ends with considerations on co-teaching, its advantages and disadvantages, with didactic and methodological aspects as well as theoretical and practical implications.

The next section examines different forms of adult-learning processes and various forms of educational support for learning adults. Subjects receiving critical reflection in this area of inquiry are designed to improve the competences of adults with low literacy skills, allowing them to participate more effectively in public life, and are among the key factors influencing social development. Also with regard to adults with lower levels of basic skills, we take up the topic of designing and piloting support models, with reference to selected applications being implemented in various Polish regions. These considerations appear closely related to the topic of shaping students’ professional and personal qualities, specifically those of future specialists in social work, qualities presented in the context of conditions in a non-profit organisation. We also present research related to this topic and to the Phenomenological Diamond Competency Model, which indicates that personality is indeed an important element of competence. The phenomenon of submission or docility, also related to personality determinants, is discussed from the perspective of neuroscience. Reflexivity also appears to play an important role nowadays, as a key element in adult functions in every area of life. In the personal context, this can be understood as an individual cognitive style and as a competence used in constructing one’s own biography, while in the professional space it is treated as reflection leading to development, and in the educational context as an element providing a foundation for theoretical concepts of learning. The category of reflexivity allows us to consider important areas influencing adult learning outside of work.

In the fourth section, the focus turns to informal learning derived from life and experience. Informal learning means learning through daily activities, at work, in the family, in one’s free time. Life is taken not only as a form of passive energy exchange or the reception of impressions, but also as creative human activity. An important category in this area of adult learning is self-creation and its impact on an adult’s ability to manage their life, to learn biographically and to self-reflect on meaning within the context of their own life, as well as on the broad range of human choices and actions. This section considers what is meant by the learner as an enthusiast: how learning inspired by passion enriches a person’s individual development while enriching the andragogical discourse. The Polish provinces are considered, and stereotypical assumptions are refuted that dynamic social and cultural change bypasses inhabitants of the provinces and the countryside. We show how townspeople and villagers, by learning from life, have educated themselves on the use of contemporary technology in their work and many areas of life, and show the “reverse” learning process, in which older generations learn from the younger. Faced with actions currently being undertaken in countries including Poland, implemented in the area of so-called active policy of memory, research into commemoration can help in discovering the specific nature of and developmental directions in collective (non)memory frameworks, within which individual memory – the basis for creating one’s own identities – is being constructed, as well. Also shown is a very interesting issue in this context: the problematisation of the issue of subject maturity in thinking about development, time and passing. In the context of the informal space of learning from life, the experience of disease, especially cancer, is an extremely important human experience. In this section, we also show how spouses of chronically ill people take on the role of informal caregivers. When they aren’t being adequately prepared to fulfil these new duties, however, these become burdens, with attendant experiences of emotional and psychosomatic problems. Caregivers become “second-level patients,” rarely receiving professional support, which means they are revealing examples of how learning from life processes actually works in an individual’s life. In the context of difficult experiences determining the transformation of an individual’s entire life structure, we also consider perspective taking: the ability to perceive and understand a situation from the viewpoint of another person. This is crucial in social interactions between individuals and social groups including the elderly and the disabled. Perspective-adoption processes are used in educational strategies aiming for improved understanding the needs of and circumstances among elderly and disabled people.

The fifth and final section takes up topics of citizenship, social movements and learning cities and regions. The interlinked terms “education” and “region” are gaining importance in European andragogical discourse. A growing belief maintains that neither sustainably developmental education nor societies’ lifelong-learning processes can be effectively implemented without regional authorities’ participation and the engagement of local communities. Also explored here are issues of neighbourly relations in the context of informal civic education for adults. Referring to the idea of social capital, the educational potential of neighbourly relations is shown in the context of contemporary concepts of informal adult education. From the provincial perspective, we then move to cities. The popularisation of the idea of lifelong learning, in tandem with the growing importance of cultural education, has prompted some Polish cities to prepare programmes that develop cultural education, which may provide a pertinent and inspiring local example of atypical solutions in civic education. We also highlight non-governmental organisations as places of formal, non-formal and informal civic education for adults. And we close this section of the book with considerations on active citizenship, including participation, involvement in public affairs, tolerance, critical thinking and other key attributes of citizenship.

Learning Never Ends… collects the latest theoretical reflections, empirical research and practical applications in contemporary adult education; it also presents a regional view of Central and Eastern Europe, which encapsulates its additional value, in our view. With its aim of presenting a comprehensive view of conditions shaping the contemporary spaces of adult learning, the book contains a variety of research along with descriptions of their practical implications, as well as purely theoretical considerations. Its uniqueness is in the multidimensional picture it presents of contemporary adult-learning areas in selected Central and Eastern European countries: Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Russia.

We encourage you to read on,

Zofia Szarota and Zuzanna Wojciechowska

References

European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults. (2015). Vol. 6, No. 2.

Glosariusz EPALE (2020) Pojęcia i terminy z zakresu edukacji dorosłych. Warsaw 2020.

Henschke, J. A. (2016). A History of Andragogy and Its Documents as They Pertain to Adult Basic and Literacy Education. PAACE Journal of Lifelong Learning, 25, 1–28.

Mapping out the Research Field of Adult Education and Learning. (2019). Fejes, A., Nylander, E. (eds.). Lifelong Learning Book Series, Vol. 24. Springer International Publishing; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10946-2.

Radlińska, H. (1935). Stosunek wychowawcy do środowiska społecznego: szkice z pedagogiki społecznej. Warsaw: Nasza Drukarnia.

PART ONE.
TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ADULT EDUCATION THEORY
AND PRACTICE: REGIONAL APPROACHES

Zofia Szarota

ORCID: 0000-0002-6342-3135
University of Warsaw, Poland

On Polish research into adult-learning spaces

The aim of this research was to identify leading problems within Polish andragogical discourse.

The chapter’s content was guided by answers to the following questions: what topics are most commonly being explored, and what most interests Polish andragogues? Academic articles published from 2014 to 2018 in four specialist journals were examined in the research. A qualitative method was used in the process of analysing the content of the articles. The keywords listed were grouped into clusters and issues, and analytical categories were identified for use in developing a typology of research issues: 1) the domain of andragogical reflection, with subcategories: theory, methodology, subject of analysis; 2) formalised teaching processes; 3) competences, consultation, labour market – a subjective perspective; 4) development tasks, problems and conflicts in social roles; 5) spaces of development, animation and personalised learning. The present research highlights the vast area of Polish androgogical research, thus widening the boundaries of the research field, going beyond formal learning spaces and exploring microworlds of individuals and social problems.

Keywords: andragogy, research, contents analysis, adult education and learning, typology

Introduction: statistical data

In Central and Eastern Europe, the enrolment rate is high. Poland is at the forefront of European countries in terms of the educational level of the population. According to Statistics Poland (GUS, 2019, p. 33), in 2018 the percentage of people ages 25 to 64 who had completed at least secondary school was 92.4 per cent – with the average for EU countries being 78.1 per cent. Though this is certainly a high figure, another fact is noteworthy: in the 2019/20 academic year, across 1231 schools for adults (primary, lower secondary, general education) run by central (government) administration units, local government units and social organisations and associations, a total of 118,333 people were learning in order to supplement their formal education (GUS, 2020, pp. 38–40). According to the results that year of the Labour Force Survey (BAEL, in Polish), 5.7 per cent of people ages 25 to 64 declared participation in education covering formal learning (school and higher education) and non-formal education. In 2016, 43.3 per cent of people ages 25 to 64 participated in education covering all forms (including various courses, training and self-education) (GUS, 2019, p. 31). Adult education outside of schools is not part of the Polish educational-policy system, but is instead part of the sector of free market, largely commercial educational services. The practice of adult education is in large part one that develops in non-formal environments, as adult education and training, and in the informal sector. Declarations concerning self-education indicate a 31 per cent level of involvement among adult Poles (GUS, 2019, p. 33).

Duccio Demetrio defines andragogy as the area of knowledge dealing with adults involved in the learning process. Andragogy provides “suggestions for the most appropriate ways and conditions to improve, change, speed up, optimise adult teaching and learning” (Demetrio, 2006, p. 181). This indicates that among researchers in the field, some are convinced that andragogy, or adult education, deserves autonomous and theoretical learning status. It is a position is not unfamiliar to many in the Polish academic community.

Adult education today serves a number of social functions, particularly for individuals and groups who for various reasons have not been able to obtain a suitable education, need or want to find employment, or are looking to change their profession; alternatively, they might be seeking to improve their qualifications. Educational participation is also important for people who want to broaden their cognitive horizons, pursue a hobby and satisfy their interests. Participation in education gives adults the opportunity for personal growth, for the achievement of goals and to socialise, and it contributes to raising the level of an individual’s life – along with that of society in general. Such learning takes various organisational forms and covers various content areas. It is an integral part of lifelong learning (Szarota, 2019).

Materials and methods

Research that aims to establish the identity of contemporary adult education requires not only a focus on what is determined by historical heritage and the discipline’s humanist-social origins, it also requires answers to questions about what the object of interest is for contemporary andragogical theory. Which categories should be considered key to its development? What is the specificity of this (sub)discipline? The moorland metaphor reflects the essence of the problem well (see: Edwards, 2006), for non-formal and informal educational activity can be disorderly and uncontrolled, as with a wild heath.

These questions determine the area of analysis undertaken in the present study. “Adult education operates within a set of social, cultural, and economic relations and is shaped by cultural and economic influences. Education also shapes how adults experience social, cultural, and economic forces” (Nesbit, 2010).

One way to determine the condition of a scientific discipline is to analyse the internal processes of knowledge generation. The theoretical basis of each discipline involves the identification of key problems, leading definitions and methodological categories.

Here, the research task was to identify dominant threads within contemporary andragogy (adult-education theory) and to establish current areas of research. To this end, the query of peer-reviewed scientific texts published in recognised academic journals between 2014 and 2018 was conducted and their content analysed.

The database for the analyses was created from 702 articles in the following Polish periodicals: 1) Rocznik Andragogiczny / Andragogy Yearbook (106 texts); 2) Dyskursy Młodych Andragogów / Adult Education Discourses (130 studies); 3) Edukacja Dorosłych / Adult Education (144 articles); and 4) Edukacja ustawiczna Dorosłych / Journal of Continuing Education (322 texts). Each article had keywords assigned by the author(s). These were juxtaposed to form a set of 1769 terms. The quantitative analysis looked at the frequency of each term’s appearance, indicating its specific popularity in the sub-discipline’s meta-language, and thus became an interpretative guide for further conclusions. The conceptual analysis showed the importance of a specific issue, outlining areas of interest for those researching and publishing on adult education in these journals.

Qualitative content analysis is one method used to analyse data and interpret its meaning (Schreier, 2012). It is part of a non-reactive method of analysing documents which are public texts (records). “Document analysis requires that data be examined and interpreted in order to elicit meaning, gain understanding, and develop empirical knowledge” (Bowen, 2009, p. 27). These texts are seen as “Cultural artifacts produced by members of educational communities in order to communicate meaningful content” (Seredyńska, 2013, p. 8).

A prerequisite for successful content analysis is that the data can be reduced to concepts describing a research phenomenon by creating a category, concept, model, conceptual system or concept map (Elo et al., 2014).

Using content analysis, it is possible to quantify and analyse the presence, meaning and relations of specific words, topics or concepts. On this basis, conclusions can then be drawn about messages contained within the texts. The source of the data can be material obtained from interviews, notes from field research, and any text of the communication language, including scientific or academic publications. “Document analysis involves skimming (superficial examination), reading (thorough examination), and interpretation. This iterative process combines elements of content analysis and thematic analysis. Content analysis is the process of organising information into categories related to the central questions of the research” (Bowen, 2009, p. 32).

The research was carried out according to the following stages: 1) reading the texts, 2) keyword collection, 3) contextual keyword grouping, 4) determining the essential features of clusters of keywords, 5) a regrouping phase based on the context of each article’s abstract and title, 6) the phase of labelling various analytical categories, and finally 7) the stage of relating selected categories to andragogical theory.

Results

Scientific issues “closed” within the keywords were “opened” through the analysis of the accompanying terms, the title of the article, the context resulting from the summary, and finally the factual content. As a result of this operation, in the selected perspective of meaning, it became possible to separate first a set of notions (1769), then a network of threads (from 233 to 1), which in turn created problem categories (V). In the first, analytical distribution, XIV problem categories were obtained. An in-depth analysis showed that the key concepts formed a crop that was too broad and too dispersed. The regrouping and development of synthetic categories led to a reduction in their number.

Quantitative analysis proved that the keyword most frequently used in the analysed articles was education. The term appeared 233 times. Almost a third of occurrences of the term had the context of adult education, interpreted as an idea, system, social phenomenon or didactic process. The ambiguity of application of the term gave education the status of a travelling concept. The term “travelling concept” was introduced by Mieke Bal (Bal, 2002), referring to the idea that meanings acquired by words or terms depend on their use in research practices and descriptions, rather than being derived from the word’s definition. Bal defines this as a process of movement of specific concepts and research categories from one discipline to another. This movement is neither linear nor static. Concepts evolve, influenced by the methodology of the discipline in which they operate, and under the influence of specific research problems. At the same time, they might be found to belong to different disciplines, or to move from one to another (see: Szarota & Pierścieniak, 2020).

Relational analysis allowed the identification and characterisation of V contemporary research areas (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Procedure for selecting thematic areas

Source: the author’s own study

Analytical category I: Domains of the Theory of Adult Education

The Domains of the Theory of Adult Education, as a set of concepts of a high degree of generality and supra-disciplinarity, were recognised as an overarching category and thus provided the theoretical framework for analysis. This space was filled with beams of 359 terms. Properly grouped into subcategories, they allowed for insight into the contents of the theoretical and methodological concepts (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Subcategories of the Domains of the Theory of Adult Education

Source: the author’s own study

Subcategory: Andragogic reflection - leading themes

The review of the literature demonstrates that there is a patchwork of theories, models and paradigms. Andragogic theory is fed by results of the observation of all social processes and phenomena. This thesis can be based on an analysis of the contexts of the use of the term “theory”: of biography, critical, Habermas’s social theory, social learning, structuring, complex systems, adult-learning theories, the theory of professionalisation; or of the term “world”: contemporary, public, social, hidden, etc. The most important clusters for researchers were andragogy, biography and time. Migratory movements and public policy were important issues. Another frequent term was experience, occurring in various contextual configurations: biography, existence, education and work. The problem of an ageing society was often addressed. Other terms, although they formed numerous clusters, were not very capacious. Terms used sporadically included constructivism, demography, emancipation, history of adult education, globalisation, gergogy, and everyday life.

Subcategory: Methodology of andragogy

An important complement to the above findings are conclusions from the analysis of methodological issues raised in the articles analysed. The retreat from positivist research is clearly visible. In the set of keywords concerning research strategies, two-thirds – the large majority – mentioned the model of qualitative research. The remaining terms generally defined the nature and subject of research (e.g. andragogic, international, adult education, scientific, pedagogical and educational, empirical and comparative).

Subcategory: Participants and people excluded from adult education

The primary subject of interest among researchers was, understandably, adults and those in late adulthood: the elderly and seniors. The subjects profiling the analysis were: a person, a woman and a working adult. Next was an adult learner, then less frequently people in early adulthood and students. The keywords with the lowest frequency were unemployed, emigrant (immigrant, migrant), refugee, Other, Alien, person with disabilities, lesbian, man, convicted and citizen, as well as party activist and agitator.

Analytical category II: Adult education – formalised learning processes

Out of the 399 descriptions assigned to this area, a conceptual educational polyhedron was created with individual elements strongly correlated to links with the didactic process. A characteristic feature of this phenomenon was the lack of indication of the subject. The dominating elements of this category were educational systems and processes (e.g. continuing education, vocational education, staff training), and terms defining organisational forms of work with adults (a variant of the term “school”: from training to university). The next bundle covered qualifications (professional qualification standards, qualification framework, recognition of qualifications, increasing qualifications). The scope and content of environmental, gerontological, global, historical, IT, cultural, moral, museological, civic, natural, regional, sexual, dance, technical, multicultural, visual, inclusive, and health education were apparently of importance to the different researchers. The methodological thread was defined through the application of concepts related to methodological activities and teaching measures, including those taking into account contemporary technologies and the methodology of vocational training. Among the roles defining a lecturer were: educator, mentor, master in craft, adult teacher, academic teacher, teacher in an attached school, tutor and lecturer. Scattered keywords (educational policy, tasks of adult education, educational strategies, core curriculum, teaching, education, educational process, certification, evaluation, etc.) allowed the authors to consider properties of the technological-didactics model in adult education both binding and current.

Analytical category III: Competence, consulting, labour market – a subjective perspective

In the third cluster, consisting of 265 terms, the term with the highest frequency was competence. The word appeared in various contexts: professional and emotional, European, key, advisory, educational, enculturation, innovative, communicative, media, civic, personal, cognitive, labour, social and creative competences. The clusters of “learning” (adults, situational, on-the-job, reading and writing, seniors, old age, biography, as an event) and lifelong learning were characterised by high frequencies. Growing interest in the roles of adviser, guidance, and counselling was noticeable. The bundle of keywords including self-creation, self-education and educational needs reflected the essence of individual educational preferences. The remaining keywords occurred individually but in contexts that define the humanistic-didactic model and personalised learning as an expression of goals and aspirations for individual social and professional development.

Analytical category IV: Development tasks, problems and conflicts in social roles in everyday pedagogy

This category was created by drawing together 220 terms connected with daily life and referring to family situations and social roles. There were no threads in this category characterising formal and non-formal educational situations. Family roles, referring relatively often to maternity, attracted the majority of attention from researchers. Analyses concerning gender, particularly femininity and the social entanglement of these terms, are of particular interest. Further threads concerned the developmental tasks of early adulthood (preparing for adulthood, postponing adulthood) and ageing, illness, disability and coping strategies. Among the remaining terms, the following were isolated: identity, experience of existence, experience of separation, and experience borrowed, as well as a bundle of notions concerning body and corporeality, quality of life, developmental tasks and border situations, transit, existential anxiety, feeling and the sense of suffering. There were reflections on spirituality, generosity and wisdom, transcendence, and the spiritual dimension of elderly people’s lives. Developmental periods, critical events, social roles and related conflicts (e.g. partnership, parentification, NEETs) were analysed. Reflections and research were situated in the pedagogy of daily life, in natural living environments.

Analytical category V: Spaces of development and animation and personalized learning among people and groups

This widespread area included both typical and novel environments and forms of cultural and social activity for groups and individuals. Authors of the studies analysed, through their application of 156 keywords, created a perspective for readers to achieve insight into the individual interests and spaces of amateur artistic and intellectual movements, as well as insight into cultural proposals, and to see the problems connected with participation in local community life. Individual terms such as culture and its institutions, places of learning (e.g. U3A, folk university), animation processes (including activation and sociocultural activity) had little representation (each occurring about twenty times). Development and amateur creative and artistic activity appeared several times in the texts analysed. Terms that remained could not be used to create larger, contextually coherent and logically ordered bundles. However, the collection remains homogeneous in the area that characterises contemporary sociocultural activity of individual communities, groups and individuals. Processes were examined of educational involvement taking place in educational and cultural institutions, knowledge-dissemination centres, associations, clinics, organisations, etc. This exploration also included “learning communities” (see: Kurantowicz, 2007).

The contemporary space of research and andragogical thought

The data thus arranged in analytical categories formed the basis for an attempt to identify the research spaces for contemporary adult education. In general, considerations were given to the domain of social reality with the defined life phases of subjects and their activities, images, descriptions, judgements, interpretations, etc. Thus, they revealed the following subjects of research: 1) sociocultural conditions, 2) activity of an adult, with the aim and effect of 3) change, most often 4) experienced subjectively by an individual, and leading to 5) modification of their quality of life.

Several lines of research can be identified:

Adults taught in institutions: traditional spaces of learning (the non-formal current) are still an important recognised area of research within Polish andragogy.

Lifelong social and professional development, improvement of competences – this current analyses the learning processes of specific individuals whose aim is to acquire and improve competences and to engage in social and professional development, with possible support for this development through professional advisers. The learning environment is usually the area of professional activity and the labour market.

Lifelong learning as self-education and sociocultural practice. Biographical aspects of a person’s development are important to research in this area.

Individual learning as a representation of learning for different groups and communities (the elderly, women, immigrants, prisoners, etc.).

Learning communities, local communities, sociocultural animation.

Authors of the papers studied in the present research tended not to pursue an analysis of educational activity that took a formal form and occurred in institutions. The transition from formal adult-education processes to non-formal and informal forms of lifelong learning is visible in their analyses, in which the focus of attention was often the spontaneous, social and cultural conditions of adult activity, all resulting in subjectively experienced change.

The subject of research would generally be an individual or a group of adults, though not necessarily in a traditionally understood educational space (school and courses). Researchers in the field have moved from focusing on a defined social group of adults (e.g. characteristics of the learning group) to considering a specific adult, their biography and the subjective world of their experiences.

Conclusion

The epistemological basis of adult education remains undefined. Philosophical thought does not seem to shape andragogic cognition. Andragogical theory has little representation in the texts, and researchers in the field make use of only a small pool of paradigms, concepts and definitions from the field of social sciences. The fields of analysis are blurred, and it is not yet possible to indicate permanent properties of this discipline.

The process of methodological transition from scientism to a qualitative paradigm appears to be in the process of consolidation. Induction is a method of understanding the essence of andragogy and referring it to the domain of social sciences. The field of analysis is fed by the broadly understood concepts of adulthood and of the adult. The dominant model is a moderately empirical one with a predominance of descriptions of practical action.

The idea of lifelong learning has clearly been assimilated by researchers in the field. Andragogic discourse on the nature and diversity of contemporary forms of adult learning and cognitive activity has an inter- and transdisciplinary character. Researchers are presently engaged in broadening the boundaries of exploration, of entering spaces of social functioning of various groups and communities, into the microworlds of individuals.

The majority of authors of articles studied have recognised the language of technological didactics as both valid and current within adult education. There is a tendency to move away from descriptions of formalised and institutional educational processes. Research is directed towards learning acts in an adult’s daily life. Reflections and research are situated in the pedagogy (andragogy) of daily life, in natural living environments, in spaces of the individual’s disposable time, along with analyses of processes of natural learning immersed in social practice and in life.

Adult learning has been recognised as the subjects’ personal (private) domain, which can be explored with scientific methods. Researchers have captured human development in many perspectives: collective, personal, professional, social, cultural and spiritual. Impressions and individual experiences are taken to be research phenomena with an equivalence to factual data.

As this exploration of the literature has shown, contemporary Polish andragogic discourse is characterised by non-linear, non-structural, trans- and interdisciplinary connotations and references, without a paradigmatically defined order of analysis and study. Researchers communicate poorly with other researchers and audiences by not reading each other. The individual approach to research is dominant. In their analyses, many researchers rely on obsolete scientific theories. Their studies refer to a short time period, and they tend not to define the knowledge of other researchers – as a whole, not suggesting the creation of a canon of knowledge.

Adult-learning theory, adult didactics, is not fed by discoveries and does not shape educational practice. Learning, discovering, naming and explaining all depend on a particular researcher, who commonly applies a “free” methodology, sometimes with no sound epistemological basis. All the texts form a combined system of nodes without a dominant orientation axis. This perpetuates the practical and descriptive status of Polish andragogy, which translates into a theory of adult education suffering greatly from fragility.

References

Bal, M. (2002). Travelling Concepts in the Humanities. Toronto: A Rough Guide; https://s3.amazonaws.com/arena-attachments/89974/705194c45c063480ed0bb3af6fdd2dfc.pdf (accessed on: 10.09.2020).

Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40; https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027.

Demetrio, D. (2006). Edukacja dorosłych. In: (ed.) B. Śliwerski, Pedagogika tom 3. Subdyscypliny wiedzy pedagogicznej. Gdańsk: Gdańskie Wydaw. Pedagogiczne, 113–236.

Edwards, R. (2006). Beyond the moorland? Contextualising lifelong learning. Studies in the Education of Adults, 38(1), 25–36; https://doi.org/10.1080/02660830.2006.11661522.

Elo, S., Kääriäinen, M., Kanste, O., Pölkki, T., Utriainen, K., & Kyngäs, H. (2014). Qualitative Content Analysis: A Focus on Trustworthiness. SAGE Open; https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244014522633.

Euridice (2020). Poland. Adult Education and Training; https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/adult-education-and-training-56_en (accessed on: 04.01.2021).

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GUS (2019). Kapitał ludzki w Polsce w latach 2014–2018 [Human capital in Poland in the years 2014–2018]. Warsaw, Gdańsk: GUS; https://stat.gov.pl.

GUS (2020). Oświata i wychowanie w roku szkolnym 2019/2020. [Education in the 2019/2020 school year]. Warsaw, Gdańsk: GUS; https://stat.gov.pl.

Kurantowicz, E. (2007). O uczących się społecznościach. Wybrane praktyki edukacyjne ludzi dorosłych. Wrocław: Wydaw. Dolnośląskiej Szkoły Wyższej.

Nesbit, T. (2010). Class Analysis in Adult Education. In: P. Peterson, E. Baker, B. McGaw (eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education. Third Edition, 64–69. Elsevier; https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446282243.n12.

Schreier, M. (2012). Qualitative content analysis in practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Ltd; https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446282243.n12.

Seredyńska, D. (2013). Dyskursy edukacyjne o starości w naukach humanistycznych i społecznych. Bydgoszcz: Wydaw. Uniwersytetu Kazimierza Wielkiego.

Szarota, Z. & Pierścieniak, K. (2020). Refleksja andragogiczna – współczesna specyfika dyscypliny. Studia z Teorii Wychowania, XI 2(31), 169–188; https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0014.3654.

Szarota, Z. (2019). Tasks and Social Functions of Adult Education in the Perspective of Learning in Adulthood. Pedagogika Społeczna, 2, 133–148; https://doi.org/10.35464/1642-672X.PS.2019.2.10.

Agnieszka Stopińska-Pająk

ORCID: 0000-0002-8631-5825
WSB University, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland

Interpersonal Space as Context
for Adult Learning in the 21st Century

This chapter includes considerations on adult learning as a phenomenon of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Various contexts of adult learning’s interweaving in sociocultural space will be shown. The category of space will be discussed, which, although hard to define unambiguously, is the basic dimension of adult-learning discourse, along with the time category. Space, especially sociocultural space and its evolving significance in the contemporary world, to which the imagination of its creation gives meaning, plays a significant role in the quality of adult learning, but above all, it is of great importance in the experience / experiencing of adult learning. Learning gives the opportunity to learn space (reading its symbols, metaphors) and to transform it in constantly changing relationships with others in the interpersonal space.

Keywords: adult learning, sociocultural space, interpersonal space

When I began working on this text, we lived in times in which our interpersonal space seemed friendly, open and unrestrained by barriers except those we put up ourselves. However, the experience connected to the COVID-19 pandemic has given new meanings to space, including or even most significantly to interpersonal space. Our existential safety, the fundament of social relations, has been broken. Without it, it is difficult not only to take up any action but also to positively and confidingly see other people, who in this new situation have become threats to one another, in a very basic meaning. Almost from one day to the next the possibility of free creation of our interpersonal space has become restricted, at least in its physical and direct dimension. I believe that at that moment, we felt this clearly, something that had been so obvious we haven’t always realised it, meaning that without relations with other people, without confronting and exchanging views and so forth, we lose the possibility of creating our own subjectivity but also of influencing others. Quoting Nick Crossley, we are inter-subjects (quoted after Sztompka, 2016, p. 42) and only through the exchange among ourselves are we somebody and capable of creating ourselves.

The category of space is not easy to define. It evades attempts at unambiguous definition and is impossible to interpret within a single scientific discipline. Only multiplied perspectives allow its essence to be captured, to see what diverse forms it takes and how versatile are the functions it performs. In reference to human learning, space is the basic aspect of approaching the very issue. As it has been put by Mikhail Bakhtin (1895–1975), the Russian historian and literary theorist, a person is set in the world in the time-space dimension (chronotope) occupying a determined space, which through constant change allows time to be perceived. In the context of this concept, human life is a form of time-space existence, and holds a certain entirety seen as the human-life space. Any human activity, including learning, is thus not possible outside space and outside time, while those dimensions, meanwhile, are greatly influencing and determining all activity. What is worth noticing is that this human-life space, at its full breadth in any biographical phase, unites space and time in one evolving framework of learning.

The sociocultural space of human life is usually perceived in physical categories, readily observable and experienced directly in life: home, kindergarten, school, hospital, workplace and cultural institutions, among others. They are possible to determine, describe and perceive as such; we ascribe certain functions to them. Paradoxically, for precisely this reason, learning tends to be limited to educational establishments as spaces that are intentionally organised for people to learn in. Regardless of whether they fulfil their role and whether they actually become those spaces in which people learn, educational establishments have largely appropriated the definition of learning merely for their space, and adults most often identify learning with school and university, as various studies indicate. However, learning does not have such a one-sided space attachment. It includes the entire space of human life. As a phenomenon, it is common, universal, global and individual, always connected with the human as a person – as Alan Rogers writes, “we are never away from learning” (quoted after Malewski, 2010, p. 92). We all agree with that. Nobody undermines that learning, which in general has no beginning and no end: though individually bound by one’s lifespan, it is the essence of humanity. Such a perception of learning is very optimistic about the condition of people, though this tends to be questioned. Differing, varied learning theories, as well as the experience of adult learning as social practice, show that learning requires certain competences, and without them it is not possible. These include reflexivity, subjectivity, autonomy and managing one’s own biography (Malewski, 2010, p. 206). Not all adult activity connected to acquiring knowledge and skills can be determined as learning, therefore, because not all of them lead to life-quality improvement, personal growth, understanding the world and one’s place in it, generating sensitivity or redefining one’s own role as well as recreating one’s identity. Only with such results can we talk about learning in the pedagogical/andragogical sense.

Especially in this day and age, in the twenty-first century, new dilemmas and questions arrive that are connected with adult learning. The sociocultural context of learning is considerably different than before; more and more areas and domains require learning, the experience of daily life enlargens through mediated experience, while the sociocultural space of life participation seems boundless, giving multiple possibilities in life. However, might an adult not feel lost and alone in the thicket of information, images, etc.? Can a person find time for learning, not only for acquiring knowledge, abilities and technical skills? Does any sociocultural space favour learning, and do any of them have similar dimensions? These are but a few of the questions that andragogues are posing.

Among many spaces of which a given person is part, I want to draw attention to the space that is metaphorically called “interpersonal space”. The concept of interpersonal space can be generally understood as a web of interpersonal relations, which constitute the basis of society and above all shape and create this society while remaining subject to constant transformation. Piotr Sztompka, in his interpersonal-space theory, thoroughly explains the necessity of a different way of looking at a person and society. Sztompka uses the term “third sociology”. This is unlike earlier ways of understanding society as social organism through reference to biology (Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer), then through physics, using the metaphor of an atom (Max Webber), with society described as a collection of active individuals. Sztompka’s third approach to society, through analogy to geometry, understands it as a network of various interpersonal relations. The basic element of society here is the social event, meaning any contact a person has with another person, a group or any collectivity. He describes it as follows: “We are a record – in our personality and identity – of experience, knowledge, skills derived from contacts with others. We are individual, separated as biological organism. […] Our peculiarly human constitution (thinking, imagination, language, culture, identity) is of social provenance” (Sztompka, 2016, pp. 41–42). According to Sztompka, two ontological theses constitute the bases of the third sociology: “about relation-based, inter-human social constitution and about social existence” (Sztompka, 2016, p. 45).

The theory of interpersonal space accurately describes and defines the contemporary character of social life in the twenty-first century, which after Zygmunt Bauman (2007) we can call postmodernity era or liquid modernity, or as Anthony Giddens (2006), Scott Lash and Ulrich Beck determine it, late modernity, or the “risk society” of Ulrich Beck (2004). The era is characterised by four main elements (Sztompka, 2010):

new forms of trust, resulting from sudden social and technical changes in our lives that we are often unable to understand or to live without;

the appearance of new forms of risk, as effects of civilisational changes produced by people. This new “profile of risk”, as it is termed by Giddens, manifests through the universality of risk, its democratisation. It concerns everyone without exception, and in the subjective, individual dimension, it causes at once the feeling of helplessness, being lost, lacking security and a seeking out of experts, knowledge and means of protection, as well as paradoxically looking for shelter in religion, various ideologies or even psychoactive substances;

the opacity of social life resulting from uncertainty, lack of possible influence on the course of events, or of foreseeing the effects or actions, mainly due to multiple highly complicated factors and their possible combinations. This helplessness results in undermining knowledge, as mentioned above, but mostly in relativising it while increasing the feelings of threat, risk and uncertainty. All of which forces us to engage and remain active. Coping with uncertainty, according to Ulrich Beck, is the basic skill in both a biographical and a political sense, comprising the main civilisational qualification (2004, p. 98);

globalisation, although underway much earlier, is now our reality. We live in the global world, in the global society, in which all fields of social life are connected in manifold ways that then modify further along and become transformed. All these phenomena – global processes including unification, homogenisation of culture, consumerism – greatly influence and shape each and all of us, almost without our conscious participation. At the same time, globalisation allows a perception of mutual fate at the global dimension, yet also leads to safeguarding indigenousness, cultural diversity and other aspects, even leading to questioning globalisation as such or to actions attempting returns to or preservation of the past.

These basic elements of the postmodern world show its most general characteristics. There are many other elements, obviously, depending on the context, through which we refer either to economic symptoms, technological ones, or to communications, cultural, social, political and other fields. Without going into excessive detail, it can be stated that these combined have changed interpersonal relations taking place in interpersonal space, meaning in the constant surrounding by and reference to other people (Sztompka, 2010, p. 106), as they take on various forms that may be analysed almost geometrically, for they are changeable, liquid, chaotic, with new configurations of participants in interactions, often occasional or even singular. While such thick interpersonal space organises our world, greatly determining our behaviour and requiring constant presence and learning proper functions within it, it also requires organising it in different aspects, which is connected to the necessity of learning. It is worth emphasising that learning, though based on our experience, our current and preceding biographic situations, always starts again and again from the beginning, even when it concerns the same person and is situated in the same context, as in familial or work contexts, for example. We can say that we are constant beginners. This liquidity characteristic of the interpersonal space is well defined by Zygmunt Bauman. The parting statement “tomorrow we meet again”, as Bauman writes, is no guarantee of that, as “those who will meet tomorrow will not be the ones who have just met” (Bauman, 2006, p. 199). Awareness of this feature of social relations taking place between people is important in understanding the context of interpersonal space, within which those relations are taking place. The source of great social changes at any level is, as Sztompka writes, “in the microworld of human actions, taken with others, next to them, against them, meaning in the domain of interpersonal relations. In the ontological sense, the only social reality is what is happening between people. It is the place in which all subjective forces creating any changes in society are hidden” (2016, p. 483).

To move around the network of social relations, it is thus necessary to show certain cognitive and ethical competences, all the more so as the quality of these relations creates this or another society. Interpersonal relations are characterised by certain mutual features and characteristics, the recognition and understanding of which shapes relations; they are also greatly diversified and varied. Sztompka has enumerated ten elements that describe the features of interpersonal relations, along with eight criteria that differentiate interpersonal relations. These are interconnected and correlated in real situations, making each and every one unique in character as each person’s individual experience is being generated. Interpersonal space is filled with multiplicities of these interpersonal relations that take place in various places and situations within physical, social and cultural spaces.

Family is one place in which we face the necessity of learning again. Yet while we were left without mutual public space during lockdown, family became the main arena of interpersonal relations. This became the place in which relations from various spaces, including personal and marital relations, maternal and paternal relations, intersected with relations resulting from professional and social activity. Spaces that generally remained separate now met in one place, considerably influencing relations between people comprising a given family. The home space, which seemed safe, where social masks could be dropped, was invaded by school, university and the workplace, greatly altering our mutually shared interpersonal space along with the physical one domesticated by us for us, for our needs and for our relations. This situation is new, and in it, each of us has had to find their place. We have had to establish processes for learning these new relations. These start with learning new competences in using new digital technologies, various applications enabling relations with others, connected not only to work but also permitting contact and relations with other family members. For many adults, this has been a challenge, especially for those whose biographical situation and previous experience in interpersonal relations had been conducted directly, who had not taken up the effort of learning new technologies, and may even have questioned their usefulness. Interpersonal relations have changed vastly in this situation – for some, relations have extended, while for others they have become significantly more limited.

However, what is important in the new situation is the experience of family relations being less obvious. Familial interpersonal space is mutually shared physical space that used to be known to us and required little effort in learning; it has now turned out to be at once known and unknown to us. The density of relations, varied needs among particular family members who were often in conflict, different expectations, differing levels of sensitivity, stress resistance, feeling fear, etc. revealed how often previous relations had been superficial. Basic qualities of interpersonal relations, beginning from the first one, reciprocity, and from others, even meanings we ascribe to various things, to each relation bringing up new meaning, as well as emotions, which as Sztompka writes fill interpersonal space, or roles we perform in relations that largely define those relations, all have become unintelligible, new, to be learnt and to be put together from scratch.

I have given the example of family, as this setting best demonstrates that learning is ascribed in interpersonal space, and that it is mandatory even in relations that may seem familiar. Adults, as I have already stated, obviously get into various relations. One example of a setting entirely different from familial relations is occasional, accidental and even one-off or incidental relations. This setting is described incisively by Olga Tokarczuk, the Nobel laureate, in her book Flights, which received the Nike Literary Award in Poland then the Man Booker International Prize in 2018. Flights can be discussed in many contexts and space does not provide for a thorough analysis here. However, I will refer to the category of journey as a leitmotif in it, through which Tokarczuk shows constant movement, people relocating, looking for others and themselves but mainly the multidimensional character of human experience. Interpersonal space is saturated with learning processes in all possible ranges. A short quotation: “There’s too much in the world. It would be wiser to reduce it, rather than expanding or enlarging it. […] But I feat it may already be too late. We have no choice now but to learn how to endlessly select” (Tokarczuk, 2017, p. 65).

On a final note, we have to notice that the dense network of interpersonal relations, although changeable over the course of life and biographically diversified, is characteristic for an adult person. What must be emphasised is that relations between adults have meaning for each and all of us, but also in the wider social, national and extra-national perspectives. Now that we are experiencing the coronavirus pandemic, we have felt the meaning of interpersonal relations with specially clarity. But we have also recognised the necessity of learning them again and again, redefining our experience and sometimes taking on new relations, on different rules and in other forms or with the use of new technical means. The experience of pandemic, next to the threat it poses, has to be seen as a chance for learning, for learning yourself, your expectations and needs, but most of all for seeing the other person, their expectations, needs and situation. This is connected with responsibility, which as Bauman wrote “takes over any interpersonal engagement” (1996, p. 21). These are the indispensable conditions without which the interpersonal space will be empty, meaningless. And this concerns relations in any dimension, starting from the closest family ones, through those of friend, professional and social, and utimately reaching the global dimension.

References

Bauman, Z. (1996). Etyka ponowoczesna. Warsaw: Wydaw. Naukowe PWN.

Bauman, Z. ( 2006). Płynna nowoczesność. Kraków: Wydaw. Literackie.

Bauman, Z. (2007). Płynne życie. Kraków: Wydaw. Literackie.

Beck, U., (2004). Społeczeństwo ryzyka. W drodze do innej nowoczesności. Warsaw: Wydaw. Naukowe SCHOLAR.

Giddens, A. (2006). Nowoczesność i tożsamość. Warsaw: Wydaw. Naukowe PWN.

Malewski, M. (2010). Od nauczania do uczenia się. O paradygmatycznej zmianie w andragogice. Wrocław: Wydaw. Naukowe Dolnośląskiej Szkoły Wyższej.

Sztompka, P. (2010). Socjologia. Analiza społeczeństwa. Kraków: Wydaw. Znak.

Sztompka, P. (2016). Kapitał społeczny. Teoria przestrzeni międzyludzkiej. Kraków: Wydaw. Znak.

Tokarczuk, O. (2017). Flights. London: Fitzcarraldo Editions.

Zdzisław Ludziejewski

ORCID: 0000-0002-9616-0492

University of Information Technology and Management
COPERNICUS, Wrocław, Poland

Jan Maciejewski

ORCID: 0000-0002-0743-099X
University of Wrocław, Poland

Globalising Educational Security Threats

Dynamically ongoing civilisational progress – the source of changes with a multilayered cultural, social, political, economic and technological basis, as an irreversible process of globalisation – is an unstoppable process. All that remains is the possibility of intelligent adaptation or adjustment within limits this process presents. Having both positive and negative connotations, the globalisation process forces action not only or not so much to ensure external security, but also focuses on the development of social needs and care in maintaining the state’s broadly understood internal security. An important issue in this case is the ability to assess risk, threats and safety, which is related to a state’s specific educational strategy for safety built on the basis of knowledge about the impact of various groups of factors. Indispensable education in this area is systemic and long-term and is targeted at various social groups. The authors also draw attention to the currently emerging infodemic phenomenon: an information epidemic as a flood of reports having little to do with facts, the so-called plague of social media and more. This information chaos, when careful selection is lacking, is a threat to education, security and factors shaping social, cultural, intellectual capital, etc.

Keywords: Globalisation, security systems, education, infodemia, social capital.

Introduction

Modern civilisation is ambiguous, complex, multifaceted and uncertain; it is attractive, but sometimes repulsive; it is man-made, but often gives the impression that it wants control, causing many problems. By the 1920s, José Ortega y Gasset had already stated that modern civilisation is simply overwhelmed by problems. Contemporary civilisation and global problems are also the stigma of Western civilisation with its most important features, main problems and trends in human life that it evokes, which provide feedback to global civilisation. The field of interest includes the most important problems experienced by people living in the area of influence of Western civilisation – that civilisation which has become the main causative factor of globalisation. As has been indicated by Prof. Marian Golka among others, the great modern civilisation is neither completely innocent nor completely safe. According to the poet Zbigniew Herbert in The Labyrinth on the Sea essays, it is easier to understand and rationally explain the phenomenon of a civilisation’s development than its collapse, which appears very vague and mysterious (Golka, 2016, p. 38). Its development and duration may, therefore, cause anxieties, worries or fears that are characterised by threats. They must not be ignored, nor should they be underestimated, bearing in mind security, the provision of which is among the basic needs of society. Heterogeneous changes observed today at many levels of social life, based on e.g. cultural, political, social, economic and technological factors, indicate that progressing globalisation is an irreversible process. As Grzegorz W. Kołodko points out: “globalisation defined in relation to global phenomena is a historical and spontaneous process of liberalisation and the consequent consolidation of the functioning markets of goods, capital, labour, technology and information into one interdependent market” (Kołodko, 2010, p. 98). The inability to inhibit this process leaves only the choice of adapting or adjusting in the area of potentialities. “The trouble with globalisation is that you cannot see it. Indeed, we can see its many manifestations, but due to the fact that it is impossible to comprehend the entire world, its intensity, scope and depth of impact on human life cannot be clearly defined” (Golka, 2016, p. 122). Observing the ongoing, long-term process of cross-border integration among many countries through intensifying mutual ties in all possible areas, attention should also be paid to increasingly high interdependence and significant repercussions of actions, e.g. in the spheres of economy, trade, cooperation, culture and politics. Apart from these positive manifestations, globalisation also contains many contradictions and ambiguities. This significantly influences the reduction of states’ role as sovereign subjects of social life, for example, thus reducing the feeling of their generally understood internal security, as well.

Security in the age of contemporary threats

Today, security is among the most important human desires naturally assigned to our existence. The state of security determines and creates human existence, as unstable social conditions are full of various dangers that people must minimize or eliminate to be able to continue living (Maciejewski, 2012, p. 174). In the era of globalisation, people are stuck in a conflict between true and divergent ideas, in which rulers or their “assistants” (those who stand behind politicians’ “decisions”) use citizens’ fears to politically impose the rightness of decisions that are not always democratically taken. Mutual “interests” between rulers and owners of large corporate IT companies, social-networking sites and banks can lead to situations that have no precedent. The “knowledge” of these powerful institutions, which is “passed on” to politicians, establishes a dangerous new precedent for our time: never before has any potential political candidate had such an extensive database of potential voters. Similarly, the “ability” of military personnel to react quickly in a globalised world, with the means of communication enabling the functioning “here and now” in time and space, is defined as “dynamic demand management” in relation to financial costs and substantive goals, where “borrowing” and “saving” becomes the priority. This state of affairs is particularly emphasised in the current situation, when the whole world is struggling with the “all-powerful” COVID-19 virus, the effects and duration of which no one can determine.

In turn, as noted by Stochmal and Maciejewski: “Nowadays, due to the development of state structures, security is perceived as a public good in the sense that it belongs to all citizens. Responsibility for providing it to a dominant extent is assigned to authorised entities indicated by the sovereign and having powers in this regard. ‘Security consumes a significant part of social energy’ (Stampnitzky, 2013, pp. 631–633), the need to ensure security-force actions that are justified in the public sphere” (Stochmal & Maciejewski, 2018, p. 98).

Aristotle had argued that politics is the art of governing the state, where the main goal is the common good, i.e. rulers ensuring each person’s basic needs. According to the theory of Abraham H. Maslow, one of the main human needs is to ensure security, which is the result of many developed and thought-out strategies of detecting and counteracting threats that may or do arise, causing a state of uncertainty among specific communities.

We point out what Zygmunt Bauman and David Lyon (2013) recognise:

None of the current political institutions (operating under the authority of the state) can cope with the enormity of the tasks facing it. Our political leaders work out what needs to be done on Friday, and then all weekend shake with fear as they wait for the first Monday stock market to answer the question of what they really did (or, more precisely, what really happened…). No wonder we are so eager to listen to the ever-increasing reports of the birth of alternative institutions that are said to be burning to take over. Maybe the Internet will take care of what the change of the ruling party failed to do. (p. 206)

The attitude presented by politicians as rational is the humanisation of democratisation, which leads to pluralism in life: political and socio-economic, where selecting the interests of “ours” and “theirs” includes common sense, which can be helpful in ensuring the necessary security. In the age of contemporary threats, the technocratic approach to politics should not be ignored. This chapter presents alternatives to security in relation to selected political decisions from political and sociological perspectives. Defense policy today is the use of military and financial elites as well as science / education to achieve intended goals. If contemporary politicians lead toward a situation in which the world becomes free of inequality and injustice and “relatively” safe, they must make rational decisions in both the economic and financial spheres, while respecting democratic principles. Security in the twenty-first century is threatened by losing / losing the “spirit” of our era, as all areas of public and private life have been taken over either by politicians-bankers (rulers) or by “greedy” consumers. The meaning of contemporary security, and at the same time its requirement, is the announcement of a tandem interdependence created by a citizen-government union. The path to a smarter future is becoming an appropriate cohesion policy, providing a more effectively targeted approach to regional development, building a strong European pillar of social rights, strengthening social integration, and developing a high level of education in all areas and skills, among other things. Good cohesion policy is also a long-term programme of economic development, the effects of which will bring tangible benefits to programme participants. At the same time, more communication efforts are needed to increase the visibility of such a cohesion policy as it is implemented.

Carrying out an in-depth analysis of the literature on the subject, we indicate that the sociologist Margaret S. Archer (2013) asserts:

The natural attitude of a human being living in the world is an evaluative one. Value-oriented rationality is not a rationality specific to a particular historical period, because it is used by every real person to move around the world. If we were dealing with a disenchantment of reality, then we would all stand still because we would not be able to care for anything: only those who have no concerns are truly aimless. We can justify this by referring to “internal conversation”, which is a form of communication between people and reality. [...] Let us listen to the “internal conversation” and discover not only the richest of undefined research areas, but – more importantly – the charm of humanity. (p. 322)

Well, critical realism, co-created by Archer, allows us to study responsibility in the present day, because sociology doesn’t avoid difficult topics. The individual tries to find a place in society because they are its subject, and freedom and security become a conscious necessity. This chapter presents societies that should be described holistically, which forms the heuristic basis of this analysis. Every human activity must serve the life of the individual and society, and these activities must not violate human dignity and life. Thomas Jefferson, the US president from 1801 to 1809, warned his contemporaries that history teaches us only how bad our rule proved to be. The law is one means of ensuring the security of citizens, where most important is not “rule” but “exercising Security” according to Thierry de Montbrial (2011), referring to the definition by Olego Waever:

the ability of the society to maintain its specific character despite changing conditions and virtual and real threats; more precisely, it is about preserving traditional patterns in the sphere of language, culture, associations, national or religious identity and practices, while taking into account those necessary changes that are deemed acceptable [...]. According to de Montbrial [...] in this definition he refers to the criterion of structural stability. As you can see, its key element is the problem of identity. (pp. 216–217)

Education for safety

The faces of globalisation in the linguistic and cultural, economic and commercial, demographic and social and ecological dimensions (with attention to environmental degradation) make the perception of the scale of threats, problems or security a relative issue burdened with a subjective assessment of people or groups, and constantly evolving views and concepts about the future, threats and security (Wiśniewska-Paź, 2019, pp. 342–343). The dynamics of contemporary changes, as well as present and future threats, also concern the area of security and education, which is extremely important in identifying, overcoming or preventing them. Security and education have now become two key concepts in contemporary theories of the daily practice of individuals, nations and states. They directly and indirectly concern almost all spheres of life and types of human activity from birth to old age (Wiśniewska-Paź, 2018, p. 14). Education in general is an element of secondary socialisation, a very important process in the life of an individual...it enables the full development of a person and the emergence of very important personality traits, freedom of thought, sensitivity (Maciejewski & Ludziejewski, 2018, p. 90)

Referring to the concept of Ulrich Beck (Beck, 2002, 2004) describing the risk society, or the approach of Manuel Castells (Castells, 2012; Castells & Himanen, 2009), who defined modern society as the network society as a result of the information and IT revolution due to contemporary technology’s message, among others, one can come to the conclusion that what was supposed to give us more time and freedom has limited this time in actuality, and instead of making us smarter and more oriented made us more lost, adrift in a maze of information the size of which exceeds our processing capabilities (Wiśniewska-Paź, 2019, p. 344). To overcome this state of chaos and miscomprehension, lowered activity often leads individuals to withdraw from social life and fosters a reluctance to undertake even the simplest actions, with the active educational process becoming an ally not only in improving the well-being or self-esteem of the individual, but also increasing their sense of security. The sheer need to educate society in this aspect is evidenced by the results of research on the degree of threat to certain age groups faced with specific threats on the Internet (Wiśniewska-Paź, 2018, p. 13). The online threat affects children, as shown by extensive scientific research in Poland and abroad, and also adults, which would seem unlikely due to the latter’s much higher level of awareness than children. Wide access to a huge database of information, coming from various directions, increases the risk of susceptibility to influence and manipulation. Systems for interpreting and verifying information coming from all sides can’t keep up with the pace of its flow and outflow. The issue of broadly understood education for security is an increasingly popular aspect of considerations that absorbs both researchers and so-called ordinary people regardless of age, gender, income or education (Wiśniewska-Paź, 2018, pp. 14–15).

Infodemic

Humanity now faces epochal challenges due to the accumulation of megatrends in demographic, social, economic, environmental and political areas, which have additionally and unexpectedly overlapped with consequences of the disastrous COVID-19 pandemic, unpredictable as to its duration, its geographical scope and actual medical and social consequences. This changeability of reality on a global scale, omnipresent and rapidly progressing, with at the same time a multitude of unknown threats, becomes a daily source of the formation and flow of information, the truth of which exacerbates doubts. Thus the phenomenon known as infodemia is identified. The term infodemic indicates an information epidemic, a flood of reports having nothing to do with facts, plaguing social media and more (Żelezińska, 2020, p. 19). The mechanism of infodemia and the fake news in popular circulation responds to a hunger for information within a situation where there are many disturbing reports, and they are absorbed in bulk. Or vice versa, when access to information is difficult (ibidem). This is favoured by global interdependence, through which any evaluation of causes of our situation eludes human observation. According to Zygmunt Bauman, this creates an unprecedented space for great lies and manipulation. There was once much room for lies, when dangers and means of defending against them remained in an obvious relation. When there was a plague, you had to close the door to strangers. When there was a flood, you had to climb some dry hill. Today, we don’t understand relations between dangers and our actions. We learn of them from wise people writing in newspapers. Air pollution, overheating of the planet, the ozone hole, sources of the economic situation, causes of terrorism, reasons for unemployment – these aren’t phenomena cognizable with the natural senses. Experts tell us about them. When experts don’t tell us about them, we don’t know we’re putting ourselves in danger. What’s more, because in assessing the situation we must rely on experts’ opinions and an ordinary person has no way of controlling those, we can be freely misled. Experts can convince us that greenhouse gases don’t harm anything, that unilateralism is better than building an international community, that there’s only one right path for further development, that chocolate or vodka prolong our life or the contrary (Żakowski, 2004). COVID-19 has turned daily habits upside down. It trapped and aggravated obsessions, took over using uncertainty and frustration. It showed us we’re all the same: defenseless and helpless. This powerlessness means the “infodemic virus” has enormous potential to spread “silently” in all areas of social life, causing great confusion. To date, the relatively stabilised field of science has been subjected to further shocks, in the economic and cultural fields but also with multiplied force in the areas of politics and ideas. Populist, anti-elitist rhetoric, unsupported pseudoscientific theories spread with wildfire dynamics on the Internet, making more and more propaganda, stories, prejudices, conspiracy theories or even “sick fantasies” available than properly documented knowledge. Unfortunately, this favours the wall being created today, built by many who fashion history from myths, creating a new “historical policy” or actions of “legal experts” justifying the devastation of the legal, democratic order. It should also be noted that this is being initiated, supported or openly financed by the present authorities. Yet education is the part of the upbringing process that includes planned influence on the development of an individual’s developing intelligence by instilling certain cognitive values, knowledge and habits through the formal education system (Olechnicki & Załęcki, 1997, p. 52). Actions are being taken against the infodemia phenomenon, including very important information procedures developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), to limit the spread of this adverse phenomenon.

Pandemic depression of education

The SARS–CoV-2 virus that attacked the world on such a wide scale immediately left its mark in areas characteristic for present-day functioning. By striking them with mounting effect, it has devastated the following areas: social, economic, ecological, demographic and political. In turn, as Grzegorz W. Kołodko (2020) writes:

things happen as they do, because so much is happening at once. The coincidence of these trends distorts clarity of expectation among economic entities – enterprises, employees, households, the market and the state – which intensifies their irrational behaviour. Rational are those who act for their own benefit, given the information, which is asymmetric, fragmentary in nature, deliberately manipulated and emotionally distorted. (p. 13)

It is impossible to act rationally as a collapse in one sector is immediately affecting other sectors. And it is expected that these consequences will be long-term. Clearly, pandemic perturbations also concern the sphere of education and other processes supporting cultural competences, on at least on two levels. The first particularly concerns the area of  “new knowledge” (knowledge created for and used by politics and politicians); the second is the economic effects affecting possibilities of educating a wide range of society. Education, along with upbringing and socialisation, is one area of our lives that appear to be important for most people: it concerns not only teachers, students and their parents, but also politicians, employers and people active in public space. It is a particularly important component of social life, which in our country is very aptly defined by such terms as dynamics and transformations (Sacharczuk & Szwarc, 2020, p. 92). This applies equally to the education of students and of adults. Universities have been shaken, and educators all over the world are alarmed. The world’s most prestigious universities, from Harvard to Oxford and Cambridge, and other universities of significance in world education, from the University of Chicago and Yale to McGill University in Canada and the University of Adelaide in Australia, indicate that that their situations today have never been as difficult as at the present time. The outbreak of a pandemic of such an extent, the closure of borders, limited air travel and the need to switch to remote learning has had a decimating impact on those willing to learn, even at a prestigious institution. The consequence are fewer learners, which translates into reduced budgets for educational units, which fund not only the functioning of universities but also all kinds of research, grants, scientific exchange, etc. Additional restrictions in the functioning of educational units (social distancing), particularly where hybrid teaching is conducted (e.g. medical students), further narrow functional possibilities due to the necessity of significantly limiting those participating in e.g. exercises, seminars, apprenticeships, where such participation is mandatory. Observing international statistics in the area of education, the Economist cited a report in which the lack of students and the crisis of higher education meant universities which had been expanding their infrastructure, in anticipation of new waves of students, have halted millions of dollars in investments. Many have also announced reductions in salaries, layoffs and eliminating particular majors (Krzemińska, 2020, p. 59). The dramatic situation is shown by London’s Institute for Fiscal Studies, which forecasts bankruptcy for at least thirteen English universities due to the pandemic. In the United States, fifty universities with enrolments of over 4,000 students have closed or been merged to date, while the rest must take significant losses into account (Krzemińska, 2020, p. 59). Education provides not only knowledge but also social competences, which are difficult to learn online, as they are determined by direct reality. Hence, the deepening losses in education are not only material or programme losses caused by the sudden, forced reprogramming of the entire education system among all social groups, from direct to remote or hybrid. The pandemic has forced the institutional equipment and the equipping of educational units into the online system, influencing the process of shaping educated social competences. However, as some social competences indicate, it is difficult to learn online (Krzemińska, 2020, p. 60). The present reality in which we operate shows its unpredictability and complexity as regards the consequences and results of educational processes: it forces us to be humble and patient in the use of new forms and methods of education, without providing any certainty about their effectiveness in the longer term.

Social capital

Moving on to social capital, as a multidimensional category it combines many processes and phenomena (Chądzyński, Nowakowska & Przygodzki, 2007). Initially, this issue was described mainly in psychological terms, but with time sociocultural explanations also began to be used. There are many ways to use the resources existing in social space, but to reach for some of them, you need capital in its various forms. Janusz Czapiński defines social capital “as social networks regulated by moral norms or custom (and not or not only by formal legal principles), which bind an individual with society in a way that allows him to cooperate with others for the common good” (Czapiński & Panek, 2011, p. 284). The emergence of social capital among other forms of capital prompts us to first assess purely economic considerations. To start, in the economic sciences, when the concept of resources is used and capital is simultaneously involved and human labour is in use, the economy grows at its various scales and through its various stages. The recent popularisation of the concept of capital in sociological considerations means that many strictly sociological works are using this concept today. To organise the discussion, basic distinctions have been made. Social capital can be presented in many ways, starting with its understanding as: “Any assets that are first generated [...] and then put into circulation, invested in order to achieve a profit that is the goal” (Trutkowski & Mandes, 2005, p. 70). Social capital was evidently first used in 1916, in the context of the analysis of rural educational centres by the researcher Lyda J. Hanifan (Starosta & Frykowski, 2008). For Hanifan, social capital was a certain tangible feature with significance through most of people’s daily lives: kindness, companionship, sympathy and social relations between individuals and families making up a social whole (Niesporek, 2008, p. 19). Social capital entails belonging to a group, those social relations that become the basis for providing an individual with social authentication in their activities aimed at achieving a specific goal in a given field (Mikiewicz, 2019, p. 45). It is focused on social trust, manifesting in relationships and, as a resource used in the area of privileged middle-class groups, it enables the differentiation of usurpers from lower classes. In referring to social capital, it is impossible to ignore other forms of capital, an outline of which is presented below.

Cultural capital, human capital, intellectual capital

Cultural capital is defined as everything that is expressed in interpersonal relations, the source of which is culture, functioning in three forms, which constitute its embodiment, institutionalisation and objectification. Pierre Bourdieu points out that cultural regulation encompasses motivations and mobilisation in acquiring cultural goods as values. This approach, however, leads other authors to evaluate the concept: “cultural capital is habits, skills and reflexes acquired through socialisation in elite groups, with a higher social position and education, with these features facilitating the maintenance and reproduction of such elite positions, and they are also a symbol of belonging to elite groups” (Niesporek, 2008, p. 190). The use of symbols of culture is a competence. According to some authors, it is actually the same as human capital (focusing mainly on the individual), and at the least, both have much in common or are contained in the other. Others make a strict separation, reserving for cultural capital what is neither human nor social capital. Wojciech Świątkiewicz characterises it as “a specific and internally structured type of patterning in cultural behaviour, remaining in specific relations with economic and social capital” (Świątkiewicz, 2001, p. 21). Characterising the concept, Świątkiewicz refers to these as members of a given community, listing components of cultural capital including knowledge, skills, competences in the field of symbolic (linguistic) communication, rooting into culture value orientation, ethos (religion, morality), life aspirations, openness to new experiences, styles of participation in culture, customs, non-conformism and readiness to accept changes. There are also proposals to treat cultural capital jointly with social capital and instead of analysing each one separately, to focus on sociocultural capital (Rykiel, 2008). The justification here is made by observations that impose, in the first place, definitions of social and cultural capital.

Education challenges for security

By reassuming the above considerations of security and educational determinants and the foundations of security culture, we indicate that they have become the key concepts of contemporary theory and practice in daily life (Wiśniewska-Paź, 2019, p. 357). Given the awareness of the inability on the part of the state and the dispositional groups functioning within its structures to ensure complete security, we indicate the need to take care of the existence of citizens. Such care for safety should be continuous, continually supplemented with knowledge through multilevel and lifelong education, shaping the habits of learning and training, keeping up with subsequent changes, and thus guaranteeing the constant development of broadly understood competences. Activity at the level of a single actor functioning within social structures requires effective support from educational institutions (universities, schools) that can be provided by the state, local authorities or other institutions included in the overall strategy of safety education. For this purpose, the training system as developed and implemented should educate people from various social groups and categories about forms of safe behaviour in situations requiring rapid reactions, on their ability to recognise threats, to react to and counteract them. The challenge facing contemporary security education, therefore, requires efforts to devise and construct a new strategy of action and change the way of thinking about threats, their place and ways of dealing with them, including attempts to prevent them from arising (Wiśniewska-Paź, 2019, p. 357). The issue of the determinants of education for security has taken on heightened importance in the face of the current SARS–CoV-2 pandemic and its global spread, which has caused enormous havoc in communities, a drama in the world’s economies, and in reaction to which the direct struggle with our present state of knowledge and range of opportunities has so far provided few results.

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Oleksandra Kachmar

ORCID: 0000-0002-2002-4603

Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian

National University,

Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine

Liliana Khimchuk

ORCID: 0000-0002-9243-3131
Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University,
Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine

The Role of Lifelong Learning in Ukraine’s Socioeconomic Development in the 21st Century

The authors attempt to evaluate current and prospective possibilities of the lifelong-learning system to act as an element in Ukraine’s social and economic development. After analysing the content of the concept of “lifelong learning” and features of terminological interaction, it was possible to explore possibilities of lifelong learning in promoting Ukraine’s development, while taking the current challenges of civilisational development into account. An analysis of global trends and the need for close up focus on Industry 4.0 challenges made it possible to substantiate the thesis that the country’s system of lifelong learning should focus less on timely updating of professional knowledge than on active long-term inclusion of education subjects in large-scale sociocultural transformations.

Keywords: lifelong learning, modernisation of education, socioeconomic development, 21st-century skills, fourth industrial revolution

Introduction

Over the years of Ukraine’s independence, our country’s education system and especially its higher education has been attempting both to ensure compliance with current sociocultural demands and to successfully implement the strategy integrating the national higher-education system into the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). These modernisation steps are logically carried out through improving the legal and regulatory framework, mainly of higher education in Ukraine, which in practice will enable the implementation of numerous global trends in education, including lifelong learning (LLL), academic mobility, internationalisation of education, academic freedoms, etc.

Each of these trends in educational development is a complex research problem requiring numerous comprehensive studies in the fields of educational policy, philosophy of education, economics of education, etc. In this article, we will attempt to analyse contradictions in implementing the principle of lifelong learning at higher education’s current stage of development, through the prism of the need to ensure its important role in Ukraine’s socioeconomic development in the present century. Within international experience, lifelong learning has been a guideline for the development of national education systems for half a century (most researchers agree that lifelong learning was conceptually presented to the educational community in 1972, in the UNESCO report Learning to Be: The World of Tomorrow). Indeed, over recent decades, lifelong learning has evolved from a theoretical concept into a real tool for developing education and society, acting as an important organisational principle. As a principle, it is fairly considered an adequate response to socioeconomic changes (the emergence of the knowledge economy, the spread of information technology, demographic transformations of mankind, etc.).

Materials and methods

In our research, we support the contemporary approach to understanding links between lifelong learning and sociocultural development, as presented by UNESCO (2016):

Lifelong learning policies demonstrate two main orientations: humanistic and economic. Although humanistic approaches emphasize the role of lifelong learning in promoting individual and collective transformation, economic approaches tend to understand lifelong learning as a means of adapting to a knowledge-based economy. Lifelong learning is important for personal development, development of democracy and public life, as well as the provision of humanistic values in working life.

Our analysis should take into account national “projections” of complex globalisation trends, when national modernisation projects can be effective “roadmaps” for real changes in educational practices. In addition, the discourse of lifelong learning is a significant methodological-research problem, as UNESCO experts emphasise: lifelong learning is a very broad term with wide ranging interpretations and almost no general terminology accepted for the topic; some end-to-end practices of lifelong learning from early childhood do not use the term “lifelong learning”, while many documents use the term in describing practices that are similar in content and essence (UNESCO, 2016).

European integration processes in the higher-education system strive to implement principles laid out in the Bologna Declaration (EURASHE, 1999). That document and steps being taken in Ukrainian higher education to implement it are often criticised by researchers and practitioners in the field. In the communicative space around this problem, mythologies arise that Europe abandoned this path of reform long ago, and that the very logic of modernisation poses a grave threat to Ukraine’s strong tradition of higher education.

Be that as it may, we proceed in our study from the fact that this vector of modernising processes has been and remains a development strategy for the national education system, in solidarity with the education philosopher Olga Gomilko’s thesis:

The Bologna reform in Ukraine had the same administrative character as in Europe. Unlike European countries, the Bologna reform was initiated not only externally, but also due to the need for modernization. The truth is that Ukrainian education has not been modernized since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Therefore, the Bologna Process for Ukraine is not only an administrative intervention, but also a real chance to overcome the post-Soviet (post-totalitarian) heritage in the university system (Gomilko, Svyrydenko & Terepyshchyi, 2016, p. 184).

Indeed, the Ukrainian higher-education system has faced significant inertia in its recent period of development. Our country has also become involved much later in these processes than other European countries, which for the most part can apply more powerful resources to implementing modernisation steps to creating a European higher-education area. Under our present conditions of incomplete modernisation across the entire society, which results from implementing progressive modernisation strategies in education and the successful transfer of foreign experience, hybrid (negative) forms of productive approaches have arisen, which in the language of philosophy can be described as follows:

Focusing on hybridity in Ukrainian education, we try to find out the possibilities and obstacles of modernization through the optics of mixing the features of postcolonial (imperial – Russian, Austro-Hungarian), post-totalitarian (Soviet), national (Ukrainian), modern (European / Western) and global (world high standards) paradigm of higher education. As a result, in Ukrainian education there is a coexistence of modern, pre-modern and non-modern educational elements. While global logic points to a general global strategy for education, local idiosyncrasy filters it, sometimes even rejects it. Therefore, the local is important not so much as the recipient of the global, but rather as its opponent (Gomilko, Svyrydenko & Terepyshchyi, 2016, pp. 178–179).

Thus, when substantiating means of ensuring the lifelong-learning system in its role in sociocultural development, not only universal recommendations for improving the dissemination of effective practices should be taken into account, but also the specifics of the cultural landscape, and specific educational traditions.

The urgent question for this study then becomes the ability of the national education system to act as an effective tool in developing both the individual and the broader, complex economic system in effectively implementing the lifelong-learning concept:

The challenges of time require the formation of a fundamentally new personality type to fit organically into social change, while actively influencing their progressive development. It should be borne in mind that a new personality type is not only the result of training in any structure of education, but the result of the entire educational system, from preschool through education and ending with adult education (Topchij, 2014, p. 222).

We recommended analysing the essence of the concept through its definition in regulatory and research sources, assessing the level of its ability to influence socioeconomic development in national systems and across the global socioeconomic space.

We also set ourselves the task of exploring the current state of and prospects for implementing lifelong-learning principles in national education, to identify driving forces and that which deters acquisition of “continuity” signs within the education system. Developing the issue in this sequence will assess the current state of implementation of continuing-education strategies’ compliance with the next sociocultural situation, which is the current state’s consonance with the changing sociocultural landscape of the global world and of Ukraine in particular: “the need to improve the knowledge of specialists – these are the reasons that lead to the fact that continuing education is of strategic importance” (Nykyforenko & Ivanova, 2014, p. 149).

Discussion

In turning to a direct analysis of definitions of the continuing-education concept, it is necessary to make a methodological remark. In international practice, “lifelong learning” is the common term, while in domestic usage we find numerous synonymous terms (Cambridge Dictionary, 2020).

In our view, this varied terminology can be codified to the common term, and lifelong learning will be the key term of our study, and conditionally synonymous in content with its international usage. This example clearly illustrates the complex “dialectic of terminological interaction” (Andrushchenko & Saveliev, 2010) in the field of contemporary education, that issue of complex combinations of global and local discourses which we have emphasised above.

In understanding the essence of lifelong learning, it is appropriate to refer to UNESCO reports on the topic. The 2016 report Concepts and Reality of Lifelong Learning defines the term:

Lifelong learning is integrated into all stages of the education system, involving people of different ages and trying to create links between different levels of learning and the flexibility of educational trajectories. Lifelong learning also refers to the transitions between education, training and working life, and includes formal, non-formal and informal learning (UNESCO, 2016).

UNESCO, having initiated the discourse on lifelong learning in the educational community, pays continued attention to the analysis of the concept’s possibilities in promoting general developments in humanity and in national communities in particular.

The Cambridge Glossary interprets continuing education from a pragmatic standpoint as a process of acquiring lifelong knowledge and skills to ensure labor-market relevance. While this interpretation is overly broad, it demonstrates a productive connection with transformative processes in social and economic spheres, and to lifelong learning as a tool in minimising the gap between direct human capabilities and dynamic social demands.

In domestic legislation, lifelong learning is interpreted in the context of implementing provisions of adult education, responsive to current changes in social architecture and economy: “Adult education, as part of lifelong learning, aims to implement the right of every adult to continuous education, taking into account their personal needs, priorities of social development and the needs of the economy” (Zakon Ukrainy “Pro osvity”, 2017). These definitions are relevant to the role of continuing education in socioeconomic development in the present day, providing opportunities for professionals to extend their value in the labour market, but then distance themselves from understanding continuing education as a cross-cutting principle of the education system. The priority is for education development, in accordance with the needs of society at its current stage of development.

Following from the analysis of the given terms is the universal role of continuous education as the tool for development expertise in response to dynamic changes in a society. The social mission of continuing education is the harmonious integration of the individual into new social and economic realities, transformations in the labour market, and so on. Above, we have addressed the problem of the essence of the concept under study.

The concept of twenty-first century skills is actively discussed by practitioners and researchers in the field of education. It is part of broad discussions on the future of humanity at the World Economic Forum, and popularised through UNESCO documents, futurological theories in the field of contemporary education and from other prominent platforms. Can we be sure that a given domestic specialist involved in the lifelong-learning system is acquiring skills for continuously integrating into the contemporary labour market?

The set of necessary skills for the present century is in itself the subject of lively discussion. The vast majority of authors, however, are in consensus with the following list:

basic skills (literacy; ability to count; scientific literacy; ICT (information-communication technology) literacy; financial literacy; cultural and civic literacy);

competences (critical thinking / problem solving; creativity; communication; cooperation);

qualities of character (interest; initiative; persistance / endurance; adaptability; leadership; social and cultural awareness) (Ellahi, Ali Khan & Shah, 2019).

As we can see, the educational process in the present century has many hopes, less in measuring the development of professional skills, training or retraining than in measuring the formation of complex-thinking styles and decision-making strategies in a dynamic world. Education futurists and the world’s leading economists state that the role of these skills will only grow in coming years, creating serious challenges for end-to-end education systems, and especially for vocational-training systems in all countries, regardless of their level of development.

Ukraine’s agenda of sociocultural development, provided that focusing on global trends already demonstrating their importance in the world’s developed economies, should focus on basic provisions of the theory of Industry 4.0 (the Fourth Industrial Revolution). The system of continuing education should be an effective translator of new knowledge and skills, ensuring the state’s proactive involvement in implementing this inevitable global trend.

In our view, it would be a strategic mistake to consider Industry 4.0 a distant prospect, with its new vision of the roles of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, blurred boundaries between digital and physical worlds, etc., and not take timely tactical steps to consider as primary broad modernisation strategies for continuing education.

The authors of “Re-designing the Curriculum in Accordance with Industry 4.0” declare the need to incorporate trends of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the learning process, regardless of the profile of student training is a given place or system:

We have to focus education on the latest technologies, such as data analysis, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, the Internet of Things, cloud computing and other achievements so that students can learn to apply them (Gomilko, Svyrydenko & Terepyshchyi, 2016, p. 699).

The idea of placing this revolutionary horizon of social practices within the education system, meanwhile, fits harmoniously into the mission of lifelong learning: to maintain an updated state of knowledge, skills and competences, ensuring successful integration into the labour market (the present innovative economy) and into new sociocultural architecture. In addressing to the topic of this chapter, we move to outlining how the continuing-education system can be related to the nation’s socioeconomic development in the present century.

Without resorting to alarming views of the future, in exploring possibilities of continuing education being a driving force in Ukraine’s socioeconomic development, we must recall the thesis on the near future of labour markets stated at the World Economic Forum in 2016:

New outlines in the Fourth Industrial Revolution quickly became a reality for millions of workers and companies around the world. Its potential is enormous for economic prosperity, social progress and individual prosperity in this new world of work, but it depends heavily on the ability of all stakeholders to intensify reforms in education and training, labour-market policies, business approaches to skill development, employment strategies and existing social contracts (Andrushchenko & Saveliev, 2010).

Accordingly, the quality of response to these challenges by a given education system will determine whether these systems can act as effective “players” on the new “chess” board we are now witnessing.

In the context of the present study, we are talking about providing the continuing-education system with timely updating of professional knowledge in parallel with active involvement in large-scale sociocultural transformations (an example is Industry 4.0). The result of this education will be not only professional skills, but personality, many varied styles of thinking, motivational factors and decision-making models corresponding to the present and future sociocultural circumstances. At the same time, in striving for an objective, comprehensive study of the problem of lifelong learning, we also realise that:

Levels of development and implementation of Industry 4.0 vary greatly from country to country and are often related to existing technology infrastructure, data integration, national prosperity and development, awareness and devotion of political and educational leaders (Webster, Andre & Thu Giang, 2019).

Results

Thus, we have reason to move to conceptualising the study’s conclusions. From the analysis of the definitions of the concept of “lifelong learning”, it has been possible to demonstrate that its purpose is a universal concept with a social mission that requires content from specific sociocultural conditions to provide educational “support” for socioeconomic development. The analysis of world trends and the need to anticipate challenges of Industry 4.0 allow the thesis to be substantiated that the Ukrainian system of lifelong learning should focus on both timely renewal of professional knowledge and active long-term involvement by educational actors in large-scale sociocultural transformations (today, we are referring to Industry 4.0).

Lifelong learning should not be declarative; in practice, it becomes instead a tool for developing twenty-first-century skills, especially those specific to the current stage of development-value horizons, thinking styles, motivational mechanisms, decision-making models and more.

References

Andrushchenko, V. P., Saveliev, V. L. (2010). Osvitnya polityka. Ohlyad poryadky dennoho. Kiev: “MP Lesya”.

Cambridge Dictionary: Lifelong learning; https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/lifelong-learning (accessed on: 30.08.2020).

Ellahi, R. M., Ali Khan, M. U., Shah, A. (2019). Redesigning Curriculum in Line with Industry 4.0. Procedia Computer Science, Vol. 151, 699–708.

EURASHE (2019). The Bologna Declaration of 19 June 1999: Joint declaration of the European Ministers of Education; https://www.eurashe.eu/library/bologna_1999_bologna-declaration-pdf/.

Gomilko, O., Svyrydenko, D., Terepyshchyi, S. (2016). Hybridity in the Higher Education of Ukraine: Global Logic or Local Idiosyncrasy. Philosophy and Cosmology, 17, 199.

Nykyforenko, V. G., Ivanova, L. V. (2014). Holovni aspecty innovatsejnoi rozbydovy systemy bezperervnoi osvity. Socialno-trudovi vidnosyny: theoriya i praktyka, 1, 148–151.

Topchij, T. V. (2014). Bezperervna osvita yak systemne seredovysche formuvannya osobystosti. Visnyk Natsionalnoi yurydychnoi Ukrainy imeni Yaroslava Mudroho, 3, 222–228.

UNESCO (2016). Report «Conceptions and Realities of Lifelong Learning»; .

Webster, R., Andre, J., Thu Giang, T. T. (2019). UNESCO Report Industry 4.0 and Higher Education: Combining Learning Analytics and Learning Science to Transform the Undergraduate Learning Experience in Vietnam; http://www.vnseameo.org/InternationalConference2019/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Dr.-Ray-Webster_Combining-Learning-Analytics-and-Learning-Science-to-Enhancing-the-Employability-of-Future-University-Graduates.pdf.

Zakon Ukrainy “Pro osvity” (2017). .

Nadiia Ivanivna Lutsan

ORCID: 0000-0001-6239-1535
Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University,
Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine

Trends in Adult-education Development in Ukraine

The author examines trends in the development of adult education. The problem of providing free access to education is analysed, along with changing the practice of adult education throughout life. The author emphasises that adult education is flexible and dynamic, responsive to present social requirements and personal needs of adults, and that positive change prevails in adult education in Ukraine. First, it is an extension of educational goals and directions. Secondly is the diversity of educational services; thirdly, the transformation in flexibility of existing adult-education structures, able to meet today’s requirements. Leading tendencies of Ukrainian adult education are determined to be transformation and expansion of its content field. The concept of adult-education changes, and a new approach to adult education, emerges as an area of employment opportunities and occupational change. The relevance of adult education is driven by additional factors, including the need to adapt the adult population to new socio-economic conditions. Adult education, unlike other structural components of the education system, can be implemented in various forms: formal, non-formal and informal, aimed at individual self-development. Main priorities are identified in adult-education development in Ukraine and in its prospective directions.

Keywords: adult education, development of adult education, strategic directions, lifelong learning

Introduction

Under current conditions of rapid development in all spheres of life and a person’s economic and professional activity, continuing education becomes an integral part of personal growth for every adult, through training, self-development and self-improvement. The main goal of the development of a democratic society is awareness and perception of this opportunity by as many citizens as possible.

Adult education as a component of lifelong learning has transformed from a means to a goal of human development, enabling the establishment of human-centeredness in education, with its primary goals of self-expression, self-realisation, development of social ties and the ability to act. Contemporary understanding of continuing education has expanded greatly, a social phenomenon as an active form of practical activity has been added to its content, and education itself has become multifaceted, while the principle of continuity now involves a qualitatively different type of interaction between an individual and society.

Adult education, as a relatively independent social institution, has its own development vector, closely interconnected with other social institutions and with a proactive effect on all other areas (economics, politics, science, law, security, ideology, etc.). It has an intersecting nature and is being carried out at the levels of general secondary, vocational, higher and postgraduate education. Adult education is a factor providing a direct process of personal development and determining ways of implementing and updating this process. Its essence presupposes not only the existence of an economic basis, but also the realisation of a moral and developmental function enabling an individual’s comprehensive development through the gradual enrichment of previously acquired knowledge and skills.

Sergii Vershlovsky notes that adult education is aimed at meeting expectations and needs of various groups in the working population, the unemployed, immigrants for whom circumstances have changed their usual way of life, the disabled and “third age” persons (Vershlovsky, 2003).

Leading domestic scientists have been concerned with issues of adult education, as seen in scientific works by researchers including Olena Anishchenko (Anishchenko, 2019), Svetlana Arkhipova (Arkhipova, 2011), Iryna Levchenko (Levchenko, 2015), Nelya Nychkalo (Nychkalo, 2014), Olena Ogienko (Ogienko, 2009), Larissa Sigaeva (Sigaeva, 2009).

In educatioin, changes in various spheres of life in many countries, issues faced by the global community, and entering the era of information civilisation have led to the emergence of fundamentally new problems. The importance of continuing education through life for a person and for society has increased. With the formation of trends towards democratisation, open societies, the introduction of information and communication technologies, trends continue emerging in the development of continuing education and especially in adult education.

Materials and methods

To find out what the main directions of formulating state educational policy for Ukraine’s adult population are, research has been analysed by scientists including Oksana Voitovska, Timothy Desyatov, Ivan Zyazyun, Iryna Levchenko, Nelya Nychkalo, Olena Ogienko and Svetlana Sysoeva.

Voitovska’s position indicates additional adult education’s effect in the general civilisational context. It focuses on individual self-identification, in cooperation both with a specific environment and encirclement and with the historical process as a whole. Such education is based on the needs of a person determining the meaning of life, of their human and civic obligation and of their position in society. This is necessary for adapting the adult population to the ever-changing information society (Voitovska, 2014).

One pressing problem of domestic adult education, according to Disyatov, is that of forming a culture of future professionals, their competitiveness, and adaptation to contemporary conditions and requirements of the labour market. Reasons for the lag of adult education compared to the practice of technologically developed countries include underestimating potential opportunities for adult education; insufficient scientific substantiation of education policies in general; lack of necessary regulatory and legal frameworks; insufficient research into foreign experience in this field; and too few recommendations of international organisations (Disyatov, 2014).

The scientists Zyazyun and Nychkalo consider adult education the most mobile sphere of education. To ensure the efficiency of content in adult education, it must be open and its organisation must allow virtually continuous adjustment of curricula and planning. This should take into account important requests of adults, their needs, the relevance of scientific knowledge, and changes in the domestic socio-economic and political situation (Zyazyun & Nychkalo, 2014).

According to the researcher Levchenko, the adult-education sphere should have a state and public character, combining all types and forms of adult education at each level of the state and public spheres, whether formal education (within educational institutions providing a recognised document) or non-formal (not actual educational institutions and not necessarily concluding with a recognised document). The purpose of the state creating such a subsystem is not total and firm management, but the support of state authorities for adult-education development in all its diverse types and forms (Levchenko, 2015).

Ogienko draws attention to the idea that continuing education has long been identified with adult education, concluding that “continuing education has become a leading characteristic of contemporary civilisation, and adult education has become its perceived necessity” (Ogienko, 2009, p. 58). According to Ogienko, the reason for the debatable nature of the concept of adult education results from specific developments in adult education in different countries, with wide ranging goals and functions, along with ambiguity in understanding the categories of continuing education and of adult people (ibidem).

According to Sigaeva: “adult education has a deep vital condition in which there is a significant accumulation of knowledge in all areas of science, technology and culture, and there is a development of democratic initiatives promoting an active sociological position, with the life and professional path of each person radically changing” (Sigaeva, 2010, p. 14).

Sysoyeva (2004) states that:

adult education should be considered not only in terms of the time interval of training and professional development, not only in terms of the need to adapt to the constant changes of the contemporary world (organisational, technological, economic, etc.), but also in relation to problems of personal self-realisation, finding the meaning of one’s life and place in society, the problems of spiritual growth and cultural development. (p. 11)

As Sysoyeva notes, “adult education should be a continuous process, creating the opportunity while motivating a person to constant self-development, self-improvement throughout life” (ibdem, p. 12).

In my view, a key problem in domestic adult education is the insufficiently developed regulatory framework in this area. In most developed countries, legislation concerning adult education has been adopted and put into practice; adults are considered a special, quite independent sphere of services. The theoretical basis of adult learning in most of these countries is the concept of adult education. In Ukraine, all forms of adult education remain in various subordinate conditions, detached from each other and not united by state policy, which corresponds also to their management structures.

Discussion

Adult learning has its own specifics, and these differ from the usual learning process. Abroad, significant experience has long since been acquired in this area.

At present domestically, only a new science of adult education is developing: andragogy (adult education). Yet in practice, adult education remains based on traditional pedagogical principles, significantly reducing the effectiveness of education. Internationally, many countries utilise specific technologies in teaching adults. In Ukraine, in the adult-learning process, traditional pedagogical learning technologies remain in use, unfortunately, which have been developed on the basis of student-learning experience.

Theoretical, scientific and methodological developments have a positive functional and developmental effect across the entire sphere of adult education. Abroad, the contingent of andragogues – people who work with adults who study – ranges from teachers to consultants, tutors, managers, information workers, organisers of adult-workplace training and others. In Ukraine, however, very little basic research has been conducted in the field of andragogy, or into teaching materials on this issue, and to date there is no system of andragogy training.

In my view today, though, positive changes are prevailing in adult education. First there is the ramification of goals of and directions in education. Among the already known and established goals – social, adaptive, informative – these include the restoration of stability, the dynamic development of society, the individual’s self-development, development of their civic position and in the professional and household spheres have gained great importantance. New areas of adult education, which have only begun to spread in our country but are already well known across Europe, are education for the elderly, vocational training of people with disabilities, and education for people who have been incarcerated.

Second is the diversification of educational services provided to adults in companies, corporate training, short-term courses and seminars, on-the-job training, as well as now-widespread private training (foreign-language training, driving, etc.).

Third, the transformation of existing adult-education structures into more flexible ones meeting contemporary requirements (examples include the creation of multifunctional adult-education centres based on evening schools, the association of interest groups in universities for the elderly, and modification of advanced-training courses). A characteristic feature of adult education today is not only the participation of the subject chosing educational directions, but also participation in selecting and structuring learning content, its forms, technologies, pace and active use of current information technology.

Strategic directions of adult-education development

The first direction aims at the development of adult education as an integral system reproducing guarantees and rights to lifelong learning for every citizen. The domestic system of adult education includes components of adult education, governing bodies in the field, adult-education providers and participants in the process themselves.

The second direction is developing legal support for adult education. Legislation on domestic adult education is based on the constitution and specific Ukrainian laws: “On Education”, “On Extracurricular Education”, “On General Secondary Education”, “On Vocational (Technical) Education”, “On Professional Higher Education”, “On Higher Education”, “On Scientific and Scientific-Technical Activity”, “On Employment of the Population”, “On Local Self-Government”, “On Public Associations”, along with other normative and legal acts regulating the activity of adult-education providers.

An adult has the right to freely choose an adult-education provider in accordance with their own needs and interests, except as provided by law. Violation of this right of an adult to freely choose an adult-education provider entails a legally established administrative liability.

The third direction, the substantiation of mechanisms of state recognition of adult education, is presently one of the priority areas. The main directions, principles of adult education and of state policy in the field of adult education, are being determined.

The fourth direction is adjusting goals and content of adult education. Today, the process of adult learning can no longer be limited to narrow goals, and therefore requires a focus on expanding the general cultural awareness of not only personal or national problems but also of social ones, along with the formation of responsibility for results and consequences of one’s professional and domestic activities.

The fifth direction is the development of a strategy for regional development of adult education, taking into account a particular region’s social and economic, demographic, national, cultural and other factors and characteristics.

Promising areas of scientific and pedagogical research include the creation and expansion of a network of adult-education centres based on free educational institutions and on other educational institutions, as well as non-formal education centres for various categories of adults, cooperation with third-age universities, and development of scientific and methodological support for domestic adult education.

One draft law, “On Adult Education”, is presently under discussion (MON, 2020). Its main objectives are:

creating conditions for developing adult education;

determining the priority areas of adult education;

regulating the adult-education system;

determining principles of cooperation between the state, local governments and adult-education providers;

laying legal foundations for activities of new institutions in the adult-education field.

The draft bill also defines legal mechanisms of interaction between formal and non-formal adult education, aimed at expanding adult access to formal education and laying down convenient, flexible rules for adults in acquiring formal, non-formal and informal education.

Results

Ukraine is creating a system of adult education as part of a continuing education system that, in my view, should be characterised by close ties with systems of continuing education including international ones; with work based on the theory of adult learning, or andragogy; broad development of the market for educational services; providing adult-education staff with specialist training; development and combination of various organisational forms of adult-education management.

The main goals and defined functions of adult education, therefore, are to meet the self-improvement needs of an individual, of society in the formation of a socially active person who adapts to realities, and of the economy in training a competent, effective professional. The ultimate goal of adult education is the formation of a person actively, competently and effectively participating in economic, social and personal life. Adult-education policy should promote integration into the European and the global educational space.

References

Anishchenko, O. W. (2019). Koncepcija rozwitku nieformalnoi oswity doroslih w Ukraini. Osvita doroslih: teoria, doswid, perspiektivy, 1(15), 20–39.

Arhypova, S. (2011). Akmeologichni zasadi profesijnoi pidgotovky sotsialnyh pratsivnykiv. Naukovyi visnyk Uzhhorodskoho natsionalnoho universytetu. Seriia: Pedagogika. Sotsialna robota, 21, 10–13; http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/Nvuuped_2011_21_4.

Desiatov, T. M. (2014). Tenedentsii rozvitku osvity doroslih: evropeiskyi dosvid. Osvita doroslih: teoria, doswid, perspektyvy, Vol. 1 (8), 182–190; http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/OD_2014_1_26.

Levchenko, I. (2015). Osvita doroslih yak naukova problema. Osvita doroslih: teoria, doswid, perspektyvy, 5, 45–54.

Lukianova, L. B. (2015). Svitovyi dosvid ta yevropeiski tendentsii zakonodavchoho vrehuliuvannia osvity doroslih. Pedagogika i psykhologiia. Naukovo-teoretychnyi ta informatsiinyi visnyk Natsionalnoi akademii pedagogichnykh nauk Ukrainy, 1(86), 64–70.

MON (2020). Proiekt Zakonu Ukrainy «Pro osvitu doroslih»; https://mon.gov.ua/ua/news/mon-proponuye-dlya-gromadskogo-obgovorennya-zakonoproyekt-pro-osvitu-doroslih.

Nychkalo, N. H. (2009). Andragogika v systemi pedagogichnykh nauk. Osvita doroslih: teoria, doswid, perspektyvy, 1, 7–19.

Nychkalo, N. H. (2014). Rozvytok profesiinoi osvity v umovakh globalizatsiinykh ta integratsiinykh protsesiv. Vydavnytstvo NPU imeni M. P. Dragomanova; http://lib.iitta.gov.ua/709906/1/BE.pdf

Ogiienko, O. I. (2009). Tendentsii rozvytku osvity doroslih u skandynavskykh krainakh (druga polovyna XX st.): In-t ped. osvity i osvity doroslykh APN Ukrainy.

Pukhovska, L. (2010). Navchannia vprodovzh zhyttia yak priorytetnyi napriam Bolonskoho protsesu u nastupnomu desiatyrichchi. Osvita doroslih: teoria, doswid, perspektyvy, 2, 72–78.

Sigaieva, L. Ye. (2009). Kontseptsiia rozvytku osvity doroslih v Ukraini. TOV «VD «EKMO».

Sigaieva, L. Ye. (2010). Rozvytok osvity doroslih v Ukraini (druga polovyna XX st. – pochatok XXI st.). In: S.O. Sysoievoi (ed.), TOV «VD «EKMO», 217–238.

Sysoieva, S. O. (2004). Osvita doroslih: tekhnologichnyi aspekt. Neperervna profesiina osvita: teorija i praktika, 1(1), 9–23.

Vasylenko, O. V. (2013). Neformalna osvita doroslih: nove sotsialno-osvitnie yavyshche. Osvita doroslih: teoria, doswid, perspiektivy, 7, 35–44.

Vershlovskyi, S. G. (2003). Doroslyi yak subiekt osvity. Pedagogika, 8, 3–8.

Voitovska, O. M. (2014). Suchasni problemy ta tendentsii rozvytku osvity doroslih v system nieperervnoi osvity. Zbirnyk naukovykh prats. Pedagogichni nauki, 122, 12–18.

Ziaziun, I. (2002). Neperervna osvita: kontseptualni zasady i suchasni tekhnolohii. Tvorcha osobystist u systemi neperervnoi osvity. Kharkiv: KhDPU, 8–16.

Irina Popova

ORCID: 0000-0002-1769-8885
Yaroslavl State University, PG Demidov, Russia

The Development Strategy of Russia’s System of Additional Professional Education

Adult education needs its own theory of and technology for education, special scientific and methodological materials, as well as specially trained cadres of teachers and consultants. The essence of the andragogical approach to adult education is the possibility of involving the adult student in organising the process of their own learning. To use the labour potential of working people in older age groups, certain social conditions are necessary, which mainly depend on the state of the labour market, namely on the availability of jobs. The presence of established attitudes to retraining and advanced training is an important factor in the development of the system of continuing professional education. The level of formation depends on the state of the education system and motivating incentives. The data of the present study confirm the hypothesis that the pre-retirement age group does not have an attitude toward continuing professional education. The lack of motivation for retraining is one of the main factors complicating reforms to increase the retirement age.

Keywords: andragogy, additional professional education, labour market, labour potential, motivation.

Introduction

Contemporary societies live in an era of changes that are irreversibly transforming the world. The ageing process is one of the important factors determining socioeconomic development in modern societies. If by the beginning of the twenty-first century only 10 per cent of the world’s population was over 60 years old, then according to the forecasts of researchers, by the middle of the century this share will be 21 per cent (Tatyana V. Kondratyuk). The consequences of this process carry both a positive and a negative charge. It is positive that the humanisation of society leads to creative longevity, which will help to use the labour potential of elderly educated people with high qualifications in their professional activities, with a certain social status. This requires certain conditions, depending mainly on the availability of the state concept of vocational training of the population as a factor of the economy based on lifelong learning. The negative side has, as a rule, national specifics, which is determined by the economic development of an individual state. Thus, in Russia, the development of the socio-demographic situation coincides with the global trend: the share of people of retirement age is growing both in the total population of the country (from 1990 to 2010 it increased from 18.7 to 21.6 per cent) and in the number of employed people (from 1992 to 2009 their share increased from 6.6 to 7.7 per cent) (Safonov, 2011, p. 141) The share of people older than working age, according to Rosstat, will reach 28.3 per cent of the total population by 2030. The most striking area of manifestation of the negative aspects of the imbalance in the age composition of the country’s population is the change in the requirements for labour resources and their competencies, as well as the growth of requirements for professional and personal characteristics of employees. Drastic technological changes are shaping the knowledge economy. In these conditions, a particularly vulnerable socio-demographic group are people who have already passed most of their working life, but have not yet retired. In Russia, additional adult education is considered primarily as additional professional education, which is aimed at meeting educational and professional needs, professional development of a person, ensuring compliance of his qualifications with changing conditions of professional activity and social environment.

Lifelong learning, adult education, continuing education

According to Sergey G. Vershlovsky (2010, p. 20), as regards conditions of market-economy development, when an adult becomes the main customer and consumer of educational services, they set priorities in the field of education. The multivariance of ways and means of solving problems of training and development among people of different ages is a characteristic feature of the development of systems of contemporary education. The pedagogical encyclopedia defines lifelong education as a combination of means, methods and forms of acquiring, deepening and expanding general education, professional competence, culture, and education for civic and moral maturity.

For each person, lifelong education is the process of forming and satisfying their cognitive and spiritual needs, developing inclinations and abilities in the network of state / public educational institutions and through self-education (Pedagogical Encyclopedic Dictionary, 2002, p. 168). Council of Europe materials on cultural cooperation stipulate:

Adult education should not only enable the individual to adapt to changing circumstances, it must take a proactive position in order to equip each individual with the ability to bridge these gaps that affect all aspects of his/her activity and existence in general, and give him/her the opportunity to cope with the many uncertain situations that follow from here.

Based on the “postulate that the need to build a high-quality and generally accessible adult education system is recognized”, the commission adopted a special action plan in this area in September 2007, titled “You Can Always Learn” (Communication from the Commission…, 2007).

The European Economic Development Strategy’s “Europe 2020: A Strategy for Reasonable, Sustainable and Comprehensive Growth” considers education and training to be key factors in creating a competitive, dynamic, knowledge-based European economy. Lifelong learning improves a person’s social position, forms their civic position, promotes self-realisation and the ability to change professions in a rapidly changing world. The higher the level of a person’s education, the longer their life expectancy and the better its quality (http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/index_en.htm). Adult education is a special system with its own structure and organisation, with new content based on its own principles and functions. At the same time, its main purpose is to help people find their way in life.

However, it should be noted that adult education needs its own theory of and technology for education, special scientific and methodological materials, as well as a specially trained staff of teachers and counsellors. The essence of the andragogical approach to adult education is the possibility of involving the adult student in organising the process of their own learning. According to Sergey I. Zmeyev, in the learning process, adult students differ from non-adult learners in five fundamental characteristics: 1) they realise themselves as increasingly independent, self-governing personalities; 2) they have accumulated an increasing supply of life experience (domestic, professional, social), which becomes an important source of training for themselves and their colleagues; 3) their willingness to learn (motivation) is determined by their desire to solve their vital problems and achieve specific goals with the aid of educational activities; 4) they seek immediate implementation of acquired knowledge, skills, personal qualities and value orientations; and 5) their educational activity is largely determined by factors or conditions that are temporary, spatial, mundane, professional, social (Zmeyev, 2007, p. 96).

The very concept of continuing education should be considered from several directions: as an education spanning a person’s entire life; as an educational practice which is a continuous, focused development of social experience that utilises all available educational systems; as adult education beyond basic education; as a system of retraining and advanced training. We can say that the key idea of adult education is that its main purpose is satisfying peoples’ individual interests over the course of their independent lives. It should contribute to individual personal development while increasing civic engagement in society.

In most European countries, adult education is aimed at forming and developing adults’ creative abilities, satisfying their individual needs for intellectual, moral and physical improvement, as well as organising their free time.

Additional adult education in Russia

In Russia, additional adult education is considered primarily as additional professional education, aimed at satisfying educational and professional needs and at a person’s professional development, to ensure that their qualifications meet changing conditions in professional activity and in the social environment. All existing forms of adult education take different subordinations organisationally and administratively, divorced from each other, as it were, rather than being united by a single system. All structures for adult education outside public education lack significant effect.

This creates very serious consequences for developing the process of continuing adult education. A contradiction arises between the demand for its development and the lack of a system ensuring implementation of its key principles: new basic knowledge for all, increased investment in human resources, and a new system for assessing education.

In the framework of the topic, attention must be paid to the features of additional professional education. These should be considered in terms of the purpose and content of education at this level, in relation to secondary general education and higher professional education, as the implementation of the principle of continuity in human development throughout one’s life. The correlation of goals should be based on the principle of social order, as an understanding of characteristics of the social environment, namely the labour market. Such a consideration of the social order reflects both the transfer of emphasis of features of additional professional education in relation to secondary general education and to higher education, and the allocation of value of a peronality’s professional realisation that is common to all levels of education. With secondary education considered as general pre-vocational training, and higher education as basic vocational training, then additional vocational education implements specialist training in the narrow sense of the term. In relation to a secondary school graduate, Andrey A. Verbitsky and Valery. I. Pavlovets consider the ratio as follows:

By the time of graduation from a comprehensive school, a young person should be basically a formed person, know his abilities and opportunities to be professionally oriented and ready to continue his development in independent educational and professional work. High school is focused on the basic professional training specialists and has functions of a prognostic attitude to production (Verbitsky & Pavlovets, 1988, p. 26).

A social order for additional professional education is based on society’s needs in developing production and increasing its efficiency, and the need for effective use of human capital.

Along with the need to rely on human resources is the person themself, as a thinking, volitional and self-determined being. The system of professionally developing and retraining a specialist is mainly based on principles of self-education and a person’s consciousness of self-determination in life, although this depends to a large extent on objective factors of economic development. Contemporary education should first of all focus on its continuity then, as a consequence, on the interconnectedness among tasks faced in each stage of education. Given this, the universalism of higher education, implementing the general professional training of specialists, is supplemented by specification of goals and objectives in additional professional education, depending on its type and on the type of specific activity a specialist carries out in real production. In accordance with the identified goals of both general secondary and higher vocational education, the goals of additional professional education are generated at the intersection of two areas: continuing education (including acquiring a new specialty) and the level of professional tasks relevant for a student in the continuing-education system and in professional retraining of specialists. The first direction can essentially be considered an accent of the person’s personal and intellectual development, and the second as a subject of professional activity. Thus, the most important characteristics in comparing goals of education at the secondary general, higher professional and additional professional levels are unity of the structure of content of the goals (target model, appropriate levels of educational content, diagnosis of educational results), the active nature of the educational content, the presence of the social order in relation to each level of education, and personal development at each stage of education. The difference in the goals of differing levels of education is related to specifics of the characteristics listed above, with respect to the type of leading activity over the process of a person’s personality being developing (Chernykh, 2016, p. 66). Society considers higher professional education a basic education, basic in the preparation of a person’s self-realisation in a professional activity, presenting to that person some specific requirements. It provides a person with the opportunity to chose not only a profession, but also a path to self-realisation in life. The leading characteristic of the goals of higher professional education is professional self-determination: providing a person with an idea about opportunities and requirements society offers.

The leading role in continuing adult education is played by additional professional education; it is most accessible for various groups of adults. Additional professional education aims to improve mechanisms for satisfying educational needs and for a person’s professional development, ensuring their qualifications meet the changing conditions both of professional activity and of the social environment, through the implementation of continuing-education programmes and professional retraining. In accordance with the federal law “On Education in the Russian Federation”, people with secondary and (or) higher vocational education are allowed to study under continuing-education programmes, along with people receiving secondary and (or) higher professional education (Law on Education in the Russian Federation).

The development strategy of the system of additional professional education is noted in legislative acts including the concept of the Federal Targeted Program for the Development of Education (Order of December 29, 2014 No. 2765-r). The advanced training and retraining programmes can quickly respond to a real request when sectors of the economy need certain personnel, ensuring mobility of the population to correspond to structural changes in employment due to the fast pace of and lagging results in existing education, or to professional-qualification requirements. Programmes of additional professional training implemented in organisations of secondary vocational and higher education should meet requests of the population for acquiring competencies that upgrade their qualifications according to profession (specialty), or that change their specialty as a result of retraining, allowing people to be competitive in the labour market. From these positions, the characteristics of additional professional education include: free admission to the chosen course of additional professional training; variability and modularity of programmes; curriculum flexibility; on-the-job training (or a partial breakaway); diversity and free choice of forms of education (including distance learning), territory and level. In contemporary theoretical studies of continuing vocational education, it is considered to be a complex of services provided at the stages of pre-production as well as production and post-production; therefore, it is considered a special segment of the labour market, and as the element influencing labour efficiency in the framework of social and labour relations (Logvinova, 2016, p. 59). One difference between the goal of continuing professional education and the goal of higher education is that they are determined by the requirements for a person from a developed professional activity. Requirements are not just presented to a person, they are recognised by them and accepted. A person experiences and comprehends their abilities and capabilities, correlating these with requirements and choosing a path: to strive for conformity or to choose another activity. Sooner or later, a person faces a level of requirements exceeding their qualifications and personal development.

This situation becomes the source of the emergence and actualisation of an adult’s educational needs. The goals of continuing professional education, in this regard, differ from those of secondary general and higher professional education. The emphasis in the formation of goals of further professional education is transferred to the educational needs of adults being satisfied in connection with the required level of development, both personal and professional in nature. The leading function of this educational system is its development within the infrastructure of a city or region through staffing the local labour market with the necessary personnel. Ensuring the effectiveness of the educational process, achieving pedagogical goals and the scientific justification of the content of education make up the actual pedagogical characteristics of additional professional education, along with the requirement for a high degree of compliance with the educational goals being realised: students’ needs in improving their competence, qualifications, self-development and personal development. Thus, what differentiates additional professional education is its significant distinction from all other levels of education.

The creation of a system of continuing additional education for adults in the local labour market, given the conditions of extending the retirement age, should aim at strengthening the adult population’s mobility and competitiveness in the local labour market. In general, within the framework of the state system of additional adult vocational education, its goal is to prepare life for the next new generation through the support of and improving skills among the previous one. Continuing professional education is a system of educational activities, institutionally provided, which are adapted to new socioeconomic conditions and aimed at improving a person’s knowledge, skills and abilities throughout their life, with major factors being personal motivation and various educational resources. To continuously study throughout life, each person needs experience in acquiring knowledge, moral and material incentives, and practical educational opportunities – that is, free time, money and institutions providing educational services.

One form of continuing professional education is additional professional education. The continuous process of education involves active improvement and accumulation of knowledge precisely during the period of labour activity. Of decisive importance for the formation of a system of continuing professional education is the participation of economic actors in the local labour market, who act as an independent economic entity characterised by its needs and interests. Enterprises play an important role in their employee-training systems; they must participate formulating tasks in the field of training and support corporate development through on-the-job training and personnel-development programmes within their corporate and organisational strategy. In the context of pension reform, for people of pre-retirement age, it is precisely their participation in the formation of the professional continuing education system that determines the level of guarantees for the provision of jobs. In today’s conditions, requirements expand constantly not only for skills aimed at specific production and technological processes, but also for the theoretical base. Therefore, the role of universities in creating the system of additional adult vocational education should not be minimised, since they have high intellectual, organisational, material and technical potential that can be used to effectively provide additional educational services to the population, enterprises and institutions. Programmes of relations between universities and enterprises for retraining personnel should include not only the exchange of experience, but also employees’ involvement as teachers or consultants. Basic principles for creating a local system of continuing professional education can be proposed:

creation of a single institutional environment implementing additional professional programmes;

clarification at the level of local legislation of the types of additional educational programmes that address dynamic changes in the local labour market with updated educational programmes and services;

distributing responsibility among all participants in the process through which society forms the demand for educational services, with the supplier determining range and pricing, and the state controlling the process and its situation on the local labour market;

continuing professional education should be created as a system forming a single complex with the economy and the labour market, with feedback: an educational institution is an enterprise, which will create educational programs that meet the labour market’s demands. Enterprises and organisations, in turn, should act as active agents in the labour market through forming requirements for the level of training of specialists, participation in forming educational programmes, and organisation of in-company training.

An adult of pre-retirement age’s position today in the context of pension reform, primarily in the field of labour, largely depends on their level of competence, which provides for an increase in the level of professional, functional and informational competence as a condition for meeting labour-market requirements and competent behaviour in the present socioeconomic situation. Making a decision about changing professions or professional qualifications through acquiring additional education becomes a necessity, less so for personal growth or satisfaction of interests than as a condition for survival. And here, in addition to the problem they face with the lack of formation of the institutional environment of additional professional education, people of this age group face problems of a socio-psychological nature: their learning and self-education skills were formed in a completely different educational and socioeconomic environment. First and foremost, this comes down to working with information. Difficulties are associated with the volume, variability and clip nature of information coming from the outside world; additionally, there is the problem of working in information environments relying on computer technology.

Conclusion

When organising training for these age groups, it is necessary to realise and consider the typical external and internal difficulties they will face in contemporary situations. The most significant factor complicating a person’s inclusion in the educational process is the lack of orientation about the need for a person today to have lifelong education, along with the lack of motivation for retraining. According to a survey of pre-retirement age groups, one question was: “Are you ready to undergo retraining for a new profession and on/under what conditions?” The following results were obtained:

Yes, but only at the state’s expense: 56.1 per cent

No, under no circumstances will I be retrained for a new profession: 38.4 per cent

Yes, I agree and will spend my own money: 5.5 per cent

In processing the data, it was found that for this question, no difference appears in the answers of men and women, as well as in age groups, which confirms the hypothesis that this age group is not oriented toward continuing professional education. This lack of motivation to retrain is one of the main factors that complicates the reform to increase the retirement age.

References

Chernykh, A. N. (2016). The Essence and Features of Adult Education in the System of Continuing Professional Education, Academy of Vocational Education. Institute for Continuing Education, 1, 66–74.

Communication from the Commission (2007): Action Plan on Adult Education and Training. It Is Always Time to Learn. Brussels, 09/27/2007. – COM. 558 final.

Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation”; http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/ index_en.htm.

Kondratyuk, T.V. (2018). The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what competencies do employees need?, WED, 3(108), https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/chetvertaya-promyshlennayarevolyutsiya-kakie-kompetentsii-neobhodimy-sotrudnikam (accessed on: 10.01.2020).

Law dated December 29, 2012 No. 273-Ф3 “On Education in the Russian Federation”.

Logvinova, O. N. (2016). Quality Assessment Indicators for the System of Continuing Professional Education as a Leading Component of Continuing Education for Adults, Vocational Education and Society, 1(17), 59.

Pedagogical Encyclopedic Dictionary (2002). B. M. Bim-Bad (ed.). Moscow: Great Encyclopedia of Russia, 168.

Safonov, A.L. (2011). Demographic challenges to the economy and labor market in the Russian Federation in the context of globalization // Dialogue of cultures in the context of globalization: 11th International Likhachev Scientific Readings July 12, 13, 2011. Vol. 1: reports. St. Petersburg. – 2011, 141–144.

Vershlovsky, S. G. (2010). Adult Education System as an Object of Forecasting, Man and Education, 1, 16–21.

Verbitsky, A. A., Pavlovets, V. I. (1988). Continuing Education and Engineering Practice, Bulletin of Higher Education, 8, 26–31.

Zmeyev, S. I. (2007). Andragogy: Foundations of the Theory, History, and Technology of Adult Learning. Moscow: PER SE, 96.

PART TWO.
COMPETENCES OF CONTEMPORARY EDUCATORS

Miroslav Krystoň

ORCID:  0000-0002-3809-2380

Matej Bel University,

Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

Lenka Rovňanová

ORCID: 0000-0003-3661-1527
Matej Bel University,
Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

Andragogical Competences among University Teachers

The concept of lifelong learning provides opportunities for adult education in all its core categories and across a broad range of educational environments. Despite the potential of informal learning, recent research has been paying only marginal attention to formal adult education. Universities and their teaching staffs play an important role in this segment. The research project Professional Identity and Quality of University Teachers in the Context of Andragogical Competence1 analyses the current state, perspectives and development of andragogical competences in academic staffs. In its initial stage, the research aimed to identify 1) how teachers subjectively perceive their own andragogical competences, and 2) how their competences were assessed by their students (N1=425 students; N2=10 teachers). A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used: 1) a three-dimensional self-designed questionnaire, and 2) Q-methodology (N=73 students). The results were analysed and compared to verify empirically the proposed model of a quality university teacher, with primary focus on their andragogical competences.

Keywords: andragogical competences, university teachers, professional development, quality of education

Introduction

The legitimacy of researching andragogical competences among university teachers results from several key assumptions. Firstly, universities have an indisputable, historically established position within the system of adult education. It must be pointed out that since universities began, the academic environment has continually generated a multitude of stimuli along with products that have both directly and indirectly promoted the importance of adult education, mainly in the broader context of introducing changes in world development that have often proved revolutionary. Academic activities have developed alongside new economic practices brought about by the industrial revolution, as new social, cultural and political conditions created new challenges. One goal was facilitating individuals’ adaptation; another was to saturate the needs of dynamically developing societies. Formal and informal academic structures focused on adult education have gradually emerged. In Europe since the 1970s, mainly “university extensions” have been established. They represent and have institutionalised academic platforms for formal and informal adult education (Lukáč, 2012).

It is important to realise that the very idea of university extensions has been accompanied by initiatives emphasising the need of quality lecturers (Welch, 1973). This need for specific personality characteristics among adult educators as well as their professional training resonated already in the first modern scholarly andragogical concepts proposed by H. Hanselmann and F. Pöggeler, published in the 1950s (Matulčík, 2004). In hindsight, it can be seen that andragogical professionalism has been consistently considered a key determinant of adult-education quality. The current educology discourse usually promotes the concept of competence-based approaches and models. The concept has been developing and has both advocates and critics, just as all theoretical constructs do (see Beneš, in: Veteška et al., 2011). The gnoseological and methodological base for competence modelling is the assumption that certain identifiable parameters of personality and performance exist. Their quality determines a given person’s actions in different situations, mainly social and professional. The aforementioned academic polemic about the competence-based approach includes a number of both crucial and partial topics: the relationship between qualifications and competence, universality vs. singularity of competences, intercompetence determination and causality, hierarchy and classification of competences, etc. The present authors are aware of the importance of these discussions; in accordance with the goal of their research, however, a synthesising and application approach will be used to transform the established theoretical starting points into a specific educational reality.

This chapter focuses on andragogical competences among university teachers – an integral although little researched part of their competence profile in Slovak and Czech educology. The focus on university teachers as the target group and their andragogical competences results from the following:

1) In reality, academic workers participate in andragogical processes as they perform their jobs. The adult populations in Slovakia and the Czech Republic has sustained interest in university studies (in the external and combined form of study). In the previous academic year, 12,562 students studied in the forms of study mentioned above (CVTI, 2020). However, the importance of andragogical competences is not limited to teaching employed adults working on or increasing their qualifications by studying on the ISCED levels 6–8. The research team believes that andragogical competences also determine the quality of university teaching in interaction with the “standard” target group (young adults).

2) Pressure increases on the quality of university teaching in the current competitive environment. However, in evaluations, the importance of professional competences related directly to teaching is often marginalised. The emphasis on quality teaching is much less in comparison to emphasis on research activity and publishing.

3) There is a lack of empirical data on the quality of andragogical competences among university teachers. Also missing are effective measuring instruments able to identify the level of andragogical competences in this professional community.

The effort to eliminate these methodological and informational handicaps requires an andragogical interpretation of empirical findings obtained in terms of research focused on complex mapping of professional competences among university teachers.

Based on research referred to in the specialised Slovak and Czech andragogical literature (Beneš, 2014; Dvořáková & Šerák, 2016; Janoušková, 2006; Malach & Chmura, 2014; Porubská & Határ, 2009; Prusáková, 2005; Špatenková & Smékalová, 2015; Veteška, 2016; and others), “competence” as the key concept is understood as the complex ability to successfully perform certain actions and develop one’s personality based on acquiring theoretical knowledge and practical skills; learning the methods and procedures, social skills, attitudes; and gaining experience.

The description and analysis of andragogical competences among university teachers draws from the competence models for adult educators provided in recent Czech and Slovak andragogical literature (Janoušková, 2006; Prusáková, 2005; Malach & Chmura, 2014; Špatenková & Smékalová, 2015; Žeravíková, 2014; and others). Qualitative analysis of these models led to the following conclusions:

1) There is no single (universal) stratification structure of professional competences for an adult educator (andragogue).

2) In different competence models, andragogical competence has different positions (either as a separate competence, or as a part of broader professional competence).

3) Although individual professional competences are obviously complementary in terms of their content, andragogical competence can be assigned to multiple competence groups that are applicable to university teaching.

In general, it can be stated that andragogical competence of a university teacher relates to the quality of their performance in the following areas (partial competences):

1) Specialisation. Knowledge of the principles and specific features pertaining to adult learning and teaching including differences between children / youth education and adult education; knowledge of didactic categories and their system (goals, contents, forms, methods); the ability to logically structure educational contents and create knowledge systems; the ability to motivate learners based on knowledge of their social, cultural or professional backgrounds and experiences; excellent (high quality) knowledge of the pertinent area; transparent assessment based on analysing educational outcomes; digital literacy and effective application of it in the educational process; organisational and management skills.

2) Personality. Self-knowledge and self-evaluation based on feedback; continual self-improvement within the field of specialisation as well as teaching; good ethical reputation; rhetoric skills; emotional stability.

3) Social relationships. Communicational skills: active listening, asking questions; verbal and nonverbal communication; management and promotion of group interaction and dynamic; partnering; empathy and respect; assertive behaviour including the ability to resolve conflicts.

The quality of a university teacher as defined through competences is a complex concept that can be interpreted in different ways reflecting the different approaches to its definition (Rovňanová, 2016). The goal of this chapter is to 1) explain on the theoretical level the complexity of this construct based on the initial empirical probe into the academic environment, and 2) present the partial findings of qualitative and quantitative research that aimed to identify the qualities of a good university teacher as viewed by students of Matej Bel University (MBU) in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.

Taking into consideration the national need for theoretical as well as empirical reflection on this topic, a piece of pilot research was performed in our own academic environment. It was motivated by the effort of the faculty to develop and verify a suitable instrument to identify the competence level among university teachers in terms of the concept of student-oriented education. A holistic approach is applied in researching university-teacher quality (characteristics are investigated as a complex, not in isolation) based on the analysis of student feedback.

Two research questions were formulated: 1) What characteristics do students prefer in a teacher? 2) How do students imagine2 a quality teacher?

Methods

Students’ opinions were collected using a combined quantitative and qualitative approach: 1) questionnaire, and 2) Q-methodology. A three-dimensional questionnaire was developed by the present authors. MBU students in different study programmes were involved in the pilot verification (N=425). Anonymity was guaranteed. Students were selected based on the disciplines taught by specific teachers involved in the research (N2=10). The instrument focused on individualised assessment and each teacher obtained specific feedback, i.e. students knew exactly who they were assessing, but a teacher only knew for which course they were assessed. The questionnaire utilised professional standards for teaching staff and the concept of student-oriented education as its theoretical bases. It included a set of 57 statements divided into three dimensions: 1) students in the sociocultural contexts (N=23); 2) educational process (N=23); 3) teacher self-development (N=11). Students had an opportunity to assess each statement using a 10-point Likert scale (1 – strongly disagree, to 10 – strongly agree). Finally, they could comment on particular items and the questionnaire as a whole (form, structure, contents, etc.). As this was the pilot verification of the questionnaire, their comments represented a valuable source of feedback for potential revisions. The questionnaire was printed and administered by informed administrators. Results were evaluated using only descriptive statistics (medium values: mean, mode, number of modes, median). Subsequently, separate results for each teacher were processed. Teachers willingly participated in the pilot verification. Out of ten teachers, four held faculty management positions, and two had consistently received negative feedback from students over consecutive years.

Table 1 shows a sample of questionnaire items in the individual dimensions.

Table 1. Questionnaire sample

Teacher’s name:

Course (the seminar they teach):

Scale: 1– strongly disagree, to 10 – strongly agree

Dimension (1): Focus on students in the sociocultural context (23 statements)

1

Has sense of humour.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2

Restrains their temper.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

3

Communicates in a polite and tactful way.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

4

Expresses interest in students as human beings.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

5

Is authentic in communication.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Dimension (2): Educational process (23 statements)

1

Has excellent specialised knowledge.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2

Can mediate the subject matter effectively and in an interesting way.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

3

Speaks in a clear and comprehensible way.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

4

Always comes to lessons well prepared.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

5

Views mistakes as opportunities to develop.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Dimension (3): Teacher’s self-development

1

Requests feedback on their teaching.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2

Works from that feedback.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

3

Can recognise their errors and apologise.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

4

Involves students in research activities.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

5

Knows and respects the teachers’ ethical principles and practice.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Source: the author’s own study (Rovňanová)

In accordance with Q-methodology, 73 MBU students were administered the questionnaire. This method provides an outcome in the form of specific characteristics expected from a teacher’s personality structure and observable in both their behaviour and their teaching. The method used to identify how a quality university teacher is recognised is referred to as Q-methodology, Q-design, Q-technique or simply Q (Stephenson, 1970; Lukšík, 2013). According to the recommended methodological procedure, a set of 60 ecologically valid statements representing important characteristics of a quality teacher as perceived by students was created as step one. The final Q-set along with additional sociodemographic items was transformed into an e-instrument for complex processing of a Q-study (www.q-assessor.com). Subsequently, a fixed matrix with a quasi-normal distribution was created and used for Q-sorting. The scale range (11 points) was selected based on the Q-set recommendations for 40 to 60 items. Items assigned –5 (not that important for me) to +5 (very important for me) were located on the scale where 0 meant “I can’t decide”.

Table 2. A sample of Q-sorting statements in the Q-set

Q-set items

A good teacher:

1

Respects students’ individual needs and abilities.

2

Can motivate students to cooperate in an interesting way.

3

Resolves conflicts keeping in mind all parties involved.

4

Prepares well-organised lessons: works systematically and uses time efficiently.

5

Gives students the opportunity to have a say in and organise lessons.

6

Flexibly responds to the group dynamic.

7

Explains subject matter in a broader context of practical use.

8

Leads students towards critical thinking and active work with the contents.

9

Can prepare reasonable and achievable tasks.

10

Is not vulgar or sexist.

Source: the author’s own study (Rovňanová)

Data from Q-sorting were collected online using Q-assessor.com, a server created for Q-studies (© 2010–16). On this website, the entire Q-methodological procedure can be performed, from item creation to data analysis. In the final step, each respondent sorted the randomly arranged statements about teacher characteristics based on their own preference using a limited scale. The respondents were asked additional questions focused on their sociodemographic characteristics. A total of 73 university students participated in the online sorting. A sample of Q-set statements can be seen in Table 2.

Results

Questionnaire. Due to the size of the questionnaire in proportion to this chapter’s length, results are provided in a shortened version. Outcomes were achieved on the following levels: 1) a personal interview with each teacher, 2) analysis of results provided to their direct supervisor, 3) analysis of results on the faculty-management level. In two cases (the teachers with repeatedly negative student feedback), the results (low-medium values) indicate that the respective teachers need to improve in their personality, relationship and social dimensions. The dimension of specialisation was not considered important by students in these cases. Findings were also supported by comments provided in the open question. In the eight remaining cases, the results were different. High-medium values supported by positive assessment in the open question indicate that these respective teachers act in accordance with the concept of student-oriented education. Only three items in the whole set returned values that were lower than average: “is popular among students” (5.2); “has sense of humour” (5.6); and “is interested in students as human beings” (5.8). The negative assessment of the two teachers (about whom students repeatedly complained) significantly affected the overall assessment of all teachers. Therefore, the assessment and interpretation of results were individualised, and each teacher was informed about their own assessment in all items.

Q-methodology. Again, only partial results are presented in this section. Some have already been published (Rovňanová & Šukolová, 2019). Six factors were identified (using the orthogonal varimax rotation), which explained 41.16 per cent of the total variance; the number of respondents was 73. According to Watts and Stenner (2012), a result >35 per cent can be considered positive. The criterion based on which persons were assigned to individual factors was the load coefficient >0.40. However, the programme applies the Fuerntratt criterion that considers not only the load coefficient, but also the respondent’s cumulance, i.e. their similarity to other respondents within the given research file. The analysis of individual items showed that all included statements within the given group were significantly differentiated (p<0.01), based on which it can be stated that the Q-set items were selected very effectively (their differentiation power was high). In terms of factor interpretation, the items with the most distinct position in the given factors were used as anchors. Subsequently, semantic connections were searched for among the most distinct statements within the given factors (those located in extreme positions). This interpretation procedure can be described as bottom-up; primarily, it was a heuristic search for connections among individual statements, which were subsequently characterised (Lukšík, 2013). The characteristics of the three most powerful factors follow.

1) Teacher as an ACCEPTING ROLE-MODEL

The G Factor explained 12.323 per cent of the total variance, eigenvalue=11.83. The typically occurring sociodemographic characteristics of respondents who significantly loaded this factor were: female; parents live together and have a good relationship; religious activity; no tradition of teaching in the family; very good behaviour; likes going to school but sometimes / often does not feel good there.

Factor interpretation A good teacher should recognise the skills and abilities of their students and adjust tasks and goals accordingly. They should use a complex method of assessment instead of a simple arithmetic mean. Such a teacher should accept students as they are, including their faults; they are never aggressive and can effectively resolve conflicts. They are an inspiring role model who keeps working on themselves and wants to improve. Their age, attractiveness, or lifestyle are not very important.

2) Teacher as GROWTH FACILITATOR and PRACTITIONER

The C Factor explained 12.24 per cent of the total variance, eigenvalue=11.75. The typically occurring sociodemographic characteristics of respondents who significantly loaded this factor were: female; lives in a rural area; state university; likes going to school but sometimes / often does not feel good there.

Factor interpretation A good teacher teaches students how to become better people; the teacher is helpful and has social feelings. They are empathetic, tolerant and without prejudice. They are trying to understand the world of their students, help students develop healthy self-confidence and teach them how to take responsibility for themselves and their work. The teacher explains the subject matter in a broader context of practical life. They lead students towards critical thinking and teach them how to overcome their shortcomings. Their age, attractiveness or clothing style are not very important. Neither is it important whether they participate in civil or other extracurricular activities.

3) SUPPORTIVE, yet DEMANDING teacher

The A Factor explained 7.896 per cent of the total variance, eigenvalue=7.58. The typically occurring sociodemographic characteristics of respondents who significantly loaded this factor were: female; 23 years; parents live together and have a good relationship; religious activity; state university; excellent / very good academic performance; very good behaviour; likes going to school but sometimes / often does not feel good there.

Factor interpretation A good teacher is demanding and has high expectations leading the student towards maximum performance. They explain the subject matter in a broader context, use a variety of information sources, and develop critical thinking in students. They teach students to overcome their shortcomings, to claim responsibility for themselves and their work, and want to bring them up to be good people. The teacher identifies exactly how students learn, in order to help them do so more efficiently, and does not strictly follow an arithmetic average in assessment. They are self-demanding and constantly work on themselves. Their age, attractiveness, extracurricular activities or preference for an informal relationship with students are not very important.

Discussion

The results indicate that respondents prefer primary items directly loading the factors of personality and social dimensions, followed by items integrating the psychodidactic skill (these are partially related to emotional-intelligence factors). Lower positions were achieved by items related directly to contents and professional specialisation achieved, which came after dimensions accentuating strong personality and its human dimension, along with interest in students as human beings, which is in accordance with contemporary didactics based on the concept of student-oriented education. The requirement for a teacher to improve moral attributes, mental stability and authenticity are emphasised, as these promote students’ development of self-confidence and self-respect by providing a positive role-model. As expected, the accentuated characteristics loaded the factors of the trait of emotional intelligence (Kaliská et al., 2015) or well-being (optimism, self-respect); emotionality (empathy, perception, expression of emotions, relationship competence); sociability (emotion management, assertiveness, social awareness); and self-control (emotional regulation, low impulsiveness, stress management). It involves a number of predictable and unpredictable interactions between teacher and students, while emotions always remain part of the backdrop, representing an important tool for (pedagogical) communication. The ability to process and distinguish emotional signals is reflected in developed empathy. Seemingly inexplicable behavioural problems in the school environment, in students or teachers, often boil down to an inability to navigate emotions, whether their own or those of other people. This is an important determinant of success (or a lack thereof) for students as well as teachers. The analyses indicate that students are sensitive to a teacher’s ability to prepare suitable learning tasks and assessment forms. They expect an individual approach, clarity and comprehensibility in the way tasks and assessment criteria are formulated and communicated. Students see assessment as a sensitive and complex process with important formative and motivational potential, and expect the teacher to use an approach to assessment that is systematic, clear, correct, fair and tactful.

Emotional stability is connected to “ego strength” as a psychological term (Bennet, 1976). It is related to high self-confidence and a stable personality allowing an individual to handle problems in a cool-headed, calm and objective way, and to rise above them. For a teacher, this relates to communication with students as well with as their colleagues, and to decision-making in critical moments. This trait helps a teacher rise above failures and disappointments inevitably related to their professional as well as personal lives. Emotional stability helps a teacher analyse their failures and learn from them instead of feeling guilty and incompetent; it also allows them to be happy when they succeed, without getting complacent. Students often stated their annoyance when teachers smelled of cigarettes, alcohol, strong perfume, or sweat, and with aggressive behaviour or lack of self-control. Absence of these phenomena was positively accentuated in the Q-set. However, it was difficult to put this requirement into a context. We assume it may reflect a negative personal experience and consider it a warning signal: more attention should be paid to these previously overlooked variables in university-teacher training (and not only).

Conclusion

Theoretical insight into the topic of quality among university teachers, as well as empirical experience, shows that research in education has shifted from hard variables reflecting teaching effectiveness towards soft variables reflecting its quality. Variables including ethos, values, virtues, school culture and climate enter the arena, the importance of moral and value orientation is pointed out, the quality of school life is addressed as are relationships among those who inhabit and work in the school environment. The concept of teaching quality should integrate the requirement for certain emotional, social and moral standards. Exclusive observation of effectiveness in research is criticised for failing to take into account the moral category formulated by traditions of philosophy and pedagogy. Teaching should be formative and bear moral consequences, and every teacher’s action should pass the test of axiology in terms of positive values and virtues. Today, students should learn more than just the specialised content – as young adults, they should learn how to develop good relationships. University should be a place where sensitivity is experienced and the ability to build a sensitive relationship is developed in students – however, this is a major challenge given the current state of society.

The accentuated “high” personality qualities in teachers are considered an added value (when possessed by a teacher or other adult educator) that should be deliberately developed to make the educational process unique, interesting, pleasant and attractive for students. These qualitites are underestimated in the current instrumentalist and reductionist approach to the quality of teachers’ university preparation and in teaching as a job.

A high quality, successful teacher in the twenty-first century is more extrovert than introvert, a paidotrop rather than a logotrop, developing a more personal relationship with students and interested in their social and cultural lives. They have excellent knowledge in pedagogical and psychological disciplines necessary for effective communication and adjusting the teaching process; they modify the process according to individual needs and abilities among their students. The teacher invents interesting ways to teach the subject matter in a way that both informs and forms the students. Last but not least, they offer not only know-how, but also a know-why. They should possess an interesting, authentic personality with a powerful personal story, be socially engaged, intellectually curious and have a broad variety of hobbies, along with well-developed soft skills including social, emotional and moral intelligence. This allows a teacher to gain natural authority and respect, and become an inspiring and worthy role model for students.

These research findings offer teachers – as well as university teachers – inspiration in the form of explicit characteristics. A masterful teacher is characterised mainly by a strong, positive personality, excellent specialisation and psychodidactic sensitivity (McBer, 2000; Darling-Hammond, 1999), which reflect in their teaching style. In measuring a teacher’s quality (their competences), it is necessary to realise that both teachers and students are diverse. No teacher can be ideal for all students, and not all students are “optimal” in terms of the study requirements. The potential of the findings presented here will be further used in teacher assessment to identify other areas in which competences need to be improved. There is even an opportunity to design new educational programmes for university teachers. This should be focused on developing necessary andragogical competences (not only) to support effective teaching of adult learners, mainly in the personality and social dimensions.

References

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Martin Kursch

ORCID: 0000-0001-9492-7971

Charles University,

Prague, Czech Republic

Jaroslav Veteška

ORCID: 0000-0003-1215-7956
Charles University,
Prague, Czech Republic

Co-teaching: Advantages and Disadvantages

The study discussed in this chapter is based on implementing a methodological analysis focused on an overview of approaches to the co-teaching method, its contents and forms. A by-product of the study has been gathering information, aspects and insights about co-teaching’s pros and cons, collected from nineteen long-term co-teaching studies as well as from virtual co-teaching. The aim was to summarise determinants of co-teaching success, its advantages and disadvantages, which we encountered during our methodological analysis. Due to the long-term approach in these selected studies of the co-teaching method, it was possible to name beneficial aspects of co-teaching in various educational contexts and to highlight shortcomings in the form and content of its use. The articles analysed were published from 2005 to 2020 in recognised scientific databases including ERIC, Scopus® and Complementary Index. The nineteen studies fit the long-term and co-teaching criteria. Among the main determinants of success based on the articles examined, we include joint preparation, support from school management and technical readiness.

The main advantages of co-teaching were better reliability in the transmission of information and problem-solving, intensification of teacher cooperation, their mutual enrichment and education, higher efficiency in teaching, better atmosphere in the classroom, better recording of observations during lessons, higher motivation of pupils or students, innovative environment and enabling the use of a wide range of teaching methods. Added to these is easy recruitment of experts or auxiliary teachers. Among the disadvantages, we include higher preparation requirements, complexity in terms of co-teacher coordination, and higher financial and logistical costs. In the virtual component, shortcomings also include technical equipment and the failure of the human factor. This study is the starting point for further research work within the project Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TL03000133), entitled New Method of Education for the 21st Century: Virtual Co-Teaching, conducted in the period 2020–2023. This project focuses on virtual co-teaching and its effectiveness.

Keywords: co-teaching, further teacher education, co-teaching efficiency, co-teaching advantages and disadvantages, determinants of successful co-teaching

Introduction

Co-teaching is a proven method that when applied correctly increases the efficiency of the educational process. It is an innovative method and currently co-teaching, especially in correlation with the development of distance teaching, is receiving significant attention on the international stage. Co-teaching is being engaged with in several professional studies and research projects. The focus of research is mainly on the benefits of co-teaching, its form, methodological support, other possibilities of professional development of teachers in relation to specific educational needs, the development of social interactions, active learning, reflective thinking, cooperation and joint learning, with the aim of effective learning of pupils and acquisition of competences needed for active civic, professional and personal life.

Co-teaching as joint planning and teaching of two or more teachers (Bacharach et al., 2010) uses various strategies of teacher involvement in teaching, their mutual cooperation, scenario planning, appreciation and continuous improvement of the co-teaching model. The original collaboration between teachers (Friend, 2014, 2015) has developed into a sophisticated process supported by various methodologies that result in many practical applications, see Ricci and Fingon (2017). The long-term implementation of co-teaching has revealed numerous other advantages of such teaching (Friend, 2015; Ricci & Fingon, 2017; Sanchez et al., 2019; Walsh, 2012). Examples include easier group learning, the possibility of individualisation of teaching, the use of many methods (e.g. co-teachers’ controlled dialogue in teaching), and the involvement of a virtual component. Cooperation between teachers also leads to an improved atmosphere in school environments and to mutual learning between teachers (Baeten & Simons, 2014; Fraser & Watson, 2013; Rabin, 2020). Some research on cooperation between co-teachers in general education has shown better consolidation of knowledge and better learning outcomes for students (Eckardt & Giouroukakis, 2018; Ronfeldt et al., 2015; Vescio et al., 2008). Effects are also targeted by some experiments and case studies of virtual co-teaching (Chan, 2012; Puttonen, 2014; Takala & Wickman, 2019; Wilson & VanBerschot, 2014).

According to Rexroat-Frazier and Chamberlin (2019), the success of the co-teaching method is in the two most important factors, namely the selection of a teaching partner and a clear definition of the purpose of joint teaching. Co-teaching uses various effective teaching strategies and effective practices in its practice. Across the research carried out, this method is primarily a practical one, aimed at improving teaching efficiency.

The aim of our chapter is to highlight co-teaching’s advantages and disadvantages, which we have revealed as a by-product in our thematic analysis in the field of co-teaching. Our thematic analysis, summarising the most important findings on selected topics of co-teaching, is to be published in another scientific journal (in submission: see Veteska, Kursch et al., 2020). All our findings have become the starting points for further research work within the project TAČR (TL03000133) entitled New Method of Education for the 21st Century: Virtual Co-Teaching, conducted in the period 2020–2023. This project focuses on virtual co-teaching and its effectiveness.

Methods

As part of our thematic analysis, we came across many interesting factors that focused on the pros and cons of co-teaching. We have categorised, summarised and presented these factors as suggestions for further investigation. Our primary thematic analysis helped us identify these factors, even when that was not the primary intent. In addition to being a product of this analysis, we have prepared a complete overview of the reported advantages and disadvantages of co-teaching resulting from the nineteen long-term studies dealing with co-teaching or virtual co-teaching and their effects. For the sake of completeness, we briefly present the Scoping Review methodology, which has been selected as a frequent, valid and reliable method appropriately addressing research questions, but as our entire scoping review has already been described in previous publications (Kursch, Veteska et al., 2020), this presentation is very brief.

The basis for our methodology was the work of Arksey and O’Malley (2005), according to which we proceeded.

The term “co-teaching” was used as a basic search term. More than two thousand studies have been conducted. After an advanced search, together with the term “long-term”, these results were used in twelve studies. After adding another term, “longitudinal”, the result was another seventeen studies. Another combination, of “co-teaching” and at the same time “virtual”, produced a further ten studies. In addition, we used Google Scholar, where ten more articles were found after entering the direct phrases “virtual co-teaching” and “virtual” and “co-teaching”.

For our search, we used scientific databases (ERIC, Complementary Index, Academic Search Ultimate, Scopus®, Supplemental Index, APA PsycInfo, Social Sciences Citation Index, Directory of Open Access Journals, Gale eBooks, Springer Nature Journals, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE, JSTOR Journals, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts, Business Source Ultimate, Humanities Source Ultimate) and, as a supplement, the Google Scholar System, as mentioned above. The selected search period was 1990–2020, the search tool was the System of Charles University UKAZ and the search engine Google Scholar3.

Table 1 lists the search results.

Table 1. Exact search string results in indexed databases with exact search string

Databases

search string

Records identified

ERIC, Complementary Index, Academic Search Ultimate, Scopus, Supplemental Index, APA Psycinfo, Social Sciences Citation Index, Directory of Open Access Journals, Gale eBooks, Springer Nature Journals, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE, JSTOR Journals, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts, Business Source Ultimate, Humanities Source Ultimate

co-teaching

2162

co-teaching AND virtual

10

co-teaching AND long-term

12

co-teaching AND longitudinal

17

Google Scholar

“virtual co-teaching”

5

Google Scholar

all terms: virtual co-teaching

5

After manual selection, we selected a methodology for quality evaluation, Mixed Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT), version 20184. In the end, nineteen studies met our criteria. These resulting studies were long-term, and their main subject of investigation was effects of co-teaching and its effectiveness. All co-teaching studies were included in our sample. Figure 1 describes the systematic algorithm used, based on the PRISMA systematic evaluation methodology (Moher et al., 2009).

The method of inductive thematic analysis (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) was then applied to data analysis. Categorisation of articles and their subsequent synthesis was carried out according to key topics.

Figure 1. Search Flowchart

Source: the authors’ own study

Results

The result of our thematic analysis was the identification of six key topics. For completeness, we list the following topics: 1) co-teaching effectiveness, 2) problems and obstacles, 3) methods of and with co-teaching, 4) teacher roles and relationships, 5) teacher cooperation and 6) special educational needs. We discuss all these topics in detail or have discussed them in our other publications (Kursch, Veteska et al., 2020). The aim of this publication was to highlight the theme of advantages and disadvantages of co-teaching. This topic has not been explicitly selected but is a cross-sectional intersection common to all studies examined. Therefore, we tried to analyse this topic and categorise the advantages and disadvantages of co-teaching (including the virtual component), found across all long-term researches that met criteria set by us by the thematic analysis. We divided our findings into three categories: determinants of co-teaching success, advantages of co-teaching, disadvantages of co-teaching. In all three categories, we also included findings regarding the virtual folder.

Determinants of co-teaching success

As a result of our analysis, the determinant for the success of co-teaching was revealed.

According to our findings, across the studies examined, the necessary conditions for successful co-teaching are:

Joint preparation of co-teachers. A quantitative study has shown very positive and orthodox results when joint teaching is planned, carried out and evaluated together with a partner involved in teaching (Jurkowski & Müller, 2018; Takala & Uusitalo-Malmivaara, 2012).

Support from school management. The authors Takala and Wickman (2018, p. 231) identified several obstacles in the research. One obstacle was lack of support from school principals. The decision to start co-teaching depended on the school’s head, not the teachers themselves.

Technical readiness. Especially for the virtual component of co-teaching, this determinant is essential. Chan et al. (2012) highlight, for example, the need for HD image resolution of both the co-teachers and the class (high-quality video shows details very well), LED television sensing the entire classroom (students felt that the other group was not working), the use of two cameras and two TVs showing teachers as well as students in the classroom. Mobile cameras in a classroom (where students could see details, including their peers and their work), better surround-TV settings, two additional wireless microphones installed in a remote classroom. The added HD technology eliminated the synchronisation problem and allowed the head teacher to control the understanding of the substance in all students and all its steps; the HD camera (mobile, enabling looking directly at students’ faces, which was a problem of teachers) and microphones allowed learning from peers (allowing communication between students, which led to greater learning efficiency).

Advantages of co-teaching

The advantages of co-teaching summarises fundamental factors selected from qualitative and quantitative research based on the analysis of our nineteen long-term studies. The advantages are presented in the context of comparison with normal teaching.

Summary of the benefits found:

Greater reliability of teaching (Eckardt & Giouroukakis, 2019). When taught by two teachers, students have answers from two different sources, consider them more reliable, discuss everything better, and absorb knowledge much better. There is also greater information sharing, better quality of discussion and more stimulating situations to deepen the substance.

Better pedagogical dimension (Eckardt & Giouroukakis, 2019). Collaboration between teachers is not only effective, it also moves them forward in techniques and teaching methods. There is also a much better possibility of improvisation if taught by two teachers. With good preparation, co-teaching is also a breeding ground for creative environments in the classroom.

Mutual education of co-teachers. Rexroat-Frazier and Chamberlin (2019, p. 181) state that the effectiveness of joint teaching is further influenced by teaching practices, together with the use of effective teaching strategies, effective practices and their balance. Research focuses mainly on teaching practices, lacking a focus on student outcomes. An interesting aspect of co-teaching can be reducing the workload for both teachers because they have a partner who shares responsibility for the class (Bouck, 2007). Once teachers have found their shared beliefs about teaching, philosophy, goals, they can begin to identify roles and responsibilities and how they will share them.

Positive effect of mentoring. Rabin (2020) points to the application of an ethical dimension in the context of relations between co-teachers and preparation through educational workshops. In relations between co-teachers, along with the balance of power and achieving the same goal at the same level with each other, feedback on teaching should be maintained. Co-teaching serves as a model in creating the teaching practice of novice teachers; through the involvement of a mentor teacher they have the opportunity to develop a professional level and strong cooperative relations. The mentor becomes a partner in joint teaching, and there is listening and mutual learning. This cannot be fully applied to the classic mentoring model. Research has shown that results translate into professional potential for candidates and mentors; co-teaching in this form brings new ideas, strengthens mutual relations and ethics of relationships, as well as the resilience of teachers and their professional satisfaction.

Better intensification of mutual relations and atmosphere in the classroom. Neifeald and Nissim (2019) agreed that co-teaching made a significant contribution to pupils and contributed to the emergence of relationships between kindergarten teachers and early childhood students. Co-teaching enables the application of a wide range of teaching practices, including partnerships between students of teaching and teachers, shared planning and evaluation of teaching. Without co-teaching, these procedures would be very difficult to implement, even completely unfeasible. Based on the findings of the research, the study’s authors recommend: expanding the scope of the programme and continuing it for several more years, expanding the programme’s research and monitoring what other impact it might have, introducing co-teaching in a structured and managed manner through complementary courses, and expanding research to address other issues that result from clinical practice.

Create an innovative environment and share ideas more effectively. Ricci and Fingon (2017) state that the greatest benefit for postgraduate students was: “sharing and exchanging ideas”, “seeing co-teaching modelling in practice” and being “open to new ideas for the benefit of pupils and for teaching planning”. The data obtained indicate a positive contribution to higher education across programmes and the possibility of application for postgraduate students in the fields of teaching (including special pedagogy).

More meaningful transfer of experience. Montgomery and Akerson (2019) found that pairing colleagues as co-teachers and implementing teaching models allowed future teachers to have more meaningful field experience. Participation in joint teaching also creates more opportunities for cooperation between peers. The findings from our research suggest that participants found value in common teaching models and that collaboration was taking place between them, especially when planning lessons for joint teaching. Future educators expect broader cooperation at team level on joint teaching with other educators, special educators, etc. The ultimate goal of each educational preparatory programme is to prepare teachers who are able to meet the needs of the students they teach, provide more positive feedback, small-group learning and individual support. Involving future teachers as co-teachers in practice provides them with practical experience that can help them more easily implement co-teaching into their teaching after completing their studies.

Faster professional development and consolidating pedagogical competences. Bilican et al. (2020) stress that the use of co-teaching has contributed to the professional development of educators in many ways. For example, making it easier to use professional terminology and improving the teaching strategy for more effective teaching planning. In Bilican et al., both members of the co-teaching team reported mutual support and better mediation of teaching content to pupils. The authors of the study note that the professional development of teachers for teaching can be effectively based on a co-teaching strategy (in this case, on team teaching by a “normal” teacher and a university teacher – an expert in special pedagogical competences).

Higher efficiency of co-teaching as a method of education compared to classical teaching. The effectiveness of co-teaching is a central identified topic, which in a way contains all the articles. It includes a view of effectiveness on the part of the teacher (e.g. Wilson & VanBerschot, 2014; Jurkowski & Müller, 2018; Neifeald & Nissim, 2019; Rabin, 2020) as well as student perspective (e.g. Puttonen, 2014; Strogilos, 2018). The view of effectiveness by teachers is usually the basis for revision of the methods used or modification of a new co-teaching course. On the basis of a pilot study, the teachers reflect the entire teaching process, finding out the positives and negatives on which it is based when adjusting the course or educational activity to its final form (Kim et al., 2007; Wilson & VanBerschot, 2014; Neifeald & Nissim, 2019). In view of the research question “What role does virtual environment play in co-teaching?”, quality technical readiness for this method is essential in terms of efficiency (Chan et al., 2012; Wilson & VanBerschot, 2014). The technical readiness factor is a view (Chan et al., 2012) on the border between efficiency and problems, because with technical complications it is impossible to teach effectively as two people, the benefit of the method decreases and complications and negative impact on results dominate. This aspect is also essential from the point of view of students who perceive the readiness of a co-teaching pair (whether technical or human). It is essential for students to know how teachers work together and to be able to navigate this well, and that there is no chaos in teaching (Rabin, 2020; Jurkowski & Müller, 2018). When teacher cooperation is tense (Jurkowski & Müller, 2018), the effective impact and positive impact on students decreases.

More varied scalability of learning methods. In the analysed texts, we encountered various forms of co-teaching methods in use: One teaching, one supporting (Park, 2014; Chan et al., 2012; Eckardt et al., 2018; Takala & Wickman, 2018; Lõhmus et al., 2019; Montgomery, 2019; Duran et al., 2020; Rabin, 2020); alternative teaching (Ricci & Fington, 2017; Strogilos, 2018; Jurkowski & Müller, 2018; Kim et al., 2007); team teaching (Wilson & VanBerschot, 2014; Puttonen, 2014; Thomson & Dow, 2017; Campbell et al., 2018; Neifeald & Nissim, 2019; Sanchez et al., 2019; Bilican et al., 2020).

Extended perspectives (Eckardt & Giouroukakis, 2019). Differences in teachers’ experience cause students to see the problem from multiple perspectives, points of view and constructive discussions. There is also a more creative environment thanks to more perspectives.

Wider support for teachers (Eckardt & Giouroukakis, 2019). Faster, more efficient response, improved responses, confrontational styles, synergy effects.

From the analysis of research with the virtual component used, we add:

A true active merging of two worlds representing two distant classes (Chan et al., 2012).

The synergic effect of using peer-learning among students. Research suggests that if virtual co-teaching is handled well technically, it can lead to truly positive effects (Chan et al., 2012).

Time-saving effect (Chan et al., 2012).

Disadvantages of co-teaching

The disadvantages of co-teaching are also a summary of fundamental factors selected from qualitative and quantitative research based on our analyses of the nineteen long-term studies. Disadvantages as well as advantages are presented in the context of comparison with normal teaching. We summarise the disadvantages found:

Different interpretation of co-teaching between teachers. Takala and Wickman (2018, p. 230), who took part in the research, state that it was not a way of teaching with two teachers in the same class, but rather it was two different concepts of teaching by teachers who taught a group of pupils with different levels of ability in different rooms. In some cases, instruction was given to assistants. Overall, there was inefficiency in teaching and counterproductive results.

Longer time to prepare and rehearse synchronisation. Lõhmus (2019) summarises that the results of the analysis showed motivation, sufficient interpersonal and social skills (such as openness, communication and self-reflection) and sufficient time were the most important factors in successful team learning. However, teachers do not have sufficient time available (Park, 2014; Jurkowski & Müller, 2018) and therefore cannot devote themselves to preparation and reflection to the extent necessary. Lack of time as a factor was reported by most studies as the fundamental effectiveness and most affecting overall aspect of co-teaching (Takala & Wickman, 2018; Jurkowski & Müller, 2018; Ricci & Fingon, 2017; Sanchez et al., 2019).

More complex logistics. For example, transportation to the site and installation techniques can be indicated. However, Ricci and Fingon (2017) state that it is through identifying and sharing stories with other professors who have been successful in joint teaching that momentum and inspiration for faculty cooperation within and between interdisciplinary courses is encouraged, despite logistical challenges or additional workloads.

Financial cost. Sanchez et al. (2019) point to the necessary co-educational experience at postgraduate level, combined with the increased need to improve basic preparatory programmes and limited scholarship in teaching, supporting the possible expansion of co-teaching in this area. Tsai and Wang (2017) state that this is a different approach to teaching with the pros and cons of the co-teaching model, i.e. higher costs. In Dickey et al. (2016), the scientists hypothesise that the introduction of new teaching models could help graduates remain competitive elsewhere. Most importantly, each finding in this study reflects the co-creators’ deep commitment to joint teaching to improve the aspirational performance of school leaders. Persons with the ability to transform scholarship in teaching and learning in any field of study should not shy away from opportunities to explore a co-guarantee in higher education, especially at the graduate level.

Negative effects of the lack of co-teacher qualifications. For example, when teaching languages, there is the problem of a native speaker not being able to handle the role of head teacher and non-head teacher (Park, 2014). For improvement, it is advisable to use a very interesting chosen method of post-analysis of video recordings from teaching hours, which leads to clearly tracing possible patterns of behaviour among teachers in their cooperative process.

A more challenging search for harmony in the human factor, including the management of a school. If cooperation does not work, with teachers not planning and evaluating joint teaching, there are significant shortcomings and the method does not have the necessary benefits (Jurkowski & Müller, 2018). Takala and Wickman (2018) identifies the role of the headmaster as a significant obstacle in the implementation of co-teaching, since its implementation is directly dependent on the decision of the headmaster and not on the teachers, which logically leads to the fact that a headmaster who is not inclined to it at the school will not support and implement it.

From research with the virtual component used, we add:

More difficult communication with the remote workplace. When a student failed with one instruction or got lost, it was very difficult to get back up to pace and on the right step. It was difficult to interrupt a head teacher when asking questions. Complex communication issues arise with students in a remote workplace. Harder to compare progress in a remote group (peer comparison of progression). Chan et al., 2012 recommend that the assistant teacher focus on the “progression” of students and try to synchronise them if the problem was in the loss of some steps.

Possible lack of communication among peer students (Chan et al., 2012).

Technical complexity. Technology freezing due to overly robust setup, etc. (Chan et al., 2012).

Conclusion

The present study points to the main determinants of success in co-teaching. Without these prerequisites determining success, quality of co-teaching cannot be run at all. An interesting finding is the emphasis on the crucial importance of technical equipment for use of the virtual co-teaching method. According to the studies examined, this determinant plays an important role in the effectiveness of teaching results and has an impact on future expectations from such a form of education.

The main advantages of co-teaching include better reliability in information transmission and problem-solving, intensification of teacher cooperation, their mutual enrichment and education, higher learning efficiency, better classroom atmosphere, better recording of observations during teaching, higher motivation rates of pupils or students, innovative environment and enabling the use of a wide range of teaching methods. In addition, there is ease of recruitment of experts or auxiliary teachers.

Then among the disadvantages we include higher preparation requirements, its complexity in terms of co-teacher coordination, higher financial and logistical costs. In the virtual folder then are shortcomings of technical equipment and the failure of the human factor.

In general, the advantages of co-teaching are likely to outweigh its disadvantages. The whole concept of co-teaching therefore contributes to increasing learning efficiency, teacher efficiency (Wilson & VanBerschot, 2014; Jurkowski & Müller, 2018; Neifeald & Nissim, 2019; Rabin, 2020), and effectiveness of pupils or students themselves (Puttonen, 2014; Strogilos & King-Sears, 2019). Technical readiness and technical background are essential for virtual co-teaching, together with the hard preparation of teachers and the selection of suitable teaching methods including multimedia equipment.

We also provide recommendations for future research topics, which are exploring co-teaching models and teaching strategies, and identifying the most effective strategies in relation to student outcomes. It would also be interesting to find out how teachers have become part of this partnership, what the philosophy of teaching should be, what attitudes are among teachers and their perception of joint teaching, and which areas receive their support, e.g. from the point of view of education.

For the sake of completeness, we also mention limitations resulting from literary research on which this research was built: the absence of a consistent definition of what effective teachers are; the difficulty of generalisation of results – if more than one teacher is involved in the study and the effectiveness of their practice is not established, the results of joint teaching may vary within classes; whether or not teachers have been trained in advance can also have an impact; lack of outputs with student results.

English-language articles were included in the overview study. This can affect the overall validity of the results found and their portability into local education systems, which are shaped in accordance with each country’s educational-policy strategy (subsidiarity principle). Grey literature was not included in the review.

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Agnieszka Szplit

ORCID: 0000-0002-5756-6393
Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Poland

Language-teacher Educators’ Professional Development in the Academic Space

Great focus on experience and the role of previous experiences in a teacher’s informal-learning process can be seen in contemporary pedagogical literature. The way teachers define their role and create their teaching style depends largely on real-life events and the people with whom they have had contact. This chapter presents the results of qualitative research with the aim of exploring the university as a learning space for educators of teachers. The research was conducted in the form of interviews among fourteen Polish academic teachers educating foreign-language teachers, and reveals three spaces within university life: space for actions, for cultural practice and for relations with others.

Keywords: teacher educators, professional development, learning space

Introduction

For years, the pedagogical literature has definitely been “silent” about the work of academic teachers (Weber, 1990). Borg (2011) claims that research devoted to academics, especially foreign-language teachers, is almost “dead”. Even in European documents, the development of academic teachers is treated marginally and most of the publications are out of date or have been “narrowed down to specific professional activities” of teachers (Michalak, 2011). Vanassche and his colleagues (2015) argue that this is because the role of teacher educators is still underestimated, with the only perceived difference between teachers and teacher educators being that the latter work at universities and not at schools. Marginalising the development of teacher educators is indeed noticeable in Poland, where we see a huge lack of theoretical analyses and empirical research devoted to teacher educators’ professional development (Michalak, 2011). Hence, the aim of this chapter is to explore the way experience gained in university spaces can help build teacher educators’ expertise, as learning is understood as a modification of experience.

John Dewey (1963) uses the term “educating experience” as that which awakens curiosity, strengthens initiative and sets desires and goals. However, a given experience can only become relevant to learning when it is interpreted in the context of previous experiences and future possibilities (Illeris, 2006). Learning is the process of modifying experience, “reformulating ideas and judgements” (Sajdak, 2013), and experience can then be transformed into knowledge (Kolb, 1984). Knowles (1992), in his Biographical Transformation Model, points out that previous experiences and relations are determinants of a teacher’s performed professional role. The Knowles model emphasises relations between teachers’ biographies and their current practices. These relations are also seen in the present research findings.

Materials and method

There are two different reasons of the choice of target group. The first is based on the awareness that, as Simon Borg (2011) points out, research devoted to academic teachers, and especially foreign-language teachers, is almost “dead”. Language-teacher educators are a special group as they are at the same time teacher educators and language teachers. They are responsible for organising learning space for future teachers, who will subsequently arrange their pupils’ learning space. What is more, as they deal with two different subjects (education and language) they need to develop themselves in two varied spheres. This situation demands more personal involvement in their own learning. The second reason for choosing such a target group is based on methodology of qualitative research. Conducting qualitative research required deep knowledge in the field convergent with the daily lives of the interlocutors, and thus it allows for the effective use of the meeting (Beszterda, 2016). Being a language-teacher educator, I chose the group of which the environment and reality of academic life are well known.

The research was done in 2018 (Szplit, 2019) among fourteen language-teacher educators, with the use of semi-structured interviews. The group was chosen by snowball sampling across the country, and the main criteria of selection were the setting (university, college or academy teachers) and teachers’ specialisation (language-teacher educators). The target group includes three men and eleven women, with teaching experience from twelve to thirty years, with degrees from masters (1) to doctoral (11) and post-doctoral (2). They were teachers of English (8), German (4), English and German (1), and French (1). The interviews were held face-to-face in the normal surroundings of the educators or via Skype. In order to guarantee anonymity their names have been changed5.

The purpose of the interviews was to collect teachers’ narratives that will allow the interlocutors to capture the way they think about their own development, individual understanding of their learning and knowledge-creation processes. The research focused on various aspects of learning, but this paper presents only findings that refer to experiences gained in the academic space6.

Results: An academic learning space

In the pedagogical literature, learning space is defined as “a zone of human activity in which the educational process takes place” (Nowak, 2014). The context of learning matters and learning is situated in a particular setting (Engestrom, 2009). As Boyd’s research (2015) suggests, the environment of lecturers is experienced by them as a hyper-expansive one. Academic teachers experience many opportunities for professional learning, including completing formal qualifications, cross-disciplinary communication within the workplace, teaching in teams, researching alone, “bottom-up” innovations, etc.

Based on the interviews with teacher educators, several spaces of experience can be distinguished which were important in the process of teacher educators’ professional development (PD). To understand the personal-learning spaces and show how environmental conditions impact academic teachers’ learning within the academic learning space, I enumerate several spaces7:

space as a container for actions,

space as cultural practice,

learning in / between self and others.

Space as a container for actions

The learning environment organises the condition in which humans learn. Academic life provides a variety of learning experiences, from structured, formal courses and scholarships to less structured, peer-to-peer, informal or self-directed learning. It has various forms, from scientific conferences and lectures conducted at universities to private, friendly discussions on recent achievements and research. Thus, the academic life becomes a support system for teacher educators’ PD and their learning space. The support is understood as a prompt to collect and gather experiences, assess them and reflect on their value. The actions impacting learning are teaching and research.

Cochran-Smith (2005) emphasises that there are no moments in the work of a teacher educator when they are only a researcher or only a practitioner. Robertson and Bond (2001) also emphasise the close, almost “symbiotic” relationship between teaching and research. Synergy between different areas of academic work is conceived as the “research-teaching” nexus (Jenkins & Healey, 2007). These opinions are confirmed by the teacher educators in the study, who indicate the mutual interaction of the two areas of academic activity. However, they emphasise the diverse scope of this relationship in relation to specific stages of their own PD. Eva describes how she develops in two directions at the same time: she becomes a researcher and a teacher, but the emphasis is different. During her nineteen years of work, her attitude towards professional development has changed. During the period of induction into the profession, she focused on teaching, getting into work. Later, however, she entered the scientific work that is now dominant:

When I started working as an academic teacher, it was mainly teaching, it was getting used to work. [...] Later this point of interest changed a bit and shifted. (Eva)

Scientific activity and teaching can complement each other, and the positive symbiotic relationship takes place in two directions: didactic ideas can form the basis of scientific publications and inspire empirical research, and the results of scientific research enrich practice. The interviews provide numerous examples showing that didactic work directs the interests of teachers and inspires their scientific development.

To increase the effectiveness of her teaching, Anna turned her attention to the possibilities of using contemporary technology in the process of working with text in a foreign language. Her doctoral thesis based on these issues was an additional effect of these interests:

The very idea of my doctoral dissertation was born this way. […] And at that moment, my idea came for my thesis. (Anna)

Working on the doctorate and conducting classes were clearly complementary:

Teaching and research went hand in hand and were closely related. As a teacher, I drew a great deal from my research. (Anna)

The second mentioned direction of the symbiotic relationship is drawing on theory and research and improving practice. Mary emphasises that her current work becomes a field for applying selected teaching techniques and using knowledge from her former studies in literature and theatre.

When I was conducting language-teaching classes, I tried to introduce and play drama with students and [...] did plenty of so-called freeze frames. (Mary)

In several narratives, it can be noticed that scientific work and teaching are to some extent separate (John). The teacher educators describe a specific “internal” tension resulting from performing this dual professional role, which is also described in the literature (Weber, 1990). They also emphasise the unequal treatment of scientific development and didactics in the process of promotions among teaching staff (see also: Dróżka, 2002). The situation leads to a state in which, as Day (1999) describes, academics are neither “academics” nor “practitioners”. Research and teaching work are often “in conflict with each other, because it is very difficult to reconcile good research with good teaching” (Cyboran, 2008, p. 75). There is a specific “competition for time”, as Hattie and Marsh (1996) call it in their “scarcity model”.

As Tom states:

When I was doing my PhD, I had to devote myself to it and I feel I failed in my classes with students. (Tom)

A significant number of teachers emphasise the wide range of academic experience and “variability of work” (John). Sue claims that her intensive professional development results from the “unpredictability of the situation”. The lack of stabilisation is caused by frequent changes in education programmes and the necessity of teaching new subjects, which is a great challenge (Anna). Anna explains that it prevents routines from settling in:

Our specialties are changing recently, groups are changing, we aren’t at risk of falling into a routine, because I teach different subjects every year. And every year I have to create something different. (Anna)

John also emphasises that this situation has a positive effect on his personal and professional development:

I’m definitely learning a good deal. I’ll be a much better teacher when I get through all these modules. (John)

As the research suggests, teaching and research are the main actions that support and facilitate learning in the university space. The variability of experience stimulates teacher educators to develop and improve their practice and research dispositions and skills.

Space as cultural practice

The second space of academic learning is practice being constituted through social relations and practices. The social relations and practices are in many cases linked with studies abroad. The teacher educators recall their foreign experiences, treating them as further opportunities for PD and factors supporting their knowledge.

Danny, Sue and Ann undertook studies abroad and pointed to slightly different principles there of teaching and building relationships with students. Ann was on a scholarship, and she drew on many things and ideas there which she later applied in her own academic work. Danny praises the greater freedom and autonomy of students in Germany, where he studies.

Transferring experiences from a stay abroad has also been the case for Sue, who was in Switzerland and observed classes at the higher vocational school. She recalls these moments and now tells her students about them, enriching their knowledge on teaching. International cooperation also plays an important role in John’s professional development, as he has participated in several international teaching projects. As a teacher, he appreciates the opportunities to have worked in these projects. He consciously transfers that experience gained while implementing the projects to teaching a foreign language, and emphasises their importance in the development of his own academic competences. He refers to his experience gained during the projects:

Participation in the projects had a big impact when I travelled all over Europe and saw how things work with people in different countries. There were several schools in Spain, Germany, and the Czech Republic. (John)

Cultural experiences build a second space of teacher educators’ PD. The interviewees mention them in relation to studying and living abroad for some time. The space is an academic one, as it refers to experiences gained derived within their respective academic postings abroad.

Learning in / between self and others

Social interaction based on sharing and comparing experiences, as well as conducting discussions and debates, lead to learning and professional development (Keiny, 1994). The teacher educators do not provide any specific reasons for undertaking academic cooperation, but treat it as a natural, inevitable process (Danny). This is clearly indicated by Sue as follows:

If three lecturers gather somewhere in the room and one starts to talk about their problem, the other two always have something to add from their own backyards. (Sue)

In the group of teacher educators interviewed, informal groups predominate. They are created more from friendship than on formal bases, with no relation to institutional obligations. The aim of cooperation is usually exchanging information (Danny), expressing and sharing “personal” experience (Anna), and advice on how to solve given teaching problems (Tom).

We talk about how new things appear in teaching. Someone has read a good paper, some books or was at a nice conference. (Danny)

Meetings in a group of colleagues are often unofficial, whenever possible (Anna), not very systematic, as they take place only in a problematic situation. John recalls discussions with a friend about the mutual use of their own ideas (which in the present John terms “picked up”):

We often discuss, disagree, agree, change our minds. There are things we pick up from each other. (John)

The teachers play the role of “critical friends” who are trusted people, as defined by Costa and Kallick (1993), asking provocative questions and helping assess one’s own behaviour from a different perspective. The teacher educators appreciate benefits resulting from the exchange of experiences and knowledge (“they certainly have an enriching effect,” says Sue). The teachers indicate various effects of cooperation, claiming that it has a developmental effect and that their knowledge and skills are enhanced (Tom). Danny emphasises that cooperation in groups of teachers leads to acquiring knowledge and skills that cannot be accessed in any other way. Their value includes being applicable to situations encountered in one’s own practice.

I wouldn’t find answers to these questions in any methodological books or methodological writings. These are simply lived problems in normal academic life. (Danny)

The last space discussed in this chapter is living among other people, cooperating with other practitioners or friendly counselling that ultimately leads to “growing together” (Chmielewska-Długosz, 2007).

Discussion

The teacher educators depict their personal learning processes as gathering of experiences. There are several noticeable characteristics in the experiences they presented, including continuity and cohesion. The teachers’ current experiences are rooted in the past, which inspires them, directing or modifying present experiences. The teachers often define their development as “a calm way forward, to continuous improvement” (Tom). The accumulated experiences stimulate transformation and conscious career development.

The teacher educators explain and characterise their learning processes through accumulation of personal and professional experiences in three spaces: in relation to actions they perform (including teaching and research), as cultural practice and in the form of the practitioners’ community. These findings confirm Lunnenberg and Hamilton’s opinion (2008) that the professional life experiences of teacher educators have strong impact on their career development.

References

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Chmielewska-Długosz, A. (2007). Koleżeńskie doradztwo, czyli o kulturze uczenia się od siebie nawzajem. Doświadczenia niemieckich pedagogów i nauczycieli. Kraków: Oficyna Wydawnicza Impuls.

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Costa, A., Kallick, B. (1993). Through the Lens of a Critical Friend. Educational Leadership, 51(2), 49–51.

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Małgorzata Kamińska

ORCID 0000-0002-1643-3949
Pawel Wlodkowic University College in Płock, Poland

Mutual Learning among Teachers in the School Space

Based on conclusions of US researchers, Christopher Day points out that the school “supporting development” (or the “living school”) is a place where conditions are created for gaining knowledge for practice (teachers sharing academic knowledge), practical knowledge (learning and sharing knowledge by experts), knowledge of practice (analysis of one’s own knowledge of other teachers’ practice and competences) and knowledge of oneself (critical reflection of teachers regarding one’s own motivation, commitment, emotions and identity). Mutual learning among teachers in the school space refers primarily to acquiring knowledge about practice and self-knowledge. This chapter presents selected results of the author’s research on opinions amng teachers and principals about mutual learning in school practice. Respondents’ attitudes are examined on team learning in the understanding of the mutual transfer of knowledge, skills and professional and personal experiences, through active and conscious participation in a team of people cooperating on the basis of partnership and open communication.

Keywords: teacher, mutual learning, school, cooperation

Introduction

The culture of teachers’ cooperation at school is connected with the collective approach to teaching and learning. According to Inetta Nowosad:

mutual education as the effect of teachers’ cooperation means joint work. Only as a result of direct cooperation and experience exchange can teachers enrich and develop the indispensable competences. Teamwork can successfully support personal development based on the activity of teachers’ groups pertaining to self-aid and consultation. In this case, team teaching becomes another possibility of creating a work culture in which teachers obtain space for developing their personal visions; and while overcoming stress and fear, they derive energy and motivation for developing their own mastery (Nowosad, 2003, p. 89).

The ability of learning and teaching constitutes one factor of effective teamwork as part of which team members consciously approach their own development and the organisational development of their school. This is accompanied by the ability to criticise others and to accept criticism, readiness for content-related discussion, a positive attitude to teamwork and openness to new concepts and ideas. Collective learning prevents or limits professional isolation among teachers, minimising a teacher’s feeling of pedagogical alienation, that which in the long run could lead to the consolidation of a “behind closed doors” work culture.

Cooperative learning in teachers’ teams

Teachers’ cooperation and mutual learning in teams develop on the basis of one’s own professional and personal competences, the rational use of experiences, behavioural flexibility and good communication. Creating teams of teachers learning from one another requires a professional work approach, an adequate involvement level, proper motivation and an attitude in favour of learning from others. All this is based on teamwork in which an individualistic culture should be replaced by the culture of cooperation and establishing a community of learners. Building such a community derives from the phenomenon of synergy. In this context, Teresa Hejnicka-Bezwińska (2008, p. 143) makes reference to the category of:

a pattern of synergetic learning which […] correlates with teaching that uses the establishing of teams and building advantageous relations and interactions among team members to aid learning processes for each team member. Followers of this learning pattern and the corresponding teaching strategy often refer to Mead’s theory of symbolic interactionism, Thibaut and Kelley’s social exchange or other psychological theories of a group.

This model consists of making use of relations, interpersonal contacts and communication. When establishing a cooperation culture in teachers’ teams at school, one must not forget about this. Learning in cooperation and through cooperation is not a new model. Establishing a community of learners and learning from one another are activities connected with social learning in communities and non-formal groups. In such groups, no one is forced into full participation; volunteerism and an absence of institutionalisation enable group members to freely share their experience and knowledge. Experience exchange is a typical manner of learning through participation which does not require that any set work plan be implemented or achieve any expected results. Distribution of potential benefits from such a learning process takes place through linear information flow among members and any data transfer. Everyone derives as much as they need, relying mostly on their own reflections and observations. Knowledge absorption runs through various transmission-reception channels determined by the number and direction of internal contacts. Individual development is implemented through collective learning. Everyone is able to generate knowledge on their own, according to their needs and possibilities. Within this concept, influences of constructivism theory are clearly accentuated, as a theory of learning and cognition. Constructing knowledge is possible due to learners’ activeness, their reflections on the learning process, cooperation, learning from one another, and posing questions and problems for solving. The outcome of the interaction of these elements is a cognitive and social change, and new forms of knowledge people built individually (see Nowak-Łojewska, 2008; Filipiak, 2008).

Reflectiveness in the teacher’s learning process

Ongoing autodiagnosis, autoanalysis, auto-reflectiveness and self-evaluation are conducted in learning communities. There are critical friends, change leaders, self-education teams, interest groups and support groups. During learning through action, there is the right to experiment, search, make mistakes. Everyone has a chance to develop their own professional and personal potential. Knowledge acquired during mutual learning is updated and verified on a current basis in terms of its utility and usefulness in solving real school problems, stimulating the creativity of team members (see Elsner, 2003). Conditions are created for acquiring knowledge for practice (making academic knowledge available for teachers), practical knowledge (familiarisation with experts’ knowledge and the sharing of such knowledge by experts), knowledge on practice (the analysis of one’s own knowledge on practice and on the competences of other teachers) and knowledge on oneself (teachers’ critical reflection focused on one’s motivations, involvements, emotions and identity) (compare Day, 2008b). As Anna Perkowska-Klejman (2018, p. 6) writes:

reflection is an intrinsic attribute of learning, that is: observation, analysis, broad perspectives on a problem and noticing and considering a context. Reflectiveness enables theory to be put in practice, the search for new and better solutions and building an autonomous attitude.

A teacher’s reflectiveness is demonstrated through interpreting outcomes of their pupils’ intellectual development and learning processes, but it also applies to the ability to discern observation and reflection regarding one’s own work, the analysis of educational practice and learning based on one’s own experiences. Reflectiveness is also the ability with critical approaches to one’s didactic and educational activities, seeking advice from others, adapting new solutions to one’s needs, concepts and ideas. A reflexive teacher creates the pedagogical approach on a current basis. This is fostered by participation in learning teams, cooperation with experts and specialists, making use of available educational resources and the potential of other teachers’ knowledge and practical experiences. In this sense, mutual learning in teachers’ teams is at once a reflexive learning procedure – that is, a process of personal learning, generating individual knowledge based on personal experiences – but with consideration for various contexts, environmental conditions and other teachers’ knowledge. The integration of the various ways of thinking and acting leads, as a consequence, to changing one’s own attitudes and better understanding one’s own ways of thinking and acting.

Mutual learning among teachers refers mostly to acquiring knowledge on practice and on oneself. This knowledge is pragmatic and habitual (as opposed to conceptual-theoretical knowledge) with the:

intrinsic smoothness of action, practice proficiency, everyday mastery, the manner of involvement and participation [...]. This knowledge requires practice and action because only then can it be acquired, as if by chance; then through participation in similar social practices, habitual understanding becomes possible. This understanding is attainable because an experienced community determines the relatively constant, extra-individual patterns of action and orientation in which pragmatic inter-subjectivity is anchored [...]. This practice has social-genetic meaning as regards habitual knowledge: that knowledge generated in practice, constituted in practice and updated (applied in new action contexts) as practice (Krzychała & Zamorska, 2012, p. 61).

According to Tadeusz Lewowicki (2007, p. 62), “teachers declare their interest mainly in ‘practical knowledge’, with the application of theory – and this application has a markedly low extent”. Agnieszka Nowak-Łojewska (2011, p. 68) underlines that “teachers’ thinking is dominated by a closed knowledge model, based on positivism and behavioural concepts”. Therefore, the process of teachers’ mutual learning in school teams may sometimes be only apparent, superficial, without any actual educational results. Polish and international research shows that teachers, in their professional development, are interested mainly in such aspects as familiarity with a syllabus, assessing pupils and using computer techniques in teaching. They search for knowledge about working with pupils with special educational needs and teaching individualisation (compare Hernik et al., 2014, p. 24).

Research assumptions

The status of teachers’ cooperation in school teams is grounded on the legal code of an education system. Work methods and tasks of these teams are also usually defined in school documents. The question arises of whether and to what extent this cooperation is advantageous for teachers, achieving measurable effects in mutual learning and the acquisition of professional experience. What do teachers learn from one another? What knowledge and skills do they share with others and what competences do they acquire during team learning?

The present research attempts to answer these questions. The scope of the research was slightly wider and referred to the field of cooperation and mutual learning as the components of school culture compared to the concept of a learning organisation (compare Kamińska, 2019). This chapter presents an excerpt from an empirical analysis concerning the effects of teachers’ mutual learning in school teams. In 2015, a diagnostic survey was used to obtain the opinions of 259 teachers and 10 principals working in the various types of public schools in the Mazowieckie voivodeship in four counties (powiatu) of the Płock sub-region. The research was also aimed at verifying whether teachers’ opinions vary according to selected features of their social-professional status (gender, workplace and environment, degree of professional advancement).

Collective learning was understood as the mutual sharing of knowledge, skills and professional and personal experiences through active and conscious participation in a team of people cooperating with one another based on partnership and open communication. The problem was considered in two aspects: mutual learning in the “I – other teachers” model (competences acquired from other teachers) and mutual learning in the “Other teachers – I” model (competences conveyed to other teachers).

The qualitative analysis of empirical material makes use of the classification of areas of a teacher’s professional competences proposed by Jolanta Szempruch (2013, p. 103), who defined teacher competences as “the function of the interaction of knowledge, skills, emotions and behaviours which are characteristic for: relations with tasks because they are demonstrated in specific behaviours; variability denoting development; measurability”. There are six areas of competences in the classification: personal, interpretative-communicative, creative-critical, cooperative, pragmatic, informative-media. Personal competences (“I as a person”) are connected with an “interpersonal level, that is, personality traits, professed values, manners of conduct, norms, image of one’s own person and expectations for oneself as a teacher”. Interpretative-communicative competences (“I as participant in an interpersonal relation”) is “a skill of understanding and defining educational situations and the effectiveness of communicative behaviours, both verbal and non-verbal”. Cooperative competences (“I as member of a professional and social group”) are “understood as effective pro-social behaviours and efficiency in integrating pupils’ teams and other educational subjects”. Creative-critical competences (“I as expert in and creator of a given field of knowledge”) are demonstrated through “innovativeness, non-standardisation and pro-development effectiveness of actions. They relate to auto-creative competences constituting a basis of a human functioning as an individual and as a social person”. Pragmatic competences (“I as teacher”) refer to “effectiveness in the planning, organising, implementing and evaluating of educational processes”. Informative-media competences (“I as participant in the educational system”), understood as non-pedagogical knowledge and skills comprising instrumental competences (the efficient use of media as learning, intellectual work and communication tools) and cultural-social (preparation for the conscious, value-determinant and critical reception of varied media communication) (Szempruch, 2013, pp. 104–111).

Research results

Taking into account the research model “I – other teachers”, respondents declared acquiring mostly pragmatic competences from their colleagues. These were mainly knowledge and skills within methodology and the organisation of didactic and educational work, and diagnosis and evaluation of the educational process. From colleagues they learnt new educational methods and techniques (especially for pupils with special-educational needs), formative assessment, techniques of an educational procedure, individualisation in teaching, the organisation of their own work and the work of pupils, and formulating didactic goals. They acquired skills within internal and external evaluation, as well as the implementation of a professional-advancement procedure. The following competences were mentioned slightly less often: work-time organisation, didactic efficiency, arrangement of school events and ceremonies, and keeping school documentation. They also developed personal competences (building self-confidence, being aware of one’s own capabilities, learning assertiveness and patience, tolerance, openness and ability to accept criticism) and cooperative competences (respecting rules of teamwork, the necessity of providing help, maintaining proper interpersonal relations, the implementation of cooperation with pupils). They learnt the least from others within the scope of interpretative-communicative competences, creative-critical competences and informative-media competences. These were mainly such skills as listening to others, using specialised vocabulary, communication with pupils and parents, critical searching for knowledge, using the Internet, computer and audiovisual means in work. Few opinions indicated a lack of mutual-learning effects.

In the model “Other teachers – I” within pragmatic competences, teachers indicated the application of education law (professional advancement), new teaching methods (especially activating methods) and methods of educational work with pupils with disabilities. They specified knowledge concerning the practical use of formative assessment, implementation of educational projects, and arrangement of school events and ceremonies. They shared their experience in resolving pupils’ conflicts, and individual approaches to a pupil and their problems. As far as personal competences are concerned, what was indicated most frequently was learning rules of conduct, taking over norms and values from others (involvement in work, diligence, conscientiousness, patience, regularity, responsibility). Opinions concerning cooperative competences occurred slightly more often than in the “I – other teachers” model. References included the course of work and its rules. Respondents declared that their colleagues learnt from them how to collaborate with parents and teachers. They were able to acquire the skills of teamwork, team action, conflict resolution and overcoming obstacles. In the opinions of respondents, they developed cognitive-development potential among team members through providing guidelines for efficient cooperation: meeting deadlines, acting according to the established plan and assigned tasks. They convinced others to change their routines and to be more open to mutual help and problem-solving. As with the model of mutual learning, in “I – other teachers”, opinions were fewest in reference to the areas of interpretative-communicative competences, creative-critical competences and informative-media competences. There were also examples of the lack of effects in learning due to unwillingness or lack of interest among teachers.

Conclusions

In summary, the general similarity must be noted between declared outcomes of teachers’ mutual learning in both accepted models. First priority in both is given to pragmatic competences within the methodology of teaching and organisational skills. Apart from this, learning from others referred to a wider scope of competences because respondents also indicated competences including evaluation, diagnosis, and preparation of documentation. As far as personal competences and cooperative competences are concerned, in the “Other teachers – I” model, acquisition was rare of the following features: self-confidence, belief in oneself, assertiveness and consistency, acceptance of criticism. More frequently acquired competences were conscientiousness, involvement in work, diligence, responsibility, punctuality and discipline. In the area of cooperative competences, there were no significant discrepancies in the opinions on learning. Most opinions were focused primarily on the rules of cooperation with others and overcoming difficulties in teamwork.

Neither did the scope of the declared interpretative-communicative competences differ crucially. Generally, reference was made to the skills of communicating with parents and pupils, and also with other teachers. The “I – other teachers” model addressed skills of listening to others slightly more; the “Other teachers – I” model concentrated on skills of open discussion and overcoming barriers and anxieties about giving a speech. Creative-critical competences occurred rarely in the responses, both as the effect of learning from others and the effect of teaching. References were mainly to conscious self-education and self-development, to planning improvement and to supplementary education. Both patterns include the element of innovativeness and creativity in teachers’ work. The knowledge and skills within informative-media competences conveyed mutually were rather identical. The teachers learnt from one another chiefly how to make use of Internet resources in education and how to use computer and multimedia hardware. Furthermore, in the “Other teachers – I” model, they expressed opinions more ambivalently on the effects of mutual learning among colleagues. This means respondents had problems with the self-evaluation of their own competences and possibilities of sharing their knowledge and skills with others.

The research results presented above do not differ notably from analyses and studies to date concerning knowledge acquired by teachers in their professional development paths (compare Lewowicki, 2007; Michalak, 2010; Gołek, 2010; Nowak-Łojewska, 2011; Krzychała & Zamorska, 2012). The dominance of pragmatic competences is a phenomenon characteristic for teachers’ learning and their cognitive-development preferences. The needs and expectations within professional development are directed primarily at acquiring didactic-educational or organisational-administrative knowledge and skills. Teachers usually search for ready-to-use formulas and a simple instruction for solving a problem. Therefore, they address principally the adaptive form of learning in an organisation (compare Fazlagić, 2005). They are mostly interested in utilitarian knowledge and restricted local knowledge, which may constitute a significant limitation in their professional development or even create false pretences in mutual learning (compare Michalak, 2010). A low indicator of opinions on acquiring interpretative-communicative competences or creative-critical competences demonstrates the existence of a cultural block, a specific “closing” to reflectiveness, innovativeness, creative thinking and action. This may be interpreted in the context of teachers’ traditional approaches to knowledge and learning and a prevalence among them of instrumental-adaptive attitudes over critical-emancipative ones. This does not differ remarkably from the conclusions drawn from the study by Maria Kocór (2009). Teachers’ actions of an instrumental-adaptive work approach are focused rather on acquiring implementation competences, not interpretative ones. This phenomenon is also visible in the research by Agnieszka Nowak-Łojewska on teachers’ approaches to school knowledge (2011) and in research on teachers’ professional identities (compare Kwiatkowska, 2005). The conclusions also confirm teachers’ individualised approach to their work, difficulties in overcoming communication barriers in interpersonal relations and the subjective interpretation of the notion of autonomy, as identified in the other part of the present research. The result concerning informative-media competences is probably connected with the fact that teachers make use of organised professional-development forms. Similar conclusions were formulated in the research on the cooperation culture among teachers (compare Tłuściak-Deliowska & Dernowska, 2016), and in the report by the Institute of Educational Research (compare Federowicz, Choińska-Mika & Walczak, 2014). Nevertheless, unwillingness to share this knowledge with others may result from insufficient certainty concerning their own skills and fear of criticism. Perhaps teachers do not care much about this type of competence. A positive sign is the improvement, at a slightly lower degree, of personal competences and cooperative competences. To some extent, it constitutes a natural effect of team cooperation, yet the conditions for its occurrence are an atmosphere of trust, open communication and the feeling of being integrated within the group and its goals (compare Szempruch, 2012; Gitling, 2013; Kamińska, 2013). It is also worth mentioning that only a quarter of the respondents decided to describe the effects of mutual learning in school teams. As compared to the positive attitude of teachers towards the need of mutual learning, which is declared in the other part of the present research, the image of the actual actions and practical experiences in this area leaves a kind of deficiency and a feeling of dissonance between beliefs and behaviours of the teachers surveyed.

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Nowosad, I. (2003). Perspektywy rozwoju szkoły. Szkice z teorii szkoły. Warsaw: Instytut Badań Edukacyjnych.

Perkowska-Klejman, A. (2018). Refleksyjność w kontekście uczenia się. Poszukiwanie pojęć, modeli i metod. Warsaw: Centrum Edukacji Obywatelskiej, Polsko-Amerykańska Fundacja Wolności.

Szempruch, J. (2012). Nauczyciel w warunkach zmiany społecznej i edukacyjnej. Kraków: Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”.

Szempruch, J. (2013). Pedeutologia. Studium teoretyczno-pragmatyczne. Kraków: Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”.

Tłuściak-Deliowska, A., Dernowska, U. (2016). Kultura współpracy w szkole w percepcji nauczycieli szkół gimnazjalnych, Studia Edukacyjne, 40, 127–148.

PART THREE.
ADULT LEARNING PROCESSES

Dorota Gierszewski

ORCID: 0000-0003-2002-5128
Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland

New Perspectives on Raising Adult-literacy Levels in Germany and Poland

Raising the competences of adults with low skills in reading and writing lets them more fully participate in public life and is a key factor influencing social development. The main goal of leo. – Level One Studie research carried out in Germany in recent years was to identify and measure adult competences in the field of reading, writing and understanding texts. To this end a group of functional illiterates was selected. Results from this research led to the introduction of the National Decade of Literacy and Primary Education (2016–2026), which is associated with efforts to improve adult literacy in Germany. To publicise this problem, the federal states have undertaken numerous initiatives. In this context, the present author focuses on issues of illiteracy in Poland and of raising public awareness there about the importance of literacy skills among adults. These activities result the Council of the European Union’s conclusions on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults.

Keywords: functional illiteracy, a decade of literacy and basic adult education, lifelong learning

Introduction

After the Second World War and the German occupation of Poland, among the most serious educational challenges in the late 1940s and the early 1950s was the effort there to eradicate illiteracy. In 1946 the number of illiterate people was estimated at more than three million, accounting for 18 per cent of Polish society. Most were in the working-age group (Pasierbiński, 1960, p. 24). Hence, in April 1949 the Sejm (parliament’s lower house) passed a law to combat illiteracy (Journal of Laws of 1949, No. 25, item 177). Large-scale efforts resulted in introducing mandatory free education. Measures undertaken included introducing widespread primary education along with free adult classes in reading and writing, and establishing reading groups, folk high schools and open universities. The fight against illiteracy was aimed at promoting basic education, but also at exerting influence on people through the written word. These actions were not easy, requiring much time and support from the entire society, but ultimately proved successful. In 1953 authorities of the People’s Republic of Poland announced that they had eliminated illiteracy as a mass phenomenon and raised the level of education. Yet they were aware that the fight against illiteracy could not end and that sustained effort was required (the 1952 Resolution by the Presidium of the Government). In the 1970s the illiteracy rate was 2.2 per cent and primary education became widespread. 

Paradoxically, today the easy limitless availability of knowledge is paralleled by the loss of reading-comprehension skills and of the ability to critically analyse written texts. Hence, it is clear that the problem of illiteracy has not been eradicated once and for all. Basic skills necessary to function effectively in society are relatively low today, and the problem does not only affect the poorly educated (CEDEFOP, 2019). What kinds of actions are being carried out in Poland to raise basic skills adults need for effectively functioning in society?

Literacy, illiteracy, basic skills: terminological considerations

Most people associate illiteracy with the inability to read and write, therefore Poles consider it a marginal problem. According to common knowledge, they are unaffected by illiteracy. Yet, their contemporary society struggles with functional illiteracy, defined as the understanding of written texts and the ability to produce meaningful content. This means that a functionally illiterate person, while able to read and write, lacks the ability to critically and analytically understand written messages, which in turn is related to an inability to understand the world around them. Functional illiteracy exists in the context of the development of written-language skills, which is a powerful means of social communication. It should be noted that to effectively navigate the contemporary world, it is necessary not only to be able to read and write, but to put these skills to practice in daily life. 

Hence, raising the literacy level remains an important task. In fact, the term “literacy” has multiple meanings (Przybylska, 2014a, 30; 2014b). The Second Global Report on Adult Learning and Education, prepared by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, offers five interpretations of functional literacy (Second Global Report on Adult Learning and Education, 2013, p. 21):

literacy as skills, particularly the ability to read, write and calculate, sometimes called cognitive skills or a set of cognitive processes;

literacy as applied, practised and situated, or as tasks that require the written word, such as functional, family and work-based literacy;

literacy as a set of social and cultural practices embedded in specific socioeconomic, political, cultural and linguistic contexts; 

literacy as capabilities, reflected in the ability of the person using the skills to achieve their purposes and their communicative goals; 

literacy as a tool for critical reflection and action for social change, also referred to as critical or transformative literacy.

Defining functional illiteracy for the purposes of the present analysis, I assume that it occurs when adults’ reading and writing skills are lower than the required minimum allowing them to effectively function in society and take advantage of their individual opportunities in life. Therefore, the skills in question are insufficient to use and process knowledge in various situations one can face. It is worth stressing that functional illiteracy is both a problem for an individual and a structural and social problem. I agree that functional illiteracy is a fluid term, however, because the expected minimal knowledge required for social and professional integration can differ depending on social expectations (Zeuner & Pabst, 2011, p. 37).

The desk-research method was used in studying the literature on the subject for the purposes of this paper. Works were selected based on the analogy between the area covered by the text and the subject under scrutiny, as well as their current relevance. The comparative method was also used within the framework of the qualitative analysis, in relation to the discussion of the development and spreading of knowledge about educational ideas and problems, making it possible to understand other communities’ values, culture and achievements.  

Within the framework of the international research project International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) on functional illiteracy, conducted from 1994 to 1995 with Poland’s involvement, reading and writing ability was defined as a mode of adult behaviour related to using printed and written information and enabling them to achieve their goals, develop knowledge and potential and help them effectively function in society (International Adult Literacy Survey, vgl. OECD / Statistics Canada, 1995). 

Functional illiteracy is linked to basic skills related to reading, writing, reading comprehension, counting and mathematical reasoning, as well as the ability to use contemporary technology. This last skill is defined as the ability to use a computer and the Internet to acquire and analyse information, communicate with others and perform practical tasks in the private, professional and social contexts. Basic skills are often defined through the lens of education or professional qualifications.  

The results of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) indicate that adults in Poland have a low level of basic skills (Burski, Chłoń-Domińczak, Palczyńska, Rynko & Śpiewanowski, 2013). Almost 15 per cent of Polish adults have an insufficient level of both reading comprehension and mathematical reasoning and another 13 per cent of one of these skills. Almost all these people are either poor at using information and communication technology (ICT) or completely lack such skills. Those achieving the worst results in reading comprehension are especially males, elderly people, rural dwellers, and the under-educated and non-employed (unemployed or economically inactive). The same qualities characterise people performing poorly in mathematical reasoning, apart from gender. 

The job market’s ever-changing environment requires ever greater competence. In the near future, there will be fewer and fewer basic jobs. This means the problem of low skills is of great significance; it is not only related to the job market, it also poses a major social problem: people with low basic skills are more prone to social exclusion and are at risk of poverty. 

The recommendations in December 2016 of the Council of the European Union on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults aim to encourage systematic actions to help adults with low basic skills who otherwise would be in danger of both social and economic exclusion. The recommendations underline the necessity of professional development and lifelong learning, which requires updating the offer aimed at raising adults’ basic skills, validating their acquired skills, and ensuring their acknowledgement on the job market.  

Supporting the development of adults with low basic skills: the case of Germany

The experience of Poland’s western neighbours shows how adults’ basic skills can be effectively improved. The main goal of leo. – Level One Studie research, conducted in Germany in recent years, was to identify and measure adult competences in the area of reading, writing and reading comprehension (LEO, 2018). The results of the first study, carried out in 2011, were surprising, as over 7.5 million people ages 18 to 64 were found to be functionally illiterate. The LEO study, conducted by the University of Hamburg, has been the largest representative study on low basic skills in Germany. In findings of this research project, 19 per cent of functionally illiterate people had not finished any school, while professional qualifications of 48 per cent were on the level of lower secondary school (Hauptschulabschluss) (Grotlüschen et al., 2012, p. 29). These people perform low-skill jobs, are especially vulnerable to unemployment and may often find it difficult to take advantages of their opportunities in life. The study resulted in the proclamation of the National Decade of Literacy and Basic Education for 2016 to 2026, a joint initiative of the federal government and federal states. The policy paper on the National Decade of Literacy and Basic Education (AlphaDekade) specified the areas of action to be taken against functional illiteracy (BMBF, 2016). The entire effort was based on the conviction that the ability to read and write as well as basic education are indispensable for lifelong learning and active participation in social and professional life. The document set out recommendations for six key areas, namely:

competences improvement

public relations (communication with the general public and individuals’ immediate environment) 

research 

educational opportunities 

professionalisation of teaching staff 

dissemination and development of  structures.

The primary goal of these efforts is the improvement of competences. It is also important to increase public awareness about the necessity of improving reading and writing skills along with basic education. Advertising campaigns should be carried out to promote relevant educational opportunities, to spread knowledge about the problem, stimulate interest among those affected by functional illiteracy, create a positive climate in this field, reduce prejudices related to the problem, and counteract taboos surrounding it. The website created for this purpose, www.alphadekade.de, provides a platform for the exchange of information and experience. Conducting relevant research is expected to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge about functional illiteracy and identify specific features of the target groups and their motivations, finding effective countermeasures, improving self-education methods, as well as highlighting the problem of functional illiteracy in children and young people and identifying consequences for diagnostics at those stages of life. Studies have also been carried out into informal support structures, reasons behind the lack of participation in the learning process, motivation criteria determining the continuity of learning, as well as effectiveness of the offer and structure of educational counselling for illiterate people, to better suit counselling services to individual needs. Teaching content is tailored to learners’ needs and competences.

It has been pointed out that what is covered presently should be expanded by adding content from education fields – civic, economic, health, consumer – and from digitalisation, while ensuring easy access to content and its high quality. Special educational resources for different target groups have been developed and tested, and attempts to standardise the educational offer have been made. The learning spectrum is expanded to include formal and informal institutions in the local environment. Mobile distant-learning platforms in the form of special websites and applications are also created. This is accompanied by networking among people from the target groups, to support their learning processes. As regards the professional development of the teaching staff, teachers are required to be highly qualified, which means they have to constantly upgrade their knowledge in the field of new educational approaches and methods. Another important part of the adopted strategy is to develop relevant structures, for instance, by including certain aspects of basic education in the consultancy offered by the Federal Employment Agency and linking these to vocational training.

As a result of the actions undertaken, the problem of illiteracy is discussed with increasing openness in Germany. Actions undertaken within the framework of the National Decade of Literacy and Basic Education have made it possible to reach staff with low qualifications at their workplaces. And basic-education centres focused on creating contact networks and consultancies, and on raising awareness of various social actors, have been established in all federal states. 

Eight years after the first LEO study, the second Level-One research, LEO 2018, was conducted. Its main objective was to estimate the scale of basic skills among adults. In it, the term “functional illiteracy” was replaced by the phrase “people with low reading skills”, as the former was considered as stigmatising and thus inappropriate for adult-education practice. The new study’s results indicated that over 12 per cent (about 6.2 million) of adults had low basic skills, meant a decrease of 2.4 points compared with the earlier study (the change is statistically significant p<0.01). This result was surprising. Such positive changes can only be achieved when adults are taking advantage of free educational opportunities at workplaces and in daily life. These results show the policy adopted in Germany of raising basic skills is effective: it allows adults with low basic skills to grow as active members of society.  

Support in Poland for adults with low basic skills

From the perspective of Polish andragogy it should be contended that its development can be inspired by EU educational policy. Yet, at present among priorities of educational policy it is hard to find any activities in the field of adult education. The project titled Szansa – nowe możliwości dla dorosłych (A Chance – New Opportunities for Adults) from 2018 to 2021 has been among the first of such valuable large-scale initiatives. Its aim has been to raise adults’ low level of basic skills among selected target groups while working out and testing innovative models of educational support for those with low basic skills, which may then be included in systemic national policies. The following groups at risk of low basic skills were identified within the project’s framework:

people living in disadvantaged areas;

employees prepared to learn at their own initiative;

inmates and those released from prison;

those of ages 50 and over;

those with intellectual, sensory and/or physical disabilities;  

non-employed persons (economically inactive and/or unemployed, for instance, people wanting to enter or re-enter the job market after a hiatus, women after a long child-rearing period, caretakers for dependent people);

people affected by violence (physical, psychological and / or economic abuse);

foreigners allowed to work in Poland.

Members of all these groups have deficiencies in the area of reading comprehension, writing, digital skills and / or social competences, which hinders their activity on the job market and in the local community, and makes it difficult for them to lead a dignified life. These people experience difficulties with interpreting information and critically processing data from various sources, which affects their quality of life. In addition to all that, due to the current migrations and mobility, problems related to literacy have to be perceived in a broader multicultural and multilingual context.

Assuming that improving basic skills can make it easier for individuals to function in the rapidly changing world, it must be remembered that this must not be treated as a panacea for all problems they may face in society, as numerous factors may affect whether an adult will actually utilise newly acquired skills or not. These include social support as well cultural and environmental factors. Also important in this context are time devoted to learning and the opportunity to directly apply the acquired skills in life. 

Within the A Chance project’s framework, qualitative studies were conducted in 2019. They embraced fifty organisations from eight voivodeships and aimed to describe selected aspects of solutions used by institutions that support low-skilled adults (Fila, Rybińska & Białek, 2019). The questions were explorative in nature and results obtained cannot be treated as representative for any specific type of institution. They should rather be treated as a description of a particular case study. However, the research provides knowledge necessary for implementing new practices by organisations active in the field of supporting people with low basic skills.

The A Chance project has been addressed to grant recipients, which in this context means institutions and organisations providing support to adults with low skills. At the initial stage they submitted proposed models of working with selected groups. The application could be filed by public and non-public institutions and organisations providing formal or informal education to adults, and by organisations supporting informal education with experience in working with adults with low basic skills from the target groups. Institutions that filed applications included lifelong-learning centres, cultural institutions, local-government bodies, folk high schools, open universities, universities of the third age, social-welfare centres, social cooperatives, associations and foundations supporting people with low basic skills, businesses promoting work-based learning, and institutions active in the area of lifelong guidance. Testing of a model of support for a specific group is limited to thirteen months. Models receiving additional points included those to be implemented in disadvantaged areas (rural or small towns or post-industrial cities, including those with difficult access to education), embracing those specified in the Act on Revitalisation of 9 October 2015, and governmental territorial programmes (the Programmes for the Silesia Region and for the Bieszczady Region). 

It is worth emphasising that in the models developed, special attention was paid to diagnosing prospective beneficiaries to receive support, as accurate identification of problems is a crucial factor in every programme designed to support skill development. The models also focused on fostering participants’ motivation, which is especially important in the case of people with low skills. The need to develop basic skills is absolutely fundamental. If basic-skill development takes place within the framework of an interactive process of teaching and learning, consisting of acquiring knowledge as well as shaping attitudes and abilities, which enables learners to take responsibility for their lives, actions undertaken are likely to be successful. At this early stage of model implementation, results can not yet be fully appraised. This however, does not mean it is not worth already undertaking parallel actions in this area on a broader scale, encompassing a wide variety of stakeholders. Improving low basic skills requires the involvement of various sectors of public policy. In this context, an approach based on cooperation among numerous actors seems especially valuable, from local and regional authorities to educational institutions, the media, employers, leaders in civil society and non-governmental organisations. It is particularly important to recognise and verify informal learning, and to emphasise adults’ achievements during the experience-based learning process.

Conclusions

As the world becomes increasingly complex, this makes it incomprehensible to most people. We live in a society unable to take advantage of the enormous knowledge at its disposal. Many people do not have access to educational infrastructure. Access to lifelong-learning opportunities remains unequal among members of different socio-economic groups. Therefore, all projects aimed at improving adults’ basic skills should be applauded, discussed and supported. Efforts to raise adult-literacy levels, including among older people, while limited so far, must be prioritised. They should aim to increase educational activity and self-development, encourage adults to play an active role in society, and enable them to fulfil their social and civic duties. People with poor reading and writing skills, and those who find it hard to use new communication technologies, are at the risk of social exclusion. Specific local initiatives in this field provide a good starting point for effective action, but they need to lead into complex strategies of raising literacy levels. 

The domestic discourse on functional illiteracy is shaped by the need for social development. The absence of the problem of deficiencies in reading and writing skills from academic discourse in Poland raises dire concerns. The scale of the problem remains insufficiently studied, and it is not prevented from occurring by full-length formal education. Counselling and support services are not providing enough information on advantages that result from improving functional-literacy skills. The media maintains the taboo linked to a low level of these skills instead of breaking it, and cooperation in this area is very poor within the NGO sector. It also appears necessary to utilise national legislation to support increased access to education among groups requiring special attention.

References

BMBF, Bundesministeriums für Bildung und Forschung (2016). Grundsatzpapier zur Nationalen Dekade für Alphabetisierung und Grundbildung 2016-2026; https://www.bibb.de/dokumente/pdf/a33_grundsatzpapier_nationale_dekade.pdf (accessed on: 10.06.2020).

Burski, J., Chłoń-Domińczak, A., Palczyńska, M., Rynko, M., & Śpiewanowski, P. (2013). Umiejętności Polaków - wyniki Międzynarodowego Badania Kompetencji Osób Dorosłych (PIAAC). Warsaw: IBE.

CEDEFOP, European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (2019). Cedefop Country Factsheet: Adult Population in Potential Need of Upskilling: Poland. Available at: bit.ly/2m43ENV, bit.ly/2m43ENV (accessed on: 10.06.2020)

Dziennik Ustaw 1949 No. 25 Item 177 - Ustawa z dnia 7.04.1949 o likwidacji analfabetyzmu. 

Egloff, B., Grosche, M., Hubertus, P., & Rüsseler, J. (2011). Funktionaler Analphabetismus im Erwachsenenalter: eine Definition, in: Zielgruppen in Alphabetisierung und Grundbildung Erwachsener. Bestimmung, Verortung, Ansprache. Bielefeld: Bertelsmann.

Fila, J., Rybińska, A., & Białek, A. (2019). Jak wspierać osoby dorosłe o niskich umiejętnościach podstawowych? Raport z badania jakościowego w ramach projektu „Szansa – nowe możliwości dla dorosłych”. Warsaw: FRSE.

Grotlüschen, A., Riekmann, W., & Buddeberg, K. (2012). Hauptergebnisse der leo. – Level-One Studie. In: A. Grotlüschen, W. Riekmann (eds.): Funktionaler Analphabetismus in Deutschland. (Alphabetisierung und Grundbildung, Band 10) Münster [u.a.]: Waxmann.

Grotlüschen, A., Buddenberg, K., Dutz G., Heilmann, L., M. & Stammer, C. (2019). LEO 2018: Living with Low Literacy: Hamburg; https://leo.blogs.uni-hamburg.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/LEO_2018_Living_with_Low_Literacy.pdf (accessed on: 01.06.2020).

LEO; https://leo.blogs.uni-hamburg.de/ (accessed on: 10.06.2020).

Pasierbiński, T. (1960). Problemy likwidacji analfabetyzm w Polsce Ludowej. Warsaw: Książka i Wiedza.

Przybylska, E. (2014a). Alfabetyzacja i edukacja podstawowa osób dorosłych jako wyzwanie teraźniejszości. Przegląd Pedagogiczny, 2(25), 28–39. 

Przybylska, E. (2014b). Analfabetyzm funkcjonalny dorosłych jako problem społeczny, egzystencjalny i pedagogiczny. Toruń: Wydaw. Naukowe UMK.

Second Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE 2); https://uil.unesco.org/adult-education/global-report/second-global-report-adult-learning-and-education-grale-2 (accessed on: 19.06.2020).

Zeuner, Ch. & Pabst, A. (2011). Lesen und Schreiben eröffnen eine neue Welt! Literalität als soziale Praxis – Eine ethnographische Studie. Bielefeld: Bertelsman.

Maryla Koss-Goryszewska

ORCID: 0000-0002-3223-9249

The Educational Research Institute (IBE),

Warsaw, Poland

Natalia Michalak

ORCID: 0000-0003-4733-8183
SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities,

Warsaw, Poland

Maciej Ostaszewski

ORCID: 0000-0001-7302-2954

The Educational Research Institute (IBE),

Warsaw, Poland

Sylwia Walicka

ORCID: 0000-0002-4353-5238
The Educational Research Institute (IBE),
Warsaw, Poland

Support Models for Adults with Low Basic-skill Levels

The Council Recommendation on 19 December 2016 on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults provides advice to the European Union on improving basic skills. The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) estimates that from 28.9 to 40.6 per cent of adults in Poland need this improvement. The main goal of the project “A Chance – New Opportunities for Adults” is to design and pilot models of supporting adults with a low level of basic skills. Each model consists of three main steps: skill assessment, a learning offer that has been individually tailored, and validation of learning outcomes. Each model is focused on one of eight preselected target groups. The article presents two models designed to support adults in different regions. The summary results of the open grant call will be presented, including information about: outreach and motivating low-skilled adults, the methods and tools employed for skills assessment, the factors and non-educational needs influencing participation in learning. With the conclusion of the “A Chance” project in 2022 recommendations based on the pilot models will be submitted to government representatives for developing national policies for basic-skills development.

Keywords: basic skills, upskilling pathways, adult education, Integrated Qualifications System

Introduction

In accordance with the Council Recommendation of 19 December 2016 on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults8, the project “A Chance – New Opportunities for Adults” adopted a three-step process of supporting adults: assessment, educational support and the validation of skills. Each step had to be included in models proposed by grant recipients, but they were able to design other support elements according to their selected target group’s needs, their staff and organisational potential, and local needs. Recruitment of institutional grantees for A Chance was held from December 2019 to March 2020. Almost 80 applications were received, of which 73 met the formal criteria. These applications were then assessed qualitatively. Forty applicant entities passed the qualitative assessment, of which 29 were qualified for funding. This chapter will discuss all the applications that met the formal criteria, including those that were not funded due to insufficient points being awarded in the qualitative assessment. In addition, two case studies will be presented. The first, developed by the NOVA Foundation in Gdańsk, focuses on diagnosis with the use of competence cards; the second, prepared by the Barka Foundation for Mutual Help in Poznań, offers educational support for people who are homelessness.

Institutions’ areas of specialisation and of offered support

Institutions from across Poland responded to the recruitment competition (Figure 1). The largest number of applications came from the Masovian Voivodeship and from the country’s eastern and southern regions, accounting for about 60 per cent of the total.

The analysis of 73 valid applications shows that institutions were most willing to provide support in the voivodeship in which they are located (Figure 1).

Only nine institutions stated that they would implement A Chance in more than one voivodeship: six institutions in two voivodeships, two in four and one institution in five. In accordance with the government’s focus on the Programme for Silesia and the Programme for the Bieszczady Mountains, applicants planning to support adults living in those areas were favoured.

Eligibility was very broad for types of entities that could submit applications. They included both state- and local-government institutions, non-governmental organisations and private entities. By far the largest number of applications (over half) were received from NGOs and foundations. Other entities that applied for funds from A Chance were labour and educational institutions for adults and other groups involved in supporting people, including academic institutions.

Figure 1. Number of institutions and area in which support is to be provided, by voivodeship

Source: the authors’ own study

Target groups of the project

A Chance identified eight target groups to which support will be directed. The condition for developing a model was experience working with one of the target groups. In their applications, entities had to select the group for which they would provide support. The number of applications directing support to each group is shown in Table 1.

The most applications intended to support people who are not working and people aged 50+; the least number with people affected by abuse and those with intellectual disabilities (one and three applications, respectively). It is worth noting

Table 1. Target groups

The unemployed

20

People aged 50+

17

Employees

11

People in disadvantaged areas

10

Foreigners with a work permit

7

People with sensory and/or physical disabilities

4

People with intellectual disabilities

3

People affected by abuse

1

Source: the authors’ own study

PIAAC study results, which examined literacy and numeracy skills among adult Poles. The risk groups, i.e. those at risk of having low levels of these skills, included the elderly, rural residents, people not in employment and those with lower education levels (Rynko (ed.), 2013, pp. 62–64). The Human Capital Study authors, on the other hand, emphasise that people over 50 account for almost 40 per cent of the entire population and a quarter of working-age people (Czarnik et al., 2019, p. 114). Therefore, the high percentage of applications presenting models for the elderly and people not in employment should not be surprising. The number of applications submitted for employees is relatively high  (11). The interest in supporting this group may indicate that low basic skills are no longer identified just with marginalised groups, but may affect economically active adults and those who are relatively young. This thesis is confirmed by the results of a Cedefop report (2019), which indicate that of adults in Poland, between 6 million and 8.4 million are at risk of having low basic-skill levels. Thus, while the problem of low skill levels may affect marginalised groups more often, this does not mean that it only concerns them.

Three areas of support

As mentioned above, A Chance defines basic skills as those in literacy, numeracy, digital skills and social competences. Institutions had to choose at least one of these skills and were required to also include in the model social-competence development of the participants. Almost every submitted application (90 per cent) planned to support the acquisition of digital skills (Table 2). When only one basic-skill area was chosen (a decision made by 40 per cent of applicants), 75 per cent of them also indicated digital skills. Numeracy skills were least frequently chosen, selected almost exclusively together with the other two skills areas (all three were chosen by 36 per cent of applicants).

Table 2. Number of basic skills chosen

Number of skill areas chosen

Skill area chosen

One skill area

29

Digital skills

65

Two skill areas

18

Literacy

49

Three skill areas

26

Numeracy

28

Source: the authors’ own study

Individual assessment of skills

Applicants were asked to describe the three steps of supporting adults. In the first step, i.e. assessment, most institutions indicated more than one method of determining adults’ skill levels. Most often, applicants indicated the interview (63 applications). The next method most often presented was the skills test (35 applications). This appeared in almost half the applications. Other methods, i.e. observation (21) and analysis of existing data (documents, rulings, etc.; 24 applications), a psychological test (16) and other (17) were included in a third of the applications.

Educational support

The second key step of the models being tested is educational support. Its main objective is to help participants develop basic skills. The submitted applications showed a great variety of proposed educational methods (Figure 2). Most frequently indicated was the implementation of practical classes, hence activation methods were very popular and included presentations, discussions or classes with elements of gamification. The use of e-learning classes was included in 30 applications.

Figure 2. Number of selected educational methods and additional forms of support

Source: the authors’ own study

Standards of basic skills

A key stage in defining the thematic scope of educational support was the choice of basic-skills standards, which define what the participants will learn in the project. Applicants were required to indicate at least one of three possible standards:

Sets of learning outcomes developed in the first phase of the A Chance project

Sets of learning outcomes developed by the applicant

Qualifications included in the Integrated Qualifications System.

The data in Figure 3 show that 89 per cent of all applicants decided to use the already developed sets of learning outcomes, of which more than half chose to implement only one of the ten sets. Most popular were the sets on learning to use websites and social-networking sites (set No. 6) as well as online services and platforms (set No. 7).

The second option was chosen by 27 entities. At the stage of submitting the application, this option required entities to present at least the name of the standard, a short description of its learning outcomes and its Polish Qualifications Framework level.

The third option was reserved for entities that are awarding bodies. Only one applicant made this choice. This model will be presented in more detail below.

Figure 3. Number of selected variants of the standards and sets of learning outcomes developed by A Chance

* Set 1 – Handling business correspondence and personal e-mail; Set 2 – Writing official letters and completing official forms; Set 3 – Writing cover letters for job applications and developing a CV; Set 4 – Obtaining and processing useful information from various sources; Set 5 – Obtaining and processing information from advertisements and promotions from various sources; Set 6 – Using Internet sites and social media; Ser 7 – Using Internet services and platforms; Set 8 – Using smartphones and / or tablets; Set 9 – Planning and maintaining a household budget; Set 10 – Calculating repair / construction costs and preparing for renovations.

Sources: the authors’ own study

Counselling support

A required element of each model in A Chance is the provision of support through counselling. On the basis of the descriptions presented in the applications, the present authors selected several groups of methods proposed by the entities. As in the case of assessment methods, the interview was most often proposed by the applicants, also described by them as a chat or individual consultation. The second most popular method of counselling was group work (classes, discussions, tasks to be performed by the group, etc.). Other methods appeared much less frequently, and included online or telephone support, observation, simulation and vocational and psychological competence tests. The full range is presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Types of counselling support

Individual consultations, chats, interviews

56

Vocational competence test, psychological test

25

Observation, simulation

14

Group work / group discussion / group games and play

13

Online / telephone courses and support

12

Source: the authors’ own study

Psychological support

Psychological support was not mandatory. Instead, when an applicant determined that the target group with which it planned to work may require this support, its need had to be indicated and substantiated. The inclusion of psychological support in their model was decided by 67 per cent of the applicants, and included both individual and group support. Individual support was chosen most (34 applicants). Eleven applicants chose to offer both forms simultaneously.

Non-educational needs

Applicant entities also had to take into account other needs of their participants in addition to educational ones, to reduce the risk of participants dropping out of the programme. Applicants provided many such solutions, of which six groups were identified in the analysis, presented in Table 4.

The form of meeting non-educational needs most frequently indicated was to cover participants’ transportation costs or provide transport, as was offered by over 67 per cent of applicants. Another frequently indicated form of assistance was enabling participants to attend classes by providing dependent care, e.g. for a child, an elderly person or a disabled person. This type of support appeared in more than half of the applications. The remaining forms of non-educational support were indicated less frequently and included providing a guardian or assistant, e.g. for people with disabilities. The category “other” included integrational meetings, providing equipment (computers, smartphones, tablets) for the model’s testing period, providing meals, activities improving participants’ physical and mental condition and adjusting class hours to participants’ needs.

Table 4. Non-educational needs of participants

Ensuring transport /reimbursement of transport costs

50

Substitute care for dependents / reimbursement of the costs of substitute care for dependents

41

Other

23

Support of an assistant / character (e.g. for a person with disabilities or a migrant) / translator / individual tutor

19

Blended learning / online support

7

Adapting the support site to participants with special needs (e.g. with a disability)

5

Source: the authors’ own study

Validation

A support model’s final key step is validation, during which participants have the opportunity to confirm what they have learned during their educational

Figure 4. Number of entities responsible for validation; validation methods to be used

Source: the authors’ own study

support and to validate the acquired skills, knowledge and social competences. Participation in validation is voluntary, but applicants had to plan the whole process, including identification of methods to be used at each stage and the required human, organisational and material resources for performing validation. Analysis of the applications showed that one validation method was presented only rarely − usually two were indicated, less often four or five. The most popular methods were observation in simulated conditions and an interview with the validation candidate, which 80 per cent and 90 per cent of applicants decided to use, respectively (http://walidacja.ibe.edu.pl/metody/en/).

Most institutions indicated that they would perform validation themselves; only eleven applicants decided to have this done by an external institution (Figure 4).

Case study: skills assessment9

In the Council Recommendation of 19 December 2016, individual-skill assessment was indicated as the first step along “upskilling pathways”. Its results serve to develop an educational offer designed for a participant’s individual needs. In the analysis conducted for the European Commission, four main types of skills assessments were identified based on the purpose of the process and indicating its main characteristics (Besic et al., 2018, p. 23). Table 5 presents information on standards utilised in particular types of skills assessments.

Table 5. Four types of skills assessments

Types of skills assessments by their main purpose

Standards used

Skills assessments for self-development

Standards can be used as a reference but do not drive the process

Skills assessments for educational advancement

Education or qualifications standards depending on the system

Skills assessments for labour-market integration

Occupational standards or qualifications standards if also combined with the validation of non-formal and informal learning and related certification

Skills assessments for talent management in companies

Occupational standards or company-specific job descriptions

Source: the authors’ own work based on Besic et al., 2018.

As part of the recruitment process, potential grantees were required to design a second type of skills assessment for educational advancement to raise the level of selected skills. As indicated in the previous section, the methods for assessing skills most frequently chosen were the interview and a skills test; fewer applicants chose to analyse existing data, conduct observations or perform psychological tests. This section will analyse the NOVA Foundation project, which uses competence cards to assess the skills and needs of participants10.

The model targeted sixty adults with low basic skills living in the Stary Chełm district of Gdańsk, which is included in the Municipal Revitalisation Programme. Those interested in participating undergo a two-stage assessment. First, digital skills, numeracy and literacy were assessed with the use of competence cards. If deficiencies in at least one area are found, the candidate proceeded to the second stage: the assessment of social competences and individual needs and barriers, conducted with the use of cards presenting different human needs. These cards’ reverse sides list possible ways of meeting given needs, with an indication of skills that can facilitate this. After reading the cards, participants indicated the needs they consider important, which became the starting point for a discussion with the diagnostician about the participant’s situation, educational experience, motivating factors and obstacles to developing basic skills.

Each participant received written feedback, which present their strengths and indicates skills worth developing given the context of their individual needs in personal and professional life. Based on the assessment, a plan for educational support was prepared. In addition to taking part in training and workshops, participants implemented ten projects for their community’s benefit. The planned horizontal participation helped in developing social competences and in strengthening social bonds (Singh, 2015).

This project reflects the community-education model, in which participants develop basic skills through activities conducted on behalf of the local community.

Case study: educational support

The Recommendation on Upskilling Pathways states that a key feature of an educational offer should be its flexibility and adaptability to recipients’ needs. One example in A Chance of a support model making these assumptions a reality is the offer for the homeless by the Barka Foundation from Poznań. Their offer is based on principles of Kofoed’s School, which was founded in Denmark, establishing a method of activating people at risk of social exclusion and unemployment through social and educational support. The method draws on the achievements of the Grundtvigian concept of the School for Life and folk universities, assuming the participant’s full freedom in making decisions about learning new skills, while emphasising the need to acquire competences in a broader context than just the professional one (Maliszewski, 2015).

The main objective of Kofoed’s School is to organise educational and social support in such a way that its participants grow fully independent of aid institutions. The axis of support is to restore participants’ sense of self-efficacy by improving their social skills and competences to a degree enabling them to reintegrate into society. This goal is achieved mainly through workshops and learning in action. The approach avoids offering ready-made solutions in order not to put a participant in the role of an “aid recipient”. Participants are offered a variety of training and counselling offers, but it is their task to choose elements most suited to their needs, individual work pace and capabilities (Szymczak, 2018). Hans Christian Kofoed, the school’s founder, defined the goals of his method as restoring participants’ self-respect, mental and physical health, and hope for the future (Maliszewski, 2015). In the Barka Foundation model of educational support for the homeless, these premises were taken into account. The sixty recipients of support then professionally inactive or unemployed residents of community homes and shelters. People in the crisis of homelessness are particularly susceptible to having a low level of basic skills because they are excluded from many aspects of social life. Their contacts with others are often limited to people in a similar situation and social workers. Improving basic skills is one element of rebuilding a sense of self-esteem, which is closely linked to self-perception and to measures taken to improve one’s life situation. Improving basic skills can thus be an effective tool in the process of overcoming the crisis of homelessness.

Educational support was provided to participants over ten sessions, held once a month. Sessions were conducted by educational-support tutors, a psychologist and an educator. The educator role was also taken by people who have overcome homelessness, addiction, unemployment or legal violations and currently lead communities, operate shelters or manage social enterprises. During the educational sessions, active group-work methods were used, such as educational role playing, debates, study visits to communities and organisations, workshops, project work and case studies. The Barka Foundation model is an example of tailor-made educational support, fully consistent with its recipients’ needs. This is a key element that should characterise support aimed at improving adults’ basic skills.

Summary

The information presented in this chapter provides an overview of how non-formal education in Poland is being designed for adults with low levels of basic skills and of methods used at different stages: skills assessment, the educational offer and the validation of learning outcomes. The information can be used by adult-education researchers and practitioners developing pathways to improve skills that are tailored to participants’ needs. The two case studies show a selection of methods and techniques responding to specific characteristics of each chosen target group, the local context and social needs.

References

Good practices database; http://walidacja.ibe.edu.pl/dobrepraktyki/index.php/en/ (accessed on: 09.10.2020).

Besic, A., Carta, E., Curth, A., Murphy, I., Regan, K., Richardson, M., McGuire, D., Scott, D., SoutoOtero, M., Ulicna, D. (2018). Skills audits: tools to identify talent. Final report (Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union); https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=20609&langId=ga (accessed on: 30.09.2020).

Cedefop country factsheet (2019). Adult population in potential need of upskilling: Poland. Available at: https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/factsheet_pl.pdf (accessed on: 09.10.2020).

Cedefop, European Commission, ICF. (2019). European inventory on validation of non-formal and informal learning 2018 update: synthesis report; https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects/projects/validation-non-formal-and-informal-learning/european-inventory (accessed on: 30.09.2020).

Cedefop. (2014). Terminology of European education and training policy: A selection of 130 key terms. Second edition (Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union); https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/publications/4117 (accessed on: 30.09.2020).

Council Recommendation of 19 December 2016 on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults (OJ C 484, 24.12.2016, 1−6).

Czarnik, Sz., Górniak, J., Jelonek, M. et al. (2019). Aktywność zawodowa i edukacyjna dorosłych Polaków wobec wyzwań współczesnej gospodarki. Raport podsumowujący VI edycję badania BKL w latach 2017–2018. Warsaw: Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości, Uniwersytet Jagielloński.

Gmaj, I., Grzeszczak, J., Leyk, A., Pierwieniecka, R., Sławiński, S., Tauber, M., Walicka, S. (2016). Walidacja – nowe możliwości zdobywania kwalifikacji. Warsaw: Instytut Badań Edukacyjnych.

Catalogue of validation methods. Available at: http://walidacja.ibe.edu.pl/metody/en/ (accessed on: 09.10.2020).

Krajowa Strategia Rozwoju Regionalnego 2030. Rozwój społecznie wrażliwy i terytorialnie zrównoważony. Warsaw: 2019; https://www.gov.pl/web/fundusze-regiony/krajowa-strategiarozwoju-regionalnego (accessed on: 09.10.2020).

Maliszewski, T. (2015). „Szkoła dla Życia” Hansa Christiana Kofoeda – geneza, założenia i kierunki działalności do schyłku XX wieku. In M. Rosalska, A. Wawrzonek (eds.), Wymiary aktywizacji zawodowej dorosłych. W poszukiwaniu metody. Wrocław: Fundacja Familijny Poznań, 21–36.

Rynko, M. (ed.) (2013). Umiejętności Polaków – wyniki Międzynarodowego Badania Kompetencji Osób Dorosłych (PIAAC). Warsaw: Instytut Badań Edukacyjnych.

Singh, M. (2015). Global perspectives on recognising non-formal and informal learning: Why recognition matters. Hamburg: UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15278-3.

Szymczak, S. (2018). Metoda Szkoły Kofoeda i możliwości jej adaptacji do edukacji dorosłych w organizacjach pozarządowych. Studia Edukacyjne Vol. 48, 281–293; https://doi.org/10.14746/se.2018.48.18.

Tatyana Zelenova

ORCID: 0000-0002-7654-3007

Yaroslavl State University,

PG Demidov, Russia

Maria Khegay

ORCID: 0000-0003-3537-8460
ANO Institute of Problems of Embryogenetic Neuroendocrine Immune Deficiency
of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences,
Moscow, Russia

Development Features of University Students’ Professional and Personal Qualities: Future Social-work Specialists under Russian NPO Conditions

Early in the twenty-first century, within the processes of a dynamically changing world, the emergence of new technologies and modernisation of existing technology, professionals in all fields strive to improve their knowledge and skills and keep pace with the times. The present authors disclose features of developing professional and personal qualities of Russian university students: future professionals in social work in the conditions of NPOs.

Keywords: university student, professional in social work, professional and personal qualities, non-profit organisations (NPOs)

Introduction

In researching effective methods and technologies for developing professional and personal qualities among students training to become specialists in social work, the authors of this chapter conducted a study within the framework of educational activities at university and in non-profit organisations (NPOs). Undoubtedly, education plays the leading role in shaping a future specialist, at and after Yaroslavl State University (named in honour of P. G. Demidov) and throughout life.

It is no coincidence that at the EU Heads of States meeting and governmental summit in Lisbon (March 2000), it was stated that Europe is entering a new epoch: the age of knowledge. The high importance of knowledge and education of citizens testifies to the reassessment of traditional ideas about education, work, life and the prerogative of lifelong learning as a condition for ensuring societies a successful transition to prosperity (Understanding Knowledge Societies, 2005). The present authors are convinced that well-educated, skilled people are the key to the creation, dissemination and effective use of knowledge.

A society in which all categories of citizens are provided with conditions for training meeting their needs and interests is transformed into a learning society. It is well known that responsibility for training is divided between the state, employers, workforce and individuals. Our countries face difficulties: a learning society has been shaped which requires providing everyone with the opportunity to master the knowledge, professional skills and qualifications necessary for successful self-realisation. Thus, education and professional skills convert into factors in achieving economic success, civic responsibility and social cohesion. Particular attention is paid to the development of creativity and flexibility, as well as the ability to constantly adapt to changing requirements of social development and of the economy, based on the knowledge and professional and personal qualities of the adult individual.

Professional and personal development of a university student

An analysis of contemporary research reveals that the process of a university student’s professional and personal development is complex, multidimensional and multifaceted in terms of its objective and subjective content. We consider professional and personal development as a person’s way of self-expression, self-realisation and self-development throughout life. The subjective activity of a person is determined by a system of persistently dominant needs, motives, interests and orientations in each particular stage of life. The professional and personal development of a university student – in the present case, a future professional in social work – is the process of forming a professional orientation, qualities that are socially significant and professionally important, their integration, readiness for continuous professional growth, the search for optimal techniques for high-quality, creative implementation of activities in accordance with a person’s individual psychological characteristics.

In this regard, we examined the range of personal qualities and skills essential for the professional, which jointly constitute the image of a specialist ready for professional activity. In the specialized literature in Russian, this issue has received the most holistic embodiment in the framework of the activity approach in works of Alexey Leontiev, Boris Lomov, Sergey Rubinstein and others. Great contributions to the study and development of professional and personal qualities of a social-work specialist have been made by Svetlana Belicheva, Valentina Bocharova, Vyacheslav Kelasyev, Raisa Kulichenko, and other Russian scholars. The importance of an adult’s professional and personal qualities is confirmed by the fact that their inventory is recorded in fundamental documents recognised by the professional community of social workers of all countries: the International Declaration of Ethical Principles of Social Work, the International Ethical Standards for Social Work, the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers of the United States, and the Russian Federation Code of Ethics for Social Employees.

Among the first in the Russian Federation to assess the integrated grasp of professional and personal qualities was the scientific team led by Svyatoslav Grigoryev in 1991, which worked on the professiogram of a social worker (Grigoryev, 2002). The position of practitioners is summarised by the scientific team led by Vyacheslav Kelasyev (Kelasyev, 2019), with the most important personal traits of social workers categorised in three groups (Table 1).

Table 1. List of personal traits of a social worker

Professional personality traits

high professionalism, competence in solving various social problems, high level of education and broader culture (incl. spiritual), possession of related specialties and knowledge in pedagogy, psychology, law

Humanistic personality traits

kindness, love for people, poignancy, benevolence, sensitivity, responsiveness, desire to take someone else’s pain on oneself, generosity, kindness, compassion, empathy

Social personality traits

sociability, ability to properly understand a person and put oneself in their shoes, flexibility and sensitivity, subtlety in communication, ability to listen, ability to support the other and stimulate them in developing their own potential, ability to inspire confidence, organisational abilities

Source: the authors’ own study

In studies on the problem under consideration, different positions were presented regarding the requirements for a social worker’s professional and personal traits:

competence in a wide range of significant problems;

high level of general education and culture;

sociability;

kindness, love for people, sincerity, empathy;

ability to support the other and stimulate them to develop their own potencial;

ability to appropriately understand a person;

flexibility in decision-making and in subsequent implementation;

organisational skills.

This has been developed further and enriched by numerous scholars including a group of fellows from the Research Center studying problems of quality of specialist training under the guidance of I. Zimnyaya (Zimnyaya, 2004). Work of this research team offered an approach to professional and personal qualities of a specific social worker as regards their professional activity. Three structural components of the model of a specialist are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. List of personal qualities of a social worker

Innate personality characteristics of a social worker

a determining criteria here is the correspondence of the humanistic potential of a person to this type of activity

Competence of a social worker

includes social knowledge and skills in the specific area of work and in areas that are directly or indirectly related

Ability to establish relationships

adequate interpersonal and conventional relations in various communication situations

Source: the authors’ own study

According to E. Kholostova, in determining a social worker’s professional and personal traits, the following sets should be distinguished: psychophysiological; psychological; psychopedagogical (Kholostova, 2012). Based on the study of personal qualities needed by T. Shevelenkova, the specialist advanced the qualification characteristics of a social worker (Shevelenkova, 1992). Shevelenkova identified the following requirements: humanistic personality orientation; personal and social responsibility; self-esteem and respect for the personality of the other; empathy; willingness to comprehend the other and provide them with psychological support; emotionally positive mindset; emotional stability; stable mental-health attitude; personal adequacy in self-esteem, level of entitlement and social adaptation. The present authors distributed personal assets of a social worker in three groups (Table 3).

The group of traits of psychological and pedagogical literacy includes pedagogical scrutiny, which is manifested in the ability to characterise the object and identify its strengths and weaknesses, to assume a client’s reaction to impacts on them; pedagogical foresight as the ability to see the outcome of actions undertaken; an ability in conducting interviews to create an ambiance of security and trust.

The present authors are convinced that motivation is the most important component for a student’s development of professional and personal qualities – the future social-work professional – which we define as the backbone component of university training, necessary for the formation of readiness for professional activity: its formation ensures the development of spiritual and moral qualities, including mental, volitional and emotional aspects of students’ personalities, affecting in turn all aspects of subsequent professional activities.

Table 3. Personal qualities of a social worker

Psychophysiological characteristics

Psychological personality traits

Psychopedagogical traits

mental processes (perception, memory, imagination, reflection), mental conditions (fatigue, apathy, stress, anxiety, depression), attention as state of consciousness, emotional and volitional manifestations (restraint, indifference, perseverance, consistency, impulsivity)

self-control, self-criticism, self-esteem about one’s actions, stress-resistant traits: physical fitness, “self-motivation” reliance, ability to alter and manage one’s emotions, sociability (the ability to quickly establish contact with people)

empathy (recognising peoples’ moods, identifying their attitudes and expectations, compassion with their needs); attractiveness; eloquence, etc.

Source: the authors’ own study

We conducted research on the development of professional and personal abilities of university students – future professionals in social work – at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences of P. G. Demidov Yaroslavl State University, a Federal Public Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education (FGBOU VO), in 2018–2019. At lectures and practical classes in leading disciplines, during educational and production practices, students undergo testing, surveys, interviews with questionnaires that demonstrate the formation and development of professional and personal potentials (Zelenova, 2016). For applicants for professional activities in the field of social work, we presented a whole system of requirements: their practical experience, individual psychological assets, overall and physical development. We identified the components of readiness for professional activity, in particular the motivational sphere of the future professional in social work, which ensures the development of spiritual and moral traits including the mental, volitional and emotional aspects of students’ personalities, with these in turn affecting, all aspects of subsequent professional activity. The research takes into account the signs of professional activity of a future professional in social work – the totality of professional knowledge, skills and abilities as a result of university training. In addition, students turn to their university lecturers to grow acquainted with technology or to gain experience with legal or social support of various groups of needy citizens, as this information is not included in syllabuses of academic disciplines. As a result, we involved our students in volunteer activities of non-profit organisations (NPOs) with social focuses. We sought to ensure that students’ participation in volunteer activities contributed to the development of their professional and personal skills. In the study in 2018–2021, our students noted that under contemporary socio-historical conditions, volunteer work is especially significant, facilitating a display of the best personal and professional qualities, therefore, they defined the tasks of volunteer work in this way:

to help needy residents who find themselves in difficult living conditions (32 per cent);

to become eligible participants and organisers of socially significant and useful activities (24 per cent);

to develop individual professional and personal qualities (31 per cent);

to increase the level of professionalism and professional competence in the field of the future profession (13 per cent), and others.

Volunteer activity today coincides in its goals and functions with professional socio-psychological activity, because in it graduates encounter real-life situations that are more complex and multicoloured than those analysed in educational and scientific literature, which were being generated in practical classes, in educational activities, and in the design of difficult life situations.

At the preliminary stage of the study, future social-work professionals were surveyed by questionnaire about the need to organise and engage them in volunteer activities. According to the results of the 2018 survey, 53 per cent of respondents noted the need for volunteerism in society, especially at the stage of training of a future professional in social work, and ascertained their readiness for its implementation depending on the goals and objectives of the process of professional development; 21 per cent did not deny the potential of volunteerism in solving the problems of social-work clients belonging to various socially unprotected categories, but considered themselves not completely ready to carry out this type of activity, noting as the main reason their lack of experience in volunteering; 26 per cent did not attach much importance to the influence of volunteer activities on the process of professional formation of a future specialist in social work.

Thus, the data obtained proved the need for organising and involving future social-work professionals in volunteer activities to solve the following tasks:

increasing the level of students’ social activity in the process of practical solving of problems for social-work clients;

setting up of readiness for and implementation of social work;

development of professional and personal assets of a social-work professional.

We have successfully implemented development of professional and personal potentials of a social-work professional at Yaroslavl State University and in the work of NPOs. In the Russian Federation, the Union of Social Educators and Social Workers (USESW), an All-Russian Public Organization, unites social workers, social educators, social-services specialists, organisations, institutions and public associations in 73 regions on a voluntary basis. The Yaroslavl regional branch of USESW, led by the lead author of this chapter, has been successfully at work since 2000. Volunteers with YaRO USESW (the union’s Yaroslavl regional branch), with the participation of students focused on social work, develop and implement projects that help to develop individuals’ personal and professional qualities and to connect student social workers with experienced specialists from social centres, departments and administrations. The YaRO USESW volunteers are interested in social support and protecting the population; they strive to improve the status of the social-work profession, along with helping undergraduates who are future social-work professionals in developing professional and personal qualities. The volunteers work to:

devise social policy, taking into account the population’s national and regional characteristics;

contribute to improving the professional level of specialists in the social sphere;

provide social assistance to various categories of the regional population;

step up efforts by the Russian, European and world populations to establish the social well-being of all people individually and of the population as a whole.

Specificity of the development of professional and personal qualities of future social-work professionals in the context of YaRO USESW consists in the elaboration and implementation of social projects (Zelenova, 2016). Within the framework of project activities of the Yaroslavl Social Protection and Control System, with the support of regional, municipal and charitable organisations, from 2002 to 2019 the projects mentioned in Table 4 were implemented.

The project contents includes professional meetings, seminars, round tables, conferences, business games and trips with student participation as well as that of social-service associates, each attended by 30 to 50 people. At these meetings, we organise an exchange of views and educational and methodological materials on social work with various groups of clients, prepare informational materials for the media, then post information on project topics on websites and to other social networks.

Table 4. Projects of YaRO USESW

Yaroslavl Regional Center for the Professional Development of Social Workers

Legal and Psychological Competence of Social Professionals in Working with a Person in Crisis

Prevention of professional burnout among social workers

Dialogue among generations of regional social workers and students

Interaction between generations of social workers is key to the success of regional social work

Mastering the history of education and social work in Yaroslavl to strengthen the generational dialogue

Social responsibility of a regional social-sphere professional in working with recipients of social services and technology used in its formation

Dialogue among generations of social workers and students across society and for all ages

Source: the authors’ own study

At professional meetings, we resolve such tasks as:

establishing contact between students and social-service veterans to transfer professional experience and develop professional and personal capacities;

supporting and developing the profession social-worker and social-educator professions;

development of joint projects aimed at solving urgent social problems of the population of the Yaroslavl Kray (administrative district);

preparation and publication of articles for periodicals, focused on interactions between youth and social-service veterans.

As a rule, YaRO USESW projects 2018–2021 are designed to last three to twelve months and offer visits to students in the company of social workers to the Integrated Social Service Centres for the Population as well as the Territorial Departments of Social Support of the Population, in the six districts of Yaroslavl, the capital, as well as in eighteen districts of the region. They also run games and classes with children or the elderly in social institutions, take part in professional meetings with students from Yaroslavl State Pedagogical University (YSPU) and Yaroslavl State Medical University (YSMU) and with social workers and social educators of the Russian Federation, along with establishing contact with foreign colleagues in the profession. Articles published in collective scientific periodicals, notices in local mass media, radio and TV addresses by students and social workers, and live communication with students from different universities with social-work departments help expand awareness of each project’s progress and results and they attract a large number of volunteers. Our social projects merge the initiative of student social workers with decades of experience of social-service specialists. In designing them, special emphasis is placed on self-education, on a student’s creative approach to the process of applying knowledge and skills to self-development of their individual creative abilities in various types of activities.

Summary

An important fact testifying to the benefit of volunteerism is the identification and promotion of such assets in students as kindness, love for people, sincerity, soulfulness, compassion, sensitivity, responsiveness, a readiness to take someone else’s pain on oneself, generosity, humanity, consideration, empathy. Thus, based on observations at the role-allocation stage in YaRO USESW activities, students could demonstrate sociability, an ability to understand a person accurately and put themselves in their shoes, flexibility and sensitivity, consideration in communication, the ability to listen, the ability to support another and stimulate that person in developing their own strengths, an ability to inspire confidence, and organisational abilities. Having impartially proved that they can successfully cope with their chosen role at that stage of the project, they could then confirm and develop this at subsequent stages.

As student members of volunteer groups have mentioned themselves, such activities allow them to become socially active, ensuring the development of their personal and professional assets while contributing to the formation of communication and interaction skills with various groups. In the process of participating in projects, student volunteers with YaRO USESW receive important and practical information about activities in social services and about the achievements and difficulties of this work,while establishing professional contacts that help them establish themselves in their chosen specialty of social work and in practical professional activities.

References

Grigoryev, S., Guslyakova, L. (2002). Григорьев, С., Гуслякова, Л. Концептуальные основы социального образования в современном российском обществе. Барнаул.

Grigoryeva, I., Kelasyev, V. (2019). Григорьева, И., Келасьев, В. Теория и методика социальной работы: учебник для среднего профессионального образования. Москва.

Kholostova, E. (2012). Холостова, Е. Социальная работа. Москва.

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Zelenova, T. (2016). Зеленова, Т. Проектная технология для развития социальной активности студентов вузов в условиях некоммерческой общественной организации, Сб. статей участников ХVI Международной научно-практической конференции „Теория и практика психолого-педагогической подготовки специалиста в университете“, ТД Софийского Университета им. Св. Кл. Охридски», г. Китен, Болгария).

Zimnyaya, I. (2004). Зимняя, И. Ключевые компетентности как результативно-целевая основа компетентностного подхода в образовании. Москва.

Wojciech Horyń

ORCID: 0000-0002-9887-5889

General Tadeusz Kościuszko Military

University of Land Forces, Wrocław, Poland

Kazimierz Nagody-Mrozowicz

ORCID: 0000-0002-9211-5256
General Tadeusz Kościuszko Military
University of Land Forces, Wrocław, Poland

Determining Personal Competence in Light of Empirical Research

This chapter considers the issue of competence. In addition to the classical concept of competence, the authors briefly present the Phenomenological Diamond Competence Model (conception by co-author Kazimierz Mrozowicz in 2010), indicating that personality is an important element of competence. On the basis of this approach, a research sample is presented which includes Group A, mountain rescue-team members, and Group B, medical personnel. The premise was that people performing rescue roles are usually individuals with a well-adapted mental norm with average intensity of extraversion and low neuroticism. The research results confirmed this hypothesis. The authors propose that the Phenomenological Diamond Competence Model and the Model of Selective Rings, also developed by Mrozowicz, be utilised in creating professional profiles.

Keywords: adult education, competencies, personality.

The issue of competence receives continuing interest. This is because competencies are the major components of the human capital of different organisational structures; as a consequence, a large number of studies and publications have already been devoted to this issue. A personality, which is the central system controlling and regulating human activities, has an important and determining function within the area of competences. It has the morphology of an open system and will be discussed later in this chapter.

Competence in classical terms

The approach closest to that of the present authors in understanding competences is the delimitation of the concept given by Michael Armstrong (Armstrong, 2005, p. 148), who believes that they are in a way a resultant of three categories: the criterion for assessing effectiveness (efficiency–inefficiency), personal qualities and instrumental skills. Equally appropriate is the definition of David McClelland, who sees these categories as a criterion for assessing key aspects of human behaviour in determining the level of its effectiveness (McClelland, 1973, pp. 1–14). Also relevant to the authors’ views is the approach to competence given by Richard Boyatzis (Boyatzis, 1982), who sees effectiveness as the result of a number of factors (e.g. personality traits, motives, experience, behavioural characteristics, etc.). This is a very different understanding from the classification of the UK guidance institutions, which define them as knowledge and instrumental skills (cf. Armstrong, 2005, p. 152).

The literature on the subject encounters semantic diversity as regards this concept. The word “competence”, resulting from its English-language source (Woodruffe, 1991, pp. 30–31), means both characteristics of behaviour (soft skills) and the adequacy of an individual’s behaviour to work tasks, according to criterion adopted in a given organisation (hard skills) (Armstrong, 2005, p. 153). From the viewpoint of the present authors, this division is appropriate for a proper understanding of the essence of competencies, which can be presented in a synthetic way with the use of the so-called dualistic model of competences (Mrozowicz, 2011, p. 101). This is because there is a system of personal factors (cognitive structure, emotions, personality, motivational factors, abilities, psychomotor characteristics, etc.), while on the other hand there is the so-called social-role recipe, i.e. the scope of tasks, assignment of activities, group habits and norms, to which an individual should not only be able to adapt but if possible systematically improve this ability (e.g. routine skills, professional knowledge, patterns and norms, knowledge of specific standards).

Lisa Miller (Miller, 2001) takes a similar view, distinguishing between behavioural competences, which she understands as determinants of the basis for competent action (i.e. how people should behave for their actions to be effective), and functional competences, relating to areas of work covered by performance criteria (i.e. what people should know for their behaviour to be classified as competent).

Polish authors on the issue, who due to limited space will only be briefly quoted, present a consensual approach, perceiving competence as a relatively specific set of certain personal factors (e.g. motivation, aptitudes, knowledge, experience, practical skills, psychophysical conditions, attitudes, behaviour) (e.g. Oleksyn, 2006; Sajkiewicz, 2002), highlighting their great role in shaping the ability to act effectively (e.g. Oleksyn, 1999). Kinga Tucholska formulates particularly important observations, systematising the concept of competence and stating that their synonyms are quite diverse in terms of meaning and theory, with the following of particular importance: abilities, skills, qualifications and entitlements, which indicates their multidimensionality of approaches and applications (Tucholska, 2005).

The Phenomenological Diamond Competence Model

The competence structure is of a stable nature, i.e. it is in its attribute form invariably in the same order and its structural scheme can be presented graphically by means of a hexagram (Figure 1), developed by one of the present authors (Mrozowicz). The structure of the diamond metaphorically corresponds to the inner nature of competence, statically and systemically understood, which is formed by a set of six factors (dimensions): talents (aptitudes, abilities), personality (its features and temperament), cognitive processes (perception, thinking, imagination, memory), psychomotorics (physical features), knowledge and instrumental skills (experience / practice) and social role (in terms of quantity and quality). Competences are multidimensional, as are their components.

Figure 1. Phenomenological Diamond Competence Model: structure and functions

Source: Mrozowicz (2010), pp. 89–105

Personality determinants of behaviour in light of mountain rescue-team members

In the repertoire of organisational behaviour one can find those whose subject is another human. As often, the object of reference of operations and objectives of action becomes the staff team, even the entire organisation. Socially oriented action of a unit is a result of an axionormative order specific to it (system of values, catalogue of standards, law) functioning in a particular social system (group, team, organisation, society), and as part of the model of accepted and desired behaviour as a reference and role model in the socialisation process of the young generation, as well as the context for generalised ethical and moral evaluations.

The most important asset of the organisation is people, since they provide it with their knowledge, talents, creativity and energy. Without competent staff, an organisation will either aim at inappropriate targets or encounter difficulties in implementation. A characteristic feature of managing people is to treat them as an asset, as “personality capital” (Mrozowicz, 2007a, p. 354). This term, then, is to be understood as:

a set of psychological resources, including personality traits and features of one’s temperament, and motivational–cognitive factors together with individualised strategies for their application within the social roles occupied, whose high value to the organisation in a generalised form affects the level of efficiency of human resources in achieving organisational goals.

This is a leading component of an organisation’s social capital, determining the level of intellectual capital, and thus a significant component of the total capital of organisational assets.

The concept of “human capital” was introduced into the sciences of organisation and management by Theodore Schultz, who defined it as follows: “human abilities, which may be congenital or acquired [...], appreciated and developed through appropriate investments, will become human capital” (Schultz, 1961, p. 3).

Human capital reflects and underlines the importance of the anthropological factor in the organisation’s genesis and evolution, which consists of attitudes, cherished values, motivation, knowledge, predispositions, skills and workers’ abilities and motor skills, motor abilities’ characteristics. In other words, it is a combination of intelligence, skills and professionalism, representing a separate nature of the organisation. The human element is one that is able to learn, change, innovate, work creatively and which, when well motivated, will provide the long-term existence of the organisation.

The anthropogenic subsystem of the organisation consists of “the participants in the organisation, their motivation, attitudes, values, culture and relations existing among them” (Koźmiński & Piotrowski, 2005, p. 30), thus becoming a determinant of intellectual capital. For personalised cognitive factors (perception, thinking, memory, etc.) and personality factors (personality traits, motivation, attitudes, system of values and temperament), shaping the learning process at the individual level also model it at the scale of the entire organisation (see Mrozowicz, 2010a, pp. 27–32). The development of intellectual potential ignoring the importance of psychosocial components of the organisation would only result in a collection of educational and training tools, relativised to present operating activities and devoid of an utilitarian context in the long-term time horizon.

Personality, according to Janusz Reykowski (see: Reykowski, 1995), is formed in the course of ontogeny, causing the individual’s gradual improvement in adaptive functions towards conditions of the internal and external environment, as a central system which regulates and integrates activities, controlling them in a superior way towards other systems of the body.

Personality is understood as a self-realising cybernetic system, consists of features and motivational and cognitive factors, among which the following are generally mentioned: dimensions of personality (as, for instance, in Hans Eysenck’s concept of personality: extraversion-introversion and neuroticism (Eysenck, 1970)).

Research and statistical operationalisation of data coming from the study of personality allows cognitively interesting and scientifically intriguing conclusions to be drawn, recapitulated in the form of implications for economic and organisational practice.

Material and methods

Samples were collected randomly from general populations of two socio-occupational environments: mountain rescue-team members (referred to here as mountain rescuers), medical-emergency and nursing staff (referred to here as medical personnel), forming the research groups of mountain rescuers in Group A (120 subjects) and medical personnel in Group B (138 subjects). To demonstrate the uniqueness of the development of the subject variable of characteristics of rescue behaviour, contrasting control groups were taken from the general population for both groups of subjects, with Group A assigned the Group A1 and for Group B the Group B1. Analyses within the scope of the subject groups selected in a controlled way were conducted from 2004 to 2010, receiving some positive reviews, and the complete results were published in scientific publications.

In the perspective of the views presented above, several hypotheses have been formulated.

H1: people performing rescue roles are normally individuals well adapted in their mental norm with an average intensity of extroversion and low neuroticism.

At the stage of appropriate study, observation, interview and survey studies were conducted, which proceeded without disruption and with the subjects’ involvement and interest.

Results

Rescue behaviour is conditioned by the influence of several categories of factors – attitudes, motivation, values and temperament – that determine the style of behaviour, and which then assume different and unique qualities in various social and occupational environments and organisational cultures.

The level of the development of the chosen personality traits is similar in both groups, although among mountain rescuers one could observe lower average intensity of neuroticism (Table 1). Verifying the significance of average differences with the use of the student t0 test within the scope of the discussed variables between Groups A and B and A1 and B1, their control groups, proved that the detected dissonance is of systematic nature at the level of p<0.001 and p<0.005. This means that the level of development of the analysed personality traits (Table 1) among the subjects from Groups A and B has a specific character which distinguishes itself in comparison with the general population, from which the A1 and B1 samples were taken (compare Mrozowicz & Halemba, 2012, p. 126).

Table 1. The structure of personality traits of Groups A and B

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS OF PERSONALITY

RESULTS OF GROUP A

RESULTS OF GROUP B

No.

Estimated personality traits

Arithmetic mean

Variance

The standard ten value

Arithmetic mean

Variance

The standard ten value

1.

Extroversion–introversion [MPI–64]

30.335

51.169

5

29.355

89.044

5

2.

Neuroticism [MPI–64]

19.263

103.671

3

23.494

110.161

4

Source: the authors’ own study

Characteristic groups of rescue behaviour

To describe the most characteristic features of rescue (adiutuistic) behaviour, four types of organisational behaviour were chosen: rescue actions and expeditions, both routine and listening duties, and trainings and courses. Rescue behaviour is formalised due to organisational standards; their aim is high efficiency and professionalism.

The main features of rescue behaviour during training are curiosity toward novelty, active participation, a high degree of interest, cooperation with the group, willingness to offer advice and help, active participation in group problem-solving, lower signs of fatigue, relatively fast recuperation, fast adaptation to the group, prioritising tasks of medium difficulty (consumption of success), preference for psychomotor tasks, accompanied by effort and physical fatigue, lack of fear and anxiety, and attitudes of openness, affiliation, facilitation, dominance, recognition, etc.

Table 2. Results of the study using Eysenck’s Personality Inventory MPI-64 on the basis of Lucyna Stawowska’s personality typology and standards (1977)

PERSONALITY TYPE according to EYSENCK’S CONCEPT

RESULTS OF THE STUDY of EYSENCK’S MPI-64 PERSONALITY INVENTORY in the adaptation by STAWOWSKA (1977)

TEST GROUP A

TEST GROUP B

POLISH POPULATION*

Subjects in their mental norm

20.5%

19%

36.7%

Best-adapted subjects

33%

26.5%

Well-adapted subjects**

53.5%

45.5%

Extroverts

23.5%

18%

12.3%

Introverts

9.5%

6.5%

19.4%

Neurotics

6%

16.5%

16.1%

Psychopaths

4.5%

5.5%

4.3%

Dysthymics (psychasthenics)

3%

10%

11.2%

* Information based on the Stawowska study. ** Subtype accepted after Edward Wlazło (1991), which summarised expression of personality types: mentally normal and best-adapted

Source: the authors’ own study

Discussion: verifying the hypotheses

As a result of methodological falsification of the hypotheses it was found that H1 is not false, since as a result of the survey conducted with the use of standardised psychological methods, it was shown that Group A and B subjects were usually in their mental norm, best adapted, with an average intensity of extroversion and low neuroticism.

Conclusions

The analysis developed a practical method of human-resource management in rescue organisations, which covers several major areas:

creating job profiles based on the Diamond of Competence (see: Mrozowicz, 2010, pp. 89–105);

determining staff needs based on the verification of competence on the basis of assessing the effectiveness of rescue behaviour and planning the staff (practical implementation of the present study’s results);

implementation in the recruitment process of the Model of Selective Rings (see: Mrozowicz, 2011c, pp. 305–325);

training programs in the fields of hard skills (first-aid training, topographic training, etc.) and soft ones (teamwork training).

The results obtained permit final conclusions to be derived.

Prosocial behaviours include the formal group of organisational behaviour, which aims to save life and human health, providing professional medical and premedical assistance. Rescue behaviour, formally called adiutuistic, is implemented within specific social-professional roles in the social space of characteristic organisational cultures. They are formed in a very unusual way, which makes them stand out from the other types of prosocial behaviour.

Efforts to increase the efficiency of rescue organisations should be focused on developing their intangible resources, mainly intellectual and social potential, but also adequate resources, both material and technical, whose correlated levels directly influence the realisation of organisational goals.

In the context of the research results, it can be concluded that knowing relationships and factors shaping competences makes it advisable to utilise them in vocational education and training processes.

References

Armstrong, M. (2005). Zarządzanie zasobami ludzkimi. Kraków: Oficyna Ekonomiczna.

Eysenck, H. J. (1970). The Structure of Human Personality. London: Methuen.

Koźmiński, A., Piotrowski, Wł. (2005). Zarządzanie. Teoria i praktyka. Warsaw: PWN.

McClelland, D. (1973). Testing for Competence Rather Than for “Intelligence”. American Psychologist, 28(1), 1–14.

Miller, L., Rankin, N., Neathey, F. (2001). Competency Frameworks in UK Organizations. London: CIPD.

Mrozowicz, K. (2007a). Niektóre aspekty zarządzania kapitałem osobowościowym (na przykładzie organizacji ratownictwa górskiego). In: S. Lachiewicz (ed.), Zarządzanie rozwojem organizacji. Łódź: Monografie Politechniki Łódzkiej, Wydaw. Politechniki Łódzkiej.

Mrozowicz, K. (2010a). Psychologiczne i organizacyjne mechanizmy formalizacji ról społecznych w organizacji (na przykładzie GOPR). Przegląd Organizacji, 5, 27–32.

Mrozowicz, K. (2010c). Zachowania pomocne w świetle humanistycznej teorii organizacji (w świetle badań motywacji i postaw służby medycznej). Przegląd Organizacji, 7–8, 35–39.

Mrozowicz, K., Halemba, P. (2012). Ratownictwo górskie. Psychologiczne i organizacyjne aspekty zarządzania bezpieczeństwem w górach. Katowice: Wydaw. Akademii Wychowania Fizycznego.

Mrozowicz, K. (2010). Teoria Względności Akomodacyjnej. Rola struktury i mechanizmu kompetencji w adaptacji jednostki do organizacji. Organizacja i Kierowanie, 5(143), 89–105.

Oleksyn, T. (2006). Zarządzanie kompetencjami. Teoria i praktyka. Kraków: Oficyna Ekonomiczna.

Reykowski, J. (1995). Osobowość jako centralny system regulacji i integracji czynności. In: T. Tomaszewski (ed.), Psychologia. Warsaw: PWN.

Sajkiewicz, A. (2002). Nowe metody pracy z ludźmi. Organizacja procesów personalnych. Warsaw: Poltex.

Schultz, T. W. (1961, March). Investment in Human Capital. American Economic Review, 51, 1–17.

Stawowska, L. (1977). Diagnoza typów osobowości. Katowice: Wydaw. Uniwersytetu Śląskiego.

Tucholska, K. (2005). Zagadnienie kompetencji w psychologii. Roczniki Psychologiczne 8.

Wlazło, E. (1991). Osobowościowe i sytuacyjne determinanty celowego zachowania się człowieka w świetle badań psychologicznych. Wrocław: “Studia i Monografie” AWF, Booklet No. 25.

Woodruffe, C. (1991). Competent by Any Other Name. Personnel Management, 9, 30–33.

Ewa Dębska

ORCID: 0000-0001-9986-472X
University of Warsaw, Poland

The Integrated Model of Reflexivity as a Context of Adult Learning

In contemporary times, reflexivity is becoming an essential element for adults as they function in every area of their lives. In the personal context the term may be understood as an individual cognitive style and as a competence used in constructing one’s biography; in the professional space it is treated as a consideration leading to development; while in the educational context it is an element constituting theoretical conceptions of learning. Despite reflexivity’s important role in an individual’s life, it is difficult to find explicit instruction concerning courses focused on these issues in adult-education programmes. In this chapter the author will present the Integrated Model of Reflexivity, taking into account the developmental, dialectical and multifaceted nature of reflection, with possibilities highlighted for its practical implementation in working with students.

Keywords: reflexivity, reflection, reflective practice, adult learning

Reflection is now considered an essential element in an adult’s professional and educational development and the basis for their being a responsible and independent professional. The UNESCO 2030 Framework for Action for Education (2016a) emphasises the importance of lifelong education, continuous professional development, and commitment to civic activities in leading to living in a diverse society, inclusiveness and gender equality, and in ensuring quality education. Consequently, education is seen as performing a special role, as it enables people to manage their own lives. UNESCO, along with other agencies, also promotes lifelong learning for adults and building a sustainable future for all, which is one priority of the 2020 Sustainable Development Goals (UNESCO 2016b). It can thus be concluded that lifelong learning is an essential feature of today’s world. Malcolm Knowles notes that it is a process of self-education, i.e. guided self-learning (Knowles, 2009). This means that in the contemporary world, people are responsible for the knowledge and skills they have, and the values and attitudes they adopt.

Reflection is undoubtedly immersed in sociocultural determinants of the activity of a person focused on change. The subjective reflection undertaken by an individual leads to a modification of the qualitative aspect of their life. Reflection therefore becomes a tool whose use contributes to changes and improvements in every aspect of the quality of life. The use of this tool can be learned, therefore the aim of this text is to present an Integrated Model of Reflexivity, of which I am the author, which can be used in the process of educating students. It will outline the theoretical foundations of my model, and then describe its five integrated phases.

Reflection is a significant element within the educational process, as evidenced by the works of Jack Mezirow, David Kolb, Knud Illeris, Peter Jarvis and others.

Mezirow’s model of transformative learning in adults describes six levels of thinking arranged on a continuum from the simplest actions – those that do not require any special intellectual effort (routine actions) – through thoughtful actions and introspection to actions requiring reflective thinking, which include reflection on content, processual reflection and theoretical reflection. Mezirow demonstrates that a transformation in the perspective of thinking requires a high level of reflexivity. Through reflection the person can make use of their experiences, adapt to the existing reality and develop their learning process. The individual controls their own behaviour by subjecting it to thoughtful reflection (Mezirow, 1991).

Knud Illeris writes that the various situations of daily life, institutional settings, workplace contexts and participation in social groups all create a space for learning. Thus, learning cannot be considered out of context. Learning consists of two concurrent processes: interactions, both direct and indirect, and internalisation. Learning can be considered in three aspects: cognitive, social and emotional (Illeris, 2008). In the cognitive dimension, learning can be interpreted as memorising information; from the emotional point of view, learning is a psychodynamic process related to the activation of feelings, emotions, motivation and attitudes. From the social perspective, learning occurs through the interaction between the individual and the environment and it depends on social, historical and cultural conditions as well as social roles and tasks which they induce. While the cognitive and emotional dimensions of learning are primarily rooted in the biological-genetic constitution of the individual and are influenced by individual and social factors, its social dimension is rooted in social contexts and is only partially formed by the individual.

Illeris distinguishes reflection from reflexivity, believing that reflexivity is the ability to reflect or the tendency to think while reflection is the very process of thinking. Some of the most important factors contributing to reflection include a temporal delay and a moment of silence. He believes that reflection as a process is more developed than other accommodative processes. Reflection requires involvement in self-experience and self-reference. When an individual is able to respond to themself, reflection assumes a mirroring, reflective character. This means that experiences and insights “are mirrored” in the learner’s self. This process requires the involvement of the person’s mental energy, through which they will use the potential necessary to develop that knowledge further. A special form of reflection is critical reflection, understood as critical assessment of the legitimacy of pre-conceived ideas underlying acquired knowledge. Personal development and the development of personal characteristics occur mainly through accommodation, which combines cognitive and emotional factors, and in some areas development is combined with self-experience and self-reference.

Summing up, an adult’s development is accomplished through reflexivity, i.e. the accommodative processes in the course of which effects of the interaction between the individual and the environment are processed through a specific type of reflection (mirroring). Illeris believes that personal development and reflexivity can be developed through educational processes.

The object of reflection is a challenge or contradiction that is consciously experienced, to a greater or lesser extent, and is of subjective importance. Reflexivity as a skill of or tendency towards reflection can lead to an increase in self-awareness and thus to an increase in personality development. This means that unusual or crisis situations can lead to deep, holistic, transformational learning processes that involve changes occurring simultaneously in all three dimensions of learning.

From the point of view of the Integrated Model of Reflexivity, Illeris’s proposition is attractive because it takes into account the aspect of learning that lies beyond the individual. Situations that involve other people often become the object of reflection, especially when the person experiences emotional and social difficulties they cannot overcome using skills and approaches they already possess.

In short, the conceptual framework for creating this integrated model aimed at strengthening students’ reflexivity are Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning and Illeris’s three dimensions of learning. Numerous such models are in the subject literature, including those by Terry Borton (1970), Graham Gibbs (1988), Stephen Brookfield (2005), Jennifer Moon (2000) and Janice Bass et al. (2019). All these models have also inspired the Integrated Model of Reflexivity.

The proposed model is eclectic, though this very eclecticism underlines the complexity of contemporary reality. Among the arguments in favour of constructing eclectic models of education, Hanna Solarczyk-Szwec mentions the closeness of the educational reality which cannot be contained in one coherent and universal theory (Solarczyk-Szwec, 2014). Mieczysław Malewski believes that eclectic theories take into account the multidirectional and diverse intellectual pursuits of their creators in relation to the complexity of the world of education (Malewski, 1998). The present model emphasises the importance of various individual, cognitive and axiological perspectives as well as the multiplicity of potential practical solutions. The assumption in this chapter is simply that reflection provides the context for adult learning.

Figure 1. The Integrated Model of Reflexivity

Source: the author’s own elaboration

The Integrated Model of Reflexivity consists of five phases: 1) description, 2) reflection, 3) critical reflection, 4) planning and application, and 5) reflexivity. It combines structured, hierarchical and cyclical approaches to reflection and emphasises its developmental, dialectical and independent nature. The process of reflection should be repeated multiple times and should lead forward, generating an upward spiral. It is also circular in nature, as experiences constantly being acquired are subject to observation, analysis and reflection. While reflecting, the person builds self-awareness and critically reflects on their own behaviour and that of other people in difficult situations, moving from theory to practice and from practice to theory. The individual relates their own experience to theoretical knowledge in order to bring about effective changes in their behaviour. They analyse the situation according to the proposed model, taking into account the three learning spheres: cognitive, emotional and social.

The first phase, Description, opens with mental preparation for reflection and moves towards a conscious account of the situation under consideration. The individual describes the situation from their own perspective, considering only the facts.

Table 1. Description

Spheres

Questions

Cognitive

What happened? What did I do?

Emotional

What emotions did this event arouse in me?

Social

How did other people behave?

Source: the author’s own elaboration

It is important that the description faithfully recounts the situation and that it is as accurate as possible, for its details of the situation may affect how what happened is perceived in the stages to follow.

In the second phase, Reflection, the individual diagnoses their own beliefs related to their experience of the situation, and seeks to reach hidden knowledge of and sources of their behaviour. They distinguish individual elements from the whole situation and examine each of them and their mutual influences.

Table 2. Reflection

Spheres

Questions

Cognitive

What was I thinking about then? Which factors were important? Which factors were unimportant?

Emotional

What positive and negative emotions did this event arouse in me?

Social

How did my behaviour affect others? How did the behaviour of others affect me? What are the consequences of my actions for the person(s) involved in this situation?

Source: the author’s own elaboration

The reflection leads to Critical Reflection, which involves a shift from having focused only on one’s own perspective to then looking at the event from different points of view.

In the critical reflection phase the person questions their assumptions, analyses various factors’ influence on the situation and discovers various connections between theory and practice (Mezirow, 1991; Brookfield, 2009). They then assess their own thinking, placing it in the wider context and analysing the event from many perspectives. They can take another person’s point of view, e.g. that of an expert in the given field, a person of importance to the individual or any other figure of choice. They turn to scientific sources in searching for theoretical foundations on which to build their analysis of the situation. Conducting critical reflection allows the individual to construct different scenarios representing their actions and to predict the consequences of alternative strategies they might have adopted.

Table 3. Critical Reflection

Spheres

Questions

Cognitive

Could I have acted differently? What have I learned from this experience? What external factors influenced my behaviour? What internal factors influenced my behaviour?

Emotional

Which emotions influenced the course of the situation? Which emotions triggered a reaction from others according to my expectations? Which emotions triggered a reaction from others that I had not expected?

Social

Which behaviours of other people were acceptable for me? How did others react to my behaviour? Was the behaviour of other people in line with my intentions?

Source: the author’s own elaboration

The person juxtaposes common knowledge and scientific findings, thus becoming aware of the diverse ways in which any given situation may be considered. At the end of this phase they can form all conclusions concerning future behaviour.

Planning and Application is the phase which involves transforming these conclusions into a plan for real action and finding ways to put these novel solutions into practice. An action plan is created after the individual has identified changes in the way they perceive their own behaviour and emotions and those of other people. They create concrete practical solutions and relate them to the cultural, moral and ethical foundations of knowledge and action.

Table 4. Planning and Application

Spheres

Questions

Cognitive

How can I use the newly acquired knowledge in practice? How should I behave next time in a similar situation? What skills should I acquire to deal with a similar situation in the future?

Emotional

What emotions does the action I am planning evoke in me? What may others feel when I use the newly created solutions?

Social

How can the behaviour of other people influence the newly created solutions? How can the newly created solutions affect other people?

Source: the author’s own elaboration

In the planning and application phase, knowledge is reframed. Cognitive dissonance arises, consisting of the feeling that the current reference frame does not bring the desired results, and that current knowledge may not be true (Mezirow, 2009). The individual becomes aware of changes in their thinking about themself and about the world and their place in it, but also of the fact that they can change surrounding reality (Pleskot-Makulska, 2007). A dialectical discourse takes place, as a result of which the individual decides which judgement is most appropriate, and thus a change is introduced to the frame of reference. This phase involves transformative learning, as the individual applies the internalised knowledge in practice. The person prepares to integrate their experiences, to reflect on the experience and to share it with others.

Phase five, Reflexivity, is synthetic and combines the previous phases into a whole. Reflexivity is expressed in the constant willingness to reflect on the wider context: cultural, social, economic and political. It is an attitude that involves making an intellectual effort to go beyond the individual’s needs. The individual is aware of their own agency and their ability to shape the process and the result of their own and other people’s actions, as well as their own influence on the environment.

Table 5. Reflexivity

Spheres

Questions

Cognitive

What meaning do I attach to this experience now? How can I share this experience with others?

Emotional

What emotions does my willingness to exceed individual goals trigger?

Social

What can I do for other people? What can I do for my surroundings?

Source: the author’s own elaboration

In this phase it becomes crucial for the individual to engage in strengthening coordination of their activities, standards of reciprocity, their networks of mutual and civic engagement, integration and social solidarity. At the same time they begin to understand the mechanisms of power and ideology, develop emancipatory subjectivity focused both on shaping themselves and on defending civil and global society from the influence of market ethics and bureaucratic rationality.

Although the Integrated Model of Reflexivity is built on foundations provided by existing models of reflection, it contains novel elements. Firstly, it refers to Illeris’s three dimensions of learning; secondly, it takes into account elements of Mezirow’s transformative learning. Yet it goes beyond showing the importance of reflexivity for the individual and presents it as a tool through which to achieve communal goals.

In my view this model can be used in working with social-science and humanities students (for example, students of pedagogy, psychology, etc.) whose future professional activity will involve working with other people. I believe that emphasising the importance of the cognitive, emotional and social aspects can help them become both sensitive, empathetic human beings and efficient employees, and should allow them to extend past the contemporary culture of individualism and open themselves more fully to social needs.

From the point of view of curricula, the aim is not to change the education paradigm, replacing technical education with reflexive education; promoting reflexivity in student education, however, is connected with each learner taking responsibility for their own learning. The student should be responsible for the entire learning process, not for its final result in the form of grades alone. Adults only take responsibility for the self-education process if they are able to do so and if they want to do so (Illeris, 2006). Therefore, the aim of reflexive education is to create a positive learning environment in which students are better able to effectively manage their academic lives.

References

Bass, J., Sidebotham, M., Creedy, D., Sweet, L. (2019). Midwifery students’ experiences and expectations of using a model of holistic reflection. Women and Birth, Vol. 33, Iss. 4, July 2020; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2019.06.020 (accessed on: 07.09.2020).

Borton, T. (1970). Reach, Touch and Teach. London: Hutchinson.

Brookfield, S. (2005). Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by Doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods. Oxford: Further Education Unit at Oxford Polytechnic.

Illeris, K. (2006). Trzy wymiary uczenia się. Rozalia Ligus (trans.). Wrocław: Wydaw. Naukowe DSWE TWP.

Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., Swanson, R. A. (2009). Edukacja Dorosłych. Miłosz Hubura (trans.). Warsaw: Wydaw. Naukowe PWN.

Malewski, M. (1998). Teorie andragogiczne. Metodologia teoretyczności dyscypliny naukowej. Wrocław: Wydaw. Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego.

Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Mezirow, J. (1990). Fostering Critical Reflection in Adulthood: A Guide to Transformative and Emancipatory Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Mezirow, J. (2009). An overview on transformative learning. In: K. Illeris (ed.), Contemporary Theories of Learning: Learning Theories – In Their Own Words, London: Routledge, 90–105.

Moon, J. A. (2000). Reflection in Learning and Professional Development: Theory and Practice. London and New York, RoutledgeFalmer.

Pleskot-Makulska, K. (2007). Teoria uczenia się transformatywnego autorstwa Jack’a Mezirowa. Rocznik Andragogiczny, 81–96.

Solarczyk-Szwec, H. (2014). Eklektyzm w edukacji (dorosłych). Dlaczego? In: A. Semenowicz, H. Solarczyk, A. Szwech (eds.), Inspiracje pedagogią freinetowską. Studia, źródła, wspomnienia dedykowane Halinie Semenowicz, Toruń: Wydaw. Naukowe UMK, 511–525.

UNESCO (2016a). Education 2030: Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action for the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4. Ensure Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and Promote Lifelong Learning Opportunities for All; https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000245656 (accessed on: 10.10.2020).

UNESCO (2016b). Education for People & Planet: Creating Sustainable Future for All; https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/report/2016/education-people-and-planet-creating-sustainable-futures-all (accessed on: 12.10.2020).

Martin Schubert

ORCID: 0000-0002-2093-7429

Matej Bel University,

Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

Zuzana Neupauer

ORCID: 0000-0001-6990-0427
Matej Bel University,
Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

The Andragogical Model of Docility: A Theoretical Background

This chapter deals with the phenomenon of docility from the perspective of neuroscience, presenting the theoretical background and pertinent research findings on selected components relevant to the field of andragogy. Its main focus is on defining the components of docility – self-regulation, motivation and cognitive abilities – and their impacts on an adult’s docility. The authors also offer a view of docility as an important phenomenon for further research in terms of andragogy diagnostics and andragogical guidance.

Keywords docility, motivation, self-regulation neuroscience, andragogy

Introduction

The phenomenon of adult docility, meaning their ability to learn or teachability, cannot be satisfactorily explained by any educational and social theories. After all, that’s not even their job. In like fashion, no psychological theories and philosophical sciences dealing with cognition and / or relations of the brain and consciousness (e.g. cognitive psychology, radical constructivism) is convincing enough to play a direct role in explaining this phenomenon. In contradistinction, what could hold promise in this regard is cognitive science (based mainly on knowledge of neuroanatomy, neurology and clinical-anatomical correlations, psychology and evolutionary psychology, linguistics, anthropology, emerging computer science and philosophy), which has been developing for more than twenty years, in particular within a union of disciplines and research directions named Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN).

From this trio, cognitive neuroscience could then be described as particularly useful from the point of view of studying and establishing a model of human docility, because it examines the cognitive functions of the brains of humans, animals and also machines. These functions include sensory cognition, language, speech, memory, complex learned movements, and a whole set of functions called managerial or performance which together with speech and language make us human: this set includes will, motivation, decision-making – such as evil vs. good – and many more.

It is also worth mentioning what is termed computational neuroscience, dealing with the development of biologically realistic models to analyse and understand brain functions. Examples of such research programmes are the study of the self-organisation of nervous-system behavior; theory and analysis of neural coding of sensory information; computational neuroanatomy and neurophysiology examining, for example, the interconnection and activity of nerve cells and their groups; functional imaging of dynamic processes dealing with the results of functional-imaging methods, including electro- and magnentocephalography, functional magnetic resonance and positron-emission tomography; and modelling of micro- and macroscopic neuronal processes with a focus on learning, memory or information processing (Koukolík, 2014).

Methodology

As much as it might seem to the reader that human docility is solely a matter of the brain and therefore recognisable only by neuroscience, we do not believe this is the case. Docility, like feelings and emotions, has a psychological and sociocultural side. Its study therefore presupposes a holistic approach. All sciences should be considered this fact in seeking to develop a docility model appropriate to their specific focus – for example, the andragogical docility model, or AMD, to be presented here – and one that will prove functional for the intended purposes.

This chapter presents the results of theoretical research (VEGA MŠVVaŠ SR No. project 1/0526/18, The Construct of Docility in the Theory of Adult Education, at the Department of Andragogy, Faculty of Education, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia) using methods such as analysis and comparison of concepts, statements, categories and various constructs. The authors have looked at the phenomenon of (adult) human docility theoretically, and therefore came to theoretical conclusions. In terms of the stated goal, our research can also be described as basic, because its results – AMD – contribute to developing the state of theoretical knowledge of andragogy as a science of adult education and learning in its entirety. The research is indicative in nature. It focuses on obtaining a basic overview of human docility and the subsequent creation of AMD to determine its central parameters and further progress. The fact that knowledge in andragogy about the phenomenon of human docility is minimal led us to the choice of this type of research. AMD is designed to be subjected to experimental verification.

Results

The andragogical model of docility (AMD)

The term docility of adults has not been the subject of either andragogical or pedagogical thinking at all (Průcha, 2014, p. 86), or only in marginal manners. Recent neuroscientific findings are insufficiently considered in theoretical concepts of andragogy. The available resources are mainly oriented pedagogically, with a number of studies representing the field of geragogy, often with interdisciplinary overlaps into medical and / or therapeutic practice. Relevant professional resources are absent that would integrate neuroscientific, psychological, philosophical and other knowledge into the education of healthy adults of productive age (e.g. furthering their vocational education). Andragogists and other education professionals with a professional interest in these matters are thus dependent on the transfer of knowledge to educational practice from neuroscience, neuropsychology, neuropedagogy and other related disciplines. The risks entailed in such a transfer lie mainly in the lack of understanding of basic facts and their interrelations, in the frequent neglect of an adult’s daily life (their social roles), the specifics of work and learning environments, as well as age-related specifics of adulthood.

This situation led us to start thoroughly addressing adult docility to establish and experimentally verify its model for improving andragogical performance in all areas in which adults are educated and are learning. Establishing a model of docility presupposes its theoretical anchoring, of course, and an analysis of environments in which adults learn and which constitute their daily lives. As part of the theoretical anchoring of AMD, we dealt with a triad of input processes determined on the basis of previously published definitions of docility: self-regulatory tendencies, internal and external motivation and cognitive functions and their changes in biodromal development.

Theories of self-regulation

One self-regulatory theory related to adult achievement in education is the Carver and Schreier Control Theory (1982) analysing behaviour in terms of social psychology (personality), clinical psychology and health psychology. Within the theory of control, its authors describe the control process of the feedback loop, adding that negative feedback is behind the self-check. This concept is also referred to as the cybernetic model of self-regulation. “It is based on the idea that human behavior is a continuous process of movement towards target representations, with the fact that this movement contains the characteristics of feedback control” (Lovaš & Mesárošová, 2011, p. 10).

Carver and Schreier (1982) describe the process as a loop, where the input information is the individual’s current state, the perception of the current momentary situation in which the individual is. The benchmark is the goal that the individual wants to achieve. The perception of the current state is then compared with a given reference point through a mechanism called a “comparator”, a mechanism that compares the perceived current state and the desired value. If a discrepancy is subsequently perceived between the current state and the reference value, a change in behaviour occurs, the aim of which is to reduce the discrepancy.

Such an impact causes a change in the current situation, which leads to a change in perception. This is then compared with the new reference point. This whole closed system is actually a control loop, which aims to minimize deviations from the standard being compared. (Carver & Schreier, 1982, p. 112)

The output function of the comparison affects the behavioural side in that the individual wants to either maintain the current state or achieve change.

Kanfer’s model of self-regulation is a system in which self-regulation is activated when the current perception of one’s own behaviour is disturbed by, for example, uncertainty about the next step, conflict or inability to produce expected results due to changes in the external environment or in biological variables (Grimm, 1983). Kanfer defined three phases of self-regulation: self-monitoring, which occurs when the hitherto problem-free course is interrupted; self-assessment, where an individual compares their performance with a standard; and self-empowerment, in which the individual, based on the previous phase, either reinforces interrupted behaviour or creates a new pattern of behaviour to correct deficiencies discovered through self-assessment.

Motivation theory

If we consider individual factors influencing adult docility in relation to learning, one factor shown in relevant research to actively enter the process and influence the potential of adults in learning is motivation. One of the theories capturing the cognitive and motivational sources of human behaviour is the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) of Ryan and Deci, published in 1985. The theory is based on humanistic psychology, with individuals being active organisms with an innate tendency to develop and grow, to overcome obstacles and challenges. Growth is conditioned by characteristics of the environment, which either supports or prevents growth (activates the fulfillment of substitution needs) (Benka & Orosová, 2011). “The analysis of behavior, survival and development within the SDT is based on the analysis of the relationship and mutual influence of the organism and the social environment in which the individual moves” (Benka & Orosová, 2011, p. 119).

Self-determination theory distinguishes between two types of motivated behaviour – internally motivated and externally motivated behaviors – according to the extent to which the behaviour is autonomous versus controlled. Internally motivated behaviour is realised for the experience of joy and satisfaction; externally motivated behaviour is aimed at gaining benefits or avoiding sanctions (Ráczová & Babinčák, 2009). Internal motivation has been defined in the educational process as an important source for achieving results, which can be catalysed or disrupted in the learning process (for example, by an instructor’s approach). According to Ryan and Deci (2000), internal motivation has been contradicted by external motivation in the past. However, SDT distinguishes between different types of external motivation, with weakened forms and forms representing active, agent states. Trainees may engage in activities motivated from the outside by outrage, resentment, disinterest or a willing attitude reflecting an inner acceptance of the task’s value or usefulness. Understanding both forms of external motivation is important for educators, who cannot always rely on internal motivation to support education (ibid.). Internal motivation therefore includes a type of activity that in itself is interesting, entertains us and is spontaneously satisfying. External motivation is in contrast to the fact that we carry out activities that lead to a certain consequence, either gaining a reward or avoiding punishment (Ryan & Deci, 2008).

Discussion

Docility is one phenomenon in the field of education which deserves deeper theoretical and applied research. In this chapter, we have explored the three components of docility as defined by authors who deal with them. The described theoretical background also indicates that none of these components work independently, and instead interact with each other.

The theoretical background and also the application level of the work clearly confirms that the basic dimensions of docility include the individual’s self-regulatory mechanism as a means of achieving a certain change in their current status. An important factor in the self-regulatory mechanism is the individual’s proactive side, defined as freedom in terms of choice, among other things. In connection to the educational environment, the present authors perceive this essence as the ability to recognise the need for (further) education, as knowing to identify what adult students want to further develop and possibilities of how to achieve it and implement it. Thus, the behavioural side of personality, external environment and personality preconditions enter into this process, in with which Bandura (1986) also includes cognitive preconditions.

The theoretical background points to the penetration and mutual determination of two components of docility: self-regulation and motivation. If the feedback loop is important for an individual in education, it is important to use it as an evaluation tool, but even more important as a motivating factor for successfully participating in the educational process. If human behaviour is aimed at fulfilling goals and we know that it is a purposeful process, it is necessary to create conditions such that the definition of an individual’s goals in education are realistic and achievable through meaningful intervention. As stated above, internal motivation in the educational process is deemed an important source for achieving results that in the learning process can be catalysed or disrupted.

We are aware that research on docility is only at the beginning, but we hope that the theoretical starting points researched here will also contribute to its establishment in the field of adult education. Our aim is for the present work to be at least a partial enrichment of andragogical as well as educational discourse.

Acknowledgements

This chapter’s thesis is a partial output of the research task VEGA MŠVVaŠ SR No. project 1/0526/18, The Construct of Docility in the Theory of Adult Education, at the Department of Andragogy, Faculty of Education, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.

References

Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

Benka, J., Orosová, O. (2011). Zvládanie a rizikové správanie u vysokoškolských študentov z pohľadu Seba-determinačnej teórie. In: Lovaš, L., Mesárošová, M. (2011). Psychologické aspekty a kontexty sebaregulácie. Košice: UPJŠ v Košiciach.

Carver, C. S., Schreier, M. F. (1982). Control theory: A useful conceptual framework for personality-social, clinical and health psychology. Psychological Bulletin 92, 111–135; https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.92.1.111 (accessed on: 10.09.2020)

Chassin, L., Delucia, C. (1996). Drinking during adolescence. Alcohol Research and Health, 20(3), 175–180.

Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M. (2008). Facilitating optimal motivation and psychological well-being across life’s domains. Canadian Psychology, 49(1), 14–23; https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2008_DeciRyan_CanPsy_Eng.pdf (accessed on: 08.09.2020).

Grimm, L. G. (1983). The relation between self-evaluation and self-reward: A test of Kanfer’s self-regulation model 1. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 7(3), 245–250; https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01205138 (accessed on: 07.09.2020).

Koukolík, F. (2014). Mozek a jeho duše (4th ed.). Prague: Galén.

Lovaš, L., Mesárošová, M. (2011). Psychologické aspekty a kontexty sebaregulácie. Košice: UPJŠ v Košiciach.

Průcha, J. (2014). Andragogický výzkum. Prague: Grada Publishing.

Ráczová, B., Babinčák, P. (2009). Základy psychológie morálky. Košice: Equilibria.

Roubal, J. (2010). Gestalt terapie. In: Vybiral, Z., Roubal, J. (eds.). Současná psychoterapie (1st ed.). Prague: Portál, 164–194.

Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54–67; https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1020 (accessed on: 07.09.2020).

Dorota Ciechanowska

ORCID: 0000-0002-5788-5327
WSB University in Poznań, Poland

A Few Subjective Determinants of Self-directed Learning’s Purpose and Urgency for Extramural Generation Y, Z and C Students

In considering the nature of student involvement in the study process, we reach for theoretical adult-learning models by Lindeman and Knowles. In this chapter, the youngest generations of extramural students present their attitudes towards studying conditioned by the digital environment they consider natural, and needs and experiences resulting from their professional activities. Older students, of the millennial generation, are more focused on developing their competences, treating studying in terms of personal development.

Key words: self-directed learning, generations of students, adult higher education

Introduction

Lifelong learning’s inevitability has become a fact in today’s world. Regardless of one’s current education level and life purposes, constant learning is ever-present. It is necessary since information access is becoming easier, accelerating social development and changing the reality of life and work. We are preparing the younger generation for lifelong learning. We teach them competences useful in the world where the selection of accessible data is growing more important than their actual use. Knowledge-making is becoming an exclusive competency of the few. This is not because student numbers are falling. For some high school graduates, higher education has become a method of prolonging careless youth – that is, of postponing adulthood. Young people enter higher education without a clear decision that they are entering a field that will become the area of their professional activity. Often it is in pursuit of a passion, or a time for personal development during which they still seek a way to earn money in the years to come. Only later do they take up another field of study to acquire a professional competence of interest to them. Mass higher education has become a priority in social development and achieves laudable statistical results. However, this is not always associated with constant high quality of education.

Background

The Dublin descriptors, listing skills and knowledge learners should achieve at different stages of their education, were subsequently adopted in Bergen in 2005 then formed the basis of qualification frameworks adopted under the Bologna Process. That framework, differentiating between knowledge, skills and competencies, describes learning outcomes which indicate what a learner should know after graduation, what they should be able to do and what attitudes will they have. In Bologna Process materials, we find phrases describing the areas which the student will understand in relation to having knowledge. Let us remember that having knowledge and remembering something does not necessarily imply understanding and being in possession of skills for operating in creative and flexible ways. The present tasks of academic institutions in the field of education are considered in the Bologna Process’s three dimensions. We are building a curriculum describing effects in the dimension of the student’s knowledge, skills and social competence.

But does achieving these dimensions have any meaning? Is it always sufficient to take any purposeful actions in convincing academic teachers to attain theoretical results? My doubts relate to the didactic workshop of academic teachers and an ability to build graduates’ real, lasting competences in a situation where participants in the educational process are not a uniform group in terms of educational expectations, educational goals they set themselves, and generational attitudes towards learning and change.

Academic staff’s task is not to convey knowledge or provide opportunities to learn about the practice, but to organise the educational environment so students learn to process their acquired competencies independently. Universities expect students to present the attitude of self-directedness, which will be practically realised in their self-directed learning (SDL). Students’ transitions from universal education to higher education is associated with an expectation of a personal relationship with their own development (Ciechanowska, 2015). To date, high school students have studied the scope of materials provided and tried to meet programme requirements. Implementing the educational programme has almost become a religion. Rigid adherence to assumed educational processes carried out under rigorous control results in students’ lack of independent thinking. These ingrained student attitudes can cause difficulties in managing their own development, setting goals and motivating themselves to work (Hiemstra, 2013). It can be difficult to develop such attitudes in a system of education based on transmitting knowledge and on requirements to remember and faithfully transmit acquired messages. Students, therefore, may have trouble finding their ways in the reality of academic requirements.

Self-directed learning

Due to rapid economic changes and related requirements of the dynamics of competency development, it was necessary to seek effective new approaches to education. Moving away from teacher-focused and transmissional education, self-directed learning has attracted increasing attention among researchers. Malcolm Knowles (2005) describes self-directed learning in reference to other authors’ approaches, who often specified what SDL is not. His often-quoted words describe SDL as: “a process: […] in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes” (Knowles, 1975). Merriam et al. also treat SDL as a process of learning “in which people take the primary initiative for planning, carrying out and evaluating their own learning experiences” (Merriam, Caffarella, Baumgartner, 2007, p. 110). They indicate learner characteristics in relation to self-directed learning, describing them as characterised by initiative, independence of action and persistence in pursuing goals, on top of a strong desire to learn and change (Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner, 2007). Guglielmino (2008, 2013) also considers self-directed learning as a value, attitude and ability of the learner, which can be of varying severity and degree of measurable readiness (Khiat 2015; Yilmaz, Yilmaz & Ezin 2012). Distancing myself from other theoretical approaches, I assume self-directed learning to be the expected set of qualities a student should have (Manning, 2007). Therefore, we shall consider them as a person’s attitudes and not a way of organising the process of studying. Characteristics of self-directed students were addressed a century ago. Lindeman, defining assumptions of his adult-learning theory, stated that adult learners are motivated to learn because they experience needs and interests that self-learning can satisfy. He argued that adult learning is effective when it is associated with practical action and that experience is an important part of adult learning. Most importantly, Lindeman asserted that adults have a deep need for self-directed learning in 1924. One more important aspect he pointed out is that adult learners’ ages differentiate their approach to learning (Lindeman, 1926).

Age diversification among extramural adult students

When considering the academic education of extramural students, it is important to adopt an ontological-epistemological perspective in the dimension of andragogy. A key effect of this new approach to educational phenomena is changing the understanding of the subject of education and of conditions in which adult-education activities take place (Szarota & Pierścieniak, 2020). Extramural students are a very diverse group. Some started working right after graduating from high school and have entered an extramural programme for their first higher education (Egizii, 2014; Kasworm, 2018). The group also often includes people who began their studies after working for a few years, and those studying for a second diploma having completed other studies; they have been forced to retrain in another profession due to labour-market dynamics. Referring to the typology of generations in student groups, there are already three generations together called the millennials: Generation Y, born in the 1980s, Generation Z or post-millennials, the Facebook generation, and the youngest, from the broad group of Generation C (connected), who were “born with a smartphone in hand”. Each of these tribes has been shaped by different social, cultural, economic and political events. Differences between students are visible in many areas of life, career and experience. Significant contrasts can be seen primarily in the area of values including family, work (or lack of work), attitude to authority, level of commitment, readiness for change, life experience and prior knowledge, as well as styles of learning and handling messages.

Generation Y is a group of people who quickly acquire information, easily create communities, like to communicate quickly and have a great need to be surrounded by electronics (Ruth, Bolton, Parasurama et al., 2013). Representatives of this generation need their independence. They are flexible in their thinking and open to change. They want to learn and are able to combine traditional ways of learning with new technologies. They are happy to invest in themselves and develop a passion for learning.

Generation Z is not able to function without the Internet and electronic media, as for them these are ordinary things they use every day. They would like to make a stunning career immediately, without any effort. It is difficult for them to come to terms with a vision of building a long-term career by taking small steps. They are characterised by high mobility and knowledge of foreign languages. What older generations see as a threat for representatives of Generation Z is an object of fascination and an opportunity for experimentation.

The youngest students belonging to the artificially generated C generation have been shaped by the media and are almost addicted to high-speed communications and data acquisition. Its members do not care about work stability. They desire diversity and run from routine. They are happy to communicate with other cultures, willing to go on foreign internships, change and improve established processes constantly and try new ways of working. More than independent work, they value working in a group. They can do many things at once, and find it difficult to focus on one activity.

Such diversity of students’ ages in one class is a huge challenge for a university teacher. Bearing in mind the goal of a lecture or seminar, which is to develop one’s knowledge and the understanding among learners rather than just conveying facts, choosing optimal work methods that would effectively involve all students is a big challenge and a test of the teacher’s methodological preparation. To choose the right way of working, the nature of engagement and the content to suit the needs of the teaching programme and the abilities of the learners, it is good to know their level of readiness for self-directed learning (Kranzow & Hyland, 2016).

Materials and methods

The aim of the present study, conducted in Szczecin, Poland, in spring of 2020, was to determine whether students from different generations have a similar approach to studying. This would provide a basis for constructing teaching content and designing methods on top of educational activities uniformly – the same for all participants. Given the analysis of characteristics among Generations Y, Z and C, students can be expected to have different preferences in terms of purpose, motivation and determination to learn. Different approaches also mean different possibilities, work paces and the effectiveness of learning. This knowledge about students should then affect the academic teacher’s working approach.

Students were invited to participate in an online survey. They filled out an anonymous questionnaire, in which they declared their attitudes towards selected features of self-directed learning. The survey involved 194 graduate and undergraduate students at public and non-public universities in Szczecin, 79 per cent women and 21 per cent men. All were studying extramurally. The data obtained were subjected to qualitative analysis. General conclusions from the data are an interpretation of the trends revealed by data visualisations obtained thanks to innovative graphic systems used in the contemporary approach to digital humanities.

The visual form of data has to facilitate their perception and analysis. It is difficult to classify information on visualisation and visual data-mining techniques because it has evolved from interdisciplinarity. Having roots in computer science, visualisation overlaps with data analysis, data mining, statistics, computer graphics, human-computer interaction, cognitive science (Osińska, 2013).

In the analysis of the research material obtained, data visualisation was used. Visualisation is a term for graphical methods of creating, analysing and communicating information (Kowalska & Osińska, 2017). It involves transposing data into graphic images to facilitate the understanding of complex phenomena and processes occurring between examined features. Visualisations on the basis of which conclusions were drawn could not be attached to the resources of this study.

Findings and discussion

Analysing the literature on self-directed adult learning, we encounter different approaches to understanding the essence of self-directed learning resulting from theoretical assumptions. By accepting the perspective that one of the most important tasks of adult education is to assist people in their independent development guided by their goals and values, a perspective is formed for the relationship between the academic teacher and student. The definition of these relationships goes beyond the scope of the present chapter’s subject, but it is important to determine whether the approach to studying varies and to what extent between students from Generations Y, Z and C.

Self-directed learning as a significant form of education is included in the theories of Knowles (2005) and others (Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner, 2007). Candy (1991) determines self-directed learning to be a process that takes place as a result of its objectives. These may be exercised in interaction with the environment. The emphasis on the student’s sense of autonomy and personal development emerges as a leading trend in thinking about self-directed learning, which distinguishes it from instruction (Ciechanowska, 2010). Various aspects of self-directed learning have been analysed in numerous studies based on specific needs related to the type of university, field of study (Acar, Kara & Ekici, 2015) or national education system (Khiat, 2015).

It is important when considering adult-learning contexts to remain aware of the peculiarities of adult learning, which involves adult learners regardless of their generation (Illeris, 2003):

adults learn what they want to learn and what is meaningful for them to learn;

adults draw on resources they already have in their learning;

adults take as much responsibility for their learning as they want to take (when allowed to);

and adults are not very inclined to learn something they are not interested in, or of which they cannot see the meaning or importance. At any rate, they will typically only learn it partially, in a distorted way or with a lack of motivation that leaves what is learned extremely vulnerable to oblivion and difficult to apply in situations not subjectively related to the learning context.

In studies of self-directed adult learning among extramural students, the following issues were considered:

the overall goal set in the study process, i.e. what is important to them, be it acquiring a certificate without interest in one’s own development or the improvement of one’s actual competencies and personal development;

the ability to make choices according to their own values and standards;

sense of agency, i.e. the feeling of being a creator of one’s own goals, plans and world of values;

reflective attitude towards one’s own learning, i.e. systematic learning, analysing results and drawing conclusions, the constant drive to improve one’s performance.

Following the theoretical assumptions of Knowles, Cafarelli and others, the resulting research material was analysed in terms of interdependent variables, trying to confirm the SDL components’ correlation.

Feeling the creator of one’s life goals, plans and objectives of value indicates the overall purpose of entering university, whether for self-development or for receiving a diploma

The objective most rarely chosen was studying for formal certification with no desire to grow and acquire competencies. None of the Generation Y students indicated such a low purpose of studying. Only a very few from Generation C declared that they did not feel they were creators of their life choices. This may result from the fact that they are still dependent on parental support, live at home and earn no salaries, and may be an extension from childhood and from being dependent on parents in terms of life choices. Generation Y students as a cohort were not clear in their choices. They appreciated acquiring qualifications while also indicating that they were only studying for the diploma.

Declared making choices according to their own standards and values, resulting in varying degrees of urgency and in the learning strategy they adopted

One should expect that being convinced that one makes one’s own choices, i.e. a conviction about one’s agency in life, will be put into practice through intentional actions aimed at making these ideas about oneself a reality. Generation C students are least likely to reflect on their learning outcomes. They also constitute half the respondents claiming that they do not always make such reflections. This can be explained by their low maturity and sense of prolonging “school years” by taking university courses. The youngest students frequently declare that they do not rely on their own standards and values in their studies. One observable regularity is that the older the student, the more they declare that they are guided by their own standards and values. The sense of agency and responsibility increases with age, which of course is manifested also in the process of studying. This trend indicates the role of the university which treats its students as adult learners, rather than reducing them to the role of objectified learners.

Conclusions

Extramural students are a diverse group in terms of their life experiences, learning skills shaped by their school learning experiences, and their adaptability in using digital sources of knowledge on top of values and needs characterising their generation. Therefore, effective pedagogical work in such a group is an enormous challenge for an academic teacher. It requires the teacher to know these differences and to adapt the academic working methods accordingly. Considering the determinants of self-directed adult learning, it can be concluded that Generation C students constitute a distinctly different group. They present behaviours and motivations that are rarely characteristic among older students. However, they, like everyone else, are determined to learn and grow in order to find a decent job. The statement can be posited that attitudes related to committed self-development are presented more often by students of Generation Y, most of whom indicated that they always or almost always draw conclusions from their learning outcomes.

References:

Acar, C., Kara, I., Ekici, F. T. (2015). Development of Self Directed Learning Skills Scale for Pre-service Science Teachers. International Journal of Assessment Tools in Education, 2(2).

Candy, P. C. (1991). Self-Direction for Lifelong Learning: A Comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Ciechanowska, D. (2010). Teacher Competence and Its Importance in Academic Education for Prospective Teachers. General and Professional Education, 1.

Ciechanowska, D. (2015). The Importance of Autonomous Self-development of Adult Learners in the Theory of Transformative Learning by J. Mezirow. Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Humanitas. Pedagogika; https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/241911/edition/228774/content?ref=struct (accessed on: 20.10.2021).

Egizii, R. (2015). Self-directed learning, andragogy and the role of alumni as members of professional learning communities in the post-secondary environment. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174.

Guglielmino, L. (2008). Why self-directed learning? International Journal of Self Directed Learning, 5(1).

Guglielmino, L. M. (2013). The Case for Promoting Self-Directed Learning in Formal Educational Institutions. SA-eDUC JOURNAL, 10(2).

Hiemstra, R. (2013). Self-directed learning: why do most instructors still do it wrong? International Journal of Self-Directed Learning, 10(1).

Illeris, K. (2004). What Is Significant For Adults’ Learning? In: Radovan, M., Đorđević, N. (eds.), Current Issues in Adult Learning and Motivation, 7th Adult Education Colloquium, Ljubljana.

Kasworm, C. (2018). Adult Students: A Confusing World in Undergraduate Higher Education. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 66(2).

Khiat, H. (2015). Measuring Self-Directed Learning: A Diagnostic Tool for Adult Learners. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 12(2), Art. 2.

Knowles, M. S., Holton III, E. F., Swanson, R. A. (2005). The Adult Learner: The Definitive Classic in Adult Education and Human Resource Development. Burlington: Elsevier.

Knowles, M. S. (1975). Self-Directed Learning: A Guide for Learners and Teachers. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall/Cambridge.

Kowalska, M., Osińska, V. (2017). Wizualizacja informacji w humanistyce. Toruń: UMK.

Kranzow, J., Hyland, H. (2016). Self-Directed Learning: Developing Readiness in Graduate Students. International Journal of Self-Directed Learning, 13(2).

Lindeman, E. C. (1926). The Meaning of Adult Education (1989 ed.). Norman: University of Oklahoma.

Manning, G. (2007). Self-Directed Learning: A Key Component of Adult Learning Theory. Business and Public Administration Studies, 2(2).

Merriam, S., Caffarella, R., Baumgartner, L. (2007). Learning in Adulthood (3rd ed.). San Francisco: John Wiley.

Osińska, V. (2013). Visual mining czyli eksploracja informacji za pomocą graficznych reprezentacji. Problemy – Badania – Przeglądy, 3.

Ruth, N., Bolton, A., Parasuraman, A., et al. (2013). Understanding Generation Y and Their Use of Social Media: A Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Service Management, 24(3).

Szarota, Z., Pierścieniak, K. (2020). Refleksja andragogiczna – współczesna specyfika dyscypliny. Studia z Teorii Wychowania, Vol. XI, No. 2(31).

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Yilmaz, R., Yilmaz, F. G. K., Ezin, C. C. (2018). Self-Directed Learning with Technology and Academic Motivation as Predictors of Tablet PC Acceptance. In: Khan, A. A., Umair, S. (eds.). Handbook of Research on Mobile Devices and Smart Gadgets in K-12 Education; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318394157_Self-Directed_Learning_With_Technology_and_Academic_Motivation_as_Predictors_of_Tablet_PC_Acceptance (accessed on: 20.10.2021).

PART FOUR.
Learning through life experiences

Aleksandra Litawa

ORCID: 0000-0003-2004-8450
Pedagogical University of Kraków, Poland

The Enthusiast as Learner: A Case Study

The easiest way to recognise an enthusiast is that they talk about their object of interest with a twinkle in their eye. The space occupied by this passion is their own individual world of values where, free from the outside world’s pressures, they have the opportunity not only to focus attention on issues that are important to them, but above all to think and act in a way that is optimal. The aim of the present research was to recognise the attributes of the enthusiast as learner. A qualitative strategy was adopted in the research and a single case study was used. Data was collected using an in-depth, semi-structured interview technique with a self-taught artist who loved painting on tree bark. The analysis of the interview provided insight into features characterising the enthusiast as learner. Attributes distinguished, i.e. curiosity, deep engagement and high motivation, determined each other. Importantly, they initiated the emergence of other, positive and desirable features from the perspective of learning, such as readiness to apply effort, perseverance and determination to achieve goals, courage and creativity in solving problems, belief in the rightness of actions undertaken, self-confidence, effectiveness and the pursuit of mastery.

Keywords: passion, enthusiast, passion-inspired learning, enthusiast as learner

Introduction

Passion is defined as a strong inclination toward an activity that individuals like or even love, that they find important, in which they invest time and energy and which comes to be internalised in one’s identity (Vallerand et al., 2007). Passion emerges in the context of a specific activity and encapsulates a profound and enduring love of this activity; it appears only towards activities that are personally valued or meaningful. Importantly, passion appears when activities become self-defining and part of one’s identity. It is a motivational construct, rather than an affective one, and it encompasses high levels of psychological energy, effort and persistence (Curran et al., 2015).

There are two types of passion: harmonious and obsessive. Activity undertaken as part of a harmonious passion, despite the fact that it fills a significant portion of a person’s time, does not overwhelm them, but harmonises with other aspects of their life. The individual has full control of their activity, which leads to obtaining beneficial effects both during the activity (positive emotions and attitude, concentration, flow) and after its completion (satisfaction, a positive attitude towards the world) (Vallerand, 2012). Obsessive passion, on the other hand, triggers a state of addiction in the individual. In this case, one gets the impression that the passion controls the person, not the other way around. Activities spurred on by this type of passion are accompanied by a sense of guilt or shame (gambling), as well as life-threatening or health-threatening behaviour (e.g. an injured dancer who does not stop training). Obsessive passion leads to negative consequences (internal conflicts, negative thoughts and emotions, diminished well-being) (Philippe et al., 2009; Stenseng et al., 2011).

Evidence suggests that human involvement in the realisation of harmonious passion is accompanied by an increase in well-being (Philippe et al., 2009; Vallerand, 2012), in happiness and in pleasure (Bonneville-Roussy et al., 2010). Passion is also considered in the context of self-assessment (Lafreniere et al., 2011), self-realisation (Ryan & Deci, 2001), personal and professional development (Kopaczyńska, 2019; Sajdera, 2015) and learning (Litawa, 2019).

The enthusiast as learner

The easiest way to recognise an enthusiast is that they talk about the object of interest with a twinkle in their eye. The space occupied by their passion is their own individual world of values in which, free from the outside world’s pressures, they have the opportunity not only to focus attention on issues that are important to them, but above all to think and act in a way that is optimal. An enthusiast is a person who has reached a high level of achievement and personal satisfaction thanks to discovering what they naturally do well and yields the sense of flow (Robinson & Aronica, 2012). The cognitive activity specific to passion is characterised by a high degree of intensity, complexity and maturity; what motivates a person to apply effort in developing this passion (beyond the cognitive) are extremely strong emotions (Litawa, 2019). For the enthusiast, passion is the fuel motivating effort, practice and mastery (Gee & Hayes, 2010). An individual who is passionate about something becomes inquisitive, begins to notice features, relationships, dependencies and problems, and seeks to investigate them. The enthusiast learns because they want to get to the heart of the problem that concerns them: what drives them is sheer curiosity and a will to develop themself.

Specifics of passion-inspired learning

Passion-inspired learning is mainly embedded in the field of informal learning. It runs consciously or unconsciously, intentionally or unintentionally, on a basis that is planned or unplanned; it takes the form of action activities (i.e. diverse practices, experimentation), cognitive activities (i.e. research, reflection, self-control) and interactive activities. It occurs in a variety of contexts, whether conscious and planned or unconscious and unplanned. It is realised individually or in relation to others, and results it leads to are complementary (broadening knowledge resources, improving skills) or transformative, i.e. leading to radical change in the learner (Bagdonaite-Stelmokiene & Zydziunaite, 2016).

Learning inspired by passion reflects all the characteristics of meaningful learning: it results from the individual’s initiative, shapes their identity, engages both feelings and intellect, takes place on a foundation of strong motivation, is accompanied by the excitement of discovery and the individual’s belief in the rightness of their actions (Rogers, 2002; Kościelniak, 2004). In addition, it is highly reflective, autonomous, continuous and leads to mastery. It is also unique, which results from the singularity of ways people pursue their passions (Litawa, 2019). These features lead to passion-inspired learning promising high-quality achievement. As Gee and Hayes suggest, “learning for success today has to involve deep mastery of problem solving and the ability to innovate. Such mastery does not come without a great deal of persistence and practice. Few people will put in such and persistence and practice unless they have a passion for what they are doing” (2010, p. 84). Vallerand et al. (2007) confirm this suggestion, asserting that “being passionate for an activity leads individuals to dedicate themselves fully to their activity, thereby allowing them to persist, even in the face of obstacles, and to eventually reach excellence” (p. 506). Indeed, as previous research has demonstrated, harmonious passion has a positive influence on such cognitive processes as mindfulness (St-Louis et al., 2018), concentration (Forest et al., 2011) and cognitive absorption (Ho et al., 2011).

Method

Every person who is passionate about something is a distinct case with a unique set of experiences. The qualitative approach provides the researcher with an opportunity to investigate this inner world, as this approach reﬂects the complexity of the situation more than statistical analyses ever could. By using categories that are meaningful and rich in detail, the qualitative researcher is committed to decoding the way people create the world around them, and try to capture interactions in their natural context (Flick, 2012). The reﬂections presented are grounded in an interpretative paradigm oriented towards explaining and understanding social behaviours. The objective of the present study was to identify attributes of the enthusiast in the context of learning. The research problem was formulated as this question: What characterises the enthusiast as a learner?

The single case study (Yin, 2015) was chosen as the strategy for answering this question. Utilising a single case study provides an opportunity to draw conclusions about subsequent cases, and to extend the experience resulting from the case studied to others. It allows the researcher to focus more closely on the specific case’s complexity, contexts, problems and history. It enables the provision of information related both to the respondent’s experience and to the researcher’s experience which results from the fact of conducting the study (Stake, 2009). The single case study is perceived as a major source of theoretical innovation (Blatter, 2008).

To gather the data I decided to use a semi-structured interview. This technique allows gaining rich insights into the case, and at the same time enables the researcher to maintain more control over the conversation with the respondent. “Characteristic of its unique ﬂexibility, the semistructured interview is sufficiently structured to address speciﬁc dimensions of your research question while also leaving space for study participants to offer new meanings to the topic of study” (Galletta, 2013, pp. 1–2). I wanted the interviewee to focus on a particular part of his life (i.e. passion); the use of a semi-structured interview was chosen to facilitate this task.

The interviewee, John, was a 68-year-old man. He was a self-taught artist passionate about painting on bark. He was married with three adult children and grandchildren, too. He was a civil engineer by education and profession. He was retired, but carried out business activities compatible with his profession. He lived in a big city in Poland.

The interview was conducted in 2019. It was recorded and transcribed in full and verbatim, with John’s permission. It lasted eighty minutes. After its transcription over fifteen pages of standard typescript were obtained. John was assured of anonymity and the conﬁdentiality of his answers. He spoke candidly and willingly.

I started the data analysis with a thorough, multiple reading of the empirical material that had been collected. This allowed me to identify the most important issues from the point of view of the research problem, i.e. those features that characterise the enthusiast as a learner and their determinants. The data were categorised into thematic groups, thus facilitating their study and interpretation in the context of passion-inspired learning. The enthusiast’s learning was defined as the unit of analysis.

Results

For John, the passion-inspired learning process began when he decided to paint on tree bark. The artist was faced with a great unknown. We may say that he had to create his work from scratch. However, he was ready for it: “I came to the conclusion that [...] Wyspiański, Matejko11, they were just once, there’s no use imitating them but instead inventing something on your own”. Aware of his talent (and interested in the visual arts since childhood), he decided to use bark as his canvas. The unusual choice of material naturally entailed the need to “invent” a correspondingly unusual painting technique.

The desire to work out an optimal painting technique became for the enthusiast a specific problem to investigate, an ongoing issue for which he was consistently searching for solutions. At first, John tested his ideas by painting on small pieces of wood or bark. While testing various solutions, he was thinking first of all about how to blend brushstrokes to create a painting when the bark was often thick and deeply cracked. He analysed the problem he was interested in from many perspectives, reaching for various sources of knowledge. He contemplated the works of outstanding artists and, as it turned out, was able to find inspiration for his work: “If for example you magnify van Gogh’s paintings, magnify single brushstrokes under the microscope, it turns out to look like a piece of such thick bark”. He also found solutions beyond the field of art: “Once I heard that a razor blade at very high magnification looks like [the skyline of] Manhattan [...] since a razor blade, so sharp you can cut with it, is Manhattan, you can some brushstrokes, so to speak, blending together in a way that a painting arises”.

John built his original creative technique using unconventional solutions. He was not afraid to experiment. For example, he painted his first larger paintings in low light, in a basement. Seeing the work less clearly, he could to some extent imagine how it would then be perceived in standard conditions (i.e. in a bright room), but from a greater perspective. He assessed the final effects of his work in daylight: “then I stood on the stairs and looked on the painting closely, in daylight”.

This enthusiast, reflecting on his painting technique, also analysed the material on which he had chosen to compose his creations. What interested him was the bark’s structure (“each tree’s bark has a different structure”), its “differentiated” requirements, and resilience (“I came to the conclusion that it’s more durable than wood”). The adaptation of bark so it could be painted on was preceded by the need to develop solutions for the technological process of treating it (cleaning, drying, straightening, cutting). Though John soon had this stage under control, the awareness of nature’s diversity, the fact that each piece of bark is unique and “has different requirements”, kept him from considering the subject closed: “because I’m still looking for what else can be done with this bark”. His unusual material’s attributes continued to be explored by the enthusiast long after a given piece had been painted. He checked a painting’s endurance, watching to see “if it fell apart, whether it was eaten by bugs”.

John was very curious and inquisitive, constantly exploring the nature of the subject of his passion. He critically examined his ideas and the effects of his work, and attached great importance to details. He was determined to find an appropriate painting technique and to investigate secrets of the medium. He analysed each problem from different perspectives, guided by, as he acknowledged, “gigantic curiosity”. He repeatedly emphasised that his artistic activity was based on ongoing analysis: “I’m still looking, I’m still at the stage of digging, searching”. This approach shows the enthusiast remaining in a state of permanent uncertainty, one which provided fertile ground for deep learning.

John gathered bark from trees that had “collapsed” or had been cut down, in forests or by roads. As someone in touch with nature, he grew even more sensitive to its beauty (“I’m delighted, delighted with nature”; “I love trees... these are our big brothers”). He felt that as his passion developed, the horizons of his knowledge of nature expanded considerably. He attached great importance to ecology. Using bark for his work, and with time also discarded fragments of wood furniture, doors, slats, etc., he felt he was giving them a second life. In this way, he was expressing his respect and love for nature, as well as his pro-ecological attitude: “In general, I think we cut down these trees senselessly, we destroy this environment [...] because what’s happening now, right, it’s a summary of human activity as an individual, as societies and as a whole, isn’t it? That’s what’s happening now, these calamities in general”.

The fact of the world of nature’s importance to John can also be demonstrated by the fact that a specific artwork’s subject matter was often determined by the place the particular tree (and its bark obtained) came from. An old oak growing in the city centre, cut down because it imperilled passers-by, became the starting point for a painting series dedicated to Pope John Paul II. John justified the choice of subject as follows: “this oak [...] saw the pope, for example, and the pope saw this oak, he walked that way when he was going to Praska Street”. In turn, paintings devoted to the army, painted for the anniversary of Poland regaining independence, were created on the bark of poplar trees that had lived to over a hundred years old, which had grown along the route of the First Cadre Company’s march in 1914 from Kraków to Kielce: “Those trees witnessed what happened”.

He took part in open-air art workshops, various competitions and cultural events, where he had the opportunity to display his unusual art alongside the work of other artists, including professionals. Hearing words of appreciation many times let him spread his wings and gave him courage to continue creating and developing his painting endeavours. As only he was painting on bark, he felt unique. Recognition among artistic peers and support from relatives (“My wife’s the first reviewer of my works”) motivated him to act and filled him with positive energy: “I have a rich life. I must say that I know I live my life to the fullest. I feel valued, but that’s not even the point, I feel fulfilled”. By organising exhibits in education and culture institutions, he entered into cooperation with other artists (musicians, painters, theatre groups). He felt that he was culturally animating a particular environment by presenting his paintings in it.

John found a deeper meaning in his passion. Recognising the potential in a material commonly considered waste then using it for his art, he had not only found his creative outlet, but was also paying tribute to nature. His involvement also had an supra-individual dimension. By regularly taking part in various types of artistic events, he has become a part of the artistic community, and to some extent its co-creator. By interacting with other creators and with his growing audience, he has received feedback reassuring him that what he is doing is valuable.

John remained in touch with his passion in those moments when he was painting, and also when he read about renowned artists and contemplated their work in art galleries; he looked at albums of paintings, read nature books, organised exhibitions of his own works, contemplated the subject of his next work, participated in art-club classes and in open-air workshops, and discussed art with others. He thought about his passion while observing trees during daily walks and during holiday trips to the other end of the country (“This bark was brought from the seaside”), and while running errands: “Once I took my wife to the clinic [...] and I looked, these poplars are already withering, already dry [...] and I tore off the bark. By the time my wife left the clinic I already had the whole car packed with bark”.

As a learner, he was highly motivated. In achieving his goals he showed great persistence and consistency. Clearly, he was encouraged to act by recognition he received from the artistic community, support from his loved ones, the joy of creating and the feeling that by pursuing his passion he was in line with self-declared values. Not insignificant in the context of motivation was John’s awareness that he was good at what he did: “I was surprised myself that I was able to achieve such effects”. Although he achieved a lot, he didn’t rest on his laurels, instead continuing to broaden knowledge and skill horizons. His rich work and demonstrable artistic activity (trips for open-air art events, organising exhibitions, participating in an art club, cooperating with other artists), carried out alongside his professional work, proved that his passion was important to him. He had the feeling that, by fulfilling his passion, he was making the right choices: “With a whole lot of my friends, it’s beer, pub, slippers, complaining about the world, about everything, and I’m so full of affirmation, full of life, I want to live, I want to create, I have joy.’

Discussion

The aim of the study was to identify what characterises the enthusiast as learner. The analyses of the research results provide a foundation on which to define the enthusiast as a curious, deeply engaged, highly motivated learner. From all learners’ points of view, these are key features positively affecting learning outcomes.

In Polish, it is said that curiosity is the first step to hell. In John’s case, curiosity was the first step to mastery. While dealing with the subject of his passion, he adopted the attitude of a researcher. He was inquisitive, sought out and explored the knowledge that intrigued him on so many levels. His curiosity triggered courage and innovation in problem-solving. He saw himself as a creator and discoverer (“No one had come up with such an idea before me”). In his activities, he utilised unconventional solutions, wasn’t afraid to experiment, then was able to critically evaluate the results he achieved. Knowledge he gained through self-directed learning proved extensive and reliable, and his skills were above average. In the field of his passion, he felt like an expert (“I can write a book because I already have such knowledge”).

Curiosity in an enthusiast’s learning plays a significant role: it becomes a source of thinking, transformation and experience. This is important today considering that people are reluctant to apply intellectual effort (Maliszewski, 2011). In the face of overwhelming and easy access to information, learning too often resembles a continuous race – even an obsessive one – in pursuit of new knowledge and competences that quickly lose their relevance (learning reduced to the professional sphere and economic context), or a process of assimilation based on “clicks” and the immediate processing of information and the subsequent forgetting of it (learning in the culture of the Internet and permanent change) (Melosik, 2018). Knowledge thus obtained is fleeting and uncertain, and may even be unworthy of the term “knowledge”.

Enthusiasts voluntarily engage in their passion because they consider it important and consistent with their values (Vallerand, 2015), but also because the given issue or activity fascinates them. The same applies to adult learners who are most likely to learn what they perceive as important, interesting and in line with their “life project” (Illeris, 2009; Knowles et al., 2009). According to Rogers (2002), fascination with a given issue mobilises an individual to constantly broaden the horizons of their knowledge, and thus to engage in continuous development. John, the respondent in the present study, was a deeply engaged learner, because the activity to which he dedicated his time and attention was important to him for several reasons. First, by pursuing his passion, he satisfied the need for self-realization (“I feel fulfilled”), respect and recognition (“Some artists said: we envy you one thing, you’re one of a kind”), as well as belonging to the artistic world in which he had always been interested. Second, he expressed through passion his attitude towards the world, and realised values that were important to him (respect for nature, ecology, culture). Third, he built his artistic career with the conviction that what he does is needed (by others as much as by himself). Finally, in realising his passion, he felt happy (“I’d wish for everyone [...] to try and unearth what they enjoy in life”).

The third characteristic to be distinguished about a learning enthusiast was a high level of motivation. According to Wlodkowski (1985), an adult’s motivation to learn depends on the following factors: success, will, value and pleasure. This means that the adult learner wants to be successful, wants to have a sense of influence on the act of learning, wants to be convinced that what they learn is valuable, and wants to enjoy learning. In John’s case, all these conditions have been met. He is intrinsically motivated to pursue his passion; this motivation can also be described as “enjoyment-driven motivation” (Wentzel & Brophy, 2014, p. 7). As Ryan and Deci assert, “intrinsic motivation involves people freely engaging in activities that they find interesting, that provide novelty and optimal challenge” (2000, p. 235). Intrinsic motivation is considered the main driving force in adult learning (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). John took up painting voluntarily, and for pleasure. For him carrying out the passion was autotelic. He was driven to act by positive emotions, cognitive curiosity, a sense of fulfilment and being in harmony with himself, as well as pride and satisfaction with his own achievements.

The study held certain limitations. First, it relied solely on one case. Future research should explore more cases, and these will likely identify more characteristics of enthusiasts as learners. The second limitation concerns support the respondent received from his family. Sometimes enthusiasts’ activities are incomprehensible to their loved ones. In future research, it is also worth considering the experiences of people who pursue their passions despite a lack of acceptance from those around them.

Despite the aforementioned limitations, this study provides important insights into the characteristics of the enthusiast as learner. Attributes that could be distinguished through the respondent’s case, i.e. curiosity, deep engagement and high motivation, then conditioned each other. Importantly, they initiated the emergence of other positive and desirable features from the perspective of learning, including readiness to apply effort, perseverance and determination in achieving goals, courage and creativity in solving problems, self-confidence, conviction about the rightness of actions being undertaken, effectiveness and the pursuit of mastery.

The analysis presented in this study has led to an important conclusion. The enthusiast as a learner who experiences states of curiosity, engagement and a high level of motivation achieves the best results in the field of their passion, and also gains valuable knowledge about their learning preferences. They learn about both their abilities and cognitive limitations. This allows them to develop an optimal learning strategy that is personalised to their case; as a result, they become a more conscious learner. Success achieved in the field of their passion translates into competences that can then be utilised successfully in other spheres of life activity.

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Zuzanna Wojciechowska

ORCID: 0000-0001-6373-6937
University of Warsaw, Poland

Immersed in Learning from Life: Informal-education Paths in the Polish Provinces

This chapter presents the results of qualitative research on lifelong learning among people living in the Polish provinces. The research took place in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, is based on the interpretative paradigm and takes the character of biographical research, wherein the method used is the narrative interview. A common belief that the provinces are bypassed by the current pace of change is shown to be false in the context of the research results presented here. The chapter presents biographies of Warmians in the 50+ generation. Subjects describe how they use contemporary technologies and social media; also presented is the phenomenon of professional change from people’s perspectives in disadvantaged areas. Rspondents also relate their learning to use technology in an intuitive way, by learning from the experience of others as well as through inverted imitation. Learning is shown to be a continuous, natural process, including all aspects of adult life, creating an opportunity for intensive professional development for people with no formal education.

Keywords: lifelong learning, informal education, provinces, biography, social media

Introduction

The dynamics of social life has been intensified in recent decades due to the accelerated development of contemporary technologies and media, including social media. Both sociological and psychological works indicate the problem of “overload” for individuals faced with intensive work and a large number of daily duties, including those that can be counted as educational, or aimed at individual development, and professional, or resulting from both the necessity and the need to shape one’s career more efficiently. Along with professional activities, the number of ways of spending free time also appear to “overwhelm” the individual with the necessity of constantly making choices (each of which always means giving up available alternatives for spending time outside work). In both the scientific literature and in journalism and works of popular science, authors in recent decades have drawn attention to the fact that contemporary people’s lives go on at an ever-faster pace. The world is perpetually “in a hurry”, and to keep up, the individual is forced to undertake as many activities as possible in the shortest possible time, even from an early age (Bauman, 2007; Kargul, 2013; Wojciechowska, 2018).

Twenty-first century citizens are in a constant hurry. They are in a hurry at work, to which excessive time is devoted both in the workplace and beyond, as the incursion of technology has blurred the boundary between private life and work life. Hurry is also the order of the day in so-called free time, with exhortations to pack what is available with anything and everything: cinema, theatre, gallery exhibitions, socialising, as well as sports, often in the form of overly intense training and exercise. Zygmunt Bauman believed the most accurate term to describe what we see in the contemporary Western way of life is hyperculture, a term coined by Stephen Bertman12. Bauman concluded that the term captured the essence of humanity in the era of liquid postmodernity (Bauman, 2007). Time in the consumer society is no longer linear or cyclical, but pointillist: broken down into fragments, shards chunks, reduced to being almost dimensionless, like points in geometric space.

To describe the hurried life in liquid postmodernity, consisting of such moment-points (like a mosaic or puzzle), the most appropriate terms are certainly change, impermanence, pluralism and ephemerality (Wojtasik, 2003; Bauman, 2007; Kargul, 2013; Mazurek-Łopacińska, 2015; Wojciechowska, 2018). Change, because the basic, most common activity of people in the hyperculture is constant change of some element or other: work, life partner, ways of spending free time, often one’s views or ideas, the political parties one supports, and even religion, but most of all objects with which we surround ourselves.

Impermanence (or liquidity, according to Bauman) concerns many social institutions, but also covers the transience of knowledge. In the consumer society, knowledge has suffered the same fate as many material objects, passing out of date just as quickly, superseded by new theories and scientific hypotheses (Kargul, 2013). Bauman notes that the long and arduous acquisition of knowledge has turned in hyperculture into a completely irrational, meaningless activity. A similar thought is expressed by Peter Alheit, who notes that there has been an explosion of knowledge in postmodern societies, yet its value is shrinking. People look at the utilitarian dimension of knowledge, treating it instrumentally, verifying its usefulness, and once it has been used, it is discarded to make room for new information that will likely turn out to be only temporarily useful as well (Alheit, 2009).

Pluralism manifests itself in the negation of universal ideology or norms, negotiating ethical principles, skepticism, disappointment and the multitude of beliefs. The ready availability of many patterns of life, ways of achieving goals, and building a career, but most of all the variety of available value hierarchies means that people living in the early twenty-first century are characterised by moral and ethical relativism. Individuals often changes their views, beliefs and values as they develop new attitudes towards reality around them.

Ephemerality is especially evident in social bonds. There is an inconsistency in the actions of postmodern people – they look for goods and services that facilitate social interactions, communicating with each other more often and faster, but at the same time these ties seem superficial and impermanent. Social media and different messaging services are used frequently, giving the illusory feeling of being connected all the time, yet in fact the users of these platforms and services lack the time to build deep and lasting relationships with others.

In response to those processes accelerating the pace of life and imposing that sense of haste on societal functions, opposing currents have emerged, uniting people in efforts to move towards an unhurried, harmonious life, the ability to appreciate the moment, or mindfulness (broadly manifested by being hic et nunc). Carl Honoré, a Canadian writer and journalist, founded the Slow Movement, with the central idea of opposing the rush of society and the dynamic rate of change. The Slow Movement contested that dynamism in daily life in Western culture, while giving rise to actions inspired in many areas by its original goals13 (Honoré, 2012). From the idea of Slow Life, i.e. living slower, more consciously and with fewer objects, related movements were created, such as mindfulness14, which praised the idea of being present in the moment. Widespread interest in such ideas, a prevailing fashion for abandoning the culture of rush and stress, however, have contributed to their marketisation, banalisation and mythologisation (Holas & Słaba, 2016).

Thinking that contemporary man has “too much” – an overabundance of items, relationships, interactions, work, information, media, entertainment, sources of information – has led to the glorification of living life at a slower pace, with less stress, fewer objects, less frequent use of technology. This, in turn, brings about the mythologising of villages and provinces as places where the omnipresent rush has been resisted. I started to wonder if that were really true, and this consideration led me towards this piece of research on the lives of Poles in the provinces.

Cultural patterns of daily life: a province, a big city

The dynamic development of contemporary technologies and the progressive digitisation across social and economic life are the source of changes associated with the transformation of industrial civilisation into a service civilisation created by a knowledge-based society, and now what is termed the application-based society. The scale of change depends on conditions prevailing in local labor markets, which in Polish conditions differ significantly in metropolises and large cities and in the provinces (Balcerowicz-Szkutnik, 2015). Social, cultural and economic changes are evolutionary in nature rather than revolutionary, but this evolution occurs at a very rapid, intense pace as a consequence of technological transformations. Lifestyles in the nation’s mosaic-like society also differ significantly between the city and the province. Individual lifestyles are culturally constructed, and patterns of life and careers are drawn from available resources. In public dscourse, economic growth is often connected automatically with investments in infrastructure and innovation, leaving the importance of daily life underestimated.

The sociologist Tomasz Szlendak describes domestic society as an archipelago of small social islands where “People live separate lives, with different styles of dressing, private and public behaviour, communication, flirting, disciplining children, moving around, with separate interior decorations and other domestic animals being fed with something else” (Szlendak, 2010). There are no more rich, middle-class and poor people needing help. Such an elegantly arranged world must be forgotten. Instead, the hierarchy is formed less like a tree and more like a bush, with smaller and smaller social categories appearing across its branches. Also disappearing at an express pace is the cultural canon, broadly understood as the pool of shared media, educational, technological and “historical” experiences, savoir-vivre rules, vernacular (vocabulary and sociodialect), life goals, desires and ways to fulfill whims.

All of this drives the segmentation of the social world, the division of society into hyper-small cultural niches, which disturb communication, both interpersonal and intergroup. We still find people to be close to each other, just not necessarily in the same physical neighbourhood, or even among relatives and extended family. We find our niche members thanks to the Network and the net-connectors working within it: social portals, bloggers speaking a familiar language, and closed social-media groups. This then leads to completely new patterns of behaviour seeping into the provinces and the countryside, among both its young inhabitants and into the adult population over 50 years old.

The common belief exists that the pace of contemporary change bypasses provincial people. Real dynamic technological development is associated with the large metropolis, not a small town or village, which are still understood to be havens for traditional lifestyles, the shaping of interpersonal relations, and spending time in old-fashioned ways. This turns out not to be entirely true; the reality is far more complicated and multidimensional. However, in considering which social group we suppose aren’t users of contemporary technologies, advanced digital devices and social media, I think many of us would point to older women in the countryside and provinces. I dealt with this group (Polish women aged 50+ in provincial villages and small towns) in my research, the findings of which are presented in this chapter. These findings counter the assertion that this group is in digital terms either illiterate or excluded.

Research methodology

Research material was collected between January and March 2020. The research was carried out using methods characteristic for qualitative research and took the character of biographical research. During the analysis and interpretation of the research results, I used the theoretical framework determined by the interpretive paradigm (Malewski, 2001). The use of a qualitative research strategy enabled me to reach the perspective of individual interpretations of the narrators. The main goal of the research is to understand learning processes in the context of changes that provincial people have experienced (professional, technological).

The goals of the research include the identification of:

means and processes of informal learning for people from disadvantaged areas;

reasons, goals, and methods of using contemporary technologies, including social media;

the importance of education in constructing and reconstructing a professional biography for the study subjects.

Fifteen narrators took part in the research project (all were women aged over 50 in the Warmia region, who live either in the countryside or a town of up to 4,300 inhabitants). The sampling procedure was purposive sampling; this type of selection of respondents ensured diversity within a group of people who were otherwise homogenous in terms of age, gender and region of residence (Warmia). By this means it was possible to discover the variability and diversity of the phenomenon during study. The research was conducted using the narrative-interview method. Respondents were asked to talk about the course of their professional and educational life, with particular emphasis on changes taking place in the professional sphere and the role of contemporary technologies in these changes. To understand the changes in their professional lives and their impact on the biographical constructions of these individuals, a broader context had to be considered. For this reason, I needed detailed knowledge about many different areas of the subjects’ individual biographies, and during the research I asked respondents to share stories about their childhoods, the course taken by their professional lives from starting their first jobs (choosing a profession), their current professional situations, how they had learned to use the Internet and social media such as Facebook, and about relationships they had built via the Internet and through social media.

The material was analysed and interpreted on three levels. First, comparisons were made within the selected category to determine which elements of individual interviews were of importance. On the second level, each case was analysed separately, with checks to ensure that a respondent’s stories were consistent or whether in places they contradicted themselves, and whether a single narrative emerged within each topic. If one did not, there was a possibility that hidden meanings were waiting to be unearthed. On the third level, cases were compared (collected narratives) to see how similar or different individual respondents were in each area of interest (Flick, 2010).

Via an analysis of respondents’ contributions, it was possible to reconstruct the narrators’ realities, though it must be underlined that their collective stories do not reproduce a previous reality, but explain it from specific points of view (Silverman, 2016). As a result, these appear to be the most valuable and laden with meaning. Narrators decided how detailed their narrations would be, what kind of descriptions they would add to their stories, which argumentation they included, and how intimate they wanted their narratives to be.

As part of the analysis of the material, stories were coded to allow for the organisation and structuring of different narrative threads, as well as to enable the comparison of statements given by individual interviewees. The main codes used are:

the childhood story (interests, dreams, plans, school memories, type of school and number of years / grades of formal education completed, learning outside school, thoughts about future work);

the professional work story with particular emphasis on all changes in this area throughout a respondent’s life;

current work story and the role of contemporary technologies in it;

present means of learning from life;

the use of communication via the Internet and social media (what they are used for and how narrators learnt to use them).

In the following part, study results are presented, with the analysis and interpretation conducted across three stages. The first stage was to transcribe the collected interviews and distinguish narrative passages in the interviewees’ statements, using the codes presented above. After isolating passages, a three-level analysis (comparisons within the selected category; analysis of each case; comparison of cases with each other) was performed. In the third stage, content was interpreted using the codes, which made it possible to identify the most significant changes in attitudes and awareness of respondents that resulted from learning from their own experiences.

Childhood, and professional work path

This research considers informal lifelong learning among provincial Poles. Contemporary young adults, in the provinces and in large cities, learn without readily available patterns (models). Due to the dynamics of online life and the dynamics of relations on social media, they cannot learn from and follow their parents’ or grandparents’ experiences, because the older generation simply did not have similar experiences of those dynamics. Young people must learn how to cope with life in the virtual space, in interpersonal relationships, in the area of professional work, leaning on their own experiences, messages of their peer group and the information available on the Internet. With the narrators in this study, women aged 50+ living in villages and small towns, their childhood situations were completely different. Their childhoods were before the era of digitisation, in conditions entirely different from those of contemporary children.

Common perceptions of the countryside, its image in media and culture, largely depend on the social elite. These ideas can be distorted and traumatised or, conversely, idealised and glorified. What picture of childhood arises in the narratives of my interlocutors in the countryside?

The first is an intense, romantic description of a countryside childhood in a settlement of employees of an auxiliary farm – a kind of state farm. The narrator, born in 1966, recalls a childhood spent in rather primitive, friendly conditions, surrounded by nature, animals and simple people. The countryside in the 1970s and 1980s appears to be a poor, stratified but safe place to live, where everyone is needed and has a task to do. Authorities did not bother people much, and opposition was not heard of. Nobody took special care of children, for they were never in any particular danger.

I had seven siblings, six of whom were twins. My mother gave birth to twins three times in a row. Along with them, there was also me and one brother – the two of us were born singly. In childhood, there was a lot of work, we all worked. When I was four, my parents told me to take the geese to graze and to guard them. Generally, you had to do a lot. I finished a few primary school years - four, maybe five, I learned to write and read a bit, besides, I didn’t have time to go to school because I had to work on the farm.

As a child, we also had a lot of fun doing this work – you used to run, in summer there were haystacks, we hid there, and in winter we poured water in the yard and there was a slide. I didn’t miss out on anything, but also nobody took much care of me (W3, 55).15

Animals were living toys for me and my siblings, but in a positive sense. We slept with the cats that were always in our house. We petted little chicks kept by people at home under the kitchen table and a big quartz lamp. We petted chickens, rabbits too. We even liked pigs from our pigsty. When my father slaughtered the pig, I couldn’t stand it. His screeching squeal was heard all over the neighbourhood, and I was crying. One time my mother spanked me for it, she screamed that my complaining made the pig felt more confident and refuse to die. There was something to this, and to this day I won’t laugh at some superstitions. Because that was when I prayed for the pig being slaughtered to survive. Suddenly the animal got free from my father’s grip and, with his throat half cut, ran around the yard, pouring blood on everything. For us children, it was cruel and we couldn’t stand the sight, but our parents didn’t spare us, hoping that it would toughen us for life (W4, 52).

The second type of story to appear in different narratives was much darker and more traumatic. Interestingly, events that, seen with today’s psychological knowledge, knowledge about the family, child development and the impact of early childhood events on the development of personality, we would take to be tragic, were not like that at all in my interviewees’ stories. Very difficult and even shocking events appeared as natural ocurrences, as an inseparable element of life in a small community, where people are different, their problems also varying in scale, and disease and death are inherent elements of existence.

Dad drank a lot and when he drank it was tough because he’d raise his hand against Mum or us. But my parents loved me very much and Mum always made sure I went to school. I remember one Christmas when Daddy brought us packages from work for vouchers: there were oranges and chocolates in them. At first, I thought an orange was a ball, I’d never seen fruit like that before.

Unfortunately, over time, Daddy drank more and finally killed himself – he hanged himself in our flat, I found him when I got home from school. It’s sad, but well – that’s life (W8, 56).

There was very little in the way of technology in my narrators’ childhoods. Radios appeared more often in households, but televisions were very rare.

Mum once bought a radio, a neighbour moved there from somewhere, and until it broke, she listened to some broadcast there. But the television was really rare. In our family, one cousin who lived in town had a TV, so once a week a cartoon played at 6 p.m. – half the neighbourhood kids would come to him to watch (W2, 51).

We didn’t have a TV. Grandfather knew how to read, he learned before the war and bought newspapers from time to time, sometimes we learned something from him, what’s going on in the wide world. But frankly, not many were interested in it (W11, 54).

My interlocutors’ childhoods were lived in the pre-digital era, and in times when access to any information technologies in the countryside was scarce.

Narrators generally began work in the 1980s and most of them worked in factories close to their places of residence. These were meat-production plants, industrial laundries and chemical plants. Sometimes it was typical agricultural work, but not very often. The situation changed dramatically with the political transformation in 1989.

Worse, no one dealt with people of the settlement later, when the great change came. Only echoes of national events got to the villages, met by enthusisam that wasn’t fully thought through. Almost nobody had any idea what was coming. The farm collapsed and only a few managed to take things into their own hands. In my village, no ordinary farmers owned a farm. Yes, everybody had a pigsty where he kept pigs, chickens or ducks, he even had a piece of a garden or plot where he planted potatoes and vegetables. This village was such a tiny place, more like a settlement, where people from different classes lived. There were teachers from the agricultural-technical school, former white-collar workers from the forest service and auxiliary farm, and former blue-collar workers: those who milked cows, tended pigs, tractor drivers, etc. Each level lived in a different district of the village. Manual labourers had the grounds behind the old German cemetery, in old houses called quadruplets. The teachers lived across the street in blocks of flats, with the white-collar workers from the [large] farm. In turn, the forest service had its blocks and houses right next to the woods (W7, 55).

With the collapse of state-owned farms, the situation became very difficult in the provinces (especially in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and other similar, generally agricultural areas). People until then permanent employed with a source of income or livelihood, and therefore no reason to worry about their existence, suddenly found themselves on the emerging free market, the mechanisms of which they were not aware of, without preparation or education. Cultural change brought about by 1989 combined with social trauma. The political breakthrough led to changes in many areas of life, which took place with varying degrees of intensity over the next twenty years. These changes were cumulative: consequences of some were the source of others. Arising after 1989 was a methodologically important question: are these changes a transition or a more complex transformation?

After the democratic changes in 1989, early experiences with the free-market economy were not positive or encouraging for farmers. The domestic market was flooded with subsidised food from the EU and the US, meaning that the local farmer had enormous difficulties selling their produce. Later, governments pursued saner economic policies, but for a long time global competition caused many farmers and villagers frustration and depression. Many farms failed, many fell into disrepair. That same fate struck numerous processing plants.

My narrators also lost their early jobs. They had to deal with the reality of a competitive free market. Most often, they had to generate a great deal of resourcefulness and creativity to survive in that new reality, without benefits of formal educations. It turned out that in the villages and provinces, a vast grey zone of services was created by residents lacking formal qualifications.

I had to deal with the state-owned farm closing somehow. We started cooking with our neighbour – first for big parties, weddings, baptisms, communions and so on. Then in the 1990s tourists started coming, we have two beautiful lakes with beaches, German tourists very often, so we set up a “bar” where we cooked quick dishes for them, when they came hungry from the beach. That wasn’t enough, everybody needed a few jobs. So I also started cleaning – at the police station and in cabins where tourists would stay. I did tailoring, bought myself a sewing machine and started to fix clothes: shorten them, repair them. And then I found the real bomb: elder care. A family hires you and pays a lot for such care. Even 2,000 złotys a month16. And I have to bathe the person, give medications, read the paper to them, make something to eat, and just take care of them (W3, 55).

In the research material collected, this scenario was repeated very often – most of my interlocutors had at least three different jobs in daily life, most often in completely different fields. Interestingly, all narrators learned to do these jobs independently – none took part in any courses or training. They all learned their new jobs through daily practice, participant observation, trial and error. Their lives became the quintessence of learning through experience, their learning entirely immersed in the practice of daily life.

Since many had not completed any degree of formal education, even elementary school, and some could barely read and write, it may seem surprising how rapidly they learned to cope with professional work in new fields, from cooking, sewing, caring for the elderly, running agro-tourism and professional cleaning to providing nursing services, childcare and early childhood education, renovating apartments, pet care, hairdressing, cosmetics, and many more.

Current employment and the use of the Internet

With the passage of time and the expansion of the Internet, the broad field of work has changed. As it turns out, this transformation has come to the countryside and provinces as well, although it could seem that women in the 50+ age group are least likely to use contemporary technologies in daily life and work, as posited above. The results of the research show something entirely different. And here again, there was no formal preparation. Most narrators had very limited contact with media and technology in their childhoods, as we’ve seen. In the case of learning to use the Internet and related digital tools, the primary form of education involved learning from the experiences of others, reverse imitation, with older people imitating younger ones, using social media following the example of their children and grandchildren (posting on Facebook with photos of grandchildren, pets, etc.), and utilising tools without sufficient knowledge – they use hashtags without knowing what they really mean. What’s more, they have transferred a large part of their lives onto the Internet: they use Facebook and other social media to send birthday wishes, make appointments, upload photos and other relevant information, make posts and comment and respond to these and others. Of particular interest is how my interlocutors currently use the Internet in their professional work. Below is a summary of current forms of employment for selected narrators involved in the research; their situations illuminate the wider context:

Narrator 1, Lucyna, 53:

She cleans the police station, takes care of the elderly (currently she is the caregiver for a 91-year-old), sews, and alters clothing.

She started using the Internet after her husband died, three years ago. She has accounts on social networks (Facebook), uses messenger services, has started remote work completing questionnaires via the Internet. She earns 6 to 15 złotys (up to 3.3 euros) per questionnaire.

Narrator 3, Krystyna, 55:

She worked in a production plant, now describes herself as unemployed, although she does plenty of work that brings her income. One is moderating discussions on social channels, for which she earns 31 złotys (almost 7 euros) per hour.

Narrator 7, Cecylia, 55:

Works at a McDonald’s restaurant. She started working remotely: she enters data into the system, for which she earns 31 złotys per hour. She has accounts on social networks including Facebook and Instagram, and uses the instant-messenger apps Messenger and WhatsApp.

Narrator 10, Gabrysia, 56:

She worked her career as a primary-school teacher in a small town in Warmia. Currently, she uses the Internet on a daily basis, using it at work, and also makes money via the Internet: she writes texts for websites. Her fee per hundred words is 27 to 40 złotys (up to nearly 9 euro).

As can be seen, the Internet is a tool used by interlocutors to earn money. Many learned to use the Internet not only as a source of entertainment but for professional purposes. This may seem surprising, especially considering the fact that a large group of the respondents had never and still do not have a computer at home. They most often use mobile devices including smartphones, or, less often, tablets.

Summary: learning from life

Nowhere is the concept of lifelong learning implemented so completely as in the provinces. Learning can be seen in this case as a continuous, natural process, covering all aspects of adult life. The narrators who participated in the present study had to learn throughout their lives, to adapt to the (increasingly dynamic) changing world around them. Formal education was of marginal importance in their preparation for life or professional work. The narrators learned from life, initially using modeling (imitating elders) and learning from their own experiences, as well as trial and error methods. With time and the changes taking place in social relationships, along with the intensive development of contemporary technologies and social media, they began to use the method of reverse imitation (basing activities on models provided by their children and grandchildren). Thus, they are a very unusual generation, one whose childhoods involved learning from the older generation, but whose adulthoods have presented the converse pattern, in which as older people they have learned from the younger generation. Of course, the results of this research cannot be generalised (their qualitative nature does not allow for that). But they can inspire further research in this area, which seems to be both understudied and fascinating.

References

Alheit, P. (2009). Całożyciowe uczenie się i kapitał społeczny. Teraźniejszość – Człowiek – Edukacja, 4(48), 7–23.

Bauman, Z. (2007). Szanse etyki w zglobalizowanym świecie. Kraków: Wydaw. Znak.

Bertman, S. (1998). Hyperculture: The Human Cost of Speed. Westport: ABC-CLIO.

Czarnota, W. (2015). Wybory życiowe młodych Polek. Przyczynek do antropologii kobiety. Warsaw: Wydaw. Naukowe PWN.

Field, J. (2001). Nationality, Citizenship and Lifelong Learning: Building Social Capital in the Learning Society. In: M. Bron and J. Field (eds.), Adult Education and Democratic Citizenship III. Wrocław: Lower Silesian University College of Education, 17–36.

Flick, U. (2010). Projektowanie badania jakościowego. Warsaw: Wydaw. Naukowe PWN.

Holas, P., Słaba, D. (2016). W stronę „mindfulness”. Humanistyka i Przyrodoznawstwo, 22, 379–383.

Honoré, C. (2012). Pochwała Powolności. Jak zwolnić tempo i cieszyć się życiem. Warsaw: Wydaw. Olesiejuk.

Illeris, K. (2006). Trzy wymiary uczenia się. Wrocław: Wydaw. Naukowe DSWE TWP.

Kargul, J. (2013). Uczenie się dorosłych w kulturze pośpiechu. In: E. Solarczyk-Ambrozik (ed.), Całożyciowe uczenie się jako wyzwanie dla teorii i praktyki edukacyjnej. Poznań: Wydaw. Naukowe UAM.

Marody, M. (2010). Instytucje mają znaczenie. Dialog 3, 88–98.

Mazurek-Łopacińska, K. (2015). Postmodernistyczna kultura konsumpcyjna w kształtowaniu popytu i stylów życia współczesnego konsumenta. Konsumpcja i Rozwój, 1, 40–53.

Szlendak, T. (2010). O stylach życia w mozaikowym społeczeństwie (od których zależeć będzie rozwój gospodarczy). In: Polskie style życia. Między miastem a wsią, V Kongres Obywatelski, Gdańsk: Instytut Badań nad Gospodarką Rynkową.

Wojciechowska, Z. (2018). Kobiece i męskie wzory (re)konstrukcji biografii w perspektywie zmiany zawodowej. Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.

Wojtasik, B. (2003) Refleksyjne konstruowanie kariery życiowej w ponowoczesnej codzienności. Teraźniejszość – Człowiek – Edukacja, 4(24), 21–38.

Kinga Majchrzak-Ptak

ORCID: 0000-0001-8616-9824
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland

Semaphores in University Space(s):
An (Auto)ethnographic Study

Gaining importance in the face of actions currently being undertaken in countries including Poland in the area of what is termed the active policy of memory, research is being dedicated to commemoration that can help in discovering the specific nature and direction of the development of collective (non)memory frameworks within which individual memory, the basis for creating one’s own identity, is constructed. In this chapter, reference is made to semaphores related to the past of Stockholm University, i.e. objects that a given community recognises as carriers of meanings and values that combine a semiotic dimension with a material dimension, therefore objects that should act as sites of memory by definition. The chapter presents the results of the analysis and interpretation of data collected through (auto) observation and searching in secondary sources, focused around questions such as: What is the nature of semaphores located at Stockholm University? What is the importance of sites of memory in the university’s architectural, social, cultural and educational spaces? Addressing these topics permits conclusions – including e.g that Swedish university memory  is dominated by men – which have educational implications.

Keywords: semaphores, sites of memory, ethnographic study, Stockholm University

Introduction 

All things around us are potential carriers (storage nodes) of memory. However, only a few of those created by people – whether more purposefully or less – become active, i.e. they then facilitate achieving the goal of containing (supra)individual memory and storing memories which help consolidate a given community and enable processes of identity creation, and can thus answer such questions as: Where do I come from? What is my purpose? Who am I or whom should I be? One can distinguish among such already active carriers of memory those which affect a community more strongly than others. Pierre Nora uses the term sites of memory to refer to these main active carriers of memory which are central to a given community, providing widely recognised reference to the past and of more expressive symbolic nature than other carriers. Nora holds that sites of memory do not need to be material. In his view, sites of memory, important from a national perspective as well as smaller communities such as family or an occupational group, are elements of a symbolic space that belong to the category of living history and are based on individualised and democratised memory embedded in the heterogeneity of social micro-worlds ranging from names and dates to sports events (Nora, 1996, 1997, 1998). Importantly, the status of each memory carrier can change. Not only can active carriers of memory, including sites of memory, have their own histories and, depending on a context, be understood by individuals or communities in different ways, but their active roles can also expire under changing circumstances. Those remaining symbolically latent, meanwhile, can become active at any time. 

Faced today with mounting conservatism and a nostalgic return to nationalism, we can observe that countries – Poland included – are taking action in the area of what is termed active historical policy or policy of memory (Mendel, 2018). The objectives of these actions are to transform the frameworks of collective memory through interpreting elements they include differently and / or deleting or adding other interpretations to shape specific attitudes, including patriotic ones often of exclusive and judgemental nature, and to homogenise society in terms of shared values. To counteract such practices and prepare people for critically receiving content and for a reflective existence in the world, it is significant to initiate an educational search for active carriers of memory, especially sites of memory. An empirical study dedicated to commemoration can help in discovering the specific nature and direction of development of collective (non)memory frameworks, within which individual memory – the basis for creating one’s own biography – is constructed (cf. Bron & Thunborg, 2015).

In this chapter, reference is made to the issue of sites of memory from a pedagogical point of view. It considers the university an institution essentially inseparable from the resources of collective human memory, being both their guardian and their producer and distributor; and it presents interdisciplinary considerations regarding semaphores related to the past of Stockholm University. These are objects that a given community recognises as carriers of meanings and values combining dimensions that are semiotic and material, and therefore objects that by definition should act as sites of memory and are prepared and / or presented to draw attention to the content they commemorate, while not having any other function (e.g. a commemorative plaque) or serving practical purposes at the same time (e.g. a bench commemorating a specific person) (Pomian, 2006). In presenting the results of ethnographic research that was conducted, the focus has been on facilitating illustration of the frameworks of collective memory set by the semaphores identified, description of resources at Stockholm University of storage memory and functional memory (Assmann, 2012), and commemorative practices followed at that institution.  

Materials and methods

The exploration of semaphores related to Stockholm University’s past that I conducted took place during a study visit from February 1 to February 29, 2020. It was embedded in the ethnographic scheme, supported by collecting data by means of ethnographic observation, interviews with students and staff at the university, observation of critical events, and investigating secondary sources and photographic documentation. Photos taken during this visit proved a particularly valuable source of information in the case of analyses of sites of memory. These are are not simply “a souvenir from the past”, but afford “a source of cognitive knowledge and reflection” (Malec-Rawiński, 2015, p. 52) as, according to Ida Wentzel-Winther (2006):

having a camera at hand does something to a person; it makes one see the world as a landscape of details that are to be picked out. It becomes possible to fix some details, to arrange presented objects and weave a glimpse of a personal world into that reality. At the same time, it allows others to see a fixed fragment of everyday life (p. 140). 

The semantic and semiotic analysis of collected data was based on answers to the following questions: What is the nature of semaphores located at Stockholm University? What are the forms / expressions of remembering and commemorating in the university’s spaces? What is the importance of sites of memory in the institution’s architectural, social, cultural and educational spaces? 

Results

Today’s Stockholm University was founded in 1878 as Stockholm College, a school without diplomas or exams which provided a radical alternative to such traditional institutions as the universities in Uppsala and Lund. By 1904, however, the college gained the right to award degrees, and in 1960 it was granted university status. Aims for egalitarianism (openness and accessibility), typical for Stockholm University, correspond to the significant increase in student enrolment in the 1960s. As a result, the Observatory Hill campus became too crowded, as it is located in the city centre with no space to expand, which provided impetus for relocating the university in the 1970s to Frescati, where most university units are now located (Figure 1). Several factors make Frescati Campus a unique place. First, the campus is located in the middle of the world’s first National City Park, an area overflowing with nature. At the same time its architectural eclecticism houses classic wood buildings such as Gula Villan, dating to the second half of the nineteenth century, and neighbouring contemporary constructions erected in the late twentieth century including Aula Magna, designed by Ralph Erskine. What also makes Frescati Campus distinct is the range of public artworks and a highly advanced connection with the rest of the city, especially the centre. This connection is part of the university’s mission: being an educational institution, its aim is to engage in an active role in society, not limited to being but a temple of knowledge exclusive to a selected group.

Figure 1. Map of Frescati Campus. 

Photo by K. Majchrzak-Ptak

The Almae Matris campus’s openly accessible space (e.g. corridors, staircases, building entrances) is part of this wider perspective to the city; it houses numerous traditional sites of memory dedicated to specific persons as well as to collective entities, that is, to groups of men and women of the academic community connected with a specific university unit, such as a faculty. These are semaphores recalling Stockholm University’s institutional and staff legacy and when used professionally and reasonably, they have the potential to: 1) be reference points for the crystallisation of group (auto)definitions; 2) connect individual interpretations with collectively developed meanings; 3) act as depositories of enduring values; 4) draw a recipient’s attention to the contextuality of the world, making them sensitive to the fact that the university operates within and is affected by a number of social, political, cultural as well as economic factors, not in social vacuum. 

The search I have conducted shows several fundamental features constituting the specific of semaphores located on the university’s premises in Stockholm. As regards their presence in architectural space, one can see that they are characterised by their diversity of form (as with many Polish universities, including Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and the University of Warsaw), yet this heterogeneity is enclosed within very classical frameworks. Material sites of memory connected with the university’s past are, in fact, present only in the forms of monuments, display cases, commemorative plaques and portraits, along with buildings and lecture halls named after specific people. Thus, in its material memory space, innovation does not occur that can be seen in various other areas of the university’s activity. The potential of new technologies is not exploited at all in the area of commemoration. No interactive boards or QR codes are placed next to individual semaphores, which could be scanned to provide access even to a set of basic information about a person or group commemorated at a given site. This solution could increase the influence of specific semaphores, facilitating the achievement of goals that brought about their formation. Most semaphores assume graphic forms, that is, portraits in the forms of paintings or photos – these are the most common material form of commemoration at the university. They bear only names and occasionally lifespan dates of the people they are dedicated to. Some of these semaphores in the form of portraits have no printed name, only a reproduction of that person’s signature. This, in turn, made it very difficult to determine personal details, being a person not connected with Stockholm University on regular basis – that is, any data indispensable to starting a search on that person. 

This lack of basic information about individuals commemorated by given semaphores became a reason to initiate conversation with academic community members I encountered while viewing, analysing and cataloguing the semaphores. Yet among fifteen people (eight women, seven men) I approached under the given circumstances, none were able to immediately provide information on individual names for the images I inquired about. People I approached always tried to help: looking on the Internet, using their mobiles and / or contacting others including academic staff. In three cases, these efforts were successful. Four people I approached said our coincidental encounters encouraged them to broaden their knowledge about semaphores they had passed by to date without thinking about them, knowing only that they presented important people.

Reasons for the lack or shortage of knowledge about the university’s traditional sites of memory among its academic community members are complex. This is proven by the analysis of data collected during more structured talks / interviews with men and women of this community. They include the lack of didactic actions based on such sites’ educational potential. Exploring documents from curricula to syllabi of specific majors permits the conclusion that semaphores connected with the university are not a subject of any educational path, whether core or elective modules: the subject of these semaphores is absent in the university’s didactic space. 

Another important feature of the semaphores under study that determines their role in the cultural and social space of the university is the almost complete homogeneity of entities they are dedicated to. In a substantial majority, they commemorate men with Swedish origins, usually white, who held high positions in the academic hierarchy. One exception is a site of memory dedicated to Professor Sonja Kovalevsky (Figures 2, 3), Sweden’s first female professor and the world’s first female mathematics professor. The site is a bronze bust, located between floors in a stairwell at the Department of Mathematics. Another exception is a collection of photos located in a corridor at the Department of Geological Sciences, of people who built that university unit over the years (Figures 4, 5). In one group photo are twenty-seven people, four of them women; in information alongside the photo collection, only one is referred to by name, with the remaining three marked “NN”. Another site of memory that breaks the prevaling pattern are display cases located at the Department of Psychology, which commemorate students who defended their doctorates (PhDs) in that unit (Figure 6). These photos are of specific persons, with their names provided along with those of their dissertation supervisors, years of their PhD defenses as well as title pages of their works / books that were the basis for the defense. In viewing the display cases, one notices gender and ethnic differentiation.

Figures 2, 3. Bust of Prof. Sonja Kovalevsky

Photos by K. Majchrzak-Ptak

Figures 4, 5. Photos at the Department of Geological Sciences

Photos by K. Majchrzak-Ptak

Figure  6. One display case at the Department of Psychology

Photo by K. Majchrzak-Ptak

Discussion

In contrast to my initial assumption that the study visit to Stockholm would be, first and foremost, a lesson in effective practices of spatial commemoration, the research carried out there demonstrates that in this area there are in fact many similarities between Stockholm University and many Polish universities, e.g. in Toruń, Olsztyn, Wrocław. These similarities are both in form, in content and in didactic and social practices. The shortage of sites of memory at Stockholm University that are dedicated to women, to people from varied ethnic groups or from layers of academic community (not professors) permits the conclusion that the record of the university past connected with those persons is kept primarily in the storing memory, that is, as a memory background, the resources of which may never be retrieved (Assmann, 1995). Thus, such aspects of the past are just unconscious elements of an “amorphous mass”, an unutilised resource moved aside to exist in the archiving memory, that reservoir of processual functional memory which has a real influence on individuals and communities. Meanwhile, this shortage of semaphores in the space of Stockholm University dedicated solely to women, students or administration staff indicates a commemorating programme that represents an educational code that condones the assumption that the university’s history is by evidence a history of male professors. Importantly, that programme translates into the shape of collective-memory frameworks at the university, and thus affects processes of constructing individual auto-definitions. Following Murice Halbwachs (1968), it is to be assumed that individual “memory acts” constituting building blocks of identity are subject to socially institutionalised resources of memory selected by groups of specific individuals. However, this as with all presented status quos is not conclusive. Expanding frameworks of Stockholm University memory and updating its content is possible, thereby including content that has been marginalised to date in the functional memory through generating further carriers of memory, and by taking educational actions that facilitate their activity. This means placing in the available commemorating space new semaphores, more diversified in form and content, which with time can become living sites of memory. In other words, this goal is achievable in the present by determining rules and means of becoming familiar with past experience (tradition) by way of the present, and for that past.

References

Assmann, A. (1995). Funktionsgedächtnis und Speichergedächtnis – Zwei Modi der Erinnerung. In: M. Dabag, K. Platt (eds.), Generation und Gedächtnis. Erinnerungen und kollektive Identitäten. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 169–185.

Bron, A., Thunborg, C. (2015). Biographical Interviewing: The Case of Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.

Halbwachs, M. (1968). La mémoire collective. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

Malec-Rawiński, M. (2015). Fotografie i drogowskazy życia polskich seniorów emigrantów w Szwecji – kontekst edukacyjny. Theologica Wratislaviensia, 10, 49–62. 

Mendel, M. (2018). Pamięć, ideologia, władza. Uczenie się zapominania. Forum Oświatowe, No. 30, 25–36.

Nora, P. (ed.) (1996–1998). Realms of Memory: The Construction of the French Past, Vol. 1: Conflicts and divisions, Vol. 2: Traditions, Vol. 3: Symbols. New York: Columbia University Press.

Pomian, K. (2006). Historia. Nauka wobec pamięci. Lublin: Wydaw. Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej.

Wantzel-Winther, I. (2006). Dom jako własna przestrzeń dziecka. In: M. Mendel (ed.), Pedagogika miejsca. Wrocław: Wydaw. Naukowe Dolnośląskiej Szkoły Wyższej, 137–151.

Klaudia Węc

ORCID: 0000-0002-1659-3205
Ignatianum University in Kraków, Poland

Time and Self-developement as Symptoms
of the Subject

This chapter deals with the issue of a subject’s maturation in the perspective of passing away, which is that subject’s boundary experience. The main issue of this text is time as a symptom of a sense of existential meaning, generating the need for individual coping strategies around ageing. Ontological and epistemological dimensions of this text are based on interpretative tools derived from Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalysis.

Keywords: subject, time, passing, symptoms, dialectis of language, subject as a “cultural artefact”, psychoanalysis

Introduction

Problematisation of the issue of subject maturity in the aspect of thinking about passing, time and development raises questions about the hermeneutical and discursive sources of the emergence of symptoms that trigger the subject’s liminal experiences. The interpretative perspective is defined here by the supposition that the greatest cultural transformation can be seen in forcing a subject to use various social practices, reducing their activity to structuring specific age-related attitudes and rituals. Contemporary thinking about seniors has been subjected to pressures of change, which smacks of mental revolution at the axiological level, dispossessed by pragmatism and the usefulness of the subject, reduced to someone bringing potential social profit. There is, however, another side of the mirror, and from behind a libidinal subject emerges, seeking fulfillment and fueled by the drive allowing them to generate hope of experiencing life in a satisfying way. The present chapter’s interpretation is based on Jacques Lacan’s discourse and refers to issues including the dialectics of language, optics of seeing, the primacy of signifiers over subject, the subject as “cultural artifact” and the figure of finiteness immersed in time. And it is precisely time that becomes a symptom for the subject in their existential sense and non(sense), thus generating a need to utilise individual strategies in coping with a moment that does not want to last. The subject’s being in time is immersed in biological, historical, social and biographical experiences, which confronts them with the dilemma of the transience, irreversibility and finiteness of their existence. At the same time, the “temporality” of a subject’s life is determined by their uniqueness and exceptionality. Ultimately, the tyranny of time (Eriksen, 2003), which appropriates the subject, becomes the tyranny of choice (Salecl, 2013), which places the subject between a lack of freedom, an excess of needs and an unfulfillable desire to last.

Reconstruction of the subject as cultural project: maturation’s logic and passing’s imperative

A human, in essence and in the perspective of time consuming their existential being in the banality of daily life, is a subject invariably involved in personal family history, existential fears or individual complexes ensuing from inadequacy towards the surrounding reality and unstable relationships with the Other (Lacan, 2015). Postmodern thought about functional strategies in social structures activates thinking about the individual from the perspective of their adaptive duty, simultaneously triggering unjustified fears of subjective emancipatory ambitions. Nevertheless, the autonomy we gain during our lives and the capacity for resistance allow us to see the reality of the subject both from the perspective of their functional worth and through the lens of ontological indeterminacy. In this sense, the quintessence of the human is defined by the Lacanian rule according to which the subject’s actions are entangled in the dialectic of desire that galvanises affects pulsating in the cycle: from a word – through an act – to a word. This dialectic cycle is marked by the pulsatile emergence of the Real: it inevitably evokes Michel Foucault’s vision of contemporary humankind charged with carnal, diligent and talkative existence. The vision of the subject is conceiveable only as a finite being (Foucault, 2005, p. 134). Understanding the essence of being can, therefore, be expressed by Foucault’s question: Can I say I am the life I feel in the depths of my chest, as it surrounds me not only with its peculiar time, lifting me on the crest of a wave for a moment, but also, dangerously close at times, ascribes death to me? (Foucault, 2005, p. 142).

The evolution of thinking about the subject originates from the Cartesian idea of Cogito, thinking and reflective in infinite transcendence, to the non-obvious Cogito constitutes itself through constant tasks. Consequently, Cogito no longer leads to an affirmation of being but opens up a series of questions about inclusion in the Heideggerian Dasein. The Cogito evolutionarily abandons the effort to follow the path to an overbearing existence affirming thought as a structure of the subject, instead showing that thought can escape itself and lead to a complex, multiplying question about being (Foucault, 2005, p. 143). Dasein restores the sense of understanding – What does it really mean to be? – regardless of the subject’s age. Essentially, it is about “being” even before the contradiction arises of the subject to the object, in terms of the question of interpretation, which stems from postulating that the subject is entangled in several structural turns. Beginning with the linguistic turn, which the subject “overthrew” in its certainty, structuring desire, to questioning the need, to the idea of what the subject must have and who they should be through a generalised lack. All this contributes to the symbolic Heideggerian “being in time”, the linearity of which Lacan has called into question. Temporal linearity was renamed logical time by Lacan (Lacan, 1996), in which meaning is inextricably linked to the time required for understanding and its moment of conclusion. The core of this change is the moment of conclusion allowing the subject to accept their story as constituted by speaking to the Other expressing their desire. As a result, a different understanding of time determines the subject’s genealogy and dialectisation from the perspective of searching for meaning in the duration of a moment instead of feeling non(sense) due to the passing of life.

Language as representative of lack and symptom: the practice of the visible and the invisible

As a consequence, language becomes a tool without which the subjective Dasein does not exist. On the ontological and epistemological planes, the place of Dasein situates the subject towards presumed (non)knowledge, which dialectises desire but also activates jouissance (Lacan, 1996). Foucault’s statement that the Other of a human being must become the same as them (Foucault 2005, p. 147) can be considered a reformulation of the famous Lacanian thesis that the subject’s desire is to become a desire of the Other (Lacan, 1996). However, this does not happen without consequences for the subject: at the same time, social narratives that provoke fear at the very thought of the risk marked by Symbolic and Imaginary representations expose the subjective inadequacy in relation to claims made by the Other. In this sense, understanding the subjective life cycle represented by the prerequisite of endless development and social functionality as peculiar phenomena appropriating social discourse. This discourse symbolically shows subjective reality to be enslaved by the action of the Other, who can be at once creator and manipulator of these processes. In this way, limits of the possible visibility of the world are also revealed, which raises the question about meaning-endowing structures and structures of the subject’s actuation of all being towards the world, the Other and oneself (Węc, 2012; Węc, 2015).

We assume, therefore, that on the basis of these considerations on transience, the reality of the subject is defined by at least two categories of mental constructs: Imaginary with regard to rationality and (non)rationality, and Symbolic, expressed through language that represents something more than communicative values. Lacan’s psychoanalysis allows us to look at the subject from the perspective of the dialectics of their mental reality defined by three structural orders, the Imaginary, the Symbolic and the Real, which must exist for the subject to function in the world. From the viewpoint of this analysis, the dimension of the subject’s functioning is important, which relates to everything fear introduces to the subject’s life. I refer to the Lacanian Encore, which reveals itself under the influence of (non)overt presence of the Real, which in turn entails various kinds of transgressions and everything that incites fear of the subject, as it is impossible to exclude the randomness of events (Lacan, 1999). The workings of the Real simultaneously represents all aspects of the (un)imaginable, (un)predictable, (un)defined event, which bears the hallmarks of heterologia, causing anxiety in thinking about the subject’s existence. To the same extent, it establishes ways of interpreting experiences of subjective reality through primary objects of truth, metaphorically conceived and carrying a sense of fear with its source in the experience of presence and (non)presence of the Other (Węc, 2015a). The Real can also refer to what Freud postulates in Das Unheimliche (Freud, 1919), translated into English as the uncanny. The uncanny representing the Real designates terror that has no basis. There is therefore “something” in the existence of the subject that is terrifying because it cannot be named or grasped in any way. At the same time, it is “something” whose strangeness, but familiar strangeness, is present beyond any discourse and is beyond question. It’s like asking what death is: while everyone is aware of it, no one can say anything about it (you can’t even experience it in a dream, as you’ll wake terrified). The Real is therefore what a person experiences, or what manifests itself in life as destructive, paradoxical, which cannot be defined in a positive way. In this sense, transience also becomes the Real for the subject, and no logic of time allows us to experience the moment’s duration as a substitute for existential certainty.

Culture’s transgressions and hypocrisies: time as the subject’s crisis in the face of rituals of passing

Postmodern discourse clearly emphasises a farewell to the coherence of the subject, replaced by an ambiguity defined by being and symbolic representation, which opens before the subject the possibility of coming to know oneself not only from the perspective of being an object of knowledge. And as Foucault argues, the place of hermeneutical suspicions is no longer the mere representation of a cognisant being, but the human being in their (non)finitude and (non)definitiveness. This discourse is no longer subordinated to a presupposed truth, as it introduces into the structure incoherence and ambiguity revealed by language. So we will state that entering old age is not a crisis but a process of transformation and part of the experience of passing that triggers memories with which the subject must grapple. It is also a time when the Freudian principle of reality confronts the subject with their story, and the pleasure principle (Freud, 1927) ushers this story into the illusion of forgetting or eternal memory, thus transforming it into a peculiar jouissance of the subject. Before discussing the Lacanian concept of jouissance, however, reference must be made to cultural practices of exclusion which seem to unite the social community in the mystification of protecting what is transitory. We can therefore say, following Bronisław Malinowski, that the mythical nature of such thinking performs a sui generis function closely related to the essence of tradition and the continuity of culture, with the relationship between old age and youth, and with people’s attitudes towards the past (Malinowski, 1990, p. 349).

For each subject, transience marks a transformation that in turn sparks a dilemma, its source in the sense of diminishing libido both as an internally acting energy and as externally represented activities (drives). This results in a revival of some functional rituals of old age anchored in the feeling of being needed (caring for one’s grandchildren), being safe (care taken in daily life) and belief in the need to be forbearing (invisible). The consequence of expectations so formulated may be withdrawal from social activity, which at the end of one’s professional career becomes extinguished. Society’s claims directed at an ageing person prevent the “old” person from crossing boundaries intended for younger people. This applies to a whole range of behaviours, from the way one dresses to activities one undertakes, as well as the expectations of a lifestyle of moderation. Thus, culture and society create an image of a subject wherein one’s existence is demarcated within the framework of stabilisation, prudence or functionality towards the younger generation (Glasser & Strauss, 2016). In this sense, the time the subject has remaining is to be used in ways useful and reproducible for the Other. Following the thought of Pierre Bourdieu (Bourdieu, 2009, p. 63), a certain normativity may be pointed out in the functioning of the habitus that orders society to activate mechanisms conducive to the daily experience of life as a unity and a whole, which in their trajectory are to smoothly fit into culturally produced stereotypes and images. As a result, we have standardised social practices that constitute a figure of identity reserved for a subject whose past overshadows the time of waiting for existence’s final end. The practical identity postulated by Bourdieu is accessible to the subject through culturally triggered rituals subordinated to time and usurped by the next generation’s expectations. For the subject, demands of functionality and expectations of “invisibility” become a rite that has the force to suppress their desire.

In a word, we submit to a narrative that constitutes both the individual Lacanian myth of the neurotic and the myth of a subject whose desire is a dignified wait for death. Institutionalised, conceptually structured thinking about the elderly may lead to a state of affairs where a subject of a certain age has limited rights and freedom under the semblance of maintaining their safety. The stay-at-home order for the elderly during the Covid pandemic is the best recent example of this. Socially, it is presumed that old age is equivalent to immaturity and requires special legal regulations that de facto divest the subject of freedom under the guise of prioritising their safety. In fact, the system, evincing dubious concern, deprives a subject over a certain age of the right to risk, thus depriving them of the right to choose the most important existential experience for themself. Accordingly, it can be concluded that Freud was accurate in saying culture is a source of suffering, and that it can supplant nature in deploying tools of control and supervision. In a word, natural law is subject to social law equating functionality with identity regarded as the continuity of the I (ego). In this perspective, the I (ego) takes the shape of a responsible, predictable and understandable being, within its told, preprogrammed story. Thus, the subject’s being is subject to institutional totalisation and unification of the I (ego). However, I will risk a statement that identity – in a stereotypical or trivialised sense – is but a mask that we can associate with the phenomenon of mimetism, following Lacan, which is a kind of anamorphic “perspective error” (Węc, 2018). This error allows us to resemble someone or something being externally imposed on a person (Lacan, 1981).

Outside the mirror: the trap of the Other’s gaze

Here, the essence of the discussion leads to the assumption that beyond the Symbolic order of language there exists and operates the Imaginary function of the gaze, which in a subjective relation is worth considering of equally importance to speaking. It is no secret that the gaze reflects who the subject is for the Other. Should speaking or looking not exist, building a relationship with the Other may not be impossible. The gaze of the Other validates the subject and allows them to grasp their body as a whole, a grasping that does not take place in oneself but in the Other’s gaze. Due to this moment, the subject becomes trapped in the gaze and the speech of the Other because once the gaze and speech appear, the subject tries to conform to the Other and respond to their desire. Time passing causes this image to fall apart: the Symbolic order (linguistic: I am what I am called) through inexorable action of the Real is substituted by the Imaginary order (image: I am what others see).

The answer is obtained in the mirror, which initially entangles the object with ideal identifications sanctified by the Other, and has little chance of freeing itself from the trauma of passing time distorting this image. The ideal of the I achieved in childhood meant adopting social values represented by the Other. Thus, it confirmed that the subject was embedded in a language that would designate meaning throughout their life. The Other, by using language, will mark the subject’s place and meaning. Unfortunately the action of the Real, which with age becomes more and more cruel towards the subject, will not permit you to forget that along with the ideal of the I, the ideal I also operates (Lacan, 2015). The trouble is that ideal ego was the result of the constitution of childhood narcissism, with its source in the mirror phase and belonging to the Imaginary order. The ideal ego relates to what the subject “should look like” – in keeping, unfortunately, with the perception of the Other about them. Ultimately, the subject adopts for themself the idea of the Other and creates “one’s own” I (ego), which means they assimilate an alien image of oneself produced by someone else. Consequently, the image that is reproduced by the subject is a response to the Other’s need and is tantamount to being trapped in the Other’s gaze. This gaze becomes a pitfall for the subject, liberation from which can only produce a symptom with which the subject must live. Ultimately, for an ageing subject, going through all the stages of identification and separation will mark either entering a crisis or a moment of transformation, depending on the strength of their desire.

The dialectic of development against the reality principle and the pleasure principle in life’s cycle

Fortunately, the subject does not remain defenceless against the passing of time and the decreasing libido. Freud hoped that regulation of the working of the libido will be subjected to the reality principle (carrier of terror), which will bring balance to the subject’s use of the pleasure principle (guardian of life). Balance these principles are supposed to introduce is to render reality bearable for the subject, so that in their (neurotic) existences they don’t reject or deny reality. Therefore, when what underlies the subject’s development and what is closely related to the realisation of pleasure does not give this pleasure, it causes the subject to withdraw from mental activity. As a consequence, the subject who is not receiving pleasure – even by imagining – will strive for real change in the reality that does not provide a sense of satisfaction. Thus is a new principle of mental activity derived, no longer representing the pleasant but which recognises the working of the Real even as it ushers in limitation and frustration (Freud, 1924). Tendencies of the subjective cognitive apparatus can thus be reduced to the economic principle of saving effort, expressed in the determination and insistence on sources of pleasure at one’s disposal and the difficulty of letting them go. Substitution of the pleasure principle by the reality principle with resulting psychological effects is a process by which the sexual drives break away from the ego drives. After all, this replacement does not topple the pleasure principle: on the contrary, it only serves to safeguard it. We are dealing here with renunciation of momentary pleasure but only to obtain the satisfaction that comes later and is guaranteed by a relationship with a loving person. Fortunately, there is another dimension to the reality principle, activated by the human being to avoid suffering. The subject then renounces the pleasure principle, considering themself happy to avoid misfortune and not to have to suffer. Thus, gaining pleasure ceases to be a source of drive.

Death drive or the fight for life: the dialectics of jouissance’s presence and absence

The ultimate solution for a subject, from the perspective of the psychoanalytic understanding of the subject’s life cycle and duration, is the Nirvana principle (Freud, 1920). Freud recognised that this principle is subject to the death drives and its purpose is to remove all internal tension. Therefore, if this principle is dominant in the life of the subject, there is a risk of “sliding into death” (Freud, 1923). The defence against the Nirvana principle is the pleasure principle, which resists reduction of the tension of the drive. This is because the pleasure principle is a modification of the Nirvana principle, the constancy of which is opposed by the libido representing the “life drive”, forcing it to actively participate in regulating the subject’s life processes. In conclusion, the Nirvana principle reveals the operation of the death drive; the pleasure principle represents the requirement of the libido along with its modification, and the reality principle represents the influence of the external world. None of these three principles is deactivated by the others, and although they may cause conflict, they coexist. Such conflict exposes a situation in which the goal is to reduce the level of the stimulus load, while changing its qualitative character, and postponing the moment when stimuli are provided and temporarily sustaining tension resulting from lack of pleasure (Freud, 2007). Ultimately, Freud recognises the pleasure principle as the guardian of life. The relationship between the Nirvana principle and the pleasure principle is intimately connected with the impulses of Thanatos and of Eros. In a 1920 monograph, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Freud introduces the opposition between life drives and death drives, which shows the duality of the drive theory. This is of great importance for the discussion on the development of the subject and their fate. Indeed, drives are the carriers of the tension necessary to support life and representatives of certain requirements the body places on one’s psyche. But there is also such a situation when the libido encounters the death drive or the destructive drive that aims to disintegrate the body, to bring about a state of inorganic equilibrium or, ultimately, destruction. We assume the goal of the life drive and the death drive is ultimately to lead to a specific equilibrium guaranteeing the subject’s existence. Referring to fantasies of society out of which Freud derived his work, we can say that the idea of a society in which culture eclipses nature expresses the longing born in the process of sublimating the drive that covers repressed liminal experiences. This idea is a defence mechanism protecting the subject from the insanity of heterologous transgression of an experience threatening their existence.

With the psychoanalytic theory, Freud exposed the subject’s desires, and laid bare our inner and outer war waged between that which is culturally beautiful and that which hides in all its disgustingness, masked by fantasies about pure human nature. Subjective transgressiveness reveals itself when confronted with the death drive and liminal experiences from which the subject will never free themself. The subject finds themself torn in this state of being, where they find solace on one hand, while fighting on the other for survival in defense against the Real where fear lurks as the Uncanny threatens to overwhelms them. Faced with a disintegrating world (culture), the subject is rendered helpless and alienated, as what would seem a shared experience is destroyed and the idealised reality annihilated. Confrontation between the illusion of communal unity and subjective impeccability and the reality in which transgression is an everyday experience leads us to the Freudian view that what spares us from feelings of lacking pleasure is illusion, which allows us to enjoy satisfaction instead (Freud, 1923).

Ability to cope with loss

In concluding these deliberations on the subject’s transience, we face a dilemma: what in reality is the myth protecting us against fear? It is also worth asking: what benefits come from the risk of a subject’s transgression, which challenges in maturation and awareness of one’s own being constitute? On one hand, humans long for happiness; on the other, sacrifices they make in achieving it always place them in the uneasy situation of choosing between what seems unattractive in its normativity, and what carries in its transgression the risky temptation of losing what they long for. How to drown out helpless fears of a subject who, having lost initial access to the sacred sphere, dangles at the border of the profane where the Real tempts with the promise of jouissance. Returning to psychoanalysis, it is for this reason that I hope what Lacan termed sinthom can become a kind of prosthesis in maintaining the balance of the subject’s psychological reality. Sinthom was introduced by Lacan in a seminar, Le sinthome (Lacan, 2005), and gives us hope that the subject can find themself in the discourse of the Other. In that sense, sinthom shows a way of creating social bonds in a world where they have been displaced by management of social capital which, in a bizarre way, is fixed into risk management to habituate human beings to a system with no place for being a subject. Resolving this dilemma is an extremely difficult task, especially once we realise we live in symbolically impoverished communities where communal forms in which ethics rooted in sublimative forms of activity are disappearing: ethos, customs, habits and traditions. In today’s narcissistic mass society, it can be said that happiness has become a political matter: as Lacan says, there is no contentment without satisfying everyone. At the same time, cultural messages offer the right to (non)responsibility, allowing us to ignore the law and toss off the prohibition introduced by the Other, paradoxically leading to a feeling of powerlessness and unhappiness as a subject. Therefore, while seeking (un)limited happiness, a carefree life, bearing responsibility for both words and actions, the subject falls into a trap in which they find balance through a depressive escape from reality and in liminal behaviours, as only in this way can they maintain boundaries between the pleasure principle and the reality principle. Meanwhile, according to Lacan, we experience happiness thanks to sublimation, which, following Hans Loewald, we can call “transformed suffering” (Loewald, 1988). The ethical dimension of psychoanalysis reintroduces us to all the previously mentioned Freudian categories: from the death drive to jouissance, alienation, sublimation, desire. This is meant to lead to a constituted subject finding the satisfaction of their own existence towards the Other, ultimately, but also against the Other.

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Emilia Mazurek

ORCID: 0000-0002-2132-8756
Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland

Psychoeducation for Caregivers with Chronically Ill Spouses

Spouses of the chronically ill take on the role of informal caregivers. However, as they are seldom prepared to fulfil these new duties, they experience them as a burden, and often develop emotional and psychosomatic problems. Caregivers are “second-order patients” (Lederberg, 1998, p. 981), rarely receiving professional support. One form of effective support is psychoeducation, which integrates psychotherapeutic and educational interventions (Lukens & McFarlane, 2004). The present author’s aim is to review selected theories and empirical research on the psychoeducation of informal caregivers. Key goals of psychoeducation include expanding knowledge and skills in the fields of an illness and its treatment, emotional discharge, communication with medical staff, and self-help in crisis. There is increasing evidence that psychoeducation has a positive impact for caregivers in the following areas: decreased burden, diminished psychological stress, increased capacity to cope, and enhanced social connection (Lukens & McFarlane, 2004; Pharoah et al., 2010). Research results and good practices may form the basis for implementing new solutions in the psychoeducation of informal carers in Poland.

Key words: psychoeducation, illness, caregiving, informal caregiver, spouses

Introduction

Today, an increasing number of adults require care (i.e. the elderly, chronically ill, disabled). Rosalynn Carter, former First Lady of the United States, who is considered a pioneering advocate for caregiving, has said: “There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers”. In Poland, chronically ill people continue to experience systemic deprivation in terms of their needs for support and assistance from public institutions and specialists, which means that a patient primarily relies on the support of their family – who in turn are unprepared for care, incompetent, overburdened and experiencing anxiety, helplessness and frustration (Taranowicz, 2001; Świętochowski, 2010; Zierkiewicz & Mazurek, 2015; Zierkiewicz, 2019). This type of care, in contrast to that provided by qualified staff, is referred to as informal care. Informal caregivers are individuals voluntarily providing care to a relative or a friend facing illness, disability or any condition requiring particular ongoing attention (Schulz & Tompkins, 2010; Gérain & Zech, 2019). In most cases, care for a chronically ill person is taken over by their spouse. Taking up care requires the necessity to fulfil existing duties, while assuming (part of) housekeeping duties the patient had performed and engaging in new tasks. An informal caregiver provides assistance in four main areas of daily living: routine activities (e.g. dressing, eating), instrumental activities (e.g. housework, transportation, managing finances), companionship and emotional support, and medical and nursing tasks (e.g. injections, monitoring medication, feeding) (Reinhard et al., 2012).

While the results of some studies (Schulz et al., 1997; Brown et al., 2003; Schulz & Sherwood, 2008; Dubas, 2020) show positive effects of caring for loved ones (e.g. feeling needed, making life meaningful, strengthening family relations, acquiring new knowledge and skills, changing attitudes towards people and life experiences), the literature stresses that care tasks are demanding physically, cognitively and emotionally, and often constitute an excessive burden. It has been shown that performing caring tasks has negative affects on the psychophysical condition of the caregiver and their sense of quality of life (Acton, 2002; Li et al., 2013; Sullivan & Miller, 2015; Hawken et al., 2018), and can lead to the feeling of humiliation from performing repulsive activities (e.g. washing underwear) and, to shame for experiencing this, at the same time (Czykwin, 2017). Informal carers, due to their experience of mental and physical health disorders, are called “second-order patients” (Lederberg, 1998, p. 981).

The carer, like the sick person, needs support. One form of assistance is psychoeducation, which integrates psychotherapeutic and educational interventions (Lukens & McFarlane, 2004; Majewicz & Wolny, 2017; Li & Song, 2019). Psychoeducation is defined as a patient’s as well as caregiver’s:

empowering training targeted at promoting awareness and proactivity, providing tools to manage, cope and live with a chronic condition (i.e. adherence enhancement, early warning sign identification, lifestyle, crisis management, communication), and changing behaviours and attitudes related to the condition. Psychoeducation replaces guilt by responsibility, helplessness by proactive care and denial by awareness (Colom, 2011, p. 339).

Psychoeducation for carers of chronically ill spouses can be delivered on an individual basis, in a marital dyad or a group of carers. 

The aim of this chapter is to review selected theories and empirical research on the psychoeducation of informal caregivers. In particular, deliberations undertaken here are the result of andragogical reflection by Stanisław Kowalik (2005, 2018) on the concept of care for others and self-care. In reference to this theory and research results, the present author indicates her own concept of three types of care for caregivers of chronically ill spouses, as a basis for building psychoeducational programmes for this group of learners. This seems to be very important in the Polish context, where firmly rooted traditional values require family members to take care of relatives, with resulting social expectations of sacrificing themselves for the benefit of their loved ones. Faced with insufficient institutional support for carers, this condemns them to losing themselves in care and giving up their own needs and goals.

Conceptual framework: caring for others and self-care

With regard to the chronically ill and disabled, Kowalik (2005, 2018) introduced two categories: care for others and self-care. The first is behaviour displayed towards other people which can be described as caring for others. The second is self-directed behaviour. Self-care is an attitude in life which is an expression of care for oneself and for the most successful course of one’s life, and which arises in a situation of danger. Faced with such a crisis situation, it is possible to take responsibility for it and take action to achieve the desired end, with the choice of objectives and modus operandi dependent on the person experiencing the crisis. “The effects of self-care are maximised by using guidance from other people who provide help in a difficult situation, either professionally or unprofessionally” (Kowalik, 2018, p. 283). Thus, self-care is an expression of the patient and / or disabled person’s awareness that improvements in their health condition and quality of (future) life depends on their activity. Self-care concerns three dimensions: health (i.e. striving to maintain or improve mental and/or physical health), relationships (i.e. building and maintaining interpersonal relations, building closeness to the other person) and security (i.e. acting to meet livelihood needs) (Ratajska, 2008). 

Self-care is negated by carelessness, which is expressed “in leading a life in an irresponsible manner, in not concerning yourself with anything, in avoiding any obligations” (Kowalik, 2018, p. 284), in accordance with existing patterns and habits in the face of the circumstances. A careless attitude is the result of defence mechanisms or inadequate recognition of present threats.

Three types of care for informal carers

While the authors cited above address their analyses of caring for others and self-care to chronically ill and disabled people in need of support and care, these same categories apply to their informal carers, as well. In the context of chronically ill spouses acting as carers, a third type of care can also be distinguished: care for the marriage relationship. 

The key duty of spouses of the chronically ill is to take care of the sick person. Care is a long-term, purposeful and generally targeted action (Żywczok, 2017). The results of research to date (Ratajska, 2011; Wilski, 2011; see also Goldsmith, 2009; Kowalik, 2018) confirm relationships between the attitudes of informal carers towards those under their care and the different dimensions of patients’ adaptation to the new situation, their attitudes towards themselves, their own infirmity and the treatment or rehabilitation process. Both excessive care for others and low-level care for others reduce the self-care of the chronically ill and disabled. Care provided by others to the patient can mobilise the latter to engage in the healing process and maximise their chances of achieving the highest possible quality of life. At the same time, excessive care can have a negative impact on the patient’s mood, sense of control and self-efficacy (Kuijer et al., 2000; Kowalik, 2018), and can contribute to lower relationship functioning (Traa et al., 2014) and the feeling of being a burden on the family (Kowalik, 2018). It may also result in exaggerated demonstrations of a patient’s limitations and ill health beyond the actual state of their health (Kowalik, 2018). Optimum care is the kind of care that gives the patient the opportunity to be active in various areas of daily life despite limitations from their loss of health, so that they are as independent as possible, involved in making decisions and responsible for their life with a sense of being in control and of dignity.

While caring for the patient is an obvious duty of informal carers, their personal self-care, i.e. caring for themselves, becomes more problematic. The caregiver usually feels if the suffering of their charges requires care, they should not take personal care of themself. Often in society, taking care of one’s own needs and having spaces to detach from the duties of a carer is also negatively perceived as an expression of lack of empathy and of putting one’s own needs above those of the patient. In Polish society specifically, a carer caring for themself can bear the brunt of stigmatisation and social shame (Fopka-Kowalczyk & Krajnik, 2019). This leads to a “deepening of the sense of imprisonment as a caregiver, loneliness and misunderstanding” (Czykwin, 2017, p. 88). Spouses of chronically ill people are predominantly characterised by excessive care for the sick spouse and, at the same time, by a lack of care for themselves. Meanwhile, studies (Acton, 2002) show that carers who can in fact, with greater concern about themselves and their health, better cope with stress and achieve higher levels of well-being. Self-care can therefore be a buffer against the stress and strain of care, and against burnout of a carer with symptoms comparable to those experienced by professional carers (i.e. emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, reduced sense of personal achievement) (see Ekberg et al., 1986; Cuijpers & Stam 2000; Halm et al., 2007; Gérain & Zech, 2019).

A chronic illness is a “dyadic stressor” (Traa et al., 2014, p. 2). “Couples’ illness experiences are interdependent” (Goldsmith, 2009, p. 205), making it potentially difficult to clearly state who provides support and who is the recipient. Married couples’ coping is the consequence of mutual interaction between actions taken individually and jointly, which is why it is called “relationship-focused coping” (Coyne & Smith, 1991). Caring for the relationship is therefore the third type of care undertaken by the carer for a sick spouse. James C. Coyne and David A. Smith (1991, 1994) distinguished between three styles of providing support for sick partners: active engagement (engaging the patient in discussions, asking about feelings and emotions, engaging in joint problem-solving), protective buffering (hiding fears, denying worries, attempting not to create unpleasant and conflicting situations) and overprotection (underestimating the patient’s possibilities with the result of doing that patient’s work for them, providing unnecessary help, excessive praise for achievements). Results of research carried out to date (Coyne & Smith, 1991; Kuijer et al., 2000; Traa et al., 2014) show the relationship between spouses’ styles, different dimensions of adapting to life in a situation of illness, and satisfaction with the marriage, but it is still unclear which style is best (see Goldsmith, 2009). Nevertheless, they are all oriented towards the marriage relationship and caring for it in the face of illness.

Psychoeducation of informal carers 

The psychoeducation of spouses of chronically ill people should be based on the provision of knowledge and development of skills necessary to take action within the framework of the three types of carer concerns mentioned above: 1) care for the sick person (i.e. the sick spouse), 2) self-care, 3) and care for the marriage relationship. Regarding the first type of care, psychoeducation programmes should include content on: the disease (symptoms, treatments, side effects of therapy and how to deal with them, diet, caring activities, etc.), social and legal assistance for the patient, communication between the carer, the patient and medical staff, support and care for the patient (i.e. how to take care of a patient so as not to limit or encourage their self-care). With regard to self-care of the caregiver, it is significant to plan content relating to the following areas: health education (prevention and promotion of healthy lifestyles, taking care of one’s own mental and physical health in a difficult situation), social- and legal-assistance education for the informal carer, psychoeducation in the field of social-competence development (e.g. assertiveness) and self-development (e.g. self-assessment, setting goals for oneself), education about social mechanisms towards carers and their consequences (e.g. stigmatisation). Above all, the aim of psychoeducation of carers in the field of self-care is to encourage them to be active and take responsibility for their own health and well-being, to build awareness of the need to draw a line between actions aimed at caring for the patient and caring for oneself, thus preventing burnout. In turn, in terms of developing competences useful for caring for a marriage relationship, it seems essential to include content on the impact of restrictions resulting from illness on the relationship and different areas of married life (e.g. intimate life), as well as communication in the face of illness and coping with emotions. Activities aimed at getting to know each other better and deepening bonds between spouses (e.g. biographical workshops) can prove important here.

The ultimate aim of psychoeducation is not to help leave a carer dependent on contact with a specialist (e.g. doctor, dietician, psychologist, psychooncologist), but instead to equip that carer with knowledge and to develop competences that will enable them to deal independently with numerous, very diverse challenges posed by illness (see Kustra & Kowalczyk, 2011). Organised extra-formal education activities seem to be a crucial alternative or complement to learning in action, which too often means by trial and error (Schumacher et al., 2000). At the same time, these activities enable learning from other carers’ and patients’ experiences and biographies. This is particularly important given that research reports (Fopka-Kowalczyk & Krajnik, 2019) indicate that the basic need among informal carers is to talk, share their experiences and be understood by others. In addition to the need for knowledge of the disease being coped with, this need for support is identified by carers as crucial. 

Conclusion

The diagnosis of a chronic disease causes anxiety in a patient and in those around them. At the same time, lack of preparation for coping with the range of new challenges becomes apparent, and thus triggers an urgent need to learn. People want to know their “opponent” so they can fight more effectively and reduce their level of fear, feeling better prepared for what can happen. The disease therefore triggers educational needs, and both the patient and their carer become learners. Learning in the face of illness is often informal and incidental, but can also take the purposeful form of non-formal education (here: psychoeducation). This is when an individual usually joins the learning community (i.e. the sick and their carers facing a particular disease). Psychoeducation makes it possible to acquire knowledge about the disease, treatment and rehabilitation, and to develop those competences which allow us to better adapt to the new situation and prepare for new challenges, as each disease is characterised by its dynamics and variability. Psychoeducation also reinforces a carer’s ability to take care of themself.

Psychoeducation contributes to reducing the carer’s sense of burden, mood disorders and stress levels, while also reducing the risk of burnout, increasing the sense of being in control, improving social relations along with the emotional support being received (Bultz et al., 2000; Lukens & McFarlane, 2004; Pharoah et al., 2010). Therefore, access should be universal to the psychoeducation of informal carers, while the offer of programmes implemented should be diversified. Psychoeducation programmes should support carers of chronically ill spouses in their three types of care: care for their sick spouse, self-care and care for their married relationship. In Poland, this proposal is particularly important in view of the aid currently on offer, which is highly medicalised and not at all common.

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Danuta Parlak

ORCID: 0000-0002-9980-1734
Doctoral School of Social Sciences,
University of Warsaw, Poland

Learning through Perspective Taking

Perspective taking is the ability to perceive and understand a given situation from the point of view of another person, and is of great importance in social interactions with individuals and social groups. Perspective-taking processes are used in educational strategies designed to improve the understanding of the needs and situations of elderly people and people with disabilities. Educational strategies such as simulation games and role-playing activities (the ageing game, disability simulations) allow young adults to imagine a different point of view, and also enable them to experience problems and challenges older adults face in daily life.

This chapter contains an overview of research and a discussion of its results, showing the impact of learning processes through experiencing someone else’s perspective about attitudes towards the elderly and disabled, including empathy levels, ageist attitudes and the willingness to engage in further relations. Also discussed are advantages and disadvantages of educational strategies based on simulation games.

Key words: perspective taking, experiential learning, ageing game, disability simulation

Introduction

The ability to adopt the perspective of another person plays a significant role in our perception and understanding of a situation from the viewpoint of that person. Understanding someone else’s condition, thoughts, feelings and emotions is particularly important in social interactions with a person whose situation, age or perception of reality is quite different from our own.

The processes of adopting the perspective of another person provide the foundations for educational strategies designed to increase the understanding of another’s mind and feelings. Experiencing the situation of an elderly, ill or challenged person gives young people an opportunity to take a closer look at these people’s functioning and to better understand their points of view.

Active-learning techniques, such as simulation games and role playing, which use the processes of perspective taking, are useful in educational activities throughout society, and are especially important in the education of future specialists in the fields of medicine and social work. Their main aims include: 1) helping young people, usually healthy, to understand the situation of the people they will work with in the future, 2) understanding their ways of perceiving the world, 3) the development and improvement of empathetic attitudes towards older adults, people with a disability and patients. The process of perspective taking is one of the mechanisms that enhance the feeling of empathy.

Experiential-learning theory defines learning as “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transforming experience” (Kolb, 1984, p. 41). Simulation games and interactive role-playing games create situations where students can experience for themselves the roles and situations of others. The ability to engage in perspective taking is crucial for understanding what others think and feel, how they perceive the world, why people feel a certain emotion instead of something else, and why they have particular thoughts and beliefs – especially in a situation where students would feel and think very differently.

Perspective taking and experiential learning

Perspective taking is a multidimensional construct that involves a variety of different activities. Depending on the areas of a person’s functioning, three dimensions of perspective taking can be observed:

1. Cognitive perspective taking, or the ability to consider the difference between our knowledge and that of others, along with the recognition and understanding of their thoughts, opinions and beliefs;

2. Affective perspective taking, or the ability to notice the difference between our emotional state and that of another person, along with the ability to identify and understand the feelings of another person;

3. Perceptual perspective taking, usually visual perspective taking, or the ability to understand what others see and the way they perceive objects from another aspect.

Educational games based on perspective taking are designed to help students understand those whose situations are different from their own experiences. Simulation games help them not only imagine another perspective but also personally experience someone else’s situation.

This is important because a person with the potential to be capable of perspective taking will not always engage in the process (the difference between perspective taking defined as disposition and current state). Entertaining the perspective of another involves a conscious, intentional activity focused on the other person and demanding that primary concentration on a person’s own subjective perspective be abandoned (Li, Keysar & Epley, 2009). Moreover, the process of taking another person’s perspective requires the mobilisation of our intellectual powers, often blocking other aspects of our perception. Sufficient motivation is needed to engage in the costly process of considering another’s differing perspective. Simulation games facilitate these processes.

Interactive role-playing games are played as part of the education of medical personnel, doctors, nurses, allied-health students, physiotherapists and social workers. They deal mostly with the situation of the elderly (experiencing ageing, the ageing game) and of people with disabilities (disability simulation) or medical simulations (the patient’s role in a hospital). Simulation games are based on a specifically designed scenario and include particular scenes, setups and elements of the natural surrounding or setting, or take place in a simulation lab with authentic outfits and accessories.

“As someone said, if you want to feel what age means, you have to cloud your glasses, stuff cotton balls into your ears, put on too heavy and too big shoes and thick gloves. Then try to live through the day like that” (Skinner & Vaughan, 1993, p. 37).

The simulation of old age (the ageing game) usually follows the path suggested here. It helps students experience the discomfort that comes of having limited senses: vision, hearing, touch, problems with moving the body, joint problems with the use of special clothing or other attire known as an age-simulation suit or age-simulation equipment, designed to simulate possible physical and sensory changes in old age, including visual and hearing deficits, restricted mobility, joint stiffness or an unsteady gait. Students thus prepared can take part in a set of everyday interactions (boarding a bus, interacting with nursing staff, eating in a cafeteria) to experience the world from the perspective of an elderly person (Henry, Douglass & Kostiwa, 2007; Douglass, Henry & Kostiwa, 2008).

Similarly, simulation games are designed to reproduce the situation of people with different types of impairments, those with vision or hearing problems, problems like dyslexia or who require the use of a wheelchair. There are also medical simulations that involve, for example, lying in bed as a patient or arranging for a stay in hospital (Nario-Redmond, Gospodinov & Cobb, 2017; Ter Beest, van Bemmel & Adriaansen, 2018).

Educational games involve all aspects of perspective taking. Depending on the specific goal, they can reproduce the visual point of view of others or create a similar state of mind and feeling. They demonstrate how a person with disabilities perceives the world physically or moves in the social space, and how such a perception influences their life and the activities they undertake.

Perceptual perspective taking through the arrangement of particular situations helps those involved to adopt the same visual perspective as others, to understand how they perceive the world from their position: from the height of a bed, the perspective of a very short person or someone with limited vision. Auditory perspective taking shows students how a person with hearing impairments or one who uses a hearing aid perceives the sound world. Entertaining cognitive and affective perspectives (also known as social or interpersonal perspectives) is more challenging for students, but changes made to their appearance can motivate them to step into others’ shoes, both figuratively and literally.

Results of simulation educational strategies

The goal of experiential-learning strategies, realised as simulation games or role-playing games, is as much to educate students about groups of patients involved in general as to change their attitudes to more positive ones while simultaneously encouraging empathy. The results of these educational effects can be different: they depend on the characteristics of the specific group, such as their age, and their prior experience with the elderly or with people with disabilities.

Generally, regardless of the object of the simulation (age; physical disabilities; hospital situation – the role of the patient), students report positive results. They describe the simulations as interesting, engaging, educationally valuable and helpful in experiencing the situations of others (Douglass et al, 2008; Lucchetti, Lucchetti, de Oliveira, Moreira-Almeida & da Silva Ezequiel, 2017; Ter Beest et al., 2018).

Additionally, in studies based on ten years of experiments with the ageing game (Pacala, Bouln & Hepburn, 2006), participating medical students reported reaching a better understanding of age-related problems, both in terms of aspects of sensory and other physical changes and of the psycho-social aspects of functioning (such as loneliness).

Studies indicate an increase of empathy among participants in interactive role-playing games towards a person whose role they have played (the aged, people with disabilities, potential patients), along with achieving a better understanding of their situation (Pacala et al., 2006; Varkey, Chutka & Lesnick, 2006). However, students were not more willing as a result of the games to interact with members of the target groups (Lucchetti et al., 2017; Nario-Redmond, Gospodinov & Cobb, 2017). Moreover, an analysis of studies on aged persons shows that the use of simulation did not significantly improve the general attitude and relationship of students towards the aged (Alfarah, Schünemann & Akl, 2010).

There is also a difference in the short- and long-term effects of these simulation games. Although students involved in this experimental approach to learning initially presented an improved level of knowledge of age-related issues, a year later their levels and their overall interest in the geriatric medical problems of participants were similar to levels achieved by students who had been more traditionally educated (Diachun, Dumbrell, Byrne & Esbaugh, 2006).

Research indicates that changes in attitudes and emotions and immediate reactions after participating in ageing games included frustration, anxiety and withdrawal (Pacala et al., 2006). Some researchers reported an increased level in negative attitudes towards the aged after participation in the simulation game, especially among younger students (Douglass et al., 2008).

Studies show that the simulation of situations of disability leads to attaching more stereotypical traits to persons with disability and increases negative attitudes in participants in the simulation (Nario-Redmond et al., 2017; Silverman, Gwinn & Van Boven, 2015). After experiencing the simulation of disabilities, participants reported increased feelings of sorrow, anxiety, lack of confidence and poor mood (Nario-Redmond et al., 2017). After one blindness simulation, participants evaluated blind patients as less capable of working and of living independently than did those who had not taken part in the simulation (Silverman et al., 2015).

To conclude, it would appear that educational processes that make use of simulations lead to mixed outcomes (positive and negative) on attitudes, knowledge and the expression of empathy towards the elderly, people with disabilities and patients.

Two forms of perspective taking: different effects of imagine-other and imagine-self perspectives

Possible explanations of the complex data above may consider that two different forms of perspective taking exist, and that the two are frequently confused:

1) an imagine-self perspective (or first-person perspective taking): “Imagine how you yourself would feel” is a more self-oriented perspective, and occurs when the individual focuses on imagining their own feelings in the other’s situation;

2) an imagine-other perspective (third-person perspective taking): “Imagine how the other feels” – in this case, the perspectives are exchanged, with the focus now entirely on how the other person would experience a situation.

Empirical evidence of differences between these two types of perspective taking presents it in terms of psychological aspects, mainly emotional reactions (Batson, Early & Salvarani, 1997), physiological reactions (Stotland, 1969) and changes in functional reactions in the brain (fMRI study, or functional magnetic-resonance imaging) (Ruby & Decety, 2004; Decety & Yoder, 2016).

Differences are due to the fact that the process of perspective taking is a complicated mechanism involving two distinct emotional reactions:

1) empathic concern, or emotional resonance with another person (feelings congruent with the observed person’s emotion) (Davis, 2001) that reflects otheroriented emotional responses, such as sympathy, compassion, warmth, tenderness and soft-heartedness;

2) personal distress, a reaction directed at the self involving fear, anxiety and tension, and reflecting a self-oriented aversive emotional reaction that suggests a response to the other person’s discomfort having endured or suffered a negative experience (Batson et al., 1997; Batson et al., 2003; Hoffman, 2006).

An imagine-self perspective evokes stronger and more negative emotional distress (worry, uneasiness, tension) and attendant physiological reactions than an imagine-other perspective (Batson et al., 1997).

Differences between the two types of perspective taking, especially the strong personal distress experienced in an imagine-self perspective, have a significant influence on the willingness and readiness to offer help in social relationships (Parlak, 2018) and on the character of moral decisions (moral motivation, Batson et al., 2003).

The process of learning from the direct experience of others’s situations starts with an imagine-self perspective – for example, with a question directed to a young person or a medical student: “How would you feel as an aged person? / a blind person? / a hospital patient?” In this situation, students’ involvement in a simulation game or role playing involving disabilities or age-related limitations and other restrictions may activate negative emotions (personal distress), which in turn can motivate them to avoid the negative experience (self-oriented response) and withdraw from the unpleasant situation. At the same time, taking the other’s perspective redirects a student’s focus towards the other person and leads more frequently to empathic concern and altruistic motivation.

Limitations and advantages of the simulation process: Short- and long-term consequences of the simulation process

Having participants of simulation games directly face age-related issues, disabilities or the role of a seriously ill patient may prove both an interesting emotional experience for them and a distressing one.

This is a consequence of the fact that students experience selected aspects of the life situations of people they are preparing to help, among other things. Focusing on mainly negative aspects of age and disabilities or disorders can help in better understanding challenges those people face, but not their overall situation. Simulation games allow students to experience hardships and frustration but give little idea of how it feels to be old, disabled or ill. They are clearly a one-sided view of the functioning of a challenged person.

Additionally, a young, healthy person role playing as a disabled person provides an experience similar to that of people with newly acquired disabilities or impairments (see Nario-Redmond et al., 2017). It presents participants in the disability simulation with the feeling of a realistic situation, but says little of effective functioning strategies that are often developed by people with disabilities over time.

Similarly, ageing games bring young adults (usually students) to face physical challenges of old age, suddenly burdening them with various annoying issues of the ageing organism, as if this had all happened to them overnight. In reality, ageing is a slow, progressive process, and it is rare indeed for a person to be forced to deal with its consequences overnight. Most people accommodate age-related changes, adapting to meet new challenges, especially in the case of ageing’s normal physiological symptoms.

Focusing on negative aspects of age, disabilities or illnesses can cause unintended consequences, including reinforcing / enhancing ambivalent social stereotypes about the aged or those with disabilities as people who, while in need of empathy and help, are at the same time incompetent (Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2008). The results of studies on blind people (Silvermann et al., 2005), noted earlier, show that participants in a disability simulation can come to view the blind as less able to work and more dependent on others while conversely evoking more warmth toward them, when compared to study subjects who had not participated in this simulation. The ambiguity inherent in the effects of simulation is encapsulated in these mixed findings.

Education strategies making use of perspective taking, such as simulation and role-playing games, allow students to take a closer look at the other person’s world, adopting their perspectives in a way to better understand problems they face. The point, however, is not to simply experience physical and / or sensory changes and limitations related to age, disability or illness, but to reach a deeper understanding of the situation of the aged person, the person with disabilities or the ill person (patient). In short, emphasis must be placed on the noun in each case, not the adjective.

Perspective-taking processes can stimulate participants’ affective and cognitive motivations through these experimental-learning activities. Negative experiences faced in a situation game (evoked by an imagine-self perspective) can also provide a valuable element of the learning process when used as material for discussion. Applying knowledge acquired from perspective taking and its influence on participants’ emotions and views in interactive role-playing games becomes a question of awareness and responsibility among those who are designing and leading such experimental-learning activities.

References

Alfarah, Z., Schünemann, H. J., & Akl, E. A. (2010). Educational games in geriatric medicine education: a systematic review. BMC Geriatrics, 10, 19; https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2318-10-19 (accessed on: 15.09.2020).

Batson, C. D., Early, S., & Salvarani, G. (1997). Perspective taking: Imagining how another feels versus imagining how you would feel. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 751–758; https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167297237008.

Batson, C.D., Lishner, D. A., Carpenter, A., Dulin, L., Harjusola-Webb, S., Stocks, E. L., Gale, S., Hassan, O., & Sampat, B. (2003). “As you would have them do unto you”: Does imagining yourself in the other’s place stimulate moral action? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1190–1201; https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203254600.

Cuddy, A. J., Fiske, S. T., & Glick, P. (2008). Warmth and competence as universal dimensions of social perception: The stereotype content model and the BIAS map. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 61–149; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(07)00002-0.

Davis, M. H. (2001). Empatia. O umiejętności współodczuwania. Gdańsk: GWP.

Decety, J., & Yoder, K. J. (2016). Empathy and motivation for justice: Cognitive empathy and concern, but not emotional empathy, predict sensitivity to injustice for others. Social Neuroscience, 11(1), 1–14; https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2015.1029593.

Diachun, L. L., Dumbrell, A. C., Byrne, K., & Esbaugh, J. (2006). But does it stick? Evaluating the durability of improved knowledge following an undergraduate experiential geriatrics learning session. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 54(4), 696–701; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00656.x.

Douglass, C., Henry, B., & Kostiwa, I. M. (2008). An Aging Game Simulation Activity for Allied Health Students. Educational Gerontology, 34(2), 124–135; https://doi.org/10.1080/0360 1270701700417.

Henry, B., Douglass, C., & Kostiwa, I. M. (2007). Effects of Participation in an Aging Game Simulation Activity on the Attitudes of Allied Health Students Toward Older Adults. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences & Practice, 5, 5; https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1166&context=ijahsp (accessed on: 15.09.2020).

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PART FIVE.
Learning Regions and Citizenship Education

Ewa Przybylska

ORCID: 0000-0001-8338-5484
Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Poland

Adult Education from a Regional Perspective

The notions of education and region have become increasingly important in European andragogical discourse. Ever-more common is the belief that neither education for sustainable development nor lifelong-learning processes of societies can be successfully implemented without the participation of regional authorities and the involvement of local communities. What becomes the primary challenge is increasing the cooperation between the sector of scientific research, education and administration, on one hand, and on the other between different entities active in the regions. The present author, by conducting an analysis of the literature on the subject and a secondary analysis of empirical studies, generates a catalogue of demands directed at social partners involved in what is broadly defined as adult education, in particular in the scientific sector.

Keywords: adult education, regional perspective, cooperation, rural areas.

Introduction

Adult education is interpreted in various ways. It is sometimes equated with “adult education and training” (Eurydice, 2019) or, in a broader sense, with “continuing education” understood according to Polish law17 as education at schools for adults, level 2 vocational schools and post-secondary schools, and as the acquisition and updating of knowledge, skills and professional qualifications in out-of-school settings by people who have fulfilled schooling obligations that are legally mandated. The Pedagogical Encyclopaedia of the 21st Century defines adult education as “a multiplicity of the didactic and educational effects as well as the educational and entertainment effects, influencing the adults and the adolescent youth (that generally work or apply for work).” (Aleksander, 2003, p. 907) These and many more definitions refer to specific contexts; they are fragmentary and are far from fully addressing all meanings behind the term “adult education”. Without attempting to provide an unambiguous (and comprehensive) definition of its meaning, the opinion may be ventured that adult education, along with all other educational activities of individuals and social groups and all forms of institutional support for learning processes, constitutes a cultural practice that is part of the overall life of a given community. Continuing education can be seen as a reaction to social culture, to given communities’ typical principles of social life. It can be also defined as an instrument used for reaching specific individual, social, political or other goals, according to the individual needs, interests and motivations of the people or communities participating in such education, or according to priorities of educational policy. In this regard, it must be remembered that using this instrument depends largely on realistic conditions shaping life and social activity in the education area (i.e. conditions that foster, hinder or even prevent it). Place of residence is a factor with great influence on activity in the field of education. There are regional differences in most countries, and these generate social inequalities in access to education and participation in cultural life (UNESCO, 2019). A lack of in-depth studies on educational systems’ roles in the process of generating “educational poverty” or, in general, on regional differentiation at the level of education among residents in a given country constitutes a serious shortfall. This deficit is especially conspicuous in light of keen interest of research centres in topics including innovative economic potential, salary levels and unemployment rates in individual regions. UNESCO’s latest Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE 4, 2019) names adults with disabilities, older adults, minority groups, migrants and refugees along with residents in remote or rural areas as the social groups that are educationally passive across the globe. When focusing on the latter group, Polish reports also show that people’s place of residence is the primary influence on participation of those aged 25 to 64 in formal, non-formal and informal education (GUS, 2019, p. 33). This highlights a deficiency in regional policies which would guarantee, inter alia, promoting social inclusion, combating poverty and all forms of discrimination as well as investment in education, skills and lifelong learning (MRR, 2010).

Rural education in andragogical studies

In the twenty-first century, notions such as regional, local and sustainable development have become slogans used in different contexts in political and educational documents and in debates about democracy. As this century’s second decade ends, rural areas also continue to be a subject of keen scientific interest, but they receive particular attention in sociology (e.g. rural sociology), socioeconomic geography, rural geography (the successor to agricultural geography, which studies rural areas from a perspective that is much more narrow (Wójcik, 2013, p. 4), land-management or economic sciences (rural economics), and other disciplines. Interestingly, educational shortcomings in rural communities are examined with increasing frequency by representatives of non-pedagogical disciplines. At the start of this century, the geographer Eugeniusz Rydz (2002) expressed an unsettling viewpoint:

In scientific research, mass statistics and, above all, in practical educational activity, problems in the educational system, professional qualifications of youth and the broadly defined educational infrastructure divided into rural and urban areas are currently being examined less than ever before. Studying educational and professional aspirations of young people living in rural areas along with their access to different types of education is regarded as “unfashionable”, and the few studies on this topic are often fragmentary or duplicate findings from the years of communist Poland and are thus meaningless for the practical implementation of social policy in regards to rural areas. [...] Inefficiency in the rural school, resulting in a “worse” type of educational career for rural residents, stems from factors inherent in both the system and the social environment.

Krystyna Szafraniec (2006) identified among researchers of rural areas those who:

study rural-specific issues, i.e. those that don’t exist elsewhere. These are researchers of local rural communities, of folk culture, of the peasant class, of rural-specific communities (e.g. former state-owned or PRG farms), etc. Their distinguishing feature is the intra-perspective – “from the inside”; while researchers [...] who deal with general social issues, but due to rural areas’ social positioning and the role they play in social-change processes, also address the question of rural areas in relation to general social phenomena they are analysing. [...] Such studies are characterised by a global perspective, with a specific view of rural areas set against the backdrop of society as a whole – from the outside (p. 11).

Both perspectives seem important and valuable in the context of andragogical thought; however, the topic of adult education in rural areas has received less significance and become less attractive following Poland’s accession to the EU (2004). This is shown, for example, by the topic’s absence from or at best its marginal position in the discipline’s top scientific journals on the Polish market, including Rocznik Andragogiczny / Andragogy Yearbook, Edukacja Dorosłych [Adult Education], Edukacja ustawiczna Dorosłych / Journal of Continuing Education and Dyskursy Młodych Andragogów / Adult Education Discourses (Przybylska, 2019).

As regards education in rural areas, andragogy has yet to provide satisfactory solutions in theory or practice. Analysis of reports on adult education in rural areas strengthens the view that a conceptual approach and innovative ideas remain missing. The infrastructure is outdated, lacks flexibility and is closed to forms of institutional cooperation, e.g. to greater cooperation with social partners. As regards its content, the offer of educational institutions is almost completely depoliticised, lacks space for social, business or economics courses, or for courses related to self-governance, local policy and problems residents of rural areas face daily. Nevertheless, the available reports only marginally outline the situation of adult education. Studies are unavailable that were written by andragogues and focus in essence on the education of adult residents in rural areas. This lacuna makes it impossible to answer key questions. For example: Is adult education seen as a factor of regional development, i.e. has it grown in importance from political, economic and cultural perspectives? To what extent do offers of adult education reflect the reality of life among its participants? To what extent are their expectations met by adult education? Do methodological and didactic shapes of offers being implemented foster educational activation among course participants and development of their action competence? In rural communities, what is the level of professionalism of teaching staffs? Are offers of adult education in rural areas shaped according to distinctive features of a rural area and region, and most pertinently, does it fulfil criteria, rules and standards comparable to those applied in adult education in urban agglomerations?

Rural areas undubitably require new educational concepts governed by distinctive community features of a given region. What are necessary first are andragogical strategies of planning and creating macro-didactic concepts of adult education, coherent within the aim of autonomous regional development in which a specific place is occupied by “bottom-up initiatives” and by regional endogenous potential (humanitarian, cultural, political, economic) determining the nature of educational work at its educational institutions. Second, in the methodological and didactic areas, the greatest significance should be attached to concepts of learning in the world we live in, in the place of residence, in the local community. Third, actions are necessary aiming at modernising adult education, boosting its prestige as a partner for policymakers, the administration and other institutions involved in planning regional development, and as a significant developmental factor at the intersection of economics, ecology and culture. Light needs to be shed on other issues in the context of the individuality of rural areas and the distinctive character of the “human–environment–education” triad.

As stated above, at the outset is the shortage of case studies on adult education in individual regions, districts and communes; their lack is particularly acute due to strong differentiation among varied rural realities in terms of economy, infrastructure and culture. That reality is also affected by population migration (rural-to-urban and urban-to-rural) or demographic changes (the ageing of society). There is differentiation in access to educational institutions, in residents’ purchasing power and in many other areas of rural reality. Rural andragogy can be supported in this regard by other social studies systematically scrutinising various aspects of rural societies’ functioning (rural sociology and geography, demography, social gerontology). Andragogues’ activities should be in line with regional development strategies, especially with spatial planning and land management, and should be aimed at creating a lobby for regional development of education. In contemporary democratic countries, providing citizens with the possibility of learning in their place of residence is the duty of national and local government bodies, non-governmental organisations, self-regulating business and trade organisations, institutions of higher education and research units. It is the duty of civil society.

The list of challenges that andragogy faces is long; andragogy should actively engage in actions aiming at:

recognising adult education as a factor in regional development, i.e. recognising the position it deserves to occupy in politics and economics as well as educational and cultural activities;

profiling adult education as a social partner functioning at the intersection of economics, ecology and culture;

preparing a long-term development plan for adult education, focused on implementing the concept of a society characterised by its commitment in practice to lifelong learning;

making rural areas and regions the central categories of reference by building a strategy for adult-education development based on criteria specific to these rural areas, and not on patterns or practices already implemented in urban agglomerations;

developing andragogical-planning strategies and micro-didactic concepts of adult education, which are in line with regional development strategies and which align regional development with a region’s educational offer;

planning educational work based on the potential of bottom-up initiatives and human, cultural, economic and political resources available in the region;

focusing the didactic field on “learning in the everyday world we live in” and “living in the local community”, on concepts integrating professional education with general education and with political and social education and on concepts promoting the culture of dialogue;

education involving a potentially large number of rural and regional community members, including people who are educationally passive traditionally and who are disadvantaged in any respect;

networking among social partners, i.e. building strategic partnerships to implement optimal educational offers for the local community while producing a synergising effect;

creating support structures for individual-learning processes initiated by rural / regional residents (e.g. educational counselling (Przybylska, 2019, pp. 24–25)).

Conclusion

Regions certainly provide the possibility of popularising the lifelong-learning concept through specific initiatives in local communities, directed at entire families and all generations (Ambos et al., 2002). Identifying residents with their region fosters their participation in educational offers corresponding with its unique nature, history and traditions, and with contemporary issues that matter in regional life, and fosters their participation in other continuing-education offers as well. In particular, what becomes increasingly important in the regional perspective are the aspects of professional education and of developing qualifications within societies, markedly exposed today in contemporary politics and development strategies for different social areas. Only when continuing education asserts its right to actively participate in regional restructuring processes will it open up opportunities for education among citizens. Otherwise, should continuing education refrain from participating in these processes and limit itself to a service-provider role, it will reduce itself to a purely economic factor performing that service-provision function in relation to economic and political interests (Reutter, 1995).

The point is the cultural context of life in a community, in which context residents are constructing their identities (Faulstich & Zeuner, 1999):

The concept of continuing education is not limited, from the perspective of the region, to its function in relation to economics. In this concept, much greater significance is attached to the human focus and to seeking opportunities for building cultural identity in the region and in local communities. This necessitates the existence of education centres as meeting places. Physically, we live in social, temporal and spatial contexts. Therefore, individual biographies as opportunities for identity must always remain anchored in a specific place. The attempt to utilise these places as enterprises, city-housing complexes, cities, communes and regions in developing learning cultures supportive of personality development makes adult education really meaningful (p. 66).

Nevertheless, the role of institutions of adult education must be underlined in this regard. As with the topic of education in rural communities, these institutions have diminished in popularity among the andragogues in light of enthusiastic turns towards informal learning. Meanwhile, in reference to social capital, according the political scientist Robert D. Putnam’s theory, one should not ask about the activity of individuals, especially in studies of a region and education, or about reasons for their success or failure in learning or family factors’ influence on educational careers, but about the effectiveness of institutions. At the same time, one should keep in mind that “Schools cooperate better in communities where people are active in the public arena, where they cooperate for the common benefit. This way, institutions can expect to be supported and at the same time they are controlled. As a result, they fulfil their tasks more efficiently, raising the level of human capital” (Minkiewicz, 2019).

What seems promising in Polish rural areas is growing involvement in educational matters on the parts of local authorities and local communities, which exert increasing influence on socioeconomic development. In this regard there are, for example, organisations helping local communities establish associations for rural development, for residents’ integration, for the creation of neighbours’ communities, for building networks of self-organisation and transforming small schools into centres of general education for entire communities, into cultural centres and centres of mutual assistance and economic growth, as is being done by the Federation of Educational Initiatives (Czapiewska, 2015). Numerous initiatives can be cited that are being taken in educational practice; what is harder is indicating valuable scientific projects that explore the topic of education in rural communities. A unique scientific project centred on the village of Sycyna and other communes in the Zwoleń District (a subregion of Radom and Mazowsze) can be presented as a positive example. Its subject of exploration from 1999 to 2019 was “the community in rural areas and small cities, social change, developing human resources, the learning community, and processes of social animation, activation and inclusion” (Bednarczyk, 2019).

These types of initiative from the science side are rare, as has been stated above, which suggests a thesis that educational practice in rural communities is moving in advance of theory, or, in other words, that rural areas to a much greater extent than cities are being left “alone” in theoretical terms (Rydz, 2002).

References

Aleksander, T. (2003). Edukacja dorosłych. In: T. Pilch (ed.), Encyklopedia Pedagogiczna XXI wieku, Vol. 1. Warsaw: Żak Wydaw. Akademickie, 906–910.

Ambos, I., Conein, S., and Nuissl, E. (2002). Lernende Regionen – ein innovatives Programm. Außerschulische Bildung, 1, 5–9.

Bednarczyk, H. (2019). Innowacje edukacyjne Stowarzyszenia Oświatowego Sycyna. Edukacja ustawiczna Dorosłych, 4(107), 29–39.

Eurydice (2019). https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/adult-education-and-training-56_pl.

Czapiewska, G. (2015). Wybrane inicjatywy z zakresu wspierania edukacji i ich wpływ na rozwój społeczno-ekonomiczny obszarów wiejskich Pomorza. Acta Universitatis Lodziensis Folia Geographica Socio-Oeconomica, 20, 101–117.

Faulstich, P., and Zeuner, Ch. (1999). Lernkulturen in regionalen Netzwerken. Lernkulturen in regionalen Netzwerken. Report, 44, 58–67.

GUS (2019). Kapitał ludzki w Polsce w latach 2014–2018. Warsaw, Gdańsk: GUS.

Minkiewicz, P. (2019). Kapitał społeczny i edukacja. Różne konceptualizacje i ich konsekwencje dla badań edukacyjnych. In: M. J. Szymański (ed.), Krótkie wykłady z socjologii edukacji. Warsaw: Wolters Kluwer, 51–52.

MRR (Ministerstwo Rozwoju Regionalnego) (2010). Krajowa Strategia Rozwoju Regionalnego 2010–2020: Regiony, Miasta, Obszary wiejskie; http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WMP20110360423.

Przybylska, E. (2019). Edukacja na wsi w perspektywie andragogicznej. O potrzebie dystynktywnego oglądu. Szkoła – Zawód – Praca, 18, 11–29.

Reutter, G. (1995). Marktorientierung – Reginalorientierung. Wer orientiert was an wem? In: E. Nuissl (ed.), Standortfaktor Weiterbildung. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt Verlag, 182–193.

Rydz, E. (2002). Bariery edukacyjne młodzieży wiejskiej. Studia Obszarów Wiejskich, 2, 53–68.

Szafraniec, K. (2006). Zasoby społeczne wsi z perspektywy różnych dyscyplin naukowych. In: K. Szafraniec (ed.), Jednostkowe i społeczne zasoby wsi. Warsaw: Instytut Rozwoju Wsi i Rolnictwa Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 2–11.

UNESCO (2019). Global Report on Adult Learning and Education: Leave No One Behind: Participation, Equity and Inclusion. Hamburg: UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.

Wójcik, M. (2013). Geografia wsi w Polsce. Ewolucja koncepcji problemów badawczych. Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Geographica Socio-Oeconomica, 13, 3–17.

Julia Kluzowicz

ORCID: 0000-0002-8613-6456
Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland

Neighbourhood Relations as a Space
of Informal Civic Education for Adults

In the light of civilisational and social changes, neighbourhood relations between people living in a given community, entailing everyday, direct, friendly contact based on trust and collaboration, are becoming an extremely important aspect of civil society’s formation. The author proposes a closer examination of the subject of neighbourhood relations in the context of informal civic education for adults. Referring to the idea of social capital, she describes the educational capacity of neighbourhood relations and places them in the context of contemporary concepts of informal adult education. This perspective can result in more efficiently using their potential in designing initiatives to strengthen civil society.

Keywords: adult civic education, neighbourhood, neighbourhood relations

Introduction

Last century’s final decade in Europe was on one hand a time of disintegrating totalitarian systems and expanding the sphere of freedom, and on the other a period characterised by democratic deficits increasing in societies with long histories of democracy. This results today in numerous deficiencies leading to a decline in social activity and a growing sense of helplessness (Woźniak, 2006). Participation in social life is discernibly modest in Poland, with its level significantly lower than in other countries of the European Union (Szczepański, 2004). This social inaction comprises a low level of trust, a culturally conditioned inability to work together and a low sense of influence on reality. It does not mean that Poles don’t engage in civic activity at all, but indicates that this is a niche concern, encompassing a minority of society (Nowak & Nowosielski, 2006). To develop civic activity, education is necessary – not only at formal level, but also through discerning its possibilities in the conditions of daily social reality.

Civic education for adults

There are diverse approaches regarding a definition for civic education for adults. Essentially, it can be understood as a part of general social and political socialisation, shaping conscious and unconscious learning processes which form key characteristics of personality, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours that matter for democracy. Civic education for adults is understood to be at once teaching and learning. It is geared towards understanding operating rules in a democratic country which shape attitudes and skills allowing civic engagement’s emergence. It also encourages developing skills in articulating the interests of individuals and their group interests, along with critical thinking, tolerance and protection of human rights. It combines delivering knowledge with practical actions in shaping an effectively active citizen. It is also understood as a long-term, ongoing process ever taking place everywhere and a fundamental component in the process of lifelong adult learning (Gierszewski, 2017).

Changes in the contemporary world, especially civilisational transformations in postmodern directions, also entail modifying adult education to manifest transitions from guided teaching towards a learning-focused paradigm. Behaviouristic conceptions of learning, dependent on external stimuli and situations, are giving way to cognitivist / constructivist models that assume learners are processing information not only passively, under external guidance, but as active, constructive and target-oriented processes. According to these conceptions, knowledge acquisition is not possible without the contribution of self-control; the learning subject is at the centre of attention, not their teacher. This paradigmatic change formulates the new role for a teacher of adults, who doesn’t teach so much as they construct an educational community, including situations to initiate learning, as well as stimulating people in activating efforts to discover and construct knowledge, and encouraging independent learning activity (Gierszewski, 2017).

This shift in direction from “teaching to learning” is also reflected in a shift in emphasis from institutional forms of education to adult learning beyond the confines of educational institutions. This learning is generally unintentional and accidental, and is often limited to solving ongoing problems, yet it brings successes in daily life and allows individuals to function better. Research results show that within informal and independent learning, adults gain from 70 per cent to 90 per cent of their significant competences. Dorota Gierszewski’s analysis of forms of informal civic education for adults gives model examples of work by foundations and associations, volunteering, new social movements, media and technology as well as participatory budgeting (Gierszewski, 2017). One more obvious category can be added, which is close to home yet apparently somewhat neglected by researchers: neighbourhood relations and opportunities these provide for forming civic attitudes.

Neighbourhood relations as a centre in learning and fulfilling civic attitudes

A characteristic feature of contemporary reflections on social life is appreciating daily interactions and prosaic activities in terms of political force. This social activity means creative actions aiming to transform reality, finding a place within it for pursuing one’s own aims (Krajewski, 2006). This environment shapes models of social relations and accepted ways of functioning in the local community. An important factor strengthening the influence of environment on an individual’s actions is their relations with a given place. Emotional affiliation is particularly determined by neighbourhood relations, which cause a physical space to become a social one. Not just living in a place but building ties between people generates social capital which can result in personal attitudes of active engagement on behalf of the local community (Zalewska & Krzywosz-Rynkiewicz, 2011). In their work, Anna M. Zalewska and Beata Krzywosz-Rynkiewicz emphasise the importance in civic activity aiming to sustain local social identity and build community, which manifests in an interest in local community affairs, in maintaining contacts and ties with community members, in representing this community externally and solving local problems. Emphasis on these values can also be found in Jan Herbst’s communitarian model of civil society, which highlights localism’s role in broad terms, expressed in participation in shaping one’s shared environment, as well as close, immediate relations between community members (Herbst, 2005). Being a citizen means identifying with a community, therefore: the feeling of participating in it and participating in activities to build the order on which this collective identification is based (Kinowska, 2015).

Placing neighbourhood relations within categories of social ties identify two forms of objectives they fulfil. The first is the purely utilitarian aim related to neighbourly help. This can take various forms, from small mutual favours or loans, via helping with domestic tasks, to sharing information on various subjects, including local institutional operations. The second category is objectives of a social nature, meaning psychological support in difficult life situations, concerning both a particular person (e.g. illness or death of loved ones) and the local community (e.g. a natural disaster) (Pyszczek, 2006). These two categories aren’t mutually exclusive and generally occur together. Both also comprise the broad concept of civic attitudes.

Educational capacity of neighbourhood relations

Every local community, including neighbourhood communities based on ties between residents, possesses a capacity allowing it to resolve internal problems and bring about social change. Community capacity means on one hand the current condition of a given community, and on the other its potential, which can be harnessed to solve a specific problem. This capacity isn’t a permanent element of the social landscape, but a dynamic phenomenon and process taking place in a local community. In the context of this article, such local resources can also be called the educational capacity of neighbourhood relations. Residents, by exercising their citizenships, invoke this capacity (Lewenstein, 2006).

The concept of community capacity is drawn from the idea of social capital, comprising the norm of generalised reciprocity, social trust, group loyalty and local identity. It is based on civic infrastructure, a complex structure of interactions of individuals and groups through which decisions are taken and local problems are resolved (Lewenstein, 2006). Describing social capital, the political scientist Robert D. Putnam cites L. J. Hanifan, who described it as referring to good will, companionship, friendship and mutual relations between individuals and families, i. e. everything that forms a community. Individuals, who initially are socially vulnerable and left to their own devices, accumulate social capital by making contact with neighbours (who in turn make contact with theirs), which satisfies not only the particular person’s social needs but has sufficient social potential for significant improvement to the entire neighbourhood’s living conditions. The community as a whole benefits from cooperation of all its parts, while individuals find in these relations virtues of aid, compassion and companionship from their neighbours (Hanifan, 1916; Putnam, 2008). We can therefore assume that social capital is realised in neighbourhood relations.

An important element of building social capital is the norm of generalised reciprocity. This reciprocity might be specific: I’ll do this for you if you do that for me. For neighbourhood relations, however, a generalised form is more appropriate: I’ll do this for you, not expecting anything specific in return, but expecting with a fair amount of certainty that in the future someone will do something for me. Putnam calls this norm of generalised reciprocity short-term altruism and long-term self-interest: I’m helping you at the moment expecting that you’ll help me in future (Putnam, 2008).

Another important factor of social capital realised in neighbourhood relations is social trust. Putnam distinguishes the thick trust of personal relations from thin trust, referring to unfamiliar people. Primary communities, such as family and neighbourhood, are the first and main circles of trust. Both types of trust are based on belonging to common social networks, yet thin trust encompasses individuals outside the ranks of people we know personally, thus also from outside the neighbourhood. We can perceive social, generalised trust as a decision to take most people at their words even those we don’t know (Jacobs, 2014). As the urban anthropologist Jane Jacobs writes: “The trust of a city street is formed over time from many, many little sidewalk contacts. It grows out of people stopping by at the bar for a beer, getting advice from the grocer and giving advice to the newsstand man, comparing opinions with other customers at the bakery and nodding hello” (Jacobs, 1992, p. 56). Jacobs adds that the sum of these loose, public contacts at the local level, the majority of them incidental and associated with dealing with minor daily matters, is the sense of people’s common identity, that network of respect, trust and resources we draw upon when we have personal or neighbourly needs. Here Jacobs finds the conviction that one can count on help in a neighbourhood important, a confidence that comes from this same trust in one’s fellow residents (Jacobs, 1992). The more reciprocated services are between community members or positive cooperation proves between neighbours, the greater trust residents will credit each other with, which is to say contacts entailing exchanging services, and the larger the potential number of transactions, along with the number of people involved in them. This type of trust makes it possible to invest one’s money in building a shared road or in establishing an Internet network in a housing block or other ventures involving a certain risk. This role of social trust applies particularly to the level of civic cooperation. This level rises with the number of local initiatives completed successfully in which numerous residents participated. The higher this level, the more likely residents are to risk participating in joint activities, thereby increasing general trust. Possibilities for solving local problems increase in this way, with trust expanding to wider social groups beyond one’s own close group, increasing the likelihood that residents participate in activities in which people they don’t know take part, including those outside the territorially defined community (Lewenstein, 2006).

Cohesive social capital permits the formation of strong in-group loyalty (Putnam, 2008), which is the next feature of neighbourhood relations. Loyalty is the other arm of trust, and concerns the principle of its inviolability and of keeping up previous commitments. It is strongly related to solidarity, meaning care for neighbours’ interests and a readiness to act towards the common, neighbourly good (Sztompka, 2006). A further characteristic of neighbourhood relations is local identification, meaning the sense of community based on ties of residence. People identifying with the space in which they live are more willing to take care of it. Local identification, alongside habitual affiliation to a given community, can also be the basis of building positive relations with neighbours, which are non-personal in nature and focused on shared interests and objectives. Such “instrumental” links may result from joint actions and various types of activity pursuing shared interests revolving around communal neighbourhood development or as a result of specific local events (Lewenstein, 2006).

Joint action and numerous interactions mean that neighbourhood communities continually reconstruct their communal capacity. When such processes are not taking place, however, this capacity should be reinforced or constructed. If we accept an understanding of community capacity as potential located particularly in interpersonal relations, work on building local potential can be streamlined to four main strategies: leadership development in the community, organisational development, community organising and partnership- and organisational-network development (Lewenstein, 2006).

In Poland, such initiatives are run by local activity centres, which set themselves the task of supporting the emergence of strong, integrated local communities by strengthening and activating existing community groups and supporting the creation of new ones. There are also foundations and associations that implement projects supporting local communities, but fewer than in Western Europe, where for many years local authorities have operated according to principles of governance, in contrast to Poland’s elitist vertical democracy (Lewenstein, 2006). Views emphasising the need to organise local communities to create civil society mostly refer to identification of development possibilities at the local level, i.e. what is known as locality development, and consequently the social planning and social action that results. The fundamental premise is the conviction that these development possibilities, based on self-help processes and independent problem-solving capacity, are related to the ability to construct one’s own identity and integration. To ensure efficient operation, what is termed primary potential may be supported by the secondary element of a specialist community organiser. This organiser’s professional and ethical duties are activism, advocacy and mobilising capacity for the local community, which while being part of it frequently need support to become factors with positive impact on the lives and interests of the people creating it. The reason for this need is the fact that members of contemporary communities are becoming less willing to “be together”, and the traditional manifestations of congregating in diverse associations are less intensive than they had been (Frysztacki, 2004).

In emphasising the role of neighbourhood relations in educational processes of learning civic attitudes, it is also important to refer to contemporary concepts of informal adult education. One of these is the idea of lifelong learning. Competences are at the core of the significance of lifelong learning, which prevent exclusion, in both the social and economic senses (Gierszewski, 2017). Neighbourhood relations are a dynamic product; functioning within them involves continual adaptation to their variable conditions. Their educational dimension in the form of lifelong learning requires members of neighbourhood communities to constantly renew, develop and improve their competences – solving problems as they arise, but also broadening essential skills for creating a stable civil society, such as dialogue and consensus-building, and often compromise, as well. Neighbourhood relations as a model of lifelong learning operate in two ways: on one hand, they generate the need to acquire specific competences, while on the other, they allow these to be learned during neighbourhood activity.

A further popular concept of informal adult education is situated learning. This emphasises the situation and context in which the learning takes place and refers to strategies of social learning, which plays an important role in practical acquisition and in accumulating experience. By combining cognitive and educational aims, it promotes the formation of skills used in engaging in democratic processes. According to this concept, for which the environment of the learner is particularly important, the learning process is located between people and their experience of objective systems (Gierszewski, 2017). An excellent reflection of its premises is neighbourhood relations, which are a type of educational system, as they constantly provide new situations which require participants to search for shared solutions. They are a reservoir of the tasks facing residents. It is particularly important in this perspective to organise a neighbourhood community so that it can transmit values of good citizenship.

The next concept is service learning, which assumes that engagement is the key to effective learning. It entails learning through experience, and makes learners into engaged members of society. Such learning usually takes place in the form of local community projects (Gierszewski, 2017). Neighbourhood relations carry an emotional load; by their very nature they demand engagement from participants, and become a model environment for service learning. This form of informal education is most often used by organisations dealing with development of local communities, including neighbourhood schemes.

The concept of self-directed learning derives from German tradition, known as SGL (selbstgesteuertes Lernen). According to this idea, learners take on full responsibility for the way they are educated, and not only gain qualifications, but in the learning process also construct knowledge and introduce it to their existing capacities. Learning in this sense is an element of the culture of daily life, based on experience and characterised by reflexivity (Gierszewski, 2017). As regards reference of neighbourhood relations to the SGL concept, individuals reflexively process situations and events taking place in the neighbourhood community and apply the experience gained to their pool of knowledge and skills they can later make use of. For civic education, it is important that the competences acquired also be appropriate in other, broader social orders.

Lastly, subjective learning regards individual subjects as the “centre of intentionality”, acting in accordance with their own adopted foundations. Learning here means experiencing the world by being and acting in it, changing individuals by encouraging them to transgress boundaries and expand their horizons. According to this concept, the learning process is active, with the subject pursuing the objective of improving the conditions of their life (Gierszewski, 2017). This concept of education can also be applied to adult learning through neighbourhood relations, in which individuals locate their subjectivity by practising decision-making and agency in activities for the community’s betterment. The beginning of this type of learning process could be a situation arising in a neighbourhood community that poses problems, where dealing with that situation will be a challenge for participants. Solving those problems results in acquiring new competences, including social competences.

Conclusion

Examining the above reflections, it is hard to disagree that neighbourhood relations treated as an element of informal civic education for adults may be a source on which individuals can draw during the process of adaptation to the wider community. At a time of globalisation, a widespread sense of threat, social exclusion and marginalisation, a neighbourhood, as the nearest micro-territorial system, can become a kind of oasis and alternative for people who have no access to wider social networks (Bujwicka, 2011). Well-developed neighbourhood relations might therefore be regarded as having a significant impact on the development of democracy and formation of civil society. People who collaborate with their neighbours discern that their individual, otherwise silent voices multiply and become more powerful. For the development of these ties to proceed correctly, help is sometimes needed from organisations specialising in social education, such as local activity centres.

In Polish reality today, it is essential to renew civic activity, for which the educational foundation can become democracy formed in action, as people learn through civic activity. Listening to and learning from each other is an opportunity to co-create social reality, and democracy should become a pathway for shaping learned activity in opposition to learned helplessness (Skrzypczak, 2016). Neighbourhood communities and the ties formed in them are the public sphere of social life, where democratic attitudes are being formed.

References

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Beata Cyboran

ORCID: 0000-0003-4138-5034
Pedagogical University of Kraków, Poland

Adult Education in Cultural Policy
at the Local Level

The popularisation of lifelong learning and the growing importance of cultural education has prompted numerous Polish cities to prepare programmes for developing cultural education. Among the first comprehensive solutions was initiated in Warsaw in 2015, and other cities are now following this path: Łódź, Gdańsk, Kraków and Poznań. The main objectives of programmes that have been adopted or prepared are to develop creative, conscious and active participation in culture and to increase people’s cultural competences toward full participation in the local community. Everyone benefits from the main strategic goals of the documents under consideration. Unfortunately, adult education is much less represented than education of children and young people in the operationalisation of these main goals and in selecting intervention methods,. Democratic aims in culture could be more strongly represented in local cultural-education programmes, as this is an excellent educational space for adults, for it is based on comprehensive, continuous development of all residents. Hence the present author’s interest in local cultural policies, where I seek evidence of this valuable concept.

Keywords: adult education, cultural education, cultural policy

Introduction

Since the Conference of Ministers of Culture of the Member States of the Council of Europe (Oslo, 1976), the democratisation of culture and the development of cultural democracy have been recognised as key functions in European cultural policy. Democratisation of culture is the effort to bring professional artistic culture closer to the entire society. This manifests in initiatives aimed at “facilitating access” to this kind of offer by lowering prices, developing infrastructure and through cultural education. Universality of reception is a major indicator of the democratisation of culture. In turn, cultural democracy / democracy in culture is the promotion of cultural competences that are accessible to all, the aim of which is to facilitate the reception of high art while also generating conditions for creating one’s own artistic spaces (Wilson, Gross & Bull, 2017, pp. 55–58). It is the participation of citizens with the right to freedom of expression, with access to means of expression, and with support in learning to use them. Democracy in culture as an approach is close to the idea of cultural citizenship, i.e. the right to full participation in social life based on the freedom to express oneself and construct one’s identity and to create and use cultural goods, thanks to which we become full members of a particular community. The idea of democracy in culture is an excellent educational space for adults, for it is based on comprehensive, continuous development of everyone. Hence my interest in local cultural policies, where I seek evidence of this valuable concept coming to fruition.

Now we have seen pandemic-related delays in cities’ plans for cultural education and the shift of focus that has led to online cultural activity. These have impacted reflections intended for this chapter, especially regarding online cultural activities and developments.

Directions in local cultural policy

There have been many diagnoses and domestic reports on local cultural policy over the past decade. Most of these reports were prepared with the support of ministerial funds under the programmes Obserwatorium kultury [Cultural Observatory], Dom kultury+ [House of Culture+] and Bardzo młoda kultura [Very Young Culture]. Based on these materials, it is possible to define directions of cultural policy at the local level and to attempt to assess the process of building democracy in culture.

Entities responsible for the shape of culture in local communities define cultural policy most often through the prism of implementing specific tasks and undertakings. This is a set of defined priorities and directions of actions, therefore, within which funds are allocated and to which support is granted (Knaś et al., 2010, p. 88). Prime objectives of local cultural policy include investments in infrastructure, financing activities of public cultural institutions in connection with a city’s promotional festival, supporting the development of cultural and artistic education for children and teenagers, revitalisation activities and, finally, awarding support in the form of grants to non-governmental organisations and cultural institutions not participating in activities covering key areas of cultural development as understood by the local authorities. Cultural policy is also the implementation of statutory activities by local cultural institutions.

Diversity in defining policies and culture’s role in a city / municipality’s functions has been catalogued in the 2013 report Miejskie polityki kulturalne [Municipal Cultural Policies] (Celiński et al., 2013), prepared as part of the project DNA Miasta [DNA of the City] (Res Publica Foundation, online). Seen from the first perspective, cultural policy is the implementation of a municipality’s tasks in the field of culture, which consist primarily of administrative work; effects related to the quality of cultural life are secondary to efficiency in performing this work. The second perspective present in defining cultural policy is its service function. The task of local authorities is to satisfy residents’ needs in the area of their contact with culture. Their needs are considered in situ and residents are considered consumers of the cultural offer. It is less common to think of cultural policy as a sphere in which residents are the subjects of cultural activities, and the policy is understood as part of wider social activities. Seen from this perspective, activity in culture can develop social bonds, with the local authorities’ role being to mobilise inhabitants to carry out artistic activities and to stimulate their activity through cultural education. Cultural policy can also be understood as supporting artistic activities and creating conditions for the artistic community to function. From this perspective, culture is an intrinsic value, and actions of the authorities are directed not at inhabitants but at artists and culture animators (Gendera et al., 2016, pp. 32–33).

Over the past ten years, there has been significant change in conducting cultural policy in small towns and rural municipalities, although not as spectacular as in large cities. For the purposes of cultural policy implemented in the context of a local community, it is essential to separate from the pattern of state or institutional culture and move towards in the directions of inter-sectoral synergy and co-creating cultural policy in the spirit of public benefit, jointly pursued by public, private and civic entities.

Democracy in culture in local cultural policies

Though most cultural-development programmes and strategies do not support the process of building democracy in culture, there are numerous other initiatives in this area that are actually being implemented, fortunately. Notable here various cultural animation projects for neighbourhoods and district communities: “street festivals” and “backyard festivals”, artistic projects and educational-cultural projects focusing on strengthening local communities, which is an important trend in contemporary urban culture. It remains difficult to say to what extent such undertakings are inspired by local authorities and to what extent they are grassroots initiatives, undertaken without any external support.

As regards the impact of culture on the transformation of local communities, it can be seen as a factor that transforms the way people perceive reality, including through self-reflection and developing new habits and competences among citizens through promoting:

social integration – culture provides instruments for such activities;

building local identity – local cultural education and building local memory;

civic activation of residents – teaching responsibility for their surroundings and undertaking actions beneficial to them;

supporting educational and upbringing processes – support (supplementation) of the formal education process;

development of tolerance – overcoming barriers and stereotypes between different social and ethnic groups;

co-creation of revitalisation projects – using culture to build social foundations for activities that change the quality of life in selected areas of a city.

One can see that boundaries between culture, education and integration, or activities of artistic and civic nature, are becoming blurred in the activities as listed. This is a result of the expanding field of contemporary culture.

On the basis of the analysed documents it can be concluded that what contemporary local-cultural policy most lacks is a participatory approach to its creation, independence from the decision-making level, greater reliance on the idea of a common good and development of capital (human, social, cultural). The most basic activity is creating an effective mechanism for engaging residents in decision-making processes related to the cultural sector, which will initiate further development processes. These initiatives should be continuous and repetitive. Organising one-off consultations or workshops brings unsatisfactory results for participants as well as organisers. Participation’s educational nature should be emphasised: it provides the possibility to learn consequences of possible choices and what limitations may arise, e.g. from a given town or place’s budgetary or legal possibilities. Residents should be given the real opportunity to influence issues being consulted. The entire town, place or city should be involved in these processes; their organisation should facilitate participation by interested residents from all neighbourhoods, districts and outlying towns. Participation levels are very strongly influenced by providing information about its results. Decision-makers and those organising consultations should be obliged to provide systematic information on the results of the process together with a justification of the decision to use them (DNA Miasta, 2010, p. 10).

Cultural policy can have greater impact on quality of life in local communities, in line with balanced and sustainable development. This is because actions in this area can foster the formation of a society that is responsible, inclusive and sustainable, in which social capital is built rather than a demagogic one (Goytia & Arosteguy, 2011, pp. 28–38). Very important here is care for local space, so at risk of unification and homogenisation in the globalised world. On losing its original meaning, it is rendered a no-man’s land; thanks to culture, though, it can gain meaning as “someone’s space”, specific again, original, important and significant. Culture can construct original new spaces of local activity; it can reconstruct and nurture elements shaping local identity and historical continuity.

Local cultural policy during the pandemic

Most work has now been frozen on local-cultural development strategies and programmes for developing cultural education at the local level. Obviously, this is due to lack of financial resources and uncertainty about implementation of strategic directions set out in the documents under consideration. Very advanced work on cultural-education programmes has taken place in Warsaw, Kraków, Łódź, Gdańsk and Poznań. It is difficult to fully analyse these documents, as the work on them is incomplete. The pandemic has forced us to act in a completely different way, which I will briefly describe.

For the cultural sector, consequences of lockdowns and the new reality of sanitary regimes have had particularly adverse impacts. The phrase “First to close down, last to awake” starts Alert Kultura, a conference publication created after the Open Eyes Economy Summit at the College of Economy and Public Administration of the Kraków University of Economics.

For cultural entities, the Internet became the main form of activity. Institutions and individual creators have transferred their activities smoothly to the online sphere or have strengthened already well-developed online presences by building new levels of interaction with their audiences. Others experimented with and quickly learned the rules of digital reality. Yet others have reduced their online presences to a minimum or suspended it for various reasons (lack of possibility to transfer activities online, lacks of digital competence, technological facilities and / or financial resources). Institutions have experienced a real online “siege”. For many people, it has been a real “discovery” of digital resources held by cultural institutions.

Having online contact with audiences forced us to redefine notions including working with the community, developing the audience and digital exclusion. Various social groups have lost access to remote culture. Such limitations came about from a lack of competence in organising online forms of cultural activities, on the parts of employees of cultural institutions and of audiences’ lack of competence and access to technical infrastructure.

For local cultural institutions, it has been very important to remind the community that they exist, to evolve their local community based on online meetings and to promote self-help activities (Drabczyk et al., 2020, p. 9). This concern for audiences was dictated by the awareness of risk that ties with participants could break down due to restrictions on event participation. Temporary or partial suspension of institutions’ activities, limiting the possibility of physical interaction and audience meetings, has forced cultural institutions to face the question of how to retain audiences, how to sustain their interest and willingness to participate in cultural activities.

Due to difficult financial situation among many cultural institutions, support programmes have been launched at both state and local levels. The nationwide programme has been called Kultura w Sieci [Culture on the Web]. Its competition proved very popular, suggesting great interest on the part of diverse institutions in organising events on the Web (Drabczyk at al., 2020, pp. 16–17).

Local authorities have also prepared special forms of support for the cultural sector in the realm of their online activities. Kraków runs its Kultura odporna / Resilient Culture programme, subsidising workshops and online webinars, preparation of e-books and audiobooks, making cultural events available online, new media projects or digitising collections. In Łódź, the Kultugranty 2.0. programme offers support for artists who proposing to carry out undertakings from podcasts to radio plays, on-line series, live concerts and theatre performances. Katowice’s Lokata w kulturę / Investment in Culture programme is a part of the the city’s Pakiet dla Kultury / Package for Culture, which promotes projects developed by NGOs and made available remotely.

The pandemic has also brought about new forms of self-organisation, solidarity, care, new cultural practices and innovative forms of presence in the public sphere. The virtually unprecedented situation we face has forced the domestic cultural sector to accelerate modernisation and take the digital leap that is observable worldwide. However, this leap has not been uniformly successful for each institution. Frequently mentioned now are over-production of online content and poor quality of some offers. Interest in accessing culture online has increased by multiples, a “boom” in experiencing culture digitally that has prompted institutions to increase inclusion of these activities in their main statutory endeavours. This can even involve strategic redefinition for plenty of institutions.

How will the culture sector function in the coming seasons? There is no clear-cut answer to this question. Research carried out by the Narodowe Centrum Kultury / National Centre for Culture (Willingness to take […], 2020, pp. 20–21) shows a significant part of the population is prepared to return to participating in cultural events. This is especially true among young people who do not feel directly threatened by coronavirus infection. A very large group of respondents, however, are cautious about participating in artistic events and undertakings. In the cases of open-air and indoor events, the prevailing opinion is that participation will be preceded by reflection and analysis of pros and cons.

Summary

Introducing the issue of educational aspects of cultural participation aimed to emphasise the importance of building cultural democracy as a multidimensional space for lifelong education. In this chapter, I intended to focus on experiences resulting from work on the Kraków Cultural Education Programme, but with work on this document suspended, I redirected my interests to showing directions of cultural policy during the pandemic.

What can form the conclusions of my analysis is the fact that support programmes for the cultural sector for the most part focused on helping institutions and creators. Recipients were neglected, perhaps in the hope that they would cope somehow with the new reality of excessive offers, and responsibility for maintaining relations with participants was thus transferred to institutions.

At present it is difficult to conclude what consequences may be, but cultural institutions may yet emerge from this demanding trial comparatively unscathed.

References

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Agnieszka Naumiuk

ORCID: 0000-0001-5390-4263
University of Warsaw, Poland

Non-governmental Organisations
as an Environment of Adult Education

This chapter discusses the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as a place of formal, non-formal and informal civic education of adults. Such a role is internal, taking place towards their personnel and volunteers as a means of their professional development. It is also external, purposefully directed to various audience groups, through awareness campaigns, local programmes, thematic conferences, etc. In the literature, much attention is dedicated to the need to acquire civic competences and civic involvement in social change, which is taking place due to NGOs. However, andragogy has yet to answer the questions of what such education looks like, and what is being learned and taught along with gaining civic competences. The author argues that hidden among activities focused on pragmatism and daily affairs are subtle matters of participants’ formation through learning by experience, which play key roles in furthering volunteers’ or an NGO staff’s professional, social and personal decisions and engagements in the social sphere. The ongoing task of NGOs as a learning environment is also changing, due to social needs changing, and to cultural transformation as well as new technology offering participatory tools. This chapter explores three decades of development of the non-profit sector in Poland as a changing platform for adult education. Though it could be said that this is an adequate period on which to develop a sound study, the author shows that such research remains in its early stages, with much additional material and data becoming available.

Keywords: adult participation, non-governmental organisations, social education, social activist

Introduction

NGOs in Poland are the subject of exploration among researchers from various fields: sociology, social policy and economics (Śpiewak, 1998; Leś, 2000; Gliński, Lewenstein & Siciński, 2004; Dutkiewicz, 2009; Kietlińska, 2010). The basic source is quantitative data obtained by research institutions including GUS (Główny Urząd Statystyczny, or Statistics Poland, formerly the Central Statistical Office) (2019) and Stowarzyszenie Klon / Jawor (Klon / Jawor Association) (2019).

Comprehensive studies that deal with the phenomenon of education in the non-governmental sector occasionally appear in pedagogical discourse. Usually, selected aspects of educational programmes or goals implemented by these organisations are analysed in chosen areas (Naumiuk, 2003, pp. 235–250; Rudnicki, 2016). Other disciplines provide rather narrow analyses in their own fields, primarily in political science, sociology and economics (Makowski, 2015). This situation requires the future integration of various fields of research, to create a more comprehensive view of studies on the role of the non-profit or third sector in the community and in society. This would support pedagogical analyses and more in-depth qualitative research on human-development potential in the area of broadly understood lifelong-education processes through social participation.

The role of non-profit organisations is dominated by theories of direct democracy, including communitarianism (Entzioni, 2014; Sartori, 1994; Taylor, 2004). Inspirations from emancipatory theories are indicated, including those related to social inclusion (Laclau, 2004 (1996)) and, more broadly, the theory of social action and social development, as well as local development in the context of building social and association networks (Weber, 2002; Turner, 2005; Warren, 2001).

For andragogues, however, it is crucial to include this adult-learning space in contexts of lifelong learning (Grotowska-Leder, 2014) and transformative learning according to the concept proposed by Jack Mezirow (Pleskot-Makulska, 2007), as well as various current models of formal, informal and non-formal education. At the same time, as shown in discussions during the sixth Congress of Social Pedagogues in Poznań in 2018, the hope of pedagogues cooperating more closely with practice is visible (Naumiuk, 2018). Currently, pedagogical research remains little used in the partnership for social and educational change, although much is happening in the space of social organisations. The research potential seems much greater, along with educational activities being promoted (dissemination of good practice), the descriptive nature of studies (case studies, analyses of educational projects), and projected cooperation in the field of practice (professional training, volunteering, career counselling). Currently, expectations on both sides are still very utilitarian: organisations expect universities to cooperate more closely to improve work practice, implementation of projects and increase of their effectiveness, while pedagogues are looking for market-oriented training, job preparation for graduates and research on students competences needed. In both cases, in ways that are overt or covert, economic thinking and market narrative remain dominant rather than an in-depth reflection on pedagogical dimensions of social activity (cf. Marynowicz-Hetka, 1998).

Difficulties in applying pedagogical perspectives result from factors including minimal use in current practices of sources connected with the traditions of social organisations perceived as an educational space. The works of Helena Radlińska (1879–1957) and Aleksander Kamiński (1903–1978), as well as achievements of domestic social reformers in the interwar period, traditions of initiatives by noble families, the intelligentsia in the nineteenth century, and self-help movements in villages and cities, the memory of which is currently being restored (cf. Janiak-Jasińska et al., 2008, 2009) bring some change to this former perception of NGOs as a relatively new movement beginning in the 1990s. Also, for many people, education as a term is still understood quite narrowly as “school”, resulting in imitated interest related to educational activities of children’s and youth organisations, or those aimed only at children and youth development, so adult education taking place there seems a relatively new pedagogical concept to be studied.

The author’s research

Key points in the domestic development of non-governmental organisations are presented below and, in the author’s view, constitute the basis for potentially more intensive research exploration in pedagogy. Accumulated over a period of some thirty years, the experience acquired in the sector, including educational competences, is visible and sufficient for more in-depth, critical pedagogical studies. Below, reflections are presented in a synthetic way; they result from accompanying these organisations for three decades as a volunteer, employee and researcher in the field of pedagogy.

NGOs as a space for education: the first decade

The late twentieth century (the 1990s) saw dynamic development in the non-governmental sector after socialism’s collapse and the establishment of civic institutions in Poland. At that time, enthusiasm for the new democratic reality was visible, along with resistance to state control and aversion to ineffective public institutions. Organisations were looking for a new place in the social system, for civic activity within the institutional frame of the non-profit sector. They fought for a legal and organisational formula, while there was also intensive development of sectoral training. New paths of cooperation with the state were being developed. This dynamic development took place due to financial support from Western Europe and the US, and it took place through direct or indirect adaptation of Western models of associative democracy. Then the exploration of non-governmental organisations as an educational environment began, which showed that they were an important source of building social capital. Simultanously, participatory research was conducted along with observations of learning to act within a more systemic transformation cycle, and educational potential was analysed. Surveys and explorations were provided in a new research area, in the context of practical education, acquiring social competences and learning social relations in democratic conditions (Naumiuk, 2003). A systemic discourse was also conducted on the three-sectors’ society, local development and dimensions of direct democracy. These “social experiments” were based on US and Western European experiences, utilising finances, knowledge and expert skills to explore possibilities of implementing the ideas of local and national activists. An increasing number of good-practice case studies were created, with solutions copying and presenting experiences from applying and implementing projects and programmes. The present author’s research (1997–2003) showed that organisations have protective and preventive functions, disseminating knowledge about social problems as part of civic education and self-help activities, their own concepts as part of sectoral pedagogia, i.e. self-contained educational practices, which take various forms of educating society on social problems and selected groups at risk of exclusion, along with the needs of social organisations in terms of content and financial support. Hence, the attitude of many organisations towards intervention – rehabilitation, donating food, building facilities – was an obvious bottom-up reaction, after the political transformation, to the collapse of the welfare system.

NGOs as a space for education: the second decade

In its second decade, leading into the twenty-first century, the domestic non-governmental sector flourished. International cooperation and exchange developed, including intensive exchange of knowledge and experience regarding organised pro-social activities. Their level of financing increased, receiving a significant share of international and EU grants (especially after 2004 with Poland’s accession to the EU) for what was termed the development of civil society. In the national arena, a partner position developed in relations with the state, with the idea of volunteering being promoted. The Act on Public Benefit Organisations appeared,18 developing management of non-profit infrastructure. The sector’s professionalisation led to developing training systems organised by Local Community Development and Regional Support Centres, among others, and to postgraduate studies at universities (e.g. Collegium Civitas). Courses on the implementation of social projects, management of a non-governmental organisation, social marketing, etc. were developed in public higher-eduaction institutions. Social organisations were becoming an increasingly common environment for work and societal influence. This range of activity was studied by the growing numer of sectoral-research structures: Klon / Jawor, the Forum of Non-Governmental Initiatives, the Institute of Public Affairs, etc.

Research on NGOs as an educational environment in their second decade indicated a focus on the development of social resources, including education, in the form of disseminating good practices and innovation in education, supporting the activities of educational associations and foundations. At the same time, there was growing interest in sources about social activism before the 1990s. There had also been an increase in research on innovation, and analysis of the effectiveness of public and private initiatives, such as the publishing series of CAL (the Local Activity Centre Association). Results of these analyses indicated that non-governmental organisations may use various forms of voluntary work, becoming flexible alternative workplaces for social activists and volunteers; their professionalisation, therefore, was progressing. With an increasing number of social campaigns, conferences and publications, active and conscious public education developed along with some leadership in creating systemic solutions (cf. the Synapsis Foundation, the Empowering People Foundation, etc.). Meanwhile, youth developed an ambiguous perception of the organisations, identifying valuable initiatives with people worth following, including Jerzy Owsiak19 and Janina Ochojska20 (Naumiuk, 2007).

NGOs as a space for education: the third decade

After 2010, the third sector seemed structured and institutionalised. Those organisations that achieved financial stability developed as an environment for work, with services offered to society and democratic opposition led by committed citizens. At present, a situation is visible of coexistence among experienced organisations and a large group of third-sector novices. Occasionally, this is viewed as a sort of competition. The struggles for survival, for actions being recognised as important and worth funding, and for the representation of certain groups, though, may also not be healthy for growth. Unfavourable political conditions, state and local governments taking over various initiatives, show weaknesses in the direct-democracy system and the dominance of public structures. Meanwhile, new technologies and social media prompted the next step: the development of grassroots, non-sectoral citizen initiatives. New not-non-governmental citizens’ movements (mostly led by the young generation) began to create voluntary work outside established structures. These movements are characterised by the multiplicity and variety of short-term spontaneous actions (Michalski, 2015). Their ad hoc activity and lack of connection with experienced civic organisations is not always welcomed by stabilised activists. This is symptomatic of the young generation of millennials, unrooted and unwilling to follow traditional paths. Their inclination is noticeable to change civic engagement “from charity to culture” towards freedom and the right to self-determination. The study of non-governmental organisations as an educational environment in their third decade shows their significant importance for developing individual capital and learning, with the patchwork, extremely dynamic world, mediated by online communication and requiring contemporary post-industrial activists to know how to navigate pro-social actions in virtual reality, mobilising unknown “strangers” who are “prepared to be active”. Non-governmental organisations are losing their function of educating communities based on a standardised educational style, and they are also losing the function of being citizens’ representatives. In the period of post-structural disorientation, new educational leaders emerge, with greater understanding of new technologies and of immediate reaction to events, unattached to the concept of evaluating activities, reflecting on them, etc. Educational research must also change towards these socially engaged youth and their formulas of educating adults according to the model of post-figurative culture (Mead, 2000). Current research (Naumiuk, 2014) has shown that the phenomenon of a social activist includes the effect of a long-term process forming the biography of environmental influences in upbringing, primarily the importance of family (in both positive and negative senses) but also, and perhaps above all, one’s own life activities, participation in various forms of them, meeting people, inspiration by the socially engaged. Activists have extensive experience in the field of education, which is underexplored by pedagogues; their recommendations for education are quite the opposite of what is currently happening in our schools, based on compulsion, including in the sphere of citizenship. Social activists emphasise the importance of freedom in making choices as a key element in shaping attitudes of real commitment. On one hand, they feel tired after years of “struggle” and the peculiar role of “veterans” of the non-governmental sector, while on the other, they assess the overall result of their involvement as positive. They point to a generational change and the lack of “successors” – those continuing the work they had started in the 1990 – and they notice that the young generation wants to create their own “lighter activist” style.

Conclusions and discussion

For andragogy, the value of researching non-governmental organisations as an educational environment means a comprehensive view: from the perspective of structures and forms to various methods of educational work; and also processes of learning: applied or subconscious educational practices of activists and volunteers, the service users and educators of both groups. In the individual aspect, the analysis of the richness of educational experiences, in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes and of changes in lifelong learning, reflections on education based on social practice, life experience and self-reflection, is of value for further in-depth research exploration in the field of adult pedagogy (not restricted to civic education). Currently, it is also possible to analyse experiences in and achievements of social initiatives in the long and short terms in the education of various age groups over time. One should perhaps move from the dominant wishful thinkng and “pedagogy of potentials” towards more in-depth research and analysis of reality and its consequence for human development and well-being. It is certainly time to be able to follow changes in this area from the point of view of educational values of people in their younger and older stages of adulthood. Activists-educators (the emerging profession of the non-governmental sector) are educating the next generations towards pro-social engagement, including the young, rebellious and inexperienced, and seniors and mentors of the foreign or domestic tradition of civic initiatives (Szafraniec, 2012). It is also important to look at the entanglement of this environment in political and economic interests, take a closer look at frustrations, conflicts and violence relevant to co-shaping attitudes and educational patterns that are not always the desired ones. It is relevant to look at existing divisions of post-transformation social activism, especially the ageing of the concept of NGO structures in the context of free social movements in the era of new social media (Michalski, 2015; Załęski, 2015), which creates the need for a new education and a new formula for lifelong education patterns among new generations. Concepts such as self-organisation and self-help, social entrepreneurship, advocacy, co-production and co-management are examples of tasks facing andragogy over the present century, awaiting the opening of debate on the meaning and purpose of social activities in both individual- and collective-education contexts.

Meanwhile, educational perspectives, including the andragogical one, should capture the entire educational processes of this environment, looking for its intentionality and potentials of using it for development processes, social education (not only in the area of informal education), for social organisations are created primarily by adults who choose this formula as an area of voluntary commitment, a workplace and a space for significant social co-existence with others. By establishing a legal and formal framework and regulating the status of non-governmental organisations, they are responsible for management and are accountable for it. They build relationships and social networks, plan, raise funds, educate various groups, provide services and fulfill themselves in socially engaged actions. There are visible aspects of the significant effects of self-education through experience, marked by strong emotions – in professional and non-professional areas, where realities collide with idealistic attitudes towards the world and people, altruistic attitudes are verified, while conflicts and burnout force resignation or discourage involvement (Belina, 2018). This constitutes an important educational environment in which experiencing the social world through participation is the basis for constructing oneself as homo agens: a human being taking action.

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Michaela Beran Sládkayová

ORCID: 0000-0003-2701-865X
Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

Citizenship Education of Adults
as a Tool in Activating Citizenship Competence

Citizenship education is becoming a key element of adult education in society in general. The current social situation, both nationally and internationally, points to the need to develop active citizens. Active citizenship, however, cannot be seen only in the context of voting or referendums; it includes participation, involvement in public affairs, tolerance, critical thinking and many other attributes of citizenship. One way to become an active citizen is through citizenship education for adults. As this is not only a regional specificity, the present theoretical study aims to define citizenship education from different perspectives in different European countries. In addition to forming an active citizen, adult citizenship education should help the individual acquire citizenship competences. The present study also describes possibilities, forms, methods of acquiring such competences, in relation to the definition of indicators of active citizenship and citizenship education, as well.

Keywords: active citizenship, key competences, adult education, citizenship education for adults

Introduction

Citizenship education, as part of the concept of lifelong learning, is among the basic forms and possibilities of acquiring key competences. Citizenship education is focused on the formation of awareness of human rights and obligations in basic roles (civic, political, social) and represents a way to fulfill these roles responsibly (Veteška, 2010). One goal of citizenship education can be considered the acquisition of civic competences. In this context, it is important to pay attention to the concept of active citizenship.

This concept represents knowledge, skills and attitudes that an individual can use in the context of participation in public life (Veteška, 2016). It can therefore be said that active citizenship, in addition to acquiring knowledge, includes attitudes and skills. If we claim that the goal of citizenship education is the formation of an active citizen, we can say that the fulfillment of this goal also entails the acquisition of specific competences. This statement is confirmed by the international publication Indicators for Monitoring Active Citizenship and Citizenship Education (De Weerd et al., 2005), which describes basic indicators of active citizenship as well as indicators of civic education (Table 1).

Table 1. Indicators of active citizenship and civic education

Indicators of active citizenship

Voluntary activity in a organisation Organising activities for the community Participation in elections Participation in a political party Joining an interest group Nonviolent forms of protest Participation in public debate

Civic education indicators

Knowledge

Attitudes

Values

Skills

Background knowledge

Factual knowledge

Functional knowledge

Political effectiveness

Confidence in politics

Interest in politics

Tolerance Nonviolence

Respect for the legal system

Respect for human rights

Critical reading skills

Debating skills

Writing skills

Critical listening skills

Empathy

Social skills

Source: processed according to Smékal et al., 2010. Analysis of civic education of adults.

Based on these indicators, we can identify both the features and specifics of civic education and the specifics of active citizenship. This brings us back to the need to characterise competences needed to meet the goals of active citizenship as well as the goals of citizenship education.

Key competences for lifelong learning

The annex Reference Framework of Key Competences for Lifelong Learning (2006), adopted by the European Union, sets out eight key competences: 1. communication in one’s mother tongue, 2. communication in foreign languages, 3. mathematical competence and basic competences in the fields of science and technology, 4. digital competence, 5. learning how to learn, 6. social and citizenship competences, 7. initiative and entrepreneurship, and 8. cultural awareness and expression.

For the sixth item, it defines social and citizenship competences, which include individual, interpersonal and intercultural competences and cover all forms of behaviour an individual uses to participate effectively and constructively in social and work life, especially in increasingly diverse societies and to address conflict when necessary. Citizenship competence enable individuals to participate fully in civic life based on knowledge of social and political concepts and structures and commitment to active and democratic participation. According to the reference framework, the basis of citizenship competences is knowledge of concepts including democracy, justice, equality, citizenship and civil rights, along with knowledge of current events at all levels of society (regional, national, international and global). Skills for citizenship competences are also related to the ability to participate effectively in public life, to show solidarity and to be interested in solving problems that affect society. Citizens’ competences require critical and creative thinking first and foremost, as well as constructive participation in public affairs (European Commission, 2006).

The 2018 Reference Framework also sets out eight key competences with small variations: 1. literacy, 2. multilingualism, 3. mathematical competence and competence in science, technology and engineering, 4. digital competence, 5. personal and social competence, and the ability to learn, 6. citizenship competence, 7. entrepreneurial competence, and 8. competence in the field of cultural awareness and expression.

Compared to the 2006 document, the sixth point, which concerns citizenship education, a change appears from social and citizenship competence to only citizenship competence. This is characterised as the ability to act as a responsible citizen and to participate fully in civic and social life, based on knowledge of social, economic, legal and political concepts and structures, as well as an understanding of global development and sustainability. Citizenship competence is based on knowledge of basic concepts relating to individuals, groups, working organisations, society, the economy and culture. It also includes an understanding of common European values. This includes knowledge of current events as well as an understanding of major trends in national, European and world history at a critical distance. In addition, this competence includes awareness of the aims, values and policies of social and political movements, as well as of sustainable systems, in particular with regard to climate change and demographic change at global level and their root causes. Knowledge of European integration and awareness of diversity and cultural identities in Europe and in the world are also crucial. This includes understanding multicultural and socioeconomic dimensions of European societies and the way in which a national cultural identity contributes to European identity.

Citizenship competences relate to the ability to communicate effectively with others in the common or public interest, including the sustainable development of society. These include skills that enable critical thinking and constructive participation in community activities, as well as decision-making at all levels, from local and national to European and international. Another element is the ability to approach traditional and new types of media, to look at them critically and to work with them (European Commission, 2018).

In addition to the strong sixth competence, personal and social competence is also related to active citizenship and citizenship education as a competence in the field of cultural awareness and expression. These two competencies represent a kind of complement to the complex citizen, which will help him in fulfilling his civic, political, social or family roles in which he moves.

Citizenship education of adults as a tool for acquiring citizenship competence

In democratic countries, “citizenship education supports people to become active, informed and responsible citizens who are willing and able to take responsibility for themselves as well as for their society in which they live” (EACEA, 2017, p. 9). In the context of achieving these objectives, citizenship education should contribute to the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes in four basic areas:

cooperating effectively and constructively with others;

critical thinking;

socially responsible behaviour;

democratic behaviour (EACEA, 2017).

These areas are also related to the acquisition of key competencies and the acquisition of various skills and attitudes. Adult citizenship education can therefore be seen as “education, training, activities and activities supporting the development of civic competences, active participation in the community and society, political literacy and at the same time activities that help young and adults gain values and take attitudes to current political and social issues” (Sládkayová, 2019, p. 12).

We can approach the characteristics of adult citizenship education, as well as the achievement of its goals and thus the acquisition of citizenship competencies, in various ways, forms and methods. From the point of view of procedural aspects, it is relatively difficult to identify specific forms and methods for adult citizenship education. Therefore, in adult education, any form or method can be used. The basic criterion in choosing the appropriate form and method, if we proceed from the definition of citizenship education for adults, should be to use mainly forms and methods in which the activity is largely on the part of participants, with the educator serving primarily as a facilitator.

Based on research conducted by the Council of Europe (Birzea, 2000), we can identify the following models, comprising what is termed the civic-education pyramid:

experiential learning

learning based on participants’ experience with the educator serving as a facilitator;

collaborative learning

social and interactive group learning that at the same time includes the acquisition of skills, such as teamwork, setting common goals, division of labour, etc.;

intercultural learning

based on two principles: cultural relativism and reciprocity;

action learning

project learning, with goals that participants try to achieve through projects;

contextual learning

this model presupposes the continuous integration of the individual’s learning into the system of cultural and civic references of the group, community or society to which the learner belongs.

Among other things, these models form the framework of the citizenship-education process and the course of individual activities implemented within it.

Other possible forms of implementation of citizenship education for adults and the achievement of citizenship competencies is the use of contemporary forms of citizenship education described by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy website:

service learning;

action civics;

civic education through debate;

school as a community;

liberal pedagogy (Levine, 2018).

At the same time, we can consider these forms as methods and use them within one of the models of citizenship education. We draw attention to the fact that these forms are implemented mainly in the school educations of children and young people.

However, we can also use these forms in adult education. When choosing methods, from the point of view of civic education for adults, we consider practical methods to be the most effective. It is the discussion, situational, staging methods, excursions, internships, workshops, problem solving that lead to the fulfillment of two basic pillars important for civic education: learning to act and learning to live together (Delors Report, 1996). According to the document Education to foster intercultural understanding and solidarity in Europe (LLLPlatform, 2016), the most suitable methods are those that use experimental learning, learning through project creation, and learning through action (learning by doing). At the same time, it emphasises the importance of applying methods that activate participants, as this teaches them to work together, understand cultural differences and create alternative ways to live together. Thanks to these methods, we can effectively fulfill the goals of citizenship education for adults and thus ensure the effective acquisition of citizenship competencies necessary for human life in society.

Conclusion

Finally, we want to point out the need for citizenship education for adults. Not only as a tool to address various current issues (the rise of extremism, racism, intolerance, migration, xenophobia, etc.), but also as a tool to acquire citizenship competences, it can be considered an effective way of fulfilling roles an adult performs during their life. These roles, also resulting from ontogenetic psychology, can be characterised precisely through developmental tasks in individual stages of adulthood, such as taking civic responsibility, providing a model of values, developing social responsibility and social engagement. In connection with the text above, we consider citizenship education of adults an effective tool for managing these tasks and also for acquiring competences and skills related to it.

References

Birzea, C. (2000). Education for democratic citizenship: A lifelong learning perspective. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.

De Weerd, M., et al. (2005). Indicators for Monitoring Active Citizenship and Citizenship Education. Final report. Amsterdam, Regioplan Beleidsonderzoek.

Delors Report (1996). https://www.gcedclearinghouse.org/resources/learning-treasure-within-report-unesco-international-commission-education-twenty-first (accessed on: 30.05.2020).

Education to foster intercultural understanding and solidarity in Europe (2016). Brussels: LLLPlatform.

European Commission/EAEA/Eurydice (2017). Citizenship Education at School in Europe – 2017. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

European framework for key competences for lifelong learning (2006). http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32006H0962 (accessed on: 30.05.2020).

European framework for key competences for lifelong learning. (2018). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52018SC0014&from=EN (accessed on: 30.05.2020).

Levin, P. (2018). Civic Education; http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/civic-education/#CivEduPolAct (accessed on: 30.05.2020).

Sládkayová, M. (2019). Občianske vzdelávanie dospelých. Banská Bystrica: Belianum.

Smékal, V., et al. (2010). Analýza občanského vzdělávaní dospělých. Brno: Centrum občanského vzdélávaní.

Veteška, J. (2010). Kompetence ve vzdělávání dospélých. Pedagogické, andragogické a sociální aspekty. Prague: Univerzita Jana Amose Komenského Praha.

Veteška, J. (2016). Přehled andragogiky. Prague: Portál.

Recapitulation

Our book is a collection of unique chapters describing and problematising the current state of the theory and practice of adult education from the perspective of countries in Central and Eastern Europe. It presents a picture of a dynamically changing research field and an important area of educational policy in particular countries in the region. It is a significant contribution to the development of andragogy, understood as the study of adult education, learning and learning environments.

This comprehensive multi-author monograph presents under our scientific editorship an international, specifically Eastern European perspective on adult education. In the countries represented by authors of the individual chapters, andragogy means the theory of “adult education science” with its own terminology, subject, and object of research.

Today, with the paradigm shift and the functioning of individuals and societies in post-modernity, adult education is an immanent and extremely important aspect of lifelong learning. It focuses on formal, non-formal, and informal aspects of the processes of education, including both self-education and self-improvement.

The phenomenon of contemporary adult education, or andragogy, is a multiple threading of discourses. The present monograph highlights the diversity of research threads, theoretical approaches and methodological approaches chosen by researchers in the field. Their theoretical reflections provide the justification for taking effective action in social practice, and for careful observation of social phenomena and learning in daily life, making it possible for a scientific theory to be built.

The authors of the individual chapters have noticed the multiplicity of variants of adults’ intellectual, cultural and social activity, and the multiplicity of environments in which the processes of lifelong learning and self-education take place. Reflections included in this volume, representing the reflections of researchers from Central and Eastern Europe, document the aims, scope and dynamics of contemporary research on the development of this discipline and the state of its theory.

Researchers have analysed thematic areas and issues in lifelong learning, ideas and practices of learning in adulthood, educational problems and counselling support for adult human development. In interdisciplinary discourse they show the reader their own methodological concepts and research workshops, using methods derived from the social sciences. They investigate and describe various spaces of learning, from the intentionally organised and systematised to the ad hoc and spontaneously created. They consider topics related to the importance of extracurricular activities for the well-being of the individual and their successful development, and the personal safety of people in different life situations. The analyses and research results show that the architecture of contemporary adult-learning environments consists of all factors responsible for constructing, structuring and restructuring our knowledge about the world. Among them are the “actors” involved in the didactic processes: both the learners and those supporting the process.

The authors in this volume have heeded the call to make good education a public issue. They consider legislative systems and solutions (projects, laws, programmes), as well as educational-policy goals, ranging from the global (such as the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals – Goal 4: Good quality education, and the Council of Europe Recommendation of 22 May 2018 on key competences for lifelong learning) through the regional and local, to adult-education functions that take into account individual aspirations.

It can be argued that the identity of the learner is significantly different than it was even two decades ago. The adult learner is the “architect”, the builder of their own “edifice” of knowledge, and decides on their own about their knowledge resources and area of competence. In the process of learning, they take into account life knowledge, both that which they already possess and that acquired in daily life and systemically organised education (formal and non-formal), improving skills and acquiring competences, and modifying and changing them in accordance with their own needs. In the case of learning in adulthood, a programme of self-education is implemented, with the learner discovering themself, making themself the subject of their cognitive activity.

This change in the identity of the learning subject influences a redefinition of the scope of activities of the person we might call the teacher of adults. This teacher, counsellor, trainer or instructor is more laissez-faire than one would traditionally expect an didactic to be in educational interaction. The teacher has irretrievably lost their omnipotence and any claim to omniscience and infallibility. Daily life and the life immersed within it has become the “school”.

The new literacy – civic, economic, health, digital, relating to interpersonal communication, the legal culture – presents a challenge for implementers of organised forms of education. The dynamics of social change are such that everyone needs to learn. Lifelong learning, with its strong potential for learning in adulthood, will perhaps lead the societies of the twenty-first century towards the achievement of success, here expressed in sustainable development, a thriving “green” economy, intercultural dialogue, social cohesion and integration, liveable regions and cities, individual well-being, and collective public order. Perhaps adult education will contribute to what is most precious: world peace and individual well-being. It is our wish that this book will become a cornerstone in building that future and that better world, friendly to all.

Zofia Szarota & Zuzanna Wojciechowska

ABOUT THE EDITORS

Zofia Szarota

Associate Professor at the University of Warsaw, where she was Head of the Department of Continuing Education and Andragogy at the Faculty of Education. Her scientific interests include issues of adulthood in educational contexts as well as problems accompanying old age and ageing. Her research interests focus on problems of adult learning, social integration and equality, as well as social gerontology and geragogy. She is the author of over 140 publications. Professor Szarota is on the editorial committees of several international and domestic scientific journals. She is a member of the Academic Andragogical Association and the Association of Social Gerontologists and an educator at the Universities of the Third Age, where she lectures on non-formal adult education. She was vice president of the Social Pedagogy Team of the Committee of Pedagogical Sciences at the Polish Academy of Sciences (2016–2020), and is currently secretary of the Geronotology Section of the academy’s Committee of Pedagogical Sciences (2020–2023). She has been a board member of the Academic Andragogical Association in Poland since 2008, and is a member of the Expert Team for Senior Citizens at the Ombudsman.

Zuzanna Wojciechowska

Lecturer at the University of Warsaw, andragogue, doctor of social sciences in the field of education, presently with the Department of Lifelong Education and Andragogy at the Faculty of Education at the University of Warsaw. Dr Wojciechowska’s theoretical and empirical interests include issues related to adult education and biography, as well as to professional change, careers, patterns in contemporary life and careers, inter- and multicultural learning, intercultural counseling and the fate of emigrants. At present her particular interests include issues related to distance education, innovative solutions in remote education, edutainment techniques and digitisation in education (she also teaches academic subjects related to these topics). She belongs to the group of members of the Academic Andragogical Association in Poland, and is also a practitioner of adult education. For ten years, she has been involved in language education, including teaching Polish to foreigners. She is also a member of the quality-evaluation committee overseeing education at the University of Warsaw.

Notes about our authors

Michaela Beran Sládkayová, Mgr., PhD
Department of Andragogy, Faculty of Education,
Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
ORCID:0000-0003-2701-865X
michaela.sladkayova@umb.sk

Dorota Ciechanowska, PhD
WSB University, Poznań, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0002-5788-5327
dorota.ciechanowska@wsb.szczecin.pl

Beata Cyboran, PhD, Hab.
Faculty of Art, Pedagogical University of Kraków
ORCID: 0000-0003-4138-5034
beata.cyboran@up.krakow.pl

Ewa Dębska, PhD
Faculty of Education, Department of Continuing Education and Andragogy,
University of Warsaw
ORCID: 0000-0001-9986-472X
e.debska@uw.edu.pl

Dorota Gierszewski, PhD, Hab.
Faculty of Philosophy, Institute of Education,
Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0003-2002-5128
d.gierszewski@uj.edu.pl

Wojciech Horyń, PhD, Assoc. Prof.
Faculty of Security Studies,
General Tadeusz Kościuszko Military University
of Land Forces, Wrocław, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0002-9887-5889
wojciech.horyn@awl.edu.pl

Oleksandra Kachmar, PhD, Prof.
Department of Professional Methods and Technologies in Primary Education,
Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
ORCID: 0000-0002-2002-4603
Ooleksandra75@ukr.net

Małgorzata Kamińska, PhD, Assoc. Prof.
Pawel Wlodkowic University College, Płock, Poland
ORCID 0000-0002-1643-3949
gosiam0@poczta.onet.pl

Maria Khegay, MD
Head of the Research Sector, ANO Institute of Problems of Embryogenetic
Neuroendocrine Immune Deficiency of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Moscow
ORCID: 0000-0003-3537-8460
hmm-doc@mail.ru

Liliana Khimchuk, PhD, Assoc. Prof.
Department of Professional Methods and Technologies in Primary Education,
Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
ORCID: 0000-0002-9243-3131
regul22@ukr.net

Julia Kluzowicz, PhD
Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0002-8613-6456
julia.kluzowicz@uj.edu.pl

Maryla Koss-Goryszewska, PhD
The Educational Research Institute (IBE), Warsaw
ORCID: 0000-0002-3223-9249
m.goryszewska@ibe.edu.pl

Miroslav Krystoň, PhD, Prof.
Faculty of Education, Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
ORCID:  0000-0002-3809-2380
miroslav.kryston@umb.sk

Martin Kursch, PhD
Department of Andragogy and Education Management,
Charles University, Prague
ORCID: 0000-0001-9492-7971
martin.kursch@se.com

Aleksandra Litawa, PhD
Faculty of Education and Psychology,
Pedagogical University of Kraków, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0003-2004-8450
aleksandra.litawa@up.krakow.pl

Zdzisław Ludziejewski, PhD
Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Sociology,
University of Information Technology and Management COPERNICUS, Wrocław, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0002-9616-0492
zdzislaw.ludziejewski@wsiz.wroc.pl

Nadiia Ivanivna Lutsan, PhD, Prof.
Department of Professional Methods and Technologies in Primary Education,
Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
ORCID: 0000-0001-6239-1535,
lutsan.nadia@gmail.com

Jan Maciejewski, PhD, Assoc. Prof.
Department of Social Sciences, University of Wrocław, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0002-0743-099X
jan.maciejewski@uwr.edu.pl

Kinga Majchrzak-Ptak, PhD
Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences,
Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0001-8616-9824
kingam@umk.pl

Emilia Mazurek, PhD
Faculty of Management,
Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland 
ORCID: 0000-0002-2132-8756
emilia.mazurek@pwr.edu.pl

Natalia Michalak, Mgr.
Faculty of Psychology,
SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw
ORCID: 0000-0003-4733-8183
nmichalak@swps.edu.pl

Kazimierz Nagody-Mrozowicz, PhD, Assoc. Prof.
Faculty of Management,
General Tadeusz Kościuszko Military University of Land Forces, Wrocław, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0002-9211-5256
kazimierz.nagody-mrozowicz@awl.edu.pl

Agnieszka Naumiuk, PhD, Hab.
Faculty of  Education,
University of Warsaw
ORCID: 0000-0001-5390-4263
agnieszka.naumiuk@uw.edu.pl

Zuzana Neupauer, Mgr., PhD
Faculty of Education, Matej Bel
University, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
ORCID: 0000-0001-6990-0427
zuzana.neupauer@umb.sk

Maciej Ostaszewski, Mgr.
The Educational Research Institute (IBE), Warsaw
ORCID: 0000-0001-7302-2954
m.ostaszewski@ibe.edu.pl

Danuta Parlak, Mgr.
Doctoral School of Social Sciences,
University of Warsaw
ORCID: 0000-0002-9980-1734
d.parlak@uw.edu.pl

Irina Popova, PhD, Prof.
Yaroslavl State University, Russia
ORCID: 0000-0002-1769-8885
pivik@list.ru

Ewa Przybylska, PhD, Prof.
Institute of Sociological Sciences and Pedagogy,
Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW)
ORCID: 0000-0001-8338-5484
ewa_przybylska@sggw.edu.pl

Lenka Rovňanová, PhD, Assoc. Prof.
Faculty of Education, Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
ORCID: 0000-0003-3661-1527
lenka.rovnanova@umb.sk

Martin Schubert, Mgr., PhD
Department of Andragogy, Faculty of Education,
Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
ORCID: 0000-0002-2093-7429
martin.schubert@umb.sk

Agnieszka Stopińska-Pająk, PhD, Assoc.
Prof. WSB University, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0002-8631-5825
astopinska-pajak@wsb.edu.pl

Zofia Szarota, PhD, Assoc. Prof.
Faculty of Education, Department of Continuing Education and Andragogy
University of Warsaw
ORCID: 0000-0002-6342-3135
zofiaszarota@gmail.com

Agnieszka Szplit, PhD, Assoc. Prof.
Faculty of Pedagogy and Art,
Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0002-5756-6393
agnieszka.szplit@gmail.com

Jaroslav Veteška, PhD, Prof.
Faculty of Education, Department of Andragogy and Education Management,
Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
ORCID: 0000-0003-1215-7956
jaroslav.veteska@pedf.cuni.cz

Sylwia Walicka, Mgr.
The Educational Research Institute (IBE), Warsaw
ORCID: 0000-0002-4353-5238
walicka2@gmail.com

Klaudia Węc, PhD, Assoc. Prof.
Ignatianum University in Krakow
ORCID: 0000-0002-1659-3205
wecklaudia@gmail.com

Zuzanna Wojciechowska, PhD
Faculty of Education, Department of Continuing Education and Andragogy,
University of Warsaw, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0001-6373-6937
z.wojciechowska@uw.edu.pl

Tatyana Zelenova, PhD
Yaroslavl State University, PG Demidov, Russia
ORCID: 0000-0002-7654-3007
zelenova@yandex.ru

1 Affiliation: The study is a part of the VEGA No. 1/0794/19 research grant project “Professional identity and quality of university teachers in the context of andragogical competence” supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Research of the Slovak Republic.

2 Ideas on what characterises a quality teacher have been conceptualised using social representations, a constructivist term referring to subjective opinions and attitudes. A social representation is an idea about a phenomenon, object or reality characteristic for a specific social group (Plichtová, 1998, 2002).

3 The Link On System SHOW THAT has approaches to all above referred databases: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/search/advanced?vid=7&sid=b259143b-4e01-42db-8c7c-22f94f9d499f%40pdc-v-sessmgr04.

4 See http://mixedmethodsappraisaltoolpublic.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/127916259/MMAT_ 2018_criteria-manual_2018-08-01_ENG.pdf.

5 Polish spelling can be difficult to read, and English names are used here.

6 I refer here to the understanding of a learning space in architecture, and to terms suggested by Ellis and Goodyear in Spaces of Teaching and Learning (Springer 2018).

7 The research in full is described in my book Od nowicjusza do experta. Rozwój ekspertywności nauczycieli nauczycieli języków obcych (Szplit, 2019 [From a novice to an expert: developing expertise of foreign-language teacher educators]).

8 OJ C 484, 24.12.2016.

9 Various terms are used in the literature, e.g. skills diagnostics, skills audits, skills profiling, skills portfolio. The term “skills assessment” will be used here for clarity and consistency, as well as in reference to publications using other terms. Cf. Cedefop, 2014.

10 Competence Cards and Career Cards are described in the Good Practices Database in the example of the German qualification “Qualified metal processing worker, specialising in construction engineering”: http://walidacja.ibe.edu.pl/dobrepraktyki/index.php/en/praktyka/30.

11 Celebrated Polish artists.

12 In Stephen Bertman’s Hyperculture: The Human Cost of Speed, he asserts that we live now in a society ruled by the power of the present moment, by constant change and by haste (Bertman, 1998).

13 Carlo Petrini, an Italian food critic, responding to the opening of a McDonald’s restaurant in central Rome at Piazza Spagna, initiated the Slow Food movement – the opposite of fast food – whose main idea was to draw from the wealth of local products and culinary traditions, contributing to protection of local cuisines of different regions internationally. Many other initiatives have been related to the Slow Movement – for example, in 1998, an international network was created of cities associated within the Slow Cities group, where the use of technologies aimed at improving the quality of the environment and urban world is promoted, as well as dialogue and efficient communication between local producers and consumers. The idea of Slow Work was also created: work wherein people focus on quality and efficiency, while maintaining balance and harmony between other areas of life; Slow Fashion, promoting recycled clothes and accessories made by hand by craftsmen and artists, not by corporate networks; and Slow Parenting, which encourages parents to raise their children in accordance with the idea that play time and time spent without a particular goal were conducive to development, rather than sending children to classes organised by adults (Honoré 2012).

14 Mindfulness comes from Buddhist psychology, although it is also present in other contemplative traditions, including the Judeo-Christian. Mindfulness is a practice, a way to focus on being here and now, expanding own’s awareness of one’s own body, and reducing stress, and following this practice has a holistic impact on improving the quality of human life (Holas & Słaba, 2016).

15 A narrator code at the end of each statement denotes sequence number and age.

16 Approximately 450 euros.

17 Continuing education as defined in the new Polish Act on Educational Law (Article 4(2)(30), the provision that has been in force since 1 September 2019).

18 Full text of the law on public-benefit organisations (in Polish): http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20030960873/U/D20030873Lj.pdf.

19 Journalist, charity campaigner and social activist. Founder and president of the non-profit children’s health charity WOŚP (the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity), https://en.wosp.org.pl.

20 Astronomer and activist. Founder and president of the international-aid organisation PAH (Polish Humanitarian Action), https://www.pah.org.pl.