Elderly population, increased digitization, changes in employment, high levels of migration and climate change. The challenges in today’s Europe are many, but not insoluble. How can adult education help us to develop a knowledge society that is able to cope with the challenges of our time?

In this article, I present some of the challenges we already see and will see in the future of Europe. As well as how the transformational opportunities and benefits of education of adults can help solve these challenges.

The updated EAEA Manifesto 2019 outlines the challenges of the future in Europe where adult education can play a key role. Firstly, we see a shift in the population. People are getting older and want to be active and healthy for longer. Increased digitalisation creates demands for new skills and competences for employees, citizens and consumers. In countries that have had significant changes in employment and have few opportunities for retraining, we see high unemployment – especially among the youngest and oldest citizens.

In recent years, Europe has faced a high level of migration, which has posed great challenges for many countries. These challenges have led to a divided population: supportive European citizens on the one hand and a defensive or hateful reaction from critics on the other. Finally, a challenge that not only poses a huge threat to us in Norway and in Europe: climate change and other environmental challenges. We need to adapt to achieve more sustainable economies, societies and lifestyles.

We have now seen that Europe has a number of challenges where adult education will be an important part of the solution. Adult learning is not only beneficial to the individual but also to society as a whole and economies. Through adult education, we can create a more innovative, equal and sustainable society where people have the skills and knowledge needed to live and work healthy and productive. As well as take an active part in cultural and civic activities throughout their lives.

In other words, adult education is an indispensable key that we need to address the challenges that Europe has today and will have for years to come. Developed by Malcolm Knowles in 1968, andragogy is described by its creator as the art and science of helping adults learn. We’ve already covered the main assumptions of this theory when comparing adult and child learners. And here are four principles of the andragogic (or andragogical) approach:

• Adults learn better from experience (even if they make mistakes).
• Adults favor a pragmatic approach and must be able to apply learning to solve a specific problem.
• Adults are most interested in learning things that have immediate relevance.
• Adults need to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their instruction.

Regards,

Caitlin Tera,

Managing editor,

International Journal of Adult and Non Formal Education

Whatsapp- +3225889658