Adult Education as Prerequisites for Higher Education Development and

Civic Society

Margarita TeresevičienėProfessor, Department of Education, Vytautas Magnus

University, Kaunas, LithuaniaVaiva Zuzevičiūtė

Assoc. prof. dr. Department of Education, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania

Krakow, 21 -22 September, 2006

Citizenship and Adult Education as Prerequisite for Civic Society –

framework for analysis

Adult Education, active citizenship

Civic society, characterized

by active participation in social initiatives

National context

International context

Framework for analysis -CONTEXTS

• International context acts as a significant catalyst of change as it preconditions global integration and integration into the EU.

• At the national level interrelated process of iterative relationship between development of adult education and social initiatives is identified.

Problem of Concept

• We should underline the difficulty of defining the concept of citizenship.

• To examine the concept requires the contextualisation of meaning, processes and results, because different social, economic and political conditions imply different understandings of the concepts of citizenship.

• The birth of the concept and the very phenomenon of citizenship in the West, it is generally agreed, come from the Classical Greece.

‘Citizenship’ seems to imply almost in all cases existence of the following elements:

• Common law should be established to protect [the citizen] against internal and external threats;

• Appropriate and negotiated systems of governance are the best way to ensure the common law is administered properly;

• Norms and values of the community should serve as benchmarks of citizens’ behaviour.

Contemporary concept is wider

• Contemporary discussions on citizenship seem to be focused on the context of citizenship.

• If for an ancient Greek ‘citizenship’ meant order, security and relative freedom in a very specific, geographically, socially, and politically defined area, it is not the case today, or at least it is debatable.

Multiculturism

• One of the main challenges that face contemporary European society is multiculturalism.

• On the one hand, European society has never been otherwise, as Durkheim noted certain location in Europe in 13th century were examples of extreme multiculturalism.

• Paris university, established in 13th AD is one of such examples, since among students we could have found people from all over Europe and beyond.

• Another example of the same is universities in Krakow, and Torun

Multiculturism

• On the other hand, however, as Field notes, we can identify a major, in-depth difference between situations prior to modernity, and in 21st century.

• Earlier, locations where many cultures met, and interacted (most often – with extreme success) were even if numerous, than surely limited to certain places (for example, universities, courts of monarchs, monasteries).

• Today geography of multicultural situation is universal, as is the level of impact to individual’s, groups’, and social institutions’ (for example – system of education) lives.

Contents of a contemporary concept of ‘citizenship’

• It seems that in a contemporary society a balance between individualism and social integration should be sought.

• Participation in various forms of social life comprises one of the most important dimensions of being a citizen.

Contents of a contemporary concept of ‘citizenship’: dimensions of being a citizen

Participation Civic society

Joining educational services and learning (individual’s responsibility)

Provision for educational services (states’, organization's responsibility)

Contents of a contemporary concept of ‘citizenship’

• Meaningful participation is only possible if people are well informed about various challenges in their society, and if they are informed well enough to contribute to whatever processes they are going to join.

• Therefore learning (as individual’s responsibility) and provision of educational services (as responsibilities of supra-national – the EU- entities, states, social institutions – educational system, and organizations) become of crucial importance in developing civic societies.

ParticipationCivic society

Joining educational services and learning

Provision for educational services and learning

Adult education for Civic society

• Adult education is an integral and crucial part of any society that aims to be a civil society, especially the society that undergoes rapid technological and economical, and also- social – changes.

• If we want people to be aware of the processes in their society and to either join or influence them, we should admit that permanent learning is of utmost importance, as otherwise in a changing situation people will loose ability to judge adequately as professionals, and as citizens.

Adult education for Civic society

• Paradoxically, adult education, on the other hand, is a good symptom to judge, whether a given society is (or aims to be) a civic society.

• An open, dynamic, society, a society that is orientated towards a sustainable progress relies on itself, on its members and their competence.

Adult education (also in the framework of higher education) for Civic society

• Civic society and well developed adult education (within the framework of higher education or is considered in higher education, e.g., does it provide studies for adult educators? At which stage?) are intrinsically interrelated, and that emphasis on either of the phenomenon influences the development of the other one. Adult education

(also, within higher education) for civic society

Civic society for adult education

Methodology

• first stage – a comparative survey on university teachers’

perceptions (Lithuania and Poland)

• second stage– survey in Lithuania (135 full time students) – in-depth discussions with future adult

educators

Approaches to learning in a contemporary HE (teachers’, administrators’ ideas)

lifelong learners are fostered in higher education

knowledge and skills are most important

critical/reflexive thinking is what matters

economic and social development is the final goal of learning

learning in higher education is learning to be a citizen

other

0,6 1,2 1,8 2,4 3,0 3,6

Mean

2,7

2,1

1,9

3,4

2,94,0

Importance of developing citizens in tomorrow’s university,% (teachers’ ideas)

38.9

8.711.1

39.1

0

20

40

60

Second priority

Third priority

Second priority 38.9 8.7

Third priority 11.1 39.1

Polish Lithuanian

What is intercultural education? (students’ ideas)

0

10

20

30

40

50

Series1 45 26 27

At the level of individual

Activities of international organ.

Integration at cultural level

Why is intercultural education important? (students’ ideas)

Category Subcategory Total number of responses

At the level of cultures

Cherishing and development of one’s own culture, by getting to know other cultures more deeply (13)

21

At the level of individual

Development of tolerance (32)

85

At international/ political level

Helps to foster good international relations (9)

27

Total 133

Negative aspects of multicultural situations

for individuals, % of all contributions, students’ ideas

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Series1 4,7 10,5

To help to cope with changesTo help to cope with cultural

shock

Ways to improve multicultural education,% , students’ contributions

36,6

27,5

12,5 Co-operation

Individual readiness

Need forinstitutionalisation

Conclusions and discussions

• Well informed, confident and secure in their professional and social careers people contribute to whatever needs their society has, and healthy, dynamic society and the society that is orientated towards sustainable development promotes all possible opportunities for learning, first and foremost through development and support of educational services

Conclusions and discussions

• Teachers’ and students (future adult educators’) contributions reveal that they are for professional and institutionalized approach to prepare themselves for challenges of multicultural world

• Teachers’ and students (future adult educators’) approaches and the concepts they held on what has to be emphasized in higher education, and what should be emphasized if challenges of the multicultural world are to be met adequately.

Conclusions and questions for discussions

Within the formal curriculum

Within the wider curriculum and extra curricular activities

Educating for citizenship through democratic

participation

Pluses MinusesChalle

nges

Shall we emphasize one of the fields – within the formal curriculum of study programmes of future adult educators?

And within extra curriculum activities, and encouraging students to participate in university’s life more actively (for students in all other study programmes)?

Shall we make universities more open for people of all ages and all backgrounds?