ΣΔΜ622: Access and Participation of Adults in Education

The Module aims to familiarise students with different theories of participation in education and training and policies for the promotion of participation of adult learners in the educational process. The weekly units initially map the principal theoretical discussions on motivations, access and obstacles to participation in education and training by mainly drawing from texts and authors whose work directly focuses on adult education. The Module attempts to encourage a critical analysis by adding a sociological lens to explanations of participation and non-participation of adult learners in educational activities. Giving emphasis to the dimensions of social class, gender and race the respective weekly units engage with a critical discussion of the inequalities, the gender and racial hierarchies and exclusionary policies and practices that shape the existing dynamics of participation of adult learners in education.

Subsequently, the Module examines in depth the state of participation rates of adult learners in European and developing countries, with a particular emphasis on Greece and Cyprus, as well as the principal policies that are implemented for the promotion of participation in adult learning. The analysis of these themes focuses on a critical discussion of the divergences in adult participation rates amongst different national and regional contexts and a critical review of existing policies on enhancing the participation of adult learners in education and training in Europe and beyond.

By the end of the Module, students will have developed knowledge and understanding of participation in education and learning as a field of theoretical and political contestation, with an emphasis on adult education. Students will also be able to use this theoretical knowledge for analysing and evaluating educational policies on the basis of how successfully they promote the participation for adult learners to educational programmes.