Textbook Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in Southeastern Europe 1St Edition George A Koulaouzides Ebook All Chapter PDF

Adult Education and Lifelong Learning
in Southeastern Europe 1st Edition

George A. Koulaouzides
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://textbookfull.com/product/adult-education-and-lifelong-learning-in-southeastern-
europe-1st-edition-george-a-koulaouzides/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...
Transforming Perspectives in Lifelong Learning and

Adult Education: A Dialogue Laura Formenti
https://textbookfull.com/product/transforming-perspectives-in-
lifelong-learning-and-adult-education-a-dialogue-laura-formenti/
The Great Cauldron A History of Southeastern Europe

Marie-Janine Calic
https://textbookfull.com/product/the-great-cauldron-a-history-of-
southeastern-europe-marie-janine-calic/
Connecting Adult Learning and Knowledge Management

Strategies for Learning and Change in Higher Education
and Organizations Monica Fedeli
https://textbookfull.com/product/connecting-adult-learning-and-
knowledge-management-strategies-for-learning-and-change-in-
higher-education-and-organizations-monica-fedeli/
Second Language Acquisition and Lifelong Learning 1st

Edition Singleton
https://textbookfull.com/product/second-language-acquisition-and-
lifelong-learning-1st-edition-singleton/
Mapping out the Research Field of Adult Education and
Learning Andreas Fejes
https://textbookfull.com/product/mapping-out-the-research-field-
of-adult-education-and-learning-andreas-fejes/
Foundations for Lifelong Learning John Piper
https://textbookfull.com/product/foundations-for-lifelong-
learning-john-piper/
Adult Learning Basics 2nd Edition William Rothwell
https://textbookfull.com/product/adult-learning-basics-2nd-
edition-william-rothwell/
Adult Education in Neoliberal Times: Policies,

Philosophies and Professionalism 1st Edition Marion
Bowl (Auth.)
https://textbookfull.com/product/adult-education-in-neoliberal-
times-policies-philosophies-and-professionalism-1st-edition-
marion-bowl-auth/
Church, State and Colonialism in Southeastern Congo,

1890–1962 Reuben A. Loffman
https://textbookfull.com/product/church-state-and-colonialism-in-
southeastern-congo-1890-1962-reuben-a-loffman/
Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in Southeastern Europe
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES IN ADULT EDUCATION
Volume 24
Series Editor:
Peter Mayo, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
Editorial Advisory Board:

Stephen Brookfield, University of St Thomas, Minnesota, USA
Waguida El Bakary, American University in Cairo, Egypt
Budd L. Hall, University of Victoria, BC, Canada
Astrid von Kotze, University of Western Cape, South Africa
Alberto Melo, University of the Algarve, Portugal
Lidia Puigvert-Mallart, CREA-University of Barcelona, Spain
Daniel Schugurensky, Arizona State University, USA
Joyce Stalker, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand/Aotearoa
Juha Suoranta, University of Tampere, Finland
Scope:
This international book series attempts to do justice to adult education as an ever
expanding field. It is intended to be internationally inclusive and attract writers and
readers from different parts of the world. It also attempts to cover many of the
areas that feature prominently in this amorphous field. It is a series that seeks to
underline the global dimensions of adult education, covering a whole range of
perspectives. In this regard, the series seeks to fill in an international void by
providing a book series that complements the many journals, professional and
academic, that exist in the area. The scope would be broad enough to comprise
such issues as ‘Adult Education in specific regional contexts’, ‘Adult Education in
the Arab world’, ‘Participatory Action Research and Adult Education’, ‘Adult
Education and Participatory Citizenship’, ‘Adult Education and the World Social
Forum’, ‘Adult Education and Disability’, ‘Adult Education and the Elderly’,
‘Adult Education in Prisons’, ‘Adult Education, Work and Livelihoods’, ‘Adult
Education and Migration’, ‘The Education of Older Adults’, ‘Southern
Perspectives on Adult Education’, ‘Adult Education and Progressive Social
Movements’, ‘Popular Education in Latin America and Beyond’, ‘Eastern
European perspectives on Adult Education’, ‘An Anti-Racist Agenda in Adult
Education’, ‘Postcolonial perspectives on Adult Education’, ‘Adult Education and
Indigenous Movements’, ‘Adult Education and Small States’. There is also room
for single country studies of Adult Education provided that a market for such a
study is guaranteed.
Adult Education and Lifelong Learning
in Southeastern Europe
Edited by
Hellenic Open University, Greece
and
Katarina Popović
University of Belgrade, Serbia
SENSE PUBLISHERS
ROTTERDAM / BOSTON / TAIPEI
A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-94-6351-171-1 (paperback)

ISBN 978-94-6351-172-8 (hardback)
ISBN 978-94-6351-173-5 (e-book)
Published by: Sense Publishers,

P.O. Box 21858,
3001 AW Rotterdam,
The Netherlands
https://www.sensepublishers.com/
Cover image: “Am Can If”, mixed media construction (76 × 104 × 12 cm) by
Thessaloniki artist Barry Feldman
All chapters in this book have undergone peer review.
Printed on acid-free paper
All rights reserved © 2017 Sense Publishers
No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the
exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and
executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Critical Thinking, Empowerment & Lifelong Learning Policy 1

Katarina Popović and George A. Koulaouzides
2. Critical Reflection and Empowerment in Adult Education Practice: An

Attempt to Create an Understanding of Two Frequently Appearing
“Guest Stars” in Adult Education Policy Documents 17
3. Pedagogical Dimensions of Participatory Democracy: Learning through

Self-Organized Communities and Participatory Budgeting in Maribor 27
Marta Gregorčič and Sabina Jelenc Krašovec
4. Community Empowerment through Labor Education: The Case of

Women Unionists of the General Confederation of Greek Workers 41
Konstantinos Markidis and Ira Papageorgiou
5. Europeanization and Policy Instruments in Croatian Adult Education 53

Tihomir Žiljak
6. Adult Education as an Alternative Medicine: A Critical View of Adult

Education Policy Development in the F.Y. Republic of Macedonia 65
Zoran Velkovski
7. The (In)Sufficiency of Legal Regulation Regarding Adult Education in

Bosnia and Herzegovina 75
Snježana Šušnjara, Sandra Bjelan-Guska, Lejla Kafedžić and
Lejla Hodžić
8. Adult Education in Cyprus: Current Affairs, Challenges, and Future

Prospects 89
Christina Hajisoteriou
9. Participation Rates in Lifelong Learning: Why is Romania not

so Successful? 101
Simona Sava and Anca Luştrea
10. Becoming European: Serbian Adult Education Policy Discourse

through the Decades 115
Sanja Djerasimović and Maja Maksimović
About the Contributors 131
v
KATARINA POPOVIĆ AND GEORGE A. KOULAOUZIDES
1. CRITICAL THINKING, EMPOWERMENT &

LIFELONG LEARNING POLICY
INTRODUCTION: SETTING THE SCENE
In its various facets, adult education has played an important role in different
epochs. Adult education has been more or less organized and structured, for
progressive or conservative purposes and being used and misused by Left and
Right. Nevertheless, its potential to transform societies and individuals was often a
tool for shaping development and has contributed to the civilizational and
humanistic enlargement of the idea of education.
The popular belief which considers that adult education emerged from a
political attempt to broaden access to education and provide a second chance of
educational upgrade to underprivileged adults is not so close to the genuine start-
facts. A different social scenario is closer to truth: adult education emerged from
the needs of adults to bring about social change, to improve their life, to solve
actual problems and to understand social reality. Therefore it is not strange that
adult education is historically connected with the principles of democracy,
community and social justice. The main philosophical approaches that influenced
adult education were humanism, progressivism and radicalism. According to Mayo
(2015, p. 66) even when it was perceived in the context of labor, it had a specific
function:
Adult education has, however, another tradition to observe in the sphere of
work, that of providing workers with the means of critically understanding
different facets of the mode of production. Such workers’ education
programmes are intended to facilitate worker empowerment, to render
workers active beings, rather than objects of the production process and
society in general.
The list of historical personalities, great philosophers and activists, who saw the
main functions of adult education coming from the need of social change, political
progress and democratization, is very long. The 20th century provided deep
theoretical foundation and conceptualization of this approach, resulting in a wide
range of engaged individuals, groups and policy papers expressing the same
determination: The famous Report 1919 (British Ministry of Reconstruction, Adult
Education Committee, 1919) saw adult education in the context of social change;
working class needs for education were the main driving force for the massive
University Extension Movement; Picht and Rosenstock (1926) in Germany
introduced the term ‘andragogy’ for the science of adult education, distinguishing
it clearly from ‘demagogy’; Lindeman saw adult education in the context of social
G. A. Koulaouzides & K. Popović (Eds.), Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in Southeastern
Europe, 1–15.
© 2017 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved.
K. POPOVIĆ & G. A. KOULAOUZIDES
action and social justice; one of the foremost philosophers of education, P. Freire
said (Freire & Macedo, 1987, pp. 24): “From the critical point of view, it is
impossible to deny the political nature of the educational process as it is to deny the
educational character of the political act”.
Moreover, scholars of the Frankfurt School (e.g. Habermas) conceptualized the
critical approach as the foundation and main characteristic of true education
together with many authors who place themselves within Mezirow’s transformative
learning theory. The real roots of modern adult education may be found in popular
movements that emerged in Scandinavia and England. The most important adult
education movements and institutions in modern times were informed by
humanistic, liberal and critical approaches (e.g. the Workers Educational
Association in UK, with their motto A better world, equal, democratic and just, the
Folk High Schools in Denmark, the Highlander Centers in USA). Under the broad
definition of adult education many operational paradigms have been developed and
discussed: continuous education, permanent education, recurrent education,
lifelong education and more. The end of seventies however, marked the beginning
of a triumphal march of neoliberalism, strongly supported by the increased global
nature of economy. The Breton Woods mechanisms and the Keynesian economics
were abandoned, Margaret Thatcher in the UK and Ronald Reagan in the US,
reduced significantly welfare state and changed the role and function of education
and adult education, turning it to a tool for economic growth and development, an
instrument for the adaptation to the changing society and the exploding
technological improvements.
This was the birth hour of what has been called “lifelong learning”. Welcomed
by the civil society due to its focus on learners, its individualized approach and its
flexible character, it was embraced universally. It did bring some benefits to the
field, but harmed much more (Orlović-Lovren & Popović, 2017). Lifelong learning
became a hegemonic discourse, riding on the wave of the globalisation discourse
(Fairclough, 2006). The tension was clear. On the one hand education as a public
good, with shared (at least) responsibility, which lasts for some time and where the
process matters, and on the other hand learning as the responsibility of the
individual learner (including the financial dimension of it), which happens no-
matter-when-and-how and where only the outcome counts. This tension was
resolved by the influence of neoliberal discourse, in favor of the later one. Walker
(2009, pp. 2–3) summarizes this situation carefully when she states that
Lifelong learning becomes a way to help citizens adapt to an already-existent
world; it has been given no real role in re-imagining an entirely different
world order where the free market or corporate profits no longer remain an
unexamined ‘good’ … Indeed, ‘learning’, unlike ‘education’, individualises;
it does not connote infrastructure or even educators. This makes it cheaper.
The idealistic character of adult education, linked to solidarity, envisioning social
change and aiming at emancipation, was defeated by the entrepreneurial character
of lifelong learning. Mezirow’s (2014, p. 2) criticism was clear:
2
CRITICAL THINKING, EMPOWERMENT & LIFELONG LEARNING POLICY
Rather than being led by the collective vision which illuminated earlier
program efforts, the adult education movement … has become market driven,
preoccupied with issues of increasing worker productivity and getting people
off welfare. Its highest social value has become the bottom line.
Discussing Gramsci’s position, Mayo (2015, p. 155) explains:
Gramsci is calling for a more classical balance between the ideals of what can
easily pass nowadays as emancipatory education, as exemplified by Freire in
the best traditions of critical pedagogy and in contrast to neoliberal education,
and ‘old school’ values …
such as discipline, rigor, the acquisition of basic skills, vocationalism, and warns:
We would do well to heed his warnings to avoid the sort of overzealous
approach that might lead us to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Short
of doing so, our quest for an ostensibly ‘emancipatory’ education might well
result in having the contrary effect. The effect can well be that of
disempowering students rather than enabling them to develop as self and
collectively disciplined subjects, equipped with the broad knowledge,
intellectual rigour, critical acumen, social conscience and dialogical/
participatory attitude necessary to assume the role of social actors.
Boshier’s criticism is also brutal (1998, p. 4): “Lifelong learning is recurrent
education or human resource development (HRD) in drag … If lifelong education
was an instrument for democracy, lifelong learning is almost entirely preoccupied
with the cash register”.
It’s not difficult to present examples from the modern world to illustrate that it’s
not only the economic crisis that challenges the modern world; we’re facing
various crises (social, cultural, crisis of values, crisis of representative democracy,
crises of European identity); wars and conflicts, terrorism; myths of unlimited
growth which are destroying the planet, climate changes, huge social gaps and
unlimited consumerism. Apparently, education or learning offering skills needed
for technological progress, employment and adaptation are far from enough; they
become obsolete sometimes even before their application and definitely they
cannot boost innovative economies, green industries and sustainable growth. Even
more important – it can not resolve any of the other problems of contemporary
world. Arguing for the kind of adult education that will foster the democratic social
change, Mezirow (2014, p. 3) said:
Learners who critically reflect upon their beliefs and assumptions frequently
come to challenge taken-for-granted social practices, ideologies and norms
which they discover have been impeding their development. Adult education
cannot ethically abandon these learners who have achieved insights impelling
them to act upon what they have learned.
Adult education should empower, emancipate, and critically reflect social practices
and ideologies, if we believe that the concern for the future development is real. A
3
range of social movements (e.g. Occupy Wall Street in USA, Arab Spring,
‘Resistance’ movement in Serbia, etc) in modern times raised the issues of the
socially and politically engaged adult education. Giving up adult education as a
concrete, clearly defined practice, for the benefit of lifelong learning as a
philosophy and conceptual frame or approach (that was easily used or misused by
neoliberal approaches and practices), means that an important way to empower
people to face the fast-coming challenges and to inspire new practices that could,
with the sense of urgency, solve some of the global problems – is lost. It seems that
lifelong learning, in the process of ‘dethroning’ adult education, took over its roles
and tasks, and continues covering not only economic, but also social, cultural and
civic function. If that hypothesis is true, the analysis of contemporary discourse
should show that: (a) adults are included in the policy and practices under the
conceptual guidance of lifelong learning and (b) the aim and the content of the
education and learning in general, but also their single tasks, areas and fields – do
include emancipation, critical reflection, open-mindedness etc.
This book examines some of these issues from a national and regional point of
view, and the analysis of the global agendas, which act as the frame of reference
for any national processes, shows that lifelong learning and adult education are not
anchored in it, and even if there are adults mentioned in the context of education or
(more often) lifelong learning, its mainly for the context vocational and technical
education, training and skills development.
Some documents dealing with adult education try to include or at least consult
the critical-emancipatory approach1 and do insist on values based on it, but it’s
mostly through the vague or very general defined concepts of personal
development, peace, multiculturalism, and very recently, active citizenship. The
global agenda, formulated in a list of seventeen sustainable development goals
(SDGs), does not recognize adult education, and talks only about lifelong learning.
The goal 4 clearly states that governments should: “Ensure inclusive and equitable
quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” (UN, 2015).
It is an achievement that all sub-sectors of education have been included in the
SDG 4, but it’s also pointed out that education is crucial for the achievement of
several other goals. The new global agenda claims to be ‘transformative’,
‘holistic’, ‘ambitious’, ‘aspirational’, ‘universal’ and ‘humanistic’, and a
comparison with the previous agenda the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), may confirm that.
The closer look to the education goal will reveal what kind of adult education is
considered as important in this new programme for the world. The unfinished task
of MDGs – adult literacy, hasn’t got better position in SDGs. The vague
formulations of the relevant target shows (4.6) even the decline in aspiration: “By
2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and
women, achieve literacy and numeracy” (ibid). Also it is stated that these are
“foundational skills for further learning and the realization of the human potential”,
the plans for resource mobilization confirm the bitter truth: Adult literacy is not
seen as the priority2 and there is a high chance that 758 million youth and adults
(UIS/UNESCO, 2015), who cannot read and write, will not have the chance to
4
practice the other rights since they will lack literacy – “the most significant
foundation upon which to build comprehensive, inclusive and integrated lifelong
and life-wide learning”, because “right to literacy is … a prerequisite for the
development of personal, social, economic and political empowerment”.
(UNESCO/UIL, 2104). When Freire outlined his conception of literacy, saying
famously that reading the world always precedes reading the word, he pointed out
that literacy becomes a creative and political act (Freire & Macedo, 1987, p. 34),
an act of knowledge which develops critical consciousness of the world.
In Mayo’s words (2015, p. 84) Freire’s ‘critical literacy’ is what Gramsci calls
“to be able to convert ‘common sense’ to ‘good sense’”. Critical reading of reality
is in a dynamic relationship with literacy, and teaching adults to read and write is
always the political act that includes critical perception. ‘Classics’ like Freire and
Gramsci, but also many other scholars, underline that the connection between
literacy and liberation, empowerment and emancipation is at the core of critical
literacy, which connects literacy to critical pedagogy and critical theory. The global
agenda and SDG 4: first, reduce literacy to the set of skills of almost technical
nature, and secondly, don’t come up neither with the ambitious proposal for targets
nor with any kind of commitment to adult literacy. Although the Incheon
declaration calls for functional literacy and lifelong learning, neither political nor
financial commitment are taking it into account (UNESCO, 2015). The first
foundation for the development of critical thinking and emancipation is thus taken
off the agenda. They are not supported by the content of other goals and/or targets:
Target 4.3 invites to “ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and
quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university” and 4.4
invites to “substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant
skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and
entrepreneurship” (UN, 2015). Although the triangle of economic, social and
environmental aspects has been mentioned, the closer investigation reveals that the
whole agenda is clearly dominated by the economic paradigms, aiming economic
growth.
The fact that the agenda does recognize, directly or indirectly: inequalities
within the countries and among the countries, gender inequalities, poverty, global
economic, social and environmental problems – is not reflected in the educational
aspects of the agenda. In contrary, educational goals, especially those dealing with
adult education, may give the impression that lack of vocational and technical
skills of adults is the main global problem, and leads to the most efficient solutions
for all other problems. One target of the SDG 4, the ‘crowded’ 4.7, contains all
other realities above the economic one, calling to “ensure that all learners acquire
the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including,
among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable
lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-
violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s
contribution to sustainable development”. Adults are hidden behind “all learners”
and critical thinking and empowerment are considered within the “global
citizenship”. There are neither further explanations nor clear indicators; they come
5
just within the Education 2030, which includes Global Citizenship Education by
using explanation of the Technical Consultation on Global Citizenship Education:
Global Citizenship Education (GCE) should “equip learners with the following
core competencies: a) a deep knowledge of global issues and universal values such
as justice, equality, dignity and respect; b) cognitive skills to think critically,
systemically and creatively, including adopting a multi-perspective approach that
recognizes different dimension, perspectives and angles of issues; c) non-cognitive
skills including social skills such as empathy and conflict resolution, and
communicative skills and aptitudes for networking and interacting with people of
different backgrounds, origins, cultures and perspectives; and d) behavioral
capacities to act collaboratively and responsibly, and to strive for collective good”
(UNESCO, 2013). Although there is still no theoretical or conceptual framework
that would argue for seeing critical thinking and empowerment as the aspect of
global citizenship, new agenda located them within GCE, so they share the
unstable and uncertain destiny of modern concept of global citizenship, and
unfortunate destiny of adult education. Only the Outcome document of these
Technical Consultations (ibid.) explicitly says that GCE should be for adults too
and calls for the transformative education and transformative pedagogy that:
(1) encourages learners to analyze real-life issues critically and to identify possible
solutions creatively and innovatively; (2) supports learners to critically revisit
assumptions, world views and power relations in mainstream discourses and
consider people/groups systematically underrepresented/marginalized; (3) respects
differences and diversity; (4) focuses on engagement in action to bring about
desired changes. As much as this conception of GCE invites progressive
transformative action, the policy documents require further analysis that sometimes
reveille their rhetoric character. There are many reasons to be concerned about the
real nature and implementation of this target, that calls for GCE:
… capturing the intent of 4.7 is a complex and dynamic task; country
commitments and statements in relation to target 4.7 are likely to change in
the coming years, partly due to the SDG agenda; most of the concepts in 4.7
have contested definitions as well as different histories, and understandings,
even in international documents; it's difficult to come up with a consensual
analytic framework of the different concepts embedded in Target 4.7, among
experts in these areas. (Benavot, 2017, p. 7)
If democracy is an essentially contested concept (Doughty, 2014), difficult to
operationalize and to measure, and the “owner” of the global agenda insists on the
measurable character of the targets, then chances to get support for the education
that would increase capability of the common people to reflect, rethink, question,
critically revise and change unfavorable and unjust power relations, are not very
high. It seems that the concept of lifelong learning, once welcomed by researchers,
scholars and civil society, turned nowadays to be exactly the opposite of the main
function that adult education had throughout the history: it does focus on individual
learner and includes non-formal and informal education, but it’s reductive in its
function and abolishes the state from its responsibility:
6
Lifelong learning that, applied to individuals bestows a dimension of

development and emancipation, when applied on a social level bestows on
the same individual pressure, responsibility (moral, social, and financial),
ideological and economic dictates and conformism without the possibility of
rebellion. In this way the individual is isolated, the force of social solidarity is
broken, and resistance is diminished. (Popović & Maksimović, 2016, p. 289)
Supposed to be based on inclusive, emancipatory, humanistic and democratic
values, lifelong learning remains a content-empty phrase, a decorative notion, an
empty shell in the function of the neoliberal discourses. Such concept, emptied of
the critical blade, emancipatory potential, solidarity and power for social
transformation, reduces learning to an individual psychological process and
responsibility. Such lifelong learning is ‘comfortable’ and ‘calculable’ for any
agenda, an “elastic concept tailorable to any needs” (Dehmel, 2006, p. 49). It
depoliticizes the entire area (Duke, 1999) by eliminating practically the debate
about justice, (in)equality, and democracy, and even more – by eliminating adults
from the population that this discourse covers. Boshier (1998, p. 5) interprets this
change as the “shift from a neo-Marxist or anarchistic utopian template for reform
(the Faure Report) to a neoliberal functionalist rendition (OECD) orchestrated as a
corollary of globalisation and hyper-capitalism”.
The question is, how far this applies to Europe, which has probably some of the
best developed systems of adult education? This would require a separate book, but
the last decade gave already the series of serious analysis, researches and proofs
that lifelong learning replaced adult education in the same way and for the same
function as described above and that neo-liberal discourses are taking over the field
of education, even in the countries where adult education rooted in the
emancipatory and critical practices (i.a. Zarifis & Gravani, 2014; Holford, Milana,
& Mohorčič-Špolar, 2014; Barros, 2012; Milana, 2012; Lima, & Guimaraes, 2011;
Field, 2001; Hake, 1999).
After the Memorandum of Lifelong Learning, EU policy of adult learning and
education turns vehemently to the vocational and technical education and training;
empowering and emancipating people is replaced by developing human resources
and building capacities, teaching and learning are replaced by up-skilling and re-
skilling, knowledge is replaced by skills and competencies. Things changed
dramatically from 1996 – the European Year of Lifelong Learning – an event that
was seen as a crown of decade-long efforts which will secure equal place for adults
in education at all levels and in all spheres.
In a similar ways as Plato described art – a shadow of a shadow, since the art
imitates the things which imitate the ideas (only ‘reality’), adult education in South
Eastern Europe was trying to learn from the EU countries that were already on the
way of narrowing the understanding and scope of adult education, the way of
linking it strongly to the economic needs, the way of commercialization and
privatization, that left States’ share of responsibility for adult education somewhere
‘on the way’ …
7
Two forces pushed this development – global and European. At the global level,
as Fairclough explains when he describes the winning march of neoliberal
economy:
Responses to this emerging institutional and operational logic vary but their
dominant, if not hegemonic, form in the Anglophone world is neo-liberalism.
This is a political project for the re-structuring and re-scaling of social
relations … The dominance of American multinationals and the US
imperialist state – backed by international financial and industrial interests
elsewhere and supported by the British state – has placed neo-liberalism at
the top of the global agenda. Neo-liberalism has been imposed on the post-
socialist economies as the (allegedly) best means of rapid system
transformation, economic renewal, and re-integration into the global
economy. (Fairclough, 2012, p. 5)
Geo-political and ideological interest aligned: former socialist countries had to
“pay the price” for the historical defeat of their ideology, and to give up their
traditions and practices (including the rich adult education tradition), ignoring the
risk of throwing the baby with the bath water; at the same time, their dismantled
economies, high unemployment and powerless governments were an ideal soil for
the conditioned support of World Bank and IMF, international companies taking
over the production and cost-benefit approach to all spheres including adult
education. South-European countries belonging to the EU shared this geopolitical
destiny and were forced (by hard and/or soft mechanisms of policy transfer) to play
by the neoliberal rules. At the European level, the fact that there are many shared
values and numerous connections among the countries supported European
integration or at least striving to it.
Copying, adopting and following European adult education policy trends
resulted in this neglecting by countries of critical analysis of their own needs, and
of adequate solutions and education that would empower not only the people, but
also the states with their fragile democracies and economies exposed to the brutal
and often unfair competition.
The World Bank publication Skills, Not Just Diplomas shows the deep ironic
attitude toward the educational traditions of the countries in Eastern Europe and
Central Asia even by the title photo, and criticizes the inability of the educational
system to meet the needs of the new labor market and changing economy and
points out the failures, bad performances and missing skills and key competencies
of ‘human capital.’ The EU is more supportive in its approach to Southeastern
neighbors, but still there are elements of soft neo-colonial approach to their
economies3 and thus adult education. Pänke (2013, pp. 119–120) claims that the
relationship of Brussels towards the countries of Eastern Europe has characteristics
of imperial one – integrative, supportive, inclusive, but at the same time hegemonic
– imposing, conditioning, rewarding and punishing. It might be observed in several
aspects: the way education agenda is defined, or imposed, without voices of those
who are concerned – goals, topics and priorities are defined and “exported”,
implying that they do have universal (for Europe) validity and can serve as the
8
model for everyone; at the same time, there are efforts to include candidate
countries and less active EU members into the processes of coordination and policy
creation, sharing of experiences and good practices. EU is, together with the US,
the biggest donor for the Southeastern European countries and they support
numerous projects. But projects as the mechanism for the policy transfer have
serious limits: only topics that match the predefined priorities can get financial
support, the implementation is run by the ‘circulating’ external experts who are
sometimes less competent than local ones, huge amount of funds is flowing back to
the countries it comes from, project application and project management turned to
the ’scientific discipline’ which requires again external help (Popović, 2014,
pp. 201–203). Riddel (2008, p. 12) discussed the question about the efficiency of
foreign aid and said:
The priority given to short term, tangible and measurable results has meant
paying less attention to using aid to help address long term development
problems. It has meant channeling less aid to support more complex
initiatives that take longer to achieve their intended results, and whose
outcomes are uncertain and more difficult to predict; … In contrast, a more
transformational approach to aid giving would minimally seek to ensure that
aid given to address short term problems does not contribute to or undermine
a recipient’s long term development.
He continues with criticizing global foreign aid for further reasons:
Official aid giving is characterized by an ever increasing number of donors
overseeing a growing number of discrete projects, creating an ever more
complex web of transactions and parallel management systems, many
replicating and duplicating each other, and creating growing demands on
recipients. (p. 11)
European projects could be criticized for these reasons as well, at the same time the
positive impact they made on national policies and practice on adult education can
hardly be denied. In this book we seek to explore both aspects – positive
experiences in national policies and European policy transfer that have progressive
and emancipatory character, but also rigid, narrow, oppressive or even neo-colonial
experiences.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK
The book encompasses views, beliefs and interpretations from different countries
of the geographical region referred as Southeastern Europe: Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Greece, Serbia, Slovenia, and Romania. In total the book contains nine more
chapters written by seventeen (native) authors. Our original idea was to include in
this collection papers from all countries of the region. However and beyond our
intense efforts to trigger the interest of potential authors, in some instances it was
obvious that there was no particular concern to engage in such a project.
9
In our numerous discussions we were not able to interpret this lack of interest.
Maybe it was the field; maybe adult education is losing its character or at least the
character of adult education that this book seeks to support. Maybe it is a
consequence of the same process triggered us to start this endeavor – the neoliberal
discourses that take over the educational field. We acknowledge that the neoliberal
dominating paradigm is central in the majority of the discussions and thus experts
and projects are easily dragged into the world of skills creation, vocational
curriculum development, certification, development of qualification frameworks
and other kind of actions that promise to “compensate” some societies with the
prosperity of the more developed countries. Naturally, since critical reflection
requires time and space it is possible that the dominant political and ideological
reality in these countries doesn’t allow even a discussion of this topic. Another
reason for this lack of interest may be a kind of indifference about the need to
promote the voices of our small European states (small also in terms of political
power). In spite of the promoted and praised European diversity, in the field of
education, the policy supports the need for homogenization (very often justified by
mobility) and the smaller countries are more in focus when it comes to reporting
about the results of this process, and achievements done in European integration (in
any field, including education), than about critical reflection of these processes
from the point of view of these countries, or emancipatory practices that don’t
just follow the trends. We understood this lack of interest as one more reason to
gather real experts around this topic, and as the proof of the significance of the
critical view. As Fairclough (1989) has argued, it is significant to see what is
missing and whose voices are not there. This might be an indicator of the
prevalence of the discourses in adult education we are exploring and criticize in
this book.
Nevertheless, we managed to create a good collection of fine policy and practice
contributions that will definitely make a difference in understanding the “software”
and the “hardware” of our cherished field of practice and research, lifelong
learning. These chapters, on the one hand create a clear understanding of the
existing policy and practice framework in our region by presenting the
convergences and divergences in what we all claim to understand as lifelong
learning and adult education. On the other hand the chapters recreate the vision for
a shared and common understanding of the distinguishing qualities of lifelong
learning among countries and nations that already share centuries of common
cultural and historical commonalities. We do hope that this volume will set the
foundations for a deeper and more profound cooperation in the field of adult
education.
The first contribution written by George Koulaouzides is an attempt to elucidate
the concepts of critical thinking and empowerment in adult education. We decided
to start with such a chapter for many reasons. On the one hand, it is very well
known that these two concepts are the most frequent learning outcomes appearing
in policy documents even in the cases when the idea behind the written text has
nothing to do with general or liberal or critical adult education. It is as if the
presence of these terms is operating as an alibi for the policy makers who tend to
10
surrender their critical and emancipating ideology to the forces of neo-liberalism

and the consequent vocationalism. And in some cases this is true. Secondly, we
wanted to include in the volume a short analysis of these terms for those readers
who wish to attain information about the origins of the terms and their usage in
different contexts. Thus, we included this short analysis which tries to examine
these two fundamental ideas of the adult education philosophy in different and in
some cases conflicting educational environments. We argue that critical thinking
and empowerment are the essence of any adult learning process and thus lifelong
learning policies and initiative ought to consider them as learning outcomes in their
strategies. The following chapter is an informal adult learning practice coming
from Slovenia and is written by Marta Gregorčič and Sabina Jelenc Krašovec. In
this wonderful case of social learning practice, our Slovenian colleagues present an
example from their country where a participatory democracy project became a
space for adult learning that promoted a series of critical thinking processes which
eventually lead to the actual empowerment of the citizens, who through these
informal learning processes developed the capacity for co-governance and
influencing political decisions. Reading this inspiring chapter, practitioners, policy
makers and academics easily realize that sometimes learning which is not
appearing in participation rates or other measurements may prove to be by far more
significant and substantial than any other formal forms of learning. The next
chapter is again a chapter of practice, this time from the area of labor education.
Konstantinos Markidis and Ira Papageorgiou present their study of the experience
of women trade unionists, who participated in a labor education program in
Greece. This program had empowerment as an essential design component
although it was not explicitly stated as an intentional aim. The authors employ
grounded theory to analyze the views of the project’s stakeholders on
empowerment as an educational need and through their research they support that
when adult education is addressed to people who are facing impediments in their
social participation, community empowerment is an essential learning outcome.
Tihomir Žiljak is the author of the next chapter that describes the adult
education system and its policies in Croatia. His analysis is mainly focused on the
Europeanization process of the Croatian adult education policy. A very interesting
point, which is more or less common in all the countries of Southeastern Europe, is
the utilization of common policy instruments like the qualifications framework that
indirectly but in a very straightforward way impose a specific and labor market-
oriented lifelong learning approach which sacrifices empowerment for the benefit
of an ambiguous and abstract economic prosperity. Instruments like the national
and European qualification frameworks that describe explicitly learning outcomes
connected with promising employment skills are supposed among other things to
contribute positively to the increase of participation rates. Zoran Velkovski, from
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, is the author of the next chapter. In
his contribution he is discussing the driving forces that influence and in the end
determine adult education policy and practice globally. In his analysis it is quite
clear that the needs of the labor market are in the core of any modern system of
adult education and as a result other functions of the field seem to be neglected on
11
the official policy-making level. As a result he argues that adult education in his
country should operate as an alternative medicine that may heal personal traumas
and social wounds that are created by the formal education system.
The next chapter is presenting the complex issues and challenges that adult
education is facing in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Once again, Snježana Šušnjara,
Sandra Bjelan-Guska, Lejla Kafedžić and Lejla Hodžić stress the unilateral
development of lifelong learning policies following a social constructivist
approach, to argue that an essential misunderstanding exists in their country
regarding the purpose of adult education. The role of external experts and
organizations in the aforementioned development process is discussed and an
argument is made about the need to confront the complexity of the situation in their
country through formal and informal learning activities that promote the
emancipatory dimension of adult education. Even though the issues are quite
different in the following contribution, complexity is again the background.
Christina Hajisoteriou, is presenting a thorough analysis of the adult education
system and its development in Cyprus. Quite evidently the complex socio-political
context has influenced the development of adult education in Cyprus leading to a
complex situation where the existing policies overemphasize employability and
adopt a market-oriented approach to lifelong learning. It seems that once again,
critical thinking and empowerment are not the primary objective of the national
adult education policy. Therefore, it is of no surprise that our colleague calls for a
paradigm change that will result in policies which reinforce accessibility and
participation especially from the underprivileged like long-term unemployed,
economically-inactive women, and the elderly population.
The participation rates in lifelong learning are considered vital indicators for
monitoring the progress of EU member states and candidate states towards the
implementation of a European knowledge-based society. However, as Simona Sava
and Anca Luştrea describe in the following chapter, the measurement of
participation rates is not an uncomplicated assignment. In their chapter, they
present eloquently the main problems that occur in Romania when the discussion
comes to this subject, analyzing and relating methodological issues with the history
of adult education in their country, the structure and the situation of the educational
system and other national factors. Their point of view is associated with the
analysis of the previous chapter since they also argue that most of the European
instruments used for the development of lifelong learning are in reality supporting
unilaterally the vocational dimension of adult education. Following, this very
interesting chapter another important contribution appears, this time from Serbia.
In the last chapter if this volume, Sanja Djerasimović and Maja Maksimovic
present in their chapter the severe repercussions that have become visible in the
Serbian adult education system during the transition from a society that was
infused with socialist values and assumptions to what is considered as modern neo-
liberal democracy. The authors argue that the mechanism of Europeanization has
led Serbian policymakers to appreciate the process of creating skilled and
employable individuals as the criterion of success for the development of lifelong
learning. By examining this mechanism in the educational discourse transfer whilst
12
placing the transformations in Serbian adult education in a historical perspective,

they explore expressively the discursive deletion of the past on the road to Serbia’s
becoming European.
We think that this volume is presenting distinctively the complex and unique
adult education geography in Southeastern Europe. We really hope that through
this book, scholars, researchers, practitioners and students will gain a better
understanding of the way that lifelong learning is understood and practiced in this
part of the Old Continent.
NOTES
1
See for example GRALE I – III, Recommendation for Adult Learning and Education, and other
UNESCO documents.
2
Neither by the Global Partnership for Education (global fund dedicated to education in developing
countries), nor by the Outcome document of the Financing for Development conference in Adis
Abeba, nor by the governments of the Member States.
3
See for example numerous reports about the discrepancies in the quality of identical food products
sold in both East and Eest European countries: https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-
consumers/news/food-products-lower-quality-in-eastern-eu/ and
http://www.euronews.com/2017/06/28/bulgaria-food-quality-complaints-eu-rules
REFERENCES
Barros, R. (2012). From lifelong education to lifelong learning: Discussion of some effects of today’s
neoliberal policies. RELA – European Journal for Research in the Education and Learning of
Adults, 3(2).
Benavot, A. (2017). SDG Target 4.7 and the importance of monitoring learning materials. GEMR
2016, Atlanta: CIES. Retrieved from: https://eccnetwork.net/wp-content/uploads/Benavot-Aron-
GEM-Textbook-content.pdf
Boshier, R. (1998). Edgar Faure after 25 years: Down but not out. In J. Holford, P., Jarvis, & C. Griffin
(Eds.), International perspectives on lifelong learning. London: Kogan Page.
British Ministry of Reconstruction, Adult Education Committee. (1919). Final report (Chaired by
Arthur L. Smith and commonly known as ‘The 1919 Report’). London: HMSO.
Dehmel, A. (2006). Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality? Some critical reflections on
the European Union’s lifelong learning policies. Comparative Education, 42(1).
Doughty, A. D. (2014). Democracy as an essentially contested concept. The Innovation Journal: The
Public Sector Innovation Journal, 19(1).
Duke, C. (1999). Research in adult education – Current trends and future agenda. In W. Mauch (Ed.),
World trends in adult education research (pp. 7–13). Report on the International Seminar on World
Trends in Adult Education Research, Montréal, Canada, September 6–9, 1994. Hamburg: UNESCO
Institute for Education.
Fairclough, N. (1989). Language and power. London: Longman
Fairclough, N. (2006). Language and globalization. London and New York: Routledge.
Fairclough, N. (2012). The dialectics of discourse. Retrieved from https://www.sfu.ca/cmns/courses/
2012/801/1-Readings
Field, J. (2001). Lifelong education. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 20(1–2).
Freire, P. (2005). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, London. Continuum.
13
Freire, P., & Macedo, D. P. (1987). Literacy: Reading the word & the world. South Hadley, MA: Bergin
& Garvey Publishers.
Hake, B. (1999). Lifelong learning policies in the European Union: developments and issues. Compare,
29(1).
Holford, J., Milana, M., & Mohorčič Špolar, V. (2014). Adult and lifelong education: The
European Union, its member states and the world. International Journal of Lifelong Education,
33(3).
Lima, L. C., & Guimaraes, P. (2011). European strategies in lifelong learning. A critical introduction.
Opladen: Budrich.
Mayo, P. (2015). Hegemony and education under neoliberalism. Insights from Gramsci. New York and
London: Routledge.
Mezirow, J. (2014). Faded visions and fresh commitments. Adult learning unleashed. A policy paper
prepared for AAACE. Retrieved from http://www.alu-c.com/blog/2014/7/12/faded-visions-and-
fresh-commitments-adult-educations-social-goals
Milana, M. (2012). Political globalization and the shift from adult education to lifelong learning. RELA
– European Journal for Research in the Education and Learning of Adults, 3(2).
Orlović-Lovren, V., & Popović, K. (2017). Lifelong learning for sustainable development – Is adult
education left behind? In W. L. Filho, M. Mifsud, & P. Pace (Eds.), Handbook of lifelong learning
for sustainable development. Berlin: Springer (in print).
Pänke, J. (2013). The empire strikes back: 1989, 2011 and Europe’s neighborhood policy. In A.
Boening, J-F. Kremer, & A. van Loon (Eds.), Global power Europe – Volume 2. Policies, actions
and influence of the EU’s external relations. Heidelberg: Springer.
Picht, W., & Rosenstock, E. (1926). Im Kampf um die Erwachsenenbildung. Leipzig: Verlag Quelle &
Meyer.
Popović, K. (2014). Evropska i globalna politika obrazovanja odraslih – koncepti, paradigme i pristupi
[European and global adult education policy – Concepts, paradigms and approaches]. Beograd:
Institut za pedagogiju i andragogiju, Društvo za obrazovanje odraslih.
Popović, K., & Maksimović, M. (2016). Critical discourse analysis in adult education. What we mean
when we talk about lifelong learning? In A. Pejatović, R. Egetenmeyer, & M. Slowey (Eds.),
Contribution of research to improvement of adult education quality. Belgrade: Institute for
Pedagogy and Andragogy, University of Wurzburg, Dublin City University.
Riddell, R. C. (2008). Does foreign aid really work? New York: Oxford University Press.
Sondergaard, L., Murthi, M., Abu-Ghaida, D., Bodewig, C., & Rutkowski, J. (2011). Skills, not just
diplomas. Managing education for results in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Washington, DC:
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, The World Bank.
UN (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Sustainable
development knowledge platform. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/
transformingourworld
UNESCO. (2013). Outcome document of the Technical Consultation on Global Citizenship
Education: Global citizenship education – An emerging perspective. Retrieved from
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002241/224115E.pdf
UNESCO. (2015). Education 2030 Incheon declaration and Framework for Action: Towards inclusive
and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all. Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO/UIL. (2009). The Belem Framework for Action: Harnessing the power and potential of adult
learning and education for a viable future. UNESCO: CONFINTEA VI, December.
UIS. (2015). 50th Anniversary of International Literacy Day: Literacy rates are on the rise but
millions remain illiterate. UNESCO & UIS, September 2016, No. 38. Retrieved from
http://www.uis.unesco.org/literacy/Documents/fs38-literacy-en.pdf
Walker, J. (2009). Towards alternative lifelong learning(s): What Freire can still teach us. Rizoma
Freireano. Retrieved from http://www.rizoma-freireano.org/index.php/towards-alternative
14
Zarifis, K. G., & Gravani, N. M. (Eds.). (2014). Challenging the ‘European Area of Lifelong Learning’:
A critical response. Dordrecht: Springer.
Katarina Popović
Faculty of Philosophy
University of Belgrade
School of Humanities
Hellenic Open University
15
GEORGE A. KOULAOUZIDES
2. CRITICAL REFLECTION AND EMPOWERMENT IN

ADULT EDUCATION PRACTICE
An Attempt to Create an Understanding of Two Frequently Appearing
“Guest Stars” in Adult Education Policy Documents
INTRODUCTION
Empowerment is a term frequently found in journal articles, book chapters, as well

as in formal and informal policy documents relating to adult education.
Empowerment appears in the aforementioned documents either as the general
purpose of adult education or as the desired outcome of a learning process.
However, it seems that empowerment as a learning outcome appears with a
different meaning in documents relating to the implementation of programs aiming
to the general intellectual development of adults, than in texts relating to programs
that have as a main goal to serve the vocational dimension of human life or even
the labor market.
On the other hand, critical reflection is a learning process that has been in the
agenda of adult education for many decades. The value of critical reflection is
discussed by several important authors of the field of adult learning (i.a. Mezirow,
Brookfield). This very important mental process is also interpreted in many
different ways and is sometimes confused or identified with other cognitive
processes such as analytical thinking or logical argumentation.
Both these complex notions have been part of the more well known
philosophical and practical theoretical approaches of our field of practice (e.g.
transformative learning) but it is quite unclear if their use is based on a shared
understanding of their meaning. In this chapter, I will try to present these notions
based on theoretical texts, texts relating to general adult education and texts
relating to continuing vocational training.
My objective is to highlight and clarify the meanings of both terms and support
the idea that these learning elements may be included in all educational policies or
activities of the field of adult education, regardless of the educational strategy or
the implementation conditions.
WHY IS CRITICAL REFLECTION IMPORTANT IN ADULT LEARNING?
The learning value of critical reflection is discussed by several authors from both
the fields of pedagogy and that of adult education. Nevertheless, this very vital
mental process is frequently interpreted in many different ways and is often
G. A. Koulaouzides & K. Popović (Eds.), Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in Southeastern
Europe, 17–26.
© 2017 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved.
G. A. KOULAOUZIDES
confused or identified with other cognitive processes such as analytical thinking

(i.e. the analysis of the components of a problem or a case) or logical thought,
which is actually the formulation of a conclusion after a series of logical
arguments.
In my view, which is influenced by the educational philosophy of Paulo Freire
for critical awareness (Freire, 1973) as well as from the practical and theoretical
approach of Brookfield for radical teaching (Brookfield & Holst, 2011), critical
reflection is a process that aims to lead a learner in a careful, insightful and in-
depth examination of the assumptions on which rests her or his perception of
reality.
Critical reflection is all about the thorough enquiry of the foundations of this
perception. This process is not without a structure. It is not just a chaotic quest for
deep-rooted assumptions. Although there is no proposed order, Brookfield (1988)
suggests that a mental exercise may be characterised as a critical reflection process
when it includes four fundamental activities: (a) assumption analysis – this activity
includes the challenging of a person’s values and cultural practices in order to
analyze their impact on everyday life, (b) contextual awareness which involves the
realization that our individual and collective beliefs are created in a particular
historical and cultural context which should be recognized, (c) imaginative
speculation or the search for alternative ways of thinking about various social
phenomena in order to challenge the dominant ways of thinking and acting and (d)
reflective scepticism, which includes challenging the claims and generalizations of
all those grand narratives that lead to uncritical interaction patterns.
This process of critical reflection is leading to challenging the validity of the
prior assumptions of a person’s frame of reference or in other words of the
conceptual toolbox that a person uses to interpret the world and her/his relations
with the self and the others. This course of cognitive action is actually the core of
the process of transformative learning which was introduced by Jack Mezirow
(1991) and is one of the most influential theories of learning in the field of adult
education.
It is apparent that all the four aforementioned mental processes require a large
volume of personal experiences. But this is not the only prerequisite. To my
understanding another equally important requirement is the existence of a well-
shaped worldview that is not only expressed at the level of declarations and
intentions but takes a certain and concrete form on a practical everyday-acting
basis. This level inevitably includes the decision-making processes that affect both
the individual and the social condition of a person. I argue that this shaped
worldview, this shaped system of values and the consequent empathy, is a unique
characteristic of adulthood. It is something that is formed through various
socialization processes such as participation in school education and in the social
activities of childhood as well as in the adolescence period of a person’s biography.
My position is supported by the view of the distinguished developmental
psychologist Robert Kegan (1994) who argues that a person's development can be
categorized into five mental levels or orders.
18
CRITICAL REFLECTION AND EMPOWERMENT IN ADULT EDUCATION PRACTICE
In summary, the first mental class concerns mainly children, and it has as its
main components imagination, mystery and volatility. In the second mental class
(the so-called instrumental mind), which concerns mainly teenagers, we may find a
stability in the views of the persons, regarding the qualitative characteristics of the
world which however, co-exists with the tendency to diverge from this stable
views. Individuals who belong in these two levels of intellectual development,
namely children and adolescents, have not yet developed a concrete system of
values and their decision-making processes mainly serves their individual interests.
This condition to my understanding has a fallible ability for critical reflection. In
the third cognitive order which Kegan calls the “socialized mind”, people
understand the needs of others around them, although they have not developed a
completely independent personality from the social institutions and the significant
others of their lives. Here, according to Kegan (1982), the reflection capacity of the
individual begins to appear. The transition to this order signifies the entrance to
adulthood.
In the next class (self-authoring mind), individuals have a developed their
internal value system, their frame of reference which they use to draw conclusions
and take decisions. An important element of this order is the ability to empathize
which is a prerequisite for critical reflection. Finally, there is the fifth cognitive
order, where individuals not only have a structured and autonomous system of
values but they are also aware of the limits of the system and additionally they are
able to recognize the value systems of the other people in their social environment,
seeking convergences. Kegan argues that adulthood starts when a person’s mental
development moves to the third and fourth mind order while the fifth order seems
to be a rather utopian developmental condition.
From the aforementioned we may easily understand the importance of critical
reflection in adult learning processes. On the one hand, fostering this demanding
cognitive process in an adult learning environment may be fruitful since the ability
to think in this manner is an inbuilt constituent of the adult condition. On the other
hand by fostering critical reflection processes we push participants to move from
lower mental orders to higher ones, supporting them in transforming themselves to
empowered adults. But what is understood as empowerment in adult education
practice?
EMPOWERMENT IN ADULT EDUCATION PRACTICE
Empowerment is one of the traditionally-stated learning outcomes in adult

education and in particular in critical adult education. This multifaceted concept is
found primarily in the texts of Paulo Freire and his followers, where it is mainly
associated with the perception of the Brazilian thinker about the purpose of adult
education, i.e. social change (Shor & Freire, 1987; Shor, 1992, 1993; Boal, 2001).
Therefore, we may argue that the empowerment as an educational outcome is
directly related to educational interventions in the context of what is understood as
radical adult education (Brookfield & Holst, 2011).
19
G. A. KOULAOUZIDES
However, the same educational aim may be also found in adult education policy
documents coming from international associations and organizations that do not
adopt radical approaches (OECD, 2009; Council of the European Union, 2011;
UNESCO, 2012). According to Jarvis the use of “empowerment” as learning
outcome, is related to the educational philosophy and approach of every adult
educator:
1. Radical adult educators use the term in relation to providing a social class,
e.g. the working class, with the awareness and knowledge to act in and upon
the social structures so that people can restructure society in a more
egalitarian manner. 2. More conservative progressive adult educators use the
term to refer to equipping and raising the confidence of individuals so that
they can be more successful in the world. (1999 p. 60)
Beyond any differences, in the above distinction it is obvious that Jarvis places the
concept of empowerment in the area of progressive adult education. In other
words, in the practice of education which is designed to improve a person's life,
regardless of whether this is achieved through critical awareness and direct
collective action for social change or through a more “conservative” approach
where change is prepared gradually through a critical reflection process that
initially leads to building personal confidence and adaptation to the existing social
conditions.
Paulo Freire is regarded as the “father” of the concept of empowerment. As it is
well known his work associates adult education with political power, social
reproduction and oppression (Archibald & Wilson, 2011). However, empowerment
does not appear per se as a learning outcome in his writings (Freire, 1973, 1994,
1996). On the contrary, we do find the concept of empowerment in books written
in collaboration with Freire and in articles of authors that invoke and adopt his
positions (e.g. Shrestha, 2003; Rindner, 2004; Mohajer & Earnest, 2009). In these
documents empowerment is presented as the final learning outcome of an
educational intervention that follows the theoretical thinking of Freire. But what
does this really mean in practice?
The answer to this question can be found in the known critical educational
model proposed by Freire which consists of three stages (Freire, 1994). The first
stage is the production of collective issues or in other words the search for
problems that refer to a common reason for participating in an educational process.
These issues may be related to a social condition of the learners (e.g. unemployed,
immigrants, and refugees); to their professional identity (e.g. teachers, nurses);
their gender or even their citizenship. This is the basis for the empowerment
process. The second stage is the emergence of the problem or in other words the
development and discussion of questions that do not have predetermined answers
and relate to the issues highlighted in the previous stage. Then we have the well
known process of coding and decoding of the daily social reality of the learners. In
this phase empowerment is built on the critical analysis of issues.
This critical analysis is aiming to the recognition of the exogenous and
endogenous factors that create the conditions raised in the first stage and to the
20
development of action plans for solving the consequent problems. Finally, the third
stage is what Freire (1998) calls praxis. This stage is characterized by the
alternation of action and reflection, with learners returning to their social
environments (at work, in their community or even in their own family)
implementing their plans and experimenting with changing the existing conditions
while simultaneously reflecting on this experience in preparation for a wider social
action.
Thus, empowerment according to Freirean thinking begins with the search of the
key issues related to a social situation and ends when social action embarks on
changing this situation. In this context, the empowered adult is ultimately the one
who undertakes informed action to overturn the social situation that creates
oppression. It is clear that the view of Freire about empowerment is related to a
position that links adult education with social and political action.
However, this approach does not seem to be generally accepted, especially when
the theoretical framework is not that of Freire's. Susan Imel (1999) in an article on
the emancipatory function of learning in adults recognizes that empowerment can
be a general learning objective in the context of adult education. But in the same
paper, she states that empowering learners can not constitute in itself an
emancipatory practice when the target is only the successful functioning of an
individual within existing power structures. Imel shares to some extent the views of
Inglis (1997) who believes that empowering as a learning objective does not serve
the actual release of adult learners from the oppressive mechanisms imposed on
society by the establishment. Inglis (1997) used the distinction between
emancipation and empowerment in order to criticize the theory of transformative
learning (see Mezirow, 1991), considering that the critical reflection which is a
constituent element of it, and the consequent empowerment of learners, do not lead
to emancipation. His analysis that appears to be based on the sociological approach
of Bourdieu about the different kinds of capital (cultural, social, political and
economic) and Foucault's positions for power and the means for its enforcement,
argues that “empowerment is understood as a process in which individuals or
groups of people seek working within the existing system, to gain greater
economic, political and social power” (ibid., p. 11). According to Inglis
empowerment in the context of the theory of transformative learning has an
individual or utilitarian dimension and therefore this specific learning objective
does not serve the Freireian emancipation principle which he considers as the
ultimate purpose of adult education. However, this view is one-sided and unfair to
both the theory of transformative learning and the concept of empowerment itself.
Indeed, empowerment through a critical reflection process, namely through the
full understanding of the assumptions that create a dysfunctional frame of reference
may not always lead by itslef to a radical change in one's life conditions. The
theory of transformative learning has in its core critical reflection but it does not
place the consequent individual empowerment as the ultimate goal of an adult
learning process. According to Mezirow (1991, 1997, 1998) transformative
learning mainly prepares and eventually causes change in society, since the
recognition of the dysfunctional assumptions is the key step leading to the
21
G. A. KOULAOUZIDES
liberation of adult learners from their ways thinking that impede their undertaking
social action. Quite specifically, Mezirow says:
Transformative Theory deals with how individuals may be empowered to
learn to free themselves from unexamined ways of thinking that impede
effective judgment and action. It also envisions an ideal society composed of
communities of educated learners engaged in a continuing collaborative
inquiry to determine the truth or arrive at a tentative best judgment about
alternative beliefs. Such a community is cemented by empathic solidarity,
committed to the social and political practice of participatory democracy,
informed through critical reflection, and collectively taking reflective action,
when necessary, to assure that social systems and local institutions,
organizations and their practices are responsive to the human needs of those
they serve. (Mezirow, 1998, p. 72)
From all the aforementioned points of view it is clear that in the learning theories
that prevail in liberal adult education, empowerment is a learning objective which
aims to create an informed and responsible individual who will undertake radical
or less radical initiatives towards social change and organizational responsiveness
to people’s needs.
At this point and before moving to the examination of the professional training
context, it is important to make a brief reference to the presence of the term in the
literature of feminist pedagogy and more generally in feminist theory. This short
parenthesis is necessary due to the significant contribution of feminist theory in the
field of adult education, but apparently our reference here is not an exhausting one.
I do expect however that this reference will serve as a prompt for further
exploration from those readers who are most interested in the meaning of the term
in this particular context. Initially, according to Stormquist (1995) the term
empowerment when referring to the female gender contains four dimensions. The
first dimension is cognitive empowerment, i.e. the awareness of women in relation
to the conditions of their oppression and the underlying social causes of these
conditions in all levels of society. The second dimension relates to psychological
empowerment, i.e. the emotional development of women, which will eventually
lead to the action required to improve their living conditions. The third dimension
is economic empowerment which refers to the ability of women to achieve
economic independence and thus to obtain greater autonomy. Finally, according to
the above author, the empowerment of women contains political empowerment,
that is the acquisition by the female population of the skills necessary for self-
organization and mobilization in order to change oppressive policies. Stormquist’s
view is very comprehensive and has a lot in common with the perspective of Paulo
Freire and his associates. This multidimensional definition of empowerment is
consistent also with the educational practices and teaching approaches developed
in the framework of feminist theory that highlight relational knowledge as the
dominant learning element in women (Belenky et al., 1986). Feminist theory and
the consequent educational practices argue that empowerment in women is more
likely to be achieved through the establishment of interconnected relationships that
22
highlight its relational nature (Sayles-Hannon, 2007). Training leading to

empowerment in the context of feminist theory is supported by participatory
teaching methodologies that respect and encourage students to connect with each
other, towards a comprehension of the perspective of every member of the group in
order to increase contemplative dialogue and critical reflection.
As mentioned in the beginning of this paper, the term empowerment appears as
a learning objective in documents relating also to the professional training of adults
(initial and continuing). Therefore, in the rest of this chapter we will examine some
examples of the use of the term empowerment in adult vocational training, to gain
a sense of the term and its meaning in this particular context.
The concept of empowerment may be found by the side of training initiatives in
educational programs targeted at populations that face social exclusion or groups
that suffer social oppression. In these cases, training is directly related to economic
and community development. Such programs where the acquisition of professional
skills is intertwined with empowerment may be found in the training initiatives
of organizations like the United Nations High Commission for Refugees
(http://www.unhcr.org/4aeec03b9.html) or in UN development programs
(http://www.undp.org). A simple Google search will give us several examples of
this kind of empowerment programs, which are almost always referring to training
programs in the so-called “third world countries” (e.g. http://www.globalgiving.org
and http://karenwomen.org). All these training programs include the dimension of
economic empowerment. However, there is a significance difference since here the
empowering training programs do not serve the needs of the labor market but the
need of specific social groups to improve the conditions of their life having an
income that could provide them with the opportunity to live a life with more
autonomy and dignity.
On the other hand, we may come across empowerment in papers relating to
continuing training and especially in-service training (e.g. Bergenhenegouwen,
1996, Hyland, Sloan, & Barnett, 1998, Harvey, 2011). In these texts empowerment
is associated with the training of employees to communicate effectively, to adopt
changes, to apply to work their new skills in order to improve productivity and in
general to conform to the objectives of the organization of their employment
(Kappelman & Richards, 1996). Furthermore, empowerment is related to the
autonomy of employees to take decisions in relation to their work and to respond
with greater efficiency to the demands of their business clientele (Ayupp & Chung,
2010). A similar use of the term may be found in research documents produced by
institutions that are involved in the study of vocational training. The European
Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) in recent research
about the incompatibility of skills of the employees in connection to the labor
market requirements, refers to the empowerment of the workers as a human
resource management strategy “via the provision of adequate levels of autonomy,
task discretion, control and responsibility” (CEDEFOP, 2012, p. 57). These
connotations of empowerment however, have been criticized, because they
eliminate from the overall discussion the emancipation of workers since their
objectives do not include challenging the organizational values or the critique of
23
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR
ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied

warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this
agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this
agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the
maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable
state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of
this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the

Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the
Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any
volunteers associated with the production, promotion and
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless
from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that
arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project
Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or
deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect
you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of

Project Gutenberg™
Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new
computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of
volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the

assistance they need are critical to reaching Project
Gutenberg™’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™
collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In
2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was
created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project
Gutenberg™ and future generations. To learn more about the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your
efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the
Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project

Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-
profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the
laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by
the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal
tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax
deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and
your state’s laws.
The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500

West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact
links and up to date contact information can be found at the
Foundation’s website and official page at
www.gutenberg.org/contact
Section 4. Information about Donations to

the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without
widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission
of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works
that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form
accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated
equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly
important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws

regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of
the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform
and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many
fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not
solicit donations in locations where we have not received written
confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or
determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit
www.gutenberg.org/donate.
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states

where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know
of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from
donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot

make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations
received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp
our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current

donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a
number of other ways including checks, online payments and
credit card donations. To donate, please visit:
www.gutenberg.org/donate.
Section 5. General Information About Project

Gutenberg™ electronic works
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could
be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose
network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several

printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by
copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus,
we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any
particular paper edition.
Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org.
This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™,

including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new
eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear
about new eBooks.

Textbook Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in Southeastern Europe 1St Edition George A Koulaouzides Ebook All Chapter PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Textbook Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in Southeastern Europe 1St Edition George A Koulaouzides Ebook All Chapter PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Textbook Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in Southeastern Europe 1St Edition George A Koulaouzides Ebook All Chapter PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Adult Education and Lifelong Learning

in Southeastern Europe 1st Edition

Transforming Perspectives in Lifelong Learning and

The Great Cauldron A History of Southeastern Europe

Connecting Adult Learning and Knowledge Management

Second Language Acquisition and Lifelong Learning 1st

Foundations for Lifelong Learning John Piper

Adult Learning Basics 2nd Edition William Rothwell

Adult Education in Neoliberal Times: Policies,

Church, State and Colonialism in Southeastern Congo,

Editorial Advisory Board:

ISBN 978-94-6351-171-1 (paperback)

Published by: Sense Publishers,

All chapters in this book have undergone peer review.

Printed on acid-free paper

All rights reserved © 2017 Sense Publishers

No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted

1. Critical Thinking, Empowerment & Lifelong Learning Policy 1

2. Critical Reflection and Empowerment in Adult Education Practice: An

3. Pedagogical Dimensions of Participatory Democracy: Learning through

4. Community Empowerment through Labor Education: The Case of

5. Europeanization and Policy Instruments in Croatian Adult Education 53

6. Adult Education as an Alternative Medicine: A Critical View of Adult

7. The (In)Sufficiency of Legal Regulation Regarding Adult Education in

8. Adult Education in Cyprus: Current Affairs, Challenges, and Future

9. Participation Rates in Lifelong Learning: Why is Romania not

10. Becoming European: Serbian Adult Education Policy Discourse

About the Contributors 131

1. CRITICAL THINKING, EMPOWERMENT &

INTRODUCTION: SETTING THE SCENE

Lifelong learning that, applied to individuals bestows a dimension of

THE STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK

surrender their critical and emancipating ideology to the forces of neo-liberalism

placing the transformations in Serbian adult education in a historical perspective,

2. CRITICAL REFLECTION AND EMPOWERMENT IN

Empowerment is a term frequently found in journal articles, book chapters, as well

WHY IS CRITICAL REFLECTION IMPORTANT IN ADULT LEARNING?

confused or identified with other cognitive processes such as analytical thinking

EMPOWERMENT IN ADULT EDUCATION PRACTICE

Empowerment is one of the traditionally-stated learning outcomes in adult

highlight its relational nature (Sayles-Hannon, 2007). Training leading to

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the

Section 2. Information about the Mission of

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the

Section 3. Information about the Project

The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500

Section 4. Information about Donations to

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current

Section 5. General Information About Project

Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™,

You might also like