Developing adult education 1988–1990

• Timo Lähdesmäki aikuiskoulutusneuvosto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33336/aik.96536

Abstract

The Finnish Govemment has appointed a new Adult Education Council for the period 1.1.1988–31.12.1990. The Council's task is to serve as a body of experts under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education. The preceding Adult Education Council, which functioned for three years, published a Development Programme for 1988–1990 at the end of its term in office. This programme is discussed in this edition of our joumal by the council's secretary Timo Lähdesmäki. !n addition, this edition contains assessments of the Development Programme by representatives of both vocational and liberal adult education. Overall Development The intentation is in administration to delegate handling of matters to lower levels, partly from govemmental central administration to the country level, partly right down to the level of education institutions. The Council sees the development of the system of examination for adults and training of adult educators as being tasks to be carried out during the next few years. Study support for adults should be made permanently available to enable adults to participate in education programmes. The Council also attaches importance to the role of the govemment-owned radio service in adult education. Vocational adult education Vocational adult education is of central importance in the development work. Vocational basic and further education for adults should be extended in such a way as to have at !east one education unit in each economic region for this purpose. There is also a need for improving cooperation and division of tasks between education units. !n working life, every personnel group should have access to training. Employers' and employees' organization should come to an agreement with regard to how this is put into practice. !n addition to being organized in vocational course centres, training for the unemployed should be also be available elsewhere. On the other hand, vocational course centres' sphere of activity should also be extended beyond merely serving the needs of the unemployed.
Liberal adult education The Council stresses the importance of developing cooperation at the local level between education organizations offering liberal adult education. Efforts should be made in the diredtion of establishing municipal adult education centres offering adult education services for the local population. The legislation conceming folk high schools and adult study centres should be revised. Research The Adult Education Council also pointed to the importance of research by setting up a separate research section whose research policy programme was published at the end of 1987. Prof. Tapio Vaherva deals with this programme in this edition of our joumal. Amongst other matters, it includes a list of urgent research projects, namely: 1. Problems associated with controlled reformation of the working life 2. Effectiveness of adult education 3. Problems associated with teaching adults 4. Problems associated with the structure and organization of studies and education and the social aspects of studying The research policy role of govemment, in the view of the research section, is to improve the financial aspects of research of high scientific standard and practical significance, as well as promoting the utilization of research results and other information provided by science. Immediate measures to be taken included the establishing of an adult education research professorship in the Finnish Academy and of a permanent research section to be part of the Adult Education Council.