Intern
Adult Education Academy

Group 3

Comparative Group 3: Time in adult learning and education – Temporal phenomenon as resource and boundary

time for learning (hours, years), participation / non-participation, paid educational leave (ILO C140)

Learning always involves making and taking time. To understand the influence of time it encompasses more than just the single chronological time - related attributes (hours, minutes, time tables, schedules etc.). There is a great diversity of temporal elements as they exist in pedagogy e.g. time sequences during the (lifelong) learning process, temporal delimitation in adulthood (work, family, recreation etc.), the didactical approach to synchronize individual time expectations for learning processes etc.

For instance, an inclusive educational model would promote lifelong learning within a temporal sensitivity for modern times. By questioning the effective ‘real times’ for learning (OECD 2014; Adult Education Survey 2016) one can find that time constraints are the main obstacles preventing adults from learning - no difference in which country you live. But besides, there are differences in between the legal national regulations concerning time (e.g.  Paid Education Leave).

Comparative research question

According to time and temporalities, how are the macro level (legislation/laws) and the micro level (participation/non-participation) in adult education interrelated to each other?

Context of comparison

The contexts of comparison at the macro-level would be laws and legal regulations. As an example, the international ‘Paid Educational Leave’ regulation relates to national ratifications (Educational leaves) and to regional laws too (often with concrete instruments; in Germany for example ‘learning vouchers’). Another example would be work-time-related policies and strategies by different stakeholders as state or regional administration and trade unions.

The contexts of comparison at the micro-level can be:

  1. The interdependency of participation in vocational training within working-learning‐accounts in companies.
  2. The relation between learning hours in non‐vocational versus vocational training or the relation of learning hours in formal versus non-formal learning. 
  3. The relation between learning hours and work hours (e.g. as fulltime job or part-time worker).

The context will be interdepended to the available (national) data on this issue, e.g. national context in the OECD-data.

Categories of comparison (selection for the transnational essay is based on participants research interests)

  1. Methodological background: Following the Framework of Lima / Guimarães / Thouma (2016): Which ALE social policy model describes your countries ALE system(s) to the best? (also see Video Tutorial Lisbon). Time in social policies seen as ‘human resource’ or a ‘synonym for money’ (“Time is money” Benjamin Franklin?)
  2. Legislative background: What legislative background concerning time for adult education exists in your country? (describe)
  3. Ratification of ILO Paid Educational Leave Convention: Has your country given their ratification by convention to the ILO Paid Educational Leave Convention, 1974 (No. 140)?
  4. time for participation in adult education: Find some data about your country and report: How much time (e.g. hours per year) do adults spend in educational activities? Is there a difference between formal and non‐formal education? Is there a difference in learning time and between vocational training and general education?
  5. Temporal barriers of participation in adult education: What is in the OECD ‚Education at a Glance’ (2014) reported about the lack of time resp. temporal barriers to participation in adult learning activities (between work and family; inconvenient time offer; lack of support and unexpected things)?

References

OECD (2012 and 2014). Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Leccardi C. (2013). Temporal perspectives in destandardised youth life courses. In: Schröer W., Stauber B., Walther A., Böhnisch L. and Lenz K. (eds.). Handbuch der Übergänge. Weinheim/Basel: Juventa, p. 251-269.

Lima C., Guimarães P. & Touma N. (2016). Adult learning and education policies in Germany, Portugal and Sweden: An analysis of national reports  to CONFINTEA VI. In: Egetenmeyer R. (eds.): Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in Europe and Beyond. Comparative Perspectives from the 2015 Würz-burg Winter School. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, p. 27-66.

Schmidt-Lauff S. & Bergamini R. (2017). Modern Phenomenon of Adult Learning and Professional Time-Sensitivity - A Temporal, Comparative Approach. In: Egetenmeyer R., Schmidt-Lauff S. and Boffo V. (eds.). Adult Learning and Education in International Contexts. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, p. 147-159.

Schmidt-Lauff S., Schiller J. & Camilloni F. (accessed 2017/2018). Comparing temporal agendas of policies and institutions in work-related adult education. In: Egetenmeyer, R., Ehlers, S. & Fedeli, M. (eds.). Adult Learning, Adult Education and Employment Contexts. Comparative Perspectives from the 2017 Würzburg Winter School. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang

Prof. Sabine Schmidt-Lauff, Helmut-Schmidt-Universität, Germany

Sabine Schmidt-Lauff has carried out diverse policy analysis on lifelong learning and is an expert on learning times and time policies for lifelong learning. Ms. Schmidt-Lauff did her PhD studies at University of Hamburg. From 2008 to 2016 she had a professorship for adult and continuing education at Technical University of Chemnitz. In 2016, she accepted a professorship for continuing education and lifelong learning at the Helmut Schmidt University/University of the federal armed forces Hamburg.

Co-Moderation: Jan Schiller, Helmut-Schmidt-Universität, Germany

Jan Schiller is employed at the Helmut Schmidt University/University of the federal armed forces Hamburg as doctoral student and research fellow of Prof. Schmidt-Lauff. His doctoral thesis describes temporal agendas and their impact on non-traditional students.