Participation in adult learning and education among low-skilled adults: a cross-national analysis

• In Event: Poster Session Group 4
  In Poster Session: Participation in adult learning and education among low-skilled adults: a cross-national analysis

Proposal

The world has witnessed a growing interest in lifelong learning beyond schooling over the last
two decades. Particularly, with the emergence of the knowledge-based society, participation in lifelong learning, i.e., adult learning and education (ALE), has been strongly encouraged to keep up with the demands generated by the knowledge economy. Thus, the policy discourse on ALE began to draw attention from national and international organizations (Borg & Mayo, 2005; Dale, 1999; Jakobi, 2009).

As much documented in the literature, the importance and relevance of adult learning are not only for the high-skilled but also for the low- or middle-skilled population. Those with low education attainment and/or low-skill level are particularly vulnerable to labor market changes and would be the population who might need ALE opportunities the most. However, as much research addressed, those with low education levels are less likely to participate in ALE than those with high educational attainments (Gauly & Lechner, 2019; Hovdhaugen & Opheim, 2018; J. Lee & Desjardins, 2019).

To better support the low-skilled population, one should study the low-skilled populations’ participation patterns in ALE and influencing factors on ALE participation. Recent studies offered insights on the impact of social origins on ALE participation using Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC (J. Lee & Desjardins, 2019). This line of work has more focused on individual factors rather than societal factors. With the emphasis on ALE by international organizations in 1990s, countries have developed or adopted various policies and programs to promote ALE in the last two decades. However, little is known about how national contexts has influenced on ALE participation. In other words, there is a gap in our knowledge on cross-national variations in participation in ALE.

Thus, in this study, I address this issue- the between-country differences in ALE participation by examining institutional factors at national level, such as national policy on ALE. In other words, I investigate the association of institutional factors with ALE participation and whether there have been significant differences between the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) PIAAC, between 1990s and 2010s. Preliminary analysis of IALS and PIAAC suggest significant cross-national differences in ALE participation of low-skilled population in countries that have policies or programs for low-skilled population. For example, in Nordic countries with national policies and various programs for low-skilled adults, 34% of low-skilled adults participated in ALE. On the other hand, countries not having specific policies to promote ALE such as Greece or Lithuania has less than 10% of low-skilled adults’ participation in ALE. As such, by this investigation, the proposed study offer important evidence and policy insights regarding how national policy has influenced to promote ALE and impacted particularly on low-skilled population.

Author

• Jungeun Lee, Pennsylvania State University