1 Introduction
The adult education (AE) research community (e.g., Egetenmeyer et al., 2019; Jarvis & Chadwick, 1991; Nuissl & Lattke, 2008) and international organizations (e.g., DVV International, 2013; Council of the European Union [CEU], 2021; UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning [UIL], 2022) emphasise the importance of well-qualified personnel working in AE. However, the question of whether AE should professionalize has been discussed since the 1920s. One
Recently, AE organizations and adult educators have also been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. This is due to the dramatic changes in their work environment (e.g., the shift to online learning, the lack of technological resources and knowledge on how to conduct distance education), the loss of their jobs, the fragility and decline of educational provision, the increasing social and digital inequalities among adults, and the rising number of adult learners struggling with various psychological difficulties, among other factors (James & Theriault, 2020; Stanistreet et al., 2020; Milana et al., 2021). Nevertheless, some studies have recently shown that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an ‘exogenous shock’ (Sabatier & Weible, 2007), the policy agendas have been (re)oriented to respond to new problematisations and to bring about policy change (e.g., Morris et al., 2022; Zancajo et al., 2022; Milana & Mikulec, 2023).
In view of this context, this chapter has two aims. First, to analyze and discuss professionalisation from a multi-level perspective to gain insights into how the interdependencies between state-society (macro level), organizations (meso level), and personnel (micro level) affect the professionalisation of adult educators. We use a multi-level perspective in Slovenia, the European Union (EU) Member State with long tradition in adult education (Milana & Mikulec, 2023) and efforts in professional development of adult educators dating back to the late 1950s when Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia (Mikulec, 2019). Furthermore, unlike many other EU countries, public adult education in Slovenia
2 Professionalisation of Adult Educators as a Multi-level Phenomenon
Professionalism is perceived as a quality feature of the AE professionals (Beszédes, 2022). Based on the ʻnew’ professionalism, Egetenmeyer, Breitschwerdt and Lechner (2019, pp. 12–13) propose a multi-level model of professionalisation that should be understood as a mutually dependent relationship between staff-personnel, organizations, and society contexts. Discussing professionalism in AE from a multi-level perspective requires that all three different, but interlinked levels be addressed.
At the macro level of (1) the state, society, and institutions, the state defines laws and policies for AE, lifelong learning (LLL), the labour market, and umbrella associations in the field. However, AE is most often also systematically unregulated and marginalized (e.g., Bierema, 2011; Jütte & Latke, 2014), and the responsibility for AE governance is distributed among different ministries, bodies, and stakeholders (Desjardins, 2017).
At the meso level, (2) AE organizations are responsible for quality management, programme planning, learning cultures, and professional development through initial or continuing formal and non-formal education programmes. However, there is a variety of organizations (providers) active in this field, as
At the micro level, (3) professionals and adult learners and their teaching-learning process form the centre of professionalism. However, adult educators take on different roles in their work that go beyond the teaching-learning nexus. For example, Nuissl (2010, pp. 130–132) has identified six main activities that adult educators perform and that can be found in European countries: (a) teaching, which is the classical activity of adult educators; (b) management, which deals with quality management, human resource development, educational marketing, fundraising, project management; (c) guidance and counselling, which supports learners in finding suitable offers, analyzing their learning needs and recognizing prior learning; (d) media use, which is related to the production and use of educational software for adults, learning opportunities with interactive media and the Internet; (e) programme planning, which includes the planning of an offer by an educational institution, companies or local authorities; and (f) support, which includes the technical, administrative or organisational support of AE.
Furthermore, the ʻnew’ professionalism also understands professionalism as mediating between three ideal-typical logics. Professionalism, which emphasizes the autonomy of adult educational expertise in actionʼ. Bureaucracy, that is related to ʻrequirements and processes of standardization and hierarchization introduced by public authoritiesʼ (i.e., requirements for quality management in AE organizations). Economics, which emphasizes the logic of the market (i.e., supply and demand in a profit-orientated AE market) (Breitschwerdt & Egetenmeyer, 2023, p. 63). Therefore, professional adult educators should be able to mediate between all three perspectives in their practice.
Having said this, we now turn into a discussion and analysis of professiona-lism in AE in Slovenia by addressing the different levels identified. First, the macro level is addressed, in which state-society context and its response to the COVID-19 pandemic are analysed. Second, the meso level and response of the
3 Professionalisation of Adult Educators in Slovenia: Macro, Meso, and Micro Levels
From a historical perspective, the professional development of adult educators in Slovenia can be traced back to the late 1950s, when Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia (Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia until June 25, 1991, when it declared its independence). The systematic training of adult educators was first introduced at the People’s and Workers’ Universities (1957–1959) through conferences, lectures, workshops, and summer/winter schools. In the 1960s and 1970s, Yugoslav universities opened the door to systematic theoretical and empirical research in AE and introduced study programmes on ʻandragogyʼ (adult education) at the faculties of Arts/Philosophy. Due to the favorable social climate, a new profession called ʻandragogueʼ (adult educator) emerged. The Yugoslav (and thus the Slovenian) experience demonstrated the interdependence between andragogy as a science and the andragogue as a professional; those working in AE must acquire a certain amount of academic andragogical knowledge (see Mikulec, 2019, pp. 33–34).
3.1 State-Society Context
After independence, Slovenia reformed its entire education system, including AE; new measures were introduced to promote the development of adult education through the granting of special funds, the establishment of specialized bodies (e.g., the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education [SIAE]) and the development of an AE national programme. AE governance is managed at the state level, with state actors playing an important role in the political decision-making process. The ministries responsible for education and labour are the two main ministries responsible for the AE governance, but they are also supported by other ministries and professional bodies (see Mikulec, 2021, p. 43; Mikulec, 2024). Several laws (school and employment acts) regulate AE, while the special Adult Education Act (2018) regulates non-formal education and defines the public interest established by the Resolution on the Master Plan for Adult
To address state-society context, we analysed four policies and legislation that shape professionalisation of AE at the national level: (a) White Paper on Education in the Republic of Slovenia (2011) (hereinafter White Paper), (b) Adult Education Act (2018), (c) Resolution on the Master Plan for Adult Education in the Republic of Slovenia for the period 2022–2030 (AEMP, 2022), and (e) Rules on the selection and co-funding of programmes of continuous professional education and development of education staff (2017) (hereinafter Rules).
The educational requirements for AE professionals, these being defined as teachers, organizers, counselors, and ʻother professionalsʼ, working in formal educational programmes (e.g., basic schools for adults, general or vocational upper secondary education programmes) and publicly recognized non-formal educational programmes for adults are regulated by the Adult Education Act (2018). The conditions that adult educators must fulfill are: (a) proficiency in the Slovenian language; (b) education acquired through master’s degree programmes; (c) pedagogical-andragogical education (this includes knowledge of pedagogy, psychology, andragogy/AE, general didactics, subject didactics, and pedagogical or andragogical/AE practice); (d) successful completion of a professional examination in the field of education.
The need for professionally trained staff is also recognized in education policy. The White Paper (2011) emphasizes the need to: (a) establish a system for high-quality initial training of adult educators, as well as a system for continuing education and training based on the actual needs of adult educators; (b) train a sufficient number of professionals for different target groups and needs; (c) maintain a database of adult educators for public service in AE; and (d) provide high-quality teaching materials, learning resources, and ICT support. Moreover, the AEMP (2022) aims to: (i) develop and implement basic and further training programmes for ʻadult education professionalsʼ and ʻeducatorsʼ; (ii) develop new approaches and methodologies; (iii) develop didactics for the use of new technologies and distance education; (iv) develop learning environments for the delivery of distance education programmes (e.g., online classrooms); (v) develop high-quality learning materials and learning resources; (vi) provide ICT support; and (vii) establish a monitoring system for adult educators’ participation in basic and further training programmes.
Furthermore, the Rules (2017) support in-service training and career development programs for adult educators, thus ensuring continuous and stable funding of continuing education and training programmes for adult educators.
However, although the state-society context supports the professionalisation of adult educators through its policy measures, it also has some serious blind spots as it excludes some adult educators from being ʻprofessionalsʼ. The Adult Education Act (2018) and the new AEMP (2022) introduced a distinction between ʻAE professionalsʼ and ʻeducatorsʼ, which leads to unequal treatment of professionals working in formal and non-formal AE programmes. Similarly,
3.1.1 Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
At a macro level, the AEMP (2022) was the only policy developed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore took ʻinto account the importance of building resilience to such and similar social and economic challengesʼ, with opening up ʻopportunities to increase learning and educational activitiesʼ with the use of ʻmodern communication technology in adult educationʼ (p. 2). Due to the technological and societal developments in the wake of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the AEMP (2022) calls for: introduction of innovative approaches and methods in AE supported by modern technology; development of open educational resources and mass open online programmes; development of learning environments for the delivery of distance training programmes (e.g., online classrooms, online platforms); development of didactic and methodological adaptations for the use of digital technologies for distance education by adult educators and the delivery of these distance education programmes; provision of appropriate ICT equipment, learning tools and infrastructure for distance education.
Nevertheless, as the data from two national evaluations of AE during the COVID-19 pandemic—the first included 299 professionals (Možina et al., 2020), and the second 185 professionals, as well as 248 participants (Možina, 2021), working in the field of AE—show, during the first wave of the pandemic adult educators were on their own without support at the national level and had to find their own way, relying only on their colleagues in their own teams and on their colleagues in other organizations. In addition, a large part of AE was not included in the systemic measures that the state was implementing in the field of child and youth education. Some solutions have been found for AE, especially for folk schools and upper-secondary schools that provide formal education (e.g., access to tools that enable remote work), but they have been unsystematic and far from meeting the needs of AE during a pandemic. Moreover, no solution was found to provide ICT technology (e.g., Zoom licenses) available to non-governmental organizations (NGO s) that provide non-formal adult education in the public interest (e.g., Slovenian University for the Third Age). During the pandemic, adult educators did not feel addressed by the decision-making level and were not adequately supported by this level.
Based on our previous research on the role of organizations in the professionalisation of AE (Schwarz & Mikulec, 2020), we can distinguish between professionalization organizations that offer (1) primary professional education and (2) continuing professional development and professional organizations, that is, associations self-organized by professionals from the field of AE.
The main professionalization organization offering primary education for adult educators in Slovenia is the university, while continuing professional development of adult educators is offered by the SIAE.
The University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, offers doctoral and master’s degree programmes in ʻAndragogyʼ. The University of Primorska, Faculty of Education, offers a master’s degree programme in ʻAdult Education and Career Developmentʼ. AE as a subject can also be studied as part of the first- and second-degree study programme of ʻPedagogyʼ at the University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts, as well as in some other degree programmes (e.g., Organisation and Management, Human Resources). Broadly speaking, master’s programmes in andragogy/AE provide students with interdisciplinary (generic) competences in the humanities and social sciences, as well as with professional (subject-specific) competences that enable them to understand the relationships between various AE phenomena and processes, the social and cultural environment, and the characteristics and expectations of individual adults (Schwarz & Mikulec, 2020, pp. 23–24).
SIAE is the main institution responsible for the national system for continuing education and training of adult educators. SIAE has developed two main types of competence-based professional training programmes: (a) general basic and continuing training of adult educators (knowledge of the discipline, andragogical cycle) and (b) basic training on the specific roles of adult educators (e.g., head and mentor in study circles, counselor in adult education guidance centres). For the first type, 37 different programmes were developed lasting from 8 to 24 hours, and for the second type, 21 programs lasting from 8 to 175 hours (ACS, 2024). Table 9.1 shows the number of adult educators who have participated in these programmes over the last 10 years.
Number of participants who have participated in SIAE professional training programmes for adult educators
| Year | Number of participants |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 745 |
| 2012 | 1056 |
| 2013 | 1014 |
| 2014 | 1092 |
| 2015 | 733 |
| 2016 | 872 |
| 2017 | 891 |
| 2018 | 864 |
| 2019 | 869 |
| 2020 | 997 |
| 2021 | 1111 |
| 2022 | 1333 |
SOURCE: IZOACS APP.
The main professional organizations we have identified are the following: (i) Andragogical Society of Slovenia (ADS), (ii) Association of Folk Schools of Slovenia (ZLUS), (iii) Slovenian Third Age University (SUTŽO), (iv) Association of Adult Education Organisations in Upper-Secondary Schools (DOIO), (v) Association of Educational and Counselling Centres of Slovenia (ZiSS) (for a more detailed presentation of each organization, see Schwarz & Mikulec, 2020, pp. 21–23). The diversity of these organizations reveals that there is no single
3.2.1 Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Data from two national evaluations of AE during the COVID-19 pandemic (Možina et al., 2020; Možina, 2021) show four important trends. First, the majority of organizations—the first evaluation included 34 folk schools, 70 upper-secondary vocational and technical schools, and 52 universities for the third age (Možina et al., 2020), and the second 34 folk schools, 81 upper-secondary vocational and technical schools, and 52 universities for the third age (Možina, 2021) provided distance education for formal education programmes (e.g., adult basic education, formal vocational and technical education), while
3.3 Staff-Personnel
As evident from macro and meso level, adult educators in Slovenia can develop their professional competences in different ways, e.g., through formal university study programmes, the system offered by SIAE, non-formal education programmes offered by professional organizations, or other available activities (e.g., participating in Erasmus+ mobility programmes). As our recent study (Mikulec & Kovšca, 2023) shows, adult educators in Slovenia believe that they have enough opportunities for their professional development and that these opportunities depend on their own motivation and the incentives offered by their employers.
However, studies exploring the professional identity of adult educators in Slovenia (e.g., Možina, 2011, 2018; Mikulec & Kovšca, 2023) show that the career paths of adult educators are very diverse. Some have a master’s degree in andragogy/AE or have entered the field through formal ʻpedagogical-andragogical educationʼ provided by universities. Others have acquired their knowledge about AE through short training courses within the organization they are employed in or work with. In many cases, entry into AE is not a deliberate decision of the individual, but rather a coincidence due to various reasons. The extent to which adult educators focus on their professional development depends on their personal characteristics, interests, needs, initiative, and the circumstances in which they find themselves. Particular attention is paid to professional development by those adult educators who are primarily active in the field (i.e., work in ʻindependent AE organization’ or ʻeducational institutionʼ according to the classification of Merriam and Brockett [2007]), and less so by those for whom AE is an additional or complementary activity.
3.3.1 Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Data from evaluations of AE during the COVID-19 pandemic (Možina et al., 2020; Možina, 2021) show how the pandemic has further worsened the already unstable working conditions of some adult educators working in different types of organizations. While teachers, mentors, and tutors in the folk schools are mostly freelance, in upper-secondary technical schools some of them perform AE as part of their regular work obligations, while others also do it in various forms of additional contract work. This means that teachers, mentors, and tutors do not feel part of the AE collective and only undertake tasks that are directly related to the teaching of the subject or topic they have taken on. They are also perceived in the collectives as external collaborators with limited powers and responsibilities. Consequently, during the first wave of the pandemic, teachers, mentors, or tutors reported that they were professionally isolated and left to their own to decide how to prepare their subject or topic for distance education, what learning resources, and tools to prepare, how to engage with learners and maintain their motivation, and how to assess their knowledge. Most of them also lacked the knowledge to conduct distance education, were not sufficiently ICT trained, and did not have adequate technical equipment. However, during the second and third waves of the pandemic, teachers, mentors, and tutors reported that they received the most support and help from the AE organizers (AE professionals regularly employed by the main independent AE organizations), from the distance education guidelines produced by the organization, and from the mutual support of teachers and mentors.
Nevertheless, the results (Možina et al., 2020; Možina, 2021) also show that adult educators have learnt about the many benefits of distance education during the pandemic—e.g., higher participation and better accessibility of education to adults, better flexibility of education in terms of time and space, use of new didactic methods, better ICT competences of staff, and technical equipment of organizations for distance education—and intend to keep it in
4 Discussion
This chapter explored two aims. Firstly, to analyze and discuss the professionalisation of adult educators in Slovenia as a multi-level phenomenon that interconnects macro, meso, and micro levels (cf. Jõgi et al., 2020). Secondly, to understand how the state, AE organizations, and adult educators in Slovenia have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, as AE organizations and adult educators in Europe and worldwide have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to the dramatic changes in their work environment (James & Theriault, 2020; Milana et al., 2021). In doing so, we have also acknowledged that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an ‘exogenous shock’ (Sabatier & Weible, 2007), the policy agendas of nation states and international organizations have been (re)oriented to respond to new problematisations of the future of education and bring about policy change (Morris et al., 2022; Zancajo et al., 2022; Milana & Mikulec, 2023). Based on our analysis and the data discussed in this chapter, we can present the following findings.
At the macro level, Slovenian policies regulate AE in the public interest, i.e., formal AE programmes and non-formal education programmes that are publicly recognized, where the need for professional competence of adult educators is defined by conditions that adult educators working in publicly recognized AE programmes must meet. The state also regulates the selection and (co-)financing of programmes that promote the professional development of adult educators and in this way contribute to the quality of their work (cf. Egetenmeyer & Käpplinger, 2011). These regulations at the state level can be understood as ‘tendencies to professionalize the field’ (Bron & Jarvis, 2008, p. 41). However, what is at odds with the international commitments made by the state as a signatory of the Marrakesh Framework for Action, regarding the need to ʻfurther professionalize and specialize adult educatorsʼ (UIL, 2022, p. 7), is the characterization and exclusion of those who count as professionals in the field of AE. In this way, some profiles of adult educators working in practice (e.g., in non-formal education) are not recognized in policies, which means that they are not eligible to participate in co-financed programmes of professional development organized by the state. Furthermore, the state also does not regulate AE that is not of ʻpublic interestʼ, such as, for example, areas of
The state responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in two ways. During the pandemic, the state (the ministry responsible for education) did not systematically support the AE sector, unlike in the case of child and youth education, and adult educators did not feel addressed by the decision-making level. In particular, non-formal education, also the one in the public interest, was completely neglected, a trend that can be observed worldwide (Stanistreet et al., 2020, p. 628). This unequal attitude of decision-makers towards AE in Slovenia is symptomatic when it comes to designing the necessary systemic measures, and the pandemic has only exacerbated this trend (Možina, 2021). On the other hand, it is also clear that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has reoriented AE policy (AEMP, 2022; cf. Milana & Mikulec, 2023) towards ʻdigitalturnʼ and digitalization of the AE sector, a trend that can also be observed worldwide (e.g., Käpplinger & Lichte, 2020; Zancajo et al., 2022; Popović & Nišavić, 2023; Cort & Larson, 2024), in terms of online educational offer, appropriate ICT equipment, learning tools, and digital infrastructure, as well as trained adult educators to deliver distance education using digital technologies.
At the meso level, there is no single umbrella professional organization for AE, but a multitude of associations that pursue different goals and needs of their members. There are several higher education institutions that offer AE study programmes and subjects, as well as programmes of pedagogical-andragogical education that provide students with AE knowledge and competences, thus enabling the development of professionalism through formal academic educational pathways. However, studying AE is, as elsewhere (cf. Lattke & Nuissl, 2008, p. 12), not a prerequisite for entering the labour market in Slovenia. Overall, the diversity of organizations creates many opportunities for the professional development of adult educators, but different interest groups gathered in associations can also come into conflict when pursuing their interests at a national level, lacking a common vision of AE. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when systemic support at the national level was lacking, professional associations played a key role by responding quickly to the needs of AE practitioners. However, the organizations were unable to secure the majority of non-formal AE programmes that were not delivered during the pandemic—a concern that was also expressed by the wider AE community (cf. Käpplinger & Lichte, 2020, p. 783; Klimkina et al., 2023, p. 28).
At the micro level, unlike in many other European countries (Ioannou, 2023, p. 383), adult educators in Slovenia can benefit from the existing opportunities for acquiring organized knowledge about AE through formal university study programmes and the system for continuing education and training of adult
To summarise. We believe that our findings may be of interest to a wider international community as they indicate that: (a) professionalisation of adult educators is not only a matter of competences that adult educators should possess, but rather a multi-level phenomenon that requires established relationships between staff-personnel, organisations and society contexts; (b) the state can support the professional development of adult educators through its policies and that systematic support from the state is crucial in times of crisis, even if this support is linked to new problematisations brought about by the crisis (i.e., in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, towards the digitalisation of the AE sector); (c) organisations create many opportunities for the professional development of adult educators and that in times of crisis, the role of professional associations is crucial to respond to the needs and challenges faced by adult educators; (d) although a crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, worsens the already unstable working conditions of adult educators, the crisis also contains the potential for change among adult educators as they acquire new knowledge to cope with new social and working demands (i.e., ICT competences to deliver distance education or blended learning).
In this chapter, we have discussed the professionalisation of adult educators as a multi-level phenomenon and shown how the existing macro- and meso-level frameworks in Slovenia facilitate or hinder the possibilities of adult educators (at micro-level) to acquire organised knowledge about AE. While in line with the ʻnewʼ professionalism we have noted the shift to organizations and individuals for their continuous professional development, we also acknowledge that in Slovenia, a state with a strong centralized governance, the state with its regulations still plays an important role in the professional development of adult educators. We have also shown how the state, AE providers, and adult educators have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and argued that the pandemic has challenged AE providers and adult educators in Slovenia and worldwide in many ways. During the pandemic, support to cope with distance education in Slovenia came mainly from the organisational level; at the individual level, adult educators recognized ICT competence and didactics of distance education as a necessary condition for their professionalism, while at the outbreak of the pandemic, the state reoriented AE policy towards the ʻdigital turnʼ and the digitalization of the AE sector. This shows that crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have the potential to reorient the AE policy agenda and perceptions of professionalism among adult educators.
Today, after the COVID-19 pandemic, two trends caused by the pandemic can be observed. First, while AE organizations have not completely replaced face-to-face education with distance education, most organizations now offer their programmes as blended learning (partly in-person at the organization’s premises and partly in an online learning environment). Secondly, according to the Labour Force Survey, the increased use of distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on changes in adult participation in LLL. While the participation rate reached its lowest point in 2020 at 8.4%, it jumped during the pandemic years to 18.9% in 2021 and 21.6% in 2022 and remained high and stable in the years after the pandemic (e.g., 19.9% in 2023). This suggests that the shift to distance education and/or blended learning has also enabled greater adult participation in LLL.
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