LLinE Lifelong Learning in Europe

Papers and Workshops. Abstracts of the papers.

Papers are presented in workshops.
Workshop I takes place on Friday 19 January, and Workshop II on Saturday 20 January.

Workshop topics are

1. Multicultural society and learning cooperation
2. Lifelong learning and regeneration of communities
3. Partnerships in Learning Regions and Cities
4. Learning, teacher training and technology in view of lifelong learning

Workshop I takes place on Friday and Workshop II on Saturday


1. Multicultural society and learning cooperation

WORKSHOP I
Multicultural society
WORKSHOP II
Learning cooperation

WORKSHOP I
Multicultural society

1. The Nordic think-tank tracking down the new perspectives on future competences
Leena Jokinen, Education Manager in Turku School of Economics, Finland Futures Research Centre, Finland

The Nordic think-tank is a Nordic Council founded project, which is co-ordinated by the Icelandic labour union organisation Education and Training Service Centre. The think-tank members come from the different Nordic countries; one person from each country. The main aims of the think-tank are to produce critical perspectives on future competences and highlight the needs for development especially on adult education.

The approaches of the think-tank work are: firstly, to form an image of the future society and work life. What are the most important competences of individuals, and what kind of organisations are productive and sustainable in the Nordic context? Secondly, what are the structures and contexts where these future competences have a possibility to develop and flourish? Thirdly, how the Nordic culture can be the basis of competitive strategy and create unique frontrunner products and services in a global world?

The working methods are to explore significant reports as well as other documents, to talk to national experts in different fields of society, and to organise a seminar, where experts and adult education practitioners discuss together. The final product of the project will be a critical, well grounded report, which points out the most significant dynamics on future competence creation and the role of adult education in it. The report will come out by the end of year 2007.

2. Sami – Santa Claus – Lordi. Globalization of culture in Lapland
Prof. Kari E. Nurmi, Faculty of Education, University of Lapland

The purpose of my presentation is to review some core characteristics of regional culture in Lapland, describe their mythological origins at the same time relating them to the late modern globalization processes and to discuss their relationship to education. The roots of a region are ingrained in the culture of its inhabitants. The early history of culture in Lapland consists of competition between pagan and Christian religions, Finns and Sami as well as repeated conflicts between Finns and Russians. The present winner, however, seems to be the Anglo-American cultural hegemony. Two of its main representatives are the originally Greek bishop of Myra, St. Nicolaus or Santa Claus, and the Eurovision song contest winner Mr. Lordi with his band of gothic horror characters. The Rovaniemi Santa is thoroughly Americanized, while Lordi’s group is a direct descendant of the hard rock band Kiss, with distinct Lovecraftian gothic entertainment focus. The effect of post-world war II English turn in Finnish education is obvious here. It raises questions about cultural dominance and authenticity of the image of Lapland offered to foreign tourists visiting the region in ever increasing numbers.

3. Women’s Agency in Local Communities of Rural Finnish Lapland
Seija Keskitalo-Foley, University of Lapland

My interest to study Lapland from the gender perspective has its origin in the growing concern over the outmigration of women from the province Lapland. One important issue in the effort to halt out-migration is to think how the northern communities could be more women-friendly. A masculine understunding of agency is culturally still so dominating in Lapland that the absence of women is not hardly noticed. The myths of Lapland emphasise and repeat the Wild, Free North of men. Traditionally decision-making and planning processes tend to ignore in particular participation by women and the smooth functioning of women’s daily lives. To learn about women’s everyday life, I have interviewed 19 women who live living in rural Finnish North. I have analysed the spaces and positions of agency in their life narratives. The pivotal question is the nature of the spaces agency that they produce. The material focuses on everyday life and women’s action arenas and ways of doing things. For example, the narrative of transformation includes a case where women in one village changed the male-dominated hunting club to make it more receptive to family activities.


WORKSHOP II
Learning cooperation

4. Peer Mentors, Reading Coaches, Integration Navigators – New approaches of improving local integration politics in Germany
Dr. Ulrike Wolff-Jontofsohn, University of Education, Freiburg, Germany

The paper presents three concepts for improving integration of migrant children through networks of trained volunteers. The core theme of these new projects is to make use of social capital of active citizens who can provide substantial complement to the formal education system. The participants of these projects perform voluntary work by helping migrant children to acquire literacy in a second language and to foster contacts between migrant families and the school system.

The volunteers´ preparation programs include a formal qualification, held in courses at the Teacher Training Department of the local university or at a college for further education. The training covers a widespread Curriculum within a 50-hour class, focused especially on teaching methodologies, information, communication skills and guest lectures by experts, senior teachers and social workers. The future “task force” includes native German volunteers as well as members from different local ethnic communities.

This paper presents the key features of the programs as well as first results of the evaluation and tries to point out that the implementation of this program can be adapted to other municipalities.

5. Incubating Regional Partnerships in California through ARCHES: State-wide Case Study on Fostering the Emergence, Growth, and Sustainability of Life-Long Learning Partnerships
Dr. Leslie Henrickson, Technology Education Consulting and Research and Touro University International, California, USA

California’s past economic success and technological leadership resulted from its substantial and significant investments in education from pre-school to post-graduate opportunities. California’s economy ranks fifth place among the world’s economies and is often considered the bellwether in the US. Increasingly, students and families understand the imperative to attend post-high school training and college to meet business demands for employees with high levels of communication and technological competencies. State-wide emphases on collaborative partnerships to address deep and seemingly intractable educational challenges require commitment from all societal sectors.

Organizations that foster the partnership strategy have emerged on several fronts within the California: ICC, CAPP, University of California system, among others. Partnerships provide an effective strategy for enhancing all students’ achievements, for addressing equity by closing the achievement gaps of socially excluded minorities, and for promoting efficient use of resources around shared institutional goals. This case study examines a new California initiative to establish a state-wide network promoting partnerships, Alliance for Regional Collaboration to Heighten Educational Success (ARCHES). This presentation examines ARCHES’ history, scope and structure, best practices to ensure partnership growth and sustainability, program evaluation at a state-wide network level, and transferability of best practices to other states and regions.

6. Partnership and Social Dialog in Adult Education
Prof.Dr. Steliana Toma Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest
Prof.Dr.Ing. Adriana Teodora Manea, „Ovidius” University Constanta, Romania

The social environment determines what adults want and need to learn, the existing opportunities and the ways of long-life learning. Presently, on the scene of education and training have appeared new and powerful actors. The adult education can benefit a lot from working in partnership. Some Romanian „good practices” illustrate that training can be delivered at regional and local level; as well, that the social dialog within adult education is an indispensable dimension to its good functioning.

2. Lifelong learning and regeneration of communities

WORKSHOP I
Learning region and learning city
WORKSHOP II
Lifelong Learning and Regeneration of communities

WORKSHOP I
Learning region and learning city

7. The ‘Learning City’, local authority staff perceptions in six European locations
Lesley Doyle, University of Stirling
Dermot Couglan, University of Limerick, Ireland
Veronique Lobit, ESC Toulouse, France
Britt Anderson, Akershus Academy, Norway
Giuseppe Ronsisvalle, University of Catania, Sicily
Orazio Prezzavento, University of Catania

This presentation provides an analysis of local authority staff perceptions of a ‘learning city’ in six European locations: Stirling (Scotland), Akershus (Norway), Pecs (Hungary), Catania (Sicily, Italy), Limerick (Ireland) and Toulouse (France). With the aim of making a contribution to the development of lifelong learning organisations, regions and cities throughout Europe, in each location, academic partners have spent the last year working on LILARA (Learning in Local and Regional Authorities), a two year Pascal/Grundtvig project. The objectives of the project are to research, develop and disseminate materials relating to the training and learning needs of staff in local and regional authorities and their institutional stakeholders. To these ends, the partners have developed and tested a new learning needs audit tool with staff in their respective local authorities. The audit is in two parts: the first explores staff perceptions of a ‘learning city’ and its application in their locality and the extent to which they think their local officers and councillors are thinking and acting along similar lines to themselves. The second part requests the staff to make an assessment of their own learning needs in respect of being able to play an active part in creating and maintaining a learning city culture. For each country, the responses were collated and analysed to identify the training requirements of the staff, according to their own assessment, and training days were then structured to meet these needs. This presentation will cover the first part of the audit.

8. The Role of Further Education of Municipal clerks in the Development of Learning Regions
S.A. Kirsanov, St. Petersburg Institute of the Humanitarian Education, Russia

In the realization of the Lifelong Learning idea the important role is given to a municipality. The municipality has to provide opportunity for the basic education, to complete the deficit of knowledge and professional competence, to improve cultural and social capital of every citizen.

The chiefs and experts of bodies of local self-management can successfully carry out the functions, constantly raising the professional level, persistently updating available knowledge, taking possession modern administrative technologies.

The faculty «State and municipal management» of the St.-Petersburg institute of humanitarian education gives steadfast attention to improvement of professional skill of the staff of management. This work was made active and has got system character in last time: on rates and seminars many are trained municipal serving – chapter and assistants of the chapters of municipal formations, chiefs and experts of services of administrations and others.

In the spring 2006 in city Borovichi of the Novgorod area the faculty carried out courses of improvement of qualification for the municipal employees «Local self-management and development of municipal formations in conditions of transformation of a legal field».

The program of a rate included study of questions: management of municipal economy; features of formation and execution of the municipal budget; management of the municipal real estate; management of the programs socially – economic development and others. The lectures – conversation, testing, trainings, realization of employment in the form of problem seminars and business games have allowed to allocate the most exciting problems of municipal formations and to carry out together with the students search of their decision. The testing has shown high ready of the municipal employees to the decision of problems of territory. Good quality check of knowledge of the students became preparation of qualifying works of the widest problematics. Many students have devoted the researches to study of problems of local community; realizations of tasks of the municipal target program «Borovichi – Learning Region».

After such all-round preparation, the quality of knowledge serving of municipality considerably has raised, that will have an effect on quality of the accepted administrative decisions on problems of socio economic development of area.
Now system of retraining of the municipal staff in Russia for the present be not capable cardinally to raise an educational level of the deputies and municipal employees. The state politics in this direction should be aimed at increase of quality of educational process. The professional training of the staff for bodies of local self-management should become a task №1.

WORKSHOP II
Lifelong Learning and Regeneration of communities

9. The ‘learning city’: local authority staff training needs in six European locations
Lesley Doyle, University of Stirling
Dermot Couglan, University of Limerick, Ireland
Veronique Lobit, ESC Toulouse, France
Britt Anderson, Akershus Academy, Norway
Giuseppe Ronsisvalle, University of Catania, Sicily
Orazio Prezzavento, University of Catania

An overview will be presented by one of us and in discussion views from all six countries will be heard.
The development of learning cities and regions is dependent upon managers, professionals and staff at all levels of local and regional government, as well as other key stakeholders in the local and regional context, such as schools, universities, adult vocational colleges, business and industry, museums and libraries, not only to demonstrate commitment but also to be given the requisite training to help drive and implement effective policies.
This presentation provides an analysis of local authority staff perceptions of their training needs, and their responses to the training days structured to meet these needs, in six European locations: Stirling (Scotland), Akershus (Norway), Pecs (Hungary), Catania (Sicily, Italy), Limerick (Ireland) and Toulouse (France). This work has been undertaken as part of LILARA (Learning in Local and Regional Authorities), a two year Pascal/Grundtvig project. The objectives of the project are to research, develop and disseminate materials relating to the training and learning needs of staff in local and regional authorities, in the first year, and their institutional stakeholders in the second. This presentation covers the work carried out in the first year when a new learning needs audit tool was emailed to staff in their respective local authorities, requesting them to make an assessment of their own learning needs for them to be equipped to play an active part in creating and maintaining a learning city culture. The results from each country will be presented, together with an assessment of the similarities and differences between them.

10. The Development of the Professional Competences of Public Servants in Lithuania
Vilma Tubutiene, Siauliai University, Lithuania

When Lithuania joined the European Union and the reform of public administration began in the country especially high requirements are being imposed on the professionality of public servants: it is necessary to have high professional competence that helps to make legal and correct decisions. In the conference of European public administration institutes and school headmasters “Management in the European public sector: pursuing general competence” that took place in the Hague in 2004 the necessity to distinguish and agree upon general competences of the EU public servants which would help the countries to identify the learning priorities and pursue the common goal, i.e., professional work of the public servants in all EU countries was emphasized.

Increasing public servants’ professionality thus ensuring the efficiency of the system of public administration, as one of the most important aims of the reform of public service is also mentioned in the state documents of Lithuania: the Strategies of Training of Public Servants 2002-2006 and Development of Public Administration to the year 2010. Modern conception of public administration motivates to renounce traditionally treated administration and develop the management of the public sector. The establishment of contemporary management strategies in the public sector requires from the servants not only high professional qualification but also much wider professional competences. All this conditions the changes in the management of human resources of the public sector orienting towards the identification of general and specific competences and their permanent development.
The aim of the research: to identify the specifics of the development of the competences of Lithuanian public servants.

In order to achieve it the following objectives of the research have been set: to reveal the professional competences of the public servants in the theoretical aspect; to diagnose the specifics of the development of the Lithuanian public servants competences.
The methods of the research: the analysis of scientific sources, statistic analysis of the data from Lithuanian databases.

The article presents research in the field of public servants’ competences. In the first and second part the authors give a review of competency development concept in business and public sector. The third part reveals and distinguishes features characteristic to the competency development system of Lithuanian public servants. The main conclusion of the research emphasis that modern conception of public administration motivates to renounce traditionally treated administration and develop the management of the public sector. The establishment of contemporary management strategies in the public sector requires from the servants not only high professional qualification but also much wider professional competences. In order to ensure the quality of human resources in public administration institutions the personnel management changes orienting towards the identification of general and specific competences and their permanent development are necessary


3. Partnerships in Learning Regions and Cities

WORKSHOP I, 4 PAPERS
WORKSHOP II, 4 PAPERS

11. Pascal European Network of Lifelong Learning Regions
Mike Osborne, University of Stirling, Scotland UK
Lesley Doyle, University of Stirling
Dermot Couglan, University of Limerick, Ireland
Veronique Lobit, ESC Toulouse, France
Britt Anderson, Akershus Academy, Norway
Giuseppe Ronsisvalle, University of Catania, Sicily
Palmira Juceviene, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania

The Pascal European Network of Lifelong Learning Regions (PENR3L) is a new initiative of the PASCAL (Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions) Observatory (http://www.obs-pascal.com). Funded by the European Commission through an Accompanying Measure it seeks to build on the 2002 R3L initiative to develop a sustainable network of learning regions in Europe. In this session, the organisers of PENR3L (universities and regions in UK, Italy, France, Lithuania, Hungary and Ireland) will provide an outline of the context of their initiative and their plans for development over the next 18 months. The presentation also will describe the objectives of PASCAL itself, which seeks to develop a new form of knowledge transfer for regions. The session will be of particular interest to regional planners and those involve in learning city developments that seek international synergies.

12. Residents Involving Disaster-Reduction Education Of Poverty Community In Developing Country
Jinhong Wan, Department of Geography, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

We must meet the problem that poverty makes people more vulnerability. Especially, when have-nots live at conditions which involve some environmental risks. Education can help vulnerable people who live in risk. This project helps poverty-community’s residents to identify potential hazards in community by residents themselves drawing a map of the community’s hazards. The researchers collaborated with Xingcheng Community Council and Xingcheng High School, Beijing, China. Residents were taught by researchers basic knowledge on disaster events which Xingcheng community may meet in future. Then researchers, community officers and local residents walked themselves into the community, to find possible and multifarious hazards. Meanwhile, everybody discuss and assess risks that hazards lead to, and seek simple and operable means mitigating the possible risks. After field practice the residents, community officers and researchers draw Xingcheng community hazards map which includes all hazards which were found in field practice and means which respond to the possible risk events. This project spends limited money to help many people who live in risk regions by improving environment safety knowledge. It is an effective approach for poverty regions to meet risks.

13. Portuguese entrepreneur women and the exercise of active citizenship
Dr. Maria José Gonçalves, Universidade Nova de Lisboa/FCT-UIED (Unit of Research Education and Development), Portugal

This article presents results from DONA EMPRESA, a programme being promoted for three years now by the Portuguese Association of Entrepreneur Women. The programme aims at supporting unemployed women having a business idea, to create business/enterprises and maintain their own employment.

So far about a hundred enterprises have been created under this programme, their surviving rate being very high after one year of business running. This success may be explained by the existence of three simultaneous factors: training; the existence of a business plan; mentoring before and after the creation of enterprises. It demonstrates how entrepreneur women take their responsibilities for their own job and actively participate in civil society, refusing to be excluded. Furthermore, since many of such projects have been implemented in less favoured regions of the country, they are contributing for the development of their surroundings.

The last data from the National Statistics Institute reveal a rate of feminisation of work and entrepreneurship in our country higher than that of the other European countries. The article will discuss this issue, which demands a complex approach, inasmuch as several reasons acting solely or interconnected can contribute for such situation.

14. Six years towards Learning Region
V. Markusheva, Vice Mayor of Borovichi, Novgorod region, Russia

The idea of lifelong learning became uniting for local community in its aspiration to improvement of life quality in our region. Why the idea of educating community has got an active support here?

At first, there is a basis for this purpose in the city and the area as an advanced enough education system. That purposefulness, integrated approach, scientific comprehension of carried out innovations, the steady tendency to expansion of educational space which characterizes work of administration.

Secondly, we have an experience in realization of continuous education the concept of which is realized in the field of vocational training by creation of an educational and scientific industrial complex.

Thirdly, it has been made an attempt of embodiment of system at interdepartmental interaction, concerning the education of children and youth by development of "Borovichi – our common house" program in municipality.

Fourthly, some public organizations, ready to show the initiative and support to the given idea, came into being in the city and the area. The national school became its active conductor.

Proceeding from the mentioned above principle positions, the town of Borovichi and Borovichy area of the district Novgorod work over the municipal project “Education community" since 2001.

This innovational for Russia project allows to see the real horizons in overcoming backlog in development of adult education. The today's condition of adult education development shows unrealized opportunities of our country in an outlet from social-economic crisis.

All this work is being fulfilled on the basis of social partnership in coordination of activity with educational establishments and the included structures.

Creation of the “Society of mutual education" is quite real on the basis of all available town resources for the satisfaction of educational needs of all categories, groups of the population and also the economy of the area. However the decision of this problem demands not only significant organizational efforts, but also assumes carrying out complex social-economic research of its realization.

15. Learning Partnership networks in the learning city: community of scholars and practitioners
Palmira Juceviciene, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania

As developing a learning city is an innovative process, its success requires to go beyond the application of existing knowledge in the field. The process is unique in the case of each city, as there are no cities with the same context (Longworth, 2000). Therefore, part of the knowledge necessary for developing a learning city, should be created for every case. This cannot be completed by either scholars or practitioners working separately. A partnership network of their common activity, which generates new knowledge and disseminates innovations, is necessary. This kind of network, which generates new knowledge and develops innovations, inevitably has to be a learning partnership network.

The present research literature discusses networks from a general perspective, also from the point of view of economics or computer science. There is less literature which focuses on learning partnership networks. Some researchers (Gibbons, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998; Leydesdorff, 1996, 1998, 2003; Robson, 1999; Hsu, 2002) are interested in the interaction between researchers and practitioners. However, little if any attention is paid to learning partnership networks in this respect.

The aim of this presentation is to highlight the specific features of learning partnership networks drawing on a specific case of developing a learning city. The research employed the following conceptual positions: 1) research as activity is treated in line with Mode 2 (Gibbons, 1994); 2) the collaboration between researchers and practitioners is viewed from the perspective of community of practice, so the theory of social learning is considered (Wenger, 1998); 4) a network is analysed from the pint of view of social capital (Tichy, 1981; Garavan, Costine and Heraty, 1995; Hall, 1998). All this has served for the development of the methodology and instrument for the research on learning partnership networks. They were employed to carry out research on the learning partnership network of researchers and practitioners who seek to develop a learning city. The research was carried out in Kaunas, the second biggest city in Lithuania. It has been developing into a learning city since 2001. The paper will present and discuss the results of this research.

16. Adult Learners Week and the Russian network of Learning Region
Nina Litvinova, The House of Europe, St. Petersburg, Russia

Different coordinators take part in the work of the UNESCO action “Adult Learners’ Week” and the development of folk high schools in the Russian regions in the “Learning Region” network. Representatives of coordinators represent universities, centers of Adult Education, NGOs (St. Petersburg, Kazan, Borovichi (Novgorod region), Barnaul, Anapa (Krasnodar region), Irkutsk, Vladivostok, Kostroma, Astrachan, Izhevsk).

The aims of network projects are:
· coordinating of the work of FHSs in Russia;
· help in developing and coordinating specialists’ work in different regions in order to provide scientific research work;
· organization of joined exhibitions, conferences, seminars of in-service training and other actions according to the plan;
· help the government of Russian Federation in the state policy in the sphere of Adult Education.
Participants of the network projects have prepared a plan of joined actions by 2009.
In 2005-2006 the network “Learning Region” carried out programs concerning
· studying the experience of Adult Education in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany;
· organizing the 7th”Adult Learners’ Week” in the Krasnodar region;
· the international conference “The Role of Human Capital in the Innovative Development of Russia”;
· publishing 6 books and brochures about the experience of Learning Region development in Russia.

The next action is the conference in Barnaul “The Role of Universities in the Building of Learning Regions Societies”. The coordinator of this network project is NGO “The House of Europe in St. Petersburg”.

17. The Centre on development of learning community "Integraton"
Olga Savenkova, St. Petersburg, Russia

In order to form a learning community and to satisfy its demand for education according to the decision of Administration of the municipality in July 2006 – the Center on development of learning community" Integration " was founded.

The Mission of "Center" consists of positive development image of region and increasing of its competitiveness, coordination of activities of all organizations, establishments and the structures participating in development of training community in the region. The work of the center will allow to unite the efforts of many NGOs, public organizations, the educational establishments working in the field of adults' education.

The basic functions of "Center":
· Marketing researches of labour market and the market of educational services;
· Monitoring the current educational needs f the population and forecasting the probable educational needs;
· An establishment of contacts to learning cities and regions, including foreign countries, development of the international programs and projects in the field of adults' education;
· Realization of fundraising to assist a separate establishments, development of new projects, and also searching the possible sponsors for the groups of the citizens who have no opportunity to pay for the programme;
· Popularization of lifelong education idea by carrying out of advertising campaigns and parties, similar to "Adult Learner’s Week";
· Creation of the diagnostic center, a databank, a consultation centre for trainees so that they could receive the information or recommendations on continuation of training, maintenance of work of a web-site "Learning region";
The project’s main aim today is a preparation of The Forum of Small and Middle Enterprises of Novgorod Region, the partnership contract between the Productional Association and the Centre of common educational programs for businessmen.

The organization of training of the population during all life on the basis of integration of formal and informal formation(education) gets the increasing urgency.

The analysis of the educational services spent within the framework of informal training of adult population, shows, that in Orenburg and the Orenburg area such educational programs which, on the one hand, are typical for any megacity are most claimed: improvement of professional skill; driving of the automobile; computer literacy; possession of foreign languages; and on the other hand, are characteristic only for our Orenburzhye: пуховязание; choral singing; the Cossack traditions; planning of young family.
Conducting (Leading) scientific – methodical role in informal formation (education) is played by the Maximum (Supreme) national school.

Perfection of programs of training and certification during all educational activity of the person, through all his (its) life is a serious question of the future.
The system of social partnership in continuous formation (education) of adults actively develops in territory of the Orenburg area, however now subjects of social partnership function in the various нормативно-legal frameworks which frequently have been not connected with each other. Work of mass-media is insufficient by way of information support of educational programs of informal formation(education) of adults.

18. Learning Region Orenburg
S. Polkina, Orenburg, Russia

One of the ways of increasing lifelong learning effectiveness consists of partnership development between the state, commercial and noncommercial organizations.
The special role in the association of the efforts providing the decision of development of human potential problem is played by the Orenburg Union of Industrialists and Businessmen by which about 300 contracts are signed, which deal with preparation of experts of the various enterprises of the region.

The system of lifelong learning of the population in Orenburg functions not as administrative connection of polytypic educational institutions but as socially – guided system, which allows to provide everybody's personal needs during the various periods of his life.

The center of development of non-formal education in the city became the Folks High School at Pedagogical university. FHS, working in a network «Learning Region», has concentrated in the programs for elderly people, and study circles for the working people.

Also, it is necessary to note, that existing conservatism of a traditional system of education in many aspects brakes the movement under the motto «Lifelong Learning». Imperfection of legislative base; insufficient coordination of the ministries and departments in the sphere of lifelong learning; absence of the unique informational system about the educational environment and a number of other problems stop the development and high quality achievement of lifelong learning in modern social and economic conditions. Today mechanisms of gathering and the analysis of the public data testify the social demand for adults' education are not fulfilled yet. It is necessary to develop the indicators, which will allow to estimate learning efficiency during all human life, its importance for career growth of citizens and for economic development of the country.

The problem of lifelong learning on the basis of integration of formal and informal education becomes urgent.
The analysis of the educational services provided within the framework of informal training of adult population, shows, that in Orenburg and the Orenburg region such educational programs as improvement of professional skills; in-service training, driving of the automobile; computer literacy; knowledge of foreign languages, on the one hand; and on the other hand, programs which are typical only for Orenburg region: choral singing, the Cossack traditions, family planning.

The leading scientific – methodical role in informal education is played by the FHS.

Improving of programs of training and certification during whole educational activity of the person through all his life is a serious question of the future.
The system of social partnership in lifelong learning of adults is being actively developed in the Orenburg region. However, at present subjects of social partnership function in the various frameworks which usually have no connection with each other. The informational support of educational programs of lifelong learning of mass-media is insufficient.


4. Learning, teacher training and technology in view of lifelong learning

WORKSHOP I
Learning and teacher training in view of lifelong learning
WORKSHOP II
Technology in view of lifelong learning

WORKSHOP I
Learning and teacher training in view of lifelong learning

19. Peculiarities of forming educational space in small city
Olga Balazhi, Russian State Social University, filial in Anapa, Russia

There are some difficulties in the development of Adult Education in small cities. Absence of universities, much less developed service-net make problems in the selection of teacher staff and in the habitants’ being involved as people are mostly busy with their private affairs. The position of the municipality is also very important in the condition of the reform of the local self government. The activization of adult education will be possible if teachers from colleges and schools, specialists from local companies, painters or other talented people join around Folk High School of the municipality.

Folk high school is a flexible component of many aspects in the system of adult continuing education. At any rate high folk school is capable to satisfy educational demands of different population groups, not always directly connected with their professional education, independent of their social-economic prosperity. Its activity is directed to the compensatory adult education or to the knowledge supplement in connection of new life demands.

The development of folk high school activity in whole provides the public adaptation to the all transformations taking place in economy, culture and in society in whole.
The contingent of high folk school students is quite different:
- Free population (unemployed, house-keepers, the people of pre-pensioned age);
- Third age specialists;
- Ex-military men;
- Non-working pensioners;
- Disabled people;
- The people in hard life situations
The main positive results of folk high school creation can be called the creation of teachers’ stаff capable to realization of different educational programs with using of new educational technologies adult teaching, establishing of partners relations with state and non-state region organizations, presentation of high folk school results to pedagogical region community.

20. Reflective Learning at work community
Esa Poikela & Sari Poikela, Faculty of Education, University of Lapland

The concept of reflection has usually been associated with individual psychological factors in learning, but it can equally well describe social factors determined by the activities of a group, organisation and even of a society. In working life reflection should be defined in its actual context (Poikela, E. 1999). When this is done, reflection can be defined more precisely in the context of individual, group or organisational work. This means defining knowledge and learning contextually.

We describe the theoretical basis of learning at work from the point of view of experiential learning. Experiential learning can be understood as its own theoretical orientation and, because of this, it is understood as the basic idea for understanding learning at work. Experience is the starting point for learning, but also the result of learning activity. Recognising, conceptualising and managing learning is linked to the ability of the actors to reflect, that is to observe, find and be aware of the social and organisational processes that generate knowledge and learning at work.

We also present the process model of learning at work based on the integration of individual, shared and organisational learning processes and give some evidence (Poikela, S. 2003; 2006) how it has been researched in Finland.

21. Has lifelong learning developed in the UK? An outsider’s view
Kornelia Ilieva, Institute of Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Science, Bulgaria

As a visiting student, I am at Oxford, UK, in the position of an Outsider with my own social and national background, socialization process, academic repertoire of theoretical frameworks, and specifically Bulgarian education in Sociology. An Insider’s view characteristically focuses on the period of the second part of the 20th century, and predominantly explores the recent mainstreaming of LLL (most often on the level of international organizations) and describes LLL activities and how to match them with those already provided by educational institutions, most often those related to higher education. This article from the perspective of an Outsider has a different focus, covering rather a longer period from the end of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century, and does not deal with the contemporary mainstreaming of LLL. The second difference is the shift of studying LLL ideas as a complex phenomenon of what appears to be meaningless ideas, not how they are absorbed by policies, practices and concepts. Thirdly, an attempt is made to propose a sociological model based on a macro-level analysis extracted retrospectively from the historical period studied. This suggests an explanation for the appearance of LLL ideas, the crisis of legitimation of the official 'Idea of Education' (IE).

22. In-service Courses as a Means for Regenerating Teachers’ Community
Dr. Indra Odina,University of Latvia
Dr. Ilze Mikelsone, Liepaja Academy of Pedagogy,Latvia

The presentation will deal with the case study on teacher in-service education issues in Latvia, concerning the variety of offered in-service courses, teachers’ motivation to participate in these courses, their expectations from the courses and their preferences.

The Latvian Association of University Lecturers for Cooperation in Education has been offering the in-service courses for teachers to help them implement new teaching models, mostly interactive, like cooperative learning, critical thinking, interactive learning, intercultural learning, in their every day work in consensus with the guidelines of the Standard of Education in Latvia. The teachers who have obtained their professional qualification in different periods of time experience different hardships.
Nevertheless, through the application of various course organization models, there are can be drawn common components that should be observed to improve the in-service education courses. The combination of the following conditions should be taken into account: personal importance based on motivation or necessity; natural and professionally homogeneous environment; experience based acquisition of new skills; gradualness; a chance to try out, make mistakes, evaluate, analyze and get experience; reflection, comprehension and understanding of the meaning of the acquired skills.

WORKSHOP II
Technology in view of lifelong learning

23. Adult Learners barriers to learning and distance education in partnership
Eric Agbessi, SCLV-University Blaise Pascal,
Stephan David, SCLV-University Blaise Pascal,
Gilmour Fontaine, SCLV-University Blaise Pascal, Clairmont Ferrand, France

Adult Learners face specific barriers to learning which are not faced by those in full-time education. Many of these barriers relate to aspects of adult lifestyle and work patterns, which make traditional scheduled learning difficult – childcare demands, irregular work patterns or locations etc. In response, language learning for adults must become more flexible. Current and developing Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can play a major role in providing that flexibility across the range of language functions.

Our aim is to see learning for adults not as a discrete, scheduled activity but as a part of a lifelong, life-wide learning process in which learning may take place at any time and in any location.

Therefore, a partnership is undergoing with the regional academic authorities to implement distance language courses throughout the region to enable learners who are located in remote areas to get access to languages.

Our concern is to provide adult learners with the necessary skills to undergo such language learning and design and implement a satisfactory tutoring environment to help and guide such learners.

This paper aims to give an account of where as practitioners we are standing and how we are remodelling an LMS – initially designed to cater for the needs of 2000 students over a well-defined time frame – to meet the needs of adult learners who will be in a more independent environment. Part of our presentation will be on the series of changes to be made in order to address adult learners with the most effective system possible.

24. Simulations and Virtual Reality Learning Environments as sociomental tools in Education
Miika Lehtonen, Centre for Media Pedagogy (CMP), University of Lapland
Gisli Thorsteinsson, Design and Craft Department, Iceland University of Education, Iceland
Tom Page, Department of Design & Technology, Loughborough University, UK
Lence Miloseva, University of Skopje, Pedagogical faculty, Stip, Rep. of Macedonia

This article describes the development of pedagogical models and ICT-applications for teaching, studying and learning in technology education. The first pedagogical model entitled “Network oriented study with simulations” (NOSS) supports teaching and learning in technology education particularly in the laboratory setting with graphical simulations using a computer-based tool, termed the “web-orientation agent (WOA)”. The second pedagogical model entitled “Innovation education in virtual reality” (IEVR) model is a continuation of the old Innovation Education model and has been developed on the same creative processes. IEVR is also utilising some of the parts from the developed NOSS model. IEVR happens in a virtual reality environment instead of just using general classrooms or laboratories. The virtual realities and simulations are seen in these models, as a shared virtual space and a socio-mental tool, for thinking, problem-solving, sharing ideas and thoughts on a symbolic level. Furthermore, they serve as a tool for communication, distributed knowledge and shared expertise. This article presents an understanding of the implications and possibilities for both simulation-based learning and virtual reality based pedagogies in different areas of education for teachers, learners and educational decision-makers.