From the historical perspective, professional development of adult educators in Slovenia can be traced back to the late 1950s, when Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia2 . The training of the non-qualified adult population, mainly to meet the needs of the economy, and the growth of institutional structures of AE created a need for trained adult educators (organisers of adult education, managers, instructors, foremen, andragogues). Consequently, the systematic training

1 Entry conditions in the field of AE are usually not regulated (Jütte and Lattke 2014) and entry is usually the result of one's own interests and experience, but rarely the result of previous study in the AE field (Knox and Fleming 2010).

2 Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia until 25 June 1991 when declared its independence.

of adult educators was first established at the People's and Worker's Universities (1957-59), which organised professional conferences, lectures, workshops and summer and winter schools, with the aim of training adult educators. In the 1960s and 1970s, Yugoslavian universities opened the door to systematic theoretical and empirical research in the field of AE and introduced study programmes on 'andragogy' at the Faculties of Arts. Because of the helpful social climate, a new profession called 'andragogue' emerged. In Slovenia, andragogy was introduced as a subject in higher education in 1972. From 1976 on, andragogy was one of the three possible fields of study in the study programme 'Pedagogy'; in 1993, an independent study university programme 'Andragogy' was established. Yugoslav (and thus Slovene) experience therefore pointed out the interdependence between andragogy as a science and the andragogue as a professional, the main outcome of this process being the awareness that people working in AE needed to acquire a certain amount of andragogical knowledge (see Mikulec 2019, 33-34).

However, nowadays there is lack of systematic research about adult educators in Slovenia and their professional development, although concerns have been raised about the need to systematically investigate who are the people working in adult education, what is their professional identity, what tasks and activities they perform, and how their professional development is organised.

Therefore, to address this gap we have researched professionalisation of AE at national, organisational and individual levels.

#### 3.1 Method and Sources

Our qualitative research is based on document analysis and interviews. Research on the professionalization of AE at the *national* and *organisational levels* is based on the method of document analysis (Bowen 2009). At national level we analysed relevant legislation and policies, while at organisational level we analysed organisation's statutes and webpages. Furthermore, the analysis of the organisationallevel is also supplemented by three semi-structured interviews conducted with directors of three selected professional organisations: the Association of Folk Universities of Slovenia (D-ZLUS), the Association of Educational and Counselling Centres of Slovenia (D-ZiSS), and the Andragogical Society of Slovenia (D-ADS). To avoid any harm to the respondents, prior voluntary oral or written consent was secured and the goals of the study were explained to the interviewees so they could take informed decisions. Open type questions were formulated in advance and if necessary, we checked their understanding and asked sub-questions during the interviews. The director of ADS (D-ADS) answered the interview questions in writing, while interviews with other two directors (D-ZLUS and D-ZiSS) were performed orally and online on the videoconferencing platform Zoom. All three interviews were conducted in March 2021, with oral interviews lasting approximately forty minutes.

Research at the *individual level* was based on ten semi-structured interviews conducted with different adult educators. Before conducting the interviews, we prepared general questions of a predominantly open type and provided a rough idea of the desired sample of interviewees. We purposefully selected adult educators who are employed in organisations of various types (Merriam and Brockett 2007), who work in various fields and perform various AE activities (Nuissl 2010). Thus, in our research we included adult educators from all four types of organisations and from five different areas of activity that enable and support AE3 . Information on respondents is presented in Tab. 1.

Table 1– Information on interviewed adult educators.

3 The activity of media use has been omitted from our research because there are very few individuals who develop information and communication technology for the purpose of AE in Slovenia.

We individually arranged for each of the interviewees to be interviewed via e-mail, informed them about the goals of the study, approximate length of the interview and provided them with anonymity. To avoid any harm to the respondents, prior voluntary oral or written consent was secured. Two interviews were conducted in direct contact with one of the interviewers in March 2019, while eight interviews were conducted via the videoconferencing platform Zoom or Microsoft Teams in February 2021. The interviews lasted from 45 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes. All interviews were recorded with the Dictaphone smartphone application with the prior permission of the interviewees for the purpose of transcription.

The data obtained through interviews were qualitatively processed through coding. First, we edited the material and wrote a literal transcript of everything said. Interview transcripts were then imported into the Quirkos program, with the help of which we continued the qualitative analysis of the material. In the program, we marked the coding units and assigned to them the codes that came to our mind ('open' coding). In a set of different codes, we selected, edited, and redesigned those that seemed relevant to the purpose of our research ('selective' coding). Similar codes were identified and grouped into categories (Saldaña 2009). In the final part of coding, we created three categories – career paths, professional identity and professional development – on the basis of which we interpreted the results.

Regarding the sources, we analysed five policies and legislations that contribute to the professionalisation of AE at the national level: (a) Adult Education Act (2018), (b) Resolution on the Master Plan for Adult Education in the Republic of Slovenia for the period 2013-20 (2013), (c) White Paper on Education in the Republic of Slovenia (2011), (d) Lifelong Learning Strategy in Slovenia (2007) and (e) Rules on the selection and co-financing of continuing education and training programs for professionals in education (2017). At the organisational level, we analysed six keys (1) *professional organisations* statutes and websites: (i) Andragogical Society of Slovenia (ADS), (ii) Association of Folk Universities 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), and (vi) Slovenian Association of Facilitators (DMS). Furthermore, on the organisational level we as well analysed (2) *professionalisation organisations* that are responsible for primary education and continuing professional development of adult educators4 : (i) three public universities study programmes offering first and second cycle of studies in AE, these being responsible for primary professional education, and (ii) non-formal educational programmes offered by the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education (SIAE), responsible for continuing professional development of adult educators.

Certain limitations need to be considered in our research as well. All participants come or work in the wider area of Ljubljana (the capital), where the opportunities for professional development are the most accessible and numerous. Situational barriers to participation in training that enable professional development are smaller in our case, while the situation in other parts of Slovenia may be different. In interpreting the results at the individual level, we took into account only the expressed views of adult educators, whereby for a more comprehensive insight into the professionalisation, it would make sense to extend the research also to learners who were involved in teaching-learning process.

# 3.2 Results

# 3.2.1 State-society Context

AE in Slovenia is one of the areas where the educational requirements for professionals – these being defined as teachers, organisers, counsellors, and 'other professionals' – working in formal and non-formal educational programmes for

4 For further elaboration on professional and professionalisation organisations see Schwarz and Mikulec (2020, 13).

adults, financed by public funds, are regulated by the law. The obligatory conditions that adult educators working in formal and non-formal AE programmes must fulfil, and are defined by AE 'Act', are as follows: (a) mastery of the Slovene language; (b) education acquired through master's study programmes; (c) pedagogical-andragogical education5 ; (d) successful completion of a professional examination in the field of education; that is, graduates who finish higher education studies are obliged to complete a traineeship lasting from 8 to 10 months before employment. However, these rules do not apply to all of those adult educators who work in AE provisions that are not publicly funded, for example in enterprises that provide a high and growing share of continuous vocational education to employees (Mikulec 2019, 34; Schwarz and Mikulec 2020, 20).

By analysing policies and legislation that contribute to the professionalisation of AE at the national level we can highlight the following findings. In general, support for professionalism in AE is shown through the legislative framework and all important AE policies. The need for professionally trained staff is emphasised in the 'Resolution', 'White Paper' and the 'LLL Strategy'. These policies emphasise that: (a) a system of quality initial education for AE staff, as well as a system for further education and training based on the actual adult needs of the educators and their employment fields, needs to be established; (b) a sufficient number of professionals should be trained for different target groups and needs; (c) a database of adult educators should be maintained for public service in AE; (d) pedagogical-andragogical education should be adapted to different target groups; (e) quality teaching materials, learning resources and ICT-support should also be provided. Moreover, also the 'Rules' support in-service training and career development programs for adult educators and in this way ensure continuous and stable funding for further education and training programmes of adult educators. However, the Rules has also its blind spots as not all adult educators working in practice are equally addressed: teachers, organisers and counsellors counts as 'professionals' and are eligible to participate in professional training programmes, while other adult educators working in practice (e.g. cultural mediators, mentors in study circles, mentors in self-study centres, adult educators in private educational organisations, etc.) that are not covered by legislation, do not have the right to attain a co-financed program through which they could strengthen their skills needed for working with adults.

5 These education programmes (for professionals working in basic and upper-secondary schools and vocational colleges) at university level aim at expanding the knowledge acquired in the academic education programmes and include pedagogical, psychological, andragogical/AE, general, and specialised didactic knowledge, as well as pedagogical or andragogical/AE practice. They are defined by laws and regulations and are mandatory prior to engaging in other professional or management work in the field of education.

#### 3.2.2 Organisations

By analysing two main types of professionalisation organisations – public universities and SIAE – responsible for primary education and continuing professional development of adult educators we can highlight the following findings.

The University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, offers doctoral and master's programmes in 'Andragogy'; subjects covering AE can be studied at the undergraduate level in the bachelor's programme 'Pedagogy and Andragogy'. The University of Primorska, Faculty of Education, offers a master's programme in 'Adult Education and Career Development'; subjects covering AE can be studied at the undergraduate level in the bachelor's programme 'Education/Pedagogy'. AE as a subject can also be studied through the first- and second-cycle of study programme of 'Pedagogy'at the University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts and through some other study programmes as well (e.g. Organisation and Management, Human Resources). Therefore, all three of Slovenia's public universities offer study programmes at the master's level or AE subjects at the bachelor's level. Study programmes are aimed at full-time students and prepared in line with the Bologna requirements that took force in 2009. Broadly speaking, master's programmes in andragogy/AE equip students with generic competencies in the humanities and social sciences, as well as with professional competencies that enable them to comprehend the relations between various AE phenomena and processes, social and cultural environments, and the characteristics and expectations of individual adults (see Schwarz and Mikulec 2020, 23-24).

SIAE is the main institution responsible for the system of further education and training of adult educators. SIAE developed competence-based professional training programmes for adult educators, which aim to develop new knowledge and skills and help them to develop their own and the common professional identity of an adult educators. Three main types of professional training were developed: (a) general basic and continuing training of adult educators (knowledge of the discipline, andragogical cycle), (b) basic training on the special roles of adult educators (e.g. head and mentor in study circles, teacher in literacy programmes, counsellor in adult education guidance centres), and (c) further training of adult educators (see Schwarz andMikulec 2020, 24).

By analysing six key professional organisations active in AE6 we can emphasise that no single professional association exists in Slovenia, but a variety of associations can be found, serving different objectives and needs of its members. Associations interconnect the same types of organisations (e.g. folk universities, universities for the third age, upper-secondary schools), provide training activities accessible to a smaller number of members (adult educators) and represent their specific interests at the national level (ZLUS, ZiSS, DOIO, SUTŽO). At the same time, they coordinate the activities of their members and through nonformal education, training, Erasmus mobility visits and exchanges, upgrade their

6 Detail presentation of each of analysed professional organisations can be found in our previous work (Schwarz and Mikulec 2020, 21-23).

knowledge and help each other. However, two associations (ADS, DMS) target a wider range of adult educators as their members come from different types of organisations. They organise educational events, conferences and short trainings for those who are not members. Overall, all of these organisations first of all represent their interests, but they also provide some form of non-formal education and/or training of adult educators for the specific roles they perform: (a) training of municipal administration staff for the preparation of annual AE plans, (b) training of adult educators working with adults with special needs, migrants and prisoners; (c) training of adult educators for the career guidance and counselling process, mentoring in companies and mentoring of elderly.

#### 3.2.3 Staff-personnel Level

In our interview transcripts, three main categories emerged as being important for professionalisation of adult educators in Slovenia: career paths, professional identity and professional development.

### <IP_ADDRESS> Career Paths

In Slovenia, there are two most common ways to enter the field of AE: first, through university study programmes dedicated to AE, and second, that is most common, by gaining knowledge of AE after graduation either through pedagogical-andragogical education or through professional training in non-formal education programmes, provided by SIAE or other professional organisations (Možina 2011). In our sample, four respondents come from the AE field of study, two from other fields of social sciences (psychology, architecture) and four from the technical or natural sciences (geology, forestry, mathematics, chemistry). Therefore, four respondents (Interviewee MKLJ1, U3O2, LU1 and F) acquired AE knowledge during their studies within the university study program Andragogy/AE or the andragogy course in the study program of Pedagogy, three respondents gained AE knowledge by finishing pedagogical-andragogical education at university (Interviewee SŠ1, SŠ2 and LU2), while one respondent acquired AE knowledge through extracurricular activities (later on also through in-service training in company and additional trainings provided by professional or professionalisation organisations [Interviewee P]). Two of the respondents (Interviewee MKLJ2 and U3O1) gained their AE knowledge after finishing their studies; first in the non-formal programs for adult educators provided by SIAE and second through the internal 3-day educational program offered by SUTŽO.

All of our respondents, that did not study AE, entered in the field by their unintentional decisions, 'by chance' or because of external influences, such as lack of jobs in the primary profession. Furthermore, they entered the field after some years of professional work experience outside AE (ALPINE 2008, 97). Among four respondents that studied AE, two (Interviewee MKLJ1 and U3O2) entered the field immediately after their studies, while other two (Interviewee LU1 and F) changed several jobs (types of organisations) in the field through their life course.

Overall, we can emphasise that career paths of respondents are very diverse and that these also differ between individuals who are employed in the same types of organisations or have the same educational background. Employment in AE is influenced by a number of (unpredictable) factors, such as labour market conditions and unexpected opportunities adult educators face. However, although some adult educators entered the field by chance, they enjoy their work and do not regret the given opportunities.

#### <IP_ADDRESS> Professional Identity

Diverse education backgrounds of adult educators, different forms of employment and a wide range of their work tasks cause difficulties in forming the professional identity of adult educators (Možina 2011, 24-25). Therefore, formation of professional identity of adult educators is a complex process. Some respondents (Interviewee LU1, LU2, MKLJ1, U3O2) make it clear and identified themselves as adult educators: «I am adult education professional» (LU1) or «I think I'm an adult educator» (MKLJ1). Others, expressed their professional identity through achieved university education – for example «I am a forester» (SŠ1) or «If someone asks me who I am, I always say architect» (U3O1) –, but as well emphasised that their professional identity changed through their work experience, for example: «I started as a psychologist, which will help less skilled users to use a computer, computer programs […] it then developed, of course, that I also see myself as someone who has an impact on education […] I think in a way this sums up how my identity, the way I see myself, has changed» (MKLJ2) or «[I am] chemical engineer, but now a lecturer» (P). Third ones identify themselves not through university education or AE activities they do, but with something else: «I think I'm more of a *therapist* than a teacher. That I work more often on my psychological strength than on mathematics [I teach]» (SŠ2).

Thus, professional identity of respondents is shaped by their university education ('architect', 'psychologist', 'andragogue', 'forester'), by the AE activities they perform ('teacher', 'lecturer', 'moderator', 'facilitator', etc.) or even something else ('therapist'). We often find also combination of these – for example, engineers who have become teachers/adult educators; andragogues who do their work «beyond the boundaries of the [work] andragogue [do]» (U3O2); a psychologist who influences adult education – that signals coexistence of different identities of adult educators. This is also clearly evident in the case of respondent LU2, which, even though she works for many years in independent adult education type of organisation, also emphasised the importance of her primary professional identity, that she formed during her studies. She repeatedly pointed out that she was an engineer and emphasised that engineers differ from «typical social scientists […] as a technician, as an engineer you think differently» (LU2).

Last but not least, two of the respondents (MKLJ1 and F) emphasised also the importance of the context that shapes professional identity of adult educators as this can also represent an obstacle to the identification with the AE field: «I say I take care of AE in the library, but now the problem is if I say that in different events aimed for AE professionals, e.g. Annual conference on AE, Andragogic Colloquium […] And everyone looks at me a little sideways, hey, it's that girl again, who came from the library […] Colleagues from folk universities, and others, never took us educators from the library as someone, who really deals with education in the true sense of the word» (Interviewee MKLJ1).

#### <IP_ADDRESS> Professional Development

Professional development of adult educators is carried out through practice, gaining experience, learning at work, learning from colleagues and other people, self-education, and ongoing training. Two of the respondents (Interviewee SŠ1, SŠ2) attributed greatest value to experience («Experience is paramount», SŠ2), while others emphasised the importance of combining practice and learning from colleagues and other people, for example: «Thus, there must be mutual cooperation of everyone, *everyone* [of colleagues] […] exchange of experiences, opinions» (LU2). Experience brings different organisational and communication competencies, sovereignty at work, ability to solve problems, adapt and react to different situations. Therefore, respondents pointed out to the crucial role informal learning plays in adult educator's professional development.

However, this is not the only way of learning that respondents talked about. Most of them were as well constantly learning, educating and/or training themselves in an organised context. As part of their professional development, three respondents (Interviewee MKLJ1, F and P) highlighted the 'Train the trainer' model they were involved in, which is about «transfer of knowledge between each other and these good practices, what works, what doesn't work» (P), while one of them (MKLJ1) also highlighted the importance of job shadowing and international mobility. Others emphasised that they are systematically trained and educated in accordance with the organisation's annual plan for education (MKLJ1, MKLJ2) or that they strengthen their professional competencies within associations they are being part of (such as ADS and DMS in case of F) and the learning opportunities they provide. Other four respondents (SŠ1, SŠ2, U3O1, U3O2) have been in the past involved in organised AE training, but recently they are either upgrading their knowledge in other areas (in primary professions in case of SŠ1 and U3O1) or do not feel the need for additional AE training (SŠ2).

Professional development may also depend on the personal circumstances of adult educators. For example, one of the respondents pointed out that due to her family responsibilities she put her professional development a bit aside: «Now there is a little more emphasis on family life, maybe that's why *at the moment* is not so much ambition on the career» (U3O2). Moreover, we observed that some respondents educate themselves out of their own need and interest, while in certain cases, participation in certain educational programmes is also a condition for performing special roles in AE work – as some educational programs are required by the state (pedagogical-andragogical education) or by organisations that employ adult educators. As one of the respondents pointed out: «However, if it is an education to get a license or a certificate, which is a condition for performing a certain activity […] for example in self-directed learning centres […] or for being a mentor in study circles […]  Furthermore, according to the respondents there are also enough opportunities for their professional development, but their use is related with self-initiative, interests and priorities of adult educators.

Overall, we can highlight that some segments of AE are not left to chance and require certain professional competence and that organisations (employers) can promote professional development of employees (through the organisation of internal training programs, or systematic preparation of individual training plans), while a large part of the responsibility for professional development still lies with adult educators themselves.

#### 4. Discussion and Conclusion

In our research we showed that focus on the professionalisation of AE and the professional development of adult educators in Slovenia can be traced at all three levels, at least as far as AE in the public interest is concerned.

The state establishes and promotes certain mechanisms through which the professionalisation of AE is strengthened (Egetenmeyer et al. 2019). National regulations and policies relate mainly to AE in the public interest where the need for professional competence and professional development of adult educators is emphasised. The state also regulates the selection and (co)financing of programs that promote professional development of adult educators and contribute to their quality work (Egetenmeyer and Käpplinger 2011). In addition, the AE Act legally determines the conditions that must be met by professionals in publicly recognised AE programs (among others, pedagogical-andragogical education). These are all «tendencies to professionalise the field» (Bron and Jarvis 2008, 41). However, one of the main blind spots at national level is that the state with its policies and regulations do not officially recognise some profiles of adult educators working in practice, which means that they are not eligible to attend co-financed programs of professional development organised by the state. Furthermore, the state also left out a big part of AE filed that is not covered by the state notion of 'public interest', such as areas of AE in companies (e.g. human resources departments), AE in non-governmental organisations etc. (Lattke and Nuissl 2008, 11-12).

For the strengthening of professionalism in AE, various organisations, such as universities associations and societies, are also responsible (Egetenmeyer et al. 2019; Schwarz and Mikulec 2020). In Slovenia, there is no single umbrella organisation for AE but a variety of associations can be found, serving different objectives and needs of its members and performing their activities in accordance with their own vision and mission. There are several higher education institutions that offer AE study programs and subjects, as well as programs of pedagogical-andragogical education, which equip students with AE competencies and in this way enable the development of professionalism through formal educational pathways. However, AE study programmes are not compulsory to enter the job market (Lattke and Nuissl 2008, 12). In addition, SIAE is the main institution responsible for developing systems of further non-formal education and training of adult educators for their different roles in the field of AE. Furthermore, due to the complexity of the AE field, its segregation, a trend common in western societies (Rubenson 2010), is also taking place in Slovenia, which is reflected, among others, through the cooperation of interest groups and the formation of various associations (ZLUS, ZiSS, DOIO, SUTŽO, ADS). These try to assert their interests at the national level, while their influence, which positively promotes professionalism in AE as well, extends to various spheres of AE, including those areas that are not regulated by the state. The latter can be illustrated with the examples of ZLUS and ZiSS. ZLUS with the project 'Step' (*KORAK*) is targeting (private) companies and tries to become an «extended hand of human resources» in these companies (Interviewee D- ZLUS), while ZiSS, with its attitude towards quality and high standards based on professionalism of adult educators, sets an example to associations and non-governmental organisations with which it cooperates (Interviewee D-ZiSS). Overall, variety of organisations creates many opportunities for the professional development of adult educators, but different interest groups gathered in associations can find themselves also in conflict when pursuing their interests at the national level, lacking common and shared vision of AE.

At the individual level, adult educators are responsible for achieving professionalism, taking care of their professional development (Bierema 2011; Jütte et al. 2011). We elaborated that adult educators in Slovenia can develop their professional competence in many ways, such as by participating in formal and non-formal educational programmes aimed at their professional development, by attending educational events, by self-educating themselves, by learning from work experience and from others (colleagues, experts, participants), by participating in mobility programmes, etc. Furthermore, adult educators in Slovenia pointed out that there are enough opportunities for their professional development and that these depend on their motivation and the incentives of the employer, while those adult educators who are recognised as professionals by legislation also receive additional incentives from the state level. However, we also showed that career paths of adult educators are very diverse – some hold master's degree in AE, while others gained AE knowledge in very short trainings inside their organisations, although they could strengthen their AE knowledge in non-formal educational programmes that are specially developed for different roles adult educators perform by SIAE – and that they differ between personnel who are employed in the same types of organisations or have the same educational background. Moreover, we emphasised that the extent to which adult educators will focus on their professional development depends on their personal characteristics, interests, needs, self-initiative and the circumstances (context) in which they find themselves; special attention is paid to professional development by those adult educators who are primarily engaged in the field of AE, and less by those for whom AE is an additional or complementary field (Lattke and Nuissl 2008, 13). Thus, diverse education background, different forms of employment and a wide range of adult educator's work tasks also cause difficulties in forming their firm professional identity and consequently, as we showed, adult educators rather develop coexistence of different professional identities (Bron and Jarvis 2008, 40; Bierema 2011, 28).

In conclusion, the case of professionalisation of AE in Slovenia shows that the state has implemented some unique solutions through regulations regarding the professionalisation of AE and in this sense Slovenia differs from other European countries, where the field of AE is much less regulated and the responsibility for achieving professionalism is left to the organisations and individuals (workforce) (Jütte and Lattke 2014). Furthermore, Slovenian case also indicates that professionalism is easier to achieve in the areas of AE regulated by the state – as in these the importance of the professional competence of adult educators is constantly emphasised and the scope of opportunities for professional development is also more visible and accessible –, while areas of AE that are not regulated by the state depend on the value that employers and employees attach to their professional development. Finally, what is also evident from our case is that the state, with its policies and regulations, is not targeting all adult educators equally, but just those professionals working in publicly recognised AE programmes, meaning that many adult educators that work in practice are not being recognised as professionals in the field and lack equal opportunities for their professional development. This is one of the main shortcomings that should be more appropriately addressed in the field of AE in Slovenia in near future.

### References

Rubenson, K. 2010. "Adult Education Overview." In *International Encyclopedia of Education*, edited by P. Peterson, E. Baker, and B. McGaw, 1-11. Oxford: Elsevier. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-044894-7.01723-1.

*Rules on the Selection and Co-financing of Continuing Education and Training Programs for Professionals in Education Staff*. 2017. <http://w w w.pisrs.si/Pis.web/ pregledPredpisa?id=PRAV13060> (2023-03-15).

Saldaña, J. 2009. *The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers*. London: SAGE.

# Curriculum InstitutionALE – Professionalisation of Adult Education Institutions

Thomas Lichtenberg

#### **Abstract:**

Curriculum InstitutionALE is an orientation framework for strengthening Institutions of Adult Learning and Education. It provides basic guidelines for managing capacity and organisational development and suggests indicators and means of verification for organisational change and capacity development. It offers the basics for defining goals and criteria for capacity and organisational development, for collecting reliable baseline data, for designing and implementing processes of capacity and organisational development, and for assessing progress. Addressing leaders of Institutions of Adult Learning and Education and external advisors, it can be adjusted to fit various contexts and institutions across the world.

**Keywords:** Adult Education Institutions; Capacity Development; Organisational Development

#### 1. Introduction

DVV International is the Institute for International Cooperation of the Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband e.V. (DVV), the German Adult Education Association. DVV represents the interests of the approximately 900 adult education centres (*Volkshochschulen*) and their state associations, the largest further education providers in Germany. As the leading professional organisation in the field of adult education and development cooperation, DVV International has committed itself to supporting lifelong learning for 50 years. DVV International provides worldwide support for the establishment and development of sustainable structures for Youth and Adult Education. To achieve this, DVV International cooperates with more than 200 civil society, government and academic partners in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. In its work with partner organisations around the world, DVV International experienced repeatedly that the preconditions for the successful implementation of adult education varied greatly and that organisations sometimes operated inadequately because they lacked basic management skills. Curriculum InstitutionALE is to be understood against this background and was designed

Thomas Lichtenberg, DVV International, Germany<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
Referee List (DOI 10.36253/fup\_referee\_list)

FUP Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (DOI 10.36253/fup\_best\_practice)

Thomas Lichtenberg, *Curriculum InstituzionALE – Professionalization of Adult Education Institutions*, © Author(s), CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.36253/979-12-215-0151-3.16, in Vanna Boffo, Regina Egetenmeyer (edited by), *Re-thinking Adult Education Research. Beyond the Pandemic*, pp. 195-202, 2023, published by Firenze University Press, ISBN 979-12-215-0151-3, DOI 10.36253/979-12-215-0151-3

to inform the process of building and sustaining viable ALE1 structures worldwide. The term 'Institutions of Adult Learning and Education' (IALEs) is used in this document to cover a broad range of governmental and non-governmental institutions or organisations providing ALE. The first elements of Curriculum institutionALE were developed in DVV International's Middle East office in 2013 – motivated by the need to apply a more strategic, consistent approach to strengthening IALEs, and to create a clear, common understanding of goals, stages and responsibilities between all parties involved.

# 2. What is Curriculum InstitutionALE

Curriculum InstitutionALE offers guidance in organisational development worldwide, but needs to be carefully adapted to the specific context in which it is used. The specific goals, stages and tools have to be worked out together with the partner organisations, and might differ from country to country, as well as from institution to institution (DVV International 2021, 4).

Curriculum InstitutionALE basically works like a quality management system, which follows the classical sequence of 'Plan-Do-Check-Act' as a continuous improvement process2 . The sequence of steps is slightly different in Curriculum InstitutionALE but follows the same core approach of an analysis based on indicators, identification of weaknesses, strategic planning for targeted improvement of chess points and finally the evaluation of results. This process can be continued in a circular way, so that no fixed level of quality is reached, but that one's own processes and procedures are critically interrogated again and again. The Curriculum InstitutionALE aims to achieve certain indicators in order to reach a minimum level of quality.

When implementing Curriculum InstitutionALE, it must be taken into account that competence and institutional development is a very sensitive process that must be supported by the organisations themselves, otherwise no sustainable change can be achieved. External consultants can and should even be involved in this process, but the responsibility for implementing the individual steps remains entirely in the hands of the respective organisation.

1 ALE refers to the term 'Adult Learning and Education' with the following definition: «The ultimate goal of ALE is to ensure that adults, throughout their lives, can participate fully in societies, including the world of work. ALE includes three key domains of learning and skills: literacy and basic skills, continuing education and vocational skills, and liberal, popular and community education and citizenship skills. ALE enables people to develop the necessary capabilities to exercise and realise their rights and take control of their destinies. It promotes personal and professional development, thereby supporting more active engagement by adults with their societies, communities and environments. It fosters environmental and inclusive economic well-being and decent work. It is therefore a crucial tool in alleviating poverty, improving health and well-being and contributing to sustainable learning societies». This definition is based on the UNESCO Recommendation on Adult Learning and Education (RALE).

2 <https://der-prozessmanager.de/aktuell/wissensdatenbank/pdca-zyklus> (2023-03-15).

Many institutions do not exclusively offer adult education programmes but a variety of other services that do not necessarily have anything to do with adult education. However, it is important at the beginning of this process to develop a common understanding of what the capabilities and tasks of an institution are.

Curriculum InstitutionALE assumes that adult education institutions have three core tasks: orientation, education and participation.

**Orientation**: In its many years of work, DVV International has found that many participants first need orientation before they are actually willing to engage with training offers. Many participants first need to reflect on their own situation and become aware of where they stand, but also what perspectives they want to develop for the future and how they can improve their concrete life situation. Educational institutions must first offer this kind of orientation before it comes to practical educational offers. This kind of orientation can take place in different ways, be it in individual one-to-one meetings or in group events.

**Education**: Ideally, an adult education institution offers a broad set of different educational opportunities that cover different areas of people's lives and aim at improving their life situation.

**Participation**: In many countries, it has been found that community actions result directly from education. Education should also contribute to social participation and reflection on social issues. Therefore, education also has this transformational claim, namely that people actively and participatively influence their living environment.

Based on these three core tasks of adult education centres, Curriculum InstitutionALE assumes the following steps in implementation.

#### 3. Identifying Potential for Improvement (Step 1)

The first step is to assess the current status of the adult learning and education institution with regard to its core tasks and different cross-cutting capacities which are being outlined in the following section. This assessment can be done in different ways. For example, a self-assessment can be made on the basis of so-called Key Performance Indicators underlying the core tasks and crosscutting capacities. However, peer review procedures or an assessment by external consultants are also conceivable. In any case, all core tasks as well as the cross-cutting capacities of an institution should be clearly assessed in order to identify potential for improvement, which should then be systematically addressed in the next step.

In total, there are seven key performance fields that are evaluated according to certain indicators. In the following, the key performance indicators will be roughly outlined, as a complete presentation would go beyond the scope of this report. For a detailed presentation, please refer to the corresponding publication on the DVV International website3 .

3.1 Cross-cutting Capacities (Key Performance Indicators) of Institutions Offering ALE

# **A. Strategy and Management**

Adult learning and education provision should be guided by a strategy and a vision. This enables a systematic orientation of the teaching offers. In order to assess the institution, it is necessary to check whether corresponding documents (e.g. strategy) are available and how they are oriented in terms of content.

# **B. Needs and Market Analysis**

In any case, educational offers should ensure that they serve a need of the target groups. Accordingly, the needs should be analysed beforehand. In the case of employment-promoting training offers, the market situation for employment must also be taken into account. Is there a demand for the targeted vocational skills on the local labour market?

# **C. Marketing, Outreach to and Admission of Participants**

Since adult education often receives little attention and is little recognised as an educational field, it is desirable to give more prominence to adult education as a field in its own. Accordingly, adult education and its successes should be well 'marketed'. Clear access rules for participants should also be defined and implemented.

3 <https://www.dvv-international.de/en/ale-toolbox/organisation-and-management/curriculum-institutionale> (2023-03-15).

4 These are only examples, which are further elaborated in the corresponding publication.

# **D. Cooperation with Qualified Trainers**

A basic prerequisite for successful adult education is the availability of sufficient teachers or volunteers who are trained both professionally and didactically so that they are able to respond to the specific needs of adults. This means that the relevant adult education institution has a pool of trainers who can be deployed as needed and in a professional manner. The following indicators have been formulated for this aspect.

# **E. Networking and Referrals**

An exchange with other institutions that are active in the field of adult education in a broader sense is therefore important, as good practice as well as dealing with challenges can be helpful for one's own work. The network of partner institutions can be very broad, e.g. decision-making bodies, schools, vocational training institutions, universities, NGOs, microfinance providers, businesses and business associations, use. In addition to the exchange with other institutions and the receipt of direct information, there is of course also the possibility of referring participants to other institutions where this appears useful.

# **F. The Learning Environment**

The learning environment naturally has a great influence on the motivation of the participants; therefore, the framework within which learning takes place is of great importance. This includes both the 'hard' equipment such as premises, inventory and other teaching equipment, but also 'soft' factors such as the staff, namely how friendly, attentive and welcoming the staff are towards interested parties and participants. It is about the first impression to attract new participants but also to keep participants and to win them for other offers.

# **G. Funding**

Adult education can of course only be carried out successfully if the appropriate resources are available. Therefore, it is the task of adult education institutions to develop as broad a portfolio of income sources as possible so as not to be dependent on a single source. It is not only sensible but necessary that the institutions include the question of resources in their strategic planning and try to position themselves accordingly broadly here.

#### 4. Defining Goals (Step 2)

The indicators presented so far serve to systematically assess certain fields of competence of institutions active in adult education. As already explained, this can be done in different ways, whereby the use of peer review procedures has the advantage that the assessing 'peers' look at the other institution in the light of their own institution, which usually leads to a reflection on the working methods and processes of their own institution.

By means of the systematic institution assessment based on key performance indicators, certain institutional weaknesses can be identified. Depending on the number of weaknesses identified, the respective institution must set priorities and decide which goals it wants to achieve concretely. These goals should be seen in the context of the institutional analysis.

#### 5. Planning for Capacity/ Organisational Development (Step 3)

Once the objectives have been defined and the pre-identified weaknesses have been identified and prioritised, the next step is to plan concrete actions to improve specific weaknesses. As with all planning, a clear time frame must be set and appropriate resources must be made available. In development cooperation, DVV International usually provides very concrete support here to advance the institutional improvement of partners.

#### 6. Organising Capacity/Organisational Development Process (Step 4)

This step is about the concrete implementation of the planned measures for institutional improvement. These measures can look very different. They can consist of improving the infrastructure, establishing or intensifying cooperation with other network partners or training staff specifically in certain fields. This can be classical training, where it is always important to consider how it can be determined whether the intended learning goals have actually been achieved. But staff can also go to other institutions to see the lived practice in other organisations.

#### 7. Assessing Results

After implementing measures to specifically improve certain weak points in institutional management, it is important to get an overview of the results. If a demonstrable improvement has been achieved, the goal can be considered achieved and the next step is to look at improving other institutional areas. If the goal was not achieved, it is important to analyse what exactly caused this and how better results can be achieved in the next step.

Deciding on continued or future capacity/organisational development: as described at the beginning, this is a quality management system that is in continuous development. This means that over a longer period of time all identified weak points should be addressed. Thus, after certain areas have been successfully improved, the next steps are to address the other weak points. The aim is to systematically improve the overall management skills and processes of an adult education institution. However, this also includes the establishment of a quality management system (Key Perfomance Indicator 1), which critically questions the institutional processes on a regular basis in order to continuously review its own quality standard.

# References

PART III

Sustainability, Inclusion and Wellbeing: Topics for Adult Society and Smart Cities

# Balancing Between Smart and Inclusive: Learning Cities for Sustainable Urban Communities

Balázs Németh

#### **Abstract:**

Since 2012, Global Learning Cities has become a successful network-based movement of UNESCO which demonstrates not only linkages, but also dependencies amongst community development, adult learning and active citizenship (UNESCO 2017). Examples of Cork, Espoo, Belgrade and South Korea have highlighted (Németh 2020), that communities are unable to develop successful models of learning cities unless they combine smart, creative and sustainability dimensions through community-based adult and lifelong learning for social cohesion, economic stability, growth and environmental awareness. Equitable ways of community learning can better reach underrepresented groups of adults who want to develop and sustain their neighbourhoods through collecting and sharing knowledge (Ó Tuama 2020). Other examples from India, Palestine and the UK demonstrate that it is not the label itself, but the smart and creative urban adult learning which can be combined with needs of communities (Németh et al. 2020). In the evolution of learning cities, we have arrived to an Era of uncertainties, therefore, we have to demonstrate that the learning cities depend on better participation, performance and partnerships in learning, surrounded by collective actions for better futures of education.

**Keywords:** Adult Learning; Community Local Engagement; Equity; Global Networking and Partnership

#### 1. Learning City Evolution in Progress: A Creative Response to Global Challenges

Learning cities have become a focus for research, development and innovation as a consequence of the Maastricht-process of EU countries, leading up to the formation of lifelong learning policy orientations by 1996 and 1997 and through the initiation of the first budget-period of the EU by using several funds, especially the European Social Fund.

The return of a forgotten initiative of learning cities, based on OECD models of educating cities dated back to early 1970s, was a truly positive and rather inclusive approach to bridge social and economic aspirations around urban development. However, a better use of human potentials has signalled a stronger focus on building knowledge, skills and competences both at individual and community levels. This opened gates to a more flexible and inclusive concept of lifelong learning to connect formal and non-formal grounds of learning and recognise

Balázs Németh, University of Pécs, Hungary<EMAIL_ADDRESS>0000-0002-4916-5741 Referee List (DOI 10.36253/fup\_referee\_list)

FUP Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (DOI 10.36253/fup\_best\_practice)

Balázs Németh, *Balancing Between Smart and Inclusive: Learning Cities for Sustainable Urban Communities*, © Author(s), CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.36253/979-12-215-0151-3.18, in Vanna Boffo, Regina Egetenmeyer (edited by), *Re-thinking Adult Education Research. Beyond the Pandemic*, pp. 205-217, 2023, published by Firenze University Press, ISBN 979-12-215-0151-3, DOI 10.36253/979-12-215-0151-3

several kinds of informal learning based on community capacities. Learning cities and regions became incorporated to emerging discourses on learning spaces, place management and social capital (international conferences, PASCAL International Observatory website) as part of an accelerated dialogue on lifelong learning and not only economic, but also social stakeholders and governmental bodies shared the view of having to use models of learning cities and regions to reach for economic growth with sustainable development and social cohesion.

As Longworth (2003) identified, the mid-1990s discourse on lifelong learning helped rediscovering learning regions as a marker of the *Age of Innocence*, leading to planning and initiating local and regional models to connect better education/training, governance and lifelong learning.

In the second half of the decade, the result of the European Lifelong Learning Initiative (ELLI) offered guidance to develop some of the early charters for learning regions – charters that demonstrated the commitment of a city-region to improve learning opportunities and methodologies for all its inhabitants. It resembled this – the grounds for a wides dialogue on promoting the culture of learning. Cities as far apart as Adelaide, Halifax in Canada, Espoo in Finland and Dublin applied this charter formula and exploited it for their own goals to develop lifelong learning in their communities and neighbourhood regions.

The middle of the same decade could experience the realisation of the European year of Lifelong Learning in 1996 – it was taken very seriously by ELLI and relatively many universities – as there was a funding initiative and programme contacted to it. Its value was soon neglected by many relevant organisations and institutions across Europe. However, the cornerstones of today's work on learning cities and regions are based in the early works on adult and lifelong learning, to which was given an impetus by the European Year. The year 1996 provided a renewed awareness of the impact of education and learning, more particularly to the scope that a world of rapid political, economic, technological and environmental change in turn takes rather quick steps in both the practice of learning and the provision of education. At the same time, a huge number of quality initiatives were either marginalised or ignored, the process still emerged on to *the age of experimentation* into the late 1990s when National Learning City networks began to raise – firstly in the United Kingdom and later joined by those in Finland and Sweden. Therefore, North European approaches signalled very much 'the centre of gravity' of lifelong learning and learning city focuses.

This was the same level of engagement and enthusiasm which drove a number of cities from the Scandinavian communities to make use of the model of the learning city-region so as to turn quality learning and education into a dynamic mood for economic growth, competitiveness and innovations, combined with inclusiveness and sound attention to vulnerable social groups. That approach also formulated a certain commitment with a wider perspective to incorporate learning cities into the global campaign for lifelong learning within the international community. With several distinguished exceptions, Southern, Central and Eastern Europe have taken much longer to realise the direct reward of creating learning cities and regions. In this *new age of experimentation*, Learning City-Region projects began to be financially supported – one of them 'TELS – Towards a European Learning Society' delivered, what it is called a 'Learning Cities Audit Tool', and analysed the performance of 80 European municipalities. Unsurprisingly, it reflected that the words 'Learning City' and 'Learning Region' were almost unknown. Indeed, in more than two thirds of those 80 cities, they were completely missing.

At this time too, there were several conferences and learning city launches – at places like Liverpool, Espoo, Edinburgh, Glasgow and many others. Learning Festivals celebrated the joy of learning in Glasgow and in Sapporo, Japan, right before the Millennium. At the same time, when Europe stepped towards the new millennium, the *age of advance* accelerated mainly by the European Commission's Lisbon agenda, which put lifelong learning at the forefront of European policy. The development of learning cities and regions was one key strategy of that policy – and so the European policy paper on the local and regional dimension of lifelong learning was published in 2002. This important document was built on the results of TELS and written by Norman Longworth. The document clearly stated that «Cities and regions in a globalized world cannot afford not to become learning cities and regions. It is a matter of prosperity, stability, employability and the personal development of all citizens» (European Commission 2002). They were indeed clear and forward looking words and a striking challenge to every local and regional authority to have read them, which, because of the nature of information transmission, were unfortunately very few.

The OECD also geared up the process in 2001 with its learning regions project in five European regions – Jena in Germany, Oresund in Sweden and Denmark, Vienne in France, Kent in UK and Andalusia in Spain. Among its findings was the perhaps surprising statement that secondary education would apparently be strikingly important for regional development, and the more predictable one, that there was a need to encourage creativity at all levels of education. This particular conclusion, referring to regional development, highlighted the influential role and the potentials of public education upon the development of basic and vocational skills amongst the members of individuals and towards knowledge transfers within communities. That's a theme that crops over and over again in learning region folklore – creativity, innovation, vision at all levels of education.

Despite the fact that many cities and regions are still well behind the mark of the millennium, the movement to create learning cities and regions threatened to become an avalanche – as a couple of examples among many, Germany established around 76 learning regions as part of the 'Lisbon-process', while every city, town and municipality in Victoria, Australia, became a learning entity. Moreover, the Chinese government decreed that every large city in China should become a learning city by 2010 and beyond. Not too late for this, the IDEOPOLIS was born, described by Tom Cannon and his collaborators as «A City or Region whose economy is driven by the creative search for, and the application of, new ideas, thinking and knowledge, and which is firmly rooted to the creative transfer of ideas, to opportunities, to innovation, and eventually to production» (2003, 9).

These initiatives accelerated most researchers into what might be called *the age of understanding* and many of them finally thought they got it – or knew, or thought they knew – what was being a learning region, at a time when the number of European projects increased. From every part of the Commission – Learning Cities and Regions became included in the Framework research programmes and a lifelong learning element had to be included in the vast majority of the Commission's Social and Development Funding. There also came a great need for tools and materials that would help cities and regions to get that understanding.

Therefore, some relevant Socrates-funded projects developed those learning toolkits for city and regional management and learning materials to help them propagate the message to others. And yet, the OECD would have you believe that all regions seek to sustain economic activity through various combinations of lifelong learning, innovation and creative uses of information and communication technologies (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2001).

Since 2011, we have arrived to the *Age of Innovations* as learning city collaborations reached a level of character and complexity that made UNESCO to start with a Global Learning City Initiative so as to analyse the connections between urban-based community development, governance and lifelong learning with intercultural and intergenerational dimensions. This initiative provided good grounds for global networking amongst learning cities and the mainly Asian orientation turned into a wider global networking by 2013 at the Beijing International Conference of Learning Cities and resulted in a declaration to describe major goals of promoting lifelong learning by building learning cities and communities under the UNESCO umbrella of the Global Network of Learning Cities – GNLC (GNLC - Beijing Declaration 2013). Arne Carlsen, the director of UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), and his team worked immensely hard to get this idea a reality both in policy and collaborative contexts. UIL formulated several descriptive documents as guidelines to support cities of different continents to build up their learning city models based on different composite elements and interests (UNESCO UIL 2015). Since Carlsen had arrived from adult education, it was not at all hard for him to recognise the values and power of learning cities to make use of adult and lifelong learning by building various forms of knowledge transfers, based on the needs of local citizens.

#### 2. Why and How to Develop Learning Cities in an 'Age of Uncertainties'?

Since 2012, the development of learning cities has become a flagship issue for UNESCO and its Institute for Lifelong Learning under the umbrella of Global Network of Learning cities (UNESCO UIL 2021). UNESCO has developed an internationally driven wide platform amongst cities as *sustainable cities* addressing a number of challenging issues like inclusion, creativity, health and well-being, resilience, innovation, smart developments, technology and digitalisation, education, workplaces and jobs. The global network was based on the realisation that learning cities would have to share their experience in developing communities in urban environments and to collect good cases for reflecting the power and joy of learning in communities based on collaborative actions and the celebration of understanding and respecting each other. It is no wonder that the Beijing Declaration (2013) of the first International Conference of Learning Cities advocated such principles and demonstrated the collective power of urban environments of lifelong learning with intercultural and intergenerational dimensions (UNESCO UIL 2015).

The way the global movement has developed in the last ten years is a marker of potential ways out or rather to say effective forward-looking models for urban citizen to collaborate within and beyond their cities and their regions so as to understand and reflect upon their achievements, but also to pay attention and integrate messages and positive models of smart and creative cities for the benefit of their own communities.

On the other hand, learning cities have clearly signalled the capacity of integrating various interests to promote them all through lifelong learning, since it is certainly better to develop smart, creative and green cities, etc. through promoting learning based on public needs and on interests of stakeholder groups.

Our recent uncertainties of environmental and climate changes, challenges of stagnation and structural changes of economic sectors and finally the COVID-19 pandemic have deformed learning communities either to reduce communitybased learning activities or to move them into virtual forms which resulted in alienation, exclusion, inequities. However, learning cities have clearly stepped forward and provided fairly strong responses to those challenges above through immensely lot of voluntary work, partnerships and mutual actions so as to pursue lifelong learning especially for vulnerable groups. All the examples UNESCObases sustainable cities platforms have recently gathered, may demonstrate how rich and innovative learning cities are (UNESCO. *Cities Platform*).

3. Learning Cities and Community Development Through Adult and Lifelong Learning. The Impact of PASCAL International Observatory

When someone may want to understand the reason why UNESCO incorporated the movement of learning cities into its activities and its policy concerns around lifelong learning, a strong attention to PASCAL International Observatory is inevitable. This globally driven international organisation was formed by former OECD researchers around CERI, the Center for Educational Research and Innovation, so as to make use of a non-governmental platform in the development of social capital, place management and lifelong learning right after the millennium (PASCAL International Observatory).

PASCAL turned attention to learning cities for its potential to integrate several dimensions of lifelong learning, for example to underline the roles and responsibilities of higher education institutions, economic stakeholders and other respected local and regional bodies, as local and regional councils, to take action in the advancement of the so-called *learning economy.* Its *broader*

*conceptualisation,* the scope of actions and *value of learning go well beyond a limited definition of industry clusters and issues of competitiveness, innovation* (as important as these are).

As the flow of learning initiatives, described by Yarnit (2000), Longworth (1999), Longworth and Franson (2001), Allison and Keane (2001) and others, learning makes its way through/in the community in different manners. With each of these activities, the community may learn and develop sustainably. Learning enables communities to face, change, adapt and transform their own. When the concept of learning cities and learning regions is understood in a broader framework, it opens up exciting potentials and possibilities for many communities, particularly, when considered against reductionist narratives on exclusively economy-centred structure, by turning to more balanced models.

The impact of PASCAL can be grabbed by the use of some of its models to get different fields of learning city innovations, combined for the sake of proper knowledge transfer through parallel collaborative actions for economic development, social cohesion and well-being. Namely, the EcCoWell model PASCAL was firmly developed in order to make use of potentials of several stakeholders in a combined way to reach for economic growth, and community actions for well-being. One good example was the Irish city of Cork, where distinguished stakeholders, together with the local council, decided that they would make firm steps in order to implement EcCoWell-frame as one composite element of a learning city through collaborative actions.

The Cork Learning City development is cemented on a special learning environment to represent four circles of learning embedded into a community model. This model resonates a community with strong local resonance and global reaches through UNESCO learning cities network and that of PASCAL International Exchange (PIE). Those circles of the learning environment demonstrate certain dimensions of a learning city which overlap with each other, however, they signal some specific aspects at the same time. They are the Cork Learning Festival, the UNESCO Learning City Award and Growing Lifelong Learning in Cork, Learning Neighbourhoods as a pilot project of UNESCO in partnerships with PIE and, finally, EcCoWell, to reflect that learning cities should include environmental, economic, health, well-being and lifelong learning in order to reach for good societies (ÓTuama 2016; UIL 2019a).

The Lifelong Learning Festival at Cork has particular community routes and has been dedicated to participatory actions with intercultural and intergenerational aspirations. In this respect adult and lifelong learning plays a specific role in planning its programmes and raising participation in its events, gatherings and local discoveries, by collecting and sharing good knowledge and experience amongst members of the community. Moreover, the Festival chains ten Community Education Networks which were established upon the 2000 governmental paper, called as *Learning for Life: White Paper on Adult Education* (Department of Education and Science 2000). These networks offer actions and programmes as parts of the Festival and have their special approach to some special groups of the community, for example, disadvantaged groups. Distinguished stakeholder groups play an important role in the planning and achievement of their programmes.

Various forms and ways of communication are regularly used to reach out for the attention to different kinds of people, therefore, not only modern and electronic communication, but also traditional posters and brochures are used to capture the contact of potential visitors and participants. One has to point out that there is a significant free citizen engagement in the Festival, based on the principles of equality and inclusion so as to provide an opportunity to participate in learning (Neylon and Barrett 2013). In this regard, inclusiveness, free entry and open access to all are ongoing themes of the festival (Keane et al. 2013). The UNESCO Learning City initiative has also played a significant role in the achievements of the Cork Learning City development. Both the establishment of the Cork Learning City Forum and the initiation of the Lifelong Learning Festival provided significant forces to realise the vision of people behind the original plans to make Cork a learning city and community. The attention of PASCAL towards learning city developments and innovative approaches made PASCAL to get Cork be involved in its networking.

That step brought Cork close to international partnerships which soon accelerated engagement with UNESCO agenda on learning cities in 2012. The example of Cork also reflects outstanding partnerships with wide stakeholder groups so as to engage them with the mission and goals of the project. The Learning Neighbourhoods initiative signalled a serious focus on local people, especially concentrating on the needs of districts of the city and people living in those municipal areas of Cork with specific social, economic and cultural conditions and aspirations. There have been several impacts and challenges to the Cork Learning City initiative and project. But collective actions of the communities of the city strengthened alliances amongst participants and brought higher level institutions into contact with marginalised groups. UNESCO interest may also help the renewal of the commitment of politicians and stakeholders to the initiative.

Cork may provide a good lesson for other cities which are right at the step to expand their initiatives into a wider public project and movement: start small and build up systematically, keep participation voluntary, ask all your participants to publicise their events to provide a special ownership and belongingness to the programmes and networking. Another lesson is to make sure that the kinds of learning showcased are as broad as possible, do not restrict participation to the state sector, publicly recognise and thank all those who organise events and, finally, never forget that it is a festival – fun and celebration are a powerful means of changing attitudes to learning (Neylon 2015).

#### 4. Combining Aspirations of PASCAL and UNESCO – the Example of Pécs

The Pécs Learning City-Region Forum was formally grounded in the year of 2010 amongst thirteen different institutions of education, training and culture, together with the local and regional authorities of Pécs and Baranya County and that of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Based on a decade-old international project-based partnership to have dealt with Learning City-Region innovations in association with PASCAL and UIL, the University of Pécs and its Faculty of Adult Education and HRD re-initiated the establishment of the Pécs Learning City Region Forum in 2013 to develop a direct tool in certain areas of pedagogical/andragogical work targeting training trainers, educators and facilitators of learning.

Through projects, like LILARA (Learning in Local and Regional Authorities), PENR3L (PASCAL University Network of Regions of Lifelong Learning), and Grundtvig R3L+ accelerated our partnership with the City of Pécs and its local authority together with several other distinguished stakeholders in education, training and culture Those former PASCAL projects together with special session of the Commission of Education (EDUC) of Committee of the Regions in 2006 and the 2007 PASCAL Conference in Pécs generated a good ground for further platform building amongst relevant bodies engaged in effective knowledge transfer lifelong learning activities (PASCAL Observatory 2007).

The Learning City-Region Forum identified some potential issues which accelerated the development of the learning city-region model of Pécs. On the one hand, the Forum renewed its membership in PASCAL International Observatory's Learning Cities Networks (LCN), more precisely, it integrated the Pécs Learning Festival programme into the group called 'Harnessing Cultural Policies in Building Sustainable Learning Cities' in order to continue its ties to this international platform which was formally established in 2007 when Pécs hosted PASCAL's annual international conference on learning city-regions (Németh 2016a).

The University of Pécs initiated, still in 2016, the realisation of close ties to UNESCO's Global Network of Learning Cities so as to prepare for the Global Learning City Award of UNESCO which may help in further developing collaborative actions amongst key providers of lifelong learning in and around the city of Pécs. In this regard, the University of Pécs and the local authority/municipality of Pécs decided to launch a campaign for using the Learning City-Region Forum to establish an annual Learning Festival where both the concept and the three areas of action of the Forum can be multiplied into a real learning community of around seventy institutions and organisations under the same umbrella movement.

The Learning City Programme of Pécs identified its first *Learning* Festival in 2017 as a set of three thematic topics in order offer flexible platforms to include each and all learning providers with their particular programmes based on the participation of local citizens from school-age to retired members of the community. There were three topics for 2017 set at the beginning of the year to represent a broad range of interest and, simultaneously, to incorporate different interests be channelled into representative topics to signal both global and local focuses with popular calls. Those 2017 learning city topics were (UIL 2019b): (1) *Culture and arts*; (2) *Environment and Green Pécs*; and (3) *Knowledge transfer and skills development.*

Those topics above generated growing participation since more than seventy organisations and institutions got involved into the 130 programmes of the First Learning Festival for 15-16 September in 2017. One can estimate whether it was a good decision and direction to get the House of Civic Communities to take a central role in the organisation of the Learning Festival. But having evaluated the impact of first Learning Festival, we can conclude that the learning community of Pécs has gained a lot to start getting used to the formation of the Learning City model and its flagship initiative called the Pécs Learning Festival. It is concerning that this focus cemented a bottom-up approach based on trust and partnership, but the initiative could not avoid the lack of funding and limited political attention although the City of Pécs received the Global Learning City Award on 18 September at the third UNESCO International Conference on Learning Cities (Németh 2016b). The organisers of the Learning Festival had collected public proposals for topics of the Festival, and it was a great achievement that participating platforms of learning providers came to consensus to provide three authentic topics of lifelong learning which would definitely meet the characteristics of Pécs as a city of culture, high culture influenced by multicultural, multi-ethnic, multilingual and multi-religious dimension. This particular focus was highlighted in the GNLC reporting of Pécs as a Global Learning City and incorporated into the publication of UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning and to its website (UIL 2019c).

According to the key features of learning cities, the Learning City Programme of Pécs and its Learning Festival has emphasised, from its start, the connection and partnership building with local and regional businesses, corporations and other market-led groups like the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNESCO UIL 2015). This approach and special attention was lifted up through the organisation-process of the first learning festival in 2017 to initiate and promote the particular angle of business and economy driven narratives, understanding around the benefits of learning and of skills development. Companies like the local forestry group, the local public bus transportation corporation and the local power plant joined the Festival with its programmes and learning models, like environmental learning through the forest/woods, learning community skills on buses and learning new dimensions of the energy supplies for residential and business areas (Németh 2016c).

A necessary conclusion is that the initiation of the Learning Festival resulted in the move of the notion of learning away from negative meanings and contexts, moreover, it helped in the raising of participation, the growing needs towards community learning, intergenerational collaborations and the inclusion of depressed, underdeveloped districts of the city. Those three topics above helped to move Pécs towards smart and creative city directions with culture-based orientations in a city of culture (Németh 2016c). Finally, let us underline that the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities have generated two major clusters where many cities collaborate through advanced knowledge transfer and sharing good practices via webinars and other common actions.

These two clusters are:

Education for Sustainable Development;

Health and Well-being (Cork and Pécs have joined this cluster for the benefit of their stakeholders to promote healthy living, resilience and inclusion through lifelong learning activities at community levels) (UIL 2019c).

#### 5. Recent Outlooks for Comparison – the Balanced Community Focus

The recent Adult Education Academies of 2020 and 2022 integrated the theme of Learning Cities and Learning Communities into its comparative group work (JMU INTALL Academies). The 2020 platform provided a good opportunity to further investigate some recent trends of learning cities across cultures and investigations in Palestinian cities and those from India were put into comparison with European cases from the UK and from Hungary to identify similarities and differences. This resulted in a study to reach for some reasons of the implications of learning communities and community development with strong attention and inclusive approaches to learning needs of adults and their communities and nearby regions based on voluntary work with vulnerable groups of adults (Németh et al. 2021).

Another scope of this research focus is the impact of smart and creative orientations as narratives of learning cities. Examples from Espoo in Finland would highlight such focus in a good combination with community and cultural developments in the city (Erkkilä 2020). Also, Osborne has recently called for the importance of smart cities to rely on learning cities where adult and lifelong learning would provide a potential to make communities recognise the use and benefits of technology, digitalisation, scientific advancements and innovations (2018).

#### 6. Conclusion

Our examples may resonate the evolution of learning cities as connected to the expansion of lifelong and life-wide learning where professional adult educators will have specific roles to generate public engagement for better participation and performance in addressing both skills development from basic to vocational and life-skills, active citizenship and community care with intercultural and intergenerational dimensions. Learning cities, in our understanding, have been collaborating with adult learning and education since those five benchmarks of learning cities, UIL has addressed by 2013, depend on advanced adult and community education and lifelong learning, based on partnerships across and beyond sectors of education, economies, cultures, arts, health and well-being and matters of sustainability (UIL 2015).

Finally, let me underline the roles of HEIs in this specific aspect of urban development. Universities for lifelong learning have a profound role, according to eucen (Royo et al. 2021), in responding the UN Sustainable Development Goals and connect sustainable cities and communities to the development of education and lifelong learning through being committed to partnership-based forms of knowledge transfer to balance smart, technology and digital-driven aspirations with socially constructed learning opportunities so as to form resilient and progressive communities based on dignity and solidarity.

We are concerned that universities have an important role both in the promotion and in the research and innovation of learning cities which demand mutuality, trust and collaborations around collecting and sharing knowledge and skills.

### References

JMU INTALL Academies. <htt ps://w w w.paedagog i k .un i-w uerzburg.de/ lifelonglearning/home> (2023-03-15).

Longworth, N. 2006. *Learning Cities, Learning Regions, Learning Communities. Lifelong Learning and Local Government.* London: Routledge. https://doi. org/10.4324/9780203967454.

# Rethinking Learning Practices in the Covid-Era: Indications for Teachers and Educators

Maria Luisa Iavarone, Francesco Vincenzo Ferraro

#### **Abstract:**

The pandemic produced changes in the organisation of the socioeconomic tissue. The educational system, in particular, underwent a forced reconsideration of classrooms' space and time. To preserve inclusivity and wellbeing and to compensate for the lack of bodycognitive experiences, our research team worked with the educational systems before and during the pandemic, providing educators with effective indexes concerning didactic practices. What emerged from our studies is the necessity to help students and teachers to cope with isolation, boredom, and bullying. The following document aims to report the multidisciplinary approaches developed by the international team from the University of Naples Parthenope (Italy) and the University of Derby (United Kingdom).

**Keywords:** Anti-social Behaviours; Civic Education; Digital-Ecosystems; Education

#### 1. The COVID-Era Call for Action: It Is Time of Profound Change in Education

The following session summarised part of our research finding along with the hypothesis and theories that are leading our research proposals and ideas. A reflective perspective upon the current situation in light of the latest pedagogic theories. During the pandemic, we understood the need to rethink our lives profoundly. In only one year, we have assisted to profound changes in the organisation of our life systems: in health, socio-economic, work organisation and education (Save The Children 2020; Sarkodie and Owusu 2021; Yang and Deng 2021). In particular, the school system has undergone a forced reorganisation that has affected the characteristics and quality of the teaching space, the learning environments, the forms and times of learning and knowledge (Basri et al. 2021). Additionally, governments have reacted differently to the pandemic with different lockdown and restriction strategies, which has additionally produced socio-economic gaps with profound influences in the educational system (Katić et al. 2021). What the pandemic has generated can be, in other words, synthe-

Referee List (DOI 10.36253/fup\_referee\_list)

FUP Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (DOI 10.36253/fup\_best\_practice)

Maria Luisa Iavarone, University of Naples Parthenope, Italy<EMAIL_ADDRESS>0000-0002-9246-2696

Francesco Vincenzo Ferraro, University of Derby, United Kingdom<EMAIL_ADDRESS>0000-0002- 4902-7760

Maria Luisa Iavarone, Francesco Vincenzo Ferraro, *Rethinking Learning Practices in the Covid-Era: Indications for Teachers and Educators*, © Author(s), CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.36253/979-12-215-0151-3.19, in Vanna Boffo, Regina Egetenmeyer (edited by), *Re-thinking Adult Education Research. Beyond the Pandemic*, pp. 219-228, 2023, published by Firenze University Press, ISBN 979-12-215-0151-3, DOI 10.36253/979-12-215-0151-3

sised in a sort of *educational atopy*, in the literal etymologically sense, from the Greek language alpha privative *atopos*, meaning without places. Hence, teaching during the pandemic has lost the proper places of education related to the coordinates of space and time characteristics of traditional teaching referring to a physical place (e.g., the classroom) and the time of lessons. The changes we experienced have therefore produced the era of post-didactics characterised by the *sunset of class time* where many pupils, and also many teachers, have experienced a severe discomfort in recognising themselves within a system deprived of the essential coordinates of orientation that act as an anchor for the formative experience: bodies, spaces and times codified, tangible objects, books, notebooks, blackboards and desks (Ferraro et al. 2021). The time we are living makes it necessary to monitor the growth of these *new digital-ecosystems* to reduce inequalities, prevent the risk of exclusion and protect students and teachers from antisocial behaviours (Riley 2007; Sandford et al. 2008). Hence, it is necessary to monitor the educational sustainability, of these new ecosystems, for a *civildigital*, which means careful digitalisation to include as many citizens as possible in the processes of information and education in a lifelong learning perspective (Iavarone 2019). These areas of interest have become nowadays extremely topical, as the gap between education and metaverse is being filled (Duan et al. 2021; Sparkes 2021). In the *atopos* schools, the bodies learning experiences connected with educational, physical activities and personal experiences (i.e., embodied theories) (Shapiro and Stolz 2019) came out deeply mortified. However, it is well established how much the body experiences constitutes an essential pillar in the teaching-learning relationship (Immordino-Yang and Gotlieb 2017). It is also known that the absence of body-related experiences can produce a deep gap in the socio-cognitive interaction of adolescents (Von Hofsten and Rosander 2007; Pollatos 2015; Kosmas et al. 2019). Therefore, to preserve opportunities for inclusion and well-being in adolescence, our research team worked on embodies theories and reported the education system's effects before and during the pandemic with young adolescents (age range 13-19 years old), providing educators and teachers with effective indexes on how to support educational and didactic practices that can compensate the lack of body-cognitive experiences during distance learning (Katić et al. 2021).

What emerged from our studies is the necessity to help students and teachers to cope with phenomena of isolation, boredom and bullying, caused by a lack of physical interactions and cognitive experiences (Ferraro et al. 2020). The research team also showed how important it is to integrate embodied theories and physical activities in asynchronous *emergency-*teaching. These aspects are necessary to produce post-COVID education and regain positive cognitive interactions. On this pattern, by integrating motion-physical activities and learning outcomes, we have recently demonstrated how an intervention of unstructured dance practice, named Bodytasking (Aruta and Ambra 2020), is beneficial to be used with young students with positive results in terms of engagement and cognitive outcomes (Aruta et al. 2021).

In the past months following the lockdowns period, teachers and students have returned to class with a blended approach (Chimbunde 2021), in which is observed a combination of asynchronous, synchronous, distanced learning along with in presence, in class, teaching. However, the scenario does not keep into consideration left-behind children, or students that cannot afford highspeed internet connection and high-tech devices, as we have reported being an issue in the urban areas where the risk of delinquency is high (Ferraro et al. 2020; Iavarone and Trocchia 2020). Additionally, students perception of working remotely might leave behind the less motivated students that need to be able to self-manage their time and improve their Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skills in order to keep up with teacher expectations (Kant 2020; Tropea and De Rango 2020; Ares et al. 2021). Moving forward in the postpandemic scenarios we believe that a blended approach can be successful only if it addresses the potential lack of engagement and the necessity to bring all students to the same level of inclusivity and technologies (Bussey 2021). Additionally, we propose an integration to the blended approach with the combination of sport-related intervention that would positively affect students' engagement (Ambra et al. 2020; Aruta and Ambra 2020; Aruta et al. 2021) and will decrease the concurrent risk of sedentary behaviours (Meyer et al. 2020). Our research has used a dance-based approach, however future studies should be introduced to introduce additional distanced-sports activities (Bates et al. 2021).

#### 2. The COVID-Era Call for Action: The Methodological Approaches

The following session summaries the approaches described in the previous section. The aim is to clearly describe the rigour and robustness of the methods that lead our research approaches and upon which we are rethinking the pedagogical theories. Finally, we aim to share these approaches hoping that this information will produce a solid starting point to open discussion upon education and how we all can rethink it. Our methodological approaches started with the development of a predictive questionnaire: the SMART. The SMART is an acronym for the words Sports, Meals, Activities, Relationships and Technologies. It was initially developed to produce a predictive index of students' behaviours that can be used by teachers and tutors to help young adolescents cope with situations of danger (such as criminality, domestic, drug or technology abuse) (Ambra 2019). The SMART has been fully published, and now the multidisciplinary team is working on its validity and reliability. The following steps would be to translate the questionnaire (currently in Italian) and adopt it in other territories where the risks of youth antisocial behaviours are equally high. In parallel to this research, the multidisciplinary team is exploring the potential use of telecommunications or synchronous online interventions in order to produce a high level of engagement with adolescents and students. Due to the pandemic synchronous online teaching structure, and Distanced Learning, has become the new normality. Hence, we have been collecting interviews and data from our students who reported a lack of engagements and interest in distances learning classes. To cope with this, we are currently experimenting with interventions that combine physical activities with teaching. In particular, the first approach that we developed was to introduce a dance-based intervention, called Bodytasking, similar to some extent to the well-known Biodanza intervention (Toro 2008; Altamirano Quevedo et al. 2021), that combines a holistic unstructured dance base practice tailored for young adolescents. The first study that we have published using an unstructured interview showed great engagement from the students who were able to follow their dance instructor from their home via dedicated training rooms (e.g., Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams). The results have been integrated in further studies in which we will be looking at comparisons between the Bodystaking in distanced learning with other forms of dancebased intervention to increase the link between physical activities and cognitive capacity in the novelty of the metaverse (Ning et al. 2021). Following a similar approach, the multidisciplinary research team is also working on Functional Advanced Didactic (FAD). The project is extremely novel and is designed to integrate physical activity with standard didactic in order to develop a physical oriented approach in which young students can learn while they play. The Functional Advanced Didactic is currently under investigation and soon we will be able to provide the first evidence and guidelines to share with the national (in Italy) Ministry of Education. We are hoping to experiment with the Functional Advanced Didactic in schools in 2022 and progress on the development of this intervention. Another aspect that the research team is investigating, is in relation to prevention and rehabilitation in particular the role that education has in producing a higher level of awareness in populations at risk (e.g., older adults or minority socio-cultural groups). As a result of that, the University of Naples Parthenope (Italy) has currently fostered the Master in Media Education. Whereas in the broad area of training management, the course prepares qualified figures in distance learning technologies and experts in digital media education with particular reference to social inclusion and discomfort prevention activities within schools, organisations or cooperatives (Iavarone and Iavarone 2004; Iavarone 2009, 2019). The aim is to produce graduates that will find employment in public and private organisations (such as schools, third sector entities, social cooperatives, government institutions, etc.) as an expert in the design and implementation of educational, learning and media education interventions concerning to inclusion activities social and discomfort prevention. This pioneering master's degree, developed at the University of Naples Parthenope (Italy), intends to combine the previous research and increase the knowledge on the topic. Another important aspect of our research concerns postoperative and intensive care unit rehabilitation and the perception that patients had of their treatments and experiences. The purpose is to increase awareness, self-management, and overall wellness in the public health system. A recent example of our work can be found in the latest publication about respiratory muscle training and respiratory physiology (Ferraro 2021) in which clinical, sports and educational approaches are linked together under the aim of increasing people wellness. Finally, we are currently elaborating an integrated technology-didactic system that would allow students to learn to live why perfume physical activates (such as biking or running) in a virtual environment. The purpose is to increase awareness, inclusivity and motivation in the younger generation, who are more comfortable engaging with technologies (Tootell et al. 2014; Jha 2020; McCrindle 2021).

The articles and research described above are part of the activities that the research team based at the University of Naples Parthenope (Italy) (supervised by Professor Maria Luisa Iavarone) and at the University of Derby (UK) (supervised by Dr Francesco V. Ferraro) have organised to understand and develop novel approaches that would allow and increase the discussion upon education. We have summaries the structure of our methodological approach in Fig. 1.

Figure 1 – The simplistic structure of the graph is an opportunity to consider the key steps that we are taking in developing novel interventions for education. In between each point, there is the collaboration of the whole research team that is collecting data, with mixed methods, developing intervention and reporting the results in open access journal that would increase accessibility and discussion on the topic.

# 3. Conclusion

The document reported our ideas on education and how we intend to rethink the educational approaches in the post-COVID scenarios. In particular, we have reported part of our results and publications and described in detail our methodological approaches. Our studies from the beginning of the pandemic are partially summarised in Tab. 2.

Table 2 – Part of the most recent work that the multidisciplinary team has produced since the beginning of the pandemic and that have been informed our theories and practices in re-thinking education.

The aim of the whole manuscript is to open a table of discussion and reflection on pedagogic topics, and in particular of the high level of disengagement and dropouts that some EU areas are experiencing due to distanced learning and blended approaches. Our studies have been carried out in difficult sociocultural areas in the South of Italy to raise awareness of the current issue in relation to high level of youth antisocial behaviours (Iavarone and Trocchia 2020; Ferraro et al. 2021). In conclusion, it is really important to explore new scenarios and take the current dramatic situation as an opportunity to rethink education. To build more engaging, more inclusive, more productive, greener, and more positive schools for our students now (cross-pandemic) and after (postpandemic). In other publications, we have called this a *call for action*, a call for responsible adults, responsible tutors that need to provide support and assist the younger generation in coping against the post-COVID Era and the raising complex social, cultural, economic and health challenges. Therefore, we recommend future publications to explore more in detail the overall mental health and its association with learning outcomes in the younger generation and build an up to date database that would allow to monitor and predict situations at risk of antisocial behaviours.

# References

# Learning in Cities to Create Sustainable Societies Roberta Piazza

#### **Abstract:**

Cities play a leading role in addressing many of the global challenges of the 21st century. They are an important part of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, which assigns them multiple tasks. Cities should be committed to reducing the ecological footprint and to creating solutions that respond in a differentiated way to the challenges and opportunities in different areas of the world. The sustainable development strategies of cities have determined the definition of different urban models, focused on the need to offer citizens well-being and innovation. This contribution presents the model of learning cities (LC), cities that put learning and education at the heart of their strategies. The paper identifies some of the possible strategies to make cities more responsive to the learning needs arising from the recent pandemic crisis.

**Keywords:** City; COVID-19; Governance; Learning; Sustainability

#### 1. Why we Need to Care for Cities

Cities play a key role in the lives of most people. Not only do more than half of the world's population live in urban areas, but they are fundamental to social and economic development as engines of national and regional economies. Cities, moreover, as pointed out by the UN Population Division, play a leading role in addressing many of the global challenges of the 21st century, such as poverty, inequality, unemployment, environmental degradation and climate change (UN Habitat 2022).

This is why they are an important part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development because it is expected that the world's urban areas, in absorbing almost all future population growth, will be able to influence future changes.

Cities have the potential to reduce the ecological footprint, connect rural and natural environments and create solutions that respond in a differentiated way to the challenges and opportunities that States face in different areas of the world. Their role is also confirmed by UNESCO's 2030 Agenda, which identifies a specific objective for the development of sustainable cities and communities among the 17 objectives (SDGs) of the Agenda (UN 2015).

SDG 11 («Make cities […] inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable») (UNESCO 2017, 5) addresses key issues such as affordable housing, sustainable

Referee List (DOI 10.36253/fup\_referee\_list)

Roberta Piazza, University of Catania, Italy<EMAIL_ADDRESS>0000-0002-0478-9577

FUP Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (DOI 10.36253/fup\_best\_practice)

Roberta Piazza, *Learning in Cities to Create Sustainable Societies*, © Author(s), CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.36253/979-12-215-0151-3.20, in Vanna Boffo, Regina Egetenmeyer (edited by), *Re-thinking Adult Education Research. Beyond the Pandemic*, pp. 229-237, 2023, published by Firenze University Press, ISBN 979-12-215-0151-3, DOI 10.36253/979-12-215-0151-3

mobility, participatory urban planning and air quality. However, an important indicator of the pervasiveness of the role of urban areas in supporting sustainable development is the presence of other objectives related to the competencies and responsibilities of cities in all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): not only in the SDGs relating to health (SDG 3), economic development (SDG 10), peace (SDG 10) and the fight against climate change (SDG 10) but, above all, in the objectives of SDG 4 («Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all») (UNESCO 2017, 22), which establishes lifelong learning as a guiding principle for building more sustainable cities and achieving the 2030 Agenda.

Indeed, the outbreak of the pandemic and the emergence of the massive economic crisis have shown that there is no alternative to the SDGs. This has led to the recognition of the role of cities in addressing the global problems that have arisen: social inclusion, inequalities, opportunities for education and training, the environment, etc. In ensuring prosperity and well-being for communities, international and national governments and local and regional governments are therefore called to design interventions that strengthen the resilience of cities in the face of the current economic recession and counteract the feeling of insecurity resulting from the spread of the pandemic.

Many cities have faced a significant loss of inclusive and cohesive power, with the increased exclusion and segregation of some groups, generally the most disadvantaged. Problems of integration, racist and xenophobic behaviour, and the increase of forms of social marginality have caused the loss of a sense of community, creating efficient governance problems in cities in a context increasingly dominated by the scarcity of public resources.

The sustainable development strategies of cities, focusing on the need to identify concrete actions to support lifelong learning in communities, therefore aim to increase skills and transfer knowledge, as essential tools to promote the well-being of communities. However, they argue that only the sectoral approach (Sector-Wide Approach, SWAp) (Oksanen 2000) at different levels of government – from central to local, with the involvement of different stakeholders and civil society – can respond to the economic and social security needs of communities and meet the learning needs of all citizens. Economic development, social and cultural development of cities are based on integrated actions, aimed at strengthening the ability of cities to react and adapt to constant change (UNESCO 2016). Studies on the resilience of cities show that only where there are cohesive communities and high levels of social capital are the chances of recovery faster than in cities without social cohesion. Only cities that provide the conditions for inclusive processes of learning and innovation are likely to progress more than others (Tibitt 2014). These are the elements that help define learning cities (LC), cities that put learning and education at the heart of their strategies, and that political actions of economic development should not neglect.

#### 2. City Models: Learning Cities

If we consider the different models of cities that have developed globally, it is possible to identify as a common feature the attempt to respond to the problems arising from urban development strategies that are not sensitive to social and environmental sustainability. The Green City (OECD 2011), Smart City, Healthy City1 , EcCowell City (Kearns 2012a, 2012b), Resilient City (OECD 2018)2 are characterised by particular specialisms, as demonstrated by their focus on technological dimensions, public health or creativity. In some cases, such as the Learning City, Health City and Green City initiatives, these cities share common interests. This makes it easier to realise the benefits for cities if we adopt integrated strategies that recognise these common interests. The EcCoWell Cities, for example, developed within the observatory PASCAL3 , are identified as «Cities that promote community, a shared identity, and the well-being of all citizens» (Kearns 2012a, 11). These cities aim at an integrated development that includes ecology, culture, community, and well-being within the objectives and strategies of lifelong learning (Kearns 2012a, 2012b).

The Learning City is a model now well known internationally (Longworth and Osborne 2010), whose origins date back to the work begun by the OECD in the early Nineties (OECD 1993). They represent a model of development oriented towards the integration of the economic, political, social, cultural and environmental dimensions for the enhancement of the talents of all citizens. Learning is the keyword in this idea of a city, within the framework offered by lifelong learning, which is considered to be the engine for local and regional regeneration. As Norman Longworth, one of the founding fathers of Learning City, reminds us, «a learning city provides both a structural and a mental framework which allows its citizen to understand and react positively to change» (1999, 110). It is, therefore, a learning community whose task is to provide answers to the changes taking place at the global and local level, learning to become prosperous, inclusive and sustainable (Faris and Peterson 2000). The term learning is different from the usual meaning related to traditional educational contexts. In Learning City learning refers to the collective culture of all the actors of a region in designing and implementing social and economic innovations and this implies, for the formal and non-formal education sector, the action of new strategies and the construction of new types of relations with the different economic, social and cultural actors.

1 «A healthy» city «is continually creating and improving those physical and social environments and expanding those community resources which enable people to mutually support each other in performing all the functions of life and developing to their maximum potential» (WHO 1998, 13).

2 See <https://www.oecd.org/cfe/regionaldevelopment/resilient-cities.htm> (2023-03-15).

3 The EcCoWell City was born within the PASCAL Observatory, which will be discussed later.

Putting learning and knowledge at the heart of the development of cities implies a reconsideration of the role of the city. Building a learning city cannot be limited to creating more learning opportunities. Nor does it imply the involvement of subjects in learning activities, often for purposes related to employability, according to a vision of the city as an economic entity (Plumb et al. 2006). The critical point is to support people (from children up to adulthood or old age), in acquiring new skills or new content, to become lifelong learners, able to interpret learning as a journey, a path, rather than an isolated event (Piazza 2015).

Learning city therefore explicitly promotes lifelong learning by encouraging people to self-guide themselves in their learning pathways and to develop a sense of self as an autonomous and self-regulating person. At the same time, it is called upon to encourage institutions to incorporate within their missions a different vision of cities: the aim is to create communities that recognise the value of their learning, as a tool to support the challenges posed by the economic crisis, but above all, as an engine for future planning.

The importance of the LC model is such that, in 2012, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) launched the development of the International LC Platform. The platform aims to create a network intended at mobilising cities and demonstrating how to use the resources available to them effectively in every sector, to develop and enrich the human potential that cities possess. The objectives are linked to supporting the growth of the lifelong person, the development of equality and social justice, the maintenance of social cohesion and the creation of sustainable prosperity (UNESCO 2013). UNESCO acknowledges that the principles and values identified as key features of the LC (UNESCO 2015) – focused on learning as an engine for the development of cities – are also applicable to those living in rural and remote areas, in disadvantaged neighbourhoods and communities. This has allowed, in fact, the widespread diffusion of the model, so much to reach in 2020 230 cities from 64 countries in the world that have joined the network4 .

In the development of learning cities, a contribution is offered by the Place And Social Capital And Learning (PASCAL) Observatory, founded in 2002, an international observatory focused on local development and learning cities and regions5 . The Observatory's activities include the creation of the Learning

4 Cf. <http://pascalobservatory.org/pascalnow/pascal-activities/news/unesco-global-network-learning-cities-welcomes-55-new-member-cities> (2023-03-15). The Italian cities in the network are Turin (2016); Fermo (2018); Palermo (2019); Lucca (2020); Trieste (2020) (<http://www.unesco.it/it/ItaliaNellUnesco/Detail/192> [2023-03-15]).

5 <http://pascalobservatory.org/>. PASCAL is an international network of locally engaged researchers, policy analysts, decision-makers and professionals from the administration, higher education, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector. The objective of PASCAL is the development and renewal of cities and regions. The network places particular emphasis on the role of social capital and lifelong learning in local renewal processes, focusing on the processes of sustainable economic, social and cultural development for the benefit of the communities concerned. But PASCAL also focuses on the sharing of ideas and knowledge between cities and regions, recognising that it is at the local level that

Cities Network (LCN)6 , a network of stakeholder groups within cities, exchanging ideas and direct experiences to develop innovative responses to problems affecting cities. The LCN was built on the positive experience derived from the programme implemented between 2011 and 2013 by PASCAL, called PIE (Pascal International Exchanges)7 , aimed at building sustainable learning cities. The network includes local administrators, academics and associations. The goal is to network regional and national administrations, businesses and work organisations, and establish links with different stakeholders. Networks can develop flexibly, both concerning the participation of members and depending on the priorities identified. The topics addressed include the implementation of integrated approaches to the development of cities built for the well-being of citizens and their families; the relationship between rural and urban learning initiatives; the role of cultural policies in building learning cities; learning cities' contribution to addressing disadvantage and fostering inclusion; building learning cities entrepreneurship-based; developing learning cities faith-based.

The LC model, like other city models, is a crucial resource for national governments – entrusted with the task of providing the regulatory and strategic framework that underpins lifelong learning – and for local governments committed to supporting the creation of sustainable cities.

This model reinforces the concept of 'social' sustainability, aimed at limiting economic dimensions to the benefit of social ones. In a sustainable society, all citizens are encouraged to imagine and create a future in which the means of economic and social security contribute to the sustainability of society as a whole. Social sustainability refers to a positive and long-term condition within communities and community processes that can achieve and maintain this condition. Therefore, the indicators to be considered in the creation and implementation of socially sustainable cities give priority to equity in access to key services (health, education, transport, housing...); the system of cultural relations which supports and promotes cultural integration; the widespread political participation of citizens, at a local level; mechanisms enabling a community to identify its strengths and needs and to meet its needs through community action.

In a design vision, the concept of social sustainability, focusing on the medium to long term future, draws attention to ideas and actions that can help improve society in the present, and to ensure its maintenance for future generations (Willis et al. 2008, 9).

the greatest impact of policy action can often be achieved to ensure a regional competitive advantage (<http://pascalobservatory.org/about/introduction>,[2023-03-15]).

6 <https://lcn.pascalobservatory.org/> (2023-03-15). 7 The PASCAL International Exchanges (PIE) project aims to mediate and support exchange, on a bilateral or multilateral basis, between local, community and city agencies and organisations in different parts of the world. Its goal is to connect those sites that have specific missions, including neighbourhood learning centres and libraries, with cultural heritage institutions and make a distinctive contribution to lifelong learning, to build innovative learning communities that promote the well-being and quality of life of all citizens (<http:// pie.pascalobservatory.org/> [2023-03-15]).

### 3. Learning in Cities after COVID-19: Directions for the Future

Cities have been at the forefront in responding to the COVID-19 crisis and in continuing to pursue sustainable development goals. The pandemic has had a different impact at the local level, but many policy responses have been undifferentiated and not very attentive to territorial specificities. These choices, mostly determined by the emergency, highlighted the need for approaches based on local characteristics and centred on people.

The health crisis has turned into a severe economic and social shock and has surprisingly brought to light the inequality between people and places, especially in large cities, where vulnerable groups such as migrants, the poor, women and the elderly have been hardly affected (UN 2020a).

The progress made in the southern hemisphere over the past decade has certainly enabled cities to move towards sustainability, inclusion, better governance and poverty reduction objectives. However, the spread of the virus and the economic and political impact of the global crisis might impede, or even reverse, the significant progress made towards achieving such progress. Considering the profound inequalities between rich and poor areas of the world and the magnitude of the global crisis created by COVID-19, cities will experience the exacerbation of pre-existing problems (Martínez and Short 2021).

Digitalization, an important turning point during the crisis, has become a key component of a 'new normality'. However, the ability to work and learn at a distance has shown profound differences both between countries and within the same nation (UN 2020b). In adult education, a large percentage of users have been excluded from online and distance learning because they lack access to the Internet or do not have the skills to use digital technology. Even for adult education professionals, the pandemic has meant a revision of their digital skills, not always adequate to provide support to students in the changed learning conditions (Baltaci 2021).

In addition, the 'Greta effect' – understood as Greta Thunberg's ability to influence social groups and mobilise collective action to reduce global warming – has accelerated environmental awareness, making the transition to clean mobility and the circular economy more politically and socially acceptable (Sabherwal et al. 2021).

The shock caused by COVID-19 has called for greater attention to the resilience of cities8 . The ability to be ready to face future crises has highlighted the need for local administrators to competently manage unpredictable situations and to learn in complex situations. Resilience – an important dimension that characterises the learning cities of the future – refers to the ability of cities to

8 The effect of learning on the resilience of cities has been discussed in academic literature for several years, often in terms of the ability of local people to identify and respond to disruptions in the event of a major disaster (Robin et al. 2019). The notion of resilience in cities is present in SDG 11 and reiterated in Learning Cities and the SDGs: A Guide to Action (UIL 2017) as an approach to linking global goals to local communities (Atchoarena and Howells 2021).

transform themselves to protect vulnerable people from immediate threats, but also, according to the already introduced concept of social sustainability, to build answers for future emergencies. This requires the administrations to rethink urban policies. These should be aimed primarily at strengthening the capacity of administrations to respond to emergencies, and to make cities smarter, greener, more inclusive and resilient (UNESCO 2020, 6).

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that cities not only need resources but also need their citizens to be educated to act properly. The learning city model supports a vision of adult education and community education oriented towards social justice, which encourages the participation of all citizens. Within this model of the city, the right to citizenship is conceived as closely related to individual and collective participation in the living environment, in opposition to exclusively market-oriented values, which often guide education policies. Such a discourse requires to be supported by an effective lifelong learning implementation strategy, which is the basis of the learning city model. As Jarl Bengtsson (2013) had already pointed out, there is no universal strategy, but every nation, every city, and every administration is called to develop its strategy, considering the significant differences existing in the political context, economic, social and educational.

The pandemic crisis has shown that there are several political issues all countries have in common. The first problem is to create the basis for central government and local government to coordinate planning and strategies to support lifelong learning. Planning and actions must concern, vertically, the different actors of the education and training system, with the fundamental aim of identifying and adopting the unique contribution that each stakeholder can offer in promoting lifelong learning. At the horizontal level, it is necessary to promote the fundamental coordination between government at the national and regional levels and the involvement of areas relating to education, the economy, work and social affairs. An important issue is the need to create a coherent and sustainable lifelong learning funding system, based on public and private funding and the personal contribution that each person can offer.

# References

PART IV

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education in Post-Pandemic Time: A Digital Transformation

# Higher Education in Post-Covid19: The Digital Transformation of Work-Integrated Learning Programmes

Daniela Frison

#### **Abstract:**

Due to the Sars-Cov-2 health emergency and the forced stoppage of regular teaching and traineeship activities, digital work-integrated learning models have been widely proposed to Higher Education students. Blended practices and experiences referred to as virtual or simulated work-integrated learning or digital workplace learning are emerging as instrumental in achieving several educational outcomes and, among them, a positive attitude toward Professional Learning and Development. The contribution intends to reflect on the main issues that the Higher Education systems have been facing during the pandemic, with a specific focus on the management of internship and workintegrated learning activities and projects, and the possible widening of the definition of work-integrated learning.

**Keywords:** Digital Transformation; Higher Education; Internship; Professional Development; Work-integrated Learning

#### 1. Introduction

Due to the Sars-Cov-2 health emergency and social distancing measures imposed by governments around the world, Higher Education systems have been forced to evolve from an on-campus to an online teaching-learning scenario and to the exploration of alternative strategies to guarantee teaching, learning, and services to the students.

With reference to the education and training sector, the Council of the European Union, within the *Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030),* emphasised that «the COVID-19 crisis demonstrated that education Z and training systems must be sufficiently flexible and resistant to interruptions in their regular cycles» (Council Resolution 2021*,* C 66/3) in order to find strategies and «solutions to continue the delivery of teaching and learning processes in different ways and contexts, and to ensure that all learners […] continue to learn». Under the goal of the European Education Area, by

Referee List (DOI 10.36253/fup\_referee\_list)

```
FUP Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (DOI 10.36253/fup_best_practice)
```
Daniela Frison, University of Florence, Italy<EMAIL_ADDRESS>0000-0002-6019-2660

Daniela Frison, *Higher Education in Post-Covid19: The Digital Transformation of Work-Integrated Learning Programmes*, © Author(s), CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.36253/979-12-215-0151-3.22, in Vanna Boffo, Regina Egetenmeyer (edited by), *Re-thinking Adult Education Research. Beyond the Pandemic*, pp. 241-250, 2023, published by Firenze University Press, ISBN 979-12-215-0151-3, DOI 10.36253/979-12-215-0151-3

2025, education and training systems are expected to ensure «the personal, social and professional fulfilment of all citizens» together with «sustainable economic prosperity, the green and digital transitions, and employability» (Council Resolution 2021*,* C 66/3).

Concerning specifically Higher Education systems, the focus on the digital transformation was evidenced by studies and empirical researches concerning the impact of COVID-19 on teaching and learning. The phenomenon has been analysed also by international analysis and reports that underline, above all, three issues that Higher Education faced: firstly, the impact on teaching and learning due to restrictions on campus, face-to-face teaching, and the increase in online education and hybrid teaching mode; secondly, the impact on international mobility, with specific rules for incoming international students and the increase of virtual mobility and strategies to encourage forms of Internationalization at Home; and, thirdly, the impact on transition from Higher Education to work due to the reduction in job opportunities (EUA 2021, 2022; OECD 2021a; Unesco 2021). Regarding this last point, Unesco (2021) highlights that, on the one hand, COVID-19 has caused damage to the global economy by reducing job opportunities and increasing the unemployment rate. Nevertheless, on the other hand, many countries reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced the digitalization process based on the transition into teleworking, increasing the demand for information technology skills.

This transition has also concerned internship and job placement in Higher Education. However, little is known regarding the impact of this shift on internships and strategies followed by Higher Education institutions to guarantee forms of getting to know the world of work even during the pandemic and alternative solutions within study programmes that require internships for graduation to support their students so as not to delay their graduation (Teng et al. 2021). If reports especially focused on Work-Based Learning opportunities are available with reference to the VET systems, focused on challenges faced in order to guarantee practical components of VET in school-based settings facing a relevant shortage of opportunities (Cedefop 2020; OECD 2021b), this point emerges as only lightly explored by studies and analysis focused on Higher Education, and general data on the phenomenon are limited. Nevertheless, both conceptual and empirical studies are provided about micro-experiences offered to specific targets (e.g. students attending a specific study programme) with reference to blended practices and experiences referred to as virtual or simulated Work-Integrated Learning or digital workplace learning proposed to Higher Education students to replace on-site internship or job placement opportunities. Under this framework, the contribution aims to reflect on the main issues that the Higher Education systems have been facing during the pandemic, with a specific focus on the management of internship and Work-Integrated Learning activities, projects and programmes and their possible expansion based on the digital transformation forced by the health emergency.

#### 2. Toward New Models of Work-Integrated Learning