Page 250 - Štremfel, Urška, ed., 2016. Student (Under)achievement: Perspectives, Approaches, Challenges. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. Digital Library, Documenta 11.
P. 250
In the EU, the educational structure is gradually improving (Eurostat, 2011).
However, more than in the structure itself, this paper is interested in who par-
ticipates in (adult) education after completion of initial education. In 2009,
3.9% of adults, with uncompleted or completed lower secondary education,
participated in education in 27 EU Member States, 8.1% of adults with complet-
ed upper secondary education or completed post-secondary non-tertiary ed-
ucation and 16.9% of adults with tertiary education (ibid.). These data clearly
show that the extent of individuals’participation in education as adults strong-
ly depends on their attained level of education. Data about participation in for-
mal education alone show that from the first educational groups listed above,
1.0% participated in 2009, 3.2% from the second group and 5.0% of adults from
the third group (ibid.). The percentage of participation in non-formal and in-
formal learning is somewhat higher, it is, however, likewise conditional on in-
dividuals’level of education attained. From the lowest educational level group,
3.1% participated in non-formal and informal learning in 27 EU Member States
in 2009, 5.4% from the second group and 13.2% from the third group (ibid.).
All of this influences individuals’ literacy skills and their integration in so-
250 ciety. Slovenia can be used as an example for investigating connections be-
tween these areas established by study findings.
A 1998 study on the participation of adults in education in Slovenia (Ivančič
and Mirčeva, 2001) will be used for this purpose. Authors of the study Adult Lit-
eracy and Adult Participation in Education conducted a data analysis and gen-
eralisation of results to formulate the most typical characteristics of individu-
als’ participation or non-participation in adult education, whereby the term
‘typicalness’ includes the group with the relatively highest proportion of an-
swers among the existing groups. It has been established ‘typical active6 in-
dividuals in education are male, aged between 25 and 39 with a minimum of
short-cycle post-secondary non-tertiary education, although the educational
activity is even more pronounced in individuals with higher education, mas-
ters or doctoral degrees. Persons active in education are individuals who are
employed or self-employed, are at senior or managerial positions and are also
willing to devote a considerable amount of their time or money to educational
activities. Better adequacy of writing skills7 is also associated with this, as is ad-
6 In this study, participation in education is defined as cooperation of the active working population
in one or several organised learning events lasting more than five hours per year in any field of ed-
ucation. Active participants in education are those individuals whose reply to the study question
was that they are participating in education, or have, during the course of the reference year. Adults
whose total amount of participating hours in education was fewer than six are not considered ac-
tive. Potentially active adults are individuals who replied that for the time being they were not par-
ticipating in education or that they have not participated in the last year, however, they would wish
to participate in education if they had the opportunity. Inactive adults are individuals who were not
participating in education at the time of being interviewed or in the last twelve months, and nei-
ther did they wish to participate in any educational programmes (Mirčeva and Radovan, 2006: 8, 9).
7 In many OECD countries, PIAAC - Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competences
is currently being conducted, however, its results are not yet available. For this reason, older results
student (under)achievement: perspectives, approaches, challenges
However, more than in the structure itself, this paper is interested in who par-
ticipates in (adult) education after completion of initial education. In 2009,
3.9% of adults, with uncompleted or completed lower secondary education,
participated in education in 27 EU Member States, 8.1% of adults with complet-
ed upper secondary education or completed post-secondary non-tertiary ed-
ucation and 16.9% of adults with tertiary education (ibid.). These data clearly
show that the extent of individuals’participation in education as adults strong-
ly depends on their attained level of education. Data about participation in for-
mal education alone show that from the first educational groups listed above,
1.0% participated in 2009, 3.2% from the second group and 5.0% of adults from
the third group (ibid.). The percentage of participation in non-formal and in-
formal learning is somewhat higher, it is, however, likewise conditional on in-
dividuals’level of education attained. From the lowest educational level group,
3.1% participated in non-formal and informal learning in 27 EU Member States
in 2009, 5.4% from the second group and 13.2% from the third group (ibid.).
All of this influences individuals’ literacy skills and their integration in so-
250 ciety. Slovenia can be used as an example for investigating connections be-
tween these areas established by study findings.
A 1998 study on the participation of adults in education in Slovenia (Ivančič
and Mirčeva, 2001) will be used for this purpose. Authors of the study Adult Lit-
eracy and Adult Participation in Education conducted a data analysis and gen-
eralisation of results to formulate the most typical characteristics of individu-
als’ participation or non-participation in adult education, whereby the term
‘typicalness’ includes the group with the relatively highest proportion of an-
swers among the existing groups. It has been established ‘typical active6 in-
dividuals in education are male, aged between 25 and 39 with a minimum of
short-cycle post-secondary non-tertiary education, although the educational
activity is even more pronounced in individuals with higher education, mas-
ters or doctoral degrees. Persons active in education are individuals who are
employed or self-employed, are at senior or managerial positions and are also
willing to devote a considerable amount of their time or money to educational
activities. Better adequacy of writing skills7 is also associated with this, as is ad-
6 In this study, participation in education is defined as cooperation of the active working population
in one or several organised learning events lasting more than five hours per year in any field of ed-
ucation. Active participants in education are those individuals whose reply to the study question
was that they are participating in education, or have, during the course of the reference year. Adults
whose total amount of participating hours in education was fewer than six are not considered ac-
tive. Potentially active adults are individuals who replied that for the time being they were not par-
ticipating in education or that they have not participated in the last year, however, they would wish
to participate in education if they had the opportunity. Inactive adults are individuals who were not
participating in education at the time of being interviewed or in the last twelve months, and nei-
ther did they wish to participate in any educational programmes (Mirčeva and Radovan, 2006: 8, 9).
7 In many OECD countries, PIAAC - Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competences
is currently being conducted, however, its results are not yet available. For this reason, older results
student (under)achievement: perspectives, approaches, challenges
