The Professionalisation of adult educators in the Baltic States

ENThe Baltic States have been members of the European Union since 2004, ensuring a more stable social, cultural, political and economic environment thanks to a good infrastructure, geographical location and a skilled, adaptable workforce. In the last 15 years, Estonia (population 1.34 m), Latvia (population 2.29 m) and Lithuania (population 3.4 m) have experienced significant political, ideological, economic, cultural and social changes. Major shifts have taken place in the education systems and adult education over the last decade. This has had a great impact on adult learning and education. Educational opportunities have expanded; furthermore, the rise in the educational level of citizens and the expansion in learning opportunities can be seen against a background of openness (Estonian Human Development Report, 2006; Märja & Jõgi, 2000; Totoraitis et al., 2008; Silina, 2008). In analysing the social and educational changes in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania during the last 15 years as an example of the transformation processes in the post-Soviet countries of Europe, we assume that these processes cannot be understood as the sum of ‘positive changes’ inspired and evaluated by the West. Changes cannot be planned from above or from outside: they result from the interplay between various factors in the political, cultural and economic fields. Societal and individual levels of change in the Baltic States are integrated into a systemic whole through common cultural characteristics, partly rooted in national culture, but also through the broader European cultural environment and global processes (Lauristin, Vihalemm, Rosengren & Weibull, 1997, p. 25). As in most EU Member States, the population in the Baltic States is both decreasing and ageing, and in the near future this will lead to problems that are related to a reduction in the labour supply (Action Plan, 2007).In a situation in which structural labour market problems exist, the availability and use of lifelong learning and adult education, including both continuing education and retraining, are essential. When analysing changes in the Baltic States, one can conclude that the restoration of political independence in 1991 and the creation of a new economic environment, together with political and social reforms (1991–2008), have led to a decline in employability and an increase in regional differences and educational stratification. It is a combination of economic, political, technological and sociocultural developments that is affecting adult education practices (Jõgi, 2004). These have been regarded as ‘late modernity’ (Beck, 1992, 1999; Giddens, 1991). In a late modern society, individuals face the demand for continuous learning and become more dependent on educational systems and institutions. On the other hand, the educational system itself relies increasingly on individual responsibility, non-formal learning possibilities and adult self-directedness. Research suggests that the development of adult education, the profession of adult educators and their status in society are part of broader social changes (Daley, 2001; Jarvis, 2007; Märja & Jõgi, 2000; Illeris, 2006; Karm, 2007).However, in the Baltic States, little data and few studies are available to depict the state and status of the adult educator profession and the process of professionalisation and its development at the national or European level. In this perspective, the professional development and professionalisation of adult educators have become an essential part of adult education policy and practice, prompting us to ask the following questions in a research context: How have transformational changes in the Baltic States during the past decade influenced adult education policy, adult education practice, and the profession and the professionalisation of adult educators? How do adult education policies, initial education and training practices affect the processes of professional development of adult educators? What does the process of professionalisation of adult educators consist of?. [Extract, p. 221-222]