what is the importance of adult education

The right to lifelong learning: Why adult education matters

There are 771 million illiterate adults globally today, according to UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics . And many more do not have the adequate skills and knowledge needed to navigate through our increasingly digital 21 st century demands. How is this still possible in this day and age?

While participation in adult education is improving in some places, access to learning opportunities remains profoundly unequal, and millions continue to be left out.  

From the pandemic to the climate crisis, to the digital revolution and mass movements of populations around the world, we know that today, more than ever, it is critical to ensure access to quality education and learning opportunities throughout life for everyone, everywhere.

Here’s what you need to know about adult education and learning.

Why is adult education crucial?

The speed of today’s changes calls for opportunities to learn throughout life, for individual fulfilment, social cohesion, and economic prosperity. Education can no longer be limited to a single period of one’s lifetime. Everyone, starting with the most marginalized and disadvantaged in our societies, must be entitled to learning opportunities throughout life both for employment and personal agency. 

In order to face our interconnected global challenges, we must ensure the right to lifelong learning by providing all learners - of all ages in all contexts - the knowledge and skills they need to realize their full potential and live with dignity.

This call was highlighted in UNESCO’s flagship Futures of Education report ‘ Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education ’ published in November 2021. The right to lifelong learning will also be echoed at the Transforming Education Summit in September 2022, building upon the UN Secretary-General’s call for formal recognition of a universal entitlement to lifelong learning and reskilling in his report “Our Common Agenda”.

What is the situation of adult learning and education today?

The main challenge for adult learning and education across the globe is to reach those who need it most. That is the core message of UNESCO’s latest Fifth Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE).

The report shows that while there is progress, notably in the participation of women, those who need adult education the most – disadvantaged and vulnerable groups such as Indigenous learners, rural populations, migrants, older citizens, people with disabilities or prisoners – are deprived of access to learning opportunities.

About 60% of countries reported no improvement in participation by people with disabilities, migrants or prisoners. 24% of countries reported that the participation of rural populations declined. And participation of older adults also decreased in 24% of the 159 surveyed countries.

How can we guarantee the right to lifelong learning?

The GRALE report details the crucial steps needed to guarantee the right to lifelong learning.

Greater participation and inclusion are key : Vulnerable groups, such as migrants, indigenous learners, older citizens and people with disabilities, are too often excluded from adult education and learning.

More financing is needed : Investment in adult learning and education is currently insufficient. Countries must live up to their commitment to seek investment of at least 6% of GNP in education, increasing the allocation to adult learning and education. There is wide diversity in terms of public funding devoted to adult learning and education, with only 22 out of 146 countries spending 4% or more of their public expenditure for education on adult learning and education, and 28 spending less than 0.4%.

Stronger policies are essential : Effective policies are key for adult learning and education across the globe. 60% of countries have improved policies since 2018. But we need further efforts to transition education systems to lifelong learning systems.

Progress in governance : Partnerships and cooperation between ministries, the private sector and civil society are essential for adult learning and education to thrive. Almost three-quarters of countries reported progress in governance, particularly in low-income and upper middle-income countries, and in both sub-Saharan Africa and Asia and the Pacific.

Improved quality : Effective teacher training and the professional standards for adult educators are essential to the quality of earning. Most countries reported progress in relation to quality of curricula, assessment and the professionalization of adult educators. Over two-thirds reported progress in pre-service and in-service training for educators, as well as in employment conditions, though this progress varies considerably by region and income group.

The importance of citizenship education : Responding to contemporary challenges, such as climate change and digitalization, demands citizens who are informed, trained and engaged, active, who recognize both their shared humanity and their obligations to other species and to the planet. Citizenship education is a key tool in this endeavour to empower learners to take action and help transform our collective future.

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on adult learning?       

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries reported rapid transitions to online, digital and distance learning or modifications of in-person learning arrangements. The widespread adoption of digital technology, including televisions, radios and telephones, has supported educational continuity for millions during lockdowns.

There are many examples of countries responding innovatively to the crisis to ensure the continuation of adult learning by adopting new policies and regulations to support this process, or by adjusting existing quality standards and curricula.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic has also caused some regions and population groups, particularly in parts of the world where resources and infrastructure are scarce, to lag even further behind.

How does UNESCO support adult education and learning?

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning strengthens the capacities of Member States to build effective and inclusive lifelong learning policies and systems, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 4. It aims to develop learning ecosystems that work across life, in every setting and benefit everyone through building capacity at local and national levels, strengthening partnerships, and offering data and knowledge.

To advance the world’s commitment to the right to lifelong learning, UNESCO is convening the Seventh International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII) in Marrakech, Morocco from 15 to 17 June 2022. Participants from across the globe will come together to take stock of achievements in adult learning and education, discuss challenges, and develop a new framework for action to make adult learning and education a reality around the world. CONFINTEA VII is hosted by and co-organized with the Kingdom of Morocco.

• More about CONFINTEA VII
• Access the GRALE Report
• More about the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning

Related items

• Lifelong education
• Right to education

More on this subject

Other recent news

Institute for Lifelong Learning

• Marrakech Framework for Action
• Adult education matters!
• About CONFINTEA
• Recordings and presentations
• Practical information

Adult education matters

The COVID-19 pandemic showed the importance of adult education. Only if everybody – young and old – is able to learn can we solve global challenges such as COVID-19 together. Only if all of us have the chance to adapt to new developments and acquire the knowledge necessary to act jointly to solve global challenges will we be able to create fairer, more just and sustainable societies. A rapidly developing world does not allow for learning to finish with the end of compulsory or higher education. It requires lifelong learning for all.

As a core component of lifelong learning, adult learning and education (ALE) comprises all forms of education and learning, ensuring that adults participate not only in the world of work, but in society as a whole. It is an essential instrument in working towards the achievement of all SDGs and plays a significant role in tackling current and future skills challenges, as well as in supporting personal development and social cohesion.

We are far from providing learning opportunities to all. In one-third of countries worldwide fewer than

of adults aged 15 and above participate in education and learning programmes.

At the midway point of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 4, which specifically calls for learning opportunities for adults, it is clear that we must redouble our efforts!

Moving adult learning and education up on the policy agenda

As we anticipate further disruption caused by the effects of climate change, demographic shifts and the growing influence of digital technologies in every aspect of our lives, it is critical that adult learning and education as an integral part of lifelong learning moves further up the policy agenda. The seventh International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII) provided the perfect ground for this endeavour.

Since adopting the Belém Framework for Action (BFA) at CONFINTEA VI in 2009 and following the adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda in 2015, Member States have shown increasing interest in tracking ALE, as reflected in the growing number of countries responding to the Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE) survey. The global community of ALE, brought together through the cycles of CONFINTEA roughly every 12 years, has increased steadily in diversity while enabling a more concerted approach in promoting more equitable and inclusive education outside formal settings. According to GRALE, the key recommendations of the BFA’s and the 2015 UNESCO Recommendation on Adult Learning and Education (RALE) are well-reflected in Member States’ national legislation and education policies, with 81 per cent of 159 countries reporting that the BFA and RALE are translated into national laws. 

Using RALE and BFA as a reference, UIL has been providing targeted technical assistance to countries in the development and national implementation of ALE strategies. See below to learn more about how different countries implemented their ALE strategies.

A UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning CONFINTEA fellowship programme success story – Susan Berdie. 

A UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning CONFINTEA fellowship programme success story – Nadia Salama Hashem Hassan. 

A UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning CONFINTEA fellowship programme success story – Yoseph Abera. 

A UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning CONFINTEA fellowship programme success story – Hassène Slimani.

A UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning CONFINTEA fellowship programme success story – Gertrude Niles. 

A UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning CONFINTEA fellowship programme success story – Yohan Rubiyantoro. 

A UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning CONFINTEA fellowship programme success story – Mary Malunde Watugulu. 

A UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning CONFINTEA fellowship programme success story – Imelda Kyaringabira Engabi. 

A UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning CONFINTEA fellowship programme success story – Lien Anh Tongi. 

Related items

• Future of education

Seventh International Conference on Adult Education Follow us

• Games & Quizzes
• History & Society
• Science & Tech
• Biographies
• Animals & Nature
• Geography & Travel
• Arts & Culture
• On This Day
• One Good Fact
• New Articles
• Lifestyles & Social Issues
• Philosophy & Religion
• Politics, Law & Government
• World History
• Health & Medicine
• Browse Biographies
• Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates
• Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates
• Environment
• Fossils & Geologic Time
• Entertainment & Pop Culture
• Sports & Recreation
• Visual Arts
• Demystified
• Image Galleries
• Infographics
• Top Questions
• Britannica Kids
• Saving Earth
• Space Next 50
• Student Center
• Introduction

Types of adult education

Adult-education agencies and institutions.

adult education

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

• Indianetzone - Adult Education
• adult education - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
• Table Of Contents

Trusted Britannica articles, summarized using artificial intelligence, to provide a quicker and simpler reading experience. This is a beta feature. Please verify important information in our full article.

This summary was created from our Britannica article using AI. Please verify important information in our full article.

adult education , any form of learning undertaken by or provided for mature men and women. In a 1970 report, the National Institute of Adult Education (England and Wales) defined adult education as “any kind of education for people who are old enough to work, vote, fight and marry and who have completed the cycle of continuous education, [if any] commenced in childhood.” Adult education comprehends such diverse modes as independent study consciously pursued with or without the aid of libraries; broadcast programs or correspondence courses; group discussion and other “mutual aid” learning in study circles, colloquia, seminars or workshops, and residential conferences or meetings; and full- or part-time study in classes or courses in which the lecturer, teacher, or tutor has a formal leading role.

(Read Arne Duncan’s Britannica essay on “Education: The Great Equalizer.”)

Types of adult education can be classified as follows:

1. Education for vocational , technical, and professional competence. (Such education may aim at preparing an adult for a first job or for a new job, or it may aim at keeping him up to date on new developments in his occupation or profession.)

2. Education for health, welfare , and family living. (Such education includes all kinds of education in health, family relations, consumer buying, planned parenthood, hygiene, child care, and the like.)

3. Education for civic, political, and community competence. (Such education includes all kinds of education relating to government, community development, public and international affairs, voting and political participation, and so forth.)

4. Education for “self-fulfillment.” (Such education embraces all kinds of liberal education programs: education in music, the arts, dance, theatre, literature, arts and crafts, whether brief or long-term. These programs aim primarily at learning for the sake of learning rather than at achieving the aims included in the other categories.)

5. Remedial education: fundamental and literacy education. (Such education is obviously a prerequisite for all other kinds of adult education and thus, as a category, stands somewhat apart from the other types of adult education.)

In reference to the fifth category, adults frequently need to compensate for inadequacies of earlier education. If these inadequacies are not remedied, they inhibit recourse to modes of education that are “adult”—adult, that is, in terms of sophistication in modern society and not in terms of age. Such remedial education is required most extensively in societies changing rapidly from a subsistence to an industrial economy and concurrently changing politically and socially. Mass literacy acquires a new importance in these nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America , and the establishment of universal primary education becomes a social imperative . To prevent a “generation gap” in reading skills and education while an effective school system is being created for the young, governments must attempt to provide parallel facilities for adults. Even in countries with mature systems of childhood education, however, opportunities for higher or even sometimes secondary education are unequal among various regional, occupational, and social groups. Hence there are adult programs for completing high school or preparing for examinations normally taken at the end of secondary school.

Any classification of agencies and institutions involved in adult education must necessarily be arbitrary, given the great variety found not only among nations but within single nations. The following are the general types.

The folk high schools , first established in Denmark and now found in all Scandinavian countries, are residential schools in which young adults who have completed formal schooling and usually have had some subsequent work experience pursue at least several months of study. The study aims at furthering both moral and intellectual development and instilling an understanding of local and national traditions and conditions. Although at first they were independent or separate institutions, they are now frequently promoted or supported by communal boards of education. Although rarely exported with success in their pure form, the folk high schools have influenced the development of residential forms of adult education in countries as diverse as Canada, Kenya, India, and The Netherlands.

Nonresident adult-education centres, which are the most widely distributed specialized institutes for adult education, are represented by such organizations as “ workers’ academies” in Finland, “ people’s high schools” in Germany and Austria , “adult education centres” in Great Britain, and “ people’s universities” in The Netherlands , Italy , and Switzerland . The distinguishing characteristics of these institutions are that they are independent of the general education authorities, at least in terms of programming; that student attendance is voluntary and part-time; and that teachers and administrators are either volunteers or professionals offering mainly part-time services. Traditionally these schools do not prepare students for examinations or offer training in advanced vocational skills. Typically the curriculum includes instruction in practical and domestic crafts, fine arts, music and drama, familial and social problem solving, and modern languages, as well as instruction designed to reinforce primary and secondary education.

Agricultural extension services, though almost wholly an American development, are conducted on a scale great enough to rate separate mention. The extension service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducts agricultural, home economics, and even public affairs programs in every county in the United States . It has had special significance in developing “demonstration” as a method of adult education and in emphasizing the adoption of new farming practices.

The open university , a recent British institution, is significant for its new dimension and sharp break with previous degree programs for adults. In some educationally advanced countries—such as Australia, New Zealand , Canada , and the United States—adults have long had opportunities to pursue part-time education leading to university degrees, but these programs have usually been carbon copies of programs offered to regular undergraduates. The open university, in theory at least, aspires to a kind of universal higher education . It is intended to serve only mature or older adults studying part-time; it has no standardized entry requirements; and it attempts to combine various educational technologies and techniques—correspondence instruction, mass-communication media, personal counseling , and short-term residential courses.

Commercial enterprises have provided correspondence courses or class instruction (part- or full-time) for adults who are usually seeking some form of vocational qualification (but who may, however, be simply seeking “self-improvement,” as in speed-reading programs). Such schools may be licensed or supervised by state agencies (as in Sweden and The Netherlands), or they may be self-policing through associations offering accreditation. Some schools are nonprofit organizations.

Extension services include both public-school programs for adults and the university extensions mentioned earlier. The school programs are administered by the public-school systems, and they are popularly termed night schools because ordinarily they are housed in the same school buildings used in the daytime for school-age youth and also because some of the same teachers are often involved. (Much of the teaching , however, is also done by subject specialists not employed as schoolteachers.) Though often originating in efforts to remedy or supplement inadequate childhood education, many of these programs now cater to the same range of interests served by the “nonresident adult-education centres” cited previously. They often retain elements of vocational preparation at a less specialized level, generally for younger adults—for example, in commercial and trade skills.

The extension services offered by institutions of higher learning are of two broad types. The British tradition, influential in most Commonwealth countries and former colonial territories, has emphasized the provision of noncredit courses of “liberal” studies. The North American tradition, found in countries influenced by the United States and Canada, places a larger emphasis on credit programs duplicating courses offered to regular undergraduates; such programs are offered via television or correspondence or in separate urban colleges. Both traditions seem in the process of modification—the British in the direction of offering more credit-earning and vocation-related refresher courses, the North American toward a wider acceptance of the provision of general liberal studies for the public at large and for specialized vocational groups. It is everywhere apparent that universities are assuming more responsibility for the continuance and renewal of education for the highly educated.

In addition to the various schools or services listed above, there are countless organizations whose main purposes may not be adult education but that offer some kind of instruction or leisure-time activities for adults. They include such bodies as the Young Men’s Christian Association , the Young Women’s Christian Association , political parties and labour unions, women’s organizations, and temperance organizations. Other agencies for which adult education is a related rather than a primary function are libraries, museums, botanical gardens, and the like. Not only do these agencies provide the means of individual self-education but also they frequently promote group activities or put their accommodations and resources at the disposal of adult-education agencies. Finally there should be mentioned the advisory and instructional services offered by various social and welfare agencies in the fields of health, safety, marital guidance, family planning , and so forth.

ONLY CONNECT

A blog from the unesco institute for lifelong learning.

Learning, caring and engaging: Adult education and sustainable development

The UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development is an opportunity to create a culture of sustainable living. But it will only be successful if we find better ways to support and strengthen adult learning and education for sustainable development, argues Christiana Nikolitsa-Winter

The UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development takes place from 17 to 19 May 2021. While education at all levels has experienced unprecedented interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact on adult learning and education (ALE) has been little considered, certainly when compared to schools and universities. While the pandemic has highlighted the importance of ALE in coping with and emerging from the crisis, it has also deprived adults around the world of access to education, and presented providers with difficult challenges in maintaining their learning offers, with a particularly, and by now depressingly familiar, negative impact on the poorest and least-advantaged. It is important that we reflect on this and consider, in particular, the key role of ALE in sustainable development and how we can foster it. I would like to reflect briefly on the role of ALE in education for sustainable development (ESD) and in building bridges to a future that is safe, fair, inclusive and sustainable.  

Sustainable development begins with education. Agenda 21 , adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, recognized the critical role that education plays in the transition to sustainable development. Education is an essential tool in making individuals aware of the issue of sustainability and providing them with related skills, while encouraging them to take actions and find solutions to the local and global challenges we face. In addition, education for sustainable development and citizenship education are strongly linked. Yet, although the question of sustainability has risen to the top of policy agendas worldwide, policy action is limited, particularly in adult learning and education.

Adults are not explicitly mentioned in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Nonetheless, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 includes adults as one of the target groups of actions in education by speaking about lifelong learning and ‘all learners’.

ALE supports individuals to gain skills and attitudes needed to care for themselves, for each other, and for society, the environment and the planet. It empowers learners to engage actively in all three dimensions of sustainability: social, economic, environmental. It encourages us to reflect and find ‘solutions’ which lead to changes of attitudes and behaviours on issues such as justice, exclusion, peace, poverty, gender, equity, demographic changes, unemployment, environmental protection and climate change.

ALE plays a role in achieving not only SDG 4 – and especially SDG 4.3 to 4.7 –  but almost all SDGs, by promoting learning to live together, a major pillar of education for sustainable development as well as a major challenge. Moreover, ALE aims to develop responsible and caring citizens. SDG 4.7 on the acquisition of knowledge and skills for sustainable development brings together ESD and global citizenship education (GCED), as both have the same focus: to create just peaceful and sustainable societies. Therefore, citizenship education in ALE is a pillar of ESD.

Adult education includes formal and non-formal programmes that drive towards responsible citizenship and environmental sustainability. It enables the development of competences, to take better, more responsible actions to foster healthy ecosystems. It promotes more environment-friendly lifestyles and encourages communities to manage local and global environments in sustainable ways. It provides scientific evidence to raise awareness of the fact that we cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals without addressing the threats we face on our planet

The major challenges our societies are facing in the twenty-first century and for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda can only be effectively addressed with adults’ learning, caring and engaging, and with robust partnerships across the 2030 Agenda. Yet, poor access to adult learning and education remains one of the great social injustices of our time and there are significant skills gaps that urgently need to be addressed. Member States need to act rapidly and make citizens understand sustainable development issues and take responsible actions.

The UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development will strongly engage Member States to put in place regulatory frameworks to develop opportunities for living and acting in a culture of sustainability. But if we want to succeed, ALE must play a key role in these frameworks.

Christiana Nikolitsa-Winter is a Programme Specialist at UIL and part of the GRALE editorial team

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

the encyclopaedia of pedagogy and informal education

What is adult education?

What is adult education is adult education a practice or a program a methodology or an organization a ‘science’ or a system a process or a profession.

See also :  What is education? A definition and discussion

Is adult education a practice or a program? A methodology or an organization? A ‘science’ or a system? A process or a profession? Is adult education different from continuing education, vocational education, higher education? Does adult education have form and substance, or does it merely permeate through the environment like air? Is adult education, therefore, everywhere and yet nowhere in particular? Does adult education even exist? (McCullough 1980 quoted in Jarvis 1987a: 3)

Just how are we to approach adult education if it is everywhere and nowhere? As a starting point, Courtney (1989: 17-23) suggests that we can explore it from five basic and overlapping perspectives. Adult education as:

• the work of certain institutions and organizations . What we know as adult education has been shaped by the activities of key organizations. Adult education is, thus, simply what certain organizations such as the Workers Education Association or the YMCA do.
• a special kind of relationship. One way to approach this is to contrast adult education with the sort of learning that we engage in as part of everyday living. Adult education could be then seen as, for example, the process of managing the external conditions that facilitate the internal change in adults called learning (see Brookfield 1986: 46). In other words, it is a relationship that involves a conscious effort to learn something.
• a profession or scientific discipline . Here the focus has been on two attributes of professions: an emphasis on training or preparation, and the notion of a specialized body of knowledge underpinning training and preparation. According to this view ‘the way in which adults are encouraged to learn and aided in that learning is the single most significant ingredient of adult education as a profession’ (op cit: 20).
• stemming from a historical identification with spontaneous social movements . Adult education can be approached as a quality emerging through the developing activities of unionism, political parties and social movements such as the women’s movement and anti-colonial movements (see Lovett 1988).
• distinct from other kinds of education by its goals and functions . This is arguably the most common way of demarcating adult education from other forms of education. For example:

Adult education is concerned not with preparing people for life, but rather with helping people to live more successfully. Thus if there is to be an overarching function of the adult education enterprise, it is to assist adults to increase competence, or negotiate transitions, in their social roles (worker, parent, retiree etc.), to help them gain greater fulfilment in their personal lives, and to assist them in solving personal and community problems. (Darkenwald and Merriam 1982: 9)

Darkenwald and Merriam combine three elements. Adult education is work with adults, to promote learning for adulthood. Approached via an interest in goals, ‘adult’ education could involve work with children so that they may become adult. As Lindeman (1926: 4) put it: ‘This new venture is called adult education not because it is confined to adults but because adulthood, maturity, defines its limits’.

The meaning of ‘adult’

A further issue is the various meanings given to ‘adult’. We might approach the notion, for example,as a:

• biological state (post-puberty),
• legal state (aged 18 or over; aged 21 or over?),
• psychological state (their ‘self concept’ is that of an ‘adult’)
• form of behaviour (adulthood as being in touch with one’s capacities whatever the context)
• set of social roles (adulthood as the performance of certain roles e.g. working, raising children etc.).

Different societies and cultures will have contrasting understanding of what it is to be adult. ‘Adult’ can be set against ‘child’. In between adult and child (or more accurately, overlapping) there may be an idea of ‘youth’. At base adults are older than children and with this comes a set of expectations. They are not necessarily mature. ‘But they are supposed to be mature, and it is on this necessary supposition that their adulthood justifiably rests’ (Paterson 1979: 13).

A working definition

Most current texts seem to approach adult education via the adult status of students, and a concern with education (creating enlivening environments for learning). We could choose a starting definition from a range of writers. Rather than muck around I have taken one advanced by Sharan B. Merriam and Ralph G. Brockett (1997: 8). They define adult education as:

activities intentionally designed for the purpose of bringing about learning among those whose age, social roles, or self-perception define them as adults.

This definition has the virtue of side-stepping some of the issues around the meaning of ‘adult’ – but doesn’t fully engage with the nature of education. However, it is a start.

Further reading and references

Brookfield, S. D. (1986) Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learning. A comprehensive analysis of principles and effective practices , Milton Keynes: Open University Press.

Collins, M. (1991) Adult Education as Vocation. A critical role for the adult educator , London: Routledge.

Courtney, S. (1989) ‘Defining adult and continuing education’ in S. B. Merriam and P. M. Cunningham (eds.) Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Darkenwald, G. G. and Merriam, S. B. (1982) Adult Education. Foundations of practice , New York: Harper and Row.

Jarvis, P. (1987) Adult Learning in the Social Context , Beckenham: Croom Helm.

Jarvis, P. (1995) Adult and Continuing Education. Theory and practice , (2nd. edn.), London: Routledge. Lovett, T. (ed.) (1988) Radical Approaches to Adult Education: a reader , Beckenham: Croom Helm

Lindeman, E. C. (1926) The Meaning of Adult Education (1989 edn), Norman: University of Oklahoma.

McCullough, K. O. (1980) ‘Analyzing the evolving structure of adult education’ in J. Peters (ed.) Building an Effective Adult Education Enterprise , San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Merriam, S. B. and Brockett, R. G. (1996) The Profession and Practice of Adult Education , San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Paterson, R. W. K. (1979) Values, Education and the Adult. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Squires, G. (1993) ‘Education for adults’ in M. Thorpe, R. Edwards and A. Hanson (eds.) Culture and Processes of Adult Learning, London: Routledge.

Stephens, M. D. (1990) Adult Education , London: Cassell.

Acknowledgement : Photo by Antenna on Unsplash

• Toggle navigation
• Explore Themes
• Document Library
• Visualisation Gallery
• Methodology
• Data for Sustainable Development - UIS Blog
• Training and Workshops
• UNESCO website

Adult education

Education specifically targeting individuals who are regarded as adults by the society to which they belong to improve their technical or professional qualifications, further develop their abilities, enrich their knowledge with the purpose to complete a level of formal education, or to acquire knowledge, skills and competencies in a new field or to refresh or update their knowledge in a particular field. This also includes what may be referred to as ‘continuing education’, ‘recurrent education’ or ‘second chance education’.

Source definition

Four reasons you should consider adult education – even if you’re at the start of your career

Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor and Professor in Education, University of Warwick

Disclosure statement

Will Curtis works for University of Warwick

University of Warwick provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK.

View all partners

Adult education has often been associated with evening classes for older people, such as the wonderful non-formal educational opportunities provided by organisations like the University of the Third Age . Nevertheless, there is huge value in learning at all stages of life, including for those in their twenties and thirties – for work, self development, health, happiness and participation in wider community life.

Colleges and universities provide opportunities that include short courses, evening classes, fully online distance-programmes and work-based learning. Adults can study for pleasure, to gain a professional development certificate, or to complete a full undergraduate or postgraduate degree, or even a PhD.

Research has demonstrated the positive impact of lifelong learning. Its transformative effects include developing critical and reflective skills, fostering a better understanding of our place in the world and our relationship to others, and developing a more secure and fulfilled sense of wellbeing.

This article is part of Quarter Life , a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.

More articles:

Why it makes good business sense for your employer to look after your mental health

Student loans: would a graduate tax be a better option?

Your forgotten digital footprints could step on your job prospects – here’s how to clean up

Despite these benefits, the collapse in further education funding and the introduction of higher university tuition fees has made adult education a noteworthy casualty of austerity. There has been a dramatic decline in the number of adults studying in colleges and universities. Part-time mature student participation decreased by 57% between 2010-11 and 2019-20 .

However, there has been a policy shift in the last few years. The UK government recently launched a consultation into the provision of a lifelong loan entitlement , which would provide funding for education to be used over the course of a lifetime.

The expansion of online learning also means there are now considerably more opportunities to get back into study as an adult, especially for those looking to enhance their skills or change career trajectories.

Here are four reasons to think about studying something new – even if you’re at the beginning of your career.

1. The idea of a career has changed

Many of the jobs advertised today would not even have existed when today’s 30-year-olds were in school. While the idea of a “career for life” has not disappeared entirely, the rapid pace and scale of change means that we are more and more likely to move around considerably during our working lifetime. We will take more career breaks, seek more promotional opportunities, or jump ship and start entirely afresh – often on a number of occasions across our working lives.

While we used to think of careers in terms of stability, predictability and incremental progression, we now understand that they can be fractured, complex, messy and unpredictable.

Lifelong learning provides a wide variety of in-work and out-of-work opportunities for people to develop their skills or learn new ones. It provides varied opportunities for adults who didn’t gain qualifications at school to re-enter formal education and qualify for graduate level employment.

2. There are financial incentives

The government’s plan to introduce a lifelong loan entitlement is just one way that future learners may be able to fund their study. Other options are already available, such as degree apprenticeships, which allow learners to study while employed.

These relatively new courses with a salary, no course fees to pay and blocks of learning related to employment are proving understandably popular – especially in digital technologies, leadership, social work and engineering.

3. Learning has become much more flexible

The last few years have seen an increased emphasis on flexibility, enabling adult learners to fit study around their work and family commitments. The 2019 Augar Review into post-18 education in England encouraged colleges and universities to develop provision that enables learners to “step on” and “step off” their learning journeys – to study when and where it suits.

The pandemic has driven a rapid increase in the quality and quantity of wholly online courses. There is now a vast array of opportunities to study from home, either through a traditional university or via a specialist online organisation like FutureLearn or Coursera .

Another avenue is to opt for microcredentials , which allow learners to complete short, specific, work-based courses online or in person – without the commitment of enrolling on a full three-year programme. Moreover, the credits achieved can normally count towards a degree for those that want to carry on studying.

4. It’s good for your wellbeing

Adult learners bring life experiences and established perspectives with them when they start a course. Active, participatory and discursive learning environments enable them to draw on these experiences, contextualise and interrogate them, and learn from one another.

Educational research has shown us that such “ transformational learning ” results in happier, healthier individuals, who have stronger social networks and enhanced family life . These positive individual outcomes ripple throughout their families and friendship groups, and across wider communities and society .

• Higher education
• Further education
• Lifelong learning
• Adult education
• Quarter Life

PhD Scholarship

Clinical Psychologist Counsellor

Centre Director, Transformative Media Technologies

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

Social Media Producer

Advertisement

Leave no one behind: The contribution of adult learning and education

• Introduction
• Published: 20 August 2019
• Volume 65 , pages 509–514, ( 2019 )

Cite this article

• Paul Stanistreet 1  

2383 Accesses

3 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

This is an important moment for adult learning and education. At the start of July 2019, UNESCO published a report indicating that the world is significantly off-track in achieving the global development goal on education. Footnote 1 Its projections show that without a significant renewal of commitment over the coming decade, the countries of the world will fail to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4, which enjoins Member States to “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. On current trends, one in six children will still be excluded from school by 2030, while 30 per cent of adults and 20 per cent of young people in low-income countries are projected still to be unable to read.

This makes for depressing reading. The interconnected nature of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Footnote 2 means that our failure to make progress against the goal on education and lifelong learning has a serious knock-on effect for the goals on, for example, gender equality, climate change, poverty and health, and indeed for the prospects of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a whole. The good news is that there is still time to get the world back on track. Less positively, the signs are that participation in education, and in adult education in particular, remains patchy at best, and that opportunity to learn continues to coalesce around the most advantaged and those who have already benefitted the most from education (the so-called “Matthew effect” discussed in our opening article by Silke Schreiber-Barsch and Werner Mauch). The international community’s commitment to “leave no one behind” in pursuit of sustainable development is looking increasingly difficult to realise.

Adult learning and education (ALE) has a rich – and exceptionally well-evidenced – potential contribution to make to supporting the achievement not only of SDG 4, but also of many of the other 16 Sustainable Development Goals. As the third Global Report on Adult Learning and Education demonstrated, adult education has a positive impact on health and well-being, employment and the labour market, and on social, civic and community life. Footnote 3 It leads to improved health behaviours and attitudes, higher life expectancy and a reduction in lifestyle diseases, with a commensurate reduction in healthcare costs. It also has benefits for individuals in the labour market, for employers and for the economy more generally. Last but not least, it increases social cohesion, integration and inclusion, boosts social capital and improves participation in social, civic and community activities (ibid.).

The Sustainable Development Goals and the array of economic, social and environmental challenges we face globally are the starting point for Silke Schreiber - Barsch and Werner Mauch ’s analysis of the potential role of ALE in responding to these challenges. In their article entitled “Adult learning and education as a response to global challenges: Fostering agents of social transformation”, they recognise that ALE constitutes a “valuable and visionary” response to these challenges. However, they argue for an understanding of this as a “two-way” process, according to which

responding implies a necessary adaptation to the requirements of today’s globalised societies as well as a critical reflection on these requirements and on fostering the potential of ALE to open up alternative pathways and frameworks beyond standard or dominant agendas, discourses or practices.

This is an important acknowledgement, which points also to a tension at the heart of adult education. As the authors note, adult education has always “oscillated between two poles: adaptation on the one hand and empowerment to social transformation on the other”. In the spirit of critical reflection, the article examines UNESCO’s guiding frameworks for social transformation and provides a critique of indicators, monitoring exercises and needs-assessment procedures. It also stresses adult education’s important link to social struggle and citizenship and its mandate in not only raising but also hearing voices as part of a partnership dialogue conducted on equal terms. This implies a recognition of ALE as an open-ended process, the outcomes of which are frequently uncertain and hard to predict.

The article goes on to explore the relationship between ALE and sustainability, arguing for an understanding of ALE as sustainability, corresponding to the emancipatory, participative and open-ended understanding of adult education (as opposed to the more instrumentalist approach of education for sustainability). The authors contend that ALE can be understood as a driver of change, with local communities acting as “suitable terrain to connect the global and the local”. While ALE cannot be the only solution to global challenges, it may “provide fertile ground from which change can grow, which in turn fertilises the soil of a viable world”. Resisting the top-down policy model, the authors make a case for their two-way model, based on “partnership dialogue on equal terms at all levels” and implying “the possibility of resistance to policy”: a “genuine dialogue”, in other words, with all the potential awkwardness and uncertainty that implies.

The participative understanding of adult education defended by Schreiber-Barsch and Mauch can be traced back to the human rights-based approach of ALE that emerged with the creation of UNESCO (though its roots can be traced back much further) and that has resurfaced at intervals since – most recently in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its statement of the centrality of lifelong learning. Footnote 4 This is the perspective explored by Maren Elfert in her article “Lifelong learning in Sustainable Development Goal 4: What does it mean for UNESCO’s rights-based approach to adult learning and education?” She argues that while the inclusion of “lifelong learning” among the development priorities of the international community is significant and encouraging from the perspective of adult education advocacy, there is “cause for scepticism that ALE, in particular human rights-based ALE, will receive more attention under the SDGs” than it did before.

Elfert’s article surveys the emergence and development of the rights-based, citizenship-oriented approach to adult education often associated with UNESCO and, in particular, with two seminal reports, Learning to be (the so-called Faure Report) Footnote 5 and Learning: The Treasure Within (better known as the Delors Report). Footnote 6 These reports have exercised significant influence on the work and thinking of adult educators, but their impact on the direction of education policy, whether at national or international level, has been, by comparison, negligible. While “lifelong learning” and “adult education” have enjoyed transitory star status among policymakers, with lifelong learning in particular now firmly part of global education discourse, these concepts are understood almost exclusively in terms of narrowly defined economistic outcomes (enhanced employability, skills development, economic growth, and so on) and individualistic benefits (better jobs, career development, increased income, etc.). The radical potential of the Faure and Delors reports, with their promise to transform wider society, as well as the economy, has not been translated into policy, while UNESCO’s focus, up until 2015 and the launch of the SDGs, drifted away from ALE and lifelong learning.

But what does the relative prominence given to lifelong learning in the SDGs mean for adult education? Elfert argues that we are unlikely to see much change. The overwhelming focus on schools and higher education in SDG 4 and the global Education 2030 Agenda, reflected in major international policy statements and initiatives, coupled with the under-funding of adult education and neglect of marginalised groups, suggest that ALE will remain a low priority, both internationally and at country level. Informal and non-formal learning, she writes, “are associated with social movements, grassroots community-organising and collective activity that have been largely dismissed in favour of an approach in which learning is constructed as an individual and personal issue”. Without a “transformative vision”, Elfert concludes, the referencing of human rights in the SDGs is “little more than a token to make it more acceptable to civil society”. Perhaps the lack of progress against SDG 4 will prompt a reappraisal. As Elfert writes, in broad agreement with Schreiber-Barsch and Mauch, a human rights-based approach to adult education has much to contribute to “transforming our world” and addressing global challenges such as climate change. It remains to be seen whether nation states and the international community are able to deliver the step change required to give substance to their commitments on ALE and lifelong learning.

Addressing challenges such as climate change and sustainability means, among other things, taking non-Eurocentric approaches to education and learning seriously. This has been something of a blind spot in thinking about education, both in the Global North and within the international community, dominated, as it still is, by Western European perspectives generally inimical to different paradigms for education that are culturally grounded and have developed in a way sympathetic to the needs of their respective societies. One such paradigm, explored by Ly Thi Tran and Tony Wall , is ubuntu . In their article, “ Ubuntu in adult vocational education: Theoretical discussion and implications for teaching international students”, Tran and Wall introduce the educational philosophy of ubuntu , which they describe as “an African worldview prioritising ‘humanness’ and interconnectedness”. They use this approach as a “conceptual lens” through which to analyse pedagogical practices in teaching international students. Previous studies suggest that international students often feel forced to adapt to Eurocentric expectations of teaching and learning. Responding to other scholars’ calls for education to be reconceptualised using alternative paradigms, the authors consider the teaching and learning of international students in the context of vocational education, arguing that ubuntu can challenge conventional pedagogical practices in the field.

Drawing on research conducted in Australia that examined teachers’ adaptation of pedagogical practices in accommodating international students in the vocational education sector, Tran and Wall highlight three main ways in which the ubuntu approach can improve the practice of teaching international students – humanness, interconnectedness and situatedness – while challenging conventional ways of viewing international students as the “other” in “our” education system. Embracing ubuntu “with its humanistic ethos and emphasis on interconnectedness” allows international education to move beyond current practice, they argue, bringing to the fore pedagogies that take into account the human needs of students and which create a “sense of interconnectedness among all members of the learning and social community”. As the authors hint, this study could have wider applicability to different forms of adult education and learning, and it is certainly to be hoped that it prompts further research into the possibilities and challenges of adopting ubuntu -inspired educational approaches across different education sectors.

One of the challenges of lifelong learning planning and policymaking is to support learning among adults and young people in rural communities. “New Professional Farmers’ Training (NPFT): A multivariate analysis of farmers’ participation in lifelong learning in Shaanxi, China”, by Dan Zhao , Yuchun Chen , Bruno Parolin and Xiao Fan , focuses on the participation of farmers in professional training in China. The authors show how urbanisation has prompted rural–urban migration with a resultant loss of agricultural land, a shortage of rural labour and a lowering of agricultural productivity – all factors hindering the development of modern agriculture in the country. As a result, there is increasing pressure on the education sector to produce modern professional farmers who understand and are able to implement the latest techniques in agricultural management. This important study considers farmers’ willingness to participate in “new professional farmers’ training”, exploring individual characteristics, economic capital, educational opportunity and technological perception. It concludes that age, size of farm, total annual household income and training experience are all relevant factors, arguing that the training programme could be improved through greater attention to the needs of agricultural workers, increasing capital investment, establishing a diversified investment system and mobilising the enthusiasm of rural labourers. These findings will, I suspect, chime with the experience of adult educators that promoting participation in learning is about much more than simply creating an opportunity: adult learners need also to feel engaged in their subject, to see its relevance to their changing needs and to have some degree of agency and ownership over how and what they study.

One of the characteristics of distance education, as explored by Dimitrios Vlachopoulos and Agoritsa Makri in their article “Online communication in distance higher education: A framework of good practice”, is the exceptional degree of autonomy and flexibility afforded to learners. However, a lack of tutor presence and peer support can mean that distance education is also an isolating and lonely experience, which can have a negative impact on course attainment and retention. Vlachopoulos and Makri reflect on how online communication and interaction can mitigate these factors in distance higher education, exploring good practice in the field and highlighting strategies for the improvement of online learning environments. It is important that such strategies are understood and factored into the design of distance learning courses if online learning is to achieve its much-touted potential and distance education students are to get the most out of the educational opportunities presented by new and emerging technologies. The authors argue that improving interaction between student and tutor, among students and between students and their course content could have a significant positive impact on distance learning course outcomes.

The final article in this issue considers a related issue: the importance of self-directed learning and how it can best be fostered among students. In “Self-directed learning: A fundamental competence in a rapidly changing world”, Thomas Howard Morris describes self-directed learning as fundamental “for working and living in our modern world”, particularly given the context of rapidly changing digital technology. His article reviews the historical foundations of self-directed learning, considers who may benefit, explores the factors that influence the likelihood of self-directed learning, and examines existing research on the outcomes of self-directed learning. The studies Morris considers indicate the mixed quality of self-directed learning outcomes in formal education. Where learners do not progress satisfactorily, there is a danger that programmes may revert to more traditional teacher-directed models, he argues, thus obviating the anticipated benefits of learner empowerment and increased agency and adaptability. This is an important conclusion. Strengthening adults’ capacities to direct their own learning is – or should be – an important dimension of nation states’ efforts to create multiple learning spaces and develop more flexible pathways between formal and non-formal learning and between learning and work: both are critical undertakings in getting the world back on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4.

As Schreiber-Barsch and Mauch argue, adult education is about not only adaptation but also “empowerment to social transformation”. This view is in broad agreement with UNESCO’s humanistic vision of lifelong learning, as described by Faure and Delors, but it is in sharp contrast to the prevailing instrumentalism of policy among Member States, which prioritises basic skills and employment outcomes at the expense of a rounder appreciation of human potential. This approach has been found wanting. The nature of modern work and life is such that it is no longer enough simply to prepare individuals for a job. We need instead to equip people for a life in which they will fulfil many different roles and undertake different kinds of work, developing their capacities accordingly, throughout and across their lives. We need good workers, but we also need good citizens, good parents, friends and lovers, and good leaders able to effect positive change in the lives of their families and communities. The challenges of the future, encapsulated in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, require citizens who are resilient, creative, adaptable and, perhaps above all, willing and able to learn.

Permit me to conclude on a personal note. It is a huge privilege to write my first introduction as Executive Editor of the International Review of Education – Journal of Lifelong Learning ( IRE ). I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation of the other members of the Editorial Team, Maya Kiesselbach and Roselyne Höner, who have been unfailingly helpful and supportive during my first three months as Editor. They have been for many years, and remain, the mainstay of this publication. I would also like to acknowledge the outstanding work of my predecessor, Stephen Roche. Stephen did a tremendous job as editor, strengthening IRE ’s reputation over the past seven years and successfully overseeing its shift in focus to lifelong learning. He has been generous in his support and advice during this transitional period and has demonstrated great professionalism in helping to ensure the journal continues to maintain the excellent progress made under his stewardship. I am grateful to him.

UNESCO (2019). Meeting commitments: Are countries on track to achieve SDG   4? Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 5 August 2019 from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000369009?posInSet=1&queryId=06c83816-e565-4784-ba6d-4166b0d9a101 .

UN (2015). Sustainable Development Goals knowledge platform [online resource]. Retrieved 5 August 2019 from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/ .

UIL (UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning) (2016). The impact of adult learning and education on health and well-being; employment and the labour market; and social, civic and community life . Third Global Report on Adult Learning and Education. Hamburg: UIL.

UN (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A/RES/70/1. NewYork: United Nations. Retrieved 5 August 2019 from https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/generalassembly/docs/globalcompact/A_RES_70_1_E.pdf .

Faure, E., Herrera, F., Kaddoura, A.R., Lopes, H., Petrovsky, A.V., Rahnema, M. & Ward, F.C. (1972). Learning to be: The world of education today and tomorrow. Paris: UNESCO/Harrap. Retrieved 5 August 2019 from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000001801 .

Delors, J., et al. (1996). Learning: The treasure within. Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century. Paris: UNESCO.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, Hamburg, Germany

Paul Stanistreet

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul Stanistreet .

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Stanistreet, P. Leave no one behind: The contribution of adult learning and education. Int Rev Educ 65 , 509–514 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-019-09798-x

Download citation

Published : 20 August 2019

Issue Date : 15 August 2019

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-019-09798-x

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

About Equal

• Meet our team
• Quality assurance

News at Equal

• Teaching & Learning Support
• edtech & eLearning recruitment
• Current Education Job Vacancies
• Hire with Equal
• Seren HE access programme
• MISTI Global Teaching Labs in Wales
• MIT Science & Engineering Programme for Teachers
• Innovations in Education Today
• Multiply Adult Numeracy Programme
• Tutoring by Equal Education Partners
• Professional Learning & Mentoring

Marketing Services

• Educators Wales digital platform
• Careers at Equal Education Partners
• Guidance & Resources
• Contact Equal Education Partners

Meet Our Team

Quality Assurance

Teaching & Learning Support

eLearning Design & Edtech

Join Equal Education Partners

Hire with equal education partners.

Seren - Wales' Flagship Higher Education Access Programme

MIT Global Teaching Labs (GTL) in Wales initiative

Mit science & engineering program for teachers (sept).

Innovations in Education Today Programme

Multiply numeracy skills programme.

Professional Learning

Get in Touch with our Tutoring Team

Educators wales digital platform, get in touch with our marketing team, careers @ equal education partners.

Guidance & Resources for Educators

Get in Touch with our Recruitment Team

What are the benefits of adult education a comprehensive guide.

For many, the idea of returning to education as an adult might seem unappealing, conjuring memories of stressful school days and tedious assignments. However, adult education offers a plethora of benefits that extend far beyond the traditional classroom setting.

In this guide, we explore the wide-ranging advantages of adult education, from boosting mood and overall health to fostering community connections and achieving a sense of accomplishment.

What is adult education?

In essence, adult education encompasses any type of educational course undertaken by individuals who have completed their initial cycle of continuous education. It is an educational pathway chosen by those who have concluded their compulsory school education and later decide to re-enter the educational system in some way, whether formally or informally.

Within certain workplaces it can be referred to by other terms such as continuous professional development and specific to the profession or job or it can be done by the learner themselves through FE colleges, universities or adult community education providers.

The motivations for seeking adult education are diverse and may include the desire to enhance everyday skills like English, Maths , or ICT, or the aspiration for career growth or change. The beauty of adult education lies in its adaptability to cater to any of goal of the learner. Whether you are aiming to improve foundational skills or embarking on a completely new career trajectory, there are no barriers hindering your success. The flexibility offered by modern adult learning courses makes virtually anything possible on your educational journey.

Adult learning is a unique experience, putting you in charge of what, when, and how you learn. With courses adapted to suit individual needs, the beauty of adult education lies in its flexibility.

Below we’ll delve into specific benefits that you can gain from starting your own adult learning course.

Boosting Your Mood and Overall Health

The impact of adult learning on well-being is profound; research indicates that adults engaging in education make fewer visits to their GP, saving valuable healthcare resources and contributing to community wellbeing. Maths for Adults Wales , part of the government-funded Multiply initiative, offers free Maths courses to adults aged 19 and over, building confidence with numbers and provides a proactive approach to personal growth. Working towards a learning goal such as this brings a sense of purpose, contributing to overall happiness.

Education is not solely about acquiring facts and figures; it’s a lifelong journey that positively impacts mental health. The ability to choose what, when, and how to learn, coupled with the support of expert tutors, creates an environment tailored to individual needs. The mental benefits of adult learning are extensive, including improved memory, sharper reactions, and greater attention spans in old age.

Just as physical exercise is crucial for maintaining a healthy body, keeping the mind active through learning is essential. Studies show that continuous learning can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, emphasising the importance of mental stimulation.

Adult education is also a confidence booster, offering new courses and experiences that build self-assurance. Each completed module or course opens up opportunities, potentially leading to a new job or the realisation of personal passions.

Growing Your Community and Friendship Circle

Adult education is not merely a solitary pursuit of knowledge; it’s a vibrant avenue for building connections and expanding your social circle. Loneliness is a growing concern in society, affecting people of all ages. Adult education serves as a powerful antidote, not only providing opportunities to learn new skills but also fostering a sense of community.

Through technology, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your home to experience the benefits of community building. Online adult education courses provide a platform for individuals from any location to come together, share experiences, and learn collaboratively.

Learning alongside peers with similar interests not only expands your knowledge but also creates lasting connections offering a bridge, connecting individuals with shared interests and goals.

Learning Something New and Enjoying a Sense of Achievement

The decision to learn something new as an adult opens up myriad possibilities for personal growth. Embarking on a new educational adventure can be intimidating, but the sense of accomplishment at the end is unmatched. The benefits of learning extend beyond the acquisition of knowledge; they encompass the joy of mastering new techniques and skills, providing a constant source of pride.

It’s a journey of self-discovery, accomplishment, and continuous growth. The joy derived from mastering new skills contributes not only to personal fulfilment but also to an enriched and purposeful life. Embrace the opportunity to learn, relish the sense of achievement, and savour the transformative impact of adult education on your life’s narrative.

How Learning as an Adult Could Benefit Your Family

For parents, adult education opens avenues for personal fulfilment and professional growth. Unlocking new job opportunities with better work-life balance and flexibility, acquiring new skills can boost confidence both at home and in the workplace. Lifelong learning contributes to continual personal development, positively influencing family dynamics and setting an example for future generations.

Adult education courses can also create a positive attitude towards learning in younger generations. Parents and role models pursuing educational journeys instill the idea that learning is a constant part of life, shaping values and work ethics for the future.

Giving People a Second Chance

Adult education offers a lifeline to those who couldn’t finish their school or college education due to various reasons. It opens doors for re-entering education, ensuring that everyone, regardless of constraints, has access to learning opportunities.

Your personal and professional priorities may shift over time. What once seemed like an impractical dream or an unattainable goal might now have become a feasible pursuit later in life. Adult education recognises that your circumstances evolve, and it provides a platform for you to re-evaluate and re-engage with your educational aspirations.

At Equal, we are committed to offering flexible learning as a central part of our Maths for Adults Wales courses . Our courses are designed to accommodate the diverse needs of adult learners, ensuring that education aligns as best as possible with daily lives. Everyone is given an equal opportunity to pursue numeracy education to help re-shape their future.

We Are Living Longer

With people living longer and remaining active well into their later years, the concept of adult education takes on new dimensions, offering not only personal enrichment but also addressing the evolving needs of an ageing population. Adult education becomes a valuable tool for individuals looking to remain active in employment, explore new career paths, and build a fulfilling life.

Engaging in continuous learning activities has also been linked to improved cognitive function. As people live longer, the focus on maintaining mental acuity becomes crucial. Adult education serves as a means to stimulate the mind, reduce the risk of cognitive decline, and contribute to overall mental well-being.

Adult Learning Is Good for The Economy

A highly educated and productive workforce is instrumental in economic success. Adult learning contributes to innovation and advanced skills, reducing unemployment rates and benefiting the economy.

Lifelong learners, exposed to evolving knowledge and skills, are better equipped to tackle contemporary challenges. This proactive approach to learning fosters a culture of problem-solving and adaptability, critical elements in an economy navigating rapid technological advancements and global shifts.

From a business point of view, many industries frequently grapple with skills gaps, hindering the performance of their companies. A lack of numeracy skills is an often cited issue for many businesses and by closing these gaps with programmes such as Maths for Adults Wales , we can help build a more efficient and competitive economic landscape. We are committed to work with businesses to provide tailored support for their staff to improve their work performance, get in touch with us today to discuss your specific needs.

Continuing Education with Maths for Adults Wales

Our involvement in the Maths for Adults Wales skills programme , part of the government-funded Multiply initiative, is a testament to the commitment we show to adult education.

Our network of expert tutors play a crucial role in supporting adults aged 19 and over without a Maths GCSE at grade C or equivalent, on the learning journey offering free Maths courses. Initiatives like the Maths for Adults Wales skills programme exemplify the commitment to making adult education accessible and impactful. Whether it’s building confidence, staying mentally active, or contributing to the economy, the benefits of adult education are immeasurable. Embrace the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive at any stage of life.

The Teacher’s Guide to Supporting LGBTQ+ Students in the Classroom

7 ways we all use maths everyday and how it affects our lives, maths anxiety: what is it and how to overcome it.

What Are the Benefits of Adult Learning and Education?

Last updated January 23, 2024

No matter what our age, learning and continuing to develop our skills and knowledge is something that, as adults, we should all seek to do for a number of reasons.

The benefits of adult learning and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) include better mental health and well-being. Let’s look in detail below at the key benefits.

Page Contents

1. Adult Learning Is Good for Mental Health and Happiness

A number of studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between adult learning and better mental health , both in academic studies and from research from the likes of the UK Office of National Statistics. The benefits of getting involved with learning as an adult, in fact, have shown to include:

• a greater sense of identity
• higher ability to cope with life and to have a greater sense of purpose
• a general greater sense of overall happiness

Whether you decide to start studying a language using online lessons , decide to do an evening class on web publishing , or join a regular weekend course on gardening skills , the benefits should not be underestimated.

Whatever you learn, it can give you a sense of purpose and sense of accomplishment .

2. Social Connections and Interpersonal Skills

The opportunity to socialize, meeting new people and friends who share the same interest, was stated as being one of the key benefits of adult learning, in a survey we recently did.

There are many ways to get out there and meet new and interesting people and studying a topic that you find fun and interesting is certainly an easy way to meet like-minded people .

Furthermore, whether studied in a classroom or online, the chance to interact and keep mentally active is an extremely positive benefit derived from adult learning and education.

It can be very easy, as we get older, to isolate ourselves more and more, particularly if we lack many family members. Continuing Professional Education (CPE) and Development (CPD) certainly provide a vehicle for avoiding isolation.

3. Improved Confidence and Self-Esteem

Depending, of course, on what topic you choose to study, there are numerous opportunities to develop more self-confidence, self-esteem, and self of worth, through adult classes and workshops.

Whether it is the qualification you gain that makes you feel more worthy, or the skills themselves, it means a chance to develop positively.

Certain skills, such as those that involve having to stand and talk in front of others, can be especially good for confidence. Presentation Skills and Public Speaking Skills are especially useful to consider if building confidence is your goal.

One of our favorite organizations for learning public speaking skills in an extremely friendly environment is Toastmasters .

They hold workshops worldwide and membership is very affordable. Whether you want to learn public speaking for:

• a best man’s speech
• giving a eulogy at a funeral
• presentations at work
• learning speaking skills for social events

then Toastmasters is great. They run weekly meetings in cities around the world on a regular basis.

4. Crime Reduction and Lifelong Education

A quite profound finding by the British Government (and detailed in their guide on lifelong learning ), points to one of the key benefits of adult learning as helping to reduce crime.

When the topic of adult learning comes up, the connection with crime reduction is often ignored and yet, education is known to help reduce crime.

This perhaps seems obvious given that, as the Prison Reform Trust in the UK state:

At its best,  prison education  can open up opportunities, enlighten people, broaden their horizons and build their self-confidence. It can increase their awareness of options, giving them a real choice of a life away from crime.  Education  can open up the legitimate means of achieving success. Prison Reform Trust UK

5. Employment and Life Opportunities

It would be wrong of us not to include one of the more obvious benefits here as we discuss the benefits of adult learning.

Continuing your professional development certainly can provide you with new skills and these, in turn, can create genuine employment and life opportunities for you.

6. An Active Mind Is a Healthier Mind

You may or may not have heard of the term ‘Cognitive Footprint’, a term that refers to our minds over our lifetime, or put another way, the lifetime of our own mind.

Some studies have suggested (although it cannot be determined with certainty) that learning is thought to ward off dementia .

Keeping the mind active and training the brain matter to keep it working is compared, by some scientists, to being like exercising your physical body by doing regular yoga .

Learning, in other words, is thought to slow down the deterioration of the mind.

Likewise- doing crosswords and word puzzles are thought to be good for giving our brain matter a workout of sorts.

In fact, adult learning sometimes can be something as simple as being sat with a dictionary and crossword puzzle.

Doing group classes though as a part of adult learning will give you additional benefits, such as the social interactions we discussed earlier.

7. Leading by Example and Inspiring Others

Perhaps not the first reason most of us get involved with adult learning and education, but nonetheless, a very valuable benefit of adult learning, is the chance to inspire others and to lead by example.

This benefit is often combined with others such as developing one’s own career opportunities and skills.

A recent example I personally came across of doing education to lead by example, was a neighbor who started night classes in engineering.

Simon had two very clear reasons in his mind for wanting to start the evening classes and these were to:

• Inspire his three young children
• See if he could follow his dream of being an engineer

As a taxi driver with dreams of working as an engineer, Simon would look at his children every day and wonder how he could honestly expect his children to follow their dreams when he knew that he, himself, was giving in to the fear of change and really not being what he dreamed of.

Four years ago, Simon completed his qualification in engineering and he has now moved from taxi driver to working as an engineer in Birmingham, England.

The last time I saw Simon he remarked that if we can do it (considering he left school with no real qualifications), anyone can and that his kids will now see that you have to follow your dreams.

Certainly, one of the key benefits of adult learning is the chance to inspire others!

• Recent Posts

• 15 Presentation Skills Activities for Adults - June 26, 2024
• 12 Decision-Making Activities for Employees - June 23, 2024
• 15 Awesome Trust Building Activities in the Workplace - June 22, 2024

>> View All Training Course Materials

Training Materials Catalogue & Prices

Payment Options

Bulk Discounts

What Is Included in Our Training Packages?

• +356 79294135
• Monday - Friday 8:00am - 6:00pm

Management & Leadership

Health & holistic wellbeing.

• Non-Academic Courses
• International Students
• Corporate Training

Calendar & Events

Quick links.

From a very young age, we are told that education is one of the most important things in our lives. As time goes by, we begin to value it more on our own and not because we are told to. But what happens when we are out of university and we jump into the world of work? Perhaps we begin to appreciate learning a bit more when we are not in the classroom. The truth is though, that learning does not have to end when we’re out of university or college. Any adult can go back to learning by applying for even one module! You can take classes that have to do with the industry you work in or you can simply choose a class that interests you. We all seek growth by learning something new that will benefit us.

Here are 10 reasons as to why adult education is essential:

We live in a world that is constantly and rapidly changing. Thanks to technology, we get an influx of information through social media and news outlets every single day. This means that sometimes we do not always catch up to the world’s social dilemmas as much as we would like to because there is simply too much to consume. By taking a class that helps you broaden your mind, you are learning about society today. You will be evolving your thoughts and feelings about several issues and topics that are being discussed in today’s world. If you take the step towards breaking the learning barriers in your path, you will be making way for a better you.

Personal growth

This one goes hand in hand with change. While you will be making an effort to learn about the world as it is today, you can also find classes that will help you improve as an individual. For instance, the institute has modules like Personal Empowerment which will help transform you in not only your personal life but also your professional one. Maybe there’s a psychology class that you have always wanted to take but never had the opportunity to do so, here’s your chance!

Retaining employees

If you own a business, it is in your best interest to encourage your employees to further their education when possible. By doing so, you are ensuring that they will continue to bring value to your business and you can be at ease knowing that the people you hired are highly qualified. This will also give an opportunity to those who would like to shift their career paths are looking to get a promotion.

Keeping your mind active

When taking a class in your later years, you are making a contribution to your own mind. You are ensuring that your mind stays active by having something productive to do outside of work or retirement. People who make use of their brain in this way on a regular basis will increase their chances of having a better memory. Exercising your brain will keep you sharp and it will give you a sense of purpose.

Social relationships

Applying for a module or two means you will be meeting new people. Sometimes in our adult lives. we get a bit too comfortable in our social group meaning we refuse to expand it. By taking a class, you are making new friends with individuals who come from all walks of life. You will start to find people who share the same interests as you do therefore you will start to develop friendships that might last you a very long time!

Increasing your creativity

Doing the same thing over and over for several years can be draining. Having a routine is good and beneficial but when one does not step outside of their comfort zone, they can never find the motivation to be creative. Taking a class will definitely help you think outside the box and will certainly increase or develop a sense of creativity in you. By choosing to learn something new, you are opening yourself up to a number of possibilities and even reducing your levels of stress and anxiety.

Setting a good example

By now, we have recognised that adult education is very essential but a lot of adults still find it hard to take that leap of faith because they think that they are too old or they could not possibly have the time for it. It only takes one person in your office to start up their education again for you to say “Hmm… maybe I can as well”. Perhaps you want to set a good example for your children or young family members that are thinking of quitting education. You can be the person that makes them think twice by setting an example for them.

Spending your time doing something fruitful

On the off-chance you get some free time in your life, why not do something fruitful with it? Writing your name down for a module will give you a sense of purpose and productivity that you would not have gotten from watching TV on your sofa. You can learn something, meet new people and gain new opportunities!

Another chance

Adult education is also there to give people another chance. Maybe you decided to leave school at a young age or maybe you did not have a say in that matter, whatever the case is, you have a second chance. Perhaps you have always wanted to learn about management or psychology, just look through the plethora of fully accredited courses that MLI offers. You might find your second chance waiting for you there.

With more educated adults on the horizon, one can expect a better economy. Having qualifications and skills will increase your chances of getting a job or that promotion that you have been eyeing for a while. When more people are employed, the less pressure there is on governments to sustain those who need to live off benefits.

There you have it, the 10 reasons why adult education is essential. Have a look at our courses and let’s start a conversation about your education.

Author: admin

Valley Towers, Suite 9, Valley Road,

Birkirkaa, BKR9022, Malta

[email protected]

+35627422299

• Academic Courses
• News & Blogs

Subscribe Now

Follow our Monthly Newsletter! 

Get Subscribed Today!

©2024. Malta Leadership Institute. All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Overview

How the Adult Brain Learns: The Importance of Creating Enriched Environments When Teaching

News article , Feature article , Research

Leadership + Strategy

Contemporary learners, adult students, theoretical scholarship, learning outcomes.

Introduction

As adult learners now make up the majority of U.S. students, it is more important than ever for educators who administer and teach in post-traditional programs to understand how the adult brain learns. This article examines the science of how the adult brain learns and offers suggestions for faculty in post-traditional programs to capitalize on this knowledge and maximize the effectiveness of their teaching. Both theoretical underpinnings and practical tips for brain-based teaching are offered

When I speak on this topic, as I frequently do, I almost always begin by asking my audience members, “How many of you in here genuinely care that your students learn?” I typically get a gentle wave of laughter and a sea of raised hands in response. Of course, we care that our students learn; that’s why we do what we do! But how do we know learning is actually taking place? Many instructors simply do what they have done for years, or they do what feels right, or they choose an activity that they read about or saw somewhere. But if we genuinely care that our students learn, then it behooves us to make informed choices about our instructional strategies so we can rest assured learning is taking place.

I will elucidate on some of what we know about how the adult brain learns, through examination of one of the most intriguing concepts from the field of neuroandragogy, an emerging field born from the intersection of neuroscience and andragogy, a term popularized by Malcolm Knowles, the influential theorist of adult education whose book The Modern Practice of Adult Education still serves as a seminal text for educators. I will provide an illustrative example of the application of this knowledge to teaching practice. The science and the tips offered in this piece are applicable to both on-campus and online learning.

Most teachers of adult learners are likely familiar with Knowles’s theory of andragogy by now. For those who aren’t, the theory can be summarized in 5 simple words: adults learn differently than children. That is why Knowles employs the term andragogy for adults, as opposed to the term pedagogy, which applies to the learning of children. The Greek root “andra” means “man,” or for Knowles’s purpose, “adult,” while the root “agogos” means “leading of.” Andragogy, then, has to do with the leading or education of adults. This demarcation is present even between adults and young adults. Most cognitive scientists mark the “adult brain” as beginning at or around age 23—past the age of the traditional college student. Thus, if you teach adults in the same manner you do, have, or would teach traditional-age students, it is highly likely that learning is not , in fact, taking place.

More specifically, Knowles’s andragogical theory is comprised of six principles:

• Adults are self-directed learners
• Adults accumulate experience that becomes an increasingly rich resource for learning
• Readiness to learn is related to social roles
• Adults want immediate application of knowledge (problem-centered orientation)
• Adults tend to be internally motivated
• Adults need to know the reason or learning something

Although all six of these principles are important, the second principle of prior experience is the one around which this article centers. The neuroandragogical concepts explained here support and illustrate Knowles’s assumption that a learner’s ever-growing reservoir of experience is a rich resource for learning.

Neuroandragogy

Neuroandragogy is a relatively new field that examines the intersection of neuroscience—how the brain works—and andragogy—the field of adult learning. According to Clive Wilson, author of No One is Too Old to Learn , “neuroandragogy investigates the rigorous research of scholars in brain studies, the scientific investigation of adult learning, and the evaluation of adult intelligence. Neuroandragogy is both the anatomical and physiological study of the adult brain and the cognitive functions of the systems of the brain that participate in intelligence, memory, recall, and learning” (2006, 3). Neuroandragogy is important to anyone who teaches adults because it focuses in particular on the function of and impact to the adult brain during the process of learning.

With a perfunctory understanding of andragogy and neuroandragogy, let us now examine the science of how the brain actually learns. I will then offer tips for maximizing this knowledge toward better teacher practice.

How the Brain Learns

The brain is comprised of 100 billion neurons, or brain cells. These cells contain nuclei, which make enzymes, proteins, and neurotransmitters—all of which are critical for the nerve cells in the brain to communicate with one another. Neurons have a single axon, which is a long tube that sends electrical impulses—called action potentials —to other cells. And neurons also have dendrites, which are more complicated structures (imagine little hands), which receive electrical impulses from the axon terminals of other neurons. A synapse is the specialized site at which that communication happens. All of these things together form what’s called a neuronal network (Zull, 2002).

The most fascinating thing about the formation of a neuronal network is that each one represents a physical change in the brain. Each time we learn something new—not each time we encounter something new, but rather each time learning actually takes place through a synaptic connection—a new tiny “branch” forms in our brain. But this physical transformation can only take place by connecting new stimuli (information) to an existing neuron—hence the importance of connecting to prior experience in our learners. The process of learning is literally the physical act of growing our existing neuronal networks.

One can use myriad analogies to describe the brain, but for now, let’s imagine the brain as a comprised of millions of tiny little storage cubbies—like the kind you used to store your mittens and toothbrush in in kindergarten. Each time we attend to a new stimulus, our brain processes the signal coming from that stimulus by comparing it immediately to the contents of those millions of cubbies to ask—as Taylor and Marienau put it: “How is this experience like what I already know?” (2016, p. 55). When the brain finds a connection to something we already know—something that exists in one of our storage cubbies—the brain processes that stimuli with a higher, stronger signal, which increases the likelihood that those fingerlike dendrites grab onto that stimulus and hold it. When our brain finds little connection between the stimulus and what we already know, the signal weakens, and little or no connection is made—in other words, no learning takes place.

Thus, to understand how the brain learns is to understand that teachers, trainers, and facilitators simply must find some way to connect new information to something the learner already knows. Without that connection, learning is simply not taking place.

Enriched environments

All of the information about the brain I’ve shared up to now is related to the notion that the adult brain has plasticity, which means that as long as it is stimulated, it is possible to continue to grow—to build new connections; in fact, Feyler (as cited in Wilson, 2006) specifically defines plasticity as the capacity for the brain to grow. But, as Taylor and Marienau (2016) point out, the role of plasticity vis-à-vis prior experience is more important that just growth; plasticity’s critical role is in allowing the brain to adapt and change over time based on learning that comes from new experiences. Plasticity means that the connections made in the brain are “adapted, elaborated, and organized as new experiences strengthen or weaken existing synapses” (Taylor & Marienau, 2016, p. 28). In other words, there is a direct relationship between plasticity and prior experience. In fact, Ebner (1996) suggests that learning is defined as the direct result of experience combined with the storing of new information, and Turkington (as cited in Wilson, 2006) suggests that enriched environments have a critical effect on plasticity.

The most impactful way to leverage this relationship between prior experience and plasticity is to place the learner in an enriched environment—that is, one with multiple types of stimuli. Again, there is science behind these assertions. Turkish researchers Ozel et al. (2008) note that each stimulant coming from an environment increases the number of dendrites and, thus, the likelihood of a synaptic connection between the axon and dendrite. In other words, creating enriched environments increases the biochemical likelihood of the creation of a new neuronal network. Numerous research studies have found that mice placed or living in enriched environments (e.g., environments with water mazes, platforms, tunnels, multiple toys, wheels, etc.) saw positive impacts on various cognitive functions—e.g., increased spatial acquisition and retention, increased behavioral flexibility, increased long-term memory, and fewer errors on learning tests (Frick et al., 2003; Garthe, Roeder & Kempermann, 2016; Yuan et al., 2012). Wilson (2011) reports that similar results are now being found in adults age 50-70, though testing on adults is still quite nascent.

Let’s move from the science of enriched environments to a metaphor to help drive this concept home. Robert Sylwester was a Professor of Education at the University of Oregon who focused on getting educators to easily understand the brain. He suggested that our brains are like a jazz quartet. If you’re familiar with jazz, you know that the sound is constructed in a way that is random, miscellaneous—some might even call it discordant. But these discordant sounds come together to produce a congruent sound.  Similarly, the brain needs enriched environments to learn because it processes things in a multi-modal fashion. You can think of like a jazz quartet—lots of layers come together to produce one congruent sound.  Likewise, when learning, our brain produces a more congruent image when presented with stimuli from many different avenues. Things like pictures, charts, sounds, smells, vivid images, stories, colors, music, and poetry are all examples of ways multi-modal stimuli that help create enriched environments. Creating an enriched environment also increases the likelihood that you will connect with a higher percentage of your learners’ prior experiences. If I tell a story that doesn’t necessarily connect with a learner, but then I also show an image that does, then I’ve made a connection where I may not have with just the story!

To create an enriched environment in our classrooms (whether online or on campus), instructors should avoid what are called low-frequency activities, such as lectures, and utilize high-frequency activities—in other words those that utilize multiple modalities to increase the likelihood of strong synaptic connections. Basically, lots of stimuli and lots of engagement.

For example, I teach a graduate course called Adult Learning Strategies and Theories. This class is one in which I teach learners who want to become teachers or trainers how to be good teachers and trainers. One of the lessons in this course is the importance of understanding theory. I want my students to truly understand what theory offers us as teachers and trainers, and—even more importantly—how application of particular theories impacts the strategic and tactical choices we make in learning situations.

This is not a concept I can simply provide a textbook definition for—not if I really want learning to take place. I have to engage my students in truly learning—in creating new neuronal networks—I have to engage my students in multiple modes of interacting with this concept. I must create an enriched environment.

Therefore, when I teach this concept online, I engage in all of the following to teach this concept:

• The students, of course, have reading.
• I then ask students to watch a brief (5 to 7-minute lecture) in which I explain what theory is and how it serves as a lens through which they view the world, which, in turn, impacts decisions they make.
• In my video, I put a pair of glasses on and I give this example: Let’s say I have a theory that animals deserve kindness and that anyone who does not treat animals with kindness is a bad person. This pair of glasses represents that theory. Thus, it literally represents how I see the world through that that lens. When I view the world through this lens, it impacts the choices I make. Because I think animals deserve kindness, I choose to be “mom” to several animals and treat them kindly. I choose to help animals in need by donating my time and money to animal organizations. Because my theory is that people who do not treat animals with kindness are bad people, that, too, impacts choices: I am more likely to choose to be friends with people who think like me (I don’t hang around a lot of hunters). I lobby for harsher penalties for those who abuse animals. My theory about animal kindness impacts dozens of choices I make within my life in a given week. The same is true of any theory. If I view the world through an andragogical lens (I now put on a different pair of glasses) , I believe adults learn differently than children, and I believe that the experiences they bring to the table are critical to their learning. Thus, if I truly believe this theory, that must impact the strategy and tactics I choose as an instructor, yes?
• Next, to add even more stimuli—i.e., enrichment—I ask my students to choose the theory that resonates with them the most, the one that likely represents their most common “lens,” and to generate any type of analogy (metaphor, simile, story, parable, cliché, idiom) to explain or describe that theory. They must record their response and post a video on the class discussion board. I ask them to share the analogy they’ve crafted, but NOT to explain how or why that analogy illustrates their chosen theory. That work is done by their peers when they react and respond to the analogy—the peers must explain the link they see between the analogy and the theory. For example, I recall one student who immediately likened Constructivism to the book “The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog.” She merely shared this observation with her peer, who then had to explain the link he saw between the two.

I create many and varied stimuli with these activities. Moreover, not only have I crafted an enriched online environment, I have increased the opportunities for the new information (the theory or theories) to connect to my learners’ prior experiences. My students have no choice but to tap into their prior experience to not only link a (new) theory to an (existing) analogy they already knew, but also to explain the connection they are seeing in their peers’ analogies.

As another example, let’s say I was teaching my students about constructivism—the theory that the process of learning takes place in the act of experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. If I wanted to create an enriched environment, I might ask my students to choose one of their strongest personal mottos or beliefs (e.g., mine would be “better safe than sorry”) and to reflect on what experiences in their lives led to the creation of that motto or belief. Then I would ask my students to construct a mind map, or perhaps a collage, of the various experiences, thoughts, and concepts that have led to the building of that belief. I might then ask my students to use their phones or webcams to record a “virtual tour” of their mind maps or collages. If I wanted to add even more enrichment, I might ask my students to listen to a podcast from Hidden Brain (the NPR radio show) about meaning making, or to find another podcast or video of their choosing. Or I could ask them to have an online discussion with a partner about how they anticipate this motto or belief will play out as they move farther into their professions.

The beauty of creating enriched environments is that using multiple stimuli increases the biochemical likelihood of connecting to a learner’s prior experience. Therefore, my students are more likely to connect to—and thus remember and learn—this information because I have used multiple modalities to share it.

But Isn’t This Just Multiple Intelligences?

I get this question a lot: isn’t the concept of enriched environments the same thing as Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences? There is a great deal of overlap, to be sure, but they are not the same thing. Gardner’s theory, which was groundbreaking at the time, was indeed based on research, but not specifically research about how the brain learns ; rather, it was based, more broadly, on how the brain works or performs, or doesn’t (Gardner, 1999, pgs. 33-46). And though the practice of addressing multiple intelligences and creating enriched environments may certainly (but not necessarily) look similar in practice, cognitively speaking, they are fundamentally different. The fact that Learner A is intelligent in a different way from Learner B is a fundamentally different assertion than the fact that both learners’ brains produce a more congruent image when they are presented with multiple stimuli because both of their brains (assuming healthy, normal functioning) process stimuli in a multi-model fashion (again, like a jazz quartet).

Another way to illustrate the distinction between multiple intelligences and enriched environments is to imagine you are teaching only one student rather than a group of students. If you teach only one student and wish to address multiple intelligences, you would assess which intelligence that learner possesses most strongly and address that intelligence in order to teach her or him. That does not necessarily mean you would be creating an enriched environment—you may need only one kind of stimuli to address said intelligence. However, if you wish to ensure learning is taking place, you would be sure to create an enriched environment by utilizing multiple stimuli to teach that student (and if you want to ensure those stimuli address that learner’s particular intelligence, all the better). But the reverse is not necessarily true: that is, regardless of how many intelligences a teacher addresses, if she or he does not connect the new information to something the learner already knows, no learning can take place. And creating an enriched environment makes it more likely this will happen.

This article has shared the science behind the importance of creating enriched environments when teaching and provided an example to help illustrate how you, too, can engage in the best possible practices to ensure learning is taking place in your classrooms whether online or on campus.

The field of neuroandragogy demonstrates that there is empirical evidence for the use of enriched environments, and that without them, your students may not be actually learning.  To meet the needs of today’s adult learner, we must utilize the science of how the brain learns to inform our instructional strategies if we truly care that our students learn.

Ebner, F. F. (1996). Teaching the brain to learn. Peabody Journal of Education, 71 (4) 143-151.

Frick, K., Stearns, N., Pan, J., & Berger-Sweeney, J. (2003). Effects of environmental enrichment on spatial memory and neurochemistry in middle-aged mice. Learning and Memory , 10 (3), 187-198.

Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the 21st century . New York: Basic Books.

Garthe, A., Roeder, I., & Kempermann, G. (2016). Mice in an enriched environment learn more flexibly because of adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Hippocampus , 26 (2) 261-171.

Knowles, M. (1988). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Cambridge.

Ozel, A., Byindir, N., Ozel, E., & Ciftciohlu, I. (2008). “Brain-based Learning and student-centrism on curriculum.” Ekev Academic Review , 12 (35), 343-350.

Taylor, K. & Marienau, C. (2016). Facilitating learning with the adult brain in mind . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Turkington (1996). The brain encyclopedia . Checkmark Books.

Wilson, C. (2011). Neuroandragogy: Making the case for a link with andragogy and brain-based learning. Paper presented at the meeting of the Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, Community, and Extension Education, Lindenwood University, St. Charles, MO.

Wilson, C. (2006). No one is too old to learn (Neuroandragogy: A theoretical perspective on adult brain  functions and adult learning). Lincoln, NE: iUniverse.

Yuan, Z., Wang, M., Yan, B., Gu, P., Jiang, X., Yang, X. & Cui, D. (2012). An enriched environment improves cognitive performance in mice from the senescence-accelerated prone mouse 8 strain: Role of upregulated neurotrophic factor expression in the hippocampus. Neural Regeneration Research, 7(23), 1797-1804.

Zull, J. (2002). The art of changing the brain . Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Allison Friederichs, Ph.D., is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and assistant teaching professor at University College of the University of Denver. Allison engages in research and public speaking in academic and corporate sectors in the area of how the adult brain learns, and the implications of that knowledge on teaching, training, and curriculum development. She serves on UPCEA’s Federal Policy Committee.

European Education Area

Quality education and training for all

Hello, a quick survey is waiting for you.

Help us improve this site by taking our quick survey . It won't take more than a few minutes.

Adult learning initiatives

Why is adult learning important?

Individuals pursue adult learning for a variety of reasons, to

• enhance their employment prospects
• develop personally or professionally
• obtain transferrable skills, such as critical thinking

Adult learning also contributes to improving social cohesion and promotes active citizenship. It also enhances the competitiveness of businesses and European economies.

The recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the digital and green transitions have accelerated changes in how we live, learn and work. People need to update their knowledge, skills and competences to fill the gap between their education and training and the demands of a rapidly changing labour market.

Adult learning has been identified as a focus topic of the European Education Area for the period 2021-2030.

Find out more in the Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training .

What is the EU doing to support adult learning?

European pillar of social rights.

The right to education, training and lifelong learning is enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights (principle 1).

In line with the headline target of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, 60% of all adults should be participating in training every year by 2030. Too few people participate in regular learning after initial education across Europe.

Actions and initiatives at the European level provide support to national institutions and individuals to increase the participation of adults in learning and training activities. They enhance our understanding of how to respond to challenges in the field of adult learning and enable a better exchange of knowledge and experiences between countries.

Learn more about the European Pillar of Social Rights

The European Skills Agenda

The European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience includes ambitious actions to help people to develop their skills throughout life.

The proposals for a Council Recommendation on individual learning accounts and for a Council Recommendation on micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability are two of the twelve flagship actions of the European Skills Agenda.

Together the proposals aim to support a culture of lifelong learning and to make learning more accessible and valued.

Learn more about the European Skills Agenda

Council Resolution on a new European Agenda for Adult Learning

A Resolution adopted by the Council of the European Union (EU) on 29 November 2021 on a new European Agenda for Adult Learning highlights the need to significantly increase adult participation in formal, non-formal and informal learning.

The new European Agenda for Adult learning outlines a vision of how adult learning should develop in Europe by 2030 in the following five priority areas

• governance of adult learning – with a strong focus on whole-of-government national strategies and stakeholder partnerships
• supply and take-up of lifelong learning opportunities with sustainable funding
• accessibility and flexibility – to adapt to the needs of adult
• quality, equity, inclusion and success in adult learning – emphasising the professional development of adult learning staff, the mobility of both learners and staff, quality assurance and active support to disadvantaged groups
• the green and digital transitions and related skill needs

Find out more about the Council Resolution on a renewed European Agenda for Adult Learning

Career guidance

Career guidance describes the services which help people of any age to manage their careers and to make educational, training and occupational choices that are meaningful for them.

It helps people to reflect on their ambitions, interests, qualifications, skills and talents and to relate this knowledge about who they are to who they might become in life and work.

The European Commission works together with the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training’s (CEDEFOP) CareersNet to support career guidance in Member States.

A Commission study ‘Lifelong guidance policy and practice in the EU: trends, challenges and opportunities’ (2020) aims to provide career development support for individuals of all ages, at all career stages. Its recommendations have become particularly timely given the pandemic, with rising unemployment levels and the need to be innovative to remain employable.

Working Group on adult learning

Under the European Education Area strategic framework, a new working group of Member State experts on adult learning has been established for the period 2021-2025.

The working group will support Member States in implementing the EU’s vision for a European Education Area and the objectives, priorities and principles included in

• the European Skills Agenda
• the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan
• the Council Recommendation on Vocational Education and Training
• the Council Recommendation on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults and the Council Resolution adult learning

Find out more about the Working Group on adult learning

Network of National Coordinators for adult learning

The Network of National Coordinators promote adult learning in their respective EU country, provide policy advice and support and gather and disseminate best practices to national authorities.

Discover the Network of National Coordinators

Related content

Policy initiatives, want to give your feedback about this page, thanks for your feedback.

We are happy to see that your experience was positive. Don't forget to share the pages you like with your friends and colleagues.

If you need to ask a question, please contact Europe direct .

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock Locked padlock icon ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

In Crisis? Call or Text 988

Your browser is not supported

Switch to Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari

How to Talk About Mental Health

Mental health is essential to a person’s life in the same way as physical health. Hesitation to talk about mental health adds to the notion that the topic is taboo. It is important to normalize conversations surrounding mental health so people can feel empowered to seek the help they need. The following resources can help you feel more informed to talk about mental health with the people in your life who may need your support.

For People with Mental Health Problems

If you have, or believe you may have, a mental health problem, it is helpful to talk about these issues with others. Learn more about building a strong support system and developing a recovery plan.

For Young People Looking for Help

Mental health problems don't only affect adults. Children, teenagers, and young adults can also have mental health problems.

For Parents and Caregivers

It can be hard to talk to your child, dependent, or person you are caring for about mental health problems. Get tips for starting the conversation.

For Friends and Family Members

Anyone can experience mental health problems. Friends and family members can make all the difference in a person’s recovery process. Learn how to support your friends and loved ones as they look for help with their mental health problems.

For Educators

Educators are often the first to notice mental health problems. Find out about mental health problems, what you can do, and how to develop effective strategies to meet the mental health needs of your students.

For Community and Faith Leaders

Before they turn to a health care professional, many people may turn to community and faith leaders when facing mental health problems or traumatic events. Learn how to support mental health in your community.

March 2024 Professional Development Classes

• Skip to content
• Skip to search
• Staff portal (Inside the department)
• Student portal
• Key links for students

Other users

• Forgot password

Notifications

{{item.title}}, my essentials, ask for help, contact edconnect, directory a to z, how to guides, eight practical tips to support children's wellbeing.

We know how important the first 5 years are for a child’s brain development. Half of all adult mental health challenges will have started before the age of 14.

26 June 2024

Mental wellbeing is as important as physical wellbeing. Children need positive mental health for their physical and emotional development. It’s important for educators to create safe and healthy environments, and to promote positive wellbeing in children.

Assessing the mental health of children can be tricky. A great way to do this is to look for positive behavioural, social and emotional development.

According to Emerging Minds , positive child mental health may look like a child who:

• plays (alone and with others)
• meets development milestones
• expresses their feelings
• makes meaning of their world
• is building their resilience
• is curious and engaged.

Signs of mental health concern

It’s important to note that signs of mental health concerns can present themselves in many ways. Signs should be considered within the context of the child’s age and developmental stage, experiences (for example, have they been or are they being exposed to trauma), cultural and spiritual beliefs, environmental factors and their personality.

Sydney Children's Hospital Network says signs may include but are not limited to:

• trouble sleeping or constantly overtired
• consistent low mood such as sadness for more than 2 weeks
• sudden mood or behavioural changes
• irritability
• weight loss or weight gain
• loss of appetite or significant change in dietary intake
• behaving in a way they have outgrown (for example, wetting the bed or sucking their thumb)
• withdrawal of regular social situations, friends or family.

For school-aged children, a drop in academic performance or experiencing self-harm or suicidal thoughts are also signs of mental health concerns.

Some events and situations that may impact children’s mental health include natural disasters, family conflict or violence, and experiences of poverty, neglect, loss and grief, and severe injury.

These events – whether they’re a one-off, part of everyday life or experienced multiple times over a prolonged period – can contribute to trauma in children.

As Be You explains on its Trauma webpage:

“It’s a child or young person’s experience of the event, rather than the event itself, that makes it traumatic or not.

Whether a child or young person feels overwhelmed and completely out of control or like they had some agency during the incident impacts on their perception of the event as traumatic.”

Children’s responses to trauma can vary – and their reactions may be immediate or occur days, weeks or even years later. They may also respond in unexpected or unpredicted ways. Research also tells us that experiencing trauma early in life can have a profound and lasting effect on a child’s cognitive, social and emotional development.

Understanding and being able to recognise signs of mental health concerns and trauma responses enable early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to provide appropriate supports and strategies to improve outcomes – immediate and long term – for children and their families.

Watch our ‘ Working with children who’ve experienced trauma ’ webinar, facilitated by the Australian Childhood Foundation, to deepen your understanding of childhood trauma and strategies for supporting children’s wellbeing.

Tips and strategies for educators

1. maintain routines and rhythms.

It’s important to acknowledge events and how children may feel, but also provide normal play opportunities and experiences. Continuing to do things in a familiar way can help children feel safe.

2. Encourage connections and conversations

Positive relationships are important to children’s wellbeing and development. Children rely on trusting and respectful relationships with the adults around them.

Being calm and encouraging can make it easier for a child to talk about what they’re feeling. It also may take a few times reaching out for them to feel comfortable. Children also process experiences through play and interactions – conversations about big situations may happen as they play.

3. Work collaboratively with families

Engage in ongoing conversations with families to find out about their child's circumstances, preferences and routines. Work with them to develop opportunities that build on each child’s experience, and promote and support their development.

4. Support children in ways that are sensitive to their experiences

Be aware of and support each child’s physical health, wellbeing and comfort. This can include nutrition, sleep, rest and relaxation, and activity and leisure. It’s important to recognise each child’s personal preferences, routines and needs, such as practices, values and beliefs of the child and their family.

5. Consider your mandatory reporting obligations

Where you have ongoing concerns about a child’s safety and wellbeing use the NSW Mandatory Reporter Guide to help you determine whether you need to report your concerns to the Child Protection Helpline and/or identify alternative supports available for vulnerable children and their families.

6. Link families to specialist services when necessary

Child who are distressed, have experienced a traumatic event, are experiencing ongoing trauma (for example, due to family violence) or simply require additional mental health support may benefit from specialised services. Establishing relationships with local support agencies and health professionals will build your service’s capabilities to support children at your service and provide advice and referrals to their families or carers.

7. Engage in professional development

There are a range of educational programs which help in understanding and supporting children’s learning, development and wellbeing.

• Access our Understanding and supporting children’s behaviour online program, delivered by Phoenix Support for Educators.
• Develop your understanding and capabilities in trauma-informed practice by engaging with Alannah & Madeline Foundation’s Trauma informed practice guide for ECEC and Early Childhood Australia’s Being the champion for children who are impacted by trauma and adversity e-learning.
• Browse Emerging Minds’ suite of online professional learning , including training on culturally responsive practice strategies , educator resources and implementation support .

8. Take care of yourself

Parent and carer mental health

Families are where children first learn about love, support and belonging. Children who are a part of a strong and supportive family are more likely to achieve their best possible mental health. It's important to understand there is no 'perfect' family. Families are diverse, each with their own challenges, circumstances and joys.

The NSW Government provides a range of mental health and emotional support for parents and carers who may need it. Head to Health and Beyond Blue also offer practical guidance and tools for families and children, too.

Educator mental health

Though rewarding, supporting children and family wellbeing can – at times – take a toll on your own mental health. It’s important to look after yourself and seek support when needed.

Download Be You’s Beyond Self-Care: An Educator Wellbeing Guide for guidance, suggested activities and actions you can take at your service to promote educator wellbeing. You can also connect with a Be You consultant for tailored guidance and to develop goals specific to your service.

Watch our ‘Mentally health workplaces’ March 2024 ECE Connect session for evidence-based insights and strategies to create and maintain a psychologically and psychosocially safe workplace.

Useful links

• NSW Department of Education’s Mental health and wellbeing webinars
• Raising Children Network’s Mental health resources
• Smiling Mind website and app
• Brighter Beginnings Parent and Carer Information Hub
• NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency’s Big situations page

Mental health services and hotlines

• Beyond Blue 1300 224 636: 24/7 mental health support service
• Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800: 24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention services for children and young people aged 5 to 25
• 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732: 24/7 support for people impacted by sexual assault, domestic violence and abuse
• Lifeline 131 114: 24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention services
• Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467: 24/7 crisis support and counselling service for people affected by suicide
• MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78: 24/7 counselling service for men
• Qlife 1800 184 527: LGBTI peer support and referral. Available 3pm to midnight
• 13YARN 139 276: 24/7 crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• Compliance focus – safe sleep requirements 26 June 2024
• Eight practical tips to support children's wellbeing 26 June 2024
• Exploring the 3 dimensions of sustainability in ECEC 26 June 2024
• By the book – a story of social sustainability in action 26 June 2024
• Tips to meet Quality Area 6 – engaging families effectively 21 June 2024