Denmark

Contemporary Challenges and Activities

By Associate Professor Leif Emil HansenRoskilde UniversityDenmark

Nordic Research Seminar in Non Formal Education (’folkeoplysning’), Helsinki, December 8th-9th, 2011

Adult Education in DKThere are 3 state supported sub sectors: • A) continuing vocational training sector (uni, uni coll: above mentioned part

time programmes, technical and commercial schools, labour market training centers etc.) Providing up-dated professional skills - exams and diplomas

• B) general, liberal ’peoples enlightenment’ sector (’folkeoplysning’, non formal adult education - folk high schools, day folk high schools, evening classes, ’peoples (extra mural) university’ etc.). Providing personal and citizen development – no exams and diplomas

• C) formal competencies for ’second chancers’, preparing for further studies (FVU, AVU, HF – from the most basic to the advanced general studies, up till uni access level)

• There is also a private sector: (rather short) vocational, job oriented courses, provided by companies (as in service training) or consultancies, financed by employers or attenders themselves – plus FIU, the internal training system for LO unions’ elected representatives

Strong points (in general) of Danish LLL

• LLL has in general a high reputation, due to social history, democracy etc. of DK

• Strong state supported financing of LLL• Strong focus on guidance and counselling, for instance

outreach activities• Well organised management and steering of daily as

well as development activities; social partners integrated in this on local, regional and national level

• A (rather) well developed system of recognition of prior learning (including – of course - informal and non formal learning); a parallel system from bottom to top for ’second chancers’

Challenges for Danish LLL• A too complex structure - not a coherent system, but historically

grown different institutions and legislative/administrative frameworks under several ministries (education, labour, culture etc.)

• Deficits in transparency and coherence for potential users and other stakeholders

• Motivational problems among low skilled adults• Deficits in strategic planning of skills development in SMEs

(dominant in Danish economic structure)• Difficulties in keeping balance between ’economic’ (vocational and

professional oriented learning activities), ’social’ (citizenship and community oriented learning activities) and ’personal’ (existential, family, individuality oriented learning activities) aims and goals for LLL participants (reflected in legislation, financing, discourses, ideologies etc….and in practises and research!)

The research

• Used to be strong (1980’es and –90’es)• Involvement of several universities (Roskilde, Aalborg, DPU and

more) and state supported R&D institutions, for instance ’Udviklingscenter for folkeoplysning og voksenundervisning’ (knowledge- and documentation center, also performing ’popular research’ – folkelig forskning) were rather active – with practice inspired collaborative approaches

• Many political initiatives towards coherent and comprehensive adult – formal as well as non formal – education (cross sectorial, for instance VUP: Voksenuddannelsespuljen – a programme funding cross sectorial initiatives – for instance a collaboration between AMU, VUC and a day high school)

(Research continued)

• After 2001 a ’shift of the system’ – the government of liberalists and conservatives were totally dependent on an extreme right wing populistic party

• They closed down institutions and programmes, raised the fees for adult education etc.

• A process was initiated, of well known key words: commodification, cost efficiency, evidence, competitiveness, employability etc. = neoliberalism

(Research continued)

• The hidden dictum was: ”everything has a price but nothing has value” (if there was one it was greed)

• ”follow the money”: institutions closed down, universities became market oriented, researchers had to apply for ’strategic money’ – technology, natural sciences, vocational training = applied sciences

• Activities and research in non formal adult education (folkeoplysning) died out; so did associations and magazines etc. (for instance FOFU, a grass root organisation of researchers, developers and other practitioners within adult education and ’folkeoplysning’ – I think the web site still exists: www.fofu.dk)

(Research continued)

• 2011: A new knowledge center (R&D?) is being established, funded by the government

• Placed not at a university, but a university college (’professionshøjskole’) – probably in a collaboration with NCK (the national center for competence development, placed at DPU/Aarhus University)

• Uncertain future – almost none PhD projects on ’folkeoplysning’ (as far as I know)

• With our new government there might be a chance for a revival – but among other factors the financial crisis makes it difficult

Ideas for future research

• What is the object? (how are the researchers formulating their research questions?)

• How is the approach? (quantitative or qualitative methods, or…? Which are the theoretical sources of inspiration?)

• How is the research financed – and by whom?• Where are the results published – and how? (a

possible contradiction between internal academic criteria and the adult education public?)