IMPROVING GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING IN ADULT LEARNING Erasmus Project

Project Title

IMPROVING GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING IN ADULT LEARNING

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

Improving Guidance And Counselling In Adult Learning is a two year long project of Erasmus+ KA204 – Strategic Partnerships for adult education. It is a cooperation between four adult education institutions; AFEdemy, Academy on age-friendly environments in Europe B.V. from The Netherlands, Caritas Diocesana De Coimbra from Portugal, Ljudska univerza Celje from Slovenia and Työväen Akatemia from Finland, which is the coordinator. Two of the partners work mainly with elderly adult learners, while two other partners work more with young adults. This will give the project better understanding of the needs of lifelong learning.

The project will increase the quality of adult education by innovating effective ways of lifelong guidance and counselling. The aim is to develop a pedagogical tool to map background learning parameters of adult learners and thus support the setting up of, and access to, upskilling pathways. It is possible to facilitate adult learners’ studies through effective guidance and counselling, aimed at overcoming the barriers to learning and studying. In the case of low skilled adult learners, individual guidance and counselling becomes essential.

The pedagogical tool will extend and develop the competences of educators and other personnel who support adult learners. Through effective outreach, guidance and motivation strategies they will be able to encourage low-skilled or low-qualified adults of all ages to progress towards higher qualifications. By doing so, they will increase the demand and take-up of adult education.

The educational staff in each partner organisation will also use the tool after the project with future adult learners of different ages, including low-skilled or low-qualified adults. That will encourage new sets of adult learners to progress towards higher qualifications.

As well as promoting cooperation, the sharing of experience, and the exchange of knowledge and best practices from different European countries in four transnational project meetings there will also always be shared local cultural activities and an introduction to current societal or political issues in the country by a special expert lecturer. This will give to the participating adult educators a chance for better understanding of the similarities and differences between various areas of the European Union. This will improve the professional skills of the staff of every partner, and thus build organisational capacity to operate on a wider European level.

There will be an online version of the methodology of the developed pedagogical tool, that will present it there to a wider audience. It will be written in English and translated into the native languages with national perspective. There will be an article on EPALE about guidance and counselling practices in adult learning written by the project. The article will also be published on the web pages of each partner as well as in their social media.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 54313,6 Eur

Project Coordinator

Työväen Akatemia & Country: FI

Project Partners

• CARITAS DIOCESANA DE COIMBRA
• Ljudska univerza Celje
• AFEDEMY, ACADEMY ON AGE-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENTS IN EUROPE BV