Tag: policies

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Adult education, social inclusion and cultural diversity in regional communities

Author/s: Rob Townsend

Edition: Volume 48, Number 1, April 2008

Summary: This article presents the outcomes of recent research into adult education programs and experiences in the Shire of Campaspe, a region in northern Victoria. Research data of people from diverse cultural backgrounds reveal how individuals can utilise adult education as a space to explore their own social and cultural isolation in a regional context. The research reveals patterns of migration, internal population mobility, social isolation and cultural identity within the context of this one regional shire. The article discerns the roles that adult education providers play in creating specific kinds of space for people to discover new social networks while interacting with informal and formal structures and processes of adult learning. Adult education programs and practices can play an important role in providing space for the exploration of social, cultural and economic experiences. However, individual adult education organisations manage their spaces and programs in such a way that excludes some people from social and economic activity crucial to the development of individual and community social capital. Adult learning policies, programs and practices in regional communities need to address the holistic nature of adult learning for people from culturally diverse backgrounds in order to contribute to the development of sustaining social capital for individuals, families and communities in Australian society.

Keywords: adult education, policies, programs, practices, regional, social capital

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Formal and informal learning opportunities in government organisations: Experiences of public sector employees from six Asian nations

Author/s: Intan A. Mokhtar

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: Lifelong learning and professional development have been the focus of government organisations after the 21st  century was declared the ‘learning century’, amidst the impact of globalisation and growth of knowledge-based economies. Although lifelong learning and professional development opportunities are available in most government organisations, the conditions for civil servants to take up such opportunities differ across organisations and, even more so, across countries. In addition, the expectations of learning and development from such opportunities also vary, with some organisations focusing on specific work-based competencies, others on formal education and qualifications. However, lifelong learning and professional development in government organisations seldom include informal learning, which forms a part of daily leisure time yet involves human capital enhancement that indirectly impacts work performance. Informal learning, which is facilitated by individual information literacy competencies that involve information search, retrieval, evaluation and use in varying contexts, is largely for personal development rather than economic efficiency, but is equally important in developing effective individuals and knowledge workers. In this exploratory study, semistructured interviews were conducted with 18 civil servants from six Asian countries to elicit their experiences with regard to lifelong learning policies and professional development opportunities in their respective government organisations, expectations of learning and development from such opportunities, as well as provisions for informal learning opportunities. Shared characteristics as well as distinct differences across the interviewees’ organisations and countries are discussed. Finally, recommendations based on these similarities and differences are made specifically to encourage government organisations to review existing lifelong learning policies and professional development opportunities available to civil servants.

Keywords: lifelong learning, informal learning, formal learning, government, learning century, professional development, work-based competency, Asian, policies

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.