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Globalisation, transnational policies and adult education

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Abstract

Globalisation, transnational policies and adult education – This paper examines policy documents produced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the European Union (EU) in the field of adult education and learning. Both these entities address adult education as an explicit object of policy. This paper investigates how globalisation processes are constructed as policy problems when these transnational political agents propose adult education as a response. The author’s main argument is that while UNESCO presents the provision of adult education as a means for governments worldwide to overcome disadvantages experienced by their own citizenry, the EU institutionalises learning experiences as a means for governments to sustain regional economic growth and political expansion. After reviewing the literature on globalisation to elucidate the theories that inform current understanding of contemporary economic, political, cultural and ecological changes as political problems, she presents the conceptual and methodological framework of her analysis. The author then examines the active role played by UNESCO and the EU in promoting adult education as a policy objective at transnational level, and unpacks the specific problem “representations” that are substantiated by these organisations. She argues that UNESCO and EU processes assign specific values and meanings to globalisation, and that these reflect a limited understanding of the complexity of globalisation. Finally, she considers two of the effects produced by these problem representations.

Résumé

Mondialisation, politiques transnationales et éducation des adultes – Cet article examine les documents directifs émis par l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’éducation, la science et la culture (UNESCO) et par l’Union européenne (UE) dans le domaine de l’éducation et de l’apprentissage des adultes. Ces deux organismes considèrent l’éducation des adultes comme un sujet explicite de politique. L’auteure analyse que les processus de mondialisation sont échafaudés comme problèmes de politique quand ces agents de politiques transnationales proposent l’éducation des adultes comme une réponse. Elle prend pour argument principal que l’UNESCO présente l’offre d’éducation des adultes comme un moyen pour tous les gouvernements de la planète de surmonter les obstacles que rencontrent leurs citoyens, alors que l’UE institutionnalise les expériences d’apprentissage comme un moyen pour les gouvernements de soutenir la croissance économique régionale et l’expansion politique. Après avoir étudié la documentation sur la mondialisation afin d’éclairer les théories permettant d’appréhender comme problèmes politiques les défis économiques, politiques, culturels et écologiques d’aujourd’hui, l’auteure présente le cadre conceptuel et méthodologique de son analyse. Elle examine ensuite le rôle actif de l’UNESCO et de l’UE dans la promotion de l’éducation des adultes traitée comme objectif de politique transnationale, et analyse la question spécifique des « représentations » soutenues par ces organismes. Elle avance que dans leurs démarches, l’UNESCO et l’UE attribuent des valeurs et significations spécifiques à la mondialisation, qui reflètent une interprétation limitée de la complexité de la mondialisation. Enfin, elle dégage deux des effets produits par ces représentations de problèmes.

Zusammenfassung

Globalisierung, transnationale Politik und Erwachsenenbildung – In diesem Beitrag geht es um Strategiepapiere, die von der Organisation der Vereinten Nationen für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur (UNESCO) und der Europäischen Union (EU) im Erwachsenenbildungsbereich erarbeitet wurden. Beide Organisationen haben die Erwachsenenbildung ausdrücklich zu einem politischen Ziel erklärt. Der Aufsatz untersucht, wie diese transnationalen politischen Akteure Globalisierungsprozesse als politische Problemstellungen ausdeuten, die sie dann mit dem Mittel der Erwachsenenbildung zu lösen versuchen. Die zentrale These der Autorin lautet, dass die UNESCO die Erwachsenenbildung als Instrument für Staaten in aller Welt darstelle, mit dem sich Benachteiligungen ihrer eigenen Bürgerinnen und Bürger überwinden lassen. Die EU institutionalisiere hingegen Lernerfahrungen, um den Regierungen ein Mittel an die Hand zu geben, das regionale Wirtschaftswachstum zu stärken und ihren politischen Einfluss auszubauen. Die Autorin gibt zunächst einen Überblick über die Veröffentlichungen zum Thema Globalisierung und erläutert die Theorien, auf deren Grundlage aktuelle wirtschaftliche, politische, kulturelle und ökologische Veränderungen als politische Problemstellungen interpretiert werden. Sodann stellt sie den konzeptionellen und methodischen Rahmen ihrer Analyse dar. Anschließend untersucht die Autorin die aktive Rolle der UNESCO und der EU hinsichtlich der Propagierung der Erwachsenenbildung als politisches Ziel auf transnationaler Ebene und fächert die spezifischen Problemrepräsentationen auf, die von diesen Organisationen untermauert werden. Sie vertritt die Auffassung, dass der Globalisierung durch die Prozesse der UNESCO und der EU bestimmte Werte und Bedeutungen zugeschrieben werden und dass sich in diesen Werten und Bedeutungen ein eingeschränktes Verständnis für die Komplexität der Globalisierung widerspiegelt. Zwei spezifische Auswirkungen dieser Problemrepräsentationen werden zum Abschluss des Beitrags genauer erläutert.

Resumen

Globalización, políticas transnacionales y educación de personas adultas – Este trabajo examina los documentos estratégicos producidos por la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Ciencia, la Educación y la Cultura (UNESCO) y la Unión Europea (UE) en el área de la educación y el aprendizaje. Ambas entidades enfocan la educación de adultos como objeto explícito de sus políticas. En este trabajo, la autora investiga cómo los procesos de globalización se desarrollan como problemas de políticas cuando estas entidades transnacionales proponen como respuesta la educación de las personas adultas. El argumento principal de la autora es el siguiente: mientras que la UNESCO presenta la oferta de educación de personas adultas como un modo con el que los gobiernos pueden superar mundialmente las desventajas que experimenta su propia ciudadanía, la UE institucionaliza las experiencias de aprendizaje como un camino con el cual los gobiernos pueden sostener el crecimiento económico regional y la expansión política. Luego de pasar revista a la literatura sobre globalización con el fin de clarificar las teorías que comunican el entendimiento actual de los cambios contemporáneos económicos, políticos, culturales y ecológicos como problemas políticos, ella presenta el marco conceptual y metodológico de su análisis. Luego, la autora examina el papel activo desempeñado por la UNESCO y la UE en la promoción de la educación de personas adultas como un objeto estratégico a nivel transnacional y desglosa las “representaciones” específicas de los problemas tal como los fundamentan estas organizaciones. La autora sostiene que los procesos de la UNESCO y la UE adjudican valores y significados específicos a la globalización, y que éstos reflejan una comprensión limitada de la complejidad insertada en los procesos de globalización contemporáneos. Finalmente, hace resaltar dos de los efectos que producen esas representaciones de los problemas.

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Notes

  1. “Problem representation refers to the manner in which the information known about a problem is mentally organized” (Pretz et al. 2003, p. 6).

  2. The Fifth International Conference on Adult Education, CONFINTEA V, was held in Hamburg, in July 1997 and focused on “Adult learning: A key for the twenty-first century”.

  3. The Memorandum on Lifelong Learning, drafted in Lisbon in 2000 by representatives of the European Commission Member States, has six key messages: (1) New basic skills for all; (2) More investment in human resources; (3) Innovation in teaching and learning; (4) Valuing Learning; (5) Rethinking guidance and counselling and (6) Bringing learning closer to home.

  4. The concept of discourse carries various meanings. As further explained in the next paragraph, the term is used in this context to express that concepts and ideas that inform processes of communication and policy-making are not simple descriptors of things as they are “out there”, but rather express the specific viewpoints of those involved in processes of communication and policy-making. Accordingly, policy-as-discourse puts emphasis on concepts and ideas and how their use came about in order to understand the resulting communication and policies.

  5. This institute, located in Hamburg, Germany, was renamed UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) in 2006 and transformed from a foundation under German civil law into a fully-fledged international UNESCO Institute in 2007.

  6. The Asian financial crisis refers to the collapse of the Thai national currency, the country’s bankruptcy in 1997 and the subsequent slumping of national currencies, devaluation of stock markets, and rise in private debts in most of southern Asia.

  7. The European Union is a pooling of sovereignty, in which Member States delegate part of their political power to shared institutions. These institutions include the European Commission, representing the European Union as a sovereign body, the Council of the European Union, representing the Member States, and the European Parliament, representing the European Union’s citizenship.

  8. The Grundtvig programme, which focuses on adult education, is one of the four parts of the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning programme. It is named after Danish author, philosopher and teacher Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783–1872), who believed in educating people with knowledge and skills which would enable them to participate actively in their community.

  9. Having expired in 2010, the Action Plan on Adult Learning has since been replaced by the Council Resolution on a renewed European agenda for adult learning (Council of the European Union 2011).

  10. Ecological globalisation processes refer to the collective impact of diverse material processes, including the exploitation of natural resources, on the health of the planet's natural systems.

  11. The Amsterdam Treaty was signed in 1997 as an amendment to the Maastricht Treaty (signed in 1992 as a basis for the foundation of the European Union). The amendment was particularly concerned with citizenship and individuals’ rights.

  12. Formally, UNESCO and the EU are accountable to their Member States; however, the increase in the use of benchmarking by these organisations tends to revert the terms of the accountability equation, by making individual countries somewhat accountable to these organisations.

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Milana, M. Globalisation, transnational policies and adult education. Int Rev Educ 58, 777–797 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-012-9313-5

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