The Adult Education Practitioner Training in Estonia

Programme and the Curriculum

by Tiina Jääger, Estonian National Project group

Introduction

There is systematic education for adult educators/practitioners in Estonia at present. EAEA Andras as well as ENAEA in cooperation with Viljandi Cultural College have organized continuation education for practitioners. Tallinn Pedagogical University has studies of andragogy, where young students are studying. Adult educators have also the possibility to continue their studies at master level in andragogy science at Tallinn Pedagogical University and at Tartu University.

Adult educators have received their first education in different fields, followed by everyday practice. The need for supplementary education (how to become a good adult educator) has increased over the last years.

At the beginning of the L4S project, the Estonian national project group and project core group decided that the priority of the project in Estonia should be the curriculum for AE/practitioners. The first idea was to start with studies at Viljandi Cultural College but as sometimes happens, we were forced to change our plans. It took some time to find a new partner. ENAEA in cooperation with Folk Culture Development Centre (adult education centre owned by Ministry of Culture) is to start a new teacher-training programme in autumn 2003.

Objective of the Curriculum

The curriculum defines the learning activities which will enable teachers of adults who have at least three years of teaching experience to improve their knowledge, skills and competence in accordance with their own needs, the needs of society (social cohesion) and the labour market, both in formal and informal ways.

Terms of Reference of the Curriculum

The following principles were taken into account while developing the curriculum:

• Integration of different sectors of adult education through teacher education;
  
• Harmonisation of Estonian adult education as regards its content and organisation by internationally recognised theoretical, methodological and methodical standards.

The curriculum is based on an education paradigm which is founded on the understanding that:

• Education can develop only in the context of global, national and local culture;
  
• The relationship between the teacher and learner in the learning process must be based on the mutual respect of personalities, and the teacher and learner are partners performing different roles in this process;
  
• All persons, regardless of their age, must improve themselves in every possible way in order to obtain and/or maintain literacy in every sense, incl. also functional literacy, in order to cope in a continuously and rapidly changing life and to participate consciously in redesigning and maintaining the surrounding living environment;
  
• Development opportunities and needs of people at their different life stages, as well as the relationship between work and coping in practical situations should be taken into account;
  
• Not only the high motivation of teachers but also strong motivation, humanistic orientation, intuition, erudition, co-operation abilities and health are important;
  
• The curriculum is open for continuous development and adjustment in accordance with changes in society and science.

Competences Required by Teachers of Adults

The competences required by teachers of adults will be described in this curriculum at three levels – general competences, subject competences and area competences. For the purpose of this curriculum, a competence means a teacher’s readiness to independently set objectives for, plan and organise his/her activities and to take decisions.

General Competences

Competence as a teacher – necessary skills, knowledge, motivation and humanistic orientation – readiness to support and instruct the learner by taking account of the learner’s needs, in the best possible and required way.

Competence as an organiser of training – readiness to plan, prepare, carry out the training and to assess it on the basis of feedback, as well as to adjust the existing curricula, if necessary, and to forecast new trends in training.

Competence as a researcher – readiness to understand the relationships between practical knowledge and theory in everyday activities, to systematise and create new knowledge on the basis of his/her own practical experience, to be the interpreter of academic knowledge.

Competence as a public person – readiness to set an example, to be a spokesman, if necessary, to simultaneously be an analyst, critic and opinion leader for society.

Competence as a bearer of culture – knows and values national culture, local cultural context and is open for communication with other cultures.

Area Competences

Competence of nature – understanding of natural science and ways of thinking; nature-conserving attitude to life.

Social competence – readiness to support democratic changes in society, understanding of social changes and developments of the past and present.

Reflection and interaction competence – readiness to understand and assess him/herself and human reûlations in accordance with cultural norms, choose a suitable behaviour, follow healthy lifestyles, solve problems related to his/her mental and physical health and problems arising in human relationships.

Communicative competence – readiness, with the help of language, to understand, remember, promote, interpret and create texts, ability to communicate in dsifferent situations and on different topics orally and in writing.

Technological competence – readiness to use modern technical devices in everyday work, understand the changes technology has brought about in people’s work and life, operate in the modern high-technology world and to be a sparing user of resources.

Subject Competences

• Setting subject objectives based on the objectives set in the general part of the curriculum, developing a syllabus based on subject objectives, continuously keeping pace with new knowledge in the taught subject, thus the readiness to flexibly change the syllabus.
  
• Knowledge of the methodology and teaching methods required to teach the subject.
  
• Readiness to see the taught subject in relationship with other subjects, to treat the teaching process described in the general part of the curriculum as a whole.

Organisation of Training

General Subjects

Basis of sociology. Relationships with adult education and andragogics. Structure of human society as such, modern understandings.

Developmental psychology. Mainly phenomena related to perception, attention, thinking, and memory which each teacher should know. The main age-related peculiarities from children to adults.

Personality psychology. Personality development, personality theories.

Social psychology. Behaviour of people in groups and organisations.

Educational philosophy. Essence and role of education in the development of human society, humanistic treatment of human being as the ideological basis for non-formal adult education.

Educational sociology, educational research. Implementation principles and methods.

Basic principles of leadership. Teacher of adults as the leader of training process: leadership styles, leadership areas and activities; main skills of leader.

Research methodology. Basic notions and structure of research, quantitative and qualitative methods.

Local culture. Knowledge and integration of Estonian cultures and cultures, relationship to neighbouring countries, personal involvement in activities.

Cultural anthropology. An overview of the world’s traditional cultures, culture and society, culture and environment, tangible and intangible culture, changes in culture, diversity of human behaviour, social relationships and processes in different societies.

Communication between cultures. Culture as shaper of attitudes, us and them, diversity of cultures (different value scales, lifestyles and ways of life in multicultural societies) and ethnic peculiarities, communication gap and ways of overcoming it, etc.

Special Subjects

Philosophy of non-formal adult education. Reasons for birth of non-formal adult education, its objectives, essence.

Adult education in Estonia. History, current situation, problems and developments. The Estonian Education Code and its points of contact with other legal acts.

Overview of adult education in the EU and other countries.

Introduction to andragogics. Difference between adult and child; relationships between general and special subjects.

Teaching methods. Content and essence and methods, learning the implementation.

Social and communicative skills. Listening, conflicts, team work.

Public appearance. Oratory – making speech-es, types of speeches, methods of influencing the audience.

Self-regulation. Self-help in case of stress, self-analysis, recuperation, time management, self confidence.

Feedback and evaluation. Various feedback possibilities, effectiveness of learning and training, ways to evaluate it.

Marketing of training. Offering of training, public relations, advertising.

Project management. Writing projects, application for financing, project management.

Learning as an adult. Adult as a learner, learning strategies.

Personality of teacher of adults and professional behaviour. Role of teacher, teaching strategies, competence.

Shaping a learning environment. Peculiarities of learning, psychological difficulties of learner, opportunities. Material (colours, design, furnishing) and immaterial (physical, social, psychological, mental) aspects.

Civics. Raising an idealistic and active citizen.

Practical Training

Final Thesis

At graduation a certificate of a teacher of adults will be issued.

Requiremensts of Syllabuses

• Syllabuses are to describe the objectives of teaching special subjects and integration opportunities with other subjects.
  
• Training content and volume.
  
• Expected final outcome.
  
• Basis for assessment of training outcome.
  
• Literature.

The next to be developed is the syllabuses. Combined, this forms a curriculum for teachers of adults.

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