A Wide-open Road.
Creating a New Education for Adult Educators in Latvia

by Toms Urdze, Latvian National Project group

Looking back on the creation process of the new education in Latvia, a picture of an ant springs to my mind: this ant wants to reach a specific leaf on a tree. On its way it has hundreds of possibilities to change direction. And only when it has reached the leaf and looks down, can a straight path be seen.
In retrospect, the implementation of the Learning 4 Sharing project in Latvia seems to have been purposeful and structured towards the final outcome – a 160-hour training course for teachers in adult education. But in reality, when we started the work three years ago, we had only questions and no answers. The objective – to create an education for adult educators in Latvia – was clear. But what should this course of education look like? Who would be the participants? What was the content to be like? What was the structure to be like? And who was to find the answers to these questions – and how?
Who?
Many people have been involved in the implementation process of the Learning 4 Sharing project in Latvia. The work was organised in a number of working groups.

National Project Group

The Latvian Project Group consisted of three persons: Anita Jakobsone, former chairwoman of the Latvian Adult Education Association (LAEA), and in the first year the Latvian representative in the project’s Steering Group; Tatjana Koke, member of the Criteria Group; and me, current Chairman of the LAEA.
The task of this group was to supervise the whole process and not to lose focus on the final outcome – the creation of a new course of education for adult educators.

Core Group

For the selection of Core group members three main criteria were used: different fields of adult education should be represented, the participants should be highly motivated and committed, and emphasis was on a gender balance in order to foster group dynamics. The result was that the Latvian Core group consisted of people coming from different backgrounds: adult education centres, private companies and teachers. The heterogeneity of this group and the different backgrounds of its members resulted in many discussions which were important in order to find critical issues and to clarify our goals.
The work with the Core group was continuous. During the last three years seminars were organised on a regular basis which had two purposes:

• To raise the personal and professional competencies of the participants;
  
• To be a resource for the development of the course of education.

Both purposes were met extremely well. Two members of the Core group participated in the creation of the course manual, two persons will be educators on the new course of education, others have shared their knowledge in developing the marketing strategy for the new course, and the group in general played an important role in creating the form and content of the new course of education. A positive spin-off is that the members have evolved into a strong team, making use of each other’s knowledge, skills, and giving personal support to each other.

Background Group

One goal of the project was to raise the professional competences of the Core group members. For this purpose a number of seminars were organised, where the Core group members organised and ran teaching sessions for experienced adult educators. Because most of the Latvian Core group members had not much experience in teaching, this was a challenging task and important learning experience.

The original plan had been to set up a Background group, consisting of the participants of these teaching sessions. But in the further project implementation process it became clear that the establishment of another group would be artificial and would not help us in any significant way to reach our main objective. Therefore we decided to invite individual participants of this group when needed, e.g. for the manual and curriculum development.

During the last year, four working groups were set up:

Marketing group
Based on the results of market research, which analysed different needs, target groups, and other relevant information for the new course of education, a working group developed ideas and strategies for a successful marketing strategy.

Manual group
A group of five experts wrote a manual, which forms the basis for the new course of education. In order to find the right content and form for the manual, a number of discussions with the other working groups were organised.

Licensing group
Another working group focused on possibilities for raising the legal value of the new course of education by finding ways of integrating it into the existing educational framework.
These three working groups consisted mainly of members of the National Project, Core and Background groups. When we saw that more expertise was needed, a number of new persons were involved.

Educator group
In the last stage of the project, a group of future educators was established, which will be responsible for teaching in the new course of education. It might seem strange to set up this group at the very end of the project. But from our perspective this approach made sense, because only during the last six months did we get a clear idea what the new course of education would look like. Presenting our ideas concerning the new course of education to other experts and seeing whether we could convince them to come aboard was an important final test.

Obstacles and Turning Points

All groups mentioned had the same challenge: there were only questions, and no one around who could come up with ready answers. Therefore all groups had to make great efforts to understand what was needed, and how this could be achieved. Looking back, a number of key questions can be pointed out.

A Question of Language

From the very beginning, we had decided not to focus only on non-formal adult education but to try to develop an educational offer that is needed by different people working as practitioners with the learning of adults. It took many discussions to clarify whether it is possible and sensible to create an offer that is relevant for people working in adult education centres as well as for people dealing with in-service training in big enterprises. It became clear that the needs concerning further training are quite similar but that different approaches are needed. Terminology is of great importance in this regard: the terminology to explain educational ideas to people with a pedagogical background differs considerably from the terminology that explains similar ideas to people coming from the private sector.

But the issue of language went deeper than different perceptions based on different backgrounds. In all working groups a lot of time had to be spent on finding and defining the meaning of key words of adult education in the Latvian language. Already at our first national meeting the question arose, how to describe in Latvian a person who teaches adults. It became even more difficult when trying to find words for the different roles of an educator, such as trainer, facilitator, coach, and guide.
The process of discussing terminology was often quiet frustrating, but on the other hand it helped to clarify the underlying meaning of key words.

Criteria

The criteria developed by the CREE Group were another point of discussion during the whole project implementation process. An interesting question was, how criteria, developed on the basis of non-formal adult education can be transferred to other areas, e.g. the environment of people working in the private sector.

Practitioner Research

In the work of the Core group, practitioner research played an important role. Especially during the teaching of the background group, different practitioner research methods were used in order to develop personal and professional competences. One activity was based on two sets of questions which the Core group members used to evaluate their teaching. The first set focuses on the teaching’s preparation phase, the other helps to evaluate the teaching process itself. Answering these questions proved to be a time-consuming task, but the participants agreed that it had been worthwhile and helped to locate/isolate good practice and points for improvement.

Questions for Self-reflection on Preparation Phase

• In what order do I focus on:
  
• Objectives;
  
• Participants;
  
• Content;
  
• Methods;
  
• Materials (hand-outs, Overhead slides, etc.);
  
• Framework (facilities, time, coffee breaks, etc.);
  
• Other.

On which phases do I place more emphasis, on which less? Why?

How do I determine the content? Why?
How do I select information? Why?
How do I determine the priorities? Why?
How do I determine methods to use? Why?

Which preparation phase is most difficult for me? Why?
How do the expected participants influence the content? Why?
How do the expected participants influence the methods selected? Why?
When can I say that I am well-prepared? Why?

What am I most afraid of? What troubles me? Why?
What do my notes for the seminar look like? Why?
To what extent do I use my notes during the seminar? Why?
What do I do to overcome nervousness? Why?

How much time do I spend on preparation? How do I divide my time? Why?
What do I want the participants to think about me? Why?
What would I like to say to myself on my performance after the teaching? Why?

Questions for Self-reflection after Teaching

On what did I place more emphasis, on what less? Why?

Objectives
Participants
Content
Methods
Materials (hand-outs, Overhead slides, etc.)

Framework (facilities, time, coffee breaks, etc.)
Miscellaneous
Were the determined focuses of the content appropriate for the participants? Why?
Were the determined methods appropriate? Why ?
Were there situations which asked for a change of plan / content? What did I do?

What was the effect? Why?
Was I well prepared? Why?
What was I most afraid of? What troubled me? What did I do? What effect did this have? Why?
Where my notes helpful? When? Why?
What do the participants think about me? (Guess). Why?

What can I say about my performance now? Why?
How did I motivate the participants to learn? What effect did this have? Why?
What did foster the learning environment? What hindered it? Why?
What was helpful for understanding the content? What hindered it? Why?

Based on this experience, we decided that the new course of education should also have a strong focus on the research of the participants’ own practice. This is reflected in the curriculum, where 50% of the time is allocated for participants’ organised and implemented activities. Additionally, practitioner research will be one of the main methods for evaluating the participants’ progress.

Market Research

An important turning point for our work was market research which was done by Agenda – a private company not linked to adult education. The task given to them was to investigate possibilities for the new course of education: target groups, their needs and interests, possible competitors, and to suggest possible marketing strategies.
The market research showed three main target groups for the new course of education:

Municipalities
The new course of education is of interest for different competencies and institutions that fall under the responsibility of municipalities, such as adult education centres, further training of teachers, social work, local and regional development.
Municipalities are familiar with the idea of adult education. They see it as a means to solve social problems, foster development and raise civic activity. Though the resources of municipalities are often limited, they could be interested in paying for the new course if they see that it has an impact on dealing with these issues. Because of the lack of finances municipalities place emphasis on formal aspects in regard to the gained qualification, e.g. certificates.

Private Sector
Also private companies could be interested in the new course of education, e.g. to prepare mentors who would be able to transfer knowledge and skills to other employees. The private sector in Latvia has usually no deeper understanding of adult education, and is not seen as anything relevant to them; therefore it is important to express the benefits of the new course of education in a terminology that is in accordance with their background.
Many companies in Latvia invest quite a lot of money in training and further education of employees. But until now most companies have not developed a deeper understanding of the need to invest in people; employees are usually seen as a means to get maximum profit in minimum time. Therefore they focus on courses that return immediate financial benefit, e.g. selling techniques.
A positive aspect is that if a company is convinced about the need for further training, the main focus in selecting an offer is the quality of the course, not the cost.

State Institutions and Others
There are a number of state institutions that deal with further education, such as the State Employment Service and the Forest Service, which could benefit from the new course of education. This is also true of high schools and universities.

Also independent educators and consultants could be interested in the new course of education. It can be foreseen that their number will increase over the next years.
The market research proved that it is a good idea not to focus exclusively on the non-formal adult education sector. Anyhow, it becomes more and more difficult to distinguish between different forms and areas of adult education; the new course provides opportunities to raise awareness on the importance of adult education in general. It is important to build stronger links between different sectors of society. Another positive aspect is that the different target groups can learn from each other: people and organisations working in the educational and social sphere often lack economic thinking; on the other hand, the private sector in Latvia often lacks value-oriented and humanistic thinking. And finally, attracting the private sector to the new course is of financial significance to ensure quality and sustainability.

Nordic Experience

An important part of the Learning 4 Sharing project was the investigation of Nordic experience in training adult educators. For us the work of VOX, the Norwegian National Institute for Adult Education, proved to be a great help and inspiration in creating our course. A study visit to Oslo helped us to get a clearer picture on how the course should be organised. Also the experience of VOX confirmed that it is possible to orient such a course towards the private sector.

The New Course of Education

Manual
The corner stone for the new course of education is a manual which forms the basis for the curriculum. The manual focuses on the following topics:

• Adult Education and its role in today’s society;
  
• The participant / How do adults learn?
  
• Group dynamics, communication and teaching;
  
• Methods;
  
• Planning of the course and assessment.

Each chapter consists of theoretical inputs, explanations, case studies, and information for further studies.

www.pasniedzejs.lv
All relevant information concerning the new course of education will be gathered on the Internet site www.pasniedzejs.lv (pasniedzejs = educator). Via the site, participants of the new course will be able to exchange information on a First Class based platform, where additional resources for self-studies will also be available.

Length of the Course

The new course of education will last for three months, with two-day seminars every second week. In addition to 96 face-to-face teaching hours, 64 hours are allocated for self-study and independent work.

Formal Aspects of the New Course of Education

Formal aspects of an educational offer have high importance for most institutions and organisations in Latvia. For this reason we investigated different possibilities to anchor the new course of education in the Latvian legal system. In the end, it was decided to license the programme in the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science. The next stage, once the course has been started, is for it to be accredited. This does not give a participant any direct benefits, but it will help to raise the prestige of the new course of education and to differentiate it from other courses.
It can be foreseen that over the next few years the introduction of quality-ensuring systems will become more and more important.

This will have a positive impact on the status of the new course of education, because it is one of the rare opportunities to raise the quality of educators working in the field of adult education.
We will also investigate whether it makes sense to link the new course to a university, which would enable participants to receive credit points.

A Wide-open Road

The L4S project is the continuation of the Nordic Baltic co-operation scheme in adult education. When the idea of creating such courses in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was born, the driving force was to develop sustainable structures for the education of adult educators in the Baltic countries. I am convinced, that the future will prove that this objective has been met.

Additionally, the L4S project has been an important investment for the continuation of this Nordic Baltic co-operation: many contacts have been established at organisational and personal levels around the Baltic which will foster collaboration and provide opportunities for further sharing and learning. Therefore we can say that the future is a wide-open road.

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