Monimenetelmällinen näkökulma omaehtoisen opiskelun hyötyihin

Abstract

Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL) -tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli arvioida, minkälaisia laajempia hyötyjä vapaan sivistystyön tyyppisiin opintoihin osallistuminen tuottaa aikuisten elämässä kymmenessä Euroopan maassa. – Kymmenessä Euroopan maassa tehty tutkimus osoittaa, että omaehtoinen opiskelu parantaa elämänlaatua monella tapaa. Esimerkiksi opiskelijan lisääntynyt usko omiin vaikuttamismahdollisuuksiin johtaa muutoksiin terveyskäyttäytymisessä. Tunne kuulumisesta johonkin yhteisöön oli vastaajille tärkeää.

Benefits of Adult Education Participation for Low-Educated Women

“…Given this dynamic, institutions such as the European Commission (2011, 2016); the OECD (2013); and the CEDEFOP (2016, 2018), as well as scientific research, including works by Windisch (2015); Kil, Operti, and Manninen (2012); Manninen and Meriläinen (2011); Schuller et al (2002), Schuller et al (2004); Desjardins (2008b); Schuller and Desjardins (2010); or Panitsides (2014), defend participation in adult education as a relevant tool for empowerment, although it can be influenced, among others, by personal variables such as level of education, age, or family background. Adult education potential benefits can be very broad, as Schuller et al (2002) and Schuller et al (2004) state, acquiring qualifications, improving knowledge and skills, achieving better health, enhancing employability, improving learning motivation, acquiring positive attitudes and values, and promoting active citizenship, among others.…”

“…Adult education potential benefits can be very broad, as Schuller et al (2002) and Schuller et al (2004) state, acquiring qualifications, improving knowledge and skills, achieving better health, enhancing employability, improving learning motivation, acquiring positive attitudes and values, and promoting active citizenship, among others. In fact, for Manninen and Meriläinen (2011, p. 123), “the lower the educational level, the more changes the participation in adult education generates in the motivation of learning, welfare and other benefits.” This statement is also corroborated by Panitsides (2014, pp. 68-69) in her qualitative study on the potential benefits of lifelong learning courses for adults: “Successful completion of LLL courses, offering a ‘second chance,’ can be proven exceptionally beneficial to the self-esteem of individuals who failed in formal education.” Specifically, Hammond and Feinstein (2005) found that low-educated women, who participate in education courses, go through a process of increasing self-efficacy, enhancing personal development, and improving family and social relationships as well as their professional status.…”

“…Following Manninen (2010), in our study, we argue that an analysis of the benefits of adult learning should be based on a multidimensional and not a fragmented approach that considers different factors. Thus, to elaborate a model tested by an analysis based on structural equations and in the absence of previous models that analyze the benefits of NFE in low-educated women, we started with the work of Manninen and Meriläinen (2011), which is based on previous research on benefits of adult education by Desjardins (2008b) and Schuller and Desjardins (2010). These authors defined a model that used the results of their own questionnaire and defined the “liberal participation of adults in learning activities” (inside the NFE concept) 3 as an observed and exogenous (independent) variable.…”

“…By using the participation variable of NFE as a dependent variable of “age,” “education,” and “parents’ education” and as an independent variable of the rest of the endogenous variables, a set of the potential benefits of the participation of women with a low educational level is analyzed. These are similar to the benefits used in the model of Manninen and Meriläinen (2011), but are based on our study of the variables in the PIAAC test that measure effects that can be compared with the benefits analyzed by Manninen and Merilänen. Our choice of using the NFE variable is explained by different reasons.…”

“…To explore the positive effects of adult education on low-educated women, the present investigation, using a sample of 5,838 European women with an educational level of ISCED 0-2 drawn from the sample of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) survey (OECD, 2016), develops a model that uses structural equations (SEM) based on a literature review and the proposal by Manninen and Meriläinen (2011) on the benefits of nonformal education (NFE) for adults. The results show that such participation supports greater social and political confidence, more intense cultural participation, and even better health and employability.…”