Research into Higher Education of Adults in Slovenia

• Published in: Andragoška spoznanja
• Main Author: Mihevc, Bogomir
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Slovenian
• Published: Ljubljana University Press, Faculty of Arts 1997
• Subjects: Research into Higher Education of Adults in Slovenia; Raziskava o visokošolskem izobraževanju odraslih v Sloveniji; sami
• Online Access: https://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/AndragoskaSpoznanja/article/view/6689; https://doi.org/10.4312/as.3.2.46-55

In his study the author first ascertains that there is a general tendency for higher education of adults to become the domain of university; therefore, in 1993, the Centre for the Development of the University decided to carry outa comprehensive research into higher education of adults in this country. lts aim was to ereate a theoretical framework, a description of the past developments and of the present state, a definition of requirements and a statement of proposals for implementation of changes. The main findings of the study indicate that there have been major changes in the higher education of adults in r ece nt years; continuous professional education in its many forms is rapidly spreading; the courses offered to the “irregular” (part-time) student are the same as those offered to the “regular” (full-time) student, but there is less counselling for th e adults. The author establishes that higher education of adults is still lagging behind, a situation resulting from the lack of coordination between - and in activity of - various agents in the system. The study also shows that in Slovenia there are more placements open to adults in the academic or university programs than in the professional programs, which is contrary to what might be expected in view of the nature of part­time studies. ln the conclusion the author suggests that the university should liaise with the other parts of the system, which is the only possible way to make the university evol ve into a community of scientists, teachers and students, not separated by age, a community that will be ready to accept the challenges posed by the environment and foster a cooperation exceeding the framework of science. Avtor v svoji raziskavi najprej ugotavlja, da postaja v svetu visokošolsko izobraževanje odraslih čedalje bolj domena univerze, zato so se na Centru za razvoj univerze že leta 1993 odločili za obširnejšo raziskavo o stanju na tem področju pri nas. Cilji raziskave so bili oblikovanje teoretičnih izhodišč, opis dosedanjega razvoja in ugotovitev trenu tnega stanja, opredelitev potreb ter oblikovanje predlogov za spremembo stanja. Poglavitne ugotovitve v raziskavi so bile, da lahko v zadnjih letih zaznamo bistvene spremembe v visokošolskem izobraževanju odraslih; danes se čedalje bolj razvijajo oblike nadaljnjega strokovnega izobraževanja in izpopolnjevanja, programska ponudba za "izredne" študente je načelno enaka kot za "redne" študente, manj pa je svetovalnega dela z odraslimi. Avtor ugotavlja, da je v visokošolskem izobraževanju odraslih še zmeraj zastoj, katerega vzrok sta nepovezanost in neaktivnost posameznih akterjev v sistemu. Izsledki raziskave so tudi pokazali, da je v Sloveniji več vpisnih mest za odrasle v akademskih (univerzitetnih) programih, manj pa v strokovnih, kot bi lahko že po sami naravi "izrednega" študija pričakovali. Na koncu svojega prispevka pa opozori tudi na pomen povezovanja univerze z drugimi deli sistema in hkrati poudarja, da je to edini način, po katerem bi postala univerza skupnost znanstvenikov, učiteljev in študentov, ki se ne bodo ločevali po starosti, in bo pripravljena na izzive okolja ter na sodelovanje prek okvirov znanosti.