ADULT LEARNING AND SOCIALIZATION PROCESSES: RTA EXPERIENCE

ERASMUS+ Strategic Partnership project Adult Self-Learning: Supporting Autonomy in a Technology-Mediated Environment/ ASL (Ref. No. 2019-1-TR01-KA204076875) co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme, Key Action 2: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices – Strategic Partnerships for adult education. The project aims at teaching learners to acquire new skills and competences using learning innovative practices and digital technologies as well as developing a functioning collaborative learning environment to help them identify skills gaps and needs and to collaborate locally and independently for joint capacity-building. The ASL project is expected to produce three main results corresponding to three primary European priorities: 1. Supporting the setting up of, and access to, up skilling pathways (priority: adult lifelong learning); 2. Improving and extending the supply of high quality learning opportunities tailored to the needs of individual low-skilled or low-qualified adults (priority: social inclusion/further education opportunities); 3. Open education and innovative practices in a digital era (priority: adults' professionalization/empowerment).


Adult lifelong learning
The aims of education policy in Latvia have been linked mainly with an economic development and the state identity for a long time. The compliance of education content to the requirements of labour market, education quality, as well as consolidation the state language in the education system have been the cornerstones of education policy during recent decades. (Golubeva, 2018) Determining the trends of Latvia education policy in The Guidelines of Education Development for 2014 -2020, priority trend of education policy has been emphasised: ensuring of special education needs in inclusive environment, incl. low skilled adults (https://likumi.lv/ta/id/303768).
In Latvia, adult education is officially defined as the "multi-dimensional educational process of persons (in age group 25-64) which ensures the development of the individual and his or her competitiveness in the labour market". In line with the lifelong learning conception, adult education had incorporated three main concepts: • Formal education -a system which includes levels of basic education, secondary education and higher education, and which assure professional qualification certificates, issued by the government.

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Non-formal education -any organized educational activities outside formal education system, such as courses, conferences, lectures, seminaries or workshops. The goal of non-formal education is to acquire new skills or improve knowledge and competences related to work, social and personal aims.

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Informal learning -is intentional, but less organized and also less structured, i.e., self-taught with the aim of improving the one own skills, consequently acquiring new knowledge. http://planipolis.iiep.unesco. org/upload/Latvia/Latvia_Education_Law.pdf Taking into account the state of art of life-long learning in Europe, Latvia has implemented many activities to promote the development of adult education.
The previous economic crisis has demonstrated the importance of an effective adult education strategy. (http://www.muzizglitiba.lv/izglitibas-politika). The support of the direct impact in the multifunctional participation of adults in lifelong learning is also the achievement indicator of the employment target because it limits the risk of structural unemployment. The Guidelines for the Development of Education 2014 -2020 construct the strategic framework for the implementation and the development of adult education in Latvia Implementing the action direction "Professionally-oriented adult and nonformal education" it is planned • to develop strategies for lifelong learning and to ensure its launch at the regional level, • the offer of second chance education for youth and adults and for adult education programs, • to develop a methodology of evaluation and recognition for the informally acquired skills, • planned activities for public awareness expansion to promote general understanding of value, skills and abilities of non-formal education, which it develops, • to expand the offers of the universities in continuing education (in terms of regional development trends) and to develop a program to prepare teachers of adult education, to develop distance learning materials (university programs designed modules, which it can be mastered separately from the whole program), • to expand the number of Internet access points for online/ distance learning.
Lifelong learning is education of all your life long, which opens opportunities for everyone in society to improve their skills or acquire other qualifications according to the labor market demands, their interests and needs. Implementation of the lifelong learning principle contributes to the full value personal development and allow people to adapt better to the changes of a new era. Supporting the development of the lifelong learning principle, an outcome learning approach is emphasized which evaluates the acquired knowledge, skills and competence, rather than the way they have been obtained -in a formal, informal or non-formal learning way.
The term "adult education" is used to refer to both the process and the structures and institutions that are designed to promote adult education. According to the article 46 of the Law on Education adult education can be implemented in formal and informal education programs. The implementation of the formal adult education programs are determined by of the Education Law (http://likumi.lv/doc.php?id=50759); Vocational Training Act (http://likumi.lv/ doc.php?id=20244) and the Higher Education Law (http://likumi.lv/doc.php?id= 37967) standards.
In Latvia the current basic approach in adult education theory and practice includes: • Action Learning, opportunities for mentoring and befriending are gradually offered in Latvia, learning through activities; • Experiential Learning, emphasizing the action, event, events analysis and reflection, interpretation and generation of new knowledge; • Project-based learning is based on different sources of information extraction which analyse and generate new knowledge; • Self-directed Learning, which is characterized by the increased ability to monitor targets and identify personally meaningful evaluation criteria, regardless of the teacher, guidance, educational institutions, the stages or way of life; • Intergenerational Learning; • Interdisciplinarity, which includes access to education in different age groups, improvement of basic abilities and skills, to keep as long as possible person's a competitiveness on the labor market with the appropriate professional competence, risk groups, social inclusion, quality of lifelong education, including effectiveness, extension of providing lifelong learning programs (Koķe, 2012);

RTA experience in socialization processes
The executor of the projects in the field of Personality Socialization is the Research institute of Regional Studies (REGI) of RTA (https://www.rta.lv/ en_regi) that implements the doctoral program "Pedagogy", (scientifis branchsocial pedagogy and special education) (https://www.rta.lv/regi_ doctoral_and_post_doctoral_research_aid) organizes the annual international conference "Society.

SWOT analysis of RTA work with people with disabilities, adolescents, lowqualified and low-skilled adults
Strength -Academic work opportunities for people with disabilities, adolescents, low-qualified and low-skilled adults -Scientific outcomes transfer in practice using modern laboratories with modern equipment -Development of positive stress coping strategies using multisensory room; -Implementation and development of methods, recognized by the leading researchers and applied in practice, providing support for successful socialization of people with disabilities, adolescents, lowqualified and low-skilled adults Weaknesses - We are scientific institute and there are lack of capacity / staff for the work with low skilled adults Opportunities -Projects development and financial support for activities with people with disabilities, adolescents, low-qualified and low-skilled adults Treats - Real situation regarding Corona virus in EU and Latvia -Economical situation after Corona virus and decreasing EU finance for the projects development