Katarina Popovic

REVIEW
    In her latest book, Katarina Popović, Professor of Andragogy at the University of Belgrade, former Vice President of the European Association for Education of Adults, and Secretary General of the International Council for Adult Education, gives herself an colossal, and very timely task of analysing the historical developments and contemporary trends in global adult education policy, and their implications for the regional and local contexts, and the academic field of adult education research alike. She completes this task with much gusto. With her feet planted both in academia and policy circles, Popović has a unique vantage point from which to analyse the changing world of adult education, and she is using it to her best advantage, painting the global policy landscape in great detail, and with great verve.  This results in eight ingeniously titled chapters in which the author maps the contextual development of the concept through its various iterations.
    The analysis takes major global policy actors (UNESCO, World Bank, OECD, EU, and the international third sector) as a point of departure, competently weaving together detailed explanations of the actors’ preferred styles of governance – including policy creation, diffusion, homogenisation, monitoring, and support – in the individual, national, and global struggle to secure the knowledge in the fight against postmodern uncertainty (pp. 30-34). Importantly, the author reflects in particular on the historical positioning, influence, and the power play between these actors, and its effect in creating connections and antagonisms between different concepts launched throughout the past six decades or so: adult education, continuous education, recurrent education, lifelong education, and its contemporary iteration in lifelong learning, and in thus transforming the field of (adult) education and reshaping the ways of the learning self.
Distinguished from its conceptual predecessors the current, seemingly minor alteration with the focus on learning, creates, in one of the book’s main arguments, a new vehicle for the neo-liberal development agenda, in which knowledge is highly functional, montesiable, and most importantly, the responsibility of the individual with the notion of the greater (economic) good for themselves and the society, as the chief motivator of (primarily) individual development. Such changes, the author argues, have led to the post-structuralist, seemingly post-institutionalist (at least in the way of execution) approach to education, with the sites of learning becoming diffused, and the learning activity self-directed and self regulated (p. 122). Alongside this argument, Popović also reflects on the effects of the diffusion of sites of learning, and responsabilitisation of the individual, on the science of adult education, potentially rendering it redundant altogether. In this way, the book never veers from one of its proclaimed aims, which is considering the implication of the concept development not just for the global learning community, but for the educational paradigm and the adult education discipline as well.
    The rich contextual, historical, and institutional analysis enables the author to provide strong support to her reservations towards the adult education discourse change; she certainly is not lonely in providing a critical view of these trends, but the way in which she does it is thorough, innovative, and pertinent. One of its greatest contributions lies in a nuanced approach to adult education policy development through a prism of intersecting analyses of the adult education research conceptualisation and methodology (with a strong focus on the distinction, or indeed lack thereof, between policy and politics) and the ongoing changes in education policymaking that come as a result of a post-structural diffusion of power and governance between the state, the private sector, and the supranational entities. Another is in the author’s inter-national positioning, which enables her to dissect the topic using multiple linguistic, cultural, and academic tools. This results in a comprehensive and well-balanced overview of the topic’s treatment from diverse cultural and academic – including, without wanting to sound atomistic, non-Western – perspectives.
    From re-building the world post-WWI to looking beyond the Millennium Development Goals, from UNESCO’s ‘softer’ and more inclusive approach, reflected in the early postulate of ‘education in the service of peace and humanity’ (p. 38), to the rising influence of the World Bank and its effect on the neoliberalisation of educational discourse, we are given a somewhat discomforting portrayal, as if in a room of distorting mirrors, of what it means to be a learner, to learn, what knowledge is, and what its purpose is supposed to be; we are shown how this is influenced by the economic and geo-political trends and decided on a global scale, but on a very uneven playing field, with different rules for different players.
    Beyond criticism of the WB’s neoliberal, unidirectional, and almost neo-colonial (as the author notes on p. 253) ways, which is truthfully not entirely unusual in educational research, particular attention seems to be given to the elite club that is OECD and its enthusiasm for comparisons and rankings, its technocratic approach instrumentalising education into a way of providing the individual with a set of tools and competencies, and producing very specific – and potentially most widely internalised (hence the concern) governance mechanisms that measure, but at the same time (re)create the goals of education. Of PISA, applicable to its adult education counterpart PIAAC discussed later in the text, the author says: ‘PISA diagnoses, but it also creates, it studies, but it also carries with it a cultural dictum; in this way, it confidently redefines basic concepts – of how we see learners, learning, knowledge, curriculum... With very concrete consequences, for example in curriculum restructuring’ (p. 134). This is an observation that could easily be extended to any and all of the players described in this book, but relevant to OECD due to its rising influence (see, e.g. pp. 140-1 for the comparison of the extent of participation and influence of OECD-produced PIACC with that of UNESCO-produced GRALE, and UNESCO’s recent acceptance of some of the efficacy and efficiency narratives and advocacy of a stronger cooperation with OECD and the WB).
    In the meantime, EU, with its overt focus on unity, cooperation, and stability, is seen to have embraced what the author recognises as a neoliberal form of the concept of lifelong learning, possibly due to the fears surrounding Europe’s competitiveness alongside the US and the Asian tiger economies. Although Popović is not neglecting the more humanist discourse constructed in the, for example, Lisbon strategy, she wryly asks whether ‘this new, upgraded, upskilled, trained, and reskilled [Homo Economicus] would also manage to be innovative, proactive, creative, and critical [...]’ (p. 176).
    In the final chapters, Popović turns to INGOs in all their diversity and lobbying power, noting in particular their power of creating a forum for other, supra- and inter-governmental actors to meet with the bottom-up demands, contributing thus to the ‘democratisation of global governance’ (p. 228), offering a diversification of approaches to the question of adult education, and some alternatives (including feminist, poscolonial, environmental) to the dominant discourses constructed by the actors discussed earlier in the text.
    A prospective reader would be incorrect in assuming that the volume before them is a cynical, defeatist cry of the academic left. In her concluding remarks, Popović very soberly, and quite pragmatically, asks about the purpose and the future of adult education, both as a concept and as a discipline, in the world portrayed in the previous 300-strong pages. Reflecting on the current economic, environmental, security and geopolitical crises faced by us all, she invites a more constructive grappling with challenging issues, a more productive dialogue, and a more proactive, engaged attitude from the academic community, in a plea not to let the beautifully coined ‘unbearable lightness of indifference’ (p. 306) leave the future of adult education in the hands of others.
    In spite of its sardonic veneer, this review of contemporary policy developments does not leave behind a barren wasteland depiction of the adult education’s multifarious potential – on the contrary, at its best, it gives both the scholars and the bureaucrats sharp tools to continue carving it out. Thorough in its background research and confident in handling the different iterations of the concept, but relentless in its cool assessment of the current trading in the term and its many uses and users, this book is a necessary read both for those wading through the murky waters of adult education, and those only beginning to dip their toes. Perhaps the best way to describe the author’s cautious, yet hopeful attitude is in its nurturing, what a young andragogy student recently described as healthy pessimism. In these days of seeking easy fixes and quick solutions to deep-rooted problems of inequality, insecurity, and power imbalance, or indeed, resorting to giving them an ivory tower treatment, everyone who is a part of the adult education discourse – and we all are – could do with a healthy dose of it.

This book resulted from the project: Functional Basic Education of Adult Roma of Roma Education Fund, accomplished within the global project: Education and Learning - Prerequisites for European Integrations  financed by the Ministry of Science and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia.

This publication/Guide came about based on and after the im- plementation of the FBEAR experiment and, in addition to experiences acquired, it summarises long-standing scientific knowledge in the area of adult education, in the following sections:

Section 1 – Current situation in the area of (basic) adult edu- cation. Brief overview of current conditions in the area of basic adult education is provided in this section in parallel with the conditions prevailing in this area in the beginning of transition, from 2001 to date.

Section 2 – FBEA: programme and instruments. In this sec- tion, summarised knowledge and instruments for functionalisation of basic adult education are laid out. They are the result of a long-term scientific and professional work of the highest educational institutions in Serbia. After a brief overview of advantages of the new vs. the old model of adult education, it provides the explanation of OOO key for functionalisation, interpretation of the term, its purpose, principle and goals and description of instruments necessary for development and implementation of the FBEA programme – from methodology of cur- riculum development through organisation of learning, adult educa- tion and training curriculum to methods for certification of trainings. Generally speaking, this section can be understood as the description for preparation of conditions, concepts and instruments for applica- tion of the FBEA model.

Section 3 – FBEA(R) as active measure: example of good practice. The subject of this section is the description of the FBEAR ex- periment implementation process – from the creation of operational plan and concept through setting up of legal and institutional frame- works for its implementation, course of implementation and conver- sion of experiment into a particular active measure. It also provides the explanation of the strategy and outreach of active measure, role of social partnership (vertical and horizontal), sketch of organisational structure, management of experiment and process monitoring. In the end, this section lays out achieved results and their direct and indi- rect beneficiaries. This section is the source of acquired experiences, lessons learned and inspiration for planning the projects and actions aimed at future education of adults (particularly Roma).

Section 4 – Sustainability and replicability. This section pro- vides an overview of the factors of the FBEA model sustainability, pos-




sibilities of its universal application and challenges i.e. possibilities to institutionalise this programme.

Section 5 – recommendations and conclusion. This section lays out key considerations and main recommendations for institu- tionalisation of functional basic education of adults.

Knjiga pruža pregled rezultata projekta / implementacija ogleda "Funkcionalno osnovno obrazovanje odraslih Roma", podržanog od strane REF-a i Ministarstva prosvete Republike Srbije.

Ova publikacija - vodič je nastala na osnovu i nakon implementacije ogleda FOOOR i u njemu su, pored stečenih iskustava, data i sažeta višegodišnja naučna saznanja iz oblasti obrazovanja odraslih - i to unutar sledećih odeljaka:   

Odeljak 1. Aktuelno stanje u oblasti (osnovnog) obrazovanja odraslih. Kratak pregled aktuelnog stanja u sferi osnovnog obrazovanja odraslih je u ovom odeljku dat na osnovu paralele sa stanjem u ovoj oblasti s početka tranzicije - od 2001. naovamo. 

Odeljak 2. FOOO: program i instrumenti. Sumirana saznanja i instrumenti za funkcionalizaciju osnovnog obrazovanje odraslih, nastali kao rezultat višegodišnjeg naučnog i stručnog rada na najvišim obrazovnim institucijama u Srbiji, izloženi su u ovom odeljku. Nakon kratkog pregleda prednosti novog naspram starog modela obrazovanja odraslih, dâto je objašnjenje ključa funkcionalizacije OOO, tumačenje samog pojma, svrhe, principa i ciljeva funkcionalizacije i opis instrumenata neophodnih za razvoj i implementaciju programa FOOO - od metodologije razvoja kurikuluma, preko organizacije učenja, nastavnog plana i programa osnovnog obrazovanja i obuka do postupka sertifikovanja obuka. U celini gledano, ovaj odeljak se može razumeti kao opis pripreme uslova, koncepata i instrumenata za primenu modela FOOO.

Odeljak 3. FOOO(R) kao aktivna mera: primer dobre prakse. Opis procesa implementacije ogleda FOOOR - od stvaranja operativnog plana i koncepta, preko uspostavljanja pravnih i institucionalnih okvira za njegovu implementaciju, toka implementacije i konvertovanje ogleda u svojevrsnu aktivnu meru - predmet je ovog odeljka. U njemu su još data objašnjenja strategije i dometa aktivne mere, uloge socijalnog partnerstva (vertikalno i horizontalno), zatim skica organizacione strukture, upravljanja ogledom i monitoring progresa. Na kraju odeljka su izloženi ostvareni rezultati i njihovi direktni i indirektni korisnici. Ovaj odeljak predstavlja izvor stečenih iskustava, naučenih lekcija i inspiracije za planiranje projekata i akcija usmerenih na dalje obrazovanje odraslih (posebno Roma). 

Odeljak 4. Održivost i replikabilnost. U ovom odeljku je dat pregled faktora održivosti  modela FOOO, mogućnosti njegove univerzalne primene i izazovi, odnosno mogućnosti institucionalizacije ovog programa.

Odeljak 5. Preporuke i zaključak.  U ovom odeljku su data zaključna razmatranja i osnovne preporuke za institucionalizaciju funkcionalnog osnovnog obrazovanja odraslih.

Adult education experts have given a lot of thought to the concepts of skills and competences, especially in basic adult education. In the late 1980s Serbian adult educators, supported by UNESCO, started to develop models and programmes for the functional basic education of adults, which combines work skills with basic life skills. This process was stopped in the 1990s and continued only after the political changes, when reforms in a range of areas, including adult education, were launched.

This paper describes some experiences in functional basic adult education in Serbia from 2000 to the present, along with background information on adult education, including some statistical data, and a look at selected policy and strategic measures, and overview of the Eu supported project "Second Chance" for functional basic education of adults in Serbia

The paper focuses on the social dimension of well-being, based on the critical analysis of the way it is conceptualized in the late capitalism: as the dimensions of individual state of mind and body, something that evolves in the individual realm, stressing personal responsibility and achievement of well-being as a solitary act. Further on, the contemporary conceptualisation and approaches to policy making for well-being are compared with the policy of adult and youth education and learning. The perspective of strong individual orientation, detachment from social, community and collective aspects and efforts seem to be a common denominator. Agency is considered not only a possibility for individuals to create and change environment, but also a process of active co-construction of social reality (Berger & Luckman, 2011). This includes (re)connection with a community, very often through the new ways of community learning, civic actions and civic activities, which are understood as the kind of agency.
Exploration as to how these perspectives converge in civic interventions in urban areas of Belgrade will position togetherness at the core of the broader approach to wellbeing and to learning. The paper presents several examples of civic activities in the urban spaces, whose learning character is interpreted within the concept of public pedagogy. Examples presented are prevailing in the post-communist countries, because public spaces as the zone of the civic interventions can oppose the controlling authority, and through the fight for the human and civil rights represent the bottom line of togetherness and collective agency. Learning through the collective civic actions thus provides new ways to understand well-being.
Key words: well-being, lifelong learning, human rights, agency, collective action, public space.

European Journal of Education

In the last few years migration rocketed to the top of the priority list in adult education. In an extremely short time, a highly political issue, which had been met with humanitarian interest at best, became a hot topic in adult education. The adult education community should be proud of itself – fast reaction, being on the ‘right side of history’, helping people in one of the most difficult situations that could occur in one’s life.
But is it really enough? Shouldn't adult education do much more?

EPALE blog

Kann man Fremdenhass, Autoritarismus und Intoleranz lernen? Die jüngeren Ereignissen und Tendenzen in Europa, der Aufstieg von Populismus und Rechtsradikalismus sowie Migrationskrise sind deutliche Beweise dafür, dass dieses ‚Lernen‘ sehr schnell passieren kann bzw. ein ‚Umlernen‘ von demokratischen und humanistischen Werten hin zum oben genannten leicht vonstatten gehen kann...

The aim of the paper is to outline basic postulates of critical discourse analysis, as well as to clarify important concepts and their multiple meanings – language, ideology, and discourse. Some current dilemmas surrounding critical discourse analysis are presented, and an example of the application of this research methodology on the example of lifelong learning will be given. The concept of lifelong learning has been analyzed in the context of power relations on a global level and benefits of this dominant political discourse to adult education profession are questioned. Critical discourse analysis has been applied in order to identify naturalised assumptions, and the research methodology is enriched with historical approach in order to offer a better understanding of the dominant ideologies that shaped development of lifelong learning and to map the influence of the concept on current educational policies.

The aim of the research is to explore the education of women in Serbia in the 19th century, and to reconstruct the dominant influences on the formation of educational policy in regard to women and girls and the nature of this policy. The method used is the analysis of primary sources and archive documents of educational policy-the school laws, curricula, teaching plans and programs, the minutes of the meetings of the Ministry of Education, reports of school supervisors, as well as school diaries and memoirs. Patriarchal agrarian society in Serbia was in the process of Europeanization in the 19th century, can serve as a paradigm for research into the development of attitudes, approaches and policies of education of women. Based on resources, the conclusion has been made that the socially determined subordinate status of women in education process, at all its levels, and especially the secondary and tertiary level, was legitimized by appeal to European Rousseauian or social Darwinist views. Emancipatory influences came with the rise of socialist ideas in the 19th century. Paradoxically, these emancipatory influences helped create un upper middle class, which was able to more easily influence the educational policy than the socialists. On the other hand, the " neutralisation " of the potentially dangerous (to the existing social order) education of women demanded the creation of " gender-educational canon " which also had a dominant influence on the policy of female education.

The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Education for All Programme (EFA) are being developed without looking back in depth at the previous global agendas – Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and EFA. This article serves as a reminder of the various analyses of the failures and omissions of the past programmes, which may raise questions as to whether or not the new plans are based on wrong premises and the real challenges are being ignored.

This paper presents an analysis of three strategies for the development of adult education that were adopted in Serbia from 2001 till 2012. The analysis focuses on main discourses and narratives which these strategies are promoting and presenting, the type of changes they suggest and support, and their efficiency in the implementation of the proposed goals and strategic measures. The analysis showed that three strategies were based on different discourses, proposing different goals and strategic measures, but they have inefficiency in implementation as commonality. Several measures were implemented mainly thanks to the continuous strategic, political and financial support of EU, which points to the conclusion that adult education policy in Serbia is the result of international education policy transfer and not the expression of genuine national interest and decision to implement reforms.
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U radu se analiziraju tri strategija obrazovanja odraslih koje su u Srbiji donete u periodu od 2001. do 2012 godine. Predmet analize su bazični diskursi i narativi koje ove strategije promovišu i zastupaju, vrste promena koje predlažu i podstiču i njihova efikasnost u ostvarivanju postavljenih ciljeva i strateških mera.
Analiza je pokazala da strategije obrazovanja odraslih počivaju na različitim diskursima, da postuliraju relativno različite ciljeve i strateške mere, ali da im je zajednička neefikasnost u ostvarivanju. Manji broj mera ostvaren je zahvaljujući kontinuitetu strateške, političke i finansijske podrške EU, što upućuje na zaključak da je politika obrazovanja odraslih u Srbiji rezultat pre uticaja transfera međunarodne politike obrazovanja, nego izraz pravih nacionalnih interesa i reformske odlučnosti.

U radu se analizira pristup međunarodnih organizacija (Svetska banka, OECD, UNESCO i Evropska unija) konceptu kvaliteta obrazovanja odraslih putem analize aktuelnih dokumenata koja se posredno ili neposredno bave pitanjam kvaliteta. Uz oslanjanje na kritičku analizu diskursa i fokusiranje na jezik i terminologiju koji su upotrebljeni u analiziranim tekstovima, izveden je zaključak da se aktuelni koncept razvio u okviru ekonomskog narativa u kome se svrha obrazovanja vidi u rastu produktivnosti putem razvoja veština. Rad pruža mogući odgovor na pitanje: Da li je retorika međunarodnih dokumenata pokazatelj konačne kapitulacije autohtone obrazovne paradigme, ili neophodno prilagođavanje zahtevima (ne)vremena?

Although self-directed learning is one of the concepts that has captured the attention of researchers and authors in adult education for a long time, there is still considerable theoretical and methodological confusion about it. Viewed as one of the main concepts in adult learning and/or the most typical form of adult learning, it has been the subject of inquiries on its nature, processes and characteristics, with many attempts at theory building and considerations of similar concepts in adult education and learning.

The aim of the paper is to analyse the different types, role and specific characteristics of evaluation in the contemporary European projects about education. The methodology used includes the analysis of existing models, especially goals, criteria and procedures. Evaluation in education, especially in adult education is described, as part of andragogic cycles, evaluation as element of scientific research, as well as two main models of project management and evaluation in Europe – PCM and MAPA. Further on, this kind of evaluation is compared with the more traditional type of evaluation.

Vrednosne razlike kao izazov u intergeneracijskom i interkulturnom učenju 4 Apstrakt: Svrha prezentovane studije bila je da se istraže razlike u vrednovanju ključnih životnih fenomena među pripadnicima različitih generacija i različitih kultura koji su bili učesnici zajedničkog, međunarodnog obrazovnog programa " Aktivno starenje i međugeneracijsko učenje – kafe pričaonica " – razmena priča, asocijacija i sećanja u vezi sa važnim ličnostima, ličnim i društvenim događajima na Dunavu. Pretpostavke o razlikama u vrednovanju ključnih životnih fenomena među različitim generacijama i različitim kulturama, kao ulaznih pozicija za ovaj dijalog, učinile su da ovo interkulturno i intergeneracijsko učenje bude organizovano sa ciljem da se razvije interkulturno-generacijska osetljivost: kroz razmenu, i tada učesnici uče zajedno, jedni sa drugima, jedni o drugima, i razmenjuju svoja znanja, osećanja, sećanja, uverenja, stavove i vrednosti o svetu, ljudima i događajima. Istraživanje koje je sprovedeno imalo je za cilj da utvrdi osnovanost pretpostavki o razlikama na kojima se i iz kojih se uči. Istraživanje je pokazalo da su razlike u vrednovanju ključnih životnih fenomena, kako među generacijama tako i među kulturama, podjednako izazovni i relevantni resursi i izvori za učenje za sve učesnike programa.

The paper discusses methodological issues and problems related to the current ways of measuring participation in adult education in Europe. This paper presents the most common ways of measuring participation, in particular methodological approach EUROSTAT, the Statistical Office of the European Union, its methodological and statistical model AES (Studies on the participation of adults), as well as some national and international models. A critical analysis of methodological aspects is directed to: concepts and definitions of adult education and learning that implicitly or explicitly underlying the ways of measuring participation, in the manner of determining the population and sample, defining the time frame that includes measurements, questionnaires, indicators and benchmarks. In addition, recommendations are given that could improv measureing of participation, in order to collect accurate and reliable data, which can be comparable internationally, and enable better monitoring and evaluation of participation in adult education.

(Publikacija CANU)
Reforme obrazovanja i vaspitanja, kao i obrazovanja odraslih u Crnoj Gori nisu na početku. Značajna postignuća daju osnova za optimizam, u relativno kratkom vremenskom roku Crna Gora se uključila u evropske tokove – podijelivši neka dostignuća, ali i niz savremenih evropskih problema. S druge strane-složena ekonomska situacija, izvjesni zastoji u reformi, i složenost, fluidnost i razuđenost područja obrazovanja odraslih čine neophodnim stalne analize i preispitivanja – kako zbog ocjene postignutog, tako zbog planiranja daljih koraka, koji ne bi smjelo imati odlike laicizma i entuzijastičke haotičnosti, već profesionalnog, analitički zasnovanog i dobro promišljenog pristupa. U svjetlu napora Crne Gore usmjerenih ka evro-atlantskim integracijama čini se naročito važnim procjena postignuća sa stanovišta evropske relevantnosti i uspješnosti. Razlog tome nije samo nužnost formalne usklađenosti zakona, propisa i niza konkretnih rješenja sa onima u Evropi, već mnogo više potreba da se na najbolji način uredi oblast obrazovanja odraslih, kako bi ono što više bilo u funkciji i razvoja zemlje (ekonomskog, demokratskog, socijalnog), ali i pojedinca, građanina. Sljedeća analiza, dakle, posmatra obrazovanje odraslih u Crnoj Gori ne kao izolovan fenomen, već u kontekstu procesa evropskih integrracija. U fokusu analize su politika i strategija obrazovanja odraslih i cjeloživotnog učenja, a njen predmet su strateška, politička dokumenta, zakonska regulativa, a indirektno i njihove implikacije na praksu. Krajnja namjera teksta je formulisanje preporuka za dalji razvoj obrazovanja odraslih u Crnoj Gori sa ciljem njegovog približavanja obrazovanju odraslih u Evropskoj Uniji.

Visoko obrazovanje u Srbiji je prošlo različite faze – od otvorenosti za odrasle studente u fazi dominiranja koncepcije " povratnog obrazovanja " do njihovog " nestajanja " sa univerziteta. Cilj rada je da istraži koliko su danas u Srbiji visokoškolske ustanove otvorene za " netipične " studente (odrasle i starije) i da utvrdi dominantne diskurse koji oblikuju praksu u ovoj oblasti. To je učinjeno eksploracijom aktuelne obrazovne politike-kroz analizu dokumenata koji definišu pravac razvoja visokog obrazovanja, kao i kroz analizu dominantne terminologije-kao indikatora aktuelnih koncepcija i shvatanja. Zaključuje se da je visokoškolsko obrazovanje u Srbiji retorički otvoreno za odrasle, ali je njihovo de facto učešće veoma limitirano. Na kraju rada su istaknute promene neophodne za intenzivnije uključivanje odraslih u visoko obrazovanje, kao i preporuke za stvaranje otvorenog, pristupačnog i inkluzivnog sistema visokoškolskog obrazovanja.

Martin Buber, rođen 1878. u Beču, živeo i radio Beču, Lajpcigu, Berlinu, Cirihu, Frankfurtu, Jerusalimu, bio je aktivan u najznačajnijim akademskim sredinama Evrope svog vremena, ovaj jevrejski mislilac, religijski filozof, predavač i praktičar ostavio je dubok trag u nekoliko oblasti ljudskog duha, uključujući i obrazovanje odraslih, a mnogi ga svrstavaju među najznačnije mislioce XX veka.
Iz fundusa bogate misli Martina Bubera izdvajaju se samo neke, tim pre što se filozofska, religijska, politička, psihološka i andragoška misao snažno prožimaju (on je svoje religijsko iskustvo i sam preveo na filozofski jezik ), a s druge strane, poznavanje njegovog praktičnog rada je takođe od velikog značaja za razumevanje ovih ideja. No ono što i jeste jedan od ključnih kvaliteta ovog kompleksa ideja, ono što ih čini toliko drugačijim i posebnim, jeste upravo činjenica da se Buberova misao ne odlikuje klasičnom interdisciplinarnošću, već deluje kao „naddisciplinarna“, jedinstvena celina, sa novim kvalitetom, čije se implikacije mogu očitavati u svim pomenutim disciplinama. On sam je često isticao da ne poseduje nikakvu čvrstu doktrinu, već je govorio: „Ja samo pokazujem nešto. Pokazujem stvarnost, nešto u toj stvarnosti, što do tada nije viđeno, ili bar ne dovoljno. Onog ko me sluša uzimam za ruku i vodim do prozora. Otvaram prozor i pokazujem van. Ja nemam nikakvo učenje, ja samo vodim razgovor.“ 
U radu se izdvajaju njegove misli, ideje i teorije koje imaju direktan andragoški karakter ili su indirektno važne za njegovo poimanje obrazovanja odraslih. Sem toga, ukazuje se na duboku ukorenjenost ovih ideja u evropsku filozofsku, ali i andragošku misao i na njihovu aktuelnost i veliki filozofsko-humanistički potencijal koji nude savremenim teorijama obrazovanja odraslih.

Rad se bavi pitanjima kvaliteta obrazovanja i učenja odraslih u Evropskoj uniji, determinanta-ma koje su uslovile prioritetan karakter ove teme u programskim dokumentima i aktivnostima Evropske komisije i među zemljama članicama. Rad dalje analizira dostignuća na ovom planu, pre svega u oblasti stručnog obrazovanja i u visokom obrazovanju – razvijene sisteme kvaliteta, programe i zajedničke mere u okviru EU. U učenju odraslih analiziraju se postojeći pristupi pra-ćenju i obezbeđenju kvaliteta, dimenzije i komponente kvaliteta, pitanja kriterijuma i indikatora. Poseban osvrt učinjen ja na tri ključna problema za oblast kvaliteta obrazovanja – andragoški kadar, institucije i participaciju odraslih. Ključne reči: kvalitet obrazovanja odraslih, kvalitet učenja odraslih, Evropska unija Savremene tendencije razvoja u EU kao determinanta bavljenja kvalitetom Shvatanja o kvalitetu obrazovanja i učenja odraslih u zemljama Evropske unije definisana su nizom faktora – zajedničkom i nacionalnom politikom obra-zovanja, realnim potrebama koje definišu svet obrazovanja s jedne i svet rada s druge strane, kao i naučno-istraživačkim konceptima na kojima se u kontinuitetu radi u profesionalnim telima na nacionalnom i na EU nivou. Dinamičan razvoj ove oblasti u poslednjih nekoliko godina ipak je najviše pod uticajem ekonomskih promena i promena u globalnim ciljevima EU koje su uslovljene globalizacijom i ekonomskom krizom. U trenutku kada je definisan cilj da Evropa postane naj-kompetentnija i najdinamičnija ekonomija sveta utemeljena na znanju, sposobna za održivi ekonomski rast, uz stvaranje novih kvalitetnih radnih mesta i uz veću socijalnu koheziju, (EC, 2010) obrazovanje i učenje odraslih su dobili na značaju. U kontekstu značajnih globalnih promena, evropski fokus je pomeren sa stvaranja što jedinstvenijeg evropskog obrazovnog prostora sa visokom unutrašnjom mo-bilnošću i obrazovanjem kao opštim dobrom – na profesionalnu, visokoorganizo-vanu, standardizovanu oblast čija društvena, ekonomska i socijalna relevantnost nameću pitanje kvaliteta kao prioritetno.

Contemporary urban trends do not deal enough with the problem  of satisfying the educational needs, especially in adults. Educational activities of this population do not have appropriate urban frame, i.e. they are often related to inappropriate architectural objects which are neglecting something specific in their education and learning. The purpose of this paper is to show the possibilities that open spaces (streets, squares, parks etc.) can offer to the following categories of educational needs: ecological, aesthetic, social, political...This work suggests innovation of the curriculum of the professional education of architects, which should enable them to create open spaces with elements and contents that would give a new dimension to educational activities.

The article analysis learning about democracy and citizenship in the new, alternative environments, that are created through civic activism ('occupying' unused spaces for cultural and learning activities, organizing peaceful protests against autocratic city planning and urbanism without participation of citizens, and similar actions.). This kind of learning is always a kind of community organized activity, whereby community is not understood in the traditional way, but as togetherness, as the collective action of citizens where people learn, through urban activism, about the values and mechanisms of democracy through practicing it. The new practices of this kind of learning in Serbia are analyzed from the point of view of three theoretical approaches – public pedagogy, critical theory and embodied learning.

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The paper examines the European policy in education and learning, claiming the strong influence by international actors such as OECD and World Bank. Critical exploration focuses on the notion of skills and competencies, including the adaptability as the goal, proving their dominance in the European policy through the language and discourse and content analysis of the European policy documents. The deficits of this approach are argued through its inadequacy for reaching the strategic goals set in European documents. Approach focused on skills and competencies, is critically examined also for its reductionism, positivistic-pragmatic character, value-free and context-free nature.

In his recent book Peter Mayo put together material from his previous papers and studies on Gram-sci, choosing those focusing on neoliberalism, hegemony and education, revisiting and elaborating them through the main lenses — these of Gramsci's contemporary relevance in the neoliberal age. The book offers deep, critical insight into the role of education in the neoliberal context throughout the 10 chapters, focusing on different aspects of Gramsci's ideas and (mis)use of education by the neoliberal hegemonies in different parts of the world.