Adult Learning Policy

"Who Does It Cost? How greater investment in adult learners will strengthen Irish society"

Adult Learners' Festival 2024 Policy Discussion

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our "Who Does It Cost" policy discussion, focussing on policy solutions to the growing levels of poverty and income inequality for adult learners in Ireland. Read all about the event here. 

Education is widely recognised as a tool used for improving the conditions of people’s lives, and society. Research shows that adult learning results in increased levels of personal happiness and wellbeing for individuals; a greater sense of belonging, social inclusion and inter-cultural understanding for communities; benefits to the economy; and a decrease in levels of poverty and inequality. Yet there is insufficient financial investment to meet the real costs of adult learning in Ireland.

"If Ireland really wants to lead the way in education, if we really want a more equal society, we need greater investment in adult learning" - read AONTAS CEO Dearbháil Lawless in the Journal

There must be adequate and reliable funding to cover the real costs of returning to education as an adult, particularly for people from under-resourced communities. We must incentivise returning to education in order to work towards greater equality in Irish society. We discussed the education policies that determine financial supports for adult learners, and what needs to change to bring about greater equality. We looked at the ongoing impact of educators and staff in adult and community education across the island of Ireland.  

We at AONTAS will soon launch a national campaign targeting specific financial policies relating to adult education in Ireland, and advocate for changes to make access to adult education easier. More on this coming soon. 

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Let's take a look back at "Stepping Stones and Stable Roots" from the Adult Learners' Festival 2023:

We explored the indispensable role of community education in Ireland, and debated its relationship to the new Unified Tertiary Education Systemfrom the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science, which seeks to better connect the education sector in Ireland.

One of the aims of this new policy is for “a more consolidated approach to inclusion across the whole of the tertiary system to enhance strategies to address socio-economic disadvantage and the underrepresentation of groups.”

At the event last year, we discussd what this means for community education. We explored the need for widespread recognition of the unique value community education can bring to communities, employers, and families across Ireland. 

We know that the provision of learning opportunities and experiences in local communities, by local people, forms the quiet and enduring backbone of access to education for many people across the country.  

Learning in local communities is sometimes seen as a “stepping stone” to further and higher education. But it also offers stable roots in a particular place, and a sense of belonging and identity for people, which are essential in times of challenge and change. We also shared the findings from our evidence-based “Lifelong Learning” research, which focuses on the most marginalised and disadvantaged in our society. Find out what happened at "Stepping Stones and Stable Roots"

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Click here for more on the AONTAS Adult Learners' Festival 2024 

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