Romanian EAAL final conference in Bucharest
In this blog, Research Officer Eve Cobain, reviews the National FET Learner Forum in 2019
In this blog, AONTAS CEO Niamh O'Reilly documents the outcomes of our work in numbers to showcase the volume of our work, but it is important to note our work has had a significant impact on much broader aims.
‘Adult education is a means to personal and social change founded in the potential of people’. In this blog, Alice McDonnell AONTAS Board member shares her experience undertaking a course in Budapest as part of her Erasmus+ KA1 Mobility in November discussing the importance of education in both personal development and self-preservation.
In this blog AONTAS CEO, Niamh O’Reilly, focuses on specific areas of the recently published Global Report on Adult Learning and Education which relate to community education.
In this Snapshot, Sam O'Brien-Olinger, AONTAS Information and Policy Officer gives the main issues from the report related to adult education.
AONTAS CEO, Niamh O’Reilly, speaks on advocacy at a global level at the International Council for Adult Education seminar at the University of Würzburg, Germany
In this blog, AONTAS Head of Research, Leah Dowdall, shares learner perspectives on the Recognition of Prior Learning
In this blog, Eve Cobain, AONTAS Research Officer reflects on the Student Success Symposium
Helsinki, Finland was home to Vocational Educational Skills Week (VET Week) 2019
In this blog, AONTAS Advocacy Lead Ben Hendriksen reflects on discussions in Belfast as part of the Northern Impact Forum Conference Towards a Lifelong Learning Strategy for Northern Ireland.
In this blog, AONTAS Head of Research Leah Dowdall writes about access to higher education through further education and training and stresses the need to address barriers that prevent potential learners from accessing third level.
The latest figure from Eurostat measures Ireland’s adult learning participation rate at 12.5%. While this indication of greater participation is positive, it is important to note that this calculation of the adult learning participation excludes people living in shared accommodation and those over the age of 64. In this blog, AONTAS EU Projects Officer Dearbháil Lawless highlights the need to include and reflect all voices in order to meet the needs of adult learners in Ireland and details activities implemented as part of the European Agenda for Adult Learning (EAAL) to achieve this aim.
In this blog, AONTAS Community Education Network (CEN) Coordinator Suzanne Kyle tells us what makes community education the perfect starting point for adults who want to return to education but feel nervous about taking that first step.
The release of Leaving Certificate results brings back memories of school and exams for many people; happy associations for some and pangs of regret and frustration for others. In this blog, AONTAS EU Projects Officer Dearbháil considers the different obstacles that can hinder progress in a traditional school setting and looks at how we as adults can find new and alternative ways of learning that help us to nurture what we are passionate about and realise our potential.
In our latest blog, we break down the different options and supports available to adults who are looking to sit the Leaving Certificate exams.
In our latest blog, discover the new website for One Step Up, a free Information and Referral Service that helps adults find out about the range of education and training options and the supports available.
In our latest blog, AONTAS Board member and Adult Guidance Counsellor Seona Hyland offers advice to those who have received their Leaving Certificate Results and are wondering what their options are in further education.
As part of the Build Action Mobilise (BAM) KA1 Erasmus+ project, adult learner and AONTAS Board Member Alan Hand attended the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) General Assembly and Conference from 26th-27th June in Copenhagen, Denmark with AONTAS Advocacy Lead Ben Hendriksen. The BAM Project, organised by AONTAS, supports the continuous professional development of our staff and Board. In this blog, Alan shares his fantastic experience facilitating a workshop, learning from in-depth discussions with adult education experts across Europe, and supporting Ben in his successful election to the new EAEA Executive Board.
AONTAS Advocacy Lead Ben Hendriksen travelled to Copenhagen, Denmark on the 25th June to attend the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) General Assembly and Conference. The trip took place as part of the KA1 ERASMUS+ ‘Build Action Mobilise (BAM)’ project. Organised by AONTAS the project supports the continuous professional development of our staff and Board. In our latest blog Ben shares the highlights of his trip.
On Tuesday, 18th June AONTAS was delighted to partner with Cork Learning City to launch the 2019 edition of The Adult Learner Journal. To mark AONTAS’ 50 year anniversary, we produced a special issue of the Journal focusing on changes in the field of adult, further and community education in Ireland, across Europe, and globally over the past five decades.
AONTAS has long argued that community education has a proven track record in effectively engaging the most educationally disadvantaged learners and providing quality educational experiences that meets their needs. Through our Community Education Network (est 2007), we act as a voice for community education, advocating on issues such as highlighting the need for: a sustainable funding model; continued provision of Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) accredited programmes; and non-accredited learning. In our latest blog Advocacy Lead Ben Hendriksen outlines a collective achievement in gaining recognition of community education in the national political conversation.
AONTAS CEO Niamh O'Reilly recently participated at the Romanian EU Presidency Conference in Bucharest which focused on plans for Adult Upskilling and Reskilling. These initiatives across Europe come under the European Agenda for Adult Learning (EAAL), for which AONTAS is the national coordinator in Ireland, and specifically the Upskilling Pathways Recommendation. In our latest blog, she reflects on the conference and shares an update on current EU approaches and debates around sustainable funding for adult learning.
Over 70 AONTAS members came together at our 49th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the Ashling Hotel, Dublin on the 22nd May 2019. Taking place in AONTAS’s fiftieth year, the 2019 AGM was an exciting event, presenting an opportunity for members to reflect on the history of the organisation, to celebrate our collective achievements over the past fifty years, and look to the future as we launched our new Strategic Plan 2019-2022: A Vision for Educational Equality.
AONTAS has engaged with EU candidates, and assisted our members to engage local candidates across the country, in order to make them all aware of the importance of adult and community education. Our latest blog outlines some of the ways that we have been supporting our members to engage with candidates in the lead-up to election day on Friday, 24th May.
As the National Coordinator for the European Agenda for Adult Learning (EAAL) AONTAS provides a free Information Referral Service, One Step Up (OSU). Since its establishment in 2013 it has supported tens of thousands of people in Ireland to find out about their education and training options. AONTAS CEO Niamh O'Reilly recently shared insight into the One Step Up service at a conference in Croatia. In our latest blog she reflects on how OSU can be used as a model for other countries to replicate for increasing lifelong learning participation across Europe.
Last week AONTAS EU Projects Officer Deárbhail Lawless and Advocacy Lead Ben Hendriksen travelled to Bratislava, Slovakia to participate in the kickoff meeting of a new European project that AONTAS is supporting as a project partner. The project, titled BLUESS (Blueprint for Basic Skills Development in Slovakia), supports basic skills policy development in Slovakia and our participation at this event allowed us to meet project colleagues and present at a conference on the topic of basic skills provision in Ireland.
During the first week of April, AONTAS EU Projects Officer, Dearbháil Lawless and Communications Lead, Katie O’Rourke travelled to Luxembourg to attend an Awareness Raising and Guidance Peer Learning Activity (PLA) with two adult learners, Maria O’Reilly of Warrenmount Community Education Centre and Louise Finnegan from One Family.
AONTAS CEO, Niamh O’Reilly, was delighted to be asked onto the Pat Kenny show on Newstalk for the ‘Ask the Expert’ slot (18/3/19). The opportunity to discuss the vast range of adult learning options on the St. Patrick’s Bank Holiday Monday offered an ideal platform to encourage adults back into learning and point them in the right direction.
AONTAS provides a free Information Referral Service called One Step Up that supports thousands of people in Ireland every year to find out about education and training options available to them. The One Step Up website is also home an Events Calendar, where we promote open days and information sessions hosted by Education and Training Boards, further education and training colleges, community centres, third level institutes and other learning centres all over the country.
As part of the ‘Increasing Pathways, Increasing Participation’ 2017 – 2019 project for the European Agenda for Adult Learning (EAAL), AONTAS provides a free Information Referral Service called One Step Up that supports thousands of people every year to find out about their education and training options.
Taking the first step back into learning after a break from formal education can be daunting, but it comes with many benefits. If you’re thinking of returning to education, January is the perfect time to find out about learning opportunities in your local area, with open days and information sessions happening at further education colleges, community centres and learning institutes all over the country.
