Adult education
Definition: General or vocational education provided for adults after initial education and training for professional and/or personal purposes, and which aims to:
– provide general education for adults in topics of particular interest to them (e. g. in open universities);
– provide compensatory learning in basic skills which individuals may not have acquired earlier in their initial education or training (such as literacy, numeracy) and thus to;
– give access to qualifications not gained, for various reasons, in the initial education and training system;
– acquire, improve or update knowledge, skills or competences in a specifi c fi eld: this is continuing education and training.
Comment: adult education is close to, but not synonymous with, continuing education and training.
Source: adapted from European Training Foundation 1997; Cedefop, 2004.
Source: Terminology of European education and training policy: a selection of 100 key terms. CEDEFOP, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2008.
Hyperlink: http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/4064_en.pdf