We are very pleased to inform you that a few days ago the book Lifelong Learning, Young Adults and the Challenges of Disadvantage in Europe | SpringerLink Open Access at the prestigious international publishing house Palgrave Macmillan.
This book contains chapters based on the results of the project “Encouraging lifelong learning to build an inclusive and socially sensitive Europe” – ENLIVEN (2016-2019), in which IFS-BAS was a partner from Bulgaria: Horizon 2020 – ENLIVEN – Encouraging Lifelong Learning for an Inclusive and Vibrant Europe (h2020enliven.org)
The book integrates theoretical and empirical perspectives from the social and computer sciences and focuses on the needs of young people to improve the acquired and to learn new knowledge and skills. Using innovative qualitative and quantitative methods, the authors adopt a critical perspective on dominant education policies in the European Union and Australia. Explores the experiences of ‘vulnerable’ young adults participating in programs designed to improve their ’employability’ and how policies aimed at enhancing ‘work skills’ can inform ideas for rethinking the nature and organization of education and training. The analyzes show why only some provided learning opportunities are useful for people with low education, why the labor market and educational institutions matter so much, which micro- and macro-level factors stimulate or hinder participation in continuing education, how the education of adults can enable and empower people, and what are the challenges of using artificial intelligence in lifelong learning policies. Special attention is also given to the key importance of workplace training for the development of organizations and the professional realization of people, as well as the role of management, trade unions and social movements in the training of young adults. One of the main findings is that young adults, especially disadvantaged ones, participate more in education and training if that learning is democratically organized and based on durable and inclusive institutional models, and when workplaces encourage and reward the acquisition of new skills. The book offers a wealth of theoretical ideas, empirical analyzes and critical reflections that may be of interest to both the social and humanities academic communities, as well as those involved in education policy and the general public.
Prof. Pepka Boyadzhieva is among the editors of this book and is the co-author of two of the chapters in it. She was the head of the Bulgarian ENLIVEN project team under Horizon 2020. Prof. Vasil Kirov, Prof. Rumyana Stoilova and Assoc. Prof. Petya Ilieva-Trichkova were key researchers in the project and co-authored several chapters.
More specifically, the chapters in which there is Bulgarian participation are:
Boyadjieva, P., Ilieva-Trichkova, P. (2023). Adult Education as a Pathway to Empowerment: Challenges and Possibilities. In: Holford, J., Boyadjieva, P., Clancy, S., Hefler, G., Studená, I. (eds) Lifelong Learning, Young Adults and the Challenges of Disadvantage in Europe. Palgrave Studies in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning (pp 169–191). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. Adult Education as a Pathway to Empowerment: Challenges and Possibilities | SpringerLink
Holford, J., Boyadjieva, P., Clancy, Sh., Hefler, G., and Studená, I. (2023). Adult Education, Learning Citizens, and the Lessons of Enliven. In: Holford, J., Boyadjieva, P., Clancy, Sh., Hefler, G. and Studená, (Eds.) (2023). Lifelong Learning, Young Adults and the Challenges of Disadvantage in Europe (pp. 405-426). Palgrave MacMillan. Adult Education, Learning Citizens, and the Lessons of Enliven | SpringerLink
Stoilova, R., Boeren, E., Ilieva-Trichkova, P. (2023). Gender Gaps in Participation in Adult Education in Europe: Examining Factors and Barriers. In: Holford, J., Boyadjieva, P., Clancy, S., Hefler, G., Studená, I. (eds) Lifelong Learning, Young Adults and the Challenges of Disadvantage in Europe. Palgrave Studies in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning (pp. 143–167). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. Gender Gaps in Participation in Adult Education in Europe: Examining Factors and Barriers | SpringerLink
Kirov, V., Estevez-Gutierrez, A.I., Elexpuru-Albizuri, I., Díez, F., Villardón-Gallego, L., Aurrekoetxea-Casaus, M. (2023). Organisational and Individual Agency in Workplace Learning in the European Metal Sector. In: Holford, J., Boyadjieva, P., Clancy, S., Hefler, G., Studená, I. (eds) Lifelong Learning, Young Adults and the Challenges of Disadvantage in Europe. Palgrave Studies in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning (pp 299–323). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. Organisational and Individual Agency in Workplace Learning in the European Metal Sector | SpringerLink
