Page 6 - Tvisobrivi kvleva__GEORGIA - English

The present qualitative Study on Adult Learning and
Lali Santeladze
Country Director
DVV International Georgia
4 German Adult Education Association
Education (ALE) in Georgia is the first ever attempt
to question and analyse the routes, developments,
challenges and problems of this sector of education
in our country. It pinpoints critical challenges, and
proposes steps to reform adult education in the
interest of building a more educated, equitable
society. A participatory, inclusive, holistic curriculum
for adult learning and education should aim to support
employment, promote social cohesion and active
citizenship, and further the well-being of Georgian
society as a whole.
In spite of multi-year reforms and many achievements
in the education sector in Georgia, adult education
remains one of the less developed sectors. It continues
to be overlooked or seen exclusively in the context of
vocational education, which both limits its true potential
and prevents its benefits from being accessible to all
members of society. Concepts of lifelong learning and
adult education have yet to transcend generational
boundaries and come to promote multi-component
education and learning. It is therefore crucial to
introduce a new model of adult education: not only
to equip individuals with critical job-related skills, but
also to foster a spirit of entrepreneurship and cultural
development, a sense of civic responsibility, and other
capabilities among Georgian citizens. As noted in
the study, “adults’ […] needs should be considered
more comprehensively in future in order to improve
their participation rates. All stakeholders should make
efforts over the next decade to build a solid non-formal
and informal AE infrastructure which goes beyond the
economic and work-related context”. Furthermore,
adult education has to be seen as an integral part of
the education sector, the “fourth pillar” along with pre-
school, secondary, vocational and higher education.
The study at hand presents many valuable
recommendations which can help foster reforms and
│ DVV International