e-n#vičke
Winter 2011
Dear readers, please find attached the Winter edition of the online bulletin edited by the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education (SIAE), available also at http://www.siae.si/bulletin e-novicke. The content briefly presented here is a result of our creative energy and momentum. We wish you pleasant reading, Nevenka Kocijančič, executive editor, and Zvonka Pangerc Pahemik, MSc, editor-in-chief
Christmas Greetings....................................................................................................................................2
S IAE Projects and Events.......................................................................................................................2-6
New SIAE educational activities website.........................................................................................................2
Recipients of the green Offering Quality Education to Adults (OQEA) mark.................................................3
Round table on integration of refugees and asylum-seekers ............................................................................3
Midnight Club on dropouts...............................................................................................................................4
Seminar for the INCLUD-ED proj ect ...........................................................................................................5
Celebrating 10 years of OQEA.........................................................................................................................5
Closing conference Additional Adult Education Training and the Varying Roles of Adult Educators ...........6
International Cooperation....................................................................................................................7-14
Study visit from England..................................................................................................................................7
OECD accession seminar..................................................................................................................................7
SIAE membership of EAEA.............................................................................................................................8
Meeting of the Standing group on indicators and benchmarks at the European Commission in 2011 ............9
Forum on the future of adult education 2011 .................................................................................................10
EBSN Annual Conference 2011 .....................................................................................................................10
Finnish adult educators in Slovenia.................................................................................................................11
CAPIVAL, a new project ...............................................................................................................................12
Second meeting of EuroPeerGuid project partners ........................................................................................12
Fourth meeting of the SLS project takes us to Estonia...................................................................................13
Including immigrants in education conference...............................................................................................13
Italian experts on SIAE...................................................................................................................................14
Relevant Publications ................................................................................................................15-17
Publication marking the 20th anniversary of Slovenian independence ...........................................................15
Development of a Teacher's Career...............................................................................................................15
Economic Recession and Adult Education.....................................................................................................15
White Paper on Education in the Republic of Slovenia .................................................................................16
Slovenia in Figures 2011 ................................................................................................................................16
and many other news .................................................................................................................16-23
^m^^ with you
Slovenian Institute for Adutt Education
CHRISTMAS GREETINGS
Dear friends!
In many ways, 2012 will certainly be an exceptional, landmark year - in part also because we will celebrate twenty years of successful work in Slovenia and internationally.
I hope that you too will have an outstanding year in accepting learning challenges, rich in achieving personal wishes and generously endowed with the little pleasures that brighten your day.
For 2012 I wish you abundant luck, health and success; may December's luxury and joy remain in your hearts throughout the year, and may tolerance and love enrich your daily lives and work.
Andrej Sotošek, MSc, SIAE director
(photo: Janez Košir, 2010 SIAE award winner)
SIAE PROJECTS AND EVENTS
New SIAE educational activities website
ti mid-July, thanks to funding from the Ministry of Education and Sport and the European Social Fund, we upgraded the educational activities website of the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education. We renamed the site Further Training for Adult Educators: http : //izobrazevanj e.acs.si/ (in Slovenian language).
We improved the content of the site with two new subsites. We added the Web Catalogue of Programmes for Further Training for Adult Educators, which contains the full range of adult-education training and additional training programmes aimed at everyone wanting to learn about our services and basic information on individual training and additional training programmes, with enough information to guide their decisions.
The second new feature is the subsite on recognition of prior knowledge. Anyone intending to attend any of the training and additional training programmes at SIAE lasting more than 24 teaching hours can request recognition of prior knowledge. Individuals submit applications on the prescribed form, to which they attach
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relevant evidence. The SIAE procedure for recognising prior knowledge operates on the basis of assessment of the evidence submitted.
We also added Papers on SIAE educational activities to the website, containing articles on SIAE educational activities written by SIAE staff and other (external) authors and associates. The photo gallery shows photo impressions from our workshops and training as published in the Educational Events column.
Neda Đorđević ( neda.dorde v i c @acs.si), SIAE
Recipients of the green Offering Quality Education to Adults (OQEA) mark
The green OQEA mark was developed by the SIAE as an initiative for investing in quality. It has been awarded for more than seven years to educational organisations involved in the OQEA (Offering Quality Education to Adults) project that meet the conditions for the mark. 31 adult education organisations in Slovenia currently hold the green OQEA mark, meaning that they regularly and systematically ensure the quality of their organisation and services in adult education under the OQEA model. Holders of the green quality mark use it on their documents relating to the quality of adult education, and more generally publish it on their websites, in brochures, leaflets, notice boards and the like.
The SIAE carries out procedures to renew these rights twice a year. On the basis of five criteria educational organisations demonstrate that they have systematically assessed and developed the quality of their activities over the last two years. Marks are awarded to holders for two years, after which time holders must renew their right.
We have found that in many adult education organisations we have genuinely succeeded in encouraging them to continue to strive for quality assessment and development, and to introduce improvements in various areas of work. Experience to date of the granting of the right to use the green OQEA quality mark also suggests that educational organisations are very interested in renewing the right, with those organisations which, after conclusion of the OQEA project have extended their right to use the mark at least once regularly (every two years) apply to the SIAE to extend the right to use the mark.
Jasmina Orešnik Cunja (jasmina.oresnik.cunja@acs.si), SIAE
PONUDIMO If ODRASLIM F KAKOVOSTNO '	IZOBRAŽEVANJE
Round table on integration of refugees and asylum-seekers
On 7 September 2011, the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education organised a round table on the integration of refugees and asylum seekers. Experts from the Ministry of the Interior (MNZ), the Legal Information Centre (PIC), the Ministry of Education and Sport (MŠŠ), Slovenian Philanthropy, the Jesuit Society for Refugees of Slovenia, the Employment Service of Slovenia and SIAE attended the round table.
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We discussed legal aspects of integration, education of refugees and economic migrants, voluntary work with refugees and asylum seekers, psychological and social help for these target groups, MNZ and MŠŠ activities relating to refugees and economic migrants, while the experience of a female refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina was also presented.
The debate came to the following conclusions:
•	Legal assistance to refugees and asylum seekers in Slovenia is laid down by law, but applicants must apply to court, where the procedures can be very protracted;
•	Nongovernmental organisations no longer provide free legal assistance to refugees and asylum seekers immediately on arrival in Slovenia;
•	Applicants for asylum and subsidiary protection can wait two or more years to arrange their status;
•	Slovenia continues to grant international protection status (either refugees or persons with subsidiary protection) very sparingly, thereby refusing to share the refugee "burden" with the rest of Europe.
Dr Natalija Vrečer (natalija.vrecer@acs.si), SIAE
Midnight Club on dropouts
On 23 September, Television Slovenia broadcast an episode of Midnight Club entitled Dropouts, overlooked people. Guests on the programme included two former dropouts, Sara Dragosavljević and David Pavlič (a SIAE award winner for promoting learning and knowledge in 2010), Anja Jamšek Furlan, a mentor in the Project Learning for Young Adults (PLYA) programme, and Natalija Žalec (SIAE), joint author of and head of mentor training in the PLYA programme.
Through the life stories of the two participants, viewers could learn about the PLYA programme from its beginnings twenty years ago to the present time. The experiences of the participants were particularly interesting and encouraging, having returned to and successfully completed formal education after a number of years. There are many similar stories among young people and adults. Sometimes people who fail or drop out of formal education without gaining qualifications view it as a lost or wasted opportunity. The programme's clear message to viewers is that it is never too late, and it's always a good time to learn.
The item, available on the TV Slovenia website, may give pause for thought to all those who for various reasons have left education and who don't see a way forward, and to those who know of people with similar stories whom they could help. Finally, the programme also provides information about early dropout from school to those who were previously unaware of the phenomenon.
You can find more about the PLYA programme at http://www.acs.si/pum and watch the programme at http://www.rtvslo.si/polnocniklub/novica/76 (both in Slovenian language).
Ajda Turk (ajda.turk@acs.si), external associate of SIAE
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Seminar for the INCLUD-ED project
On 29 September 2011, the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education organised a seminar for the INCLUDED1 project entitled Good practice in the school system and experience with ability grouping. Speakers included representatives from SIAE, the Ministry of Education and Sport, leaders and members of the professional group for the preparation of the 2011 White Paper on Education from the Faculty of Education, a representative of the National Education Institute, head teachers and primary school teachers, and parents of primary-school children.
At the seminar, we wanted to present the results of the INCLUD-ED project - good practices in schools (the implementation of which in some countries has helped improve the learning outcomes of pupils) and create space for a discussion of ability grouping.
The speakers' presentations and the discussion showed that opinion in Slovenia is divided regarding ability grouping. While the results of the INCLUD-ED project indicate that ability grouping is a segregational practice that increases social differences among pupils and does not give all pupils the same learning opportunities, some people felt that ability grouping is a suitable way to sort children in schools, which leads to good learning outcomes. Research in Slovenia has shown that, over the course of the school year, very few children transfer from one ability group to another. The experience of parents of children in primary schools shows that parents are often insufficiently informed about the organisation of ability grouping, the levels themselves, and heterogeneous groups, and so they find it difficult to understand what is happening in schools.
Dr Natalija Vrečer (natalija.vrecer@acs.si), SIAE
Celebrating 10 years of OQEA
LET
October 2011 sees the tenth anniversary of the first pilot implementation of the Offering Quality Education to Adults (OQEA) self-evaluation model in adult education practice. The first four educational organisations to break new ground in 2001 by introducing the OQEA self-evaluation model into their own work were the Post, Economics and Telecommunications School Centre Ljubljana, the Rudolf Maister School Centre Kamnik, Ljubljana Secondary Commerce School and the Secondary Food Industry School Ljubljana (today the Ljubljana Biotechnology Education Centre). Since then, many educational organisations have joined the OQEA project. We have trained six "OQEA generations" of educational organisations and one consortium. A total of 63 educational organisations have participated in the training.
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PONUDIMO ODRASLIM KAKOVOSTNO IZOBRAŽEVANJE
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INCLUD-ED project - Strategies for Inclusion and Social Cohesion in Europe from Education - is an international research project under the 6th Framework Programme financed by the European Commission and the Ministry of Education and Sport. The project involves 14 partners from thirteen countries, and is organised by the Crea organisation of the University of Barcelona (Spain).
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Every year, the project has been financially supported by the Ministry of Education and Sport, while in recent years the European Social Fund has also provided funding.
After ten years, the OQEA project is not finishing - early next year, we will begin training the next group, OQEA "generation 7". We will continue to ensure that educational organisations in the OQEA network are able to use ICT support for self-evaluation. Next year we will provide online access to aids developed so far in the project, and we will also prepare descriptions of numerous examples of good practice.
Dr Tanja Možina (tanja.mozina@acs.si), SIAE
Closing conference Additional Adult Education Training and the Varying Roles of Adult Educators
We organised a conference in Portorož on 20 October 2011 entitled Additional Adult Education Training and the Varying Roles of Adult Educators. The event marked the end of a three-year project, Education and Training of Adult Education Professionals 2009 to 2011, financially supported by the European Social Fund and the Ministry of Education and Sport.
The opening plenary session presented the conference objectives, placing training and additional training for adult educators in the context of national adult-education policy, presented the project results, and set out certain professional challenges awaiting adult educators in future.
The work took place in three working groups:
•	The first discussed the adult educator as guidance counsellor, the knowledge and skills required to provide quality guidance work, and how to respond to the need to undertake varying roles in adult-education guidance work through further professional training;
•	The second working group discussed didactic aspects of e-education for adults, the state of adult e-education in Slovenia, unresolved issues and options for further development in this field;
•	Discussion in the third working group revolved around unresolved issues of the development of career paths of adult educators and the problems of training in adult education.
In the closing plenary session we presented the work of the three working groups and formulated shared conclusions.
Jerca Rupert (jerca.rupert@acs.si), SIAE
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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
Study visit from England
As part of the Leonardo da Vinci programme, SIAE hosted two guests from England on a week-long study visit (23-27 May 2011). Both work as career advisors at Leeds City College Park Lane Campus.
During their visit, they learnt about the role, operation, organisation and place of SIAE in Slovenia and internationally. We described the education system in Slovenia, as well as the place and role of adult education in Slovenia. We gave them a closer understanding of the operation of adult education guidance centres in Slovenia and beyond, and the role of guidance activities in the education system in Slovenia.
Our guests also (see photograph) presented the organisation of guidance activities and the role of career advisors at Leeds City College, the aids they use in their work, and innovations in the field
that have become established in England in recent years. They spent somewhat longer presenting quality assessment in their organisation under the MATRIX quality model. In designing starting points for the assessment model and the development of quality in adult-education guidance centres, the SIAE also used this model.
During their stay, our visitors visited a number of institutions in Ljubljana:
•	They learnt about the operation of the Oton Župančič Library (Knowledge exchange, Independent Learning Centre, and Labour exchange),
•	The Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training outlined the importance of career guidance for young people and activities in the area of vocational promotion.
•	At the Biotechnology Education Centre Ljubljana they learned about extensive educational and guidance activities for young people and adults.
On the final day of their visit, they learnt about the educational and guidance activities of the Development Education Centre - RIC Novo mesto - and particularly the activities of the local guidance centre.
Tina Kalamiza (tina.kalamiza@acs.si), SIAE
OECD accession seminar
On 25 May, the Ministry of Education and Sport organised a seminar to present the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), of which Slovenia became a full member in 2010. Slovenia has been involved in various education projects (PISA, TALIS and others) since 2002, when it had observer status in the Education Committee, and further back, since 1998, when the adult functional literacy research (IALS) did not produce encouraging results.
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SIAE delegates also attended the seminar, and we were disappointed to find - both in the Ministry's online materials and in the speech given by the minister, Dr Igor Lukšič - continual mention of the school system and schools policy. The minister even "emphasised that Slovenia wants from the OECD primarily support for the school system". Such narrow understanding (or merely terminology) of education and learning which - not even to obtain a formal education - is far from being exclusive to schools, is foreign to the adult education profession. OECD delegates of course designed their presentations from the perspective of a comprehensive definition of education (and training), and stressed the importance of suitable data resources, data and indicators. They agreed with our intervention to point out that all of these are also important for adult education and lifelong learning.
The second theme that provoked us was the research into adult competences (PIAAC), to which OECD delegates ascribed even more importance in terms of the efficient management of human capital than the PISA research. Slovenia was only involved in the research for a short time (2009-2010) before withdrawing. When we enquired as to whether we could rejoin this important study, we received a positive response, although the decision is up to others.
Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.panger@acs.si), SIAE
SIAE membership of EAEA
The A world worth living in - Adult learning and education: a key for transformation conference in Malmo, Sweden from 14-17 June 2011, attracted more than 670 delegates from 79 countries. The conference combined several events:
•	On Tuesday 14 June: General Assembly of the European Association for the Education of Adults - EAEA - which unanimously ratified the membership of the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education, the National conference of the Swedish national committee for adult education, and the NVL Nordic seminar;
•	On Wednesday and Thursday 15 and 16 June: the 8th world conference of the International Council for Adult Education - ICAE;
•	On Friday 17 June: the ICAE general assembly.
The conference programme included four key themes:
•	Ensuring realisation of the millennium development goals (MDG), the goals of Education for All and the Belem Action Plan (CONFINTEA VI),
•	Lifelong learning for sustainability in a world with a changing climate,
•	Suitable learning as a condition for the right to suitable work,
•	Nordic folk education and global challenges.
The conference set two main objectives:
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•	Establish a shared space for more powerful establishing of lifelong learning (LL) for all, defending the values of LL and enabling citizens to build a world worth living in;
•	Identify the advantages of LL and development proposals for operations on the global, regional and local levels.
A more detailed report on the conference is available on the SIAE website (in Slovenian language). Andrej Sotošek, MSc (andrej .sotosek@acs.si), SIAE
Meetings of the Standing group on indicators and benchmarks at the European Commission in 2011
The first meeting of the SGIB took place on 16-17 June in Brussels, chaired by Margarida Gameiro, the new head of Directorate DG EAC, Unit A-4. She presented innovations in the field of education and training policy relating to the Europe 2020 strategy. A number of important documents have been published in recent times as part of the subordinate Education and Training 2020 strategy, including Progress towards the common European objectives in education and training - Indicators and benchmarks (2010/2011).
SGIB members met for the second time on 10 and 11 October 2011, again in Brussels. The meeting was intended for a presentation of innovations in our cooperation with the European Commission. Recommendations included combining forces to establish a strong and responsive centre for information and knowledge on education and training. This will require improved methods of data acquisition, and particular attention on data on national education systems.
European Commission representatives outlined the draft Joint Interim Report 2011, which will be released in February 2012 and will contain quite a number of findings relevant to adult education. We also discussed the future of the Progress Report, which will replace the shorter and more transparent Education and Training Monitor. Members approved the changes, while also recognising our own greater role in the preparation of this document, which will be first published in autumn 2012.
At the two meetings, we also learned about the results of key international organisations (CRELL, Eurostat, Eurydice, Cedefop, OECD) and progress in the development of new indicators to measure language competences (ESLC research), learning to learn and creativity, adult competences (PIAAC research), computer and information competences (ICILS research), professional development for teachers (TALIS 2 research), mobility and employability.
Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.panger@acs.si), SIAE
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Forum on the future of adult education 2011
The Association of Austrian Adult Education Centres organised the third international Forum on the future of adult education in Vienna from 6-8 July, subtitled Alone or together? Networks and partnerships in adult education. This is a regular meeting of representatives of Austrian Adult Education Centres also attended by experts from fourteen other countries.
In an introductory plenary paper, Prof Dr John Field of the University of Stirling (United Kingdom) spoke of the tension between local and global, with particular emphasis on adult education and its networks. He outlined the importance of networking for the flow of knowledge, and described rising tensions and conflicts as the triggers for the emergence of new knowledge. He stressed that adult education institutions must start to engage in global culture, on which they can have significant influence.
The second day began with a plenary paper from Franja Centrih of UPI - LU Žalec on the Savinjska Lifelong Learning Centre. The presentation of this practical example of networking and partnerships involving numerous members in education and other sectors aroused considerable interest and a lively debate, so we are presenting a transcript in a special article.
The third day of the forum was finished by Harald Katzmair of FAS Research in Vienna, who spoke about competences for networking, focusing on social networks. He defined them as the most current mass media, capable of creating new values measurable using one of four currencies: money, knowledge/information/inspiration, contacts and/or reputation.
There were abundant opportunities between plenary papers for presentations of examples of good practice, and also for a panel debate on the added value of international networking. The papers were published on the forum website at http : //www.vhs .or.at/416.
Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.panger@acs.si), SIAE
EBSN Annual Conference 2011
The Basic Skills Network - EBSN is an independent nongovernmental network established in June 2010. It emerged spontaneously in the European Commission working group for the preparation of an adult education action plan. It is registered in Switzerland and brings together various actors in the research and development sector and adult education policy, and it has operational links with the European Commission. EBSN members are various institutions in individual countries in Europe and beyond: development and research institutions, ministries and other actors operating in individual countries in the area of basic skills. It now has more than 64 members. The Slovenian Institute for Adult Education joined in the initial phase of organisations joining in a network, while the Ministry of Education and Sport is planning to join in 2012.
The basic purpose and objective of the network and links on this level is to monitor trends, research results and comparisons, and to formulate suitable policy guidelines in individual countries to make appropriate
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arrangements for the development of the basic skills of their citizens. A number of organisations were invited in 2011 to cooperate in a working group to prepare a review of the latest research results from several fields, including numeracy literacy, initial literacy education for immigrants, teacher training, financial literacy and problem-solving skills, learning within the family, intergenerational learning, etc.
At the end of June, the European network organised the annual conference in Vaduz, which elected the members of the presidency and ratified the statute.
You can find more information about the programme, conference materials and the European Basic Skills Network online at http://www.basicskills.eu/.
Sources: NoviSIO - 6/2011 and http://www.basicskills.eu/
Summarised by Estera Možina, MSc (ester.mozina@acs. si ), SIAE
Finnish adult educators in Slovenia
A large group of Finnish adult educators came to Slovenia on an extended visit. Twenty-four guests, mostly heads of Finnish adult education centres comparable to our Adult Education Centres, prepared a professional-cultural visit jointly organised by their association and the Third Age University of Slovenia and the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education.
Monday afternoon was given over to brief presentations at Glotta Nova and SIAE (see photograph, right): at Glotta Nova our guests learnt about their work and projects generally, with the emphasis on the Career Plan 50+ for Employees project, while at the SIAE we gave them an insight into the work of the Quality and Education Centre and described The Power of Example project.
On Tuesday 27 September, Finnish and Slovenian adult educators exchanged experiences. At the seminar, called Finland & Slovenia: Current Issues in Adult Education (programme), we outlined the learning of older adults and immigrants, and intergenerational coexistence and local development. General presentations of national adult education systems, summarised by Eeva-Inkeri Sirelius and Andrej Sotošek, MSc, were followed by presentations given by Dr Dušana Findeisen, Marja Repo and Dr Nevenka Bogataj. After lunch, Ciril Horjak showed how to provide education through comic strips, while Maja Zrim, from Kino Dvor, described the Film Meeting with Coffee, Season Tickets for Later Years project. To end the meeting, we used the Learning Café method to compare our experience of these themes (see photograph, left).
Darijan Novak (darijan.novak@acs.si), SIAE
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CAPIVAL, a new project
CAPI
y
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The Slovenian Institute for Adult Education was invited to participate in testing instruments for recording and assessing the competences of adult educators obtained through formal or informal paths - Validpack. Testing the instruments, which will involve twelve European countries, is part of the new project Capitalizing on Validpack: going Europe wide - CAPIVAL, which among other things aims to contribute through instruments to the development of adult competences and enable their comparison in Europe.
Validpack instrument is part of the Validation of informal and non-formal psycho-pedagogical competencies of adult educators - VINEPAC project. Its main purpose was to create a series of instruments to assess the competences of adult educators. Assessment of the competences of adult educators on a European level is a contribution to the professionalisation of adult educators in Europe and to quality management of the adult education sector in Europe.
The Validpack instrument is intended to assess teachers' competences and knowledge, regardless of how and where they were obtained (in formal, informal or non-formal education). It is divided into three steps: self-evaluation - intended for a review of the teacher's education and competences, external evaluation -carried out by an evaluator with an education relevant to adult education, and relevant experience in the sector - and consolidation, the final step in the assessment process which combines the results of the two evaluations. The instrument is intended for all teachers with more than one year's work experience in working with adults. The main aims of the instrument are to evaluate teachers' competences, to collect documentation demonstrating experience and knowledge, to provide the basis for certification of the results gathered, to document the minimum competence standards, and to offer teachers equal opportunities within Europe.
You can read more about the project at: http://www.capival.eu/. Katja Vrbajnščak (katja.vrbajnscak@acs.si), SIAE
Second meeting of EuroPeerGuid project partners
The second meeting of the European Peer Review in Guidance and Counselling in Adult Vocational Education (EuroPeerGuid) project partners was held at the end of September. The meeting, hosted by CIBC Artois Ternois of Arras, France, also included partners from Finland, Portugal and Slovenia.
During the meeting, partners learned about the results of activities undertaken in Slovenia. Activities cover the development of innovative materials to support the development of quality in guidance in vocational and professional adult education. From April to September, Slovenia steered the
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activities of partners towards the preparation of a European handbook on the use of peer review methods in adult education guidance. At the meeting, partners agreed on required additions and improvements to the draft text of the handbook. Ten peer reviews are envisaged in 2012. Three guidance centres will test the peer review method in each participating country: in Slovenia, these will be three ISIO guidance centres.
You can read more about the EuroPeerGuid project on the project website.
Dr Tanja Možina (tanja.mozina@acs.si), SIAE
Fourth meeting of the SLS project takes us to Estonia
Partners in the Sowing the Learning Seeds - SLS project from Estonia, France, Ireland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Turkey met in Tallin and Rapla in Estonia from 5-9 October. The nine-member Slovenian delegation presented its experience and opinions to delegates from partner countries in a project workshop entitled Involving learners in the promotion of adult education. We were most interested in two themes: effective dissemination of the life stories of learners (we mentioned the Internet, social networks, video, classic media and personal contacts) and the support learners need to effectively mediate their experience to others (for example, an encouraging domestic and wider environment, training in various skills, particularly communications skills, setting the scene for their appearances, money to cover travel and other costs).
Our host, ANDRAS, organised and invited us to the opening of the 14th Estonian Adult Learners ' Week (ALW). The main part of the event was the national awards ceremony. We also attended a special event the next day, a local event in Tallin and Haiju counties. We also visited a number of festival venues.
As well as the author of the article, those travelling to Estonia included Ciril Horjak, Ana Kruder (both 2010 SIAE award winners for the promotion of learning and knowledge), Alenka Grželj, Alojz Sraka, Zala Zlatoper (all LLW coordinators) and Slavica Borka Kucler, Franci Lajovic, Darijan Novak from SIAE. They described their impressions in a special note.
The project meeting also involved a meeting of coordinators, which planned the penultimate project meeting, to be held in Turkey from 11-14 March 2012.
Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.panger@acs.si), SIAE
Including immigrants in education conference
On 21 September 2011 the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia hosted a conference entitled Including Immigrants in Education: Slovenia Between Policy and Practice. The conference involved
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delegates from the European Commission office in Slovenia, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Education and Sport, the National Education Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovenian Migration Institute, the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Koper Primary School, the Centre for Slovene as a Second/Foreign Language and the Peace Institute. The conference was organised by the British Council Slovenia to mark publication of the Migrant Integration Policy: Index III (MIPEXIII) research, which in addition to the British Council also involved the Brussels-based Migration Policy Group.
The research, described by Dr Jan Nielsen, director of the Migration Policy Group, showed that integration of immigrants is still a very important theme, as it has not been successfully implemented in the European Union. It is clear from the results that integration is most effective in Sweden, which has the best integration policy, an area in which Slovenia does not achieve EU standards. Slovenia's best results were for family unification, and our worst in immigrant education. The presentations showed that practice often overtakes policy in Slovenia, as we have many projects aimed at including immigrants in the education system and wider society, but the results of such projects have not yet been incorporated into national policy, and so the MIPEX III research did not find them. There is thus a shortfall in standards. The system is characteristically disordered. Conference participants stressed that immigrants cannot be viewed as a temporary phenomenon, but rather as a protracted one, as most of them want to remain in the receiving country and integrate into society.
More data on the MIPEX research can be found at http://www.mipex.eu/.
Dr Natalija Vrečer (natalija.vrecer@acs.si), SIAE
MIGRANT
INTEGRATION
WWWMIPEXEU
Italian experts on SIAE
A delegation of colleagues from Italy came on a visit to Slovenia. A five-day visit organised within the Leonardo da Vinci Mobility by MSc Darja Štarkl from the of Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training (CPI), included visits to the CPI, the National Examinations Centre, Biotechnical Centre Naklo, Secondary School for Catering and Tourism Celje, the Institute for Business Education of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia and the Centre for Permanent Education Cene Štupar.
On the first of December, we hosted the group in the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education (see photo). When preparing the program we have taken into account their wishes and prepared three presentations: Andrej Sotošek, MSc, SIAE director, presented general information of the Institute, Peter Beltram, MSc, offered an insight into Slovenian adult education system, Neda Đorđević, presented the activities of the education sector at the SIAE. After the presentations, we have spent some time for Q & A session and discussion.
Darijan Novak (darijan.novak@acs.si), SIAE
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RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS
Publication marking the 20th anniversary of Slovenian independence
Tb commemorate Slovenian independence, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia released a publication (To Slovenia for its 20th I Birthday), in which data regarding the life of the population over the last two decades is presented in words and pictures. An attempt was made to illustrate the quality of life using statistical data that is based on responses to the following questions: In what type of environment do we live? How do we care for our health? What are the average financial conditions? An
overview of the development of the Slovenian state and its economy is the subject of the third section of the publication. In addition to development, the figures in the aforementioned section also illustrate the problems faced in the years immediately following independence and the crisis of recent years.
Nevenka Kocijančič (nevenka.kocijancic@acs.si), SIAE
RAZVOJ UČETEUEVE POKLICNE POTI
jUČno gradivo
SPLOŠNE IN ANDRAGOŠKE ZAKONITOSTI RAZVOJA KARIERE
Development of a Teacher's Career (released by SIAE)
The complete Development of a Teacher's Career comprises four works: General and Educational Principles of Career Development, Vocation, Sustainable Career Planning and the Power of a Career. The aforementioned work was created in the scope of the project Education and Training of Adult Educators for the Period 2009-2011, and the sub-project Training for Adult Educators. The material has filled a gap in the training of adult educators, as it addresses a topic that previously received little attention. The complete work is used as learning material for the implementation of the education programme of the same name. It is intended as general information regarding the career of educators and for in-depth reading.
Dr Petra Javrh (petra.j avrh@acs.si), SIAE
GOSPODARSTVO V SECESIJI IN IZOBRAŽEVANJE ODRASLIH
Economic Recession and Adult Education (released by SIAE)
This collection of scientific papers includes selected and published articles that were presented at the 15th Adult Education Colloquium. The authors of the articles are distinguished experts in the fields of education, sociology, and the functioning of the system and the economy, who are familiar with the problems stemming from the economic crisis and recession, and employed at companies that are faced with the consequences of the economic crisis daily. The publication is intended for the political and professional public, in particular for the organisers of education and training programmes at companies.
Jasmina Mirčeva, MSc (j asmina.mirceva@acs. si), SIAE
White Paper on Education in the Republic of Slovenia
A print version of the White Paper on Education in the Republic of Slovenia (2011) was published in July 2011. The introductory chapter, which discusses general issues, is broken down into three parts: four basic principles, common education objectives, and challenges and strategies. The remaining chapters discuss specific areas of the education system (day care centres, primary schools, secondary schools, the education of children with special needs, the education of talented persons, the education in ethically mixed regions of Slovenia, adult education, private schools and day care centres, music schools, and the education of professionals and their professional development). A public presentation of the points of departure of this strategic document was held on 20 September in Brdo pri Kranju.
Nevenka Kocijančič (nevenka.kocijancic@acs.si), SIAE
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Slovenia in Figures 2011
The Statistical Office of RS has published Slovenia in Figures 2011, containing essential data on Slovenia, the social and economic status of the population, and the environment. It contains basic geographical data on Slovenia, data on the environment and climate, population, education, social security, culture, research and development, and a presentation of important economic data. Some data are also shown by statistical region, and comparisons with individual EU-27 countries are also provided.
An electronic version of the publication is also available. Erika Brenk (erika.brenk@acs.si), SIAE
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Lifelong Learning: A Hurdle Course? (released by SIAE)
The book presents the results of research work carried out in the scope of the LLL2010 project. The publication focuses on how lifelong learning has developed and how the concept of lifelong learning has been understood by the European Commission, how it affected Member and non-member States, and how lifelong learning is understood by the various countries and regions that are part of the consortium. To that end, it presents a comparative view of the political solutions and strategies, which were adopted by countries included in LLL2010 consortium as a response to the challenges of the global economy, and which in post-socialist countries have found their place in the global division of labour and profit.
Ajda Turk (ajda.turk@acs.si), external associate of SIAE
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Third Age Lucky (released by SIAE)
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Učenje in ustvarjalnost v tretjem življenjskem obdobju
Teaching and promotional pack, Third Age Lucky - Learning and Creativity in the Third Age comprehends four areas of emphasis in four chapters, Career after fifty, Intergenerational cooperation, Learning - the path to active ageing and Volunteering as a third career. DVD is supplemented by a booklet with printed extracts from the video and some information for users. Through this pack we are seeking to promote some fundamental aspects, examples and challenges in the area of the creative involvement of older people (55+) in the life of the smaller and wider communities. This publication is intended for public and private institutions, societies and other providers of programmes for intergenerational cooperation and active ageing.
More: http://llw.acs.si/learners/index.php?nid=4450&id=296
Slavica Borka Kucler (borka.kucler@acs.si), SIAE
Faces of Literacy (released by SIAE)
The publication Faces of Literacy - Insights into the Development of Adult Literacy in Slovenia was introduced at the conference Creating New Opportunities for Adults. It promotes research and development achievements of the 2-year project Development of Adult Literacy and Validation of Non-formal Learning. The project was financed by the European Social Fund and the Ministry of Education and Sport.
The readers of this publication will find key information in one place regarding the literacy of vulnerable groups in Slovenia and the EU, theoretical grounds and a review of previous efforts, a review of developments in this area in Slovenia and guidelines for the future. Attention focuses on three key concepts: key competences, literacy and vulnerable groups, and a presentation of the results of an evaluation and the resulting decisions to be put into practice. It links 12 original articles by experts, including a review of adult educational theories and the theoretical grounds for working with vulnerable target groups, the changing images of youth and transitions to adulthood, factors relating to exclusion from education, a project work methodology for teaching vulnerable adults, the importance of basic competences, etc.
Dr Petra Javrh (petra.javrh@acs.si), SIAE
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SLOVENIAN ADULT EDUCATION SCENE
PUMstival
"When you believe in people, they do the impossible. " (Nancy Dornan)
It is precisely this attitude and belief on the part of mentors which leads to roughly 70% of participants in the Project Learning for Young Adults (PLYA) programme in Ljubljana continuing in regular education or finding employment, a very respectable proportion. But is this number the only result of interest?
We are young people aged 15 to 25 who have dropped out of full-time formal education but would still like to be active and creative in our spare time. The PUMstival is a public event where we can prove that we are capable and that we can find the right path in life. PLYAers from the Ljubljana-based non-profit institute Bob travelled to the festival using recycled old bicycles, which we cleaned up and returned to use as part of this year's project. PUMstival has several purposes: environmental protection, inventiveness (or added value of knowledge and thus increased employability), saving resources and money, self-help and help in the social environment. We were able to demonstrate our talents on an open stage set aside for anyone who wanted to give a presentation or demonstration. Passers-by also had the chance to watch a puppet show and take part in numerous workshops. We watched the film Sus adrenalina (A Shot of Adrenalin), which was full of adrenaline recordings and has a clear message -adrenaline sports and healthy living are better than drugs. We also had a chance to see other PLYAer projects from around Slovenia: creative workshops (presented by the PLYA group from Celje); an original costume show and photographic exhibition (Novo mesto); traditional crafts products (Murska Sobota); a film entitled Z ladjo okoli sveta - Around the World in a Boat (Radovljica); and a photographic exhibition (Maribor). Entertainment was provided by the members of Mladi Zmaji, Cirkokrog and Transformator, generating a good atmosphere.
The purpose of the festival, held this year on 8 June, is public and media presentation of PLYAer projects in the current school year. It also serves to present active and creative pastimes, with the emphasis on experiential learning, where we create presentable, topical, socially responsible and socially engaged projects.
Polona Lombergar in Anže Erjavec, participants in the PLYA programme Ljubljana, Mojca Fajdiga (info.zikboblj@guest.arnes.si), mentor in the PLYA programme Ljubljana
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You Know, Teach Another conference
The You Know, Teach Another conference was organised on 15 September 2011 by the Third Age University of Slovenia (U3A) and the S&T Slovenija, Informacijske rešitve in storitve d.d. company. The aim of the event was to present the Each One Teach One (EOTO) movement as an example of good practice for cooperation between nongovernmental organisations and the commercial sector in providing computer training to older adults, and to draw attention to the need for greater computer literacy for older people.
The conference was divided into four theme sections:
•	Initial presentation - Dr Ana Krajnc presented the theoretical foundations of the EOTO movement;
•	Presentation of the experiences of mentors and students (participants);
•	Round table entitled Let's Give Knowledge - in the introduction, Marko Papič presented some of the results from the e-Competent Citizen of Slovenia Today research, which indicate that in terms of the use of information society services Slovenia is average for the 27 EU countries, and that there is a great difference in the use of such services among the retired and inactive (EU 40%, Slovenia 24%); Ema Perme continued by indicating that the Ministry of Education and Sport and the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs provide around €50 million for adult education each year. These funds are also used to finance computer literacy education for adults, including the elderly; Robert Trnovec emphasised that the decision to share its knowledge was a natural choice for S&T, since the company is successful and its actions make it responsible to wider society;
•	Presentation of donations to the network of nongovernmental organisations.
Mag. Margerita Zagmajster (margerita.zagmajster@acs.si), SIAE
TEACHONE
Closing conference of the Promoting Lifelong Learning Nationally, Regionally and Locally project
On 15 September 2011, the Information Office of the European Parliament hosted both the closing conference and a press conference for the Promoting Lifelong Learning Nationally, Regionally and Locally project. The project organiser, Iksiv d.o.o., and partners thus finished a three-year project partly financed by the European Social Fund and the Ministry of Education and Sport.
Ana Hrvat and Matjaž Kušar (photograph), representatives of project providers, presented the project's aims and results. The project entailed several dozen promotional activities, animation events and training for vulnerable groups and employers. You can learn more about the project at http://iksiv.si/. David Pavlič (photograph, right), 2010 SIAE award winner for promoting learning and knowledge, was also acknowledged in this project as an example of good practice. He spoke of his education experiences and the personality changes he underwent as a participant in Project Learning for Young
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Adults (PLYA). Dr. Slavica Černoša of the Ministry of Education and Sport presented strategic European Union documents: Europe 2020, smart, sustainable and inclusive growth strategy and the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020).
After the official part, there was a discussion on the project and the state of learning and education in Slovenia.
Darijan Novak (darijan.novak@acs.si), SIAE
Slovenian Guidance Centre Days 2011
During the fourth week of September, together with the network of guidance centres SIAE organised the seventh Slovenian Guidance Centre Days. This year's event was a celebration: five guidance centres - Koper, Maribor, Murska Sobota, Novo mesto and Žalec -are celebrating their tenth anniversaries.
This year's events ran from 21-23 September (event in Novo mesto in photograph), although some were held earlier and others later. The main aim of the more than ninety events was to promote various formal and non-formal adult education programmes in local environments, and to present current content and free learning opportunities. We wanted the Days to increase awareness of guidance centres in the local environment and to present to people the guidance and support options offered by centres.
The opportunity was also used to publish the third issue of the joint newspaper Info ISIO 2011 (see photograph), which presented various adult education options, a range of useful information and adult education web links, as well as success stories of individual adults that show that it's never too late to learn.
You can read some impressions from the Velenje event in a special article.
Tina Kalamiza (tina.kalamiza@acs.si), SIAE
Quality counsellors network expanding
In 2011, we provided basic training to professionals who will take on the role of quality counsellor in adult education in their own educational organisations.
As part of the training, each quality counsellor first prepares an analysis of the quality system within their own educational organisation, providing the basis for their further work in the
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SVETOVALCEV ZA KAKOVOST
organisation and for the implementation of the peer review method, which they have studied from the perspective of both peer reviewer and host organisation. They have been tested in both roles when we carried out six peer visits.
The quality systems currently in use in each organisation were recorded by counsellors in the form of a Quality Document, which presents a list and description of agreements, procedures and activities systematically conducted by the educational organisation to develop quality. When the quality document was being prepared, all counsellors agreed unanimously to a standardised form for the quality document, as they want to present it to the public as a common activity of the network of quality counsellors.
The work of quality counsellors was not finished at the end of training: they will gradually build on the role they will independently take on in their teams while working.
You can read a description of how training participants experience the role of quality counsellors here. Milena Zorić (milena.zoric@acs.si), SIAE
Free help and support for residents of the Pomurje region
Last October, the Regional and Study Library in Murska Sobota hosted a professional meeting Free Help and Support for Residents of the Pomurje Region. Tanja Vilič Klenovšek (SIAE), Jože Turkl (Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia) and Alojz Sraka (Murska Sobota Guidance Centre) presented the idea of gathering together in a single place and presenting organisations that offer free help in Pomurje. This would help residents of the region to resolve everyday pressures.
Under this initiative, the Murska Sobota Guidance Centre joined up with the European Commissions information point Europe Direct Murska Sobota. We agreed with the head of the Information Point, Dejan Bogdan, to a joint project establishing a special website bringing together all such information, of great importance to residents of the region. More than six months after the initial meeting (8 July 2011), we launched the free help and support website: http://www.po-pomoc.si/ (in Slovenian language).
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In the autumn, as part of the Pomurje Lifelong Learning Centre project, we prepared a brochure, Free Help and Support, presenting information support for adult guidance. The website and brochure are a welcome aid to information and guidance work, as they bring together in a single place various providers and information on their services and contact information. It is important for everyone involved that we establish ties, get to know one another, and offer quality information to our clients.
We are delighted that new help and support providers are joining us following the public presentation of the project.
Dejan Dravec (dejan.dravec@lums.si), Murska Sobota Guidance Centre
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National reading literacy conference
A national conference, Reading Literacy in Slovenia and Europe, was held in the Brdo pri Kranju Conference Centre on 25 and 26 October 2011.
It was aimed at teachers and other professional staff in schools, kindergartens and educational institutions, teacher trainers, and educational counsellors.
The purpose of the two-day conference - with international participation - was to identify the current state and trends in the area of reading literacy in Slovenia and Europe, and to acquaint participants with factors affecting such trends. Delegates learnt about examples of various activities that can help improve reading literacy, the basic components of the national strategy to improve and monitor literacy levels, and also considered specific measures on the national, regional, school and subject levels.
The programme took the form of plenary talks, presentations in themed groups and workshops. It brought together practitioners and researchers active in the area of language development and reading literacy. Of the plenary speakers, I would single out Dr Astrid Roe of the University of Oslo, who described the Norwegian recipe for improving reading literacy.
More information is available on the National Education Institute website (in Slovenian language).
Manuel Kuran (manuel.kuran@acs.si), SIAE
2011 annual adult education conference
More than 200 representatives of adult education policy and practice, from Adult Education Centres, secondary schools and public institutions, the private sector, ministries and other institutions, gathered in Ptuj on 15 and 16 November. The large and diverse audience was a reflection of the interest in the theme:
Consideration of values in a global society.
Delegates were enthused by nine plenary speakers, who shed light on the theme from various perspectives, of whom we'd like to mention three. Carolyn Medel-Anonuevo of the Unesco Institute for Lifelong Learning (in photograph) reminded us of the four Delors pillars as the foundation of the role of adult education in a crisis: learning for knowledge, for work, for personal development, and for peaceful coexistence in communities. She informed us of the efforts stemming from the Unesco CONFINTEA VI conference (2009), binding member states to three-yearly progress reports. The main theme of the 2012 report is literacy. Renowned Slovenian economist, Prof. Dr Jože Mencinger acknowledged that he doesn't know the answer to the question in the title of his paper - Is economic growth permanent or just an illusion? He did however emphasise that we will have to adjust to the
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crisis as a normal and not just a transitional state. He described the bad atmosphere as the biggest problem in Slovenia. Dr Petra Javrh, a researcher at the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education, took the position that literacy is a key theme in consideration of the development vision for adult education. She presented empirical data from various studies and the role of politics in literacy promotion.
Delegates in working groups sought answers to the question of which measures could improve results in adult education at the company, local, regional and national levels, and in the public sector.
The conference also offered abundant opportunities for professional exchanges and private gatherings, and so we believe that it has deepened the engagement of our profession. There was no shortage of critical views, but the feeling that only through joint efforts can we overcome the uncertain times awaiting us was reinforced.
Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.panger@acs.si), SIAE
Published by Slovenian Institute for Adult Education (SIAE), Šmartinska 134a, SI-1000 Ljubljana | Editor-in-chief: Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (E: zvonka.pangerc@acs.si) | Executive editor: Nevenka Kocijančič (E: nevenka.kocijancic@acs.si) | Editorial board: Sonja Klemenčič, Nevenka Kocijančič, Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc, Andrej Sotošek, MSc, Tanja Vilič Klenovšek, MA, and Margerita Zagmajster, MSc | Translation: Amidas d.o.o. | Design: Larisa Hercog | W: http://www.acs.si/bulletin e-novicke
ISSN 2232-2612
The publication was co-financed by the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs.
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Slovenian Institute for Adutt Education