Adult education in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: Inequalities, changes, and resilience

Abstract

For almost half a year now, we have been facing rapid and drastic changes that touch all domains of life: family, work, leisure, education, etc. COVID-19 has shaken all aspects of societies around the world in unforeseeable ways. As noted by many scholars writing and researching in the field of adult education (see, for example, Boeren et al. 2020, Waller et al. 2020), COVID-19 has rendered social inequalitiesrelated, but not limited, to disability, employment status, immigration status, income, language, race, and social-classmore visible and piercing. These inequalities have also deeply affected access and participation to lifelong learning education, which in turn has had consequences for wellbeing and mental health (Watts 2020). Furthermore, as schools, colleges and universities closed their campuses, the 'vulnerable' remained left without a physical safe haven, while disadvantaged families had no or limited access to equipment or connectivity to take full advantage of online and digital learning. Adults have suddenly faced unemployment, having to find ways to support themselves and their families, putting earning before learning and (re)training by working longer hours and taking extra jobs to protect household incomes (Pember and Corney 2020). This portrait of adult education in these uncertain times does appear rather gloomy. The lack of technological resources in formal and non-formal adult education settings (Patrinos and Shmis 2020) and at home (Beaunoyer et al. 2020) means that many adult learners encountered additional barriers in the completion of their educational projects. For adult education practitioners too, the pandemic has meant a reduced or different kind of offer of support for learners, additional stress and anxiety as they quickly find they have to digitally upskill themselves, and for some, the loss of their employment (Lasby 2020). As noted by Tett (2020, 2), in these difficult times, we need, more than ever, to look for '"resources of hope" (Williams 1989) that enable us to engage in struggle and action together'. In this editorial, we want to celebrate the strength and resilience of the field of adult education in the face of COVID-19. During this time of crisis, adult education is even more invaluable to the socioeconomic wellbeing and social mobility of communities worldwide. It can contribute to equipping citizens with life skills that are critical for improving and maintaining adults' health and well-being during such challenging times. Adult education, which includes the promotion of literacy and numeracy, provides critical foundational components for addressing challenges that persist amongst the hardest to reach, wherever they are, which ever country they are from (Lopes and McKay 2020). Drawing on Tett and Hamilton (2019, 5), we believe that it is important to attune to 'the emergent culture that arise from finding new spaces in which to do things differently' considering the current crisis, but also the prevalence of neoliberalism in education. Several examples of this emergen...

Work-related online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany

“…Previous research has impressively shown significant social inequalities in participation in adult education (e.g., Kilpi-Jakonen et al 2015;James and Thériault 2020;Waller et al 2020). One of the most important factors that favour participation is higher educational attainment.…”

“…Adult education researchers fear that the pandemic has increased inequality in lifelong learning, as in many other areas, and has hit disadvantaged groups most. Educationally disadvantaged groups are expected to have had the fewest opportunities to learn online for various reasons (e.g., Boeren et al 2020;James and Thériault 2020;Waller et al 2020). On the one hand, these groups often have limited access to equipment or reliable Internet connection, or they might lack the basic digital skills necessary to engage in self-directed online learning (Boeren et al 2020;OECD 2020).…”

“…On the one hand, these groups often have limited access to equipment or reliable Internet connection, or they might lack the basic digital skills necessary to engage in self-directed online learning (Boeren et al 2020;OECD 2020). On the other hand, disadvantaged groups suddenly faced economic hardship more than others and had to put "earning before learning and (re)training" (James and Thériault 2020).…”

“…During the first months of the pandemic, the rise in online learning did not fully reach those groups that are generally less likely to participate in further training. Although online learning opportunities are presumed to be low-threshold, the digitisation of learning has not led to greater participation by lower educated, who are not only less likely to participate in further training but also less likely to have unlimited access to a reliable Internet connection as a prerequisite for online learning (Boeren et al 2020;James and Thériault 2020). Instead, our results seem to confirm a "Matthew effect", according to which already highly educated adults are those with the highest participation rates in adult education (Boeren et al 2020).…”

Liminality, disruption, and change: A prismatic look at pandemic education

“…However, due to the underrepresentation of vulnerable populations in the study, it would have missed the identifications of the impacts of in/equity, which emerged in the third team’s analysis. Impacts of inequity on vulnerable populations show up throughout the literature, such as in language (James and Thériault 2020 ), economics (Harper 2020 ), culture (Harper 2020 ), health (Jacobson et al 2020 ), and disability (James and Thériault 2020 ). Any of these can have an impact on digital access (Coyne et al 2020 ).…”