Family learning lifting adult education barriers

"<< Background >>Due to the lifelong learning requirements of modern life, working parents are often asked to return to education and training. However, returning to the classroom often clashes with their family obligations, leading the learners to minimal participation or even dropping out. Researching the problem on the OECD statistics platform, the Kalamata Second Chance School and Areadne Lifelong Learning Centre found out that in mediterranean countries ""Childcare and family responsibilities"" was by far the most significant barrier to adult education and learning participation(https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=79325), something that also seems aligned to perceived cultural attitudes towards children upbringing and family upkeeping in these areas (e.g. a reluctancy to leave children with a ""stranger"" and a preferance towards activating the grandparents or having a parent, usually the mother, stay home in the respectivecountries). Hence, the questions was: How can we help our learners who are also parents participate more in adult education? And how can we do it without asking them to leave their families for even more training / coaching, etc ?<< Objectives >>The project aimed to create online resources enabling adult learning organisations to use family learning as a tool against dropout and minimal participation, as well as a marketing tool enabling them to reach out to more learners.<< Implementation >>The activities were the following: A.1 Project management and implementation A.2 Quality management A.3 Process evaluation A.4 Dissemination and Exploitation A.5 Digital presence In addition, the implementation methodology was divided in the same logic, with a subdivision of roles in each output, with each role being appointed to a partner with proven expertise. Each partner had set time for presenting, monitoring and evaluating in each Steering Committee and during the communication procedures. The general logic of these actions/activities of the project were the following : 1.The Family Learning Platform (IO1) was created at the beginning of the project in order for all partners to start form the same base knowledge basis regarding Family Learning. Before IO1 was launched, it was field-tested and, once updated, disseminated to our networks of adult schools primarily, and generally secondarily. 2. Once IO1 was ready, the Family Learning Mediator e-course (IO2) was created based on IO1 findings. Before it was launched, IO2 was field-tested with a group of trainers form every country, and, once updated, it was disseminated to our networks of adult schools and generally. 3.Finally, once the IO2 course was ready, the Community Outreach e-course (IO3) was be created, field tested and launched. The consistency of this methodology ensured that the partnership built a set way of working from the first output. Deadlines were set, and quality indicators foreseen. Each output production was overviewed by the output leader who took the necessary measures to meet the agreed deadlines and quality level. In each transnational meeting, the partners reviewed the progression of the project activities. For completed activities, we used both qualitative and quantitative indicators evaluation which were generated from evaluation and quality control systems.<< Results >>The outcomes were both tangible and intangible. Tangible outcomes were: Output O1: a multilingual online platform that adult students used during the project and will be able to use in the future before and during their studies to guide them how to use their studies as an opportunity to engage and spend more quality time with their families, , • Output O2: Family Learning Mediators certification: an 50 hour-long e-learning course, the first of its kind in Europe for adult trainers who would like to learn how to support learners from diverse backgrounds use family learning in adult learning contexts • Output O3: A 50-hour-long Community Outreach Capacity Building online course guiding adult learning organisations how to create and run community outreach campaigns based on family learning to attract more learners. 2. The multiplier events, including the 6 conferences analysed in detail in the relevant sections. The intangible outcomes included: 1. The new competencies adult trainers that used our resources gained. For example: a) being able to: - use family learning as an learner engagement tool, - argue against family being a barrier to participating in education, b) having: - increased professional competences, - increased confidence in dealing with family as a barrier to learner engagement / participation, - Increased confidence in using family learning as a learner engagement tool, -increased knowledge of the opportunities created by the EU for them, c) might : - improve their foreign language skills, - hone their IT and e-learning skills. 2. The new competencies adult learners that used our resources gained. Forexample: - being able to use family learning as a family engagement tool, - re-understand education as a family orientedactivity, - become more confident learners - realise the opportunities created by the EU for them, - possibly improve their foreign language skills, - hone their IT and e-learning skills. 2. Educational institutions whose staff participated courses were: a) able to: - use family learning as a learner engagement tool, - improve their drop-out rates, - re-brandadult education as a family-friendly endevour, - support learners face their family-related issues in relation to learning, - possibly increase their student intake, - offer more and better quality learning opportunities for their students, - learn todevelop oureach campaigns b) know more about opportunities the EU offers to educational institutions to participate and address important professional issues."