The satisfaction of having achieved a goal you have challenged yourself to achieve is great for any learner, yet I believe that it is greater in the case of adult learners.  From my experience, I feel that the skill of personalised learning is one of the greater skills we can impart to our adult students.  It is indeed the keys to ‘happiness’ since we are giving them the skills to pursue their learning at their own pace leading to the personal satisfaction that they have managed to acquire the knowledge through self-taught.  

Learning  is always a hard job, process that take time and effort. Happiness in more side effect than an outcome of a process but in a country like Slovenia  which is among 10 world countries if we  consider suicides, happiness should be consider very seriously. Actually there is a document Vison of Slovenia in 2050  and one of the premises is: “In 2050, Slovenians are a happy people.!«

More on:

https://slovenija2050.si/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Vizija-Slovenije-ENG.pdf

Least but not last I would like to thank you   initiated such an interesting theme for discussion. I do often, while motivating potential participants to join adult education use that fact that participating in lifelong learning ensure longer, healthier and better life. I strongly belive in   our centre's statement “Knowledge improves life!”

Brigita Kruder, EPALE ambassador 

Adult educators are crucial in process of informing, counselling  and providing learning activities. Their personal perception of adult learning, affirmation for learning in general and life experiences have huge (but sometimes hidden) impact on their work. Adult educator in usually a person who has  some social science professional expertise, and not necessary strong conviction and  practical knowledge in  lifelong learning  competences.   Social goals, national priorities, free classes or courses are kind of signpost of marketplace and global, social/national goals.  Any participation in adult education, no matter what and where, as long as quality in assured is better than none. 

Nowadays is impossible to ignore how skills development is important to get and maintain employability.

Education and training must therefore prepare people to be more competitive and to be ready to the labor market changes.

But education and training providers must not forget that if it is necessary for people to be more competitive and have distinctive competences it is also necessary that they be able to work as a team, to collaborate for a common purpose and to share objectives and a shared vision by a community.

In the scope of a new industrial era (Industry 4.0) these social and soft skills are considered crucial and sometimes even more relevant than hard skills, especially to maintain people in jobs that change too rapidly.

So, we believe lifelong learning strategies are successful if they can achieve equilibrium between the competences that promote personal success and those that allow a community to progress as a whole.

In Portugal, in the adult education and training courses, the reconciliation of these two dimensions is worked through a transversal activity to the curriculum called "themes of life". The theme worked out is often chosen by the class and should have an impact and relevance to the community life. This theme allows class to develop skills related to the working group and to promote the commitment of all with the accomplishment of something that could benefit the community.

Dear all,

As a representative of the portuguese NSS but also as an institution that works directly with VET at the policy level, this is ANQEP's perspective on the subject.

According the report “How’s Life in 2017?” from OECD, there is a connection between well-being and happiness and education. Education is a tool to achieve a better position in well-being index. That’s why education is one of the aspects considered in this report.

The 2017 edition shows how inequalities harm well-being perception.  In 2017, in all OECD countries, in general, inequalities have many faces and they interact creating disadvantages. One of those faces is related to school attendance. People with lower qualifications are less likely to have access to life opportunities and skills that enable them to be healthier, to obtain better jobs, to provide better living conditions for their children and even to rely on public institutions. Inequalities are bigger for migrants not only in schooling attendance but also in conditions to use theirs skills. This reports advance that “in several cases, migrants are also unable to make the most of the skills that they bring with them: almost 30% of migrants with a tertiary degree are overqualified for their jobs, compared to 20% of the native-born. In addition to poorer working conditions migrants also face poorer living conditions: 1 in 4 migrants report being exposed to air and noise pollution in the area where they live, compared to 1 in 5 of their native-born peers; and 41% of migrants live in sub-standard or overcrowded housing, compared to 27% of the native-born. Migrants also report worse health, lower social support, and lower subjective well-being than the native-born in most OECD countries assessed.

Specifically considering the situation in Portugal and the educational features, this report says that the country’s performance is mixed: “while only 47% of working-age adults have attained at least an upper secondary education, among the lowest in the OECD, students’ cognitive skills at age 15 are above the OECD average level”. So, Portugal still needs to improve conditions to promote adult education, so people can get a better well-being perception.

Indeed, the same conclusion was described by other recent study from OECD, untitled “Skills strategy implementation: Guidance for Portugal”. This study shows that raising skills is critical to Portugal’s economic success and social well-being.

The study “Word happiness report 2018” also highlights the need for Portugal to improve with regard to the perception of well-being. Worldwide, Portugal is ranked 77th out of 156 countries, despite having risen 12 places compared to 2016. In terms of Europe, Portugal appears to be the fourth least happy country.

Dear all, I would like to contribute by quoting Finnish philosopher Frank Martela. In Blue Wing Magazine he writes:

"A balanced combination of self-expression and the ability to support others produces both wellbeing and meaningfulness".

"Happiness is what happens when you are busy doing meaningful things."

I would say, that this is very true in adult learning, which certainly is a way to develop and realise yourself!