III Regional EPALE conference on "Research Practice in Adult Education" was held in the period from 5th to 7th March 2018 in Budva, Montenegro.

The conference was attended by the representatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro. During the conference, experiences on the so-far method of education and professional development of adults were exchanged, as well as opinions on directions for further development of adult education in this region. Presented were the suggestions for further progress in research practice and future regional cooperation.

First Day, 6th March

At the beginning of the conference, the introductory speech was delivered by Dr Damir Šehović, Minister of Education in Montenegro, who emphasized that adult education should not be considered as a failure in the career path, but as a necessity in further personal development, and that in the circumstances of a constantly changing business environment which requires adaptation, no segment of the education system has such developmental potential as adult education. Following the presentation of the Minister, the participants were addressed by Duško Rajković, Director of the Centre for Vocational Education and Veljko Tomić, Director of the Directorate for General Secondary Education, Secondary Vocational Education and Adult Education. In these introductory presentations it was pointed out that lifelong learning is the basis for competitiveness and mobility, that adult education is one of the priorities in the EU, and the project EPALE represents the opportunity to bring education. It was also emphasized that the professional development of teachers is one of the imperatives of the EPALE project and that a number of activities have already been started in this field.

Research practices in the region were presented in the continuation of the conference.

Ivan Marković from the Centre for Vocational Education (Montenegro) presented the results of research on the demands for professional development of teachers working in secondary vocational schools and mixed schools and with licensed adult education organizers. Presented was a survey of the structure of respondents (485 teachers working in secondary vocational schools and 70 working in adult education). The conclusion is that over half of the interviewees have the need for advanced training in the subjects they teach, for improvement in the field of new technologies, career guidance and student counselling. It is pointed out that the research results will be taken as the basis for the forthcoming planning and organization of teachers’ training.

A representative from Serbia, Bojan Ljujić, from the Department of Andragogy of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, spoke on the subject of "The Use of the Internet in Adult Education: leisure-educational perspective" on the use of the Internet in the adult education in their free time. Education appears as a determinant and a component of the use of the Internet in adults’ leisure time. The aim of the research was to examine and clarify the complex relationship between education as a determinant and education as a component of the use of the Internet in adults’ leisure time. Some of the findings of the Survey are that over 70% of respondents use the Internet on daily basis in educational activities, that teachers are highly ready to professionally educate on the Internet; that institutions in Serbia have the capacity for online education, but that the equipment is not used in the right way.

The topic of Katja Kragelj from the Slovenian Adult Education Centre was "Researching adult skills tested through the PIAAC as an example of good practice in planning (sectoral) policies". The PIAAC Survey (The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) is the largest international overview of the conjuncture and the usage of skills of adults ranging from 16 to 65 years of age. Due to the wide and complex set of tools, this survey enables direct measurement and indirect analysis of skills in three areas. More information about the research you can find at: https://pismenost.acs.si/ (link is external).

"The Role of the Competency Passport in BiH" was the topic of the representative of BiH, Domagoj Andrijanić. The Competency Passport is presented as an instrument combining all knowledge, skills and competences acquired through formal, non-formal and informal education. The passport is filled in with the support of a certified counsellor (there are over 1500 of them). Persons with Competency Passport have thus increased their self-confidence and motivation towards professional development, and over half of them have stated that they found it easier, better and more successful to present themselves to employers in this way. Employers stressed that they found the competency passport useful in hiring and job classification. The Association for Competency Development S.K.I.L.L.S. in BiH invited their colleagues from the region to cooperate - more info at https://www.skills.ba/ (link is external).

Ognjen Piljek Žiljak spoke about research in adult education in Croatia. There is an andragogical common database of institutions, programs, students and teachers in Croatia - AZUP. The emphasis in adult education has been placed on linking adult education with the labour market, enabling adults to acquire qualifications and retraining, and linking them to vocational education and lifelong learning. A survey conducted in Croatia found that the highest number of those who take part in educational activities are those with higher education, and the motive for learning is cognitive interest, professional advancement and development and improvement of job opportunities.

The presentations of all representatives from the region can be found on the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/epale/en/node/55007

Second Day, 7th March 2018

"How digital are we?" Vladimir Vulić, a Management Consultant, gave in his lecture an overview of the use of digital technologies in the world with a reference to the use in Montenegro and the region in 2017. The statistics can be viewed on this link: http://digitalizuj.me/2017/02/dis-smo-digital-statistics-uper-digital-tehnologija-u-regionu-u-2017-godini/ (link is external).

"Mtel's Digital Factory"- Sanja Simonović has promoted Mtel's digital strategy - creation of the Centre for Technological Entrepreneurship and Startup Academy for the Youth in the field of IT, modern technologies and entrepreneurship who have ideas and who will be supported to put their ideas into practice. More info on the link: http://digitalnafabrika.mtel.me/ (link is external).

Dragan Dubak from the Statistical Office of Montenegro gave a presentation of the statistical data related to the adult education structure in Montenegro, comparing data on the structure of education from 1991 and 2011.

Veljko Botica, Director of the Maritime High School from Kotor and Miloš Trivić, Ambassador of EPALE platform in Montenegro, presented an example of good practice: "Sustainable model of adult education practice: Prequalification to the world labour market". The presentation consisted of introducing of the school, programs and students who explained the motives for this type of education. The school website: https://pomorskakotor.com/ (link is external).

The last part of the conference was implemented through workshops. The moderators in the workshops included each representative from the countries participating in the conference (Marica Vukomanović, NSS Serbia, Denis Fazlić, NSS Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mario Vučić, NSS Croatia, Maruša Bajt and Andreja Lenc, NSS Slovenia, Ivan Marković, NSS Montenegro). The conference was closed with the presentation of the conclusions and ideas reached during the workshops:

• increasing the participation of adult citizens in lifelong learning activities - this group provided a proposal of topics for cooperation - workplace learning, retraining and further training, non-formal and informal education. Proposed models of cooperation included webinars, online seminars on the EPALE platform, planning of joint study visits through Erasmus+ programs, etc;
• improving the quality of the adult education system - presenting examples of good practice in the field of improving the adult education systems in each of the participating countries (accreditation, internal evaluation, self-evaluation, final exams ...) as well as identifying the challenges that need to be addressed;
• strengthening the professionalization of adult education experts (andragogical training of educators) - presented were the activities that could be subject to further cooperation in the region (harmonizing the training that can be recognized at the regional level, organizing training for teaching staff at higher education institutions ...);
• raising the level of key competences of citizens - the workshop is based on the European Reference Framework - 8 key competences for lifelong learning. Regional cooperation in this area can be based on joint training for vulnerable groups;
• strengthening professional development of teachers - the proposal of this group was the organisation of regional teacher training, common standards for professional development of teachers to be defined, a unique regional instrument for evaluating teachers’ work created, as well as mutual space for the discussion on the EPALE platform.