For a long time, stays abroad with the Erasmus+ scheme were only possible for education staff in adult education. Since 2021, however, adult learners have also been able to participate in the programme as part of study abroad trips. This was initially mainly for those with fewer opportunities, and since 2023 has applied to all learners. Initial experience shows that this could be an important step towards “education for participation”. 

“The study abroad trips are a great and meaningful opportunity to reach people who have little access to such experiences due to their learning biography and life circumstances,” says Julia Francke, Erasmus+ project coordinator at the State Association of Adult Education Centres (Landesverband der Volkshochschulen) in Schleswig-Holstein. The association was one of the first project organisers to take advantage of the new offer. In May 2023, adult education centre students on basic education courses in Husum and Kiel travelled to Sweden for a week to visit the Kvarnby Folkhögskola and experience the culture of the host country. Kvarnby Folkhögskola is a partner school with which the association has been working for some time. For the accompanying school staff, the programme also included insights into the Swedish social system and the landscape of adult education.

Julia Francke is convinced that the participants’ self-esteem has increased considerably as a result of their study abroad trip. Many of them had never left their home town or stayed in a hotel before. Intensive preparation and on-site support was therefore needed to allay their fears and build trust. But this was a resounding success. She adds: “With this opportunity, we have opened up a whole new world for these people. They have experienced real participation for the first time in their lives”.

Giving access to many

The aspect of participation is also of central importance to Tanja Möller, research associate in the adult education team at the National Agency Education for Europe at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (NA at BIBB). “Our aim is to provide as many people as possible with access to educational opportunities in the spirit of lifelong learning,” she emphasises. We also aim to reach those who have fewer opportunities and have not yet been able to participate in the programmes in the way they would like to – whether for financial reasons or due to health restrictions. This is precisely where Erasmus+ comes in. The programme supports the institutions in sending their adult learners abroad and thus opening up encounters with other cultures and living environments – which is enormously enriching both professionally and personally.

However, individuals are not able to apply for this on their own, the application has to come from the respective institution, in this case the State Association of Adult Education Centres in Schleswig-Holstein. “The institutions can choose between two different approaches to the programme,” explains Möller. One option – as in the example described – is where the institution can apply for accreditation for the entire duration of the programme, which has the advantage that no separate applications for funding need to be submitted, only annual funding requests. This ensures continuity and long-term planning of activities. The alternative option is short-term projects. They are particularly suitable for new and inexperienced project organisers who wish to send a limited number of people abroad within a short period of time.

Boosting confidence through experience abroad

A good example of this type of short-term project is the “MUT-macher:innen für Europa” “Confidence Boosters for Europe” programme run by Meppen Adult Education Centre (VHS Meppen). The project offers a study abroad trip to Latvia for young adults who are catching up on their school-leaving qualifications at the local vocational assistance centre for young people (Zentrum für Jugendberufshilfe). Radka Lemmen, deputy director of VHS Meppen, reports: “It was extremely important for me to show what is possible with such an approach. We have made a conscious decision to address people who are catching up on their school-leaving qualifications because you will find a special mix of cultures and personalities here – from people who have fled their homeland to people with a history of illness and addiction, to people who have come to the centre after serving time in prison. We wanted to involve and encourage all those who, for various reasons, did not have the opportunity to obtain a regular school-leaving qualification.”

To this end, two study abroad trips were carried out in 2022 and 2023 in cooperation with a Latvian partner organisation. Before the first tour to the small town of Tukums, 60 kilometres west of Riga, Radka Lemmen was still unsure whether there would be enough people interested in the trip, yet there was an enormous rush to secure places the second time around. In the end, they even had to turn some people away. For the participants, all of this resulted in unique experiences and a broadening of their own horizons – the project name “MUT-Macher:innen” (“confidence boosters”) was literally brought to life. But the institution itself has also benefitted, because after the successful realisation of the short-term project, Lemmen and her team are now also aiming for accreditation to further consolidate the mobility opportunities at VHS Meppen. 

Photos: State Association of Adult Education Centres in Schleswig-Holstein

You can find out more about study abroad trips in adult education on the website https://www.na-bibb.de/erasmus-erwachsenenbildung/mobilitaet