6 Proposed Adult Education Policy Framework

Our proposed adult education policy framework for Ontario builds on the experience of other jurisdictions, the advice of stakeholders, and the advice in the literature consulted.

Experience of Other Jurisdictions

Through the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) and interjurisdictional collaboration, education ministers have a forum to support and improve adult education and training to obtain both economic and social benefits by sharing expertise and best practices and by developing a definition and a policy framework for adult education in Canada

CMEC conducted a survey of provinces and territories in June 2003. At that time, only Quebec, Alberta, and New Brunswick had developed or were developing comprehensive policy frameworks in lifelong learning.²⁵ Ontario's Adult Education Review had not yet begun.

The CMEC study included an overview of international trends in adult education and lifelong learning. The following were of interest to Ontario:

• Developed countries focus on adult education to address labour market needs and link adult education to the development of a sustainable knowledge economy. Thus they focus on accessibility for disadvantaged groups and people with low literacy levels, and are increasingly formalizing programs for outreach and education.
• The role of social partners in shaping adult education policy has increased, particularly partnerships between governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and community groups.
• More and more adults are seeking recognition of their prior learning, knowledge, and skills.
• Stakeholders are exploring the appropriate use of ICT to support lifelong learning.
• There is limited use of research findings to improve the theory and practice of adult education.²⁶

The report of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)²⁷ concludes that the key to improving adult learning opportunities in member countries lies in an integrated approach to policies and practices regarding access and participation. The report highlights five key dimensions of policy initiatives:

• making learning more attractive to adults by a learner-centred approach that includes adult learning principles, flexibility in the provision of services, outreach policies, and recognition of prior learning
• measures to stimulate employment-related training for workers and the unemployed, engage the private sector, and remove barriers to participation
• financial incentives to invest in the human capital of adults, at both the individual and enterprise level, and stimulate participation
• approaches to improve the quality of adults' learning with an emphasis on quality control and outcomes measures
• adopting a co-ordinated approach with an emphasis on partnerships among the various players, including government, business, labour, public and private delivery agencies, and community organizations

The OECD report concludes by stressing the importance of making explicit the roles of the various actors in adult learning — individuals, business, delivery agents, and government — if a policy framework is to be implemented successfully

25 John Biss, Adult Learning and Adult Education, p. ii.

26 John Biss, Adult Learning and Adult Education, pp. 10-12.

27 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Beyond Rhetoric: Adult Learning Policies and Practices: Highlights (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2003), p. 8.