Serguey I.ZMEYOV, PhD in Educational Sciences. Moscow, RUSSIA. - ADULT EDUCATION IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALISATION. One of the most important features of our new brave world, the new “world” of adult learning included, is globalisation. This term is very multimeaning, and in different contexts, in diverse spheres of human activities it means, sometimes, very different things. The largest meaning of this term is global character of all modern processes, phenomena and activities which regards all individuals, all material and spiritual spheres of being. But indeed, all human activities were and are developed according with general laws which always have global character but not always are known by individuals. Human beings, simply, didn’t and till now don’t realise this fact, due to their ignorance or lack of information and scientific investigations in respective domains. Sometimes individuals or whole social groups, in spite of accepted and even commonly recognised laws, essay to improve or accelerate their action. Very soon these human activities conduce to crisis and even technical or social catastrophes. So, the modern notion “globalisation” simply indicates that the humankind begins to recognise the fact of global relationships between all processes, phenomena and activities and essays to make efforts for organising his activities obeying objective, general and global laws of development. The sphere of education, unlikely other domains of human activities, was during long time a field of struggle for specificity, even uniqueness of different approaches to its organisation. Nevertheless, this sphere also is developed in accordance with general laws. Some of them are till now ignored by us. Some of them are clear and well investigated, but their influence is managed and some times disturbed by human actions. Actual global problems, and first of all retarding of human being’s competences rising rates from environmental changes’ rates, require the search and acceptation of more common approaches in the field of education. So, processes of globalisation penetrate into the sphere of education, and this is an objective, very important and enough new fact characterising “world of learning”. Adult education plays one of the most important roles in the process of globalisation in the sphere of education. It is due to several factors. Firstly, as it is well known, the main goal of all human efforts is personal fulfilment, or self-actualisation, and the sphere of education is the most important mean of its achievement. Education provides every individual necessary knowledge, skills, abilities for obtaining his/her vital aims, objectives, dreams. Unfortunately, the basic level of education in different countries till now depends of adopted in this kind of society traditions, political, social, religious ideas and ideals which yet are very diverse. On the contrary, educational needs of adults are very similar and consist of seven main groups: obtaining of general secondary education (if necessary); perfection of old and obtaining of new professional skills; improvement of familiar life; obtaining of necessary knowledge, skills and abilities for participation in social activities; maintaining of health; leisure and recreational activities; self-perfection. These educational needs, on the one hand, are more concrete, deliberated, conscious for achievement of vital aims and, consequently, for self-actualisation of each individual. And adult education, providing opportunities for satisfying educational needs of adults, is one of the most adequate means of self-actualisation of individuals. On the other hand, educational needs mentioned above are more homogeneous, less ideologised, more common for all humankind. This permits organise similar contents of adult education in the purpose of resolving global problems. And adult education, satisfying more or less common educational needs of adults, contributes to searching of more common approaches of learning, i.e. to globalisation of education. So, this is one of the most important features of new world of adult learning. Secondly, new adult education is also one of the most effective means of achievement of socio-economical objectives of modern society. Actual state of new adult learning - including obtaining new knowledge and professional skills; maintaining and improvement of health; permanent self-perfection - contributes to real and portentous economic growth. The adult learning in leisure and recreational activities, improvement of familiar life, maintaining of health permits to prolong and facilitate the life-span of individuals. Adult education allows to obtain necessary knowledge, skills and abilities for participation of large groups of population in social activities. Participation of many peoples in adult learning permits in a number of cases to diminish the social tensions and to improve the psychological state of individuals. All these socio-economical factors are very important for all kind of societies and countries. So, contributing to resolution of economical, social and psychological problems of modern society the new adult education allows objectively to globalisation of education, i.e. to elaboration of common approaches to organisation of educational sphere and to its adaptation, and even more, to its obedience to the general laws of its functioning and development. Finally, and it is the third factor, adult education is the most fruitfully and rapidly developing domain of all sphere of educational services which contributes to the development and growth of this sphere. But quantitative and qualitative development is one of the most common goals and factors of the development of education and society in conditions of globalisation. Indeed, new adult learning services represent a sphere where are realised many enough new and fruitful organisational, conceptual and scientific achievements of modern times. The concepts of lifelong education and open learning nowadays are commonly accepted essentially thanks to adult education. Such forms as further education, recurrent education, continuing education were developed mainly in the sphere of adult education. Such new approaches as contextual education, experiential learning, individualised learning, learner centred education are realised essentially thanks to and in the adult education. Finally, such new scientific theories as andragogy (theory and technology of adult education), gerontagogy (theory and technology of education of elders) are developed and realised in practice also in the sphere of adult education. All these achievements of adult education portentously influence on the whole sphere of educational services all over the world, independently of the level of development of this sphere in each concrete country. Because all phenomena and processes mentioned above reflect and realise the global and objective laws of development of education. Ultimately, they reflect, obey and develop the global laws of development of modern society. So, all these factors permit consider adult education with new features, on the one hand, as one of the most appropriate and fruitful fields, and on the other, as one of the most effective means of realisation of global processes, and also as a key to the XXIst century and as a bridge between “old” a “new” eras of humanity development. See: esrea2004.dawid.uni.wroc.pl/papers/87.doc

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