Learning Never Ends...

This monograph is a collection of texts written by researchers, practitioners and theoreticians of adult education from Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia). Its focus is on areas of contemporary adult education. The key issue is informal-learning space, where we can see the shift towards positive valuation of the ideas of localism and social commitment and to learning through (auto)reflection shaped by currents of information and individual experience. Another significant matter is the non-formal area of education, where intensive changes are taking place. The activities of associations and foundations, the dissemination of knowledge, work within open-education institutions, the non-governmental educational institution sector, citizenship – all are important areas of research, comparison and analysis that can be used to increase andragogical knowledge. I find it especially valuable to present Central and Eastern European perspectives, which to date have been neglected and marginalised in the global discourse. This publication complements existing works in the field of pedagogy – general, comparative, social – andragogy pedagogy, pedeutology, social work and health pedagogy, following the spirit of the times and providing the most current presentation of the view of lifelong learning in operation among individuals, organisations, institutions [...]. (Anna Odrowąż-Coates, vice rector, and professor, Maria Grzegorzewska Academy of Special Education (APS) in Warsaw) [This work] is marked with an enlightened conviction and optimism about learning’s role as an activity conducive to improving the quality of life [...]. PhD students and researchers will find interesting inspiration, sources and connection in the publication. [It] will also contribute by expanding the network of international research cooperation in the andragogical community, as its contents constitute a source of information for researchers seeking partners for various international projects in the field of andragogy. Clearly, it will also prove interesting reading for practitioners of adult education, as the proposed and postulated methods of working with adult students deserve their attention, as well as implementation into educational reality. (Ewa Kurantowicz, rector and professor, University of Lower Silesia (DSW) in Wrocław) The publication is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Poland license (CC BY 3.0 PL) (full license available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/pl/legalcode). ********* Nauka nigdy się nie kończy... Przestrzenie edukacji dorosłych: perspektywy Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej Monografia jest zbiorem tekstów w języku angielskim napisanych przez badaczy, praktyków i teoretyków edukacji dorosłych z Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej (Polska, Czechy, Słowacja, Ukraina, Rosja). Teksty w książce są podzielone na pięć rozdziałów, z których każdy dotyczy znaczących problemów związanych z uczeniem się dorosłych i nauczaniem w ponowoczesnym świecie. Pierwsza część poświęcona jest współczesnym problemom związanym z rozwojem teorii i praktyki edukacji dorosłych oraz andragogiki w perspektywie regionalnej Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej. W drugiej części zebrano teksty dotyczące kompetencji współczesnych edukatorów osób dorosłych. Następny rozdział został poświęcony formom wsparcia edukacyjnego dla dorosłych. W części czwartej można znaleźć teksty związane z nieformalnym uczeniem się z życia i doświadczeń. Piąta część poświęcona jest obywatelstwu, ruchom społecznym, uczącym się miastom i regionom. Publikacja na licencji Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa 3.0 PL (CC BY 3.0 PL) (pełna treść wzorca dostępna pod adresem: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/pl/legalcode). ********* Dr hab., prof. UW Zofia Szarota (ORCID 0000-0002-6342-3135) – Associate Professor at the University of Warsaw, where she is Head of the Department of Continuing Education and Andragogy at the Faculty of Education. Her scientific interests include issues of adulthood in educational contexts as well as problems accompanying old age and aging. Her research interests focus on problems of adult learning, social integration and equality, as well as social gerontology and geragogy. She is the author of over 140 publications. Professor Szarota is on the editorial committees of several international and domestic scientific journals. She is a member of the Academic Andragogical Association and the Association of Social Gerontologists and an educator at the Universities of the Third Age, where she lectures on non-formal adult education. She was vice president of the Social Pedagogy Team of the Committee of Pedagogical Sciences at the Polish Academy of Sciences (2016–2020), and is currently secretary of the Geronotology Section of the academy’s Committee of Pedagogical Sciences (2020–2023). She has been a board member of the Academic Andragogical Association since 2008, and is a member of the Expert Team for Senior Citizens at the Ombudsman. Dr Zuzanna Ewa Wojciechowska (ORCID 0000-0001-6373-6937) – Lecturer at the University of Warsaw, andragogue, doctor of social sciences in the field of education, presently with the Department of Lifelong Education and Andragogy at the faculty of Education at the University of Warsaw. Dr Wojciechowska’s theoretical and empirical interests include issues related to adult education and biography, as well as to professional change, careers, patterns in contemporary life and careers, inter- and multicultural learning, intercultural counseling and the fate of emigrants. At present her particular interests include issues related to distance education, innovative solutions in remote education, edutainment techniques and digitisation in education (she also teaches academic subjects related to these topics). She belongs to the group of members of the Academic Andragogical Association in Poland, and is also a practitioner of adult education. For ten years, she has been involved in language education, including teaching Polish to foreigners. She is also a member of the quality-evaluation committee overseeing education at the University of Warsaw. --------- Dr Zuzanna Ewa Wojciechowska (ORCID 0000-0001-6373-6937) – andragog, doktor nauk społecznych w zakresie pedagogiki, pracownik Katedry Edukacji Ustawicznej i Andragogiki Wydziału Pedagogicznego Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. Zajmuje się zagadnieniami związanymi z edukacją dorosłych, biografią i biograficznością, uczeniem się z własnej biografii i z biografii innych. W kręgu jej zainteresowań badawczych znajdują się również (re)konstrukcje biograficzne, zmiana zawodowa, kariera, współczesne wzory życia i wzory karier, uczenie się międzykulturowe, doradztwo międzykulturowe, losy emigrantów, problematyka kobieca, społeczno-kulturowe uwarunkowania płci. Należy do grona członków Akademickiego Towarzystwa Andragogicznego, jest również praktykiem edukacji dorosłych. Od wielu lat zajmuje się kształceniem językowym, w tym nauczaniem cudzoziemców języka polskiego.