Sajátos tanulási igény felnőttkorban

Abstract

Unemployment leads to, among other, the exclusion of several underprivileged groups from the labour market. The employment of people in these groups is only possible, if the adult education system is able to train them for the new professional context and to build the competencies required on the labour market. This task brings into focus some special target groups whose catching-up via training has been less successful so far despite important financing from European and national sources. Underprivileged adults with special learning needs principally include for example elderly people, persons with altered work abilities, disabled people, dyslexic or dysgraphic persons, immigrants or people living in seclusion. They cannot return to the labour market in the short term typically because of their low level of schooling, lack of basic competencies and missing motivation. Considering their life situation, socio-cultural background and level of schooling the group of underprivileged adults is far from being homogenous. Yet common points can be found in the means of reaching out for or motivating those people, and also in the methodology of their training. As a principal characteristic, persons who are handicapped in training are not disabled from a medical point of view. However, their daily routine, low level of education as well as lack of personal and social competencies make them handicapped when they try to enter the labour market or to make use of employment generating facilities and adult education institutions. To give a hint of the social importance of the issue, it should be noted that 10 to 15 per cent of the European population can be considered or consider themselves disabled.1 Another data shows that at least 10 per cent of the world’s population are dyslexic; so in Hungary, around one million people are concerned. Dyslexia can thus be considered the most frequent learning disorder.2 Based on our preliminary studies we suggest considering these groups of people as handicapped in work and in training, given that employers principally understand disability as a handicap from a working perspective.3 We also suggest introducing in andragogy the notion of ‘adult with special learning needs’, similar to that of ‘children with special educational needs’ used in pedagogy. This paper presents findings of a research conducted at the Chair of Andragogy of ELTE PPK in the academic year of 2010-2011 on dyslexic adults. A number of reasons justified choosing dyslexic adults among those with special learning needs. The first was that the field of children dyslexia is a well researched one. Another was the fact that the share of dyslexic people is high among the population. Finally, adult dyslexia is less researched from the point of view of andragogy. Adult dyslexia studies can supply certain conclusions and best practices from a learning and teaching point of view. Our hypothesis is that these conclusions and best practices may be adapted in drawing up a methodology for other sub-groups of adults with special learning needs.