Despite the expanding opportunities in adult education and learning (ALE) for young people, not all individuals take advantage of them. The paper aims to analyze the relationship between the educational status of young people and their parents, their perseverance (GRIT), with their participation in informal and informal ALE. We analyze whether perseverance enhances participation in ALE among young people with educational advantages. The study tends to contribute to the wider discussion on the reproduction of social structure through human capital accumulation. We analyze the data provided by the longitudinal study “Trajectories in education and profession (TROP)” using regression analysis. We found a positive relationship between an individual’s level of education and perseverance (measured at the age of 14) and participation in job-relevant ALE in adulthood (23-25 years old), and a positive relationship between mothers’ higher education and participation in ALE, not relevant to the job. The hypotheses about the significant role of perseverance in further accumulation of educational advantages is partially confirmed: perseverance enhances the positive effect of higher mother’s education, in participation in work-related informal learning. The results can be used in the development of activities aimed at increasing the involvement of young people in ALE.
Keyword(s) : non-formal education
Conditions for the “Easy” Entry of Novice Teachers into the Professional Activity
In recent of years, Kazakhstan has been taking systemic measures to improve the status of the teacher
and the attractiveness of the teaching profession, and to create certain conditions for retaining young
teachers in the profession. However, the taken actions do not tackle the problem of ‘youthification’
of Kazakhstani schools. The paper explores the conditions for “easy” entry of novice teachers into
the profession. The potential of non-formal education is described and justified.
The research aims to develop a model of “easy entry” into the teaching profession based on the
analysis of difficulties that novice teachers encounter. The obtained data enabled the author to
identify the difficulties faced by young teachers in their professional activity, as well as the reasons
for these challenges and possible ways of dealing with the problems. Based on the research findings,
the role and potential of non-formal education in the “easy” entry into the teaching professional
were explained. The significance of the study lies in changing the options in relation to the forms
for improving professional competencies, creating conditions for creative self-expression and self-realization as a factor of successful entry into the professional activity.
The Role of Russian Parents’ Education in Developing Intuitive Theories of Parenting
Previous research in English-speaking countries has shown that parental education predicts
significantly parental attitudes and theories about parenting which, in turn, guide parental
interaction with their child and might impact the child’s mental development. However, to the best
of our knowledge, there has been no research aimed at studying the role of parental education in
shaping the views of Russian parents on their children’s education and development. The current
study aimed to analyze the role of Russian parents’ education in their intuitive theories of parenting,
by controlling for the region where the families live, and taking into account the age and sex of their
child. Intuitive theories of parenting were studied using the Early Parental Attitudes Questionnaire
(EPAQ). The sample consisted of 995 parents who have children aged 1 to 7 and live in Moscow,
the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and Republic North Ossetia in Russian Federation. Two profiles
of intuitive theories of parenting were identified. Differences and similarities in intuitive theories
of parenting between regions, when controlling for parents’ level of education were also identified.
The results characterize modern parenthood in three geographically distant Russian regions and
can be useful in understanding the profile of a modern parent, as well as for developing educational
programmes aimed at self-development and increasing parental competence in Russian parents.
Role of the non-formal education’s institutions for the teacher qualification in Bulgaria
This article describes the ongoing changes in the teachers’ qualification system and the role of nonformal
education institutions in Bulgaria. The changes are related to the improvement of the quality
of school education and the new functions and roles of the 21st century teacher. It describes some
basic problems in the implementation of the new model for qualification of Bulgarian teachers
which emerged after the first year of applying the reform in practice. It analyses the main issues of
the normative base, and discusses the problem of the role of the non-governmental sector in the
reform. The findings are based on the opinions of 44 teachers from the country, 14 of whom are
students in the Master’s Program in Educational Management of the Faculty of Education at the
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
The research shows that teachers regard more seriously their needs for additional knowledge and
skills, and relate these to future courses and plans for professional and personal development. The
article recommends that there should be a national survey of the results of the implementation of
the new model of continuous teachers’ qualification and a re-examination of the increase in the
“benefits” (both moral and material) of the qualification for teachers.