The Erasmus+ Programme, supported by the European Union, aims to enhance the educational, professional, and personal development of participants across Europe and beyond. The adult learning component of Erasmus+ focuses on improving the socio-economic resilience of adults facing challenging conditions for personal advancement. This involves enhancing language, numeracy, digital, and other skills to promote greater autonomy among vulnerable adults.
The adult learning sector distinguishes itself from other programme areas of the Erasmus+ Programme (like VET, higher education, primary and secondary education). For example, adult education is provided by a variety of different organisations (e.g. charities, cultural institutions, libraries, voluntary organisations, etc.). Moreover, besides professionals, these organisations often use volunteers to support adult learners in their learning process (e.g. for learning a new language). Another peculiarity is that in many EU Member States there are no national strategies for adult learning, as is usually the case in primary, secondary and higher education. In addition, the group of adult learners is also very diverse and includes people with a lower level of education, little digital skills, a migration background, disabilities and older people.
Given this large heterogeneity of the target groups, adult education addresses a wide range of different learning needs. Till now, less is known about the impact of Erasmus+ on adult learners, staff, volunteers and organisations in the field of adult learning. To better coordinate research activities on strengthening the impact of international cooperation and mobility projects in adult education and to enable the further development and quality improvement of the Erasmus+ Programme, the transnational RIA-AE Network has been established.
First informal meeting
Kick-Off meeting in Bonn, Germany
Contracting of transnational research coordination
Network meeting in Bonn, Germany
Launch of first survey round
Network meeting in Florence, Italy
Publication of EU synthesis report of the first survey round
Network meeting in Bled, Slovenia
Network meeting in Gouda, The Netherlands
Launch of second survey round
Network meeting in Riga, Latvia
The RIA-AE Network was founded by eight National Agencies and has grown significantly since its creation. Currently, it involves 21 countries.
In order to define the core purpose and fundamental orientation of the network, the RIA-AE Network has formulated a mission statement.
The main objectives of the RIA-AE Network are:
The RIA-AE Network wants to contribute to a better understanding of the impact of international cooperation and mobility projects in adult education within the Erasmus+ Programme.
The RIA-AE Network wants to strengthen the cooperation and dialogue between research, policy and practice.
The RIA-AE Network wants to contribute to further development and quality improvement of the Erasmus+ Programme in adult education by enabling high-quality and practice-oriented evaluation and impact research.
The RIA-AE Network wants to enlarge the visibility of the benefits of adult education in the EU and Member States and the role of Erasmus+.
