All five authors are lecturers and researchers in the School of Policy and Practice in the DCU Institute of Education. All work as lecturers on the BSc in Education and Training which provides, in its four year option, an initial teacher education route into the further education and training sector which is accredited by the Teaching Council. Dr Rami is the Director of FETRC, the Further Education and Training Research Centre based in DCU. Dr O’Kelly, Dr Lalor, Dr Tiernan and Dr Lorenzi are also members of the Centre.
The European Council Resolution on a Renewed European Agenda for Adult Learning (2011) defines adult learning “as a vital component of the lifelong learning continuum, covering the entire range of formal, non-formal and informal learning activities, general and vocational, undertaken by adults after leaving initial education and training”.
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In Ireland, the broad range of education and training programmes provide education and training opportunities for adults and young people preparing for higher education, training for employment, changing career, improving literacy and numeracy skills and engaging in lifelong learning. The sector supports communities and individuals who wish to change and improve their lives through education and training. The complexity of reasons for engaging with the sector introduces an array of learner background and life experience that can include the impact of difficult socio-economic conditions, disability, learning difficulties, early school leaving, addiction, offenders in prison or ex-offenders. Between 2010 and 2012, the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, analysed vocational education and training policies and practices in 26 countries from the perspective of learners with special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities.
The analysis focused on ‘what works’ in VET for learners with SEN and/or disabilities, ‘why it works’ and ‘how it works’ (2013, p.1). Factors included the need for: educational staff to receive sufficient support in order to ensure and safeguard a learner-centred approach; multi-disciplinary teams are established that include all professionals involved in VET, have clear roles, adopt a teamwork approach and co-operate well with other services; and VET settings are flexible and responsive to learners’ needs allowing different timeframes for completion and flexible pathways (p.4).
The aim of this research is to examine the opinion and experience of FET stakeholders both nationally and internationally on the instance of learning difficulties in the learning environment and to examine how practitioners developed their own learning to assist and support learners. A range of Irish stakeholders in FET were interviewed and practitioners across the EU were surveyed through purposive (Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2011, p. 156) and snowball-sampling (p.158) within EU VET and international networks.
The research found that the experiences of practitioners in vocational education and training and adult education were consistent across countries and diverse systems with practitioners in the majority relying on informal support from colleagues and own research to supplement their knowledge. Practitioners also cited their own professional experience as their main learning support for coping with learners in need.