Higher Education for Adults Learners in Europe: Missed Opportunities and Future Directions in the 21st Century

Abstract

Higher education (HE) witnessed transformative progress in Europe since 1999-2000. However, not all areas have benefitted equally, as in the case of HE for adult learners. Innovative, ambitious and impactful new developments can be documented, such as regarding degree models, quality assurance, student mobility, HE qualifications or the fundamental values of HE and transnational education. For most of this period, the political and policy climate at the European level has been supportive for HE, nurtured by European Union (EU) strategies and initiatives, European Higher Education Area initiatives, and a combination of powerful, albeit shifting, policy narratives, such as the knowledge society, neoliberalism, European integration, and democratization. Against this mostly positive background, the present article documents the reality of a lack of significant progress in the specific area of HE for adults and uncovers the reasons for this situation.