EduMAP project in a nutshell

EduMAP project in a nutshell

• 1.
  The members ofthe consortium University of Tampere (FINLAND), School of Education, in collaboration with the School of Information Sciences. Person in charge: Associate Professor, Hanna Toiviainen Tallinn University (ESTONIA) Person in charge: Dr. Kai Pata kpata(at)tlu.ee Foredata LLC (FINLAND) Person in charge: Mr. Jari Järvinen jari.jarvinen(at)foredata.fi DVV International (GERMANY) Person in charge: Dr. Beate Schmidt-Behlau schmidt-behlau(at)dvv-international.de The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GREECE) Person in charge: Assistant Professor Georgios K. Zarifis gzarifis(at)auth.gr University of Szeged (HUNGARY) Person in charge: Professor Judit Toth merkovity(at)juris.u-szeged.hu Social Sciences University of Ankara (TURKEY) Person in charge: Dr. Armağan Erdogan armagan.erdogan(at)asbu.edu.tr Loughborough University (UK) Person in charge: Professor Jo Tacchi J.A.Tacchi(at)lboro.ac.uk University College London (UK) Person in charge: Dr. Natasha Kersh n.kersh(at)ioe.ac.uk Research has shown that the European adult education system has serious problems in meeting the educational needs of young adults in a vulnerable position. Representatives of ethnic minority groups and foreign newcomers, in particular, are often at serious risk of social exclusion. They may be excluded from the labour market due to lack of adequate language or professional skills or because their qualifications are not recognised by the receiving societies. Project coordination Theprojectmanagement,includingscientific,administrative, knowledge and financial management, is divided among the tasks of the Project Coordinator, Project Manager and Coordinating Team. EduMAP is under the coordination of the University of Tampere (Finland) Project Leader Associate Professor Hanna Toiviainen hanna.toiviainen(at)uta.fi Project Manager Mr. Jaakko Hyytiä jaakko.hyytia(at)uta.fi tel. +358503187121 Adult Education as a Means to Active Participatory Citizenship (EduMAP) This project is funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme
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  Once a generalunderstanding of the state-of-the-art in the EU28 has been gained, successful education practices among young adults at risk of social exclusion within and outside the EU will be investigated through case studies. Communicative practices and information flows within the best practices under study and in the wider fields of adult education will be mapped and scrutinised. The research findings will be utilised to enhance dialogue between the educational actors and vulnerable minority groups. In order to enable easy access to adequate information, an Intelligent Decision Support System (IDSS) will be produced for the use of policymakers, educational authorities and other stakeholders. Expected outputs The fundamental aim of the EduMAP project is to help policymakers, educational authorities and educators to ensure that young generations as a whole will attain the competences needed to actively participate in society and the labour market. EduMAP will contribute to better adult education policies and practices that meet the educational needs of members of vulnerable groups and improve their disadvantaged situations. Through mapping communicative ecologies in the field of adult education, new forums for dialogue between educational agencies and the targets of educational policies and practices will be created. The IDSS will contribute to the objective of establishing a cooperation mechanism among policymakers and educational authorities to improve policymaking. What is EduMAP about? The focus of the project is on the educational needs of young people with low levels of basic and functional literacy, with deficient language and cultural skills (foreign newcomers, ethnic minorities), those who have dropped out of school and those not in education or training due to handicap. The research question is: What policies and practices are needed in the field of adult education to include young adults at risk of social exclusion in active participatory citizenship in Europe? The specific objectives of the project are • to compile an inventory of adult education in the EU28 and investigate the effectiveness of adult education policies and practices in preventing social exclusion • to study successful educational initiatives among vulnerable groups within and outside Europe • to investigate and map communicative ecologies in the field of adult education and create innovative forums for dialogue between stakeholders • to create and test an Intelligent Decision Support System (IDSS) • to make recommendations to policymakers and other stakeholders for enhancing learning for active participatory citizenship in Europe How the project operates In the quest for better matching in the field of adult education, both broad and targeted studies will be undertaken. In the first phase, adult education policies and practices across Europe will be investigated and the adequacy, match and shortcomings in the existing statistical data will be mapped and analysed. Communication and Dissemination EduMAP is accustomed to communicating regularly with academics and a wider audience of policymakers and other stakeholders.The project website: www.uta.fi/edumap. Discussion forums and the IDSS enable EduMAP to effectively engage,communicate with and promote dialogue between different stakeholders. Each consortium member will provide contacts and networks through which the project results can be effectively disseminated and applied. The project’s national and international advisory boards contribute to ensuring wider communication and dissemination of the outcomes. The members of the International Advisory Board Professor Gerard-René de Groot, Maastricht University, the Netherlands Dr. Veronika Honkasalo, Finnish Youth Research Society, Finland Ms. Astrid Thors, Master of Laws (former OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, former Minister and MP in Finland and MEP at European Parliament) Ms. Monika Tröster, the European Basic Skills Network, EBSN Professor László Vass,Budapest Metropolitan University of Applied Sciences, Hungary