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International Review of Education

, Volume 62, Issue 5, pp 609–625 | Cite as

Adult education and the challenges of regional development: Policy and sustainability in North Denmark

  • Palle Rasmussen
  • Hans Jørgen Staugaard
Original Paper
First Online:

Abstract

Adult education is governed at many levels – internationally, nationally and locally. The authors of this paper look at the challenges, structures and practices of adult education policy at the local level, more specifically in North Denmark (Northern Jutland), one of the five administrative regions of the Danish nation-state. In many ways, the current educational challenges in this remote region of Europe are similar to what can be observed worldwide and especially in countries which are generally considered welfare states. The authors see the growing social and educational divide between the region’s peripheral areas and its largest city centre as a major challenge – for society as a whole and for adult education in particular. It is from this perspective that the authors describe the present structures of adult education in the region and the strategies employed by local authorities and educational institutions. This is followed by an evaluation of both structures and efforts in terms of their ability to cope with the challenges.

Keywords

Adult education Rural–urban divide Educational inequality Active citizenship Regional development Education policy 

Résumé

Éducation des adultes et défis du développement régional : politiques et pérennité dans le Nord du Danemark – L’éducation des adultes est régie à plusieurs niveaux : international, national et local. Les auteurs de cet article examinent les défis, structures et pratiques de la politique en matière d’éducation des adultes à un niveau local, plus exactement dans le Nord du Danemark (Jutland du Nord), l’une des cinq régions administratives de l’État-nation danois. Les défis éducatifs actuels dans cette contrée reculée d’Europe rejoignent de nombreuses façons ce qui peut être observé au niveau mondial, en particulier dans les pays qui passent de manière générale pour des États providence. Les auteurs considèrent le fossé social et éducatif croissant entre les zones périphériques de la région et son principal centre urbain comme un défi majeur – pour la société dans son ensemble et pour l’éducation des adultes en particulier. C’est à partir de cette perspective qu’ils décrivent les structures d’éducation des adultes présentes dans la région ainsi que les stratégies appliquées par les autorités locales et les institutions éducatives. Il s’ensuit une évaluation à la fois de ces structures et de leurs efforts, ou de leur capacité à faire face à ces défis.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Learning and PhilosophyAalborg UniversityAalborgDenmark

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