CONCEPTUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK OF IDENTIFYING ADULT’S LEARNING AND EDUCATION NEEDS

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of identifying the learning and education needs of adults, primarily non-formal education. Different concepts and models are analized to identify the learning and education needs of adults. A concept is grounded and a methodology is developed in this regard. The factors that generate the learning and education needs of adults are described in detail: external factors – national educational policies, institutional educational policies, educational reform projects, etc.; internal factors – the need for compensation, recapitulation, complementary knowledge, the need for retraining, the need to realize one's own interests and options, the need to capitalize on free time, etc. The emphasis is on establishing the tools for diagnosing needs, on forms and methods to carry out this process. At the same time, the way of obtaining and interpreting the data is argued. The proposed concept opens new perspectives for the development of formal and non-formal adult education and, first of all, of diversifying adult continuing education programs.