School of Education

Young Adullt

YOUNG_ADULLLT is designed as a mixed-method comparative study on Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom and focuses on Life-Long Learning (LLL) policies for young adults – particularly those in ‘vulnerable’ positions – with the aim to critically analyse current developments of LLL policies in Europe. It is funded within the EC's Horizon 2020 programme within SSH - Young 3, and is led by the University of Münster in Germany. 

It aims to elucidate how LLL policies characterize the target groups of young adults and whether they account for the fact that young adults are a highly dynamic and heterogeneous target groups.

In order to do so, the project is set up as a comparative research that brings together quantitative and qualitative methods and modes of analysis including the viewpoints of different stakeholders.

The project will contribute new knowledge of the impact of LLL policies on young adults’ life courses, yielding insights on the conditions, strategies, and necessities for policies to become effective.

Overall the project consortium of YOUNG_ADULLT comprises 15 partner institutions from nine countries, representing different geographical and socio-economic realities across Europe. The partners meet criteria of high excellence. Included are researchers and research institutions of high national and international reputation, with evidenced international experience in cross-national research, as well as solid theoretical, methodological and regional expertise in the areas that are relevant to the project. Together, these partners represent a body of international and multidisciplinary expertise in the fields of Comparative and International Education, Teacher Education, Youth Research and Youth Policy, Lifelong Learning, Sociology, Economics, and Political Science. In Glasgow the lead Co-I is Oscar Valiente from the Robert Owen Centre. CR&DALL is represented by Co-I, Lesley Doyle.

The strength of the partnership lies, first, in the diversity – scholarly, theoretical/methodological, but also cultural-linguistic – that the individual partners bring to the project, both in terms of their thematic specialization and previous experience. Second, their common aim of understanding and providing relevant knowledge for the improvement of educational and vocational policies, i.e., linking research and innovation. Third, the highly demonstrable capacity of all members of the team to work on, and deliver high quality outcomes from complex projects of the proposed type. These different aspects converge ensuring the partners will work effectively and successfully in this joint venture.