Indicators of participation in adult education in Croatia: findings of recent European surveys

Cilj ovog rada je, temeljem objavljenih pokazatelja LFS, AES i CVTS istraživanja, analizirati sudjelovanje u obrazovanju odraslih u Hrvatskoj u kontekstu drugih europskih zemalja. U radu su analizirani osnovni indikatori sudjelovanja u obrazovanju odraslih, kao i sudjelovanje s obzirom na socio-demografske karakteristike sudionika/ca i obilježja poduzeća koje provode osposobljavanje te spremnost i prepreke sudjelovanju. Hrvatska, iako prati obrasce primjetne u EU zemljama, znatno zaostaje u stopama participacije za većinom zemalja EU-27, bez obzira koju vrstu obrazovanja odraslih promatramo i temeljem kojeg istraživanja. Također, pojedine skupine rijetko su zastupljene u obrazovanju odraslih te snažnije zaostaju za EU-27 prosjekom. Ovi nalazi predstavljaju početnu točku za daljnje analize obrazovanja odraslih u Hrvatskoj koje bi trebale utvrditi primarne prepreke za pojedine društvene stupine koje iskazuju niže stope participacije, a koje bi pomogle razvoju usmjerenih obrazovnih politika u cilju otklanjanja ili barem smanjivanja tih prepreka.This paper is using published indicators collected via European LFS, AES and CVTS surveys in order to analyze participation in adult education in Croatia in the context of other European countries. The paper analyses the basic indicators of participation in adult education, as well as participation with regard to the socio-demographic characteristics of participants and characteristics of companies that conduct training, as well as readiness and obstacles to participation. Although Croatia follows the patterns observed in EU countries, it lags significantly behind the participation rates of most EU-27 countries in all surveys, regardless of the type of adult education we observe. In addition, specific groups are seldom represented in adult education and lag far behind the EU-27 average. These findings represent a starting point for further research of adult education in Croatia, which should identify primary barriers for participation of specific social groups that show lower participation rates, in order to develop targeted education policies for eliminating or, at least, diminishing those barriers