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The role of international governmental organisations (IGOs) in global policymaking has received significant attention in the field of adult learning and education (ALE) in the twenty-first century, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was recognised as one of the most influential IGO due to its skill surveys -- such as the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). However, while the majority of empirical studies in the field have focused on the analysis of PIAAC data, little attention has been given to the influence of the OECD "skills strategies" on the development and/or improvement of national ALE systems. This study addresses this gap in two OECD member states -- Portugal and Slovenia -- by applying the 'what's the problem represented to be?' approach to policy analysis and using the theoretical concept of myth in defining policy problems. Our findings indicate that although both countries' ALE systems differ, they share problem representations that reinforce several policy myths: ALE is a solution to tackle socioeconomic problems; unemployment is a problem of low-skilled adults; the learner-centred approach is a way to raise participation in ALE, and improved governance is a means to advance national ALE systems.

This article discusses the scientific debate that has been held in the "International Journal of Lifelong Education" (IJLE) over the past four decades concerning intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) and adult learning and education (ALE) policies. Drawing upon a field-analytical perspective comprising the political and scientific fields, this discussion is based on a systematic literature review of published articles in the IJLE and qualitative content analysis. The main findings stress the relative autonomy of the scientific subfield of ALE; however, the need to strengthen critical reflection to avoid interpretative perspectives imposed by IGOs' policy discourses and concepts is also emphasised.

The role of international intergovernmental organisations (IIOs) in global and/or European adult education policymaking has received significant attention in the field of adult education (AE) in the twenty-first century. However, empirical AE studies examining the impact of different IIO policies on country-level AE policies and practices, and the implications of under- or overestimating of that influence, are still scarce. The present study analysed the influence of three selected IIOs -- the European Union (EU), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) -- on Slovenian AE policies, as a developed EU country, during the 1991-2018 period. We analysed historical and contemporary policies using documentary analysis and expert interviews, focusing on theoretical concepts of policy transfer and risk. Our findings indicated that the influence of IIOs on Slovenian AE policies has differed through time; policy transfer has come from multiple directions; IIOs have stimulated policy transfer through governance instruments; the contextual opportunities and risks Slovenia has faced -- independence, EU membership, and the world economic crisis -- have been supporting factors for IIOs' policy transfer; and IIOs have promoted policy transfer and presented themselves as "risk experts," able to manage the risks Slovenia is or could be facing.

International and European intergovernmental organisations and the adult education research community all emphasise the importance of well-qualified personal working in the field of adult education. However, as previous research has shown, the diversity of the field is a 'challenge' to the greater professionalisation of adult education. Therefore, this paper investigates how the European Union conceptualises adult education professionalisation in the 21st century and how this is reflected in the Slovene adult education policy. For this purpose, the core official European Union and Slovene policy documents on the professionalisation of adult educators were analysed using documentary analysis. The theoretical framework of the Europeanisation of education was used, along with international and comparative perspectives in studies of adult education. Our findings indicate that in the Slovene context, the emphasis is on the recognition of different professional roles and competences that adult educators need to work successfully in different contexts rather than on the unification of their competences, which can be found in the European context.

The European Union (EU) has significantly influenced the formation of European adult education policy in the last decade. By raising the importance and visibility of adult education, the EU has become an influential actor in the norm and standard setting for adult education and lifelong learning. However, as previous research has shown, the EU strengthens primarily the economic, instrumental and vocational perspectives of adult education and lifelong learning. We supplement this critique by analysing the values, normative presumptions and ideology of the EU's adult education policy. We analysed the core official EU policy documents on adult learning in 2000-2016 using documentary analysis as well as the theoretical framework of the political sociology of adult education and postmodernism-related theories in education. Our findings indicate that the EU conceptualises adult education not as an independent policy field but as a form of 'crisis knowledge', which aims to solve a variety of social, economic and political problems. Moreover, the EU's adult education policy functions with the typical ideology of modernity that generates old myths in today's rather late modern European societies.

This article examines the influence of the European qualifications framework--a key European lifelong learning policy instrument for improving employability, comparability and mobility in the European educational space--on the establishment of national qualifications frameworks in Europe. The European qualifications framework and national qualifications frameworks are analysed through the lens of the process of the Europeanisation of education, and they are embedded in the broader context of the development of national qualifications frameworks in Anglo-Saxon and developing countries around the world. Against this background and through an analysis of established national qualifications frameworks in four European countries, i.e. Denmark, Germany, Portugal and Slovenia, we argue that the national qualifications frameworks in these countries cannot be understood to be tools for the deregulation, marketisation and commodification of education and knowledge, although this could be interpreted as one of the underlying hidden assumptions of the European qualifications framework recommendation.

Copyright of Journal of Contemporary Educational Studies / Sodobna Pedagogika is the property of Association of Slovenian Educationalists and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This thematic issue of Andragogic Perspectives brings to the fore a topic which has, since the turn of the century, enjoyed considerable international attention in the field of (adult) education and lifelong learning. In Slovenia, however, the influence of globalisation and/ or Europeanisation on adult education has not in fact been systematically addressed. The editorial board made the decision to encourage a wide-ranging discussion about the influence and impact of globalisation and/or Europeanisation processes on adult education and learning, lifelong learning and higher education, hence the current thematic issue.

Copyright of Journal of Contemporary Educational Studies / Sodobna Pedagogika is the property of Association of Slovenian Educationalists and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Contemporary Educational Studies / Sodobna Pedagogika is the property of Association of Slovenian Educationalists and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Elementary Education / Revija za Elementarno Izobraževanje is the property of University of Maribor, Faculty of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)