ERIC EJ1113865: An Analysis of the Adult Education Curricula Implemented in Turkish Universities

2016·0.34 MB·English

by  ERIC

Universal Journal of Educational Research 4(9): 2011-2023, 2016 http://www.hrpub.org
DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2016.040911
An Analysis of the Adult Education Curricula
Implemented in Turkish Universities
Kıymet Selvi, Betül Baldan, Yaprak Alagöz*
Faculty of Education, Anadolu University, Turkey
Copyright © 2016 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 international License.
Abstract The aim of the study to examine the has three main pillars on which the analyses were built on.
characteristics of the programs conducted by the Continuing The first pillar of this study is to examine adult education
Education Centers (CECs), to reveal whether these from equality perspective. Adult education has widely been
programs serve for equality, and to identify the institutional regarded as having a responsibility in contributing to social
barriers related to the CEC programs against adult education. equality by serving educational opportunities for the women,
CECs aim to fulfill the educational needs of adults and/or the elderly, the poor, the handicapped, the minorities who
sectors in different fields through the trainings they conduct. were deprived of educational opportunities [1,24]. Along
In this study, descriptive research method is adopted. The with the equality perspective, globalization and the notion of
data for this study were collected by examining the 1727 knowledge society also attribute special attention and
adult education programs through macro analysis, and 83 meaning to adult education. As the knowledge society is
adult education curricula stated on the webpages of CECs widely based on scientific knowledge [2], the universities
functioning in 57 universities in 2015 were subject to micro has a role in meeting the needs of industrialization and offer
analysis. The trainings conducted by CECs were examined educational services to increase level of education for the
according to some criteria such as theme, duration, training whole society [3] and lifelong learning has become one of
fee, mode of instruction, and the features of target audience. the major focuses of universities in the new learning market
Moreover, the curricula of the trainings conducted by CECs [4]. To serve such educational opportunities, 98 Turkish
were analyzed in terms of objectives, content, universities has opened Continuing Education Centers
teaching-learning processes, and measurement and (CECs) or Lifelong Education Centers and begun to offer
evaluation. The most important findings of the study courses for adults. Although the major premises of the adult
involved the inefficiency of the CECs in contributing to the education policy documents in Turkey are making adult
social equality, the lack of standards in curricula and education more prevalent and contribute to the education for
insufficient collaboration with enterprise and other all and especially disadvantaged people [5, 25], Public
institutions. Education Centers (PEC) in Turkey, which is one of the
major institutions for enhancing adult learning, has been
Keywords Lifelong Learning, Continuing Education
identified as being not supportive about equality [6].
Centers, Adult Education, Curriculum, Professional
However, whether the Continuing Education Centers of the
Development
universities, which is another major institution for adult
learning along with the PECs, contribute to the educational
equality for adults by the pricing policies and the target
group they aim for is still unknown.
1. Introduction Adults can participate in adult education due to a variety
of motives ranging from making more fiscal gains to get
Adult education has been subject to research for many more social bonds [1]. Adults can fail or be discouraged for
years and the attempts to make it more prevalent have been learning for a variety of reasons, as well. Among these,
going on throughout the world. Turkey’s attempts to curriculum or program related ones include poor class
enhance adult learning has led to the foundation of organization and management, inadequate resources, and
Continuing Education Centers (CECs) within the course fees [1,7,8,9]. According to Carp et al. [7], three
universities to be such institutions that serve educational barriers undermining adults’ participation in education are
opportunities for adults in order to cater the needs of both situational barriers, institutional barriers and dispositional
adults and sectors. Aiming to identify the features of the barriers. Moreover, many researchers pointed out that the
trainings and the curricula conducted by CECs, this study fees of courses are among the major obstacles against adult
2012 An Analysis of the Adult Education Curricula Implemented in Turkish Universities

education [7-9]. Although Continuing Education Centers of curricula bear the qualifications for a successful adult
Turkish universities have been serving education for adults education curriculum remains unknown, which constitutes
for more than a decade and are rapidly spreading around the the third pillar of the study.
country, the question of which aspects of their curricula or According to Miser et al. [17] ‘the adult education
programs constitute institutional barriers against the system's main limitation relates to curriculum quality’. In
prevalence of adult education is yet unanswered, which this context, it can be proposed that studies focusing on the
constitutes the second pillar for the study. current status, objectives, content, learning-teaching process,
On the other hand, in order for adult education programs testing and evaluation, learner profile, duration etc. of the
to succeed, there is an undeniable need that the curricula of curricula implemented in Turkish universities will
these programs are developed based on the andragogy and contribute to the enhancement of the efficiency of the adult
needs of the adults (10). A circular model for adult education education curricula. In order to be able to determine
curricula was stated by [1] which starts with the needs efficiency of the adult education curricula at universities in
analysis and followed by the aims and objectives, content, Turkey offered by the CECs, these curricula should be
methods and resources, assessment and evaluation. In order analyzed and improved accordingly if needed. However,
to address the needs of the adults accurately, adult learners research on the CECs in Turkey is limited to only two
should be included in the decision-making and needs studies conducted by Kılıklı [18] and Bulut [19]. In Kılıklı’s
analysis process of the programs [11]. As the adults need to study [18], it was aimed to examine the organizational
know what and why they are learning [12], it is crucial for structure and contributions of the CECs to lifelong learning
services by analyzing 12 CECs. As a result, it was found out
CECs to inform the learners about the curriculum and
that the courses and training conducted by the CECs are
especially the objectives beforehand since in the absence of
designed by the academicians and administrative board. In
the aims and objectives, both the instructor and the learners
addition, it was stated that the budget of the CECs is not
may be lost in the learning process in addition to failing to
supported by any institutions and the activities of the CECs
decide whether the required achievements have been made
are financed by the income of the trainings. Moreover, it was
[1]. Moreover, adult learners are more likely to participate
found out that there is no standard certification policy
and persist when the expectations from the learners are high
among the CECs.
and clear [13]. Specification of what the course is about,
Bulut [19] aimed to compare and contrast the current
sensitive initial assessment, guidance for individual students
status of the CECs in Turkey and EUCEN-member
and the utilization of a wide range of methods and
universities. According to this study, some of the CECs in
approaches can alleviate many problems that may arise in a
Turkey only exist by name but do not function at all. Also,
classroom aimed for adults [1]. Also, the location of
some of them do not have a website to be examined. The
teaching, the content of the program and the methods to be
most frequently offered courses are also related to a
used are all part of educational process and they should all
profession. It was also pointed out that the fees of the
relate to the learners, their needs and to their learning styles,
courses are paid by the adult learners. The fact that the prices
which is highly dependent on the expertise of instructional
are high and there is no financial support for adult learners
staff [4]. Another important key factor in facilitating adult
affects the popularity and extensiveness of the CECs
education is the instructors who have the sufficient quality to
negatively. Similar to Kılıklı’s [18] study, it was also argued
support effective learning [14,15]. Due to the fact that adults
that the problems about certification policy and accreditation
prefer to be actively involved in the learning process rather
undermine the development of CECs and adult education.
than to be passive recipients [16], the teaching methods and
However, the fact that there is limited research that aims
approaches to be utilized should be learner-centered. As the
to analyze the quality and quantity of the adult education
adults are self-directed [12], adult education programs
curricula conducted by CECs is the most important problem
should implement services to facilitate learners evaluating
about the adult education carried out at Turkish universities.
their progress accomplishing their goals [11]. Since the
In this context, the aim of the study to examine the
adults seek for immediacy in learning, the curriculum of
characteristics of the programs conducted by the CECS, to
adult education programs should be problem- and/or
reveal whether these programs serve for equality, and to
performance-based rather than content-based [12].
identify the institutional barriers related to the CEC
According to Caffarella [16], adult education programs can
programs against adult education.
last only an hour or months, can be prepared for small or
large groups, and can be delivered online or face-to-face. As
the adults need individual guidance and attention, delivering 2. Materials and Methods
the instruction in small groups can be more effective than
This study is a descriptive research which employs
large groups. Distance education and online courses have the
qualitative research method in order to determine and
potential to increase adult participation to education as they
analyze the adult education curricula that are planned and
need flexibility in the learning process. However, the
implemented by the Continuing Education Centers (CECs)
features of the adult education curricula of the CECs in
of Turkish universities through document analysis.
Turkey have never been examined before, and whether these
Universal Journal of Educational Research 4(9): 2011-2023, 2016 2013

Table 1. Numbers of the Universities and Sampling Process of the Research
Macro Level Analysis Micro Level Analysis
The number of The number of Websites that do Total number of Total number of curricula analyzed
Those in service
universities in universities that not have any universities
more than 5 years Vocational
Turkey own CECs information within the sample Personal courses
courses
184 98 67 10 57 48 35
1727 Courses 83 Courses

2.1. Sample of data, all the adult education curricula were classified as
personal development and professional development.
The survey was conducted throughout an
The data collection and analysis were carried out in four
eight-month-period, from June 2014 to January 2015.
different stages. The first stage is related to development of
According to the 2014 data, Turkey has 184 universities in tools that were applied during the data collection process of
total and there are 98 universities in Turkey functioning the research. Both of the tools were developed by the three
under the roof of Turkish Universities Continuing researchers and two experts gave feedback about them.
Education Centers Council (TUCEC). Aiming to offer more During the tool development process, tools were
qualified educational services, the CECs of universities pilot-tested two times before collection of the data to
gathered under the roof of an upper level institution, TUCEC, improve evaluation criteria. Tool 1 aims for general
in 2011 which was founded in order for CECs to become information about CECs’ curricula while Tool 2 searches
such institutions that deliver more extensive, active, and for very detailed information about 48 vocational and 35
qualified education and to enhance their collaboration with personal development curricula. The second stage included
national and international institutions [20]. initial analysis of CECs in order to choose and decide
The sample included all the universities which have had research sample. Thus, in this stage, the researchers
Continuing Education Centers at least for five years. Thus, collected information about all the Turkish universities and
the CECs under the roof of TUCEC. The third stage
67 Continuing Education Centers were analyzed in order to
covered macro level analysis of CECs’ adult learning
acquire information related to adult education curricula
curricula. Each of CECs webpages were analyzed by the
based on the information given on their web sites. Ten of
researchers via Tool 1 to gather general information about
67 CECs do not have any information about the courses
the curricula offered by CECs. In the fourth stage, two
offered on the webpages, so at the end of sampling process,
sample curricula were selected for each of CECs and these
the research sample occurred as 57 CECs as seen in Table
curricula were analyzed in depth via Tool 2 to find detailed
1.
information about them. Afterwards, thematic and content
For the micro analysis, one course aiming for
analysis were carried out by the researchers separately. At
professional development and one course aiming for
the end of the analyses, the reliability of the study was
personal development from each CEC were randomly
calculated according to the formula suggested by Miles and
chosen and their curricula were analyzed according to
Huberman [21] and found as 93%.
criteria determined by the researchers in order to gather
detailed data about the courses offered in these 57 CECs.
Therefore, 114 adult education curricula were intended to 3. Results
be analyzed, but some of universities did not put any
information on their webpages about the curricula of the The data obtained from the tools were presented in two
trainings they offered. Thus, 83 curricula were analyzed in sub-sections considering the aim of the study. The findings
total, 48 of which aims at professional development and 35 in the first five tables presented below are related to Tool 1
of which were related to personal development. and occurred as a result of macro analysis. The findings in
table 6 to table 11 is comprised of the data gathered from
2.2. Data Collection and Analysis Tool 2 and occurred as a result of micro analysis.
The data of the research were acquired from the web
3.1. General Information about CECs
pages of universities’ CECs. Content and thematic analysis
was conducted based on the information related to all of In this sub-section, all the trainings offered by 57 CECs
adult learning curricula on the webpages. The trainings were examined in terms of six criteria which can be named
were examined according to certain criteria such as theme, as ‘informing the target group about the courses, registration
duration, training fee, mode of instruction, and the features procedures, collaboration with institutions, information
of target groups. Moreover, the curricula were analyzed in about the courses, types of courses, and user-friendliness of
terms of teaching-learning processes, testing and evaluation, the websites’. The findings about these criteria are presented
and other dimensions of the trainings. During the collection in Table 2-6.
2014 An Analysis of the Adult Education Curricula Implemented in Turkish Universities

Table 2. Informing the target group about the courses
Informing the target group about the Existent Non-existent Partially existent Total
courses f % f % f % f %
Announcements about the upcoming
43 64.1 16 23.9 8 12 67 100
courses
Detailed information about the courses 23 34.3 18 26.9 26 38.8 67 100
Table 3. Information about the courses
National International No information Total

f % f % f % f %
The origin of the courses 1719 99.5 8 0.5 0 0 1727 100
Vocational Personal No information Total

f % f % f % f %
The type of courses 1303 75.4 424 24.6 0 0 1727 100
Cognitive Affective Psychomotor Total

f % f % f % f %
Learning Domain 1549 89.8 25 1.4 150 8.8 1727 100
Table 4. The types of the courses
Professional development Personal development
Type
f % f %
Specific to a field (Engineering, health,
829 63.6 0 0
economics, trade etc.)
Technology 152 11.7 0 0
Foreign language 107 8.2 0 0
Research-related 30 2.3 0 0
Other 185 14.2 0 0
Foreign language 0 0 149 35.1
Art and music 0 0 91 21.5
Sports 0 0 43 10.1
Communication skills 0 0 38 9
Other 0 0 103 24.3
Total: 1303 100 424 100
Table 5. Registration procedures
Internet In person No information Total
Registration
f % f % f % f %
Pre-registration 37 64.9 4 7 16 28.1 57 100
Mode of registration 5 8.8 8 14 44 77.2 57 100
Table 6. Collaboration with institutions
Private Public Both No information Total
Collaboration
f % f % f % f % f %
National institutions 7 12.3 2 3.5 7 12.3 41 71.9 57 100
International institutions 2 3.5 1 1.8 0 0 54 94.7 57 100
Universal Journal of Educational Research 4(9): 2011-2023, 2016 2015

When the results are analyzed, it can be seen that 64.1% development.
of the websites examined provide the learners with the Considering the types of courses offered by the CECs,
announcements about the upcoming courses. While 23.9% 75% of the courses aim for professional development while
of them do not have any announcements at all, 12% of these 25% of the courses aim for the personal development. In the
websites have partial announcements about the courses to be context of adult education, this finding is quite compelling in
offered soon. While 34.3% of the websites include detailed terms of showing us that the adult education is mostly
regarded as vocational training by the CECs. However,
information about the courses offered, almost the same
theoretically adult education comprises of both the
number of the universities includes partial information about
professional and personal development of the individuals.
the courses. However, a considerable number of webpages
Therefore, the aims and functions of the CECS should be
do not provide any detailed information about the courses;
revised in terms of adult education and new courses aiming
which is equal to 18 of 67 CECs
for personal development should be designed in order to
Based on the results obtained, it can be seen that almost
meet the needs of adults.
half of the CECs did not provide sufficient information
As seen in Table 5, most of the universities tend to prefer
about the courses they offer. However, this is a deficient
online forms to handle pre-registration processes with a
practice in terms of adult education, which can be regarded
percentage of 64.9. Along with this preference, 7% of the
as an institutional barrier against the adult learning. The
CECs require personal contact to get in touch with the
main reason of this practice may be the fact that the
applicants. In an ironic way, 28.1% of the CECs do not
administrators, their assistants and the instructors who work
provide the learners with any information about how to
in the CECs are not experts in their field.
register for the courses. When it comes to the exact
As seen in Table 3, 1727 separate courses are being
registration procedures, 77.2% of the CECs do not give any
offered by 57 CECs. While 1719 of them are offered on
information about the procedures to be followed while 8.8%
national basis, only 8 of them are on international basis.
of CECs specify the internet as the registration instrument
75.4% of the courses are conducted for professional
and 13.8% of them require application in person.
purposes and 24.6% of them seek to attain personal
The common utilization of internet in pre-registration
development. Considering the dominant learning domain,
process has made the learners benefit from the
most of the courses concentrates on cognitive domain with a
technological advances. However, the lack of information
percentage of 89.9. While 8.8% of the courses focus on
about the registration process can be regarded as a
psychomotor domain, affective domain is high ly neglected
disadvantage about the participation of adults. This result
considering the number of the courses focusing on this
shows that the CECs fail to inform the participants about
domain.
the registration, which can lead to adults’ withdrawal from
All of the vocational programs are designed on national
the courses and can be a barrier to adult education.
basis. Moreover, the fact that nearly all of the vocational
As seen in Table 6, 12.3% of 57 CECs indicate that they
courses are related to the cognitive domain shows us that
make collaboration with national private institutions. While
there is a crucial problem in adult education. Especially the
3.5% of them make collaboration with national public
negligence about the psychomotor and affective domain and
institutions, 12.3% of them have collaborative bonds with
perception that adult education only aims for cognitive
both public and private institutions. On the other hand, only
domain imply us that the courses conducted by the CECs are
one of the CECs examined in this study makes collaboration
prepared and offered without taking the adults’ needs into
with international public institutions along with two others
consideration, which can be stated as an institutional barrier
making collaboration with international private institutions.
against adult education.
When the courses conducted by the CECs are examined, it
As seen in Table 4, 63.6% of the vocational courses
can be seen that the ratio of the national or international
offered by CECs are specific to a vocational field or
collaboration is quite low. In other words, universities do not
profession. 11.7% of the vocational courses are related to
make collaborations with other institutions about the
technology. 8.2% of the vocational courses aims to improve
preparation and execution of the adult courses. Moreover,
foreign language skills in a way that can assist learners’
poor collaboration with international institutions can lead to
professional careers. While 2.3% of the vocational courses
a decrease in the quality of the courses along with the
seek to provide learners with research skills, 14.2% of the
implication that universities are quite strict about sharing
vocational courses are related with other aspects of
their knowledge and experience. The inadequate
professional development.
collaboration with national and international institutions can
As to the courses aiming at personal development, 35.1%
be regarded as another barrier against adult education.
of them are related with foreign languages. 21.5% of them
As to the data regarding the “user-friendliness of CECs’
focus on different branches of art or music. 10.1% of the
websites” shows that 28.4% of the webpages are
personal courses are related with sports. While 9% of the
user-friendly. While 37.3% of them are partially effective,
personal courses concentrates on communication skills,
34.3% of them are stated as non-user-friendly.
24.3% of them are related to other topics regarding personal
2016 An Analysis of the Adult Education Curricula Implemented in Turkish Universities

Table 7. Informing the target group about the vocational and personal courses
Existent Non-existent Partially existent Total
Vocational Personal Vocational Personal Vocational Personal Vocational Personal
f % f % f % f % f % f % f % f %
Announcements 40 83.3 29 82.9 8 16.7 6 17.1 0 0 0 0 48 100 35 100
Detailed
10 20.8 4 11.4 0 0 0 0 38 79.2 31 88.6 48 100 35 100
information
3. 2. The Detailed Analysis of Professional and Personal it is found out that only 35 universities from our sample
Courses’ Curricula offer adult education programs related to personal
development. However, adult education covers both the
Twelve basic criteria were determined to examine the
professional and personal development of the individuals.
curricula of the courses which focus on professional
As a result, it can be said that the CECs offering only
development and personal development. These criteria
vocational courses are a barrier against the adult education
consist of ‘informing the target group about the courses, the
and they should focus on the adults’ personal development
topic of the courses, the length of the courses, registration
as much as they focus on their professional development.
procedures, pricing, criteria for the learners to attend the
course, the size of the group, teaching and learning Table 8. The types of vocational and personal courses
processes, terms for fulfilling the requirements of the
Professional Personal
course, collaboration with institutions, employment, and Type Development Development
user-friendliness of the website. The findings related to the f % f %
detailed analysis of the curricula are presented in Table Specific to a field
7-11 (Mathematics,
As seen in Table 7, there are announcements about Science, Engineering, 32 66.6 0 0
Business
83.3% of 48 vocational and 82.9% of 35 personal courses
Administration,
on the webpages of the CECs. While there is detailed
Health etc. )
information about 20.8% of the vocational courses, there is
Technology 7 14.6 0 0
only partial information about 79.2% of them. Similarly,
Research-related 3 6.3 0 0
11.4% of the personal courses have detailed descriptions on
the webpages while there is only partial information about Foreign language 2 4.2 0 0
88.6% of them. Other 4 8.3 0 0
According to Table 7, CECs put announcements about
Other 0 0 11 31.4
most of the upcoming courses on their websites, which can
Foreign language 0 0 9 25.7
help the adults learn about the courses to be offered.
However, detailed information about these courses are only Art and music 0 0 8 22.9
partially existent, which can undermine the adult Sports 0 0 4 11.4
participation as they are not informed well. Communication skills 0 0 3 8.6
When the courses are classified, 66.6% of 49 vocational
Total: 48 100 35 100
courses analyzed are specific to a vocational field or
profession such as Mathematics, Science, Engineering, In the Table 9, it can be seen that while 95.8% of the
Business Administration, health and so on. 14.6% of them vocational courses focus on cognitive domain, 4.2% of
are related to technology as seen in Table 8. 4.2% of the them are on psychomotor domain. On the other hand,
vocational courses aims to improve foreign language skills 65.7% of personal courses belong to cognitive domain.
in a way that can assist learners’ professional careers. While 25.7% of the courses concentrate on psychomotor
While 6.3% of the vocational courses seek to provide domain, only 8.6% of them are oriented towards affective
learners with research skills, 8.3% of the vocational courses domain. Similar to the results of the macro analysis,
are related with other aspects of professional development. cognitive domain is the most dominant domain while the
As to the courses aiming for personal development, 25.7% psychomotor domain and affective domain is highly
of them are related with foreign languages. 22.9% of them disregarded.
focus on different branches of art or music. 11.4% of the As to the length of courses, half of the vocational courses
personal courses are related with sports. While 8.6% of the are offered as short-term while 27.1 of the courses are
personal courses concentrates on communication skills, medium-term and 20.8% of them are long-term programs.
31.4% of them are related to other topics regarding There is no information about the length of 2.1% of the
personal development. vocational courses. 71.4 % of the personal courses are
Examining the genres of the courses offered by the CECs, designed as short-term courses. 20% of them are labelled as
we can see that these genres mainly cover the topics medium-term. However, none of the personal courses
universities teach in undergraduate and graduate level. Also, analyzed is considered as long-term courses along with
Universal Journal of Educational Research 4(9): 2011-2023, 2016 2017

8.6% of the courses with no information about their length. public institutions strengthens the conclusion that courses
Although adult education programs can last for a couple of conducted by CECs aim to meet the professional or
hours or even months [16], in order to create permanent personal education needs of who are currently employed.
changes in behavior, adult education programs should be The current pricing and discount policies of the CECs show
mostly medium or long-term, which will give the us that they fail to contribute to the equality by providing
instructors and the learners enough time for meaningful and education for those who can afford rather than for all.
permanent learning.
It can be stated that internet is the main and the most Table 9. Detailed information about the vocational and personal courses
frequent instrument for the pre-registration to the courses. Vocational Personal

60.4% of the vocational and 65.7% of the personal courses
f % f %
require to deal with the pre-registration through internet.
Cognitive 46 95.8 23 65.7
While 10.4% of the vocational and 5.7% of the personal
Learning domain Affective 0 0 3 8.6
courses require personal contact for pre-registration, 29.2%
Psychomotor 2 4.2 9 25.7
of the vocational and 28.6% of the personal courses do not
Total: 48 100 35 100
specify how to deal with the pre-registration procedures. As
Short-term (1-60
to the exact registration, there is no information about how 24 50 25 71.4
hours)
to register to 70.8% of the vocational and 72.2% of the Medium-term
The length of the 13 27.1 7 20
personal courses. 6.3% of the vocational and 5.6% of the (60-180 h.)
courses
personal courses utilize internet as the registration Long-term (180+ 10 20.8 0 0
hours)
instrument. While 22.9% of the vocational courses require
No information 1 2.1 3 8.6
personal contact for registration, 19.4% of the personal
Total: 48 100 35 100
courses use the same registration pattern. The fact that there
Internet 29 60.4 23 65.7
is not sufficient information about the registration on the
websites is congruent with the results of the macro analysis Pre-registration In person 5 10.4 2 5.7
and a barrier against the enhancement of participation in No information 14 29.2 10 28.6
adult education. Total: 48 100 35 100
As to the pricing of the courses, %72.9% of the Internet 3 6.3 2 5.6
vocational and 82.8% of the personal courses are paid. Mail 0 0 1 2.8
Registration
While 2.1% of the vocational and 2.9% of the personal In person 11 22.9 7 19.4
courses are free of charge, there is no information about the No information 34 70.8 26 72.2
pricing policy of 25% of the vocational and 14.3% of the Total: 48 100 36 100
personal courses. 77.1% of the vocational and 94.3% of the
Free 1 2.1 1 2.9
personal courses are paid by the individuals attending the
Pricing Paid 35 72.9 29 82.8
course. However, there is no information about 22.9% of
No information 12 25 51 4.3
the vocational and 5.7% of the personal courses in terms of
Total: 48 100 35 100
by whom they are paid. Seen in Table 9, there is no
Discount No discount 21 43.8 17 37
discount policy in 43.8% of the vocational and 37% of the
For age 0 0 1 2.2
personal courses. There is discount for students in 25% of
For students 12 25 11 23.9
the vocational and 23.9% of the personal courses, for the
university personnel in 20.8% of the vocational and 21.7% For personnel 10 20.8 10 21.7
For public
of the personal courses, for the employees working in 1 2.1 4 8.7
employees
public institutions in 2.1% of the vocational and 8.7% of
For others 4 8.3 3 6.5
the personal courses and for other applicants in 8.3% of the
Total: 48 100 46 100
vocational and 6.5% of the personal courses based on
No criterion 25 48 24 68.5
different criteria. Lastly, there is discount for applicants Criteria for the
Criteria for
based on their age in only 2.2% of the personal courses. course to be 71 3.5 1 2.9
readiness
offered or taken
The fact that most of the courses are paid -generally by Criteria for
by the applicants 20 38.5 10 28.6
the adults- and there is no discount in almost half of the group size
courses show us that these courses are only available for Total: 52 100 35 100
those who can already afford them. However, adult Small group
11 22.4 7 20
education should be a second chance for those deprived of (2-20)
The features of
Large group
educational opportunities like the elderly, the women, the the target group 7 14.3 4 11.4
(+20)
less affluent, the minorities etc. who are also deprived of
No information 31 63.3 24 68.6
economical opportunities to afford education [1]. Moreover,
Total: 49 100 35 100
the fact that discounts are only available for the university
staff or students along with those who are working in Some of the courses have some criteria in order for the
2018 An Analysis of the Adult Education Curricula Implemented in Turkish Universities

course to be offered or in order for applicants to attend the place in e-learning environment. Moreover, 1.8% of the
course. As seen in Table 9, 13.5% of the vocational and vocational and 11.1% of the personal courses take place in
2.9% of the personal courses have criteria for readiness to other facilities such as gymnasium, atelier etc. Lastly, there
be met by the applicants. While 38.5% of the vocational is no information about 38.9% of the vocational and 47.2%
and 28.6% of the personal courses have criteria about group of the personal courses in terms of the places in which the
size, 48% of the vocational and 68.5% of the personal lessons take place. The lack of information about the
courses have no criterion for the course to be offered. It is learning environment in almost half of the courses can be
found out that there is generally no criterion for the deficiency in terms of adult education and a sign that the
programs to be offered and the criteria established are managers and other staff of the CECs are not expert in
about how many people will be in the classes. The fact that preparing adult education programs. On the other hand, the
the criteria for the courses to be offered are not established fact that almost half of the courses are conducted in
properly is a crucial problem for the adult education. classrooms gives the implication that the methods used in
As to the group size, 22.4% of the vocational and 20% of these courses may be traditionally teacher-centered.
the personal courses are conducted with small group As to the mode of instruction, 47% of the vocational and
ranging from 2 learners to 20 learners. 14.3% of the 50% of the personal courses are conducted face-to-face.
vocational and 11.4% of the personal courses are offered While 6.2% of the vocational courses adopt blended
for large groups referring to 21 learners and more. instruction, 13.6% of the vocational and 15.2 of the personal
Unfortunately, there is no information about the group size courses are applied courses. Theoretical courses constitute
about 63.3% of the vocational and 68.6% of the personal 15.1% of the vocational and 8.7% of the personal courses.
courses. The absence of information about the size of the Unfortunately, there is no information about 18.2% of the
target group shows that these courses are offered for vocational and 26.1% of the personal courses in terms of the
everyone who demands for the course without paying any mode of instruction. The fact that almost half of the courses
special attention to the group size. are conducted face-to-face and blended learning or distance
It can be seen in Table 10 that 26.8% of the vocational education is not utilized can be a barrier against making the
and 20.8% of the personal courses aim for people aged adult education more available and prevalent.
between 18 and 26. 34.8% of the vocational and 20.8% of As for the instructors, 43.8% of the vocational and 37.1%
the personal courses are for people aged between 26 and 60. of the personal courses are conducted by academicians.
While 29.5% of the vocational and 20.8% of the personal While 4.2% of the vocational and 11.4% of the personal
courses are for people aged over 60, there is no information courses are conducted by instructors who work in the related
about the target age group of 8.9% of the vocational and sector, 14.5% of the vocational and 8.6% of the personal
24.6% of the personal courses. Lastly, 13% of the personal courses are conducted by a team of instructors comprised of
courses aim for children aged between 0 and 18. Since 48 both academicians and instructors from the sector.
vocational and 35 personal courses are examined, it is Nevertheless, there is no information about 37.5% of the
found out that most of these courses aim for people aged vocational and 42.9% of the personal courses in terms of
between 18-60+. This result shows that the courses of the their instructors. Being taught by the academician, almost
CECs aim for elder people along with other age groups, half of the courses are delivered by the experts in their fields.
which can contribute to the social equality providing Moreover, employing people from the sector as instructors
educational opportunities for them. can enrich the programs with their experience. However,
According to the data, 48% of the vocational and 47.2% whether these academicians or instructors from the sector
of the personal courses take place in the facilities of the have the required andragogy knowledge is still unknown in
addition to having no information about who the instructors
universities. While 6% of the vocational and 5.6% of the
are of one fourth of the courses.
personal courses take place outside the university, there is
Although there is no information about 80% of the
no information about the place of the courses in 46% of the
vocational and 77.1% of the personal courses in terms of the
vocational and 47.2% of the personal courses. The fact that
materials used in teaching-learning process, in 6% of the
half of the courses are delivered in the university and the
vocational and 2.9% of the personal courses, printed
location of other half is unknown, it can be said that using
resources are utilized based on the data. While technological
the facilities of the universities can enhance the adult
resources such as computers or projectors are utilized in 8%
learning as universities generally have a broader range of
of the vocational and 8.6% of the personal courses,
learning environments such as laboratories or ateliers etc.,
e-resources are only used in 2% of the vocational courses.
while the unspecified learning environment can be a barrier
Other materials are also adopted by 4% of the vocational and
against adult education as insufficient information may lead
11.4% of the personal courses. Based on this result, it is
the learners to lose interest.
found out that adult education curricula of the CECs do not
46.3% of the vocational and 38.9% of the personal
generally specify the materials to be used, which can be a
courses take place in classrooms. While 7.4% of the
hurdle against the adult participation as the adults need to
vocational and 2.8% of the personal courses are conducted
know what is to be learned or covered by which materials.
in laboratories, only 5.6% of the vocational courses take
Universal Journal of Educational Research 4(9): 2011-2023, 2016 2019

Table 10. Detailed information about the curricula of the vocational and Table 11. Information about the testing and evaluation processes of the
personal courses vocational and personal courses
Vocational Personal Vocational Personal

f % f % f % f %
The child (0-18) 0 0 10 13 Written exam 6 11.1 0 0
The young (18-26) 30 26.8 16 20.8 Oral exam 1 1.9 0 0
The age span of
The adult (26-60) 39 34.8 16 20.8 Applied exam 0 0 1 2.7
the target group
The old (60+) 33 29.5 16 20.8 Project
Testing and 1 1.9 0 0
evaluation
No information 10 8.9 19 24 evaluation
Exam 4 7.4 1 2.7
Total: 112 100 77 100
Participation 9 16.6 1 2.7
Within the
24 48 17 47.2
university No evaluation 4 7.4 6 16.2
The place of
Outside the No information 29 53.7 28 75.7
the course 3 6 2 5.6
university
Total: 54 100 37 100
No information 23 46 17 47.2
Exam scores 10 18.9 1 2.8
Total: 50 100 36 100
Participation 10 18.9 1 2.8
Laboratory 4 7.4 1 2.8
Project
Criteria for 1 1.9 0 0
Classroom 25 46.3 14 38.9 completion
The learning success
E-learning 3 5.6 0 0 Attending the
environment 4 7.5 6 16.6
course
Other 1 1.8 4 11.1
No information 28 52.8 28 77.8
No information 21 38.9 17 47.2
Total: 53 100 36 100
Total: 54 100 36 100
Certificate 25 52.1 3 8.6
Face-to-face 31 47 23 50
Participation
Blended 4 6.1 0 0 document 6 12.5 5 14.3
Mode of Applied 91 3.6 71 5.2 Certification Both 2 4.2 0 0
instruction
Theoretical 10 15.1 4 8.7 No document 1 2.1 2 5.7
No information 12 18.2 12 26.1 No information 14 29.1 25 71.4
Total: 66 100 46 100 Total: 48 100 35 100
Academicians 21 43.8 13 37.1
Learners who successfully finish the courses are given
Employees from
2 4.2 4 11.4 certificates at the end of 52.1% of the vocational and 8.6% of
The instructor the sector
the personal courses. In 12.5% of the vocational and 14.3%
Both 7 14.5 3 8.6
of the personal courses, learners are given a participation
No information 18 37.5 15 42.9
document at the end of the course. In 4.2% of the vocational
Total: 48 100 35 100
courses, learners are given both certificate and participation
Printed resources 3 6 1 2.9
document. While there is no document given in 2.1% of the
E-resources 1 2 0 0 vocational and 5.7% of the personal courses, there is no
Technological
Materials 4 8 3 8.6 information about 29.1% of the vocational and 71.4% of the
resources
personal courses in terms of certification policy.
Other 2 4 4 11.4
In conclusion, the fact that there is no information about
No information 40 80 27 77.1
half of the vocational and most of the personal courses can
Total: 50 100 35 100
be regarded as a crucial barrier against the adult education
In 18.9% of the vocational and 2.8% of the personal since the adults need to get a concrete reward at the end of
courses, exam scores are the basis to determine the success learning. This result also shows us that there is no standard
of the learners. While participation is the criterion for certification policy among CECs regarding adult education.
success in 18.9% of the vocational and 2.8% of the personal
courses, project completion is adopted as the success
criterion in only 1.9% of the vocational courses. In 7.5% of 4. Discussion
the vocational and 16.6% of the personal courses, attendance
In this study, it is aimed to analyze the adult learning
is the main criterion to determine the success level.
curricula conducted by the universities in Turkey in the
Unfortunately, there is no information about 52.8% of the
scope of equality, curriculum properties and CEC-related
vocational and 77.8% of the personal courses in terms of
barriers against adult education. The courses conducted by
criteria for success.
CECs which function under the universities in Turkey was

analyzed in this research on macro and micro level.
2020 An Analysis of the Adult Education Curricula Implemented in Turkish Universities

Based on the results, it is found out that the personal instruction given to adults. The deficiency of the universities
courses conducted by the CECs are offered for almost all age in collaborating with others raises the question that there
groups while vocational courses aim for all individuals aged might be some bureaucratic or other kinds of obstacles;
above 18. Providing a wide range of age groups with however, these probable obstacles are beyond the focus of
educational opportunities, CECs seem to contribute to social this study and requires further research.
equality in some way for especially elder people. However, Another barrier against the prevalence of adult education
we found out that CECs do not offer courses specifically for is the inefficiency of the websites with partially existent
disadvantaged adults like the minorities or handicapped detailed information about the courses. As the internet is a
people. Moreover, it is found out that most of the courses very common communication means, preparing more
offered by the CECs are paid –generally by the learners-, efficient websites and providing more detailed information
which shows that CECs only aim for learners who have the about the courses can help the adults to be aware of the
financial stability to afford education and probably are courses that they might be interested in. Besides, although
already employed. Also, it is found out that only 3% of both the CECs of the universities require internet-based
vocational and personal development courses are free and application for courses, there is not sufficient information
the information about pricing and payment about some about these courses on their websites, which can be regarded
courses were missing on the webpages. As it was stated by as a contradiction.
Kılıklı [18], CECs are financed only by the payments of the According to the results, 1303 of 1727 courses are related
trainees. This result about the pricing in our study can be to professional development of the adults while only 424 of
explained with the dependence of the CECs on the income of them aim for their personal development. Moreover, some
the courses paid by the trainees. In other words, if it were not CECs do not offer any courses related to the personal
for these payments, it would be impossible for the CECs to development at all. These results indicate that the primary
offer courses as they are not financially supported by the focus of the CECs is on offering vocational courses which
government or any other institutions. However, that the might stem from the fact that universities are highly
learners have to pay for education and courses are not competent in vocational education due to their experience in
available for those who are unemployed or deprived of undergraduate and graduate programs and might lack in
educational background to earn enough to pay for education academic competence and teaching staff expert in personal
show that these disadvantaged adults are pushed from adult development of the individuals. However, adult education
education and the CECs of the universities only function or encompasses the development of all aspects of adults
serve for those who have the required educational including professional, personal, cognitive, psychomotor,
background to afford more education. In terms of affective and even moral facets [4]; and adult education in
contributing the social equality, CECs of the universities are Turkey theoretically seeks to meet the educational needs of
incompetent as the Public Education Centers which are the adults throughout their lives regardless of whether these
another prominent centers for adult education [6]. These needs are related to their professional or personal
results lead to the conclusion that “education is a form of development [22,25]. As a matter of fact, according to the
production whereas learning is a form of consumption – the results of the study carried out by Taşcı et al. [23], the
learning society is a consumer market” [4]. As the CECs do primary aim of adults in participating in education is
not get any financial support from the government or the personal development followed by acquisition of a
universities’ budget, the roots of the role that CECs play in profession and getting a certificate. In this context, the CECs
promoting social inequality can be found in educational which do not offer personal development courses or
policies of the government and Higher Education Council focusing heavily on vocational education can be regarded as
which are the supreme and ultimate policy maker for another barrier hindering the prevalence of adult education
universities in Turkey. since they neglect to meet the personal development needs
As to the institutional barriers against adult education, of adults.
firstly, it is found out that there is insufficient information As the results indicate, 89.8% of the 1724 courses offered
and announcements about the courses which can hinder the by the CECs aim for cognitive domain, 8.8% of them aim for
adult participation in the courses. Also, poor information psychomotor domain and 1.4 of them aim for affective
about the registration processes stated on the websites can be domain, which shows that affective and psychomotor
regarded as another barrier against the prevalence of adult domain is highly neglected. This negligence implies that
education since the lack of related information can lead these programs may have been designed without taking the
learners to give up on signing for the course. It is also found needs of the adults into consideration and adult education is
out that only 14 universities have collaboration with national perceived mainly by the CECs as the development of
institutions and 3 universities with international institutions. cognitive domain, which can undermine adult education as
This result shows that the universities are strict about the educational needs of the adults regarding the affective
sharing knowledge and experience with other institutions and psychomotor domain are unmet.
and also missing out the opportunity to benefit from other Since the half of the vocational courses and 71% of the
institutions’ experience, which can be a barrier against adult personal courses are short-term courses which last less than
education by negatively affecting the quality of the 60 hours in total, it can be inferred that the quality of these