Adult education in a neoliberal policy paradigm

Ten years on from the formation of SOLAS (An tSeirbhís Oideachais Leanúnaig agus Scileanna) and the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) in Ireland, it is appropriate to reflect on where adult education lies in the new Further Education and Training (FET) sector. This paper uses Denis O'Sullivan's schematisation of policy paradigms (2005) as an analytical tool, to explore the components of the new sector. New concepts have been introduced, such as ‘FET’ and ‘active inclusion’, others such as ‘adult education’ have disappeared, and others such as ‘transversal skills’, ‘lifelong learning’ and the ‘needs of learners’ have been adapted, introducing a language of doublespeak. The discourse has changed; a theme of performativity is now prioritised while the wider benefits of learning are mentioned, but not actioned. There is a new authority with bureaucratic social configurations and the identities of teachers and students are being reduced to producers and consumers of learning outcomes. This paper shows how these changes have resulted in a new neoliberal policy paradigm for adult education, with strong regulatory powers. Understanding this is the first step in questioning its authority and discussing if this is what we, as a society, want for the education of adults.