Adult education and training comprises education and training leading to a degree or certificate, liberal adult education, staff development and other training provided or purchased by employers. It also includes labour market training, which is mainly targeted at unemployed people.
Adult education is available in general upper secondary schools for adults, vocational institutions and vocational adult training centres. For evaluation of these institutions offering secondary education, see Chapter 11.1. Also universities and universities of applied sciences (UAS) offer adult education. For evaluation of higher education institutions, see Chapter 11.2.
Liberal adult education is provided by adult education centres, folk high schools, sports institutes, summer universities and study centres. The Act on Liberal Adult Education (in Finnish) requires institutions offering liberal adult education to carry out self-evaluations. They must also participate in external evaluations.
Responsible bodies
Liberal adult education organisations are independently responsible for the education they provide and its development.
The body responsible for external evaluations considering liberal adult education is Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC). The aim is to support the development of education and improve the preconditions of learning. The organisation of FINEEC and its relationship with the central government is explained in Chapter 11.2.
Approaches and methods for quality assurance
There are no national guidelines regarding the methods of internal evaluation. In external evaluations, the activities of institutions providing liberal adult education are assessed through thematic and system evaluations. These evaluations specifically focus on the role and responsibility of liberal adult education in the implementation of adult education, as well as its ability to promote equality and accessibility. The functioning of the steering system of adult education centers is also evaluated. Additionally, the evaluations examine the structure and network of educational institutions offering liberal adult education, the development of their service capabilities, their ability to fulfill statutory responsibilities, as well as the volume of activities and target groups.