Course Title: Union of Skills in Action for Adult Education: Strengthening EU Values, Active Citizenship and Inclusive Learning in Adult Contexts

This course is a professional development programme designed specifically for adult educators, trainers, community learning facilitators, NGO staff and lifelong learning professionals.

The course supports participants in integrating EU values, active citizenship, democratic participation, and multicultural inclusion into adult learning environments through participatory, experiential, and practice-oriented methodologies.

Unlike school settings, adult education contexts require:

• Recognition of learners’ lived experiences
• Critical dialogue and reflection
• Empowerment-based learning approaches
• Flexible, practice-oriented design
• Intercultural and socially responsive facilitation

This programme therefore combines EU civic literacy, inclusive facilitation skills, participatory methodologies, and game-based strategies adapted for adult learners.

Participants will not only explore EU-related content but also critically reflect on how to apply it with adult learners with migrant education, vocational training, community education, language courses, and lifelong learning settings.

Detailed Content:

1. Teaching EU Values in Adult Learning Contexts

Focus shift: From transmitting values to facilitating critical engagement.

• Facilitating dialogue on democracy, human rights, rule of law, equality, solidarity, and diversity.
• Using case studies and real-life EU policy examples.
• Managing sensitive discussions (identity, migration, discrimination, political views).
• Supporting critical media literacy related to EU topics.

2. Active European Citizenship for Adults

Focus shift: From awareness to empowerment and agency.

• Understanding EU institutions and decision-making through simplified, accessible frameworks.
• Connecting EU policies to adult learners’ daily realities (employment, mobility, social rights, digital rights).
• Encouraging civic participation at local, national, and EU levels.
• Designing community-based micro-projects linked to EU priorities.

Special emphasis on:

• Migrant learners
• Low-qualified adults
• Adult language learners
• Vocational training participants

3. Inclusive and Multicultural Facilitation in Adult Education

Focus shift: From classroom management to inclusive facilitation.

• Addressing power dynamics in adult learning spaces.
• Trauma-sensitive and culturally responsive facilitation strategies.
• Using diversity as a knowledge resource.
• Anti-discrimination and equity-based approaches.
• Supporting multilingual learning environments.

Participants will reflect on their own positionality as educators.

4. Game-Based and Experiential Learning for Adults

Focus shift: From child-oriented gamification to meaningful adult engagement.

• Role-play simulations of EU Parliament decision-making.
• Policy negotiation games.
• Debate cafés and civic dialogue circles.
• Escape-room style EU challenges (adapted for adult learners).
• Digital tools for adult-friendly gamification.

Emphasis on:

• Relevance
• Critical thinking
• Reflection
• Application

5. Participatory and Learner-Centred Approaches in Adult Contexts

• Project-based learning in community settings.
• Inquiry-based civic investigations.
• Co-designing learning processes with adult learners.
• Democratic group facilitation techniques.
• Peer learning and knowledge-sharing models.

Participants will design mini-interventions applicable to their own adult education context.

6. Multimodal and Flexible Material Design for Adult Learners

• Designing accessible materials for mixed literacy levels.
• Using visual and digital tools in lifelong learning.
• Designing EU-themed workshops and short modules.
• Creating micro-learning units.
• Integrating reflective and discussion-based activities.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Facilitate critical discussions on EU values in adult learning contexts.
• Connect EU policies and citizenship concepts to adult learners’ lived experiences.
• Design inclusive and culturally responsive adult learning environments.
• Apply participatory and experiential methodologies in civic education.
• Use game-based strategies adapted for adult learners.
• Develop community-oriented EU-related learning projects.
• Integrate 21st-century skills (critical thinking, collaboration, civic agency, intercultural competence) into adult education settings.
• Develop their own Union of Skills for Adult Learning Framework.