Training Pathways for Adult Learning Professionals in Higher Education: Case of Hungary and Serbia

Abstract

The topic of the professionalization of adult education is receiving a great deal of attention worldwide. This is justified because the competencies among adult learning professionals have a significant impact on the effectiveness of adult learning. The professional preparedness of adult learning practitioners is therefore a basic condition for the high-quality realization of the adult learning process. Nevertheless, the training system for adult learning professionals varies greatly from country to country. Professionals in adult education are often andragogically unskilled individuals, and national education policy also plays a key role in this. A comparative approach has been used in this study to examine the historical development and content elements of university-level andragogy programs in Hungary and Serbia. The findings show that although Hungary and Serbia are neighbors, the development of adult education as a profession has followed completely different trends in the two countries.