BELGIUM
LIFELONG LEARNING IN FLANDERS:
LANGUAGE EDUCATION
Geneviève Cochez (Universiteit Gent,
Belgium)
Continuing education
In Flanders there are several publicly funded
education, training and developmental provisions
for adults. The Department of Education is responsible
for a substantial proportion of this range of part-time
adult education. Within part-time adult education,
3 different types of education can be distinguished:
continuing education, supervised individual study
(bis) and adult basic education. All those types
of education offer language courses.
Continuing education is the most important sector
in adult education. Continuing education is education
that supplements or is separate from the initial
educational career of participants and aims to
impart knowledge, improve skills and attitudes.
This can be useful to function in society, participate
in further education, practice a profession or
master a language. It enables the participant to
obtain a recognised diploma, certificate or qualification.
Participants must have received full-time compulsory
education in the past, and comply with specific
entrance conditions depending on the course they
have chosen. The participant pays a contribution
that depends on the number of hours of the course.
However, in certain cases, the participant may
be exempted from payment. Continuing education
is provided by recognised centres for adult education
which are funded or subsidised and are organised
by community education, towns and municipalities,
provinces or non-profit making organisations. Currently,
there are 133 centres for adult education throughout
Flanders and the Brussels Capital. The provision
of continuing education is very varied and broad.
It is organised at the level of secondary education
and at the level of one-cycle higher education.
Two organisational models are used:
- the linear courses: these courses last one or
more course years. The lessons are spread over
32 to 40 weeks in the period from the beginning
of September to the end of June
- the modular courses: the subject matter is subdivided
into a number of modules in which theory and practice
are taught in an integrated way. Dividing these
into units enables the participant to determine
his/her own study load. In this way, the participant
can determine the length of the study. A modular
course can be spread over a whole year or over
part of a year. Every centre for adult education
is free to determine the spreading of the course.
Since the reform of 1999 (Government of Flanders
Act of 2 March 1999), adult education has been
able to respond more quickly and appropriately
to the individual needs and requirements of industry
in every region. The Government of Flanders Act
has already led to a significant number of mergers
between organisations, representing the first important
step towards upscaling. In this way they can act
as full partners in relation to the other education
providers and industry within the region. Up to
now, the reform of continuing education has mainly
been at the secondary level. Currently, work is
being carried out on integrating higher continuing
education in tertiary education. In terms of content,
the modular structure is being further developed.
In the near future, a modular structure will be
put into practice in adult education, which is
completely compatible with the modular structure
in full-time secondary education.
Combined education is also on the programme for
the near future. This is a combination of contact
education and distance education.
Supervised individual study (bis)
Supervised individual study (bis) makes it possible
to study as an individual. This type of education
meets the situation that adults find themselves
in. The participant does not have to move: education
comes to him. BIS bridges distances, can be spread
over time, and above all, is very flexible. The
participant can decide individually on his own
pace of study. Bis education is in fact correspondence
education and uses printed courses supplemented
with the necessary educational materials. A course
consists of a number of learning packages and
homework tasks. A mentor, who will provide extra
explanation where it is needed, corrects the
homework tasks.
The time needed to complete a bis course depends
on a number of factors: the number of learning
packages per course, the volume of the learning
package, the level of difficulty of the subject
matter, the time available to the participant to
study, etc. Therefore, there are no compulsory
times within which a bis course must be completed.
Access to this type of education is completely
free. No special conditions are imposed in terms
of age or certificates acquired. However, there
is a modest course fee. The amount depends on the
number of learning packages comprising the course.
However, in certain cases, a participant may be
exempted from these costs. At the moment bis covers
7 disciplines: languages, mathematics, economics,
administration, computer studies, sciences and
technology. In addition, there are a number of
courses that cannot be included in these disciplines.
In recent years, there has been a real change of
character in distance learning, so that this type
of education has become more dynamic. The new name,
bis, is a symbol of this reform that has resulted
in a great increase in the number of enrolments.
The results of this modernisation are:
•
Digitalisation: all courses are now available electronically,
and are automatically printed by a printing-on-demand
system, depending on the demand and the pace at
which the participant studies. In future, a number
of courses will be provided on the Internet in
a so-called electronic learning environment. This
guarantees a combination of interactivity between
the subject matter provided and the participant,
but also between the mentor and the participant
and between participants themselves. Experience-based
learning and constructivism are key words in this
new educational concept.
•
A modern marketing policy: bis has an easily identifiable
image, based on a logo and the streamlined design
of the course materials. A call centre was established
where the potential participant can obtain all
the information about BIS on a free telephone number.
It is possible to enrol through this call centre,
but also online on the website. Some people have
literacy or numeracy problems, or they may lack
other basic skills that are necessary to cope in
our demanding society. They have an opportunity
to catch up where they have fallen behind with
adult basic education, so that they can participate
fully in social life. In this way the government
wishes to contribute to combating the divisions
in society.
