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In addition, there are non-direct temporal limitations, such as “lack of em-ployer’s support”, which 8% of respondents gave as their reason for not taking up a ‘wanted learning activity’. Furthermore, some 4% said that “something un-expected came up”, that interfered with further education or training (OECD 2014, p. 395).
Unlike school during childhood, in adulthood, where established temporal institutions for education are lacking, taking time for learning can generally be interpreted as an expression of individual learning interests and motivation.
“In all countries surveyed, more participants than non-participants wanted to take up (further) learning activities” (OECD 2014, p. 359). There is clearly a demand for more individual time for learning. Non-participation in continuing education cannot be judged as a sign of disinterest in learning, as some studies argue (Schmidt-Lauff 2008, p. 355), or as an inability to manage personal time efficiently. As Sellin and Elson-Rogers (2003, p. 29) state:
There is a clear need for more research into the relationship between the motivation to par-ticipate in CVET, the ways in which this is translated into real participation, and the impact of time as a resource in this process, both independently and in relation with other resources.
In this sense, it would be interesting to study the differences among (generational) learning times by analyzing the time reserved for learning for young adults versus that for working adults and elderly people.
Legal Regulations Concerning Time as a Resource for Adult Learning (Macro Level)
At the macro-level, the development of adult rights to education is of high impor-tance. For example, the first recommendation of the Committee on Innovation in Continuing Education (2008, p. 12) named “financial and time-related resources”
as one of the basic conditions in need of improvement.
Legislative transnational regulations also matter, such as the ILO Paid Educa-tional Leave Convention of 1974 (No. 140), which states in its preamble, “Human Rights affirms that everyone has the right to education.” This convention argued for “protection of workers’ representatives concerning the temporary release of workers, or the granting to them of time off, for participation in education or training programmes” (Article 1, ILO 1974, p. 1). As of today, 35 states have given their ratification by convention. At the same time, national laws and regulations also have to be considered. As Article 5 (ILO 1974, p. 1) points out:
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The means by which provision is made for the granting of paid educational leave may include national laws and regulations, collective agreements, arbitration awards, and such other means as may be consistent with national practice.
In Italy, the development of adult rights to education began after the Second World War. At the same time, adult learning expanded in the field of education with the recognition of workers’ rights to schooling (ISFOL 2008, p. 177).7 The law 300/1970 (specifically Article 10), better known as the “Workers’ Statute” (Statuto dei Lavoratori), expressed for the first time the right to obtain time to partici-pate in educational courses. An amount of 150 hours per year and the possibility to obtain flexible working time for education has been specified by the D.P.R.
395/1988 (Presidential Decree). This decree applied the “Right of 150 Hours” per year for public workers. Law 53/2000, which has a specific focus on the right to care and education, states the right to education leave. It also declares the right to complete compulsory education or to obtain a secondary or higher education degreeand the right to continuing education leave needed to increase knowledge and professional skillsfor a period not exceeding eleven months.
In Germany, an example of the concept of paid educational leave includes the
“Länder Regulations”, which deals with training leave (“Bildungsurlaub”, “Bildungs- und Freistellungsgesetze”). Every employee has the option to apply for approximately five days per year to participate in specific, accredited courses across a range of topics. These are mainly vocational but also include language courses, study trips, political topics, and so forth. Fourteen out of 16 federal states in Germany have these legislative options. Their primary objective is to grant employees enough time off to participate in learning outside the work environment in an area beyond their focus of employment. Some of the Länder have further instruments, including financial incentives, (e.g., Bildungsscheck) to encourage adults to take learning time.
Comparison of Learning Times – Chronometric Criteria for Participation (Micro Level)
A comparative, empirical approach uses the functional part of time as an instru-ment to measure pedagogical impacts and participation. First, as per an OECD Indicator (Education at a Glance, annual study since 1996), chronometric meas-urements are used as an analytical instrument to evaluate school systems. Metrics
7 The following text was an outcome of the Students’ Country Reports (Winter School 2016, Würzburg). Thank you very much to Carlo Terzaroli (Universita Degli Studi Firenze) and his translations of a report about “Participation in Adult Education in Italy: Time as a Mirror of Lifelong Learning Conditions”.
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of interest include time spent in a classroom, which is measured as the number of hours of teaching per year, or subject-related time for school pupils (OECD 2015).
For adults, the OECD study Education at a Glance (2012, p. 411) reports, “A participant in non-formal education receives 76 hours of instruction annually.8 Four out of five of these hours are job-related.” The time spent on non-formal educational activities represents an investment in the individual’s skill develop-ment from both the employer and the individual (OECD 2011, p. 367).
Table 1: The mean number of hours spent in non-formal education per participant and per adult (25 to 64 years of age) according to gender and age (2012) in Italy and Ger-many (source: OECD 2012, p. 412).
Men Women Women and Men
Hours per
participant Hours
per adult Hours per
participant Hours per
adult Hours per
participant Hours per adult OECD
average 74 24 81 26 76 25
Italy 47 9 48 9 48 9
Germany 78 36 74 30 76 33
Comparing the mean hours spent in non-formal education highlights the differ-ences between Italy and Germany. While Germany almost mirrors the number of OECD average hours for participants as well as all adults, the time spent in non-formal adult education in Italy is nearly half this. Due to this overall lower participation rate in non-formal adult education, with Italy’s rate standing at less than 30% and Germany’s at approximately 46% in 2012, the difference between
‘hours per participant’ and “hours per adult” is much higher in Italy than in Ger-many (OECD 2012, p. 505). It would be also interesting to undertake further, comparative research to discover why in some countries (e.g. China), women spend less resp. more hours in non-formal education than men (without table).
Time is also used to forecast expected hours spent in non-formal education over a working life (ages 25 to 64). In all OECD countries, an individual can expect to receive 988 hours of instruction in non-formal education (OECD 2011, p. 364).
The total investment in Italy is less than 400 hours, which is low compared to
8 Non-formal education is defined as “an organized and sustained educational activity that…may therefore take place both within and outside educational institutions and cater to individuals of all ages. Depending on country contexts, it may cover educa-tional programs in adult literacy, basic education for out-of-school children, life skills, work skills, and general culture” (OECD 2011, p. 371).
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Germany, where it exceeds approximately 1300 hours (OECD 2011, p. 365). The OECD (2011, p. 366) explains, “The expected number of hours of instruction is strongly related to the overall participation rate in non-formal education.” On one hand, this might be a starting point for deeper comparative studies in the future, which are needed to understand these causes more effectively. On the other hand, it justifies professional action as a task to encourage more adults, such as in Italy, to participate in learning. Professional challenges for the future include building up temporally supportive structures and offering guidance and information, for example, about legal regulations and investments for adult learning (see 3.1).
For Germany, the Adult Education Survey (Bilger et al. 2013) provides a full chapter on “Time for Adult Education” (Zeit für Weiterbildung; Bilger et al. 2013, p. 48ff). In 2012, 31% of all learning activities lasted several days, with 24% lasting only several hours and 21% only one day (Bilger et al. 2013, p. 51). Surprisingly, 13% of all learning activities lasted a number of months. However, over the last few years, these long-lasting learning activities have tended to shrink.9
A differentiation between the segments of learning activities makes it obvious that, per year, vocational training takes place more often but with fewer hours of learning time. The participation rate of adults aged 18 to 64 is 35% in vocational training and 13% in non-vocational training (Bilger et al. 2013, p. 44).10 The average number of hours spent on vocational training and learning is 74 hours while 108 hours are spent on non-vocational training annually (Bilger et al. 2013, p. 58). The latter includes general learning, including about culture, politics, health, and so forth. This difference between time spent on vocational and non-vocational training per year is very important but has had limited recognition in public debates. The average gross annual participation rate in non-vocational learning is nearly 1.5 times higher than vocational training hours. This is un-expected because in general, non-vocational learning activities mean that the learners themselves are giving up their private time, which could otherwise be spent on leisure, family, social engagements and recreation. Various studies in Germany have shown that there is a pronounced willingness for temporal self-reliant interaction for learning (Schmidt-Lauff 2008). This should not, however,
9 In Germany, such activities are, for example, a second chance for vocational or ..pro-fessional qualification, and state certified Master Craftsmen.
10 It should be noted that aging is becoming significant but until now this has not been reported in the statistics. According to an ISTAT (2013) forecast, in 2018, life expectan-cy in Italy should reach 78.8 years for men and 84.3 for women. People aged over 60 years would reach 28.9% of the population (ISTAT 2013). In Germany, it is becoming normal to work until the age of 67 or even 68.
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be equated with “time sovereignty” as part of individualization but rather as a development towards “personal time competence” with an awareness of the necessity for collective structures.