Functional Basic Adult Education – Second Chance

Abstract

Aiming to explore the concept of basic adult education as a "second educational chance", the model of functional basic adult education was developed at the Institute of Pedagogy and Andragogy of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. The key idea was to increase access of marginalized, poor and non-educated groups to formal education and to make it more functional. The aim was also to empower them to take over the responsibility of their life and to increase thus their chances for social inclusion and integration. The model was tested on the most sensitive and endangered group - Roma people, struck by poverty and social exclusion, with very low education attainment level. The research included 275 Roma over 20 years of age in 11 towns in Serbia. Some of the results will be presented in this paper, focusing on needs and expectations of the Roma people from the "second educational chance".