The gap between the Finnish and the Baltic participation in adult education and learning has narrowed significantly. The Estonians have the best rates of adult learning whereas the Finns, known as eager learners, are losing their interest in learning

In a survey carried out by the LINBA project (Learning Insights in the Nordic-Baltic Area), 2000 randomly selected adult citizens aged from 18 to 74 years in the four countries were interviewed by telephone on their participation in learning activities.

The results are especially flattering to Estonia, where 61 percent of the respondents had studied in the past 12 months. In Latvia, the corresponding percentage was 59, in Finland 46 and in Lithuania 43.

Results are not surprising

The results of the investigation, which are in the finalisation stage, do not surprise Jyri Manninen, Professor of Educational Sciences at the University of Eastern Finland, who participated in the project. But he interprets them cautiously.

“The investigation confirms a trend that has continued for ten years in Finland. Considering the margin of error, learning activity remains below 50 percent for us,” he says.

However, the continuation of the trend does worry the professor. When 54 percent of adults participated in organised education in 2000, reading in 2006 was only 51 percent.

More research carried out in 2007 by Eurostat showed that 42 percent of Estonians, 33 of Latvians and 34 of Lithuanians had studied during the past 12 months. In Finland, the corresponding percentage was 55 percent.

In Europe, Finland is still one of the top countries to participate in adult education.

“The development is just the opposite to what the European Union, the OECD, and Finland have aimed for in their education policy,” Manninen notes.

Estonia has developed its resources

Professor Manninen knew he should expect the rise in Estonia’s adult education.

“There is a lot of EU-funded education in the country and resources have been developed in a focused manner. This appears especially in accessibility as experienced in the use of opportunities for network studies and libraries,” he says.

The leading boom in Latvia, in turn, is connected with developing professional knowledge to secure jobs.

The Balts and the Finns are in agreement that the things that best motivate people to study are subjects that interest them, self-development, and being together socially. Working life and economic needs are secondary.

“The Finns’ passivity may also be explained, for example, by development projects and productivity programmes in working life in which numbers of personnel are driven down and at the same time, development funds for personnel are reduced,” Jyri Manninen guesses.

The responders from the countries are in agreement that even better direction and advice are needed for adult education. This is especially hoped for by Finnish men and young adults.

LINBA survey confirms that:
- individual learning from books, newspapers and magazines, the Internet, friends, radio, video, sound recordings, visiting museums and guided tours is the most often specified way of learning

- taking hobby or lifestyle related courses – foreign language courses, sports, driving lessons, courses on healthy lifestyle, music, dance, crafts, choir music, computer courses – comes second

- upgrading working skills in training or education offered by workplace comes third.