People who teach regularly: What do we know from PIAAC about their professionalization?

Abstract

Professionalization in adult education is necessary, and several initiatives are underway to improve the professional situation as well as the competences and skills of adult educators. The relevance and importance of adult education is often stated. Large-scale assessments such as the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competences show how important adult education is for societies and economies. They give information on participation and participants. At first glance, the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competences lacks detailed information on adult education institutions and professions. A second glance allows explore what people do as part of their work. Those who state that they teach regularly or occasionally will be explored here in more detail. Findings from this study reveal several characteristics of people who teach, including age, gender, academic background and industries. In particular, our analysis suggests that more than 80% of those who teach did not have formal degrees in education sciences. Moreover, those who teach frequently have higher skills, older ages and they have better job positions than those who do not teach. The majority of those who teach are males. Lastly, the results indicate that seniority and prestige in all 14 countries examined in this study are highly relevant to people who teach.