An Investigation of the Preparation of Adult Educators in Australia and its Possible Application for the Adult Education System of Vietnam

Abstract

Adult education plays an important role in the development of the labour force of every country and in raising the standard of life by providing adult learners with necessary skills and knowledge. It can be said that the effectiveness of an adult education system depends very much on the quality and quantity of its adult education teachers. To improve the effectiveness of a system, better training programs for adult educators are needed. The adult education system of Vietnam is not truly effective because adult educators are unable to meet the present requirement of administering and managing the adult education system including the teaching-learning process. There are many factors that affect the effectiveness of the adult education system and the lack of a formal training program at university level for adult educators is the most serious. This study examines the training of adult educators in Australia, especially the training program of the University of New England, focusing on the teaching-learning process, as well as the roles and competencies of adult educators, in order to make recommendations for Vietnam. The present situation of the training of adult educators in Vietnam is investigated through literature and the results of field work in Vietnam to arrive at a series of conclusions and recommendations for possible implementation in the near future. An outline for a short training program for adult educators in Vietnam is included as an appendix.