Information and Communications Technologies Through Technology-Enhanced Learning in Adult Education: The Re-Approach of the Adult Educator and the Adult Learners

Introduction

Adult Education has proven to be at the heart of socio-technological change over time. The combination of our modern and technological visual-centric lifestyle due to digital technological advancement has created new trends and prospects in educational activities and techniques for adult learning. Adult learning is characterized as experiential, problem-based, immediate, and self-directed (Tomei, 2010). In fact, summing up on the one hand, adult learners must know why they need to learn something, while on the other hand, they learn best when that topic is immediately useful to them (Courau, 2017; Nicolaou & Kalliris, 2020).

Adult learners, therefore, as a particular type of educational audience do not learn like children in middle childhood or even adolescence, but under certain conditions and circumstances (Knowles, 1973; Nicolaou & Kalliris, 2020; Rogers & Horrocks, 2010). More specifically, they learn when they understand, realize, and accept the aims of the education or training program/lesson/course/seminar (Courau, 2017; Nicolaou & Kalliris, 2020). Likewise, they act and get involved as well as train in a climate conducive to participation (Courau, 2017; Nicolaou, 2017, 2015). Additionally, when education is directly related to their daily lives and lifestyles, as well as when it is pursued throughout or is done in the context of their professional career (Courau, 2017; Nicolaou & Kalliris, 2020). This responsibility rests and lies in the approach made by the adult educators who should teach, but also help adult learners to consider how to learn more—like students in school (cf. De Vecci, 2014), but differently in relation to the pathway they have traditionally been treated in schooling (Knowles, 1973; Nicolaou & Kalliris, 2020). Similarly, they should provide strong incentives to motivate adult learning efforts, and of course provide them with the ability and opportunity to pursue and continue a lifelong adult learning.

In the bibliographic literature, it is stated that Adult Education is mainly about adults (18 years and older—in some countries, such as Cyprus in the European Union, an adult in adult education is considered to be an adult learner aged fifteen or over) with various inherent (e.g., performance, gender, religion, age, etc.), genetically genealogical and specific or even special, distinct and unique or diversity characteristics (Gravani & Ioannidou, 2014; Karalis & Vergidis, 2004; Nicolaou, 2016a, 2016b; Persianis, 1996). Specifically, it may include, humans in general or even minority populations, employees or not, vulnerable social groups, and special audiences (e.g., miniature adults, humans with muscular disabilities and/or kinetic problems, impaired vision or hearing—i.e., hard of hearing; deaf, etc.) who cannot read due to reading and learning difficulties or have a different native language and mother tongue or dialect, or who have been stigmatized or intimidated and bullied in their social environment or in a previous educational level and sector (Courau, 2017; Jacobs, 1999; Knowles, 1973; Nicolaou & Kalliris, 2020; Rogers, 1961). To summarize, on the other hand, Adult Education in the framework of teaching or even learning procedure (hereinafter referred to as the teaching-learning procedure) aims on the one hand to fight against cultural inequalities, explore adult learning opportunities, and raise the general level of culture (Nicolaou & Kalliris, 2020). Likewise, it also focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) (cf. Schmidt et al., 2012; Wlodkowski & Ginsberg, 1995), something which has been more intense and pronounced in recent years. Finally, it should be noted that Adult Education from and through the teaching-learning procedure should be encouraged and supported in a basic skills-based approach throughout education and training (Keogh, 2009). Additionally, it should be based on practice-based education to give adult learners more than the propositional or theoretical knowledge from and through the various and numerous skills (e.g., technical skills, soft skills, life skills, etc.) that will permit them to do and make better their daily habits on a personal or even professional level.