ADULT
EDUCATION, LIFELONG LEARNING, COMMUNITY
OUTREACH* AND ICT IN SWEDEN
Ebba Ossiannilsson, Lund University, Sweden
* Concerning Community outreach there is a separate
paper, Lund University, Sweden and Community
outreach by Ebba Ossiannilsson, Project Manager,
OCDE, Lund University, Sweden 030305©
SUMMARY
Adult education in Sweden is extensive, based
on a long tradition and range from higher education
to non-formal popular education. Swedish adult
education is highly decentralised and autonomous.
As a general principle, adult education is
free of charge for the learners and financed
by the public budget.
The Swedish perspectives takes it’s starting
point from the initiatives of OECD, the European
Commission, the Northern eDimension and the Swedish
government.
Concerning ICT, the infrastructure and high degree
of development is reflected everything from the
road and highway network, the railroads and other
transportation systems to IT, a field in which
Sweden is sometimes classified as the most developed
nation in the world. In 2001 we got a new Government
Bill, The Open University with guidelines for
all HEI in the country. This is the government’s
suggestion for taking measures to widen recruitment
and to open doors for several different ways
to Universities. Activities in the Bill are:
Changes in the law, a special recruitment delegation,
stimulation of local activity plans, a widen
base year education, college education, real
competence, alternative selection(10% of the
admissions capacity), flexible learning, distributed
learning, prosecute education on mission, even
from customers outside the EES-region and The
Swedish Net University. The einitiatives in Sweden
follow the concept by Taylor (2003) the “Fifth
Generation Distance Education”.
Professional organizational bodies which co-operate
with Universities are ITIS, NADE, NiTUS, and
UR.
