Adults as non-traditional students in the tertiary education of Denmark and Ukraine: comparative discourse of structural, psychologic and pedagogic peculiarities

Abstract

Today with the demand of a knowledge-based society to adapt workforce to modern flexible and innovative production, sustainable and coherent adult education becomes an integral part of the European education system. The article offers a comparative analysis of the structural models, principles and new political initiatives of adults training in tertiary education systems of Ukraine and Denmark. The Danish context is the most important for the development of adult education policy in Ukraine as Denmark has gained a unique experience in creating of democratic adult training system existing as a component of lifelong learning. Multiple sources in Ukrainian, European and Danish educational environments at various time points from 2000 till 2020 have been used in data collection for this study. Adult education in Ukraine requires a substantial adjustment at the legislative, structural and technological levels. Based on a comparative analysis of the adult education systems characteristic features of Denmark and Ukraine, the author has substantiated suggestions for the construction of efficient adult training models in higher educational institutions of Ukraine.