Implications for POLICY AND PRACTICE POWER OF INFORMATION To uplift the capacity of AE to consider and respond to the needs of young people in vulnerable positions, there is a need to cultivate flows of information that are multi-directional, multi-level, and multi-and cross-sectoral, circulating across policy and practice and connecting key stakeholders as asked by contextual conditions POWER OF NETWORKS: Consider the value of human capacity for information production, transmission and processing and that of machines as two balancing poles. Through the opportune creation of networks that harness the intelligence of people and machines we can create the conditions for AE to become and be made constantly relevant for the needs of young people in situations of risk 

1. Communicative Ecologies in
Adult Education
Professor Jo Tacchi
The project is funded by the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme.
Contract No. 693388

2. Part I.
Aims, research question, methodology

3. Aims
Map and examine the varied communicative ecologies (CEs) that exist
in the field of adult education among the providers of educational
initiatives and young adults at risk of social exclusion, in order to:
• shed light on interconnections and mismatches between the supply
and use side of adult education;
• offer an in-depth view of the information and communication context
of young adults at risk of social exclusion.
3

4. Research question
How can communication inside of and around Adult Education (AE)
programmes be improved, in order to:
• Reach out to and connect effectively with young adults at risk of
social exclusion?
• Enhance interaction and learners’ engagement?
• Enhance engagement and collaboration within the AE organisation
and with relevant external agents?

5. Methodology
Communicative ecologies mapping using the Communicative ecologies
conceptual and methodological framework
Research carried out in 20 countries in 3 strands (more than 800
research participants):
• Strand 1 Context analysis - investigated local context
• Strand 2 Targeted research on good practices - analysed the
information and communication context around adult education
programmes
• Strand 3 Targeted research on vulnerable groups: Communicative
ecologies mapping - focus on communicative ecologies mapping with
a group of young people at risk of social exclusion

6. Communicative ecologies of groups of young
people at risk of exclusion
Partner Country Young people group No of Informants
UTA Finland Students with special support needs 9
DVV Germany Migrants and refugees 11
AUTH Greece Homeless men 10
USZ Hungary Roma 7
FEL Romania
Spain
Roma
Roma women
11
9
ASBU Turkey Syrian refugees 14
UCL UK Migrant women, learners of English as a second language 20

7. Part II.
The Communicative ecologies and
assemblages analytical framework (CEA)

8. GOALS
SOCIAL
AGENCY
INFORMATION
MEDIA
Networks and practices
Norms and values
Underlying drivers
Aims and intentions
Contextual resources
Modality
Platforms and devices
Meaning
Representation
Communicative Ecologies and Assemblages Analytical Framework
Competences & literacies
Access
Context

9. GOALS
SOCIAL
AGENCY
INFORMATION
MEDIA
Informal
Inner community orientation
Strong informal social ties
Informal networks as entry points for
professional opportunities
Formal
Weak/no links outside neighbourhood
Weak formal and professional networks
Opportunity: presence of associations & NGOs
Norms and values
Strong community spirit
Gendered roles and norms
Aspirations: Low confidence & lack of role models
dwindle aspirations horizons
Drivers: making ends meet, getting by
Key goals influenced by poverty & discrimination
Short time horizon: meeting immediate needs
Communication resources
Scarce media resources – poor
electricity, access to Internet
Rich internal social networks
Local library – not used
Local associations – connect to
professional and education opps.
Competences and literacies
Low basic, digital and media literacy
Poor formal communication
competences
Access
Devices: mobile phones, TV
Shared resources: Internet from neighbours; shared
family ownership of phones
Practices
Face to face & oral communication prevails
Mediated communication: focused on mobile phone
Low use of radio (car only), no use of newspapers
Social media
Leisure and entertainment focus
Occasional news access
No access for formal purposes
Main platform: Facebook & Messenger
Local content prevails in face to face communication
Access to information outside neighbourhood (news,
cultural, social) sporadic – TV & social media
AE & professional information
Lack of access to information about professional
opportunities & AE
Key role of local associations & NGO for access to
information
Applying the CEA framework on the communicative practices of young people
Communicative ecologies of young Roma in a disadvantaged Bucharest neighbourhood

10. REPLACE WITH PHOTO OF STRAND 3
BUCHAREST NEIGHBOURHOOD

11. GOALS
SOCIAL
AGENCY
INFORMATION
MEDIA
Formal networks for recruitment
Main recruitment channel
Partnerships with mediating agencies
that work with vulnerable youth
Informal networks for recruitment
Low use – word of mouth, former students
Drivers
Contribute to real change in the lives of the most
vulnerable and Romanian society and economy
Key goals
Reach out to and engage effectively people at risk of social exclusion
Communication resources
Strong partnerships with mediating
agencies
Strong online presence
Competences employed
Spread among staff
No communication specialist/officer
Direct communication
With mediating agencies – via email, phone, F2F
Main means of recruitment
Online communication
Website maintained, but no online
recruitment campaign
Social media
Facebook page
Not used for recruitment
Transmitted
Tailored to the needs of vulnerable people
through the mediating agencies
Received
Constant information flows through networking with
mediating agencies for recruitment, state
administrations and young people themselves
VET
Competences assumed
Assumes target will lack formal
communication competences and
literacies
Applying the CEA framework in Adult Education
Communicative assemblages mobilised by an AE organisation to recruit young people at risk of social exclusion
(VET programme for integration on the labour market, Romania)

12. Part III.
Overview of findings

13. Information production,
circulation and access
Socio-technical networks
The Adult Education programme
Design Recruitment Delivery Post-course
The AE organisation and
sector
Cross-sectoral policy-making
KEYAREASCROSS-CUTTINGFINDINGS
Key role of networks made of relevant actors, media and channels
that enable the circulation of information and connect stakeholders;
Information production and access: The need for up to date,
immediate, disaggregated and relevant information
Information flows: Importance of structures and channels for
smooth, rapid information flows across diverse stakeholders, sectors
and levels
linking between
• AE organisations and young people at risk of social exclusion
• Organisations within the AE sector and with other social sectors
• The AE sector and policy makers/authorities in AE & other sectors
Agency
Need for communication competences and cross-sectoral/institutional
know-how (e.g., procedures and vocabularies)
Importance of mediators working between/across institutions, sectors,
or levels of practice and policy
Key role of agents and their capacity to mobilise resources towards
completion of set goals

14. Implications for POLICY AND PRACTICE
POWER OF INFORMATION
• To uplift the capacity of AE to consider and respond to the needs of young people in
vulnerable positions, there is a need to cultivate flows of information that are multi-
directional, multi-level, and multi-and cross-sectoral, circulating across policy and practice
and connecting key stakeholders as asked by contextual conditions
POWER OF NETWORKS:
• Consider the value of human capacity for information production, transmission and
processing and that of machines as two balancing poles.
• Through the opportune creation of networks that harness the intelligence of people and
machines we can create the conditions for AE to become and be made constantly relevant
for the needs of young people in situations of risk

15. Implications for research
• How access to and use of information and communication resources
and networks underpin situations of social exclusion and vulnerability
• Why we should think of young people’s agency (understood as their
ability to pursue their goals) as a distributed process
• The central role of goals and aspirations as mobilising factors that can
incentivise young people to overcome situations of vulnerability.