From Pedagogy to Adult Training: A Comparative Research on the Roles of the Educator-School Teacher and the Adult Trainer

According to findings of research conducted in Greece in the last decade within the Adult Education and Training field, a high percentage of the certified adult trainers in Greece are graduates of Education Studies. Even though a great number of adult trainers originate from the Education field there is no - so far –comparative research neither on the multivariate relationship between the roles of the school teacher and the adult trainer, nor on their convergences and deviations.
The current research attempts the comparison of the above mentioned roles, through the detection of those personal and social motives which influenced the professional journey of the school teacher-adult trainers. It will investigate the identification of the convergences and deviations, the characteristics of the school teacher which can hinder or encourage the development of the adult trainer role and the valuation of the job satisfaction gained from each one of these roles.
The research sample consists of experienced full time school teachers, who all work as part time adult trainers for certified Vocational Training Centers, running “Greek as a foreign/second language” training programmes, in which the participants-trainees are repatriates, refugees, immigrants etc.
Research conclusions may provide developmental opportunities to the school teacher-adult trainer’s teaching alertness and general professionalism, and assist their contribution to the wider socioeconomic development and the modulation of criteria upon which each citizen will pursue their self-determination and emancipation. Conclusions can also be exploited by the Greek Education Departments of the General Secretariat for Adult Education and Training in regards to the design and development of the training programmes attended by school teachers and adult trainers. Finally they can be correlated with data found in bibliography of the two vicinal fields and contribute towards a prolific examination of their interaction.