The Future of Education

Edition 14

Accepted Abstracts

The Adult Cultural Awareness Competencies Development through the Theatre Art

Genutė Gedvilienė, Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania)

Egidijus Stancikas, Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania)

Abstract

Culture is importance in the context of lifelong learning where adult education receives a priority attention. It is continuous adult learning, development of personal and professional knowledge and competences that provides exceptional importance to culture in person’s and societal life. Such a way of self-education for each person is an individual process which manifests itself, first, by self-integration or reintegration into the society and expansion of his/her opportunities in personal life and professional activity.
Research aim is to reveal adults’ attitude to cultural awareness through theatre arts.
Research methods:
Theoretical and empirical analysis methods: scientific literature and document analysis and quantitative research. Questionnaire survey method was applied using semi-structured questionnaire. Statistical data analysis methods were used aiming at processing the obtained empirical research data. Questionnaire data were statistically processed using program software’s IBM SPSS Statistics. Performing the quantitative research, descriptive and multivariate statistic methods were applied: factor, cluster, correlation and disperse analyses, structural modelling of equations.
Cultural awareness is person’s competence which manifests itself by the ability to acknowledge, respect, preserve cultural diversity and participate in socially valuable cultural expression activities. The concept of competence is versatile and multi-layered; scientific literature provides various definitions of competence. If participation at the theatre performance is considered to be education of adult-spectator’s awareness, it is worth remembering G. Foley’s (2007) approach to adult education where he discusses learning from four different perspectives. First, learning as acquisition, where competence, understanding, awareness, wisdom, and etc. are acquired by a person through his/her learning experience. Second, learning as reflection, where learners actively construct their knowledge which creates new meanings and realities. Third, learning as participation, where attention is devoted to human’s ability to meaningfully participate in everyday work of a concrete community. Fourth, learning which emerges during common physical process, which challenges the current person’s understanding and is expressed as a change process, emerging from relations between people and everything that participates in a concrete situation: people, special layout, movement, tools and things (Foley, 2007, p. 69). These four perspectives are merged into one universal definition of learning which speaks about learning as a change process that brings adult person’s attitudes into question, develops his/her professional competences, and allows acquisition of new knowledge.
Conclusions:
Having performed a scientific research analysis, it is possible to discern the following competences which manifest themselves by developing cultural awareness through the theatre art: personal competence which is peculiar of human personal qualities and skills: independence, initiative, flexibility, self-awareness, self-presentation, development of self-image; learning competence enables a person for self-education, stresses his/her auto didactical skills; professional competence engages twofold skills: specific professional and general activity planning and organization skills.

Keywords: adults, education, self – education, culture, cultural awareness.

References:
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[6] Forrest, J. F. 2003. Teaching cultural perspectives to future army officers at West Point. London, New York: Routledge.
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