Multilingual Academic Journal of Education and Social Sciences

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Group Dynamics in Adult Education: Trainers’ & Trainees’ Views

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The purpose of the present study is to highlight the factors that influence group dynamics in adult education, as these were shaped through the perceived views of educators and trainees in Parent's Schools in Greece. Grounded on a qualitative approach to the phenomenon under investigation two focus groups were formed, the data of which were analyzed and compared for possible convergences and/or divergences. The sample consisted of 5 trainees attending the program ‘Parents’ Schools’ and 4 trainers from the same program. The discussion guide was selected as the appropriate tool to collect data from both focus groups, whilst content analysis was applied to analyze the research data. The findings depicted that although there are common factors emerging from both the trainers’ and trainees’ groups, there are substantial differences between them as well. The trainers highlighted the joint building of the educational context, whilst the trainees focused on the group climate. The results of this study call attention to the necessity of training adult educators on issues regarding group dynamics, taking into account all the factors that emerged from both groups.
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In-Text Citation: (Skorda & Panitsides, 2017)
To Cite this Article: Skorda, S., & Panitsides, E. A. (2017). Group Dynamics in Adult Education: Trainers’ & Trainees’ Views. Multilingual Academic Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 5(1), 255–268.