Abstract:

The education system has undergone major changes in the last 30 years, due to technological developments and political events in the country, Europe and the world. Each successive change has been in response to changing social and technological conditions. Education is currently undergoing new reforms, accelerated by the experienced Covid-19 pandemic and the current geopolitical circumstances related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It has also had a major impact on adult learning, values and adults’ motivation to continue lifelong learning.

The paper will summarize the findings of the research on the value transformation in adult learning, highlighting in particular the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and war conditions on individuals’ willingness and opportunity to participate in learning, as they exist for a longer period of time. The aim of the paper is to analyze the relationship between the elements of the Schwartz’s model of basic values and individual’s values in the existing geopolitical conditions in the world, Europe and their impact on the change of values in Latvia. The research has been carried out in the framework of the FARP project “Transformation of Educational Value for Cultural and Economic Growth of a Social Community (IzVeTSKKEI)”, No. p-202011-0178, and is being continued at PhD level in order to develop a model of educational values that aims at transforming educational values to include the knowledge and skills needed for the future.

Methodology:
An analysis of the scientific literature and data was carried out. Theories on educational values were explored, based on the Schwartz's model of basic values; a comparative analysis of educational values in adult education before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as under the influence of the existing geopolitical conditions, was carried out for the further development of a model of educational values for the purpose of their transformation, including the knowledge and skills needed for the future.
Within the framework of research, a questionnaire was created with 5 questions related to the individual's values according to the Schwartz’s model of basic values with multiple choice answers on a scale of 1-10 (10 very important, 1 - not so important). The data were processed using the data processing software SPSS to determine the means according to the Kruskal-Wallis test; Cronbach's alpha coefficient scale for assessing the reliability and the descriptive statistical method were also applied.

Findings and conclusion:
1.The COCID-19 pandemic and the existing geopolitical conditions have an undeniable impact on the value transformation, as the motivational theories of the Schwartz's model of basic values show that values can be in harmony or in conflict with each other as external conditions change.
2. According to the Schwartz's model of basic values and the survey results, we see that people now value security, while values such as stimulation and achievement decline when there is a threat of war. The survey data indicate that constraints and uncertainty about the future may reduce the willingness to engage in lifelong learning to develop new skills.
3. Research showed that the individual's values do not change rapidly, but they can change when unpredictable national or global circumstances arise.

Keywords:

Values in education, adult education, lifelong learning, value transformation, geopolitical circumstances.