Abstract:

Becoming an adult is a process of profound importance for a person (Knežević, 2018), as the crisis-prone transition from adolescence to adulthood determines the life course. In the focus of recent studies on adulthood (e.g.: Lee, 2014; Pavlenko, 2016; Sabelnikova, Khmeleva, 2018; Williams, 2018) on the one hand there are scholars who define adulthood by objective features, such as for example, economic independence from the family; on the other hand we can find positions that overcome the differences between children/adolescents and adults (Gaston, 2010) focusing on the social construction of adulthood (Wolf, 2011).

To promote the transition from adolescence to adulthood a thorough understanding of adulthood is necessary, especially from the perspective of lifelong learning. However, a theory of adulthood is a general research desideratum (Arnold, 2013). Thus, the objective of this study is to clarify:
(1) the concept of adulthood and
(2) the core learning goals that are critical to become an adult.

The argumentation of this study is based on the perspectives of different disciplines, such as the educational, the philosophical, the psychological and the sociological perspectives. The result of this study implies a model of core learning goals that education for adulting needs to address.

The particular unique contribution that this approach can make in the area of education lies in the newly defined core purposes of education for adulting: These core purposes are not defined by criteria external to the practice of education but by criteria of adulthood (Quill, 2011). A coherent conception of adulthood makes it possible to contribute to determining educational ideals (Quill, 2011).

References:
[1] Arnold, R. (2013). Der innere Erwachsene. Ansätze einer psychologisch geweiteten Sicht auf das Erwachsensein. DIE Zeitschrift für Erwachsenenbildung 4, 21–24.
[2] Gaston, P.M. (2010): Coming of Age in Utopia: The Odyssee of an Idea. Montgomery.
[3] Knežević, M. (2018). When Do We Become Adults? Review of Theory, Research and Recent Advances from an Interdisciplinary Perspective. Psihologijske teme 27(2), 267–289.
[4] Lee, JoAnn S. (2014). An Institutional Framework for the Study of the Transition to Adulthood. Youth & Society 46(5), 706–730.
[5] Pavlenko, E. S. (2016). "Adult" as a Concept for Young People Building Their Life Course. Russian Education & Society, 58:3, 199–214.
[6] Quill, L. (2011). The Disappearance of Adulthood. Stud Philos Educ, 30:327–341 DOI 10.1007/s11217-011-9231-1
[7] Sabelnikova, Y. V.; Khmeleva, N. L. (2018). Infantilism: Theoretical Construct and Operationalization. Russian Education & Society, 60: 1, 74-88.
[8] Williams, C. (2018). Adult. Brock Education: A Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 27: 2, 13–17.
[9] Wolf, G. (2011). Zur Konstruktion des Erwachsenen. Grundlagen einer erwachsenen-pädagogischen Lerntheorie. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag.

Keywords:

Adulthood, core learning goals, education purpose, adulting education science, psychology, sociology, philosophy.