Conference Agenda

This study examines how education-labour social partnerships function as governance arrangements shaping reintegration pathways for conflict-affected populations. It focuses on the interaction between education and training institutions, state bodies, employers, and workers’ representatives in designing and implementing skills development and employment programmes. Rather than approaching these partnerships as neutral coordination tools, the paper conceptualises them as institutional spaces where power, knowledge, and responsibility are negotiated, and where inclusion and inequality are actively structured.
The empirical context is Armenia, where post-conflict conditions have generated large-scale reintegration needs among demobilised servicemen, persons with war-related disabilities, and forcibly displaced populations. These challenges have prompted collaboration between education systems and labour-market actors, creating a rich setting to analyse how partnerships govern transitions from training to employment under conditions of social vulnerability and institutional strain.

Research Question
How do education-labour social partnership arrangements shape training and employment pathways for conflict-affected populations, and how do these governance processes influence inequality and inclusion outcomes?
To address this, the study explores:
1. Governance and roles: How responsibilities, resources, and decision-making authority are distributed among education providers, state institutions, employers, and labour representatives;
2. Design of learning pathways: How partnership structures influence training content, certification, work-based learning opportunities, and employment intermediation;
3. Equity implications: Whether and how partnership arrangements mitigate structural inequalities or reproduce asymmetries in access to sustainable employment.

Theoretical Framework
The analysis integrates three complementary strands of theory:
1. Partnerships as Governance Spaces
Drawing on research on social partnership and educational governance, partnerships are conceptualised as institutional arenas where actors co-produce policy responses. This perspective highlights negotiation, accountability, and shared authority, framing partnerships as political and organisational processes rather than purely technical mechanisms.
2. Collaborative Governance and Power
From public policy scholarship, the study uses collaborative governance theory to analyse how cross-sector partnerships mobilise expertise and resources while embedding asymmetries of influence. This lens allows examination of whose knowledge shapes programme priorities and how power dynamics affect implementation and outcomes.
3. Education-Work Transitions and Inequality
Research on education-to-work transitions provides tools to assess how training pathways influence long-term employability and life chances. A capability-oriented perspective is applied to evaluate whether partnership-based programmes support sustainable career development or prioritise short-term labour-market insertion at the expense of broader opportunity.
Together, these perspectives frame education-labour partnerships as sites where governance, learning, and inequality intersect, enabling analysis of both coordination benefits and distributive consequences.

European and International Dimension
Although empirically grounded in Armenia, the study addresses issues that are highly relevant across Europe and internationally. Education systems throughout Europe are increasingly involved in the integration of displaced persons, veterans, and other vulnerable groups, often through partnerships with labour-market actors. By examining how such partnerships operate in a post-conflict context marked by institutional strain and social vulnerability, the paper contributes to wider debates on the role of education in promoting inclusive recovery, social cohesion, and equitable access to employment. The Armenian case is thus used as an analytically rich example that informs European discussions on partnership governance, transitions policy, and educational responses to social disruption.

Mutually reinforcing forms of learning based on partnerships are gaining an increasing role among formal, non-formal and informal areas of learning. Cultural learning can be realized as both non-formal and informal learning. Non-formal cultural learning, for example, is the operation of a folk dance community, while informal cultural learning, for example, is observing the clothing style of a given country during a trip. These forms of learning greatly complement education within formal learning frameworks. In the framework of non-formal cultural learning, the individual develops not only in the field of mastering a particular cultural and artistic activity, but also develops competencies that help them in the labor market and everyday life. Such as cooperation in a group, communication skills, empathy, etc.

Numerous internationally known research studies have examined and are examining the interaction of different learning arenas, the kind of partnership effect through which these different learning arenas complement and strengthen each other. For example, the Composite Learning Index created by the Canadian Council of Learning (2010), or the German Learning Atlas (Schoof, U., et al. 2011). Building on these precedents, a national learning atlas was also created in Hungary, which included the entire system of formal, non-formal and informal learning. (Kozma, T. ed. 2016) One of the pillars of this was the examination of cultural learning (Juhász, E 2016).

In our interpretation of cultural learning, it is a non-formal and informal form of learning realized through the broad institutional system and system of tools of culture, which is present with different intensity and use of tools, but throughout the life of the individual. It is present in many opportunities for out-of-school education in childhood, in opportunities outside the world of work and learning in adulthood, and in old age through many cultural institutions and communities. Among its main fields are public cultural, museum and library institutions; various performing arts venues (theater, cinema, circus, music institutions, dance institutions, amusement parks, etc.); leisure sports organizations (associations, clubs, etc.) and the media (press, radio, television, internet) also appear. In its tool system, in all these fields, from more passive, receptive genres (e.g. theater performance, puppet show, attending a concert or sports match, watching television, listening to the radio) to more active, creative genres (e.g. membership in an amateur art group, learning traditional dance, leisure sports activities, sharing internet content, etc.), numerous opportunities can be observed in both individual and community forms. (Juhász, E. 2016)

In my presentation, I present the pattern of cultural learning in Hungary by analyzing national cultural statistics over a 10-year period, and by presenting some outstanding good practices of cultural learning. I highlight how cultural learning in partnership complements learning processes in various fields of formal learning at different ages: from the pedagogical education of children to vocational training for adults to well-being training for the elderly.

The aim of this paper is to reflect on the internationalization efforts between a UK-South African partnership to enhance teaching, learning and research. Interventions included academic exchanges, COIL, guest lecturing, article reviews, supervision, publishing and application for grants. During this partnership, additional higher education institutes were visited and colleagues were invited to join the partnership to develop a “think tank” for future research. The research method utilized the qualitative approach through reflective journal and the social constructivism theory. The findings revealed that despite challenges of resources and differing perspectives, the partnership has promoted teaching, learning and research that narrowed the global north-south knowledge divide. Critical aspects for a successful partnership included a memorandum of understanding, line manager support, mutual respect, regular communications, complimentary expertise, and an impact focused work ethic. This article is significant as it provided greater insights to the researcher in terms of enhancing the scope and quality of research, teaching and learning and community engagement in an international programme.

Internationalization has become a strategic imperative for higher education institutes (HEIs) worldwide, driven by globalization, marketization, technological advancements, and the need to prepare staff and students for a rapidly changing global environment. HEIs aim to diversify their offerings and provide opportunities for academics and students to engage and collaborate with peers globally (Rubin 2017). To achieve this, HEIs employ various internationalization strategies, including study abroad programs, international partnerships, and the integration of international perspectives into curricula. Leask (2013) emphasizes that internationalization should not be an optional add-on but a requirement in higher education. It promotes the acquisition of multicultural and global viewpoints, encouraging academics and students to learn about their own culture and those of others, fostering appreciation and reconciliation of differences (Kahn & Agnew 2017). However, disparities exist between institutions in the Global North and Global South regarding access to internationalization opportunities. Well-resourced universities may provide more opportunities for academics and students to interact with international institutions, students, and staff than less advantaged universities. This inequality can entrench systemic social and economic disparities, limiting the potential for staff and students from the Global South to engage in international experiences and collaborations. The significance of higher education in creating ‘inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all’ (Chankseliani, Qoraboyev, and Gimranova 2021) is recognized globally.

The knowledge divide between the Global North and Global South is characterized by disparities in development, access to resources, infrastructure, and education. The Global North is perceived as more advanced in development and knowledge management, while the Global South is associated with underdevelopment, inequalities in living standards, and restricted access to resources (Dados & Connell 2012; Fortune et al. 2019). Sabelo (2023) reports that the South African public universities have not made any significant contribution to human capital for the last 15 years due to political interference by the governing party, entrenching the socio-economic disparities present during apartheid.

Within this context, the concept of the ‘third space’ (Wimpenny et al. 2022) emerges as an opportunity to minimize knowledge gaps between these regions. Moje et al., (2004) and Wimpenny and Orsini-Jones (2020) have previously discussed it as a useful medium for socio-cultural and epistemological change, where North-South academics and students have an opportunity to share perspectives and pluralize knowledge.

This paper is situated in the above “third space” where internationalisation facilitates intercultural exchanges and mutual understanding, potentially narrowing the knowledge divide. This approach challenges the dominance of Northern thinking in education theory and practice (du Preez 2018), promoting a more inclusive and equitable global academic community. Here the researcher’s insights are presented via the reflective journals.

Intergenerational programs (IGPs) are designed to bring young children and older adults together across educational and aged‑care settings, providing opportunities to play, share knowledge, and build relationships beyond existing familial and friendship networks. These programs are gaining popularity in the educational context because they have demonstrated positive effects on children’s confidence, social-emotional competence, and attitudes toward older people and aging (Giraudeau & Bailly, 2019; Kirsh et al., 2021). However, there are gaps in understanding related to the mechanisms by which these outcomes are achieved, including the types of activities and facilitation strategies required to promote sustained and enriching intergenerational interactions.

This research presentation draws on data from an IGP within an early childhood service and an aged care facility co-located on the same site in Melbourne, Australia. Young children (2-5-year-olds) and older adults participate in the IGP throughout the year, with weekly activities included as part of their educational play and care programs. Building on evidence of community and social benefits (Jarrott et al., 2022; Murray et al., 2025) the study focuses on the micro‑level characteristics of intergenerational interactions and the role of facilitation in shaping participation across generations. The study’s key objective was to systematically map and classify a range of activities used in the IGP, along with the corresponding observable interactional behaviours between children and older adults that support inclusive participation. The research aimed to understand which types of activities promote enriching intergenerational interactions, and how facilitation supports both generations in engaging and participating with one another within the program. The following research questions guided the study:

• What types of activities and interaction formats elicit sustained, reciprocal engagement between young children and older adults?
• How do facilitation practices influence the nature of intergenerational interactions?

The study is guided by Social Capital theory (Lin, 2001) conceptualised as the resources embedded and gained in social networks accessible through relational ties. The interactions between generations in IGPs offer potential routes for developing social capital networks, as they can provide access to knowledge, emotional support, and cultural resources that are otherwise unavailable in age-separated care settings. By applying Lin’s relational perspective to an intergenerational educational setting, the research tests how facilitation and activity design translate into tangible outcomes for participants by generating enhanced access to social resources.