Altındağ Public Education Center as an adult education institution

In the research, it is aimed to evaluate whether the opportunities offered and provided by Altındağ Public Education Center (AHEM) as an adult education institution are suitable for the characteristics of adult education. In this study, the current education status of adult educators working in AHEM, the physical and equipment opportunities offered by AHEM to learners, and their educational processes (need identification and program planning, methods-techniques and materials, evaluation practices) are discussed. The research is a qualitatively designed case study. The study group of the research consists of a total of 15 people, consisting of administrators, teachers and master trainers working in AHEM. The data in the research were obtained through observation, interview, field notes, documents and documents, especially participant observation. The data in the research were analyzed within the context of the social, cultural and physical characteristics of the research, through the events, relationships, practices and their effects on the study, and the views and experiences of the study group and the researcher about the process. According to the research findings, adult educators who do not have pre-training in adult education work in AHEM. It has been observed that the physical and equipment facilities of AHEM are not very suitable for the characteristics that reflect the nature of adult education. However, while structuring educational processes, educational needs assessment techniques, which should be suitable for adults' learning characteristics, are not used; Adult education principles and approaches are not sufficiently utilized in the processes of planning, implementation and evaluation of education (teaching methods and techniques, educational environments, communication and behavior styles with learners, selection, design and use of teaching materials, evaluation). As a result, the dominant approach in the structure, functioning and practices of AHEM, which is an adult education institution, is due to the fact that it treats public education centers like any other school in the formal education system. In addition, this understanding, which ignores the differences in the features of adult education that distinguishes it from formal education, hinders the effective functioning of AHEM as an adult education institution.