Teaching Computers to Adults: The Case Study of the State Institutes of Further Education in Cyprus

Digital literacy for adults has developed into an important dimension of ICT-related policies worldwide. Although research argues that adults need digital skills, limited evidence has been directed to digital literacy teaching approaches for adults and the associated pedagogy. The study explores which core features of effective adult learning were addressed within the context of digital literacy courses offered by the State Institutes of Further Education (SIFE) in Cyprus. Semi-structured interviews conducted with two groups of Greek-Cypriot adults enrolled in these courses indicate that while certain aspects of adult learning, e.g., optimal climate for learning, other principles related to the consideration of learners’ needs and input in the development of learning contracts were limited in effect. Since this can mainly be attributed to the nature of the courses which were designed from top-down and remained openly ECDL exam-oriented with pre-fixed content, repercussions are drawn with regards to alternative paths to adult digital literacy, organized on the basis of learners’ expectations, profiles and needs.