Immigrants' self-directed learning in community-based organizations on their path to integration into the host society ; Imigrantų savivaldus mokymasis bendruomeninėse organizacijose, jiems integruojantis priimančiojoje visuomenėje

Abstract

After coming to a new country, immigrants face social, political, economic, cultural and educational integration problems. Solution to these problems may be found by fostering the self-directed learning of immigrants in the community-based organizations. Therefore, research aim of the dissertation – to create a grounded theory of immigrants' self-directed learning in community-based organizations on their path to integration into the host society. Created grounded theory of immigrants' self-directed learning in the community-based organizations in the context of the personal level includes specific parameters and their expressions – universality and transient effect. Parameters (preconditions, context, strategies, and results) of grounded theory of immigrants' self-directed learning in the community-based organizations at the personal level can be transferred essentially unaltered into the specific national context of education and integration policy. In the meantime, the grounded theory on immigrants' self-directed learning in the community-based organizations at the level of the organization covers the specific parameters with a characteristic of contextual nature. In order to transfer the grounded theory on the immigrants' self-directed learning at the level of organization to the specific organization and national context, the need to specify it in the specific context of the organization arises. Strategies of the self-directed learning reveal the innovation of this grounded theory – they are both essential ways for solving the problems of immigrants' integration and factors for the holistic growth and development of an individual.