Öz
In the 21st century, it is necessary to raise
awareness of lifelong learning and adult education in order to prepare young
generations for life and fulfill their lifelong developmental needs in
personal, social, and psychological areas. On the basis of these
considerations, Turkish Council of Higher Education has created a professional
knowledge elective course titled Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in the
updated undergraduate curriculum prepared for the faculties of education. The
aim of this study is to determine the views of pre-service teachers about the
particular course. Within the scope of the qualitative research, the views of
222 pre-service teachers from different departments of Pamukkale University
Faculty of Education were collected by the means written open-ended questions.
The data were analyzed by content analysis and the themes were reached.
Findings revealed that most of the pre-service teachers were not aware of this
course. In addition to this, participants expressed their reasoning for the
necessity, the reasons to select, and their expectations from the course
individual, social and professional levels. Results were interpreted in
accordance with the contemporary literature followed by the theoretical and
practical implications.