Page 40 - Vseživljenjsko učenje kot temelj trajnostne družbe

Mirko Prosen, Anita Trnavčević, Nina Krmac, and Klavdija Kutnar

assess how the alumni association and university can better support lifelong
learning opportunities through flexible and targeted programmes, such as
micro-credentials.

Methods
This study utilised a generic qualitative methodology, a flexible and prag-
matic approach suitable for exploring participants’ perspectives in everyday
life (Hall & Liebenberg, 2024; Sandelowski, 2000). This approach, rooted in
naturalistic enquiry, allowed the research team to stay close to the data and
provide a rich, low-interference summary of alumni views on lifelong learn-
ing and the development of green and digital competencies. The approach
was chosen because it lends itself to applied research contexts where ac-
tionable insights are needed, particularly in higher education and continu-
ing professional development (Colorafi & Evans, 2016; Villamin et al., 2024).
Semi-structuredgroupinterviewswereconductedto gatherparticipants’ex-
periences, and the data was analysed using thematic analysis. The study fol-
lowed the COREQ (Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research)
checklist to ensure transparency, rigour and completeness in the reporting
of qualitative methods and results (Tong et al., 2007).

Sample and Setting
The sample consisted of 19 alumni who had completed their studies in the
fields of education, management and health sciences at the University of Pri-
morska. The participants were divided into three groups according to their
field of study. The group of alumni from education study programmes con-
sisted of seven participants, the group of management graduates consisted
of five participants and the group of alumni from health sciences consisted
of seven participants.
The sample comprised 12 women and 7 men. The average age of the par-
ticipants was 29 years and ranged from 22 to 53 years. The youngest partic-
ipant had just graduated from university, while the oldest participant had
over three decades of professional experience. The average length of work
experience of the participants was 5.3 years and ranged from no work ex-
perience to 26 years. Seventeen participants had completed a first-degree
programme at the University of Primorska, while two participants had com-
pleted a second-degree programme. Ten participants had continued their
education in the second cycle after completing their studies in the first cycle,
and one participant completed all three cycles of higher education at the
University of Primorska. In terms of fields of employment, five participants

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