Schluss! Aus! Vorbei? Abschiede

This article addresses learning, educational and activity-related prospects upon entering into retirement age and the search for meaning in one's career associated with this. The topic is explored at various levels: first of all autobiographically taking the example of a new, self-employed orientation. At the second level, the case example can be interpreted as part of a societal trend towards activities crossing the age border. Finally prospects for the topic in the context of adult education facilities are discussed.

This article provides insight into the lives of active retirees whose departure from gainful working life has ushered in a new stage in their work-related development. The results of an explorative interview study with retirees working for pay or voluntarily are presented. The article in particular examines the differences between previous work and work-related activity in retirement as well as aspects relating to continuing education.

Every educational event inevitably comes to an end. A »good« ending to educational events is - in contrast to their opening - often not sufficiently reflected upon in didactical terms. Ulrich Papenkort’s article focuses attention on this subject, which has received little attention from the field of research to date. By distinguishing between »opening«, »a retrospective look«, »criticism«, »look forward« and »farewell«, new possibilities for designing a successful conclusion to teaching/learning processes can be discovered.

This article describes the benefits and forms of forgetting from a neuropsychological perspective. By the same token, Peter Gassner shows that forgetting is not only something negative, but rather that it is even a constitutive factor in people's learning abilities. Adult education specialists will find valuable suggestions in the article on how learners can counteract undesirable forms of forgetting, i.e. forgetfulness.

Very old people in particular live in a »mode of bidding farewell«. The »dictates of death« gains increasing importance in this phase of life compared to the »dictates of life«. The author shows how activation and a resource-oriented approach can even help persons suffering from dementia or dying persons to experience their existence as something that they can actively shape. This yields important educational insight in the training of medical specialists, voluntary workers and family members.

A system helping individuals assess their own skills, the ProfilPASS is currently being tested as a human resource development tool at ten business enterprises. The authors describe conditions encouraging success, implementation processes and preliminary results in the scholarly support effort.