Research
We explore how adult education can be made inclusive, digital and effective.
Services
Digital tools, specialist portals and data – for teachers, researchers, students and interested parties.
Institute
We offer research, transfer and infrastructure for lifelong learning.
This article provides an overview of the debate on learning environments and learning locations within adult education research; the authors use a historical review of main research topics in order to understand current learning environments and recent theoretical and empirical discussions. The term of learning environments or learning locations has been introduced into research on adult education in the 1970ies; since this time, each following decade can be characterized by several specific re…
Based on communication and body, the report points out modern cultural practices and focuses on options characterised by new technologies which have been established in everyday life and used in various designs. It also discusses the role of continuing education within this process of change. Here, the author refers to the reflection of shaping a cultural identity, the development of cultural competences and holistic approaches – integrating head, heart and body.
Due to the increasing blur of learning boundaries, the need arises for re-defining the concept of learning space. Based on an understanding of learning space, which refers to the local circumstances within organized education programs, the article initially aspires to include the debate on learning space in the discussion of informal learning, before it then focuses on the relation between time and location and the significance of virtual learning spaces. The article itself does not re-define t…
The report presents first results of a study dealing with the whereabouts of former participants of literacy classes. Assuming courses of adult education have a beginning and an end, the authors pursue the phenomena of participants sojourning permanently at adult education courses. Taken data material into account, the reconstruction of possible reasons for staying in the courses finally leads to the demand for an initial consulting – analogical to the starting and learning consultation in the …
This article explores „biography“ as a separate field of research within adult education. It focuses on analysing the outcome of alphabetization and basic education courses on biographies and coping mechanisms of functional illiterates. At the same time, the importance of biography research for practical work with illiterates is highlighted. The article also discusses a list of requirements that need to be met for an innovative adjustment of such practical work, and thus making better use of it…
Consulting as an empirical deficit? Evaluation of educational institutions’ programs The article discusses the empirical relevance of consulting in adult education institutions. By evaluating the programs of institutions, it will be shown that consulting only selectively is present and thus may help to document the programmatic and theoretical discourse on the matter in a less efficient way. This lack will be interpreted as a deficit in its implementation by the respective institutions and in …
Environmental education that fosters meaningful community participation and learning has been considered a requisite to sustaining our human and natural environments in many of the global conferences, agreements, declarations and charters since the 1972 UN Conference on the Environment in Stockholm. Despite this growing consensus there is a small amount of published research in Australia in this field of practice we have decided to call popular and informal environmental education – education t…
The author presents first-hand and personal accounts of what popular education looks like in a classroom. Barbara Bee has had over 30 years teaching experience in adult education programs with poor and disadvantaged learners. She is regarded as one of the leading Australian practitioners in that time who drew inspiration from Paulo Freire. She describes how teaching in the 1970s and 1980s was so different to today. Back then teachers were encouraged to negotiate the curriculum with students. Bu…
