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.
In adult education as an almost deregulated educational sector, governance happens indirectly via support programs and educational initiatives. Money plays a central role as a medium of governance and is also used to promote quality management systems. Quality management itself unrolls a governing capacity in the adult education system: in doing so, different models stress different starting points for quality development. This paper responds to the question which factors influence the developm…
Education for elderly people has continuously increased in significance against the background of demographic developments. Primarily the group of the “young old“ has been in the centre of scientific exploration and practical educational work. For a long time the theme old age has been shielded. The author shows development lines and blind spots of old age research and old age education and pleads for a re-orientation of the educational approach in the context of relatives care. Thereby she foc…
Stepped courses of studies and professionalization of adult education Reflections against the background of first experiences at the Ruhr-University Bochum The contribution takes the occasion of the dynamics of reform, with the transposition of the study into two cycles, to show policy-making decisions which need to be made for the study offers in the area of adult education. One important point of reference is the question, as to what extent the reform counteracts the efforts concerning pr…
Theoretical basics of a gender equal didactics Substantiations and consequences The contribution makes a subject of discussion the significance of the category gender for theoretical basics of didactical approaches in adult education. Structural gender characterize the adult education research, the institutions, the educational situations, the educational apprehension as well as the people participating with the educational actions and the worlds of their lives. These conditions for outco…
The competence concept of PISA and IALS New impulses for adult education through international comparative studies In the contribution the literacy concept, which is new to the German education discussion, and some of the results of IALS are presented, whereas parallels but also differences are shown to the PISA study. The causales for the central result of the missing basic competences are questioned, whereas clues are given to contexts between antiquated teaching methods and often lament…
Ehses, Christiane; Zech, Rainer: Good organisation – a contribution to the self-conception of the adult education profession Quality standards were found on the empirical basis of analysis of consultancy cases as well as group discussions with heads and consultants of adult education organisations. These quality standards can be the precondition for a comparability of organisations and they can also be quality standards for their organisation’s evaluation by internal or external evaluators a…
Through their employment in adult education, or as an additional means of learning alongside adult education, the media contribute towards the shedding of limitations of the place of learning and are themselves places of disengagement at the same time. The author, in a media-analytic perspective, outlines how communicators from the world of publishing are integrated into the didactic triangle and thus devaluate the pedagogical frame of the learning situation. At the same time new structures are…
Program analyses are considered as genuine methods of research in further education. The basic understanding is that innovation is not only an invention of new methods, but also an implementation of existing methods in new ways. The most important approaches of program analysis will be presented and discussed concerning their alteration. This is also relevant for qualitative research in further education in general.
Adult education centers (“Volkshochschulen”) realize their educational mission nationwide, in a wide range of educational topics and for all citizens. In order to foster equal participation opportunities for all population groups, they face the challenge of adapting their work to social developments. Organizational approaches such as diversity management and intercultural opening provide a framework that considers different levels of continuing education work and discusses their contribution to…
Education in the Economic Culture. An Analysis of Approaches in Educational Policy of the Council of Europe and the EU Considering the Discussion of Culture and Economic Orientation The European Union and the Council of Europe play an important role for educational policy in Europe. Education is meant to promote European identity as well as the European Economic Area. This text explores the priorities of the Council of Europe’s and the European Union’s educational concepts in the timeframe …
