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The article focuses on an empirical desideratum of research on teaching and learning in adult education – the planning of courses. The planning of courses is a complex decision-making process, which influences the teaching and learning behavior. Empirical findings of schoolteachers’ planning and results of interviews with trainers in adult education are used to identify elements and potential factors that influenced planning behavior. Based on this, the article develops research prospects and a…
The German Adult Education Centres (VHS) consider themselves as further learning institutions for all whose aim it is to address the population at large. However, the data basis on the extent to which socially disadvantaged groups are reached is restricted. The present contribution investigates to which extent persons with a low level of school education are represented among the participants of the Adult Education Centres in Berlin. The investigation is linked to previous results of the resear…
First results from the PIAAC survey, which was conducted in 25 countries, will be published in October 2013 by OECD. PIAAC collected information about adult competencies through representative data from a background questionnaire and from assessments of three competence domains. In Germany exists an additional study called "Competencies in Later Life" (CiLL), which is designed for people (aged) between 66 and 80 years. This article presents the context of the study, the process of data collecti…
Representative surveys on participation in continuing education are the basis for analyses of lifelong learning as well as a description of the continuing education sector within the educational system. The information which is made available should be sufficiently differentiated in order to be able to distinguish different types of learning activities. One of the most important distinctions is the one between general and continuing vocational education. This article examines how and with what …
Boundless work, bounded adult education? Setting out from the point of an interdisciplinary work research project on the basis of two empirical case studies it is worked out in which way current modernisation processes are referred back to on learning- and educational processes of staff.
Biography and Education Biographical aspects are coming increasingly under the focus of teaching-learning and educational research in the context of international comparative studies and the debate over self-organised and self-guided learning. Different theoretical approaches are selected and current empirical findings in the area of biographical research are presented in this issue in order to shed light on the interrelationship between education and biography.
Immigration countries such as Germany require legal, social and educational measures to organize migration. Both, the immigrant as well as the host population need to be the concern of educational and training activities. Linguistic, intercultural and political educational programmes are particularly relevant. The REPORT on “Continuing Education and Migration” focuses on empirical research findings and implemented concepts: What are the key issues in continuing education to be tackled within th…
The development of modern societies depends on a wide variety of an individual’s social commitment beyond gainful employment that can be subsumed under the term “volunteering”. Analysing empirical interviews, this article outlines the range and the transition of subjective educational biographic meanings of volunteering from the perspective of the volunteers. Thereby the appropriateness of qualitative longitudinal studies for specific research-purposes of long-term educational biographic change…
Methodogical deliberations on network analyses The network analysis as an empirical examination method for gathering social relationships is presently gaining increasing dissemination in different branches of study and fields. In the contribution network analysis basic approaches are the framework for reference and analysis for research works in the field of adult education are illuminated. In doing so a special focus is placed on the development of adequate examination concepts. Concluding …
