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A variety of investigations are concerned with examining competencies of professionals in fields of adult education, neglecting the question what characterizes the activities they perform in order to organize learning situations. By analyzing an opening sequence of two different adult education lessons, the author shows, how microethnographic approaches of analyzing videotaped face-to-face interaction offer new insights in how participants ordinarily deal with challenges of establishing and sus…
The following article focuses on the debate on organizational learning from an adult-educational point of view. In most approaches to organizational learning the members of an organization are regarded as the main drivers of organizational learning processes. However, such approaches do not systematically incorporate important presumptions of learning-theory, although this promises to create a better understanding of adult-educational experiences within organizations. Hence, the article present…
Citizens’ involvement increasingly gains appreciation in the public perception. Also in the adult pedagogical discourse the attention is raised in the context of lifelong learning. In this contribution the author discusses how learning processes in adult education, that take place in a societal action context, can be supported, guided or even initiated. On the basis of own empirical inquiries the author examines citizens’ involvement as an action- and learning field and asks for learning experi…
The perspective of administrational staff in educational organizations is barely in focus in adult education research. This paper reacts on this desideratum of research and tries to answer the following question: How does the administrational staff of Adult education organizations perceive the collaboration with the pedagogical staff? This question is answered within a qualitative research design. Therefore, the existing data of a qualitative study concerning cultures of teaching in adult educa…
Family is a learning space with special features. Learning processes do not only involve children but also adult family members. Taking the example of the acquisition of media competences, the older generation’s learning processes are analysed based on the qualitative IgelMedia study. With regard to adult education, the author concludes that intra-family learning processes attract attention. The focus should not only be on transferring new knowledge but also on the classification of acquired sk…
New Perspectives for Planning and Realization of Programmes. Steps towards Inclusive Adult Education. Part II The report focuses on the challenges of the inclusive paradigm in programme planning and implementation. Four strategic approaches are presented which facilitate the access to inclusive adult education. (1) Access to existing programmes needs to be generally facilitated for people with disabilities. (2) Cultural education is especially predestined to be in the focus. (3) People with …
Emotions in Adults’ Learning Neurophysiological research has shown the relevance of emotions in learning processes. Nevertheless, the exploration of learning processes and the development of competencies is rather characterised by a cognitive perspective. On the basis of systemic-constructivist concepts the authors show that sustainable learning only works when internal experiences are supplemented with external experiences. By that way the levels of emotional and cognitive learning can be c…
Political education as a par t of general adult and continuing education with regards to lifelong learning and on the background of social change, is confronted with a new challenge. Science, economics, representatives responsible for education and learning of adults and politics are looking for instruments to navigate the consequences of globalization. – The author focusses – besides social questions of inequality – problems of cultural identity as one of these consequences and identifies lear…
For various reasons adult participation in lifelong learning does not measure up to expectations tied to the agenda of lifelong learning. The article suggests that adults relate learning activities to their conceptions of life stages. Therefore, participation in institutionalized continuing education must rather be linked to life-stage-dependant decisions based on sociocultural patterns than to the acceptance of lifelong learning in general. Specifically in the stage of professional life, these…
Dietrich, Stephan; Herr, Monika: Organisational development and new learning cultures The theme “new teaching and learning cultures” is a thematic focus in the professional discourse of adult education for a few years already. One consequence of the hightened attention is an increasingly differentiated understanding of what can be regarded as the ”new teaching and learning cultures”. It can be observed that the treatment of the theme does not allow a restriction on the questions of didactics…
