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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…
Rund 6,2 Millionen Erwachsene in Deutschland haben Schwierigkeiten beim Lesen und Schreiben – mit weitreichenden Folgen für Alltag, Arbeitsmarkt und gesellschaftliche Teilhabe. Diese Menschen sind einem erhöhten Risiko sozialer Exklusion ausgesetzt und haben deutlich geringere Chancen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt. Das 2024 gestartete Kompetenzzentrum GrundbildungsPFADE möchte dazu beitragen, diese Situation zu ändern: Es begleitet zehn Modellprojekte dabei, regionale Netzwerke zu entwickeln, die statt …
An essential task for administrative staff in adult education is to develop and offer courses. In the field of economic education (basic education), there exist only very few offers and didactic material. Hence, there is a great demand to describe requirements concerning competencies to be taught in this area. Such requirements for competencies may serve as a base for the development of courses in adult education. This article explores the questions on which requirements concerning competencies…
Debatten sind das »Lebenselixier der Demokratie« – so überschreibt Benedikt Widmaier sein »Stichwort«. Damit Debatten und gesellschaftliche Diskurse einlösen können, was ihnen an Demokratie stärkender, fördernder, gar schaffender Wirkung nachgesagt wird, reicht es nicht aus, die eigene Meinung kundzutun, zu posten oder zu tweeten. Dies gilt besonders in den sozialen Medien, so dass Caja Thimm eine »digitale Werteordnung« fordert. Dass wir Räume für konstruktiven Streit benötigen (Thomas Krüge…
Publically funded adult education has rarely contributed to the increase of educational equality. Often enough, it has been beneficial to those who had already enjoyed their share of education and employment. The author reflects on the German post-war history of continuing education and identifies several cycles of financial distribution. The initial focus of adult education was on educationally ambitious citizens. Based on a socio-political motivation, the learning of employees became increasi…
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 …
In zehn Thesen lotet der Autor das Verhältnis von Wissenschaft und Praxis der Erwachsenenbildung aus. Beide Bereiche sind an vielen Stellen eng miteinander verwoben, ihr Verhältnis aber ist komplex und nicht friktionsfrei. Gleichwohl bleibt es, so das Fazit des Autors, im Sinne einer gegenseitigen Perspektivenanreicherung gestaltbar.
The argument in this article is based on a concept that defines values as ‘big principles’. Although the work of education institutions is based on values in that sense, it cannot guarantee those values itself. That is why it is important to not only raise an awareness of values in internal debates among adult educators but also to speak about them explicitly in the classroom. The author believes that pursuing these two strategies makes more sense than formulating a specific ‘ethics of continui…
