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With increasing age, xenophobic and pejorative attitudes of people with a migration background and other cultures grow. Both adult education in older age and social work are hence faced with new challenges. On the basis of a statistic inventory on hostility of elderly people, different forms and specifications and also dimensions of discrimination are systematized by means of theory constructions. Enabling to focus on social community approaches, e.g. the concept of Habitus, as suggested by Bou…
Adult learning professionals are understood in the context of European Policy as key factor for the quality of adult education. In this paper a transnational European study programme, the European Master in Adult Education, is focussed on as an academic contribution to the professionalization of adult learning professionals: What core themes of European Adult Education can be identified? What didactic approaches are required for a transnational curriculum? How is the labour market taken into co…
An idyll of inclusion and exclusion? The article brings into question the ongoing debate about inclusion/exclusion. For this purpose it draws attention to the circularity of the used arguments being composed of democracy – social inclusion – education. Hence, the paper is aimed at discussing the interdependence of these components, focussing in particular on the ambivalent position of adult/further education in this dynamic. The reference to the work of Jacques Rancière, an influential Frenc…
Literacy as a social practice in a district. An ethnographic theory for basic education practice In German-speaking countries, the theoretical discussion on literacy work is characterised far more by a focus on deficits than is the Anglo-Saxon debate. This article narrows this theoretical gap by adopting Barton & Hamilton’s ethnographic research approach to local literacies for an empirical investigation into literacy practices. The project presented here studies how and why reading and wri…
Striking the Balance between Competences – Backgrounds, Methods, Development Necessities The term competence entered the pedagogical/educational discussions of the German Education Council in the 1970s. However, it has recently become, once again, the objective of an intensive debate. It is always about the potential of the individuals which exceeds the certified level of knowledge and skills. This article introduces and analyses three different methodological approaches to the evaluation an…
This study starts from a dilemma which has been observed in adult basic education. On the one hand the use of assessments is regarded as supportive in order to determine in detail the learning needs of adults. On the other hand it is to be expected that persons with experiences of performing inadequately show justified anxieties or resistances in connection with test situations. I have chosen a research approach, which follows Holzkamp’s concept of a subject-scientific learning theory (1995), b…
It is widely acknowledged that adult education is a moral enterprise in many respects. There is a demand for empirical research on which groups of actors are dealing with professional ethical issues and which specific ethical problems arise in adult education practice. The authors analyze ethical standards and policies of adult education associations in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Based on the outcomes of this analysis, they present a proposal on how a discourse on ethical standards in ad…
Inter-organizational cooperation is understood as a possibility to react on the needs of low skilled adults through the conception of adequate offers. The conception and implementation of new second chance qualification offers that provide a vocational qualification for adults does not only require organizations in the educational system. Also further partners are needed to combine different services across system boundaries that correspond to the educational and to the economic system. The sys…
The National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) reflects upon adult learning from the perspective of a life profile. The article describes the system and methodological approach of the NEPS with a special focus on the group of adults. The education and employment history as well as the consequent competence development of the adult working age population is analyzed. Overall, 60,000 people are surveyed in the NEPS including more than 11,000 adults. First data is already available to the expert publ…
The ways in which computer games can affect learning are identified using the example of games for fun, starting out with the aspect of research into learning and teaching theory. Approaches used in behaviourism, cognitivism and individual and social constructivism are compared. In the psychology of emotions, activating and deactivating emotions are distinguished with regard to their learning effect. From the point of view of the psychology of motivation, special emphasis is placed on the self-…
