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Normative Patterns of Biography and Contradictory Experiences as Resources in Women’s Educational Biographies As part of a research project on discontinuities in female educational and professional careers, this essay focusses on conflicting expectations women experience – conflicts between set normative social standards and biographies on the one hand, and the different individual plans and perspectives on the other hand. Group discussions among the participants of a Women’s Studies Program…
The German Atlas of Continuing Education documents empirical educational research results which identify geographical location, in addition to socio-economic status, as an important dimension of inequality in educational opportunities for adults. Generally, the German Atlas of Continuing Education describes the provision of continuing education and participation in continuing education at the levels of federal states as well as districts and independent cities over time. In addition, the Atla…
This paper brings into focus the discourse on competences and reviews critically the potential of large-scale assessments. The measurement of competences in adulthood is a step towards a deeper understanding of the development of competences during the life course, although only domain specific and not general competences are taken into consideration. Based on the current research, the debate on competences will be reflected and the central points in the field of modeling the constructs of skil…
Concept maps in the teaching-learning context Concept maps are understood to mean two-dimensional structural presentations of knowledge or information in the form of a network. This article explains the principle of the concept map, including in relation to the mind map, and sums up results of teaching-learning research for its use. Readers find out what purposes concept maps can be used for (e.g. knowledge diagnostics), how their learning efficacy is assessed and what factors can boost th…
Hans Georg Rosenstein describes the objectives and priorities of the renewed European Agenda for Adult Learning, which was adopted by the European Council in 2011. Both, the role of the European Commission are analyzed as well as the tools and budget for the agenda’s implementation. The article concludes with a critical classification of »Erasmus for all«, the new EU-programme for general and vocational education.
Within the framework of the PISA discussion, adult education must discover the parents as an affected part of the public more than has as yet been the case. Parents need scientifically founded summary knowledge as a basis for decision-making (for example concerning the educational orientation of their children), and professional guidance in matters of the enhancement of learning capacity at an early age.
The article provides an education-theoretical reflection of spaces for teaching and learning in education centres. Adult education is defined as a »learning process concerning everyday life«, which requires particular architectural adjustments. In this context, Joachim Ludwig stresses that architecture is by far more than a simple arrangement of building material. Room structures rather contain a »significance« which has a great influence on the »standard of living« for learners as well as teac…
The author covers definitions and dissemination of »Open Educational Resources (OER)« marked by Web 2.0, particularly issues of copyright and licensing law as well as the problems of financing free material. At the same time, the potential adult education surplus value of OER is pointed out and the prerequisites of high-quality learning and teaching processes are discussed. The article concludes with an agenda for teachers aimed at the sustainability of the OER.
