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This report reflects potentials and dangers for adult education resulting from the process of Europeanizing educational politics. The report indicates the associated structural mechanisms of action in the area of tension of cooperation and competition with the example of the European Qualification Frame (EQF). While intending to achieve a better comparability of educational systems and educational programmes the EQF in fact injects fresh impetus for more national and international competition. …
For 30 years, the author has been director of the communal adult education institute “Volkshochschule” at a middle-size town in Southern Germany. In 1998, the costs of 3 million DM were financed jointly by the town (50%), the participants of the courses (40%) and the Land Baden-Württemberg (10%). In the next three years, the "Volkshochschule" has to reduce the communal subsidy by 12%. The article deals with the financial challenges the institute faces in its new situation of competition at the …
The Greek educational system replicates the historical-cultural and regional segmentation of Greek society. In the past there was a gap between west-oriented Greeks with a high level of education on the one hand and uneducated natives on the other hand; nowadays we find well-off Greek students at western universities on the one hand and, on the other hand, the larger part of the national youth in the backward universities of their own country. In adult education, the traditional gap is perpetua…
Press and public relations work in continuing education is gaining importance through digitization and social media. Here the current guideline for strategic communication in public spaces provides a solid and systematic presentation of the basic structures of press and public relations work. The focus is on different communication strategies for large and small institutions, communication with adult and continuing education target groups, the classic tasks of press and public relations, the We…
Teachers‘ professionalism in adult and continuing education is often requested but practically implemented in only a few countries. In Austria and Switzerland, over the past years systems were established with the support of relevant stakeholders, which advance this required professionalism. Based on the exchange of experts in both systems as well as analyses of materials and literature, the following article identifies the key factors, which contributed to the successful establishment of the i…
Case-reconstructive quality circles have hardly ever been tried out in adult education. Under the direction of trainers, course teachers reflect the quality of their work in a mutual process. Their own teaching/learning situation serves as illustrative material. It is self-evident that this method relies on mutuality and must be voluntary. The method, which is explained with the aid of a practice example from the KVHS Northeim, has its origins in health care.
Lifelong learning on a high quality level is a condition for participation in further economical and social developments in society. But how are lifelong learning activities to be financed? Are projects of the European Union the key for solving financial problems of institutional and organized learning? The author describes his experiences made with the acquisition of EU-projects. The article points out difficulties and problems in the process of acquisition, searching partners and trying to co…
Net based communication is changing business and private life and education and learning of adults as well. Important condition for using new chances by new information and communication technologies for learning processes is media competence. – The authors describe components of media competence as a pedagogical target including technical competence, communicative competence and the competence of coping with the information flood. Problems are restrictions of participation on net based communi…
