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In today’s societies literacy is regarded as the prerequisite for participating in the professional and private spheres of everyday life. It is regarded as a human right, a tool for personal empowerment and a tool to influence the behaviour of individuals, families and communities. Despite the international consensus that literacy skills determine opportunities and provide access to today’s information-based societies, many adults in both industrialized and developing countries find themselves …
Adult educators often have to work with a small budget; at the same time, they are committed to educational ideals. By examining the mission statements of German adult education centres (Volkshochschulen), the article shows how this tension between the ‘guiding institutions’ of education and cost-efficiency is reflected in the values of these education providers. The analysis shows that while adult education centres do refer to ‘education’ in their mission statements, they also mention, each in…
Kopf oder Zahl – was zählt? Die Bildungspolitik verlangt nach quantitativ-empirischen Grundlagen. In den Erziehungswissenschaften hat die quantitativ-empirische Forschung an Bedeutung gewonnen. In der Praxis spielen quantitative Daten und Benchmarks eine immer wichtigere Rolle bei der Positionierung und Steuerung von Einrichtungen und Angeboten. Wie weit trägt diese sog. Evidenzbasierung? Es geht schließlich um die „Köpfe“, welche die Zahlen abbilden sollen. Die Beiträge des Themenschwerpunkts …
Im Herbst 2009 jährt sich der Mauerfall und damit die Auflösung der Machtblöcke von Ost und West zum zwanzigsten Mal. Die Transformation der postsozialistischen Welt ist seither in vollem Gange und die Weiterbildung unterschiedlich involviert. Im Heft stehen vor allem die Prozesse eines Transfers von Strukturen und Konzepten der Weiterbildung im Fokus. Auf der Einbahnstraße der nachholenden Modernisierung mussten dabei Unfälle passieren (so erging es etwa der ersten Programmgeneration von QUE…
Der eben veröffentlichte Trendbericht zum deutschen Adult Education Survey (AES) hat eine zentrale Botschaft: Die Weiterbildungsbeteiligung ist mit 49 Prozent so hoch wie nie zuvor seit Beginn der Berichterstattung im Jahr 1979. Die erhobenen Zahlen zeigen, dass dieses Rekordniveau vor allem auf den Anstieg der betrieblichen Weiterbildung zurückzuführen ist. Doch wie entwickelte sich die Weiterbildungsbeteiligung außerhalb des betrieblichen Segments? Anhand der Bereiche „Geringqualifizierte“, „…
Within the process of socio-political transition adult education is an important tool for Eastern Europeans to orientate themselves in their rapidly changing social environment and to find new professional perspectives. Nevertheless, there are many obstacles blocking the way to the participation of all ethnic groups of the former Soviet Union in adult education courses. The article intends to show that besides various objective reasons, e.g. the disastrous economical situation, there are sever…
This paper provides an outline for a general framework for the assessment of adults’ problem-solving competencies with special attention paid to the requirements of large-scale assessments. The framework can be used as an input to ongoing discussions regarding international comparative studies of adult competencies such as the “Programme for an International Assessment of Adults’ Competencies” (PIAAC) currently being prepared by the OECD, and may also be used in the context of national studies …
The "Yellow Series" contains an didactically structured inventory of relevant topics in the field of adult education. It imparts professional knowledge based on the academic state of research. The volumes are intended for self-studying but are also suited as additional reading for studying and training. The systematic preparation of each topic also supports specialists in assuring the theoretical and methodological base of their actions.
While belief research has become an integral part of the educational research agenda, it has been uneven. One neglected area is the beliefs of adult education teachers. Focusing on five such teachers working in adult basic education and teaching numeracy in Switzerland, this exploratory study uses different data to describe their beliefs about numeracy and its teaching. It is shown that this group holds clearly different views from other groups of adult teachers and it is argued that extending …
How can the performances of continuing education become more influential in the German Qualification Framework (DQR)? The author presents concrete recommendations derived from a cross-provider work group: presentation of key competences across all levels; classification of qualifications acquired in continuing education to individual levels (example of level 6). With regard to the inclusion of non-formal and informal competences in continuing education, the author refers to the potential of EU …
