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Competence profiles for adult educators - European perspectives on the occasion of the EQF discussion One important piece of groundwork for the EQF debate in the adult education profession is to explore relevant competence profiles. In the run-up to a European conference, as part of an EU-funded project, profiles of this type in the countries of Europe were studied, compared and checked to discover whether they could be linked in to the Qualifications Framework. The article, originally publi…
Pioneers from the Islands - National Qualifications Framework in England, Scotland and Ireland This article looks into the genesis and structure of the qualifications frameworks in England, Scotland and Ireland, compares them and concludes with notes to be taken into account for developments in Germany. The qualifications frameworks described, which are considered the forerunners of the EQF, have improved connections between the educational sectors. Their recognised benefit is the transpare…
From the principle of the regulated occupation to the supremacy of certification: fields of conflict en route to the German qualifications framework (DQR) This article addresses the central difficulties observed in the search for consensus during the current development of a national German qualifications framework (Deutscher Qualifikationsrahmen, DQR). As well as the difficulty in blending in the German national “dual system” of vocational training with the EQF, the main difficulties identi…
Working at companies in old age – problem or opportunity? Company strategies for dealing with demographic change Demographic change usually confronts companies with a double challenge. Enterprises have to work with ageing staffs, while a veritable “war for talent” is underway to attract young skilled staff. This article explores the different strategies German enterprises are adopting to meet this challenge. At the same time, it distinguishes between tried-and-proven staff strategies whic…
Effects of continuing education tests Continuing education tests aim at improving transparency of the quality of programmes on offer and initiating processes to improve quality at providers of continuing education. But what has the impact of continuing education tests been to date? The authors present selected results of an evaluation study. From a demand perspective, continuing education has not been transparent since the introduction of educational testing in 2002, either. 54% of the popul…
The paratext of biographical interviews This article profiles everything which the biography researcher intentionally prompts or unintentionally receives during field work from his interview partners in the way of “paratext” which contributes to the design of the subject of research. Thus a notion which is usually used in the field of literature science is in this manner adopted in biographical research.
Voluntary work 2.0? Media-related conditions for voluntary work in the Internet A participation culture has developed in the Internet which is broadly discussed under the rubric of “Web 2.0” and which is explored in this article to determine the principles of voluntary work operating here. To this end the author first forwards a definition of voluntary work in “offline” reality before examining the communications-related conditions prevailing in the Internet upon which a conception of volun…
