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We explore how adult education can be made inclusive, digital and effective.
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We offer research, transfer and infrastructure for lifelong learning.
Continuing Education for the teaching Staff in adult Education in Europe – Situation, Strategies, Systems This article reviews the results of the efforts for establishing a frame for the measuring of competencies and skills for the teaching staff in adult education which has been implemented on the European level (EQF). It is shown that, due to the situation in various European countries, a rather open understanding of the term “adult education” is in use, including vocational training and n…
Colleagues from various European countries were invited to an international lecture series at the University of Duisburg-Essen to talk about trends in adult and continuing education. Looking back on this lecture series, we intend to examine different approaches to the term “trend” as well as to outline results of current research in adult and continuing education. We will then give an overview of main arguments of the essays presented in the following. Finally, common trends in European adult a…
The paper reviews trends in adult learning in England in the ten years from the election of Labour government in 1997. It highlighted an initial focus on expanding and widening participation in a wide range of initiatives in the years to 2002. From 2003 there has been a dramatic narrowing of focus giving priority to funding qualifications related to the labour market. Throughout the period it highlights restless change in institutional structures.
The article provides an insight into supranational and international continuing education monitoring. The author identifies three particularly relevant tools for adult learning: the Adult Education Survey conducted by the EU, the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and the European Lifelong Learning Index. The findings of the author’s dissertation substantiate the effects of monitoring and educational reporting in available data, evaluation practice and…
Mit dem Adult Education Survey (AES) wird das Berichtssystem Weiterbildung (BSW) fortgeführt, das seit 1979 mit repräsentativen Erhebungen im dreijährigen Turnus aktuelle Entwicklungen der Weiterbildungsbeteiligung aufzeigt. Der AES thematisiert Fragen wie: Wer nimmt an Weiterbildung teil und wer nicht? Welche Weiterbildungsangebote sind gefragt? Wie setzt sich die Zielgruppe der Bildungsteilnehmenden zusammen? Wie stellt sich die Weiterbildungsbeteiligung in Deutschland im internationalen Verg…
The International PIAAC study has collected data on competencies of adults in three domains in 25 countries, in many of them for the first time ever. The article provides an overview of central terms, main aims and the methodological approach of this OECD study. It also discusses its potentials and limitations. One limitation is the focus on the labour force, excluding adults older than 65 years, a fast growing part of many populations in times of demographic change. To remedy this limitation,…
Bildung ist wertvoll! Wer wollte dies ernsthaft bestreiten? Dennoch – und vielleicht gerade weil man die Benefits von Bildung für Individuum und Gesellschaft einfach als selbstverständlich gegeben ansieht, kann sich die Forschung in Deutschland bislang auf wenig empirische Evidenz berufen: Welche monetären und nicht-monetären Erträge kann die Weiterbildung eigentlich nachweislich erzielen? Worin bzw. woraus bestehen die sog. »wider benefits of lifelong learning«? Last but not least: Sind die E…
