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In the future it should be possible for educationally qualified applicants to be able to attend a university without university-entrance certificates acquired in a secondary school. This is meant to help ease the looming shortage of skilled labour in Germany. Facilities in the area of adult education are also to help facilitate the transition to a school of higher learning. The authors of this article report on a promising approach along these lines – the Lower Saxony model project »Open Univer…
As a priority of education policy Lifelong Learning implies flexible individual learning pathways in different settings. Within the demographic change and the demand of higher skills higher education qualifications become increasingly important to reach employment, why higher education institutions need to open up against new target groups. This article focuses on further education offered by higher education institutions and intends to give a picture of the current demand and supply. Empirical…
Equality of professional and academic education? Results of comparisons according to the “Oldenburger Anrechnungsmodell” It is intended to strengthen the permeability of the educational system by taking into account professional qualifications for academic studies. The article describes an appropriate instrument, developed as a model project, to measure levels of learning units which is being used for comparisons between professional and academic qualifications.
Adult learning professionals are understood in the context of European Policy as key factor for the quality of adult education. In this paper a transnational European study programme, the European Master in Adult Education, is focussed on as an academic contribution to the professionalization of adult learning professionals: What core themes of European Adult Education can be identified? What didactic approaches are required for a transnational curriculum? How is the labour market taken into co…
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…
In the past, continuing higher education at university level has been a marginal phenomenon in Germany, both within universities and the context of adult education on the whole. Internationally though, adult education has gained significant importance / relevance in recent years. While implementing the objectives of the bologna-process, German universities are undergoing a far-reaching transition. In addition, the rules of market economy will apply for universities increasingly. This very devel…
Continuing higher education: International comparison of organisation and business areas While the relevance of lifefelong learning is growing internationally and is reflected in a changing and growing range of programme and course structures, German continuing higher education (CHE) institutions are unable to use this increased relevance to strengthen their own positions. An international comparison of CHE in six countries shows that types of organisation, responsibilities and the range of…
Continuing education at schools of higher learning – data on developments in the context of the Bologna process Wide-ranging, different and at the same time diverging factors are having an impact on schools of higher learning, causing uncertainty among staff as well as institutional insecurity. This also goes for scholarly continuing education. In general it would appear that there is a trend towards commercialisation of universities linked with a growing autonomy of sub-units, faculties and…
The need for counselling and counselling processes among students in the humanities and social sciences In the area of adult education, learning counselling assumes the role of a support function for self-guided learning. University students must also structure and plan their learning process, even though many of these students are unable to develop sufficient learning skills due to their previously limited learning experience. Learning counselling as a tool in the learning process could fil…
Quo vadis graduate? First assessment of the BA/MA study location Bochum The contribution looks through experiences in relation to graduates of B.A. and M.A. courses of study in educational science in Bochum. Concerning the bachelor: The graduate quota with 60 per cent is much higher than previous quotas – like in the master course of study. While approximately half of the graduates continue their study in Bochum, others enter the employment market directly. They find employment in the wider s…
