Research
We explore how adult education can be made inclusive, digital and effective.
Services
Digital tools, specialist portals and data – for teachers, researchers, students and interested parties.
Institute
We offer research, transfer and infrastructure for lifelong learning.
Research on learning of distance learners An empirical insight into the practice of distance learning Albeit the high relevance of distance education and distance studies in the field of lifelong learning strategies, there is only few knowledge on the actual process in which the distant student learns. This article presents and discusses the results of a research project, in which distance students filled in questionnaires concerning their learning several times a week over a period of thre…
Emotions in Adults’ Learning Neurophysiological research has shown the relevance of emotions in learning processes. Nevertheless, the exploration of learning processes and the development of competencies is rather characterised by a cognitive perspective. On the basis of systemic-constructivist concepts the authors show that sustainable learning only works when internal experiences are supplemented with external experiences. By that way the levels of emotional and cognitive learning can be c…
The day after tomorrow Didactical deliberations on the andragogical value chain Educational events should create value, be effectively sustainable in the “time after”. Even if “value” can mean most different things, it is always about the creation of value in educational work. Afterwards something has to be better than before. This article wants to show that for a value creating educational work, a row of didactical decisions need to be reflected upon and arranged. Therewith the focal point…
Findings of the empirically and medically oriented sports sciences point to the fact that ageing processes can be retarded and their consequences alleviated by adequately dosed exercise. The compensation-oriented intervention plan derived from this fact is, however, based on normative ideas of an unproblematic functioning of the body which is seen as the essential prerequisite of a high quality of living in old age. The objective of an education for the elderly that focusses on an emancipative …
Keeping an eye on the practice of management in further education institutions, the observer will encounter a rich variety of changing management strategies. Johannes Hartkemeyer, himself director of a Volkshochschule, scrutinizes past crazes and sets up guidelines for dealing with ever-changing fashions on the one hand, and organisational development on the other hand. His advice is to be a »learning organisation«, watch out for »mental models« of the organisation in a permanent process of ref…
The current paper deals with cooperation under the perspective of governance from an organizational view. According to the variety forms of cooperation in the field of adult education, cooperation can be seen as a medium that adult educational organizations can use for their reproduction and coordination in different institutional environment. Based on empirical findings from a case study it can be shown that organizations initiate cooperation for collecting resources and legitimation. In this …
The paper is based upon a qualitative-empirical study in the field of basic education for adults (literacy, numeracy, language, and computer skills). The study is located in the andragogical research on teaching and learning. A constitutive characteristic of the examined basic skills courses is the variety of the participants. The variety is both, didactical challenge and potential, for it enables teaching and learning interactions. With interpreting some data examples the paper aims to show ho…
Weaving the ‘carpet of memories’: a zigzag movement between association and knowledge This article presents a didactical strategy in the form of »zigzag learning« which works on the basis of a constant linkage between free associative learning elements (sporadic learning) with a logically structured content (systematic learning). A »carpet of memory« is woven in this zigzag movement which is propitious for learning efficacy. The strategy is presented using an example from school biology cla…
This article sheds light on cooperation between different educational fields as seen from the point of view of experts in education. The authors present the initial findings from the group discussions of a DFG project which started recently. These findings cast doubt on whether cooperation can succeed when different occupational groups know so little about one another within and outside their educational sectors. It remains to be seen whether future data expected from the project confirms the c…
God’s people as a learning community Biblical foundations of lifelong learning The article presents the around 2.500 year-old roots of a concept of lifelong (religious) learning which is being developed in the book Deuteronomium of the Hebrew Bibel. Learning is considered an existential self-realization of God’s people which encompasses not only ethics, but also history and constitutional law. With respect to the history of people’s duty to learn in Judaism, the author evaluates perspective…