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Since the formation of regional entities in the modern age, the concept of „region“ has been interpreted in different ways. While in the after-war years attempts at strengthening structurally weak regions by attracting industry from without (the „exogenous“ strategy) were successful, nowadays the „endogenous“ strategy is becoming relevant, which builds on efforts from within the region. The author maintains that the success of „learning“ regions will depend on the efficiency of the regions’ edu…
Demographic change renders basic skills important at an increasingly older age. Among them, skills in financial matters are becoming increasingly rele- vant. The skills measured in PIAAC and CiLL represent comprehensive cognitive abilities which can be seen as the basis for successful participation in social and economic life. Based on a secondary analysis, this paper shows that financial prac- tices remain for older people, although their numeracy skills proficiency lower than those of younger…
Based on the currently observable »generation change« in organizations of adult and continuing education, the text deals with conflicts between different generations and age groups, which may arise from this special situation of transition. Different forms of conflicts and tensions are outlined with regard to selected findings from studies of business and adult educational research on organizations. Above all organizations of adult and continuing education are confronted with the dilemma of con…
The study Competencies in Later Life (CiLL) provides for the first time representative data regarding the competencies of older people between the age of 66 to 80 years in three different domains: literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments. It is shown that there are significant differences between people with different qualification, but also between people of different birth cohorts. Despite major qualification differences between men and women, there are no signi…
The article discusses whether it is necessary and possible to deduce the didactics of adult education from the particularities of the adult age. The authors make the case for understanding didactics of adult education in the continuity of the lifespan and as a modification of general didactics. It should be related to the characteristics of the social situation of adults. Such “didactics for adults” should be complemented by specific “didactics of further education” which focus on specific inst…
The German Society for Promotion of Research at Old Age (Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Forschung im Alter – DGFFA) wants to give an impulse for the intensification of the discussion on those aspects of the demographic change, to which the universities/colleges would need to devote themselves to in due time, if they strive to consolidate their future viability in a society of lifelong learning. The presented suggestions in this contribution are components of a position paper that a wor…
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 …
Die Frage nach der Lernfähigkeit und der Lernmotivation Älterer hat eine lange Geschichte. Trotz vieler gegenteiliger Belege hielt sich bis in die zweite Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts die Annahme, dass die Lernfähigkeit kontinuierlich, biologisch bedingt, abnimmt. In den 1980ern Jahren kam es zu einem Perspektivenwechsel. Schon damals zeichnete ich ein demographischer Wandel ab. Alter - bisher vor allem ein medizinisches Thema - wurde nun auch sozialwissenschaftlich und pädagogisch diskutiert. In…
Intergenerational learning can be considered as a chance for institutions of adult education. Besides explicitly planned courses for different generations, intergenerational learning opportunities also take place incidentally in the educational work in seminars and courses, when the participants belong to different age groups. In both cases, the question arises how to arrange those courses didactically in order to support intergenerational learning processes. Based on systematic considerations …
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,…
