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Working biographies today do not last for life. The author describes the concepts of labour entrepreneur as a new type of labour which means that employees put their competence to the market. Characteristics of the labour entrepreneur is responsibilityfor the organisation and the marketing of one’s own competence. As a consequence in adult education didactical and methodical concepts for the interpretation and self-reflection of one’s own biography have to be developed.
Learning along biographical and career changes Based on a biographical sample from adult education centres (VHS), this article discusses the concept of research on learning environments. The factors for success will be evaluated together with reflections on how to prepare for an executive position in such institutions. This will allow for extracting conditions for learning in certain biographical settings. The challenge for learning is seen as a result of the individual’s changing reception…
Holzapfel, Günther: More self-consciousness for pedagogy! A reply to REPORT 3/2003 titled "Brain and Learning" Referring to REPORT 3/2003 with its main theme "Brain and Learning" the author criticizes tendences in pedagogy which consider some results of neuro-sciences as confirmation for a naturalistic and biologistic trend. He pleads for emphasizing those aspects of neuro-sciences which are confirmations against obsolete concepts of learning and education as an accumulation of knowledge wi…
The development of modern societies depends on a wide variety of an individual’s social commitment beyond gainful employment that can be subsumed under the term “volunteering”. Analysing empirical interviews, this article outlines the range and the transition of subjective educational biographic meanings of volunteering from the perspective of the volunteers. Thereby the appropriateness of qualitative longitudinal studies for specific research-purposes of long-term educational biographic change…
In the face of accelerated structural change (“transformation society“) in-company further education can no longer just rely on familiar forms of learning and teaching. It must evolve into a form of guidance for personal development, by which managers are directed towards continuous introspection (“culture of reflection”). The author shows that such phenomena can be empirically shown to exist at this moment in time, and outlines in which way they can be seen as pedagogical communication, by way…
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 article provides an education-theoretical reflection of spaces for teaching and learning in education centres. Adult education is defined as a »learning process concerning everyday life«, which requires particular architectural adjustments. In this context, Joachim Ludwig stresses that architecture is by far more than a simple arrangement of building material. Room structures rather contain a »significance« which has a great influence on the »standard of living« for learners as well as teac…
Biographical Learning as a Contribution to the Professionalization in Adult Education at University Level Biographical learning as a subject matter in the course of studies is a method to reflect upon and change individual learning strategies. One can describe such strategies both as an unconscious as well conscious reflection of biographies that strive for development. On the one hand, this is aiming at reflecting previous learning processes; on the other hand, this shall serve to develop a…
Stepped courses of studies and professionalization of adult education Reflections against the background of first experiences at the Ruhr-University Bochum The contribution takes the occasion of the dynamics of reform, with the transposition of the study into two cycles, to show policy-making decisions which need to be made for the study offers in the area of adult education. One important point of reference is the question, as to what extent the reform counteracts the efforts concerning pr…
Models of subject orientated didactics This contribution has a didactic theoretical perspective. Three didactic theoretical concepts (constructivistical, interaction-related and subject-theoretical) are thereupon questioned, how they substantiate and comprehend subject orientation in didactical action. In the centre are questions of the worth of subjective knowledge stocks and the theoretical substantiation of the relation between teachers and learners. After a criticism of the constructivis…