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Receptive or hostile to continuing education? Course tutors caught between the pressure to conform and resistance This article presents the results of a qualitative dissertation. The author has investigated the acceptance of adult education teacher training courses among part-time and freelance teachers based on the example of the initial adult education teacher training qualification offered by the North Rhine Westphalia VHS (adult education centre) regional association. For the issue of a…
This contribution deals with the definition of adult basic education and its entanglement with interests and power relations in the field of public education administration of the German Laender. As the New Literacy Studies view literacy as a social practice that is related to interests and power relations, guided interviews concerning the definition of adult basic education as well as legitimising rationales from the perspective of education administration were illustrated. The interviews are …
Particularly, disabled people belong to those being excluded from social participation. From these peoples’ point of view, the UN-Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities formulates specific challenges for the system of adult and continuing education. What results from these challenges with regard to the various social and individual functions given to adult education and lifelong learning? Answers from the field of adult education, from the pedagogy for the disabled and from socio…
Adult educators often have to work with a small budget; at the same time, they are committed to educational ideals. By examining the mission statements of German adult education centres (Volkshochschulen), the article shows how this tension between the ‘guiding institutions’ of education and cost-efficiency is reflected in the values of these education providers. The analysis shows that while adult education centres do refer to ‘education’ in their mission statements, they also mention, each in…
The article presents a number of photographs of the Franz Pöggeler estate, which is preserved in the archive of the German Institute of Adult Education. The historic pictures vary between ecclesiastic-monumental architectural photography and simple snap shots and illustrate the differences of learning and teaching arrangements in the history of adult education centres. Even though the author regards the photographs as evidence of a mentality-historically obsolete period, they still indicate the…
The author provides a row of examples for the overlapping of practical social work and adult education existing already today. In the light of the task of making it possible for all people to come along in the accelerated life and work life, both disciplines should go together more strongly. Adult education needs to open up to social work and the social work needs to understand itself as being pervaded by adult education.
This article provides an overview of the debate on learning environments and learning locations within adult education research; the authors use a historical review of main research topics in order to understand current learning environments and recent theoretical and empirical discussions. The term of learning environments or learning locations has been introduced into research on adult education in the 1970ies; since this time, each following decade can be characterized by several specific re…
Web 2.0: Chance oder Risiko, neue Möglichkeiten oder das Ende der bisherigen organisierten Erwachsenenbildung? Wie wird sich das Verhältnis zwischen Lehrenden und Lernenden ändern? Welche didaktischen Leitlinien braucht es, damit Lehren und Lernen im Web 2.0 gelingen? Diese und weitere Fragen beschäftigen Bildungsakteure aus Forschung und Praxis gleichermaßen, wie die rege Beteiligung im DIE-Online-Forum bestätigt. Eben dort prophezeit der Forum-Experte Frank Thissen, dass sich dem Sog des Web …
Adult education is more and more affected by social change due to migration. This paper analyses the marginal adoption of the topic by research in the past and describes recent trends, also in practice. Perspectives for institutions of adult education such as widening access to adult education for migrants, organisational development and professionalisation are discussed. Furthermore the author names challenges for research. There should be more cooperation within the field of educational resea…
