Zur Ermöglichung von Lehr- und Lernprozessen in Organisationen

The perspective of administrational staff in educational organizations is barely in focus in adult education research. This paper reacts on this desideratum of research and tries to answer the following question: How does the administrational staff of Adult education organizations perceive the collaboration with the pedagogical staff? This question is answered within a qualitative research design. Therefore, the existing data of a qualitative study concerning cultures of teaching in adult education was reanalyzed. In this study, group discussions were conducted with the pedagogical and the administrational staff. According to the research question of this paper the group discussion of administrational staff was reanalyzed in order to reconstruct the collective perspectives of collaboration inside the organizations. The results show two different patterns of perception. They differ in the evaluation of the structural conditions of the organizational communication, the experience of the information sharing process and the experience of hierarchy. Finally these patterns will be discussed in context of theoretical considerations on professionalization in organizations.

This article is devoted to workplace learning. Rather than formulating normative claims regarding educational processes, the aim is to empirically examine the conditions under which workplace learning takes place. The focus is on the process of needs assessment as part of program planning. Firstly, this process and the stakeholders involved are described for different types of programs. Secondly, an explorative analysis based on the contextual analysis shows how demand decisions are justified. The companies considered in this article are not described as homogeneous organizations, but differences are shown within the individual companies and between each other. A total of nine interviews from three different companies were selected for the analysis.

The reference to “classical” authors dominates the literature on organizational learning to an extent which is comparably large within the field of organizational sciences. After briefly reviewing the state of the art of theories of organizational learning, this article introduces a new model of organizational learning which builds on Knud Illeris’ “learning triangle”. Basically, it adopts the general structure of this triangle and transforms the crucial concepts of Illeris’ approach to analogous concepts with respect to organizational processes, structures and characteristics. Further, the model is validated empirically in an ethnographic field study. Thus, it shall be demonstrated, that the model utilizes contemporary insights of learning theory with the concept of organizational learning in a way which goes beyond the “classical” approaches. The field study was conducted in a non-profit organization.

Currently a dilemma within organization studies seems to be represented by, on the one hand, proponents who argue for a retro-wave, to go back to the original ideas of organization studies, the core tasks of enterprises and importance of the relevance of organization studies to practitioners. On the other hand, another contemporary movement may be observed within organization studies, which is to defend the use of general theories of the social sciences. This latter trend is represented through the language of organizations as processes and practices, sometimes termed the ‘process-’ and ‘practice-turn’. Although I tend to subscribe to the latter position, I aim to illustrate the value of bridging the dilemma of a canon of history and tradition and the inclusion of more general social science theories within organization studies. I also argue that it is beneficial to hold the eye both on organizations as entities and to understand persons’ interactions around work as pivotal for education and learning related to enterprises. We both need the canon and organizations as continuously emerging; organizations as units and the interactions of its persons. I make the argument standing on the shoulders of pragmatist philosophy (particularly the works by John Dewey) and the basic understanding that present experiences are always both grounded in history and tradition (the canon) and dynamically oriented towards the future (emergent).

Cartoons are media of political and cultural education. By exaggeration they point out existing problems, asking for action and solutions. In this article some cartoons are presented as examples, dealing with the problem of illiteracy and the task of reading, followed by an interpretation regarding the pedagogical impact. The role of cartoons in an educational context is valued, more research on the topic is proposed.

With respect to the Spatial Turn, an orientation becomes visible which clearly refers to the materiality of spatial arrangements. This trend to re-establish materiality entails the risk of returning behind the state of the Spatial Turn achieved so far. One opportunity to avoid the “space trap” might be to turn to a topological perspective. Such a perspective in adult education opens up for removing blind spots in the reception of the Spatial Turn and thus for the introduction of a frame that can be used to explore alternative points of view.