Online communities have been praised as utopian realms of free, equal and unrestricted communication by some; others have condemned them as anti-social pseudo-communities. Both attitudes, however, focus on the technical framework and do not take the actual quality of the interaction into account. The author describes types of interaction in virtual communities in general, then looks at four types of communities dedicated specifically to learning, and explores their potential.
In consideration of the omnipresent commitment to the significance of lifelong learning, the article analyses the role of continuing education within public education funding. Over the past 20 years, public continuing education funding has been reduced by 41 %. The low participation rate in continuing education, particularly among the less qualified and atypically employed, encourage an increase in public investments. Funds should enhance staff counselling, qualification and professionalism as …
Japan’s population is aging and shrinking at unprecedented speed. One central issue that emerges in the ongoing discourse on how to meet the manifold demographic challenges Japan faces deals with the central role the nation’s senior citizens can take on when it comes to providing and fostering social capital. The concept of lifelong learning in this context has been established as a central means of being engaged in actively shaping the future of Japan.
The author covers definitions and dissemination of »Open Educational Resources (OER)« marked by Web 2.0, particularly issues of copyright and licensing law as well as the problems of financing free material. At the same time, the potential adult education surplus value of OER is pointed out and the prerequisites of high-quality learning and teaching processes are discussed. The article concludes with an agenda for teachers aimed at the sustainability of the OER.
Going out from the »UN ECE Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development« of March 2005 the author describes which challenges have arisen from the establishment of the perspective of sustainability. In an overview of the different areas of adult education it becomes obvious, how variable the concept of ESD finds acceptance (adult evening classes, environmental education, global learning, academies). Eventually the contribution encourages to comprehend ESD as a chance for adult education an…
Case-reconstructive quality circles have hardly ever been tried out in adult education. Under the direction of trainers, course teachers reflect the quality of their work in a mutual process. Their own teaching/learning situation serves as illustrative material. It is self-evident that this method relies on mutuality and must be voluntary. The method, which is explained with the aid of a practice example from the KVHS Northeim, has its origins in health care.
Rassismus ist als gesellschaftliches Phänomen und Problem wieder verstärkt in den Blick geraten. Auch in der Erwachsenen- und Weiterbildung kann und sollte genauer hingeschaut werden – zum einen, ob und wie sie selbst von Rassismus und rassistischen Strukturen betroffen ist; zum anderen, wie sie helfen kann, eine fundierte Haltung gegen Rassismus und Ausgrenzung zu entwickeln. Darüber sprach Redakteur Jan Rohwerder mit Prof. Dr. Alisha M.B. Heinemann, Professorin für Bildungsverläufe und Divers…
This article describes the “Dorfbildungstage” ("Village Education Days” as a specific instructional format widely used in the valleys of the autonomous Italian province of South Tyrol. The format's regional importance comes from the fact that it integrates an inter-ethnic factor. In these largely rural communities, where differences between ethnic groups are always in the foreground, the village education days form a culture whereby German and Italian ethnic groups shape village learning togeth…
With this article, the author (of the Institute of International Cooperation, an institution within the German Adult Education Association, IIZ/DVV) opens up a readers’ discussion in this publication on the subject of education and the EU extension. In his article, an overview of the points of discussion is given. After the breakdown of the socialist societies in the middle and Eastern European countries, educational facilities suffered a severe loss of authority. This has only partly been ba…
The 4th sector of education is dominated and directed by market economical criteria while government organized adult education and lifelong learning systems for active labour market policy only have an additional function. The author discusses alternatives by intervention of education policy and isolates three types of financing systems in countries of the European Union: the market regime, the bureaucratical regime, and the mixed regime. Generally he realizes a trend towards a growing relevanc…
