Case-based Learning as a Means of Professionalization of Teaching Staff In adult and teacher education, case-based learning seems a promising way to foster analytical competencies which play a crucial role when identifying and solving practical problems in teaching situations. Thus, the article offers an insight into established concepts of case-based learning within different contexts for the professionalization (of teachers). Therefore, two discourses will be related to one another: one o…
Local responses to local challenges Marketing strategies of adult education centres during times of demographic change As a result of their course offerings and their target groups, adult education centres offer excellent prerequisites for structuring and shaping demographic change at the local level. These centres thus fulfil a necessary social function while at the same time strengthening their own position. Target-group oriented marketing by the same token plays a major role in order to …
Dealing professionally with negative emotions Tolerance of frustration and ambiguity as a key competence of providers of continuing education Dealing with disruptions is a key challenge in educational activities. This article uses abusive, insulting or fault-finding statements by participants to analyse professional ways of dealing with negative emotions. Tolerance of frustration and ambiguity are developed theoretically, understood as an element of a broad “feelings-management” and propa…
Serving oneself. The new voluntary work and the role of full-time educationalists People’s own learning and development motives play a more important role in the “new voluntary work” than before. This article relates subjective descriptions by volunteers of the learning motives underlying their commitments and adopts a profession-oriented theoretical perspective to relate these to a strategy of support for volunteers by full-time educationalists, referred to as learning and development supp…
Between prestigious office and everyday support. Voluntary commitment in continuing education When people engage in voluntary work in the field of continuing education on behalf of an institution, this is often because organisations believe they can obtain social capital in this manner. These persons then operate as organisers or in development associations. The focus of the author, however, is on those people who voluntarily provide support but often remain invisible – referred to in the li…
This article presents the results of an empirical research project in which participants in continuing education and employees were surveyed about their learning times. The survey indicated that (1) continuing education is co-financed on a large scale through the devotion of private time. (2) Individuals show flexibility and commitment in creating their own learning and continuing education times. (3) Times can no longer be clearly assigned to “learning” and “working” even from a subjective poi…
Data on adult education centres kept since 1962 shows interesting longitudinal historical results regarding time structures for adult education classes offered at adult education centres: (1) The increase in continuing education activities which can be observed on the whole is only accounted for by course-type classes, not by individual classes. (2) The average course time has decreased by about 20 percent over the last 20 years. (3) With respect to forms of time organisation, the evening cours…
