To work beyond the age of 65 is a process that will soon become an economic and social necessity in Europe. A growing group of persons already work beyond the legal retirement age in Germany and Europe. Therefore, it is interesting to look at the characteristics and motivation of this group. Investigating four case studies from persons working beyond the legal retirement age in Germany, the following findings were made. Most commonly known reasons and factors for longer working have been confir…
Programs of further education reflect societal interpretations of education and are the result of professional pedagogical action. Research on programs of further education and on the underlying planning processes is educational research that reconstructs educational concepts in a phenomenological manner and that provides a knowledge base for decisions that need to be negotiated by society. In this context, program-planning models constitute partial perspectives on program planning. One goal of…
What kind of continuing education is appropriate for me? More and more potential continuing education participants are turning to adult education institutions with this question. They often expect help in planning their educational and/or professional career. The ProfilPASS is the best known qualitative approach to educational and professional counselling in Germany; it is also used in some parts of Austria. The ProfilPASS is a portfolio used exclusively by qualified ProfilPASS counsellors to h…
For some time, recollection, identity and historical awareness have been frequently applied concepts of history. Ever since adult education came into being, it has also dealt with the topic. The research spectrum, conducted with various methods, reaches from the presentation of historical objectives, structures and figures to a critical reflection of individual interests and motivation. In making these efforts, a historical and continually re-forming self-awareness of the discipline can be cons…
South-east European countries are receiving support from “western” institutions in developing their education system structures. One professional involved in development cooperation in the field of adult education is dvv international, the German Adult Education Association’s institute for international cooperation. By evaluating work in Romania, Serbia and Kosovo, this article reflects on strategic decisions resulting from this work. It demonstrates that it is correct to take account of differ…
The concept of self-optimisation is closely linked to discourses on lifelong learning and has been discussed in adult education research for some time. The talk about selfoptimisation is mostly articulated as a critique or critical analysis, appears as almost self-evident and thus gets caught up in the pull of normalisation. The established problematisation of self-optimisation is therefore also subjected to problematization in this paper in an attempt to reopen the thinking of the problem. Th…
This article regards the publication of a text-foto-volume on the 100-year-history of the German Volkshochschule as an impulse for a possible innovation of writing history of adult education. First, the methodological principles of a both empirical and narrative historiography and its terminology will be described. Departing from a pragmatic moral intention of the book to present an affirmative history of the Volkshochschule, the article suggests a historical-normative historiography. Thereafte…
The planning of teaching and learning is a key task for teachers of adult and continuing education. This recurrent challenge demands situational decisions regarding objectives, contents, media and activities of teaching and learning, taking into consideration both the learner as well as organisational and spatial factors. However, empirical research indicates that these complex and interdependent decisions are often tackled insufficiently. Digital planning tools can be used to reduce the comple…
The present discourse in further education is recurringly concerned with cultures, systems and networks. Karin Dollhausen aims at furthering this discussion by drawing a neat line of definition between these crucial terms under the aspect of the sociology of organisations. She goes on to explain what each of the terms does or should mean for public institutions of further education: »culture« – seen as the system of relationships within an organisation – sharpens the view of internal communicat…
This article acknowledges Hattie’s Meta-Study »Visible Learning« from a practical perspective, particularly from the continuing educational perspective of adult educators. The author regards Hattie’s findings on the learning effectiveness of instructors as particularly compatible. »Excellent instructors« are aware of their educational activities and adjust their actions to the logic of learning. Two examples are taken to point out which approaches are particularly effective for learning and how…
