This article presents the findings of a research project on structure and change in continuing education in Bremen, set out as a longitudinal analysis of selected years between 1979 and 2006. At the level of the continuing education system as a whole, the author identifies a certain structural stability evident from the fact that despite a growth in the number of market-oriented providers from 1996 to 2006, their competition – providers under public law – retained its structural influence on th…
This article sheds light on cooperation between different educational fields as seen from the point of view of experts in education. The authors present the initial findings from the group discussions of a DFG project which started recently. These findings cast doubt on whether cooperation can succeed when different occupational groups know so little about one another within and outside their educational sectors. It remains to be seen whether future data expected from the project confirms the c…
Looking at consultancy for European project work, the article reveals the common obstacles and success factors for cooperative ventures between adult education institutions as part of EU funding programmes. The author recommends paying particular attention to all the parties' interests to ensure there is joint ownership.
In the form of a review, the author outlines the history of how cooperation has been achieved and imposed in the field of continuing education. He distinguishes between cooperation as an intervention and as an exchange, and between proclamatory, hierarchical and participative cooperation. The structure of the network is presented as way to boost cooperation, and is studied to identify risks and key success factors.
From 1992 to 2007 a considerable amount of German and EU funding was put into development projects described as “Qualification Development Management” (German acronym: QUEM) and aimed to support the quality of vocational qualification structures in the former GDR. QUEM was sponsored by the ABWF (Study Group for Corporate Continuing Education Research). In this article the author, a scientist working on QUEM, sums up the activities in the programmes and projects which were funded. He identifies …
A good two-and-a-half years after the EU's lifelong learning education programme began, the German National Agency has drawn up an interim balance and reflects current trends of the 2009 applications in the programme. GRUNDTVIG for general adult education. There is increasing demand for established forms of funding, affecting both learning partnerships and continuing education funding for individual workers in the field. Since 2009 the EU has put forward various new funding programmes. There ha…
The ways in which computer games can affect learning are identified using the example of games for fun, starting out with the aspect of research into learning and teaching theory. Approaches used in behaviourism, cognitivism and individual and social constructivism are compared. In the psychology of emotions, activating and deactivating emotions are distinguished with regard to their learning effect. From the point of view of the psychology of motivation, special emphasis is placed on the self-…
The education cheque, introduced in North Rhine-Westphalia, is a funding instrument which has been running since 2006 and is based on demand. This article presents the central results of an independent evaluation carried out in 2008. The quantitative aims have been achieved, or are likely to be achieved (212,000 attendees funded, 42,000 small and medium-sized enterprises approached by 2013; increasing attendance of continuing education courses in SMEs by two percent). On the negative side the a…
