In this article, terms and the state of research on adult numeracy are compiled in a systematic way. The findings and theories are selected according to their relation to the German-language discourse of adult education and at the same time embedded in a historical context as well as in international discourse. Many recent findings confirm Jean Lave’s approach in that numeracy differs from school mathematics in the high relevance of rules of thumb and estimates as well as in less formal procedu…
In the jargon of the product generations the characteristics of “new” and “old” organizations are identified. In this way the alteration of generations in the organisation of adult education institutions are described. The alteration of generations is performed on three levels, at the organisational comprehension (service provider instead of administrator of offers), at the inner structures (internal flexible making) as well as at changes that overlap institutions in coherence with lifelong lea…
In the future it should be possible for educationally qualified applicants to be able to attend a university without university-entrance certificates acquired in a secondary school. This is meant to help ease the looming shortage of skilled labour in Germany. Facilities in the area of adult education are also to help facilitate the transition to a school of higher learning. The authors of this article report on a promising approach along these lines – the Lower Saxony model project »Open Univer…
In view of the demographic change the investments in education for elderly population are becoming increasingly more important. At the same time the educational system’s endeavours of repair are rather targeted at the very young. How can the educational investments be divided usefully between the old and the young? By showing examples of Scandinavian countries, the author elucidates a double strategy of high educational investments for the phase of youth and in adult life. The countries have su…
Volunteering in the field of migration/refuge opens up a potential learning space for the acquisition of numerous competencies. The paper is based on an empirical pre-study from Austria and focusses on an analysis of political learning processes amongst volunteers and their implications for the development of active citizenship and the connected challenges for adult education. Diverse factors influencing the engagement of volunteers, such as political and media discourse about refugees, are con…
