Zweifellos hat die Nutzung digitaler Medien in der Corona-Pandemie auch in der Erwachsenen- und Weiterbildung einen großen Schub erfahren, wenn dies die Einbrüche in Angebot und Teilnahme nicht vollständig ausgleichen konnte. Doch wie nachhaltig ist diese Entwicklung? Reichen die bisherigen Anstrengungen aus, um die Erwachsenen- und Weiterbildung im Allgemeinen und die Volkshochschulen im Besonderen zukunftssicher aufzustellen? Darüber sprachen Herausgeber Josef Schrader und Redakteur Jan Rohwe…
Foreign languages à la mode. Trends in adult language acquisition based on the example of the VHS programme Learning foreign languages is a high-status activity in organised adult learning. Based on VHS (adult education centre) statistics, the author shows that foreign languages are an indispensable element of the VHS programme range; hardly any other area is in such constantly high demand, a demand which can also be seen in relation to income status. Now making up 30 percent of all courses,…
Political Education has a long tradition in Austrian adult education. In the period of the Second Republic, ist is cinsidered marginalized. A closer look puts this assumption into perspective. Political education is widely party-centered and present in large-scale organizations such as the Federation of Trade Unions. There is a wide and confusing institutional landscape. With a few exeptions, political education is marginalized within traditional adult education such as the peoples universities…
This paper deals with a new approach in the promotion of literacy, which focuses on social integration. This approach has been inspired by a concept of adult education aiming at integration and by social work oriented to the life world of the addressees. These concepts are being adapted to the work with functionally illiterate persons. The approach discussed here includes different forms of action promoting literacy: both learning and consulting, and also institutional cooperation in networks. …
The article presents a number of photographs of the Franz Pöggeler estate, which is preserved in the archive of the German Institute of Adult Education. The historic pictures vary between ecclesiastic-monumental architectural photography and simple snap shots and illustrate the differences of learning and teaching arrangements in the history of adult education centres. Even though the author regards the photographs as evidence of a mentality-historically obsolete period, they still indicate the…
The German Adult Education Centres (VHS) consider themselves as further learning institutions for all whose aim it is to address the population at large. However, the data basis on the extent to which socially disadvantaged groups are reached is restricted. The present contribution investigates to which extent persons with a low level of school education are represented among the participants of the Adult Education Centres in Berlin. The investigation is linked to previous results of the resear…
