Modern society has widely been characterized as an information society, in that the possession of information (or rather knowledge) is seen as the predominant factor for success. But information is volatile: the need to replace or update obsolete information becomes ever more pressing, as technological and scientific development moves on. This, however, happens in the context of a compartmentalization of society into a sector of successful, flexible individuals on the one hand and a sector of t…
Teilqualifikationen bieten eine effektive Möglichkeit zur beruflichen Qualifizierung von Menschen ohne formalen Berufsabschluss. Die Autorin und der Autor zeigen Zielgruppen und Verfahren auf und diskutieren Erfolge und Hemmnisse in der Verbreitung von TQ.
The author outlines European and German activities and initiatives in the European Year of Languages. In order to bring these initiatives to fruition, it will be necessary to establish the usefulness of language knowledge in the minds of all European citizens. The author’s argument in favour of familiarity with more than one foreign language as a culturally enriching experience culminates in the promise that „monolinguality is curable“.
Research on learning of distance learners An empirical insight into the practice of distance learning Albeit the high relevance of distance education and distance studies in the field of lifelong learning strategies, there is only few knowledge on the actual process in which the distant student learns. This article presents and discusses the results of a research project, in which distance students filled in questionnaires concerning their learning several times a week over a period of thre…
Keeping an eye on the practice of management in further education institutions, the observer will encounter a rich variety of changing management strategies. Johannes Hartkemeyer, himself director of a Volkshochschule, scrutinizes past crazes and sets up guidelines for dealing with ever-changing fashions on the one hand, and organisational development on the other hand. His advice is to be a »learning organisation«, watch out for »mental models« of the organisation in a permanent process of ref…
Citizens’ involvement increasingly gains appreciation in the public perception. Also in the adult pedagogical discourse the attention is raised in the context of lifelong learning. In this contribution the author discusses how learning processes in adult education, that take place in a societal action context, can be supported, guided or even initiated. On the basis of own empirical inquiries the author examines citizens’ involvement as an action- and learning field and asks for learning experi…
With respect to the Spatial Turn, an orientation becomes visible which clearly refers to the materiality of spatial arrangements. This trend to re-establish materiality entails the risk of returning behind the state of the Spatial Turn achieved so far. One opportunity to avoid the “space trap” might be to turn to a topological perspective. Such a perspective in adult education opens up for removing blind spots in the reception of the Spatial Turn and thus for the introduction of a frame that ca…
Family is a learning space with special features. Learning processes do not only involve children but also adult family members. Taking the example of the acquisition of media competences, the older generation’s learning processes are analysed based on the qualitative IgelMedia study. With regard to adult education, the author concludes that intra-family learning processes attract attention. The focus should not only be on transferring new knowledge but also on the classification of acquired sk…
