Transitions as a test case The concept of lifelong learning and the penetrability of the educational system With the concept of lifelong learning a better interleave of the educational areas is intended. The contribution analyses central sources on how the educational politics has strategically handled the role of lifelong learning and which practices it virtually has supported: With a strategy paper of the federal state and the states of the federation on lifelong learning as well as on the…
In the present contribution the final report of the Expert Commission on Financing Lifelong Learning is compared to a firework: it has provoked a short-term enthusiasm and attention. What is there to do in order not to let the ideas deflagrate but conserve chances for their implementation? The author asks the actors of further education to help oneself offensively with the arguments of the report (“public interest“, “more investments necessary“, “increase sovereignty demand“) and to advertise t…
The paper tackles the issue of procedures for the validation of competences, which are used in the tertiary education sector in order to evaluate an individual’s study ability on the basis of his/her vocational qualifications. This contested terrain will be explored by means of the University of Hamburg’s validation procedure (the so-called Eingangsprüfungsverfahren, §38 HmbHG). The focus of interest will be put on a qualitative reconstruction of individual decision-making processes during thes…
This article presents the results of a recent online survey of graduates of the Austrian Academy of Continuing Education. Methodically, the survey’s results on benefit items are interpreted and answers to open questions are analyzed by qualitative content analyses. Empirical findings are subject to an interpretation using concepts of professionalization and the political agenda of validation of informal and non-formal learning. An important finding is, that WBA enhances individual professionali…
The article analyses the linkage between the age of participants of continuing education and the function which learners appoint to their participation. Therefore, the influence of the subjective age for further education is studied. The study differentiates professional, social and personal functions of participation in continuing education. The result of a factor analysis designs subjective age into the two constructs cognitive and social-psychological subjective age. The data of two survey s…
Teachers‘ professionalism in adult and continuing education is often requested but practically implemented in only a few countries. In Austria and Switzerland, over the past years systems were established with the support of relevant stakeholders, which advance this required professionalism. Based on the exchange of experts in both systems as well as analyses of materials and literature, the following article identifies the key factors, which contributed to the successful establishment of the i…
Work-based training is a significant competence development tool for adult educators. The article presents study findings, which were recently developed based on a need and demand perspective. (1) Based on the data base QUA LIDAT , programmes are systematised. (2) The behaviour in continuing education of e.g teachers was surveyed in Niedersachsen.
This report provides an overview of the standards between professional and organisational logic for adult education – from the perspective of funding and continuing educational organisations, education policy and research. It also summarises various strategies for improving teaching and training, and identifies outstanding questions. It also points out the role of teaching as a construct, which largely depends on the viewer’s perspective.