This article presents results of a field study exploring why illiterates start relearning reading and writing at a later age. The project SYLBE focused on reasons and obstacles of participants in basic education classes. The study provides a typology of motivations for learning and thus supports the professional acting of teaching staff in basic education.
Educational research is often focused on biographies. Literacy and basic education frequently use knowledge about biographies as a means for educational support within the scope of catch-up education (“second chance”). The article discusses how biographically generated knowledge can be transferred into pedagogical practice. The authors give up on the idea of a direct “utilization” of biographical insights into practical work – the yield is rather to indirectly stimulate and irritate professiona…
