Hattie‘s study »Visible Learning« is no reason to call for didactic changes in adult education - this is this article’s conclusion of the New Zealander’s meta-study from a continuing educational perspective. Nontheless, Hattie provides significant suggestions for the didactic debate. These suggestions include guidelines for suitable teaching activities as well as his rather provocative findings on the positive effects of actively guided lessons, which do not contradict adult educational conside…
The following report focuses on the issue of recording the impact of learning in adult and continuing education. It depicts the complexity of empirical-analytical impact and sensitizes for a differentiated access of adult educational research, based on the demand for evidence-based practice and education policy, which increases the pressure to conduct research on valid data on the impact of educational activities. This is substantiated, inter alia, due to the complex topic and the particulariti…
Institutionally organized adult education has traditionally seen the integration of social strata and groups as its most important task. However, in recent years an increasing disinterest of general adult education in integrative work is to be observed which goes along with the emergence of a specialised andragogical approach and institutional compartmentalization: people with disabilities are increasingly catered for by care facilities and financed by social welfare institutions. The emergence…
Adult educators often have to work with a small budget; at the same time, they are committed to educational ideals. By examining the mission statements of German adult education centres (Volkshochschulen), the article shows how this tension between the ‘guiding institutions’ of education and cost-efficiency is reflected in the values of these education providers. The analysis shows that while adult education centres do refer to ‘education’ in their mission statements, they also mention, each in…
The National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) reflects upon adult learning from the perspective of a life profile. The article describes the system and methodological approach of the NEPS with a special focus on the group of adults. The education and employment history as well as the consequent competence development of the adult working age population is analyzed. Overall, 60,000 people are surveyed in the NEPS including more than 11,000 adults. First data is already available to the expert publ…
This article aims at analyzing the consequences of using educational monitoring data for adult education research. Refering to the Statistics on German “Volkshochschulen” (Adult Education Centers) the advantages and challenges that the usage of educational monitoring data brings for research purposes are shown. This is made explicit by focussing on the research project “Governance structures and educational performance profiles in adult education organizations” (GLOW) and discussing the empiric…
The article focuses on an empirical desideratum of research on teaching and learning in adult education – the planning of courses. The planning of courses is a complex decision-making process, which influences the teaching and learning behavior. Empirical findings of schoolteachers’ planning and results of interviews with trainers in adult education are used to identify elements and potential factors that influenced planning behavior. Based on this, the article develops research prospects and a…
Complaints about the governmental withdrawal from public responsibility for adult education are most common nowadays. The "retrospects" shows how the perception of public responsibility during the last three decades of the 20th century has changed in the mirror of different political guidelines and an altering public interest in adult education.
Der demografische Wandel wirft Fragen auf, die auch für die Weiterbildung von Bedeutung sind. Führende Alternsforscher stellen in diesem Buch Ergebnisse ihrer Forschung vor, die multidisziplinär mit Methoden der Psychologie, Soziologie und Erziehungswissenschaft arbeitet. Das Buch präsentiert den internationalen Forschungsstand und diskutiert Möglichkeiten, den Alterungsprozess gesellschaftlich und persönlich zu bewältigen.
The "learning time account" links the politics of working hours with professional adult education. As a derivative from the "working hours account" it represents an instrument with which the worked for time demands of the employee is changed into adult education instead of into money. Depending on whether the adult education serves work related or private matters, the resources are made available by the employer or by the employee (time and money). In the discussion of lifelong learning the ins…
