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Following the publication of ‘A memorandum of lifelong learning’ (indexed at TD/IRD 88.400) in October 2000, the European Commission invited Member States to launch a consultation process to collect together all views on how best to make progress in implementing lifelong learning. Feedback from the Europe-wide consultation was then used to develop the analysis and proposals in the Communication on ‘Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality’ (indexed at TD/IRD 88.264). National reports were submitted by each Member State as well as by candidate countries and Iceland and Norway. This document is the national report from Germany. The contents are: Background for the consultations about the Memorandum; Content of the Memorandum; National lifelong learning activities in Germany; Potential fields of action for the European Commission.

Documents from ‘Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality’ are indexed from TD/TNC 77.521 to TD/TNC 77.539. Show less

New information and communication technologies (ICT), new work and organisational concepts and the shift from an industrial to an information society have all attributed to a revival of learning in the workplace. This chapter looks at this revival of work-related learning in Germany. It begins by providing an overview of the revival of learning in the work context, then looks at the growing significance of informal learning, before discussing learning bays (learning venues within the workplace) as an example of integrating informal and intentional learning. Next, it points to the development of a new learning culture as a result of new learning approaches and forms, and finally outlines the following four research proposals and development tasks which have been formulated from issues and problems raised by linking work-related learning back to authentic work contexts: (1) analysis of the connection between intentional learning and learning by doing in decentralised learning forms; (2) constitution, recording, recognition and certification of informal learning; (3) cross-over of work-related organisational development and vocational training; and (4) concepts and instruments for analysing modern on-the-job learning processes.

The monograph from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 71.362; selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 71.363 to TD/TNC 71.376. Show less

In this chapter it is suggested that understanding and appreciation of non-formal and informal learning outcomes must be improved for the benefit of the wider population and the labour market. The chapter investigates the dimensions involved in learning, and differentiates between formal, non-formal and informal learning. It is recommended that the formality of learning situations should be distinguished only in relation to formal and non-formal environmental conditions. The author describes assessment for learning outcomes in non-formal settings, and reviews and analyses assessment trends from German continuous information technology (IT) training, the Realkompetanse project and the Finnish Recreational Activity Study Book. The chapter concludes with some implications for flexibility, mobility, transferability and equity.

The publication from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 78.468. Individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 78.469 to TD/TNC 78.484. Show less

This chapter contributes to a discussion of the output of vocational education and training (VET) in the knowledge-based economy. The author describes a research project on the development of instruments for the authentic assessment and examination of apprenticeship learning in the German dual system of VET. The dual system provides a coordinated approach to VET involving training on the job and in vocational schools. Authentic assessment represents an important development for practical learning within initial VET and for informal learning processes in the workplace. The author analyses the validity of approaches to the oral modules of final examinations for apprenticeship programs, using examples from information technology (IT) and insurance sales training as examples. It is suggested that new approaches for authentic modes of examination can be developed and implemented successfully but this requires the collaboration of trainers, teachers, experts in the field and instructional designers.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 71.214. Individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 71.215 to TD/TNC 71.226. Show less

For over ten years, the dynamic management of people's vocational pathways and transitions has been attracting the close attention of European social and political players. In this context, non-formal and informal learning (NFIL) practices, as well as the possibility of NFIL recognition and validation, can benefit a wide range of social groups, in particular the most vulnerable, and contribute towards correcting educational inequalities. They can also have a significant impact on the whole system of access to knowledge, skills and competences within companies and on the labour market. This book presents and updates the contents of a project conducted by a team from Groupe ALPHA for the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) on NFIL practices and challenges in the EU, including a direct survey of ten Member States.

Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

Insight is offered into the German and European debate on the evaluation and significance of informal learning. The publication addresses political, theoretical and methodological issues surrounding the importance of skills development, concepts and models for identifying and collecting data on informally acquired vocational skills, the recognition of vocational qualifications and opening up higher education to non-traditional students. In closing, non-formal and informal learning concepts are analysed as well as their importance for vocational education and training (VET) in Germany. Show less

The influx of asylum seekers into the European Union (EU) in 2015-2016 has turned the recognition of non-formal and informal learning (NFIL) into an integration priority and challenge. In EU terminology this process is called ‘validation'. Already in 2012, the Council of the EU had urged member states to create mechanisms for the validation of NFIL by no later than 2018. However, the issue has remained systematically addressed by few. Moreover, across all countries, disadvantaged groups such as refugees still benefit least from validation. Yet little is known about the reasons for this - a question to which this study aims to contribute understanding. Notably Germany has lagged behind many other countries on the issue. Germany was selected as the research site because compared to other European countries, it accepted the largest number of refugees in 2015-2016. Additionally, its highly regulated labour market and well-established dual apprenticeship system makes formal skills recognition particularly relevant for refugees who only possess non-formally and informally acquired vocational skills (NFIVOS) as such recognition would enable these individuals to access skilled jobs that in Germany typically require formal vocational or professional qualifications.

In order to explore the impeding and facilitating factors in the recognition of refugees' NFIVOS for use in Germany's labour market, this study used unstructured informant interviews with refugees (N=7), semi-structured respondent interviews with people working on skills recognition and refugees at the operational and strategic levels (N=53), observations of advisory sessions for foreigners with NFIVOS or foreign credentials (N=14) and document analysis (N=49). In particular, this research focused on 14 case studies composed of seven refugees and seven skills assessment and recognition arrangements in Germany's federal state of Baden-Wurttemberg.

The data from this study were analysed using Bourdieu's theory of practice (1977b, 1986) with its concepts of field, capital and habitus. In so doing, it became clear that the biggest infrastructural barrier to the formal recognition of refugees' NFIVOS was Germany's lack of an arrangement that fulfilled this purpose in a refugee-friendly way. This could be seen as the result of Germany's selective inclusion of foreign institutionalised habitus but exclusion of foreign embodied habitus (except when the latter was supplemented by a German institutionalised habitus) in the skills recognition procedures which transform foreign habitus into German institutionalised cultural capital. Given this lack of a refugee-friendly procedure, the study makes inferences from its 14 case studies about what could fill this gap and finds that potential facilitating factors are an interplay of Germany's integration infrastructure and refugees' personal agency. As a consequence, it is argued that refugees' obstacles and facilitators in gaining formal skills recognition are the result of a mismatch and alignment, respectively, of refugees' habitus with the requirements of Germany's skills recognition field.

Author's abstract. Show less

The emergence of informal learning has drawn attention to a form of learning that seems to do without formally organised instruction: skills are acquired in passing on the job and during leisure time. The following questions are addressed: How sustainable is informal learning? How can it be linked to traditional, institutionalised vocational education and training [VET]? Other topics include: sustainability of informal learning; individual skills development and social control; learning without teaching - pedagogical professionalism; empirical skills; and measuring informally acquired skills. Show less

In this article the author expresses her wish to fight the mediocrity she sees in the Australian education sector, and move our nation closer to being a learning society. The benefits of learning are outlined, particularly the positive social and economic impacts that can occur as a result of learning. Learning communities are discussed as a possible means of attracting and re-engaging those people who think that learning no longer applies to them. All three tiers in Australian government are encouraged to contribute funding and support to possible learning communities, with a recent situation in Germany noted as a positive example. Before Australia can hope to follow their example, though, there needs to be a major change in attitudes towards education and training, recognising that: it is an integral part of life; it need not always result in a piece of paper and measurable outcomes; and that so-called 'soft options' are effective strategies for reluctant learners. The Australian government should not be completely responsible for the support of learning communities, however, with the educational sector also playing an important role. It is suggested that organisations make greater efforts to collaborate and communicate rather than compete, with universities and TAFE institutes particularly needing to establish more trust in each other.

The volume from which this paper is taken is indexed in two parts at TD/TNC 80.451 and TD/TNC 80.452. Selected papers from this conference are indexed at TD/ACT 78.02 and TD/ACT 79.04; from TD/TNC 80.453 to TD/TNC 80.477 and from TD/TNC 80.614 to TD/TNC 80.617. Show less

Twenty-two countries have helped to build up the OECD's knowledge base on recognition of non-formal and informal learning outcomes. This paper seeks to concentrate on the essentials of the various documents produced, including the 22 background reports drafted by the countries concerned. It is thus the internal perspective of countries which is considered here. This paper describes national circumstances as viewed by the countries themselves while also casting light on their practices. It is based largely on the country background reports and sets out the policy responses developed by each country. It thus focuses on the practices of countries and regions and, as far as possible, includes quantitative data or refers to pilot projects. The idea is to see how countries and regions relate recognition to ongoing challenges, whether of a societal nature or connected with the labour market. Indeed, in preparing their own policy responses many countries are looking beyond their borders and on occasions far afield, as in the case of Australia which is following the Bologna/Sorbonne Process, and striving for international excellence. In the European Union, for example, the many existent or emerging systems are already having a broad impact on the preferences of its member states and other countries. Herein lies the importance of a paper on national practices and the contexts in which they have been introduced. The examples provided draw on different country practices without claiming to be exhaustive. The paper consists of two sections. The first reviews contextual factors, at least in so far as they may influence in one way or another systems for the recognition of non-formal and informal learning outcomes, especially in terms of their potential role as catalysts or inhibiting factors in recognition procedures. It then offers a description of how systems are organised, with their legal frameworks, procedures, technical arrangements and possible pilot programmes. The sections are structured by topic. Depending on circumstances, the paper includes entries by country or by topic where viewpoints are similar.

Excerpt from publication reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less