ESRA 2025 Preliminary Program
All time references are in CEST
Survey Research on Adult Education: Existing Challenges and New Opportunities |
| Session Organisers |
Dr Kerstin Hoenig (German Institute for Adult Education Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning)
Professor Erik Nylander (Linköping University)
Dr Verena Ortmanns (German Institute for Adult Education Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning)
Professor Sylvia Rahn (German Institute for Adult Education Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning)
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| Time | Thursday 17 July, 09:00 - 10:30 |
| Room |
Ruppert 0.33 |
Compared to other sectors of the education system, Adult Education research is dominated by qualitative research, with a lower volume of publications using survey data. Surveys targeting adult learners, education providers or professionals often face similar problems due to the fragmented and unstructured nature of adult education and lifelong learning: Learning activities tend to be nonformal or informal, short and infrequent, there is a wide range of topics, courses and certificates, and the landscape of education providers is vast and ever-changing. This can lead to problems in sampling, recruiting and retention of survey subjects. This is especially true for complex stratified samples and panel studies. Cross-country comparisons are also complicated to conduct as each country has somewhat idiosyncratic adult learnings systems, with institutional infrastructures that differ in size and layout.
Nevertheless, multiple international and national surveys of adult education providers, professionals and learners exist, with PIAAC and the Adult Education Survey as the most well-known. Furthermore, recent developments in spatial data, machine learning, and web crawling have opened new opportunities for data collection, combinations of existing data sources, and mixed methods research.
In this session, we want to foster a dialogue between researchers who collect and analyze survey data on adult education, broadly defined. We welcome submissions of substantive research as well as methodological contributions. We especially invite submissions of innovative research designs or methods, efforts to combine survey data with other data sources, and international comparisons.
Keywords: adult education, lifelong learning
Papers
Participation in Adult Education by Different (Socio-Demographic) Groups in Germany, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland
Dr Natascha Massing (GESIS-Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences) - Presenting Author
Dr Britta Gauly (GESIS-Leibniz-Insitute for the Social Sciences)
Lifelong education is important in equipping individuals with necessary skills. Changes in society make it more important for individuals to adapt their skills once they have completed initial education. Participation in non-formal training can play a role in this regard.
Very recent data from the second cycle of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) offer the opportunity to analyze participation in adult education and training across countries. In our analyses, we include data from four countries which are all characterized by a similar (collective) skills formation system: Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Switzerland. However, recent findings by Friedrich and Galkiewicz (2024) show that participation in training is much lower in Germany compared to the other countries and the assumption that similarities in the skill formation system correlates with similar participation rates in training does not seem to hold. In order to better understand differences between these countries, we distinguish participation rates between men and women, different age groups and between groups with different migration history. Furthermore, we analyze which role the Matthew effect has across these countries: do individuals with higher skills participate more often in training than individuals with lower skills in all countries, and if yes, is this independent of their education.
Our results shed light on the likelihood to participate in training between these different countries and across socio-demographic groups.
Statistical Literacy, Survey Climate, and Trust in Science
Professor Natalja Menold (Dresden University of Technology) - Presenting Author
Ms Arianna Zehner (Dresden University of Technology)
Mr Marco Fölsch (Dresden University of Technology)
Statistical Literacy has been conceptualized as a sub-concept of scientific literacy and represents one of the key citizens’ competences in the global information society. Statistical literacy is also of relevance, when individuals use and evaluate findings and numbers from survey data, and when considering the creditability of surveys, which can play a central role in the acceptance of survey research – referred to as survey climate. As surveys and statistics are main instruments in scientific development – at least in the quantitative social sciences – it is of interest to evaluate the relationship between statistical literacy and opinions towards surveys, as well as general trust in science. In a survey on the students at a German university, it was analyzed how statistical literacy affects opinions towards surveys and how these factors and their relationship can explain trust in science. We used Structural Equation Modeling to conceptualize the effect of students’ background as well as to test direct and indirect effects. With respect to statistical literacy, both general statistical knowledge and corresponding attitudinal components were considered. Statistical literacy with evaluation of statics as credible and accurate statistical knowledge were found to be significant predictors of opinions towards surveys as well as to directly influence trust in science. We discuss how statistical literacy, particularly with respect to survey methodology, can be fostered in populations.
Teachers in Adult and Continuing Education: Which Teachers (do not) Participate in Continuing Education? First Descriptive Results From the TAEPS Project
Ms Karoline Werner (German Institute for Adult Education – Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning) - Presenting Author
Dr Theresa Büchler (German Institute for Adult Education – Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning)
The assumption that teachers are largely responsible for learning success (Kraft, 2018), which has already been empirically proven in the school context (Hattie, 2009), is also assumed in the field of adult and continuing education. Developing professional competences plays an important role in this regard. To ensure professional standards in educational practice, it is essential that teachers engage in ongoing development of their qualifications and participate in continuing education and training (CET). This participation is seen as a driving factor in the professional development of adult educators. While CET participation patterns and determinants have been widely studied, research focusing on adult educators remains limited (Autorengruppe wb-personalmonitor 2016; Werner & Martin, 2023). Furthermore, information on non-participants is even more limited, as previous research has mainly focused on participants. This should be recognised as a desideratum in the context of the professional development discourse for adult educators. Findings from general research on CET also suggest that barriers to participation differ between occupational groups. It is therefore plausible to assume that CET behaviour of adult educators also differs from that of other professional groups. However, it remains unclear whether participants and non-participants differ systematically in socio-demographic and occupational characteristics. Our analyses aim to fill this gap by analysing characteristics influencing CET participation, combining general predictors with characteristics specific to adult education professionalism. It draws on data from the first wave of the 'Teachers in Adult Education - A Panel Study', the largest study on adult educators in Germany to date. The research design consists of a standardised panel survey with three waves and three intervention studies.
Preliminary bivariate results suggest few systematic differences between teachers who participate in CET and those who do not.
In addition to addressing the research question, the presentation will also provide an overview of the study.
Harnessing administrative software data – An extension of the Statistic of German Adult Education Centres
Dr Verena Ortmanns (German Institute for Adult Education - Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning) - Presenting Author
Dr Kerstin Hoenig (German Institute for Adult Education - Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning)
In Germany, the Statistic of German Adult Education Centres (German Volkshochschulen; AEC) represents one of the most comprehensive quantitative data sources on adult education. AECs are publicly funded institutions offering a wide range of courses and educational activities to the general public. Statistical data are collected annually via an online survey, achieving a response rate of over 98%. The dataset spans a long time series dating back to 1987 and includes administrative information, such as staff and financial data, as well as detailed records of all courses and events conducted by the AECs. The data is used by researchers as well as policy makers and AEC staff.
The adoption of advanced administrative software systems by AECs provides access to a wider array of detailed and structured data. Modern administrative databases now provide nested information for each course, including course descriptions, topics, and comprehensive details about instructors, participants, financial metrics, completion rates, and other indicators. For the first time, these systems allow the generation of participant-level data for the Statistics of the AEC. This advancement enables researchers to track individual trajectories in adult education, identify group-level patterns over time. Additionally, imbalances between offered and conducted courses can be analyzed, taking into account different course types.
We obtained an enhanced dataset from administrative software for approximately 10% of German AECs (86 out of 838). This subset provides a rich and diverse set of data, which enables us to address several key research questions related to adult education. In our presentation, we will provide an overview of this new data source, its structure, including the types of variables collected, and the granularity of participant-level data. Furthermore, we will share initial analyses to illustrate the utility of the new data for advancing research in adult education.
