REPORT

Justice and the right to continuing education

Education opportunities are unfairly distributed. In the area, too, of continuing education there are disadvantaged groups of persons who especially have already suffered discrimination during their initial vocational education and training.
The demand for equal opportunities which dates back to Aristotle and John Rawls implies that everyone who suffers as a result of insufficient or unsatisfactory results in their initial training should have a second chance.
Resulting from the case-laws of the Federal Constitutional Court on the freedom to choose an occupation and training, and on the principle of the welfare state, is the right to attend occupational continuing training, provided that this is possible. Eliminating disadvantages within, and by means of, the education system – according to the author’s arguments – is not only a question of legislation and financing but mainly one of enforcing a right to education.

Justice in/of continuing vocational training?

Is there a correlation between continuing training and justice, or put differently; can continuing training contribute to improving opportunities for social participation? The authors pose this question in a broader societal context and approach it against the background of the social capital approach. They refer to empirical findings from Northern Ireland which put into perspective the wide-spread idea of the positive correlation of social capital and continuing training participation. In their conclusion, the authors turn their attention to the features of the continuing training systems which appear to be suitable for promoting social participation.

Continuing vocational training and gender justice

Albeit at first sight, quantitative data on continuing vocational training participation documents a gradual balancing in the participation quota of women and men, a glance behind the participation figures reveals, however, a more complex picture. Participation in continuing vocational training are determined by factors such as first job, occupation and status as well as private life interrelations which effect women and men differently. This present contribution will investigate gender inequality in continuing vocational training on the foil of gender-specific segregation of the training and employment seeking system and in relation to gender-specific life and career histories, and identifies further research questions.

Justice and justice competence: Discourse and practice for a critical political education

Most societies accept justice and social justice as principles. Their inherent norms and values are dependant on the historical context as well as on political and individual concepts, and are thus negotiable. Within the context of a European Grundtvig-Project, "Political Participation through Social Competence: Curricular Development for Courses on Democratic Citizenship" the article discusses the idea of the awareness of, and competence in, social justice as it was developed within the framework of the so-called ”Societal Competencies” by Oskar Negt. The article will present ideas on justice and social justice which developed out of the project and will then discuss how they can be implemented in a curriculum of education for democracy.

Aspects of the ”Established Outsider Figuration” in continuing vocational training
Learning groups involving participants of different origins

The main focus of the present paper is on continuing training courses attended by both indigenous and immigrant participants. What potential influences such participant structure on teaching may have is the subject of investigation. This reveals that in courses involving participants of mixed origin, under certain conditions, a constellation between the two groups arises which shows aspects of the Established Outsider Figuration as described by Norbert Elias and John L. Scotson. This has an inhibiting effect on immigrants’ learning. Appropriate teaching conditions and teaching staff who consciously deal with this figuration could be ways to counter the problem.

Organisation and growth of the continuing training market is increasingly taking place within the private economic sector. There also is increasing reporting coverage of continuing training in accordance with the significance of lifelong learning for societal participation and the retention of occupational competences. In order to enable an accurate picture of the situation and developments of providers of general and vocational education and training to be given, it would be useful to have a key reference parameter in place both to signalise the current mood and to act as an indicator of imminent future change. The present paper presents the conception of such a parameter, which also permits background analyses and comparisons with other branches of trade and industry and is based on the IFO Institute for Economic Research Climate Index. Model calculations are carried out to test the applicability of the parameter for continuing training monitoring.