Ewald Terhart/Rudolf Tippelt
An introduction
Stefan C. Wolter
Educational Tasks and Intergenerational Conflicts
In the industrial countries, the demographic changes will potentially have a two-fold influence on educational expenditures. On the one hand, the decrease in the number of students will lead to a reduction in educational costs. This would, however, not amount to much because, traditionally, the adjustment of the educational infrastructure to the fluctuation in the number of students is rather inflexible. On the other hand, we do know from theoretical-empirical literature that the simultaneous increase in the proportion of older citizens may have a negative influence on the expenditure policy in the educational sector. The present article summarizes the results of two empirical studies carried out in Switzerland. The first of these shows that, even in the past, educational expenditures within the obligatory educational sector have reacted negatively and significantly to a growth of the older population. The second study indicates that, on the basis of an analysis of agerelated preferences and motives, the relation between age structures within a specific country and the edcuational expenditures has to be considered a causal relation and not a mere artefact of statistics. Both studies show that the different generations fight for public funds will be that demographic factor which will exert the strongest pressure on the educational budgets.
Thomas Rauschenbach/Matthias Schilling
Demography and Early Childhood
Prognoses on the need for vacancies and for personnel in day-care for children
On the basis of the 11th coordinated prediction on population development, the article sketches the demographic benchmark figures for early childhood. Against this background, the changing framework conditions for day-care for children as they are currently to be expected are summarized and thus – for the first time in Germany – a comprehensive prognosis is given on the extent of the need for day-care services for toddlers and young children after 2014, according to age-groups and Laender. The corresponding need for providing additional vacancies also implies an increase in the demand for qualified personnel, for which an estimate is given, too. Probably a large part of this need can be met by the vocational educational system. Considerations on how the remaining additional need might be covered conclude the article.
Hans Bertram
Sustainable Family Policy and Demographic Development
Time, money, and infrastructure as elements of a family policy based on demographic changes
Family-political conceptions and family policy have changed significantly during the last few years in accordance with a sustainable family policy. The article sketches some of the major aspects of the demographic development of the last 30 years in order to show how, today, a sustainable family policy deals with these developments. Whereas, traditionally, family policy was often conceived of as alternative strategies, namely either as strategies of financial demands linked with specific ways of life or as a policy aiming at the promotion of the expansion of institutional day-care, a sustainable family policy is above all characterized by that these strategies are not conceived of as opposites but, rather, that they are integrated into a third dimension, namely the time for life-long care and for every-day care, so that, through the combination of infrastructure services, financial transfers for families, and a corresponding grading of time within this strategy, not only the demographic changes in relation to the decline in the number of children, but also the changing roles of men and women in our society as well as the higher life expectancy are taken into account.
Horst Weishaupt
Demography and Regional School Development
During the last few decades, the effects of the demographic development have quite often been the subject of considerations on school development. Now a new issue has been added to these discussions, namely the fear that – in view of an increase in the demand for people with a university education in the job system – the longterm need for employees with specific qualifications might not be secured. The estimates available so far are not satisfactory.The anticipated further decrease in the number of students will – besides the problems that have already been dealt with during the 1980s - lead to new tasks in the rural areas. The author discusses the demands that arise with a reinforced cooperation between kindergarten and elementary school, the issue of securing an extensive network of special instruction for students with specific needs, and the necessity of stabilizing a differentiated network of vocational training. In a final part, he discusses conflicts of interests that need to be taken into consideration in future concepts of school development.
Bernhard Schmidt/Rudolf Tippelt
Education for Older People and Intergenerational Learning
Against the background of demographic developments which describe the change in the proportion of younger and older parts of the population, educational research starts focussing not only on educational processes lasting well into an advanced age, it also attaches greater importance to intergenerational exchange and to joint learning. Following an analysis of older people`s educational participation and their ability to learn, the authors discuss existing concepts of and research results on intergenerational learning. In this, they focus in particular on data provided by their own research project on the educational activity of those aged 45 or more and on their attitude towards intergeneratinal learning and towards the younger generation as such. Here, the heterogeneity within the older generation manifests itself, which has a strong influence on both educational interests and the openness about intergenerational exchange.
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Marcelo Caruso
The Field of Experimentation of a New Governability
The introduction of educational vouchers in Chile and the rise of educational experts
In view of recommendations by prominent experts in favor of new control instruments, the article discusses the interlinking of educational reform and empirical educational research in the case of the effects of the extensive introduction of educational vouchers during the educational reforms of the 1980s in Chile. The results of numerous research studies on the effectiveness of these control instruments are contextualized and discussed, their conjunctures and changes are outlined. What emerges is the picture of an “educational public” which orientates itself strongly by the discourse boundaries drawn by this empirical educational research. This position of power held by the experts is considered part of a new era of the governing of educational systems in which selective practices of reasoning in research suggest the picture of a definite body of evidence. This simulated unambiguity is interpreted as the priviliged form of an increase in power of these circles of experts.
Iris Clemens
The Challenge of Indigenous Theories
The question of the relevance of cultural-theoretical perspectives in educational science as exemplified by the emergence of indigenous theories
Claims to the universality of scientific insights within a global world society are - at least, at first sight - challenged by the debate on so-called indigenous theories or indigenous knowledge. The article focusses on the question of the relevance of theoretical approaches in educational science that take into account socio-cultural differences under the conditions of globalization. Starting from globalization and its reflection in the educational-scientific debate, the author takes up some of the educational-scientific positions beyond the theses of homogenization, in order to discuss culture-theoretical perspectives on scientific epistemologies on the basis of the emergence of a discussion on indigenous theories within the Indian context and to stress the thesis of a cultural coherence of knowledge.
Dagmar Killus
The Promotion of Self-Controlled Learning within the Context of Teacherand Organization-Related Characteristics
At present, the issue of “self-regulated learning” meets with a good response. Based on data from a survey carried out among teachers at Berlin schools, the author examines in how far the teaching approaches practiced by a teacher are related to his or her general instructional orientations, on the one hand, and the organization-related characteristics of the respective school, on the other. The results show that teaching approaches aiming at a promotion of self-regulated learning are largely determined by general instructional aspects of teaching. Organization-related features, on the other hand, are of less importance. The results are discussed with regard to consequences for a lasting development of teaching as well as a further professionalization of teachers.
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