Educational Equity in Extracurricular Education/Lifelong Learning – Bochum

The workshop startet with a critical statement regarding germans Adult Education Centers (so-called Volkshochschulen)(1), which aren’t as equitable as they thought they be.

Volkshochschulen are open to everyone and offer a wide range of classes and discounts for people that cannot afford much. However, about five percent of participants take advantage of discounts and attend courses at the VHS. Immigrants are clearly underrepresented (apart from "German as a foreign language"). Self-critically one of the speakers summarizes that adult education centers as institutions could hardly be educationally equitable, rather it was their task to promote and implement "educationally equitable elements".

In the ensuing discussion, it became clear that the Volkshochschule in Bochum trys to be present in certain neighborhoods. District-oriented educational work should further strengthen this trend in the future. New, outreach formats are to facilitate easy access for the above-mentioned target groups. It is obvious that they have to be addressed differently in terms of media. For example, the material must not be too text-heavy, and the courses themselves must be designed with participants in mind.

*(1) A Volkshochschule is a non-profit institution for adult and continuing education. In the various countries, institutions of different character and with structures and objectives that differ from those of the German Volkshochschulen can be found under this designation. Contrary to their designation, adult education centers are not universities in the sense of the tertiary education sector. In Germany, they are assigned to the quaternary educational sector of continuing education.**