General Adult Education

Objectives

• To brush up existing knowledge, to acquire basic knowledge, to take leaving exams and to obtain key qualifications which one failed to take and obtain at an earlier point in life in order to achieve equal opportunities in working as well as everyday life.
• To support people in the planning and organization of their lives, in coping with problems in society, occupational and family life and in developing their individual personality, in short, to provide them with life skills.
• To provide guidelines for dealing with social, economic and political changes.
• To prepare the ground for unbiased discussion and constructive resolution of conflicts (democratic consensus).

Organization/Structure

The department responsible for adult education in the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture provides support to associations and other institutions of adult education. Moreover, it co-ordinates and organizes the co-operation between federal and private bodies of adult education, thereby aiming at creating a permanent network of educational facilities. Projects which aim at improving the quality of educational facilities and at realizing equality of opportunities at social and regional level are carried out in co-operation with these associations within the framework of regional educational activities.

The Federal Institute for Adult Education in St. Wolfgang

This institute provides people working in the field of adult education or in one of the various educational and cultural institutions with further education and training opportunities.

Institutions of Adult Education

The organization and structure of the present adult education network in Austria is determined by the fact that adult education facilities are not provided by the state but mainly by private bodies. In the past few years the number of private profit-oriented associations and institutions providing educational facilities has even increased. These associations and institutions usually specialize in certain areas like foreign languages, management, personality development and so on.

The Austrian Conference of Adult Education Institutions

The Austrian Conference of Adult Education Institutions [Konferenz der Erwachsenenbildung Österreichs] which was set up in 1972 in order to represent the interests and concerns of its members is an open platform for discussions and co-operation in the field of adult education in Austria. The members of the Austrian Conference of Adult Education Institutions are non-profit oriented bodies which provide for educational facilities and run offices on a nationwide basis. Thus, they are given priority when it comes to the allocation of financial support.

Geändert am 23.02.2007