Dr. Lisa Breitschwerdt

Lisa Breitschwerdt is a research assistant at the Professorship of Adult and Continuing Education at the Julius-Maximilian-University of Würzburg. She is working on professionalisation in adult and continuing education in a multi-level perspective focusing on the interdependencies between social structures, um-brella organisations, organisations and professional staff.

• professionalisation
• organisational theory
• development and digitisation in adult and continuing education.

CG4: Activities, competences and hybrid professionalism in adult education

Co-Moderator: Prof. Paula Guimarães

The field of adult education is traditionally very heterogeneous and intersects with many other fields (e.g. cultural field, education in enterprises, integration into the labour market). This impacts in the lack of clarity about the nature of the job profiles of adult educators and about the concrete activities they carry out in the different fields of action.

Adult learning and education is a differentiated and heterogeneous field of practice, including liberal/non-formal education, social development activities, second-chance education and vocational education and training, among others. This field of practice is characterised by a wide range of contexts of development of activities (Research voor Beleid, 2008). Adult learning and education activities related to planning, organising and designing teaching and learning processes are some of the most traditional ones developed by adult educators; many others, such as guidance, curriculum design based on ICT, social and cultural mediation have been arising from a wide range of jobs, revealing the complexity, diversity and unpredictability of action situations. These activities allow the development of different professional knowledge (Mikulec, 2019), requiring several competences, such as professional, interpersonal, personal and didactical competences, theoretical and practical expertise as well as empowering adult learners and dealing with diverse social groups competences (Research voor Beleid, 2010).

The heterogeneity and differentiation of the fields of practice, of activities and competences places special demands on the professionalism of adult educators. Adult educators work at interfaces where they have to mediate between different logics of action (e.g., adult education and learning, economic and bureaucratic logic) (Breitschwerdt et al. 2019). This requires a "hybrid professionalism" that is to be developed and promoted in the specific organisational and social contexts of adult education fields of action (Egetenmeyer et al. 2019).

For more information about the comparative group have a look at our programme!

1. BREITSCHWERDT, L. & EGETENMEYER, R. (in Vorber.): Erwachsenenbildung/Weiterbildung. In H. Reinders, Dagmar Bergs-Winkels, Isabell Post & Annette Prochnow (Hrsg.), Empirische Bildungsforschung. Eine elementare Einführung. Wiesbaden: SpringerVS.
2. BREITSCHWERDT, L; LECHNER, R.; EGETENMEYER, R. (2020): Innovationsperspektiven der Professionalisierung in der beruflichen Weiterbildung. Weiterbildung. Zeitschrift für Grundlagen, Praxis und Trends 31(5), 18-20.
3. STAAB, M.; KRÖNER, S.; BREITSCHWERDT, L. & EGETENMEYER, R. (2020): Zur ERAMSUS+ Strategischen Partnerschaft INTALL. Hessische Blätter für Volksbildung 70(1), 39-48. DOI: 10.3278/HBV2001W005
4. BREITSCHWERDT, L.; LECHNER, R. & EGETENMEYER, R. (2019): The “new professionalism” in adult and continuing education – a multi-level perspective. Adult Education and Development. The good adult educator. Vol. 46. No. 86. pp. 88-91.
5. EGETENMEYER, R.; BREITSCHWERDT, L. & LECHNER, R. (2019): From ‘traditional professions’ to ‘new professionalism’: A multi-level perspective for analysing professionalization in adult and continuing education. In: Journal of Adult and Continuing Education. Heft 1, 25. Jg. S. 7-24. URL: doi.org/10.1177/1477971418814009
6. BREITSCHWERDT, L., LECHNER, R. & EGETENMEYER, R. (2018): Professionalisierung in Einrichtungen der Weiterbildung. Diskurse um Kompetenzentwicklung unter veränderten gesellschaftlichen Bedingungen. Erwachsenenbildung. Vierteljahresschrift für Theorie und Praxis, 64(3), 100-104.
7. EGETENMEYER, R., BREITSCHWERDT, L. & LECHNER, R. (2018): Gastherausgebende des Themenschwerpunkts Professionalität in der Erwachsenenbildung. Heft 3/2018 der Zeitschrift Erwachsenenbildung. Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis.
8. BREITSCHWERDT, L. & SEN, V. (2017): Implementing National Qualifications Frameworks: Difficulties in Cambodia and Germany. In: R. Egetenmeyer & M. Fedeli (eds.), Adult Education and Work Contexts: International Perspectives and Challenges. Comparative Perspectives from the 2017 Würzburg Winter School. Frankfurt et. al.: Peter Lang, pp. 101-121.
9. SCHEFFEL, M. & BREITSCHWERDT, L. (2017): Interdisziplinäre Kompetenzen fördern und evaluieren. In M. Görtler, S. Bauer, H. Ellner, K. Oeder & M. Scheffel (Hrsg.), Subjektorientierung, Lehren und Lernen. Norderstedt: BoD, S. 159-177.
10. BREITSCHWERT, L., EGETENMEYER, R. & LECHNER, R. (2016): Professionalisierung in der beruflichen Weiterbildung. Neue Perspektive auf die Professionalisierung. Weiterbildung - Zeitschrift für Grundlagen, Praxis und Trends 27(6), 32-34.
11. BENDER, W., BREITSCHWERDT, L. & SCHEFFEL, M. (2016): Grenzgänge. Interdisziplinäre Kompetenzen fördern und evaluieren. Wissenschaftliche Begleitstudie zum Projekt „Der Coburger Weg“ (2011-2016) der Hochschule Coburg. Göttingen: Cuvillier Verlag.