Competencies and Professionalization

The ubiquitous accessibility of learning and information services as provided by the internet has led to a sharp increase in the multitude of instantly available information and display formats as well as growth in the opportunities for interaction with information. Processing and using this vast amount of information in a meaningful way requires skills and competencies that go beyond what is learnt at school. These include the ability to perform sophisticated web-based research and critical assessment and integ...

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Education and Equity

Educational processes are cumulative by nature, i.e. earlier phases in education structure the realm of options available to educational processes in later life as well as the long-term employment and life opportunities. Therefore, (a) early inequality can lead to large inequalities regarding education and participation later on, (b) inequality can persist across the lifespan, and (c) inequalities in education can affect all other areas of life, generating further inequalities there. Research into the emergence ...

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Educational Monitoring and Information

Necessary further development of the education system in Germany requires a detailed and precise knowledge of fields of action and of reality. To enable targeted decisions, suitable information must be made available to different degrees of aggregation, at the systemic, institutional, and individual level. Referencing, usability, and findability of information on the education system play a key role. Besides general information concerning the situation of education, research data and their analysis in particular...

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Knowledge and Participation

In the context of lifelong learning and learning throughout the lifespan, societal, political, social, cultural, and scientific participation have become focal terms. Broad access to educationally relevant information – which is geared by technological development – constitutes an important prerequisite. Technological support measures that facilitate participation are also a prerequisite to critical thought and well reflected opinions. Participation however also relates to the idea that education – besides...

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Returns to Education

Returns to education are a result of educational processes. They are determined by institutional conditions and hence they also emerge from educational contexts. They are closely connected to competencies and skills of individuals participating in educational processes – besides cognitive skills, non-cognitive skills are relevant, e.g. motivation and self-regulation. Various kinds of returns can be distinguished: Those that can be measured in terms of monetary benefits, e.g. income and wages, versus returns th...

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