Informal Adult Education: Between Formal Qualifications and Competencies

The article starts from the early UNESCO-classification on the different contents of Adult Education: Formal, Non-formal, Informal Adult Education. Whilst formal and nonformal adult education seem to be distinctively clarified, informal adult education is an even emerging sector within the discussion about adult education and educational policy. Due to this discussion the term ”informal” adult education became enlarged and is now comprising all phenomena of the media and daily life environment, whereby adult education almost ”en passant” happens. In the centre is the question-besides others-controversially discussed, whether the acquired ”competencies” derived from informal adult education could be proofed as being equivalent with formal ”qualifications” within the school system or whether-more generally speaking-competencies could be measured by empirical techniques. Three models derived from OECD, EU and the German Ministry of Education and Research activities are reporting the state of the art and are illustrating in greater detail the area of competencies. The tendency, expressed by the provoking term ”Certification in informal adult education” is opposing the traditional frame of Adult Education and the labelling of ”informal” in Adult Education.