Preface

Dear Readers,

As the new head of DVV International, I have quickly discovered with what professionalism and passion the Adult Education and Development journal is produced and commented on by its readers. It is a showcase for the many aspects of Adult Education, and its contributions from around the world inspire all educators of adults, constantly reflecting their activities in the context of scientific and political developments of non-formal and informal education. At least this is the assessment we received as feedback from the evaluation that was conducted last year and in which many of our readers took part – those we could sample through email and by post. I would like to greatly thank everyone who took the time to answer the questions the evaluators asked. It is the proposals which have come from the evaluation, which Prof. Joachim H. Knoll, a member of the Board of Trustees of DVV International, formed into guiding principles that led to the changes you will notice now in this first edition with the new structure.

A particular concern of ours was to set up an editorial advisory board with persons and institutions represented that DVV International has been closely connected with for many years and whose different perspectives on all facets of Adult Education will ensure a diversity of reading material. I would like to extend a special thanks to Carolyn Medel-Añonuevo from UIL Hamburg and Ana Agostino of ICAE in Montevideo for their willingness to bring with them their contacts and experience in the design of AED. From the ranks of DVV International, the longtime editor of AED, Heribert Hinzen, chipped in with all his experience in the design of the magazine before the copy editor in Bonn, Michael Samlowski, along with Gisela Waschek, looked over all the proposals and translated them into a printable format. In the preparation of this issue, the cosmopolitan composition of this team has already proven itself.

In response to the interests expressed in the evaluation by our readers there will be contributions in the magazine consistently related to three fields: politics, science and practice, with the contributions related to practice accounting for half of the content. This will securely anchor DVV International as a practice-oriented purveyor of Adult Education, which aligns its commitment with scientific developments and reflects and molds the political discourse. In order to give each issue a clear profile, in the practice section a maximum of three topics will be treated from as different regional and thematic perspectives as possible. Preference will be given to authors who come from our project regions and their neighboring countries. All the other small changes, including visual ones, you will quickly discover for yourself.

There is still one important thing for me to ask you, and that is to send us the enclosed reply card. Due to high postage costs, we are being forced to reduce the mailing list – which has grown steadily over the years – to people and institutions who signal us with feedback indicating that the magazine is reaching its intended recipients and is spurring the interest we intended. At the same time, we will also strive to improve the Internet availability of the magazine.

In conclusion, a brief look forward. In the world of Adult Education, 2010 was certainly not a key year. In order to have made it a very special year, CONFINTEA VI would have had to have the greater impetus expected by optimists and hoped for by realists. At least with GRALE it was possible for the first time to present a report on Adult Education around the world, which is a reaction against the sparse data base on Adult Education. The importance of a reliable data base for scientific and political intervention will be clear again during these weeks of preparation for the EFA – Global Monitoring Report 2012 on “Expanding opportunities for the marginalized through skills development.” Although in the field of vocational training (VET) there is relatively good statistical data, for basic Adult Education and training (Basic Skills) this is not the case. All readers who do not want to see “skills” reduced to the components of vocational training should present quantitative research case studies in terms of their effect on “Basic Skills” either by directly contacting the GMR team in Paris or to the editor of AED. We believe the GMR 2012 subject so important that we want to give it a special place in the form of a special issue of AED.

And now I hope you enjoy reading the 76th Edition, which has been modified according to your wishes.

Yours,
Roland Schwartz


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