LERNER-ORIENTIERUNG Austria
The focus of learner orientation is the individual adult learner and no longer the adult and continuing
education institution.
The individual orientation replaces the principle of participants´ orientation (Teilnehmerorientierung)
which concentrates on bringing participants into adult and continuing education institutions This development
is due to the fact that educational systems are not focused enough on the learner. Learner orientation
deals with all aspects of the individual with regard to the readiness and the ability for learning. This
"individualisation" of learning leads to self-organisation and independence of learning. The concepts of
self-organised and self-directed learning are not only accepted but also implemented, for instance by using
the method of language learning through exchange in the "Tandem". The provinces of Vienna and Upper
Austria introduced individual support for further education and training of blue- and white-collar workers
and unemployed people through the Bildungskonto (educational account). Individual learners can
choose their course from different providers.
The fast development of new information and communication technologies is itself promoting selflearning.
Infrastructures for self-learning are improved automatically when the Internet is used as a single
learning media and for face-to-face teaching. The municipality of Vienna and other cities have installed
servers for education and training to be used by schools, universities and adult and continuing education.
In cities, learning conditions are improved, for instance within the concept of "learning city". Special
attention is drawn to educational guidance and information. In several Austrian regions, regional associations
of adult education have set-up educational guidance services via the telephone and the Internet. The
learner orientation concept is a timely development in education and training oriented towards uniform
groups of people. There are disadvantages in the fact that adult and continuing education targets only
STRATEGIES AND POLICIES
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people who express very clearly their desire to learn. The emancipatory concept of adult education which
aims at providing learning opportunities for people who did not have the chance to complete their education
in the formal system could easily be lost.
Gerhard Bisowsky, Elisabeth Brugger
References
Lenz, W. (1998), Lebensbegleitendes Lernen statt Erwachsenenbildung? In: Lenz, W. (ed.), Bildungswege. Von der
Schule zur Weiterbildung, Innsbruck: Studienverlag, pp. 329-342
Delphi Report Austria 2, Technologie Delphi II (1998), edited by the Institut für Technikfolgen-Abschätzung
der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften in charge of the Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und
Verkehr, Wien
