The role of organisations in the professionalisation of adult educators in Germany and Slovenia

Abstract

In this paper, we analyse the role that adult and continuing education (ACE) organisations play in the professionalisation of adult educators (AE) by providing and shaping opportunities for primary professional education and continuing professional development in two Central European countries: Germany and Slovenia. Theoretically, our discussion draws on classical profession theory, organisation theory, and the "new professionalism" discourse; empirically, we perform a comparative analysis between two countries and discuss similarities and differences in terms of state-society contexts, professional organisations, and professionalisation organisations. Our findings indicate that professional and professionalisation organisations represent main institutionalised contexts where the professionalisation of ACE is negotiated. In Slovenia, this is supported by strong state-society contexts, whereas in Germany, traditional regional and institutional diversity is achieved at the price of a unified AE occupational profile.