Abstract

Studies on adult education as part of a long-term panel structure, combined with retrospective life-course research and with repeated competence assessment are non-existent. The adult stage of NEPS aims at filling these deficits.

The project has the following main objectives: (1) to trace the educational pathways of adults through their life course, in particular regarding their working history, (2) to identify the underlying reasons for decisions to participate in formal or non-formal learning activities after initial education, (3) to describe the competence endowment of different adult groups in Germany and to explain competence development during adult life and the role of the employment situation in affecting competence change, (4) to estimate the effects of specific contexts of adult education, particularly of employment and family situation, on educational decisions and the participation in further education, (5) to evaluate the returns of basic competencies, educational credentials and occupational experiences on wages, employment careers and other life spheres, (6) to generate results about migrants’ resources, their knowledge about educational opportunities, their participation in further education and its returns, and (7) to identify opportunities and constraints to learning and education in older age.

In the project a new survey with a panel structure will be developed and conducted to generate an adequate data base meeting these aims. This survey will be part of a whole system of parallel and coordinated panel studies within the NEPS covering all the educational stages from kindergarten to late adult age.