Abstract
This paper provides a guide for developing a research design for comparative studies in adult and continuing education. To that end, a research methodology will be presented that was developed at the COMPALL and INTALL Winter Schools on Comparative Studies in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning. Central elements for systematic comparisons in adult and continuing education are (1) the object of comparison, (2) research fields for comparison, and (3) inductive comparative categories. These elements form the reference points for the development of a comparative research question in adult and continuing education. The comparative analysis proposes a three-step approach from juxtaposition to interpretation: step 1 – descriptive juxtaposition; step 2 – analytical juxtaposition; and step 3 – analytical interpretation.
Highlights
Since 2014, a consortium of international partners has organised the two-week Winter Schools on Comparative Studies in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in February at Campus Würzburg, Germany
Whereas the first week of the Winter School is dedicated to studying international policies in adult education and lifelong learning, the second week focuses on the comparison of selected issues in adult and continuing education
A comparative research methodology was developed that can be used for comparing adult and continuing education
Summary
Since 2014, a consortium of international partners has organised the two-week Winter Schools on Comparative Studies in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in February at Campus Würzburg, Germany. A central element of the annual Winter School is that professors from the partner universities participate together with their students (Egetenmeyer, Guimarães & Németh, 2017). They select and prepare students at their home universities from October till January each year. Since the 2015 Winter School, an edited volume has been published each year as follow-up to the Winter School These volumes present the results of comparative studies in adult and continuing education (Egetenmeyer, 2016a; Egetenmeyer, Schmidt-Lauff & Boffo 2017; Egetenmeyer & Fedeli, 2017; Egetenmeyer & Mikulec, 2019). Based on the previous volumes, as well as many reflections, discussions, and feedback between the consortium members, the methodology for comparative adult and continuing education was developed. This paper is based on these tutorials and the abovementioned publications
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
