Adult Education Research and Neo-Institutional Theory
The application of neo-institutional theory in adult education research is the topic of the 45th issue of the International Yearbook of Adult Education (IYAE). Contributors discuss varieties of theory, methodological implications, and empirical studies that examine phenomena in adult and continuing education using a neo-institutional theoretical framework.
At first, the authors look at new developments in neo-institutional theory in relation to comparative research as well as at the capture of the institutional using grounded theory. Three empirical studies focus on the mechanisms of dissemination of lifelong learning, the concept of institutional entrepreneurship, and the integration of quality management systems in different organizational contexts.
Other contributions address the openness of adult education research and the representation of authors from the Global South in international adult education journals. Three reviews of new publications on adult education and migration, large-scale assessments in adult education, socialization, and informal learning conclude the volume.
The entire volume can be accessed as an e-paper in open access on the wbv site: E-Paper Volume 45
Abstracts:
Alexander W. Wiseman
Recent Developments in the Relationship between Empirical Comparative Research on Education and Neo-Institutional Theory
Traditional approaches to neo-institutional theory have focused on cross-national isomorphism resulting from processes of scripting and legitimization, but more recent empirical comparative research on education increasingly addresses power critiques in both the theoretical and empirical analyses. These recent developments have also led to a shift in the types of methodological approaches framed by neo-institutional theory as well as an expansion of the institution of education from organizations to individuals. Given these developments the conceptual and empirical advantages of neo-institutional theory as applied to empirical comparative research on education are explored.
Dörthe Herbrechter
Empirically Grasping the Institutional: Methodological Reflections on Institutional Research Using Grounded Theory
The article draws on the multi-level perspective on adult education and considers institutional conditions as important influencing factors which enable adult learning. It is characteristic of these institutional conditions (especially in a highly institutionalised form) to appear self-evident, without alternative and therefore self-explanatory. This poses challenges for the empirical analysis of the institutional in general and its comprehension using qualitative data collection and analysis methods. Against this background, the article focuses on the extent to which the institutional can be systematically grasped in verbal data. For this purpose, the article refers to grounded theory according to Strauss and Corbin, which is often used in organisational research but discussed controversially in neoinstitutionalist research.
Mike Zapp
Three Tales of Lifelong Learning as a Travelling Idea: Diffusion, Mimesis, and Translation
Variants of lifelong learning have been discussed internationally since the early 1960s, yet cross-national adoption and implementation remained limited. It was only in the 1990s that the concept saw worldwide diffusion across countries and international organizations. Such diffusion is not to be confused with institutionalization and tells us little about how actors such as nation-states adopt lifelong learning in their specific contexts. Three scenarios of policy adoption and institutionalization have been widely discussed in the literature. One is diffusion, i. e., the formal (and often decoupled) adoption of ideas, the second scenario is mimesis, i. e., the unfiltered uptake of ideas, and, third, translation which describes a more complex process of partial and selective adoption. This contribution discusses these three theoretical perspectives and presents empirical data, both historical and more recent, on the diffusion, mimesis and translation of lifelong learning in a global perspective.
Jakob Bickeböller, Dörthe Herbrechter, Michael Schemmann
Institutional Entrepreneurship in Adult Basic Education. Recent Theoretical Developments and Empirical Analyses.
Using the neo-institutionalist concept of the institutional entrepreneur, this article examines the process of institutionalization in the field of adult literacy and basic education, which is in a process of structural development. The aim of the analysis is to identify relevant actors at the regional level of basic education and to reconstruct the projects in which they are involved. Another focus is on the applied skills that actors use to drive the process of institutionalization. The article is based on a secondary analysis of an interview-based study with experts from the field of basic education. The findings point to a field characterized by fragility, in which actors engage in diverse projects. Depending on the form of the project, different skills become relevant.
Martin Reuter
Quality Management in Adult Education Organisations
The manifold discourses on the quality of continuing education organisations are closely related to processes of social change. However, it is unclear to what extent the effectiveness or integration of quality management systems in continuing education organisations in Germany is influenced by organisational contexts. This study used the neo-institutional concepts of organisational fields and loose coupling as a theoretical basis to address this research gap. Based on the 2017 wbmonitor survey, this study examined and differentiated effectiveness attributions by their organisational springs with a variance analysis. The results showed tighter couplings for the “organisation” impact factor, medium couplings for the “pedagogy” impact factor and rather weak or loose couplings for the “personnel” and “economy” impact factors. The fields for the “organisation” factor significantly differed from each other. There were no significant differences for the “pedagogy”, “personnel” and “economy” factors.
Tim Vetter
Who Publishes What? – A Bibliometric Study of Papers from the Global South in International Journals of Adlt Education Research
On the one hand, the paper follows the approach of mapping the rapidly changing field of adult education research through the quantitative approach of bibliometrics, and on the other hand, it takes up the hypothesis of the underrepresentation of adult education researchers from the Global South in the research field. It focuses on the question of how often adult education researchers from the Global South are able to place their work in indexed international journals of adult education research, what visibility their articles gain, and what topics they address. Methodologically oriented on already conducted bibliometric studies in adult education research, all contributions of authors from the Global South of the years 2000-2020 in nine indexed journals of adult education research were examined for this purpose. The results show, among other things, that perspectives of scholars from the Global South are strongly underrepresented in the renowned journals considered, that the published articles receive less attention than is usual for the journals and that this could also be related to the topics covered.