Stakeholder meeting "Basic education in the neighbourhood"

Documentation of the Stakeholder Meeting "Basic education in the neighbourhood"

11.10.2023 I Online

On 11 October 2023, the National Coordination Office for the European Agenda for Adult Education and the AlphaDecade Coordination Office held a virtual expert discussion with representatives of the expertise and coordination offices for literacy and basic education in the federal states on the topic of "Basic education in the neighbourhood".

Against the background that the neighbourhood approach is of central importance for literacy and basic education work, the aim of the expert discussion was to highlight existing approaches and programmes for basic education work in neighbourhoods and to discuss the challenges and important success factors for effective basic education work in neighbourhoods.

Meike Heckenroth and Timo Heyn from empirica, the accompanying agency of the interdepartmental strategy, first presented the urban development programme "Social Cohesion" and the interdepartmental strategy "Socially Integrative City - Strengthening Neighbourhoods, Coexistence in the Neighbourhood" with special consideration of the topic of literacy and basic education in the social space and as a cross-sectional task. They also highlighted interfaces with existing activities of the AlphaDecade National Coordination Centre.

Vera Everhartz and Hanna Riedel from the German Adult Education Association then presented the projects “InSole – in Sozialräumen lernen (Transfer)” and "vhs-Lerntreffs im Quartier"(vhs learning centres in the neighbourhood) project, the latter has been funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)  since 2023. The vhs learning centres pursue the approach of outreach educational work with open informal learning locations and aim to meet people where they are in social and spatial terms: Education takes place locally, in clubs, in neighbourhoods, meeting centres, etc. In their presentation, Ms Everhartz and Ms Riedel particularly emphasised the relevance and important factors of cooperation between further education institutions and neighbourhood work providers.

Finally, Ms Mirijam Wenger from the Lernstube Altstetten of Caritas Zürich provided an insight into the neighbourhood work of the "Zürcher Lernstuben" project in Switzerland. The Lernstuben project aims to create a benevolent learning environment with outreach course formats, counselling opportunities and concrete assistance. In this way, people with low basic skills in the areas of reading and writing, arithmetic and the use of information and communication technologies should be able to (re)enter further education. Further information and insights into the Altstetten learning centre can be found at Lernstube Altstetten (lernstuben.ch)

The InSole concept, the vhs learning centres in the neighbourhood and the Zurich Lernstuben initiative have confirmed that people with basic education needs can be successfully addressed with outreach, low-threshold offers. The following success factors were identified in the expert discussion:

1. Anchoring the learning centres in the neighbourhood
Easily accessible, easily visible, cosy: all three speakers confirmed these as success factors for low-threshold learning locations in the neighbourhood. There were many questions from the audience, as suitable spaces are becoming increasingly rare, especially in cities. Vera Everhartz said that there was therefore a lot to be said for networking in the neighbourhood. "The adult education centres have coordinated closely with the providers of neighbourhood work and looked for already established premises in order to dock their learning offers there." 

District centres, neighbourhood cafés, multi-generation houses - all of these can also be good places to learn for a few hours a week, close to everyday life. This is often advantageous for both sides: the learning centres can get started straight away because the facilities and other infrastructure are already in place. In return, the learning centres bring professionalism to a topic that already accompanies the socio-spatial work of the partners. The new physical proximity relieves the burden on the neighbourhood work specialists - and at the same time creates a lasting awareness of the needs of the less literate in their social environment. 

2. Anchoring the teachers in the neighbourhood
The teachers are the faces of basic education in the neighbourhood: "The better known and more familiar the teachers are locally, the better the learning meetings are received," said Hanna Riedel from DVV. Distributing flyers, approaching people on the street, being present at neighbourhood festivals: With measures like these, it is often possible to quickly publicise oneself and one's own offer. 

The experts also confirm that, on the one hand, the personal relationship between teachers and learners is a key factor. On the other hand, the willingness to work in neighbourhoods increases the demands on the professional group of basic education teachers.

Qualified teachers are often supported by volunteer learning coaches who enable individualised learning support. The one-to-one support and involvement in the learners' everyday lives can significantly boost their motivation and stamina. But these volunteers have also proven to be an asset from the perspective of neighbourhood work. Hanna Riedel: "Volunteers are often well integrated in their neighbourhood anyway. That's an advantage that can be utilised." Volunteer work also provides further points of contact in the social space, for example with the volunteer agencies.

Mirjam Wenger, meanwhile, has had good experiences with the personnel separation between coordination and learning programmes. The coordinator concentrates on networking in the neighbourhood, while the teacher focuses on working with the participants. "You have to be flexible here to see which distribution of tasks makes sense on site."

3. Anchoring the learning opportunities in everyday life
Without registration, flexible in terms of content, free of charge, with an immediate impact on everyday life: DVV and Caritas in the canton of Zurich agree that this is how basic education learning opportunities should be in the neighbourhood. "Sometimes the focus is on reading and writing. Sometimes topics such as mobile phone use offer more discreet opportunities to engage with reading and writing," said Mirjam Wenger. Many of the programmes have a mixed audience. For example, older people who otherwise have no problems with basic education also come to receive help regarding the use of the mobile phone come to the topic of mobile phone use. "That only makes the exchange and mutual learning better."

Johanna Thon from the Federal Office of Family Affairs and Civil Society Functions (BAFzA) confirmed this experience from the audience. She coordinates the special focus on "promoting reading, writing and arithmetic skills" in the multi-generation centres (MGH). The MGHs have largely abandoned the distinction between German native speakers with low literacy skills and people with German as a second language. "Both target groups get on well together in the programmes, with the latter in particular having significantly fewer inhibitions."

However, everyday learning means more than just everyday topics and appropriately designed learning materials. Opening hours also play an important role: For example, the learning centres in the canton of Zurich try to cover as many hours as possible, even during the day. Sometimes they are open in the morning, sometimes in the evening and there is also a programme on Saturdays. "Many of our participants work or have family commitments. These life circumstances offer good learning opportunities. But they also set a framework for opportunities. We have to respond to this," said Mirjam Wenger.

This was also emphasised by Hanna Riedel and Vera Everhartz. For example, some of the vhs learning clubs have started to organise childcare in cooperation with family centres or children's leisure facilities. Where this is successful, this is reflected in the number of participants.

4. Anchoring basic education in the structures of neighbourhood work
The group of experts emphasised that the networking of education providers and socio-spatial actors such as neighbourhood management at a local level is a key factor for the continuation of basic education programmes in the neighbourhood. Cooperation is still necessary in order to systematically establish counselling and referral structures. 

There are very different local structures for this networking. Sometimes these are neighbourhood conferences, sometimes round tables on individual specialist topics. In some social areas, there are already local alpha alliances based on basic education work, in which representatives of neighbourhood work can be involved. However, close and trusting cooperation between neighbourhood or social work on the one hand and basic education providers on the other requires willingness and time to establish and maintain cooperation. "This must be an integral part of work planning," said Hanna Riedel.

Experience has shown that if this work goes well, the collaboration quickly expands to include a larger circle of socio-spatial stakeholders – day-care centres or schools, for example. Informal awareness-raising formats such as neighbourhood walks have proven their worth here. However, this also involves effort, which requires fixed resources and responsibilities.