Adult Education Centers : Germany

Adult education centers (Volks-hochschulen) were introduced towards the end of the 19th century, based on the Scandinavian model. They impart mainly practical but also theoretical knowledge. Today the subjects range from astronomy, foreign languages, art and art appreciation to Zen meditation. There are more than 1,000 adult education centers in the Federal Republic and numerous sub-centers. They are generally run by local authorities or registered associations. As a rule, funds are contributed by the state governments.
Adult education centers are non-political and non-denominational. Most of them take the form of evening classes, but there are also residential centers which offer courses lasting several days or weeks. In 1995 alone, the adult education centers ran more than 500,000 courses which were attended by about 6.4 million people (in 1965 there were 78,000 courses and 1.7 million participants). More than 2.7 million people took part in nearly 79,000 individual events.

Most popular are language, health education, and arts and crafts courses. For a number of years, certificates have been awarded in various subjects such as languages, mathematics, science and technology. Many participants also make up for opportunities lost at school: in 1995, 6,079 individuals obtained a secondary general school certificate, 3,102 an intermediate school certificate, and 2,197 a university entrance qualification. This widely varying tuition is provided by some 8,300 full-time teachers and more than 182,000 part-time course leaders.