Berlin District Centres of Adult Education

Home , Blankenfelde, Friedenau, Heinersdorf, Lankwitz, Lichterfelde (Berlin), Majakowskiring

Urban Sustainability, Orientation Theory and Adult Education Infrastructure in the District – A Common Approach in the Case of the Berlin District Centres of Adult Education

vorgelegt von

Frau Dipl.-Ing. Anastasia Zefkili

von der Fakultät VI Planen Bauen Umwelt

der Technischen Universität Berlin

zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades

Doktor der Ingenieurwissenschaft

-Dr.-Ing. –

genehmigte Dissertation

Promotionsausschuss:

Vorsitzender: Prof. Henckel

Berichter: Prof. Pahl-Weber

Berichter: Dr. Dienel

Tag der wissenschaftlichen Aussprache: 10.09.2010

Berlin 2011

D 83 Acknowledgements

The present work would not be possible without the support of a number of people with whom I had the pleasure to cooperate. I would like to express my gratitude to the experts and to the employees of the Berlin Volkshochschule, who dedicated their time and shared their knowledge and experience for the purpose of the current research. I would also like to thank my supervisors, Prof. Elke Pahl-Weber and Dr. Hans- Liudger Dienel, for their support, as well as Prof. Hartmut Bossel for his comments on my work. Furthermore, I am grateful to the Bakala Foundation for the financing of my studies and to the Women's Affairs Office for the Central University Administration for their support towards the conclusion of my thesis. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Marcello Barisonzi, who supported me with technical advice and read my thesis.

Contents

1 Introduction 1 1.1 Adult Education in Sustainable District Development ...... 1 1.2 Urban Issues at the District Level ...... 4 1.3 Trends in Adult Education ...... 10 1.3.1 Educational Infrastructure in the District ...... 13 1.3.2 Spatial Effects of Educational Infrastructure ...... 16 1.4 Adult Education in Germany ...... 17 1.4.1 District Centres of Adult Education: Volkshochschule . . . 22 1.4.2 The Case of the Berlin Volkshochschule ...... 24 1.5 Monitoring Urban Sustainability ...... 28 1.5.1 The Contribution of Orientation Theory ...... 30 1.6 Aim and Course of Investigation ...... 33 1.6.1 Detailed Research Questions ...... 34 1.6.2 Methodology and Structure ...... 35

2 Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability 39 2.1 Deﬁning Sustainability in Systemic Terms ...... 39 2.1.1 Development of Indicator Sets with Orientation Theory . . 42 2.2 The City as a System ...... 45 2.2.1 The Subsystem of Adult Education ...... 49 2.3 The Berlin Volkshochschule ...... 52 2.3.1 Educational and Socio-political Tasks ...... 52 2.3.2 External and Internal Organisation ...... 57 2.3.3 Present Stand and Future Trends ...... 60 2.3.4 Quality Monitoring in the VHS ...... 65 2.4 Implementation of Orientation Theory to the Volkshochschule ...... 68 2.4.1 The Model of the Volkshochschule ...... 69 2.4.2 The Environment of the Volkshochschule ...... 78 2.4.3 From the Basic Orientors to an Indicator Set ...... 84

i CONTENTS

2.5 Conclusions ...... 95

3 Empirical Research 98 3.1 Qualitative Methods in Urban Research ...... 98 3.1.1 The Expert Interview ...... 99 3.2 Planning the Interviews ...... 101 3.2.1 The Experts ...... 103 3.2.2 Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria ...... 107 3.3 Analysis of the Transcripts ...... 109 3.3.1 The Interview Codes ...... 110 3.3.2 The Position of the Experts towards the Volkshochschule . 119 3.3.3 The Volkshochschule in Urban District Development . . . 146 3.4 Expert Approach and Orientation Theory ...... 158 3.4.1 A Comparison of Outcomes ...... 167 3.5 Conclusions ...... 168

4 Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule 172 4.1 Aim and Method of the Field Research ...... 172 4.1.1 The Volkshochschule under Study ...... 173 4.2 Pankow ...... 185 4.2.1 Urban Structure ...... 189 4.2.2 Borough Pankow ...... 195 4.2.3 Volkshochschule Pankow ...... 197 4.2.4 Structure and Key Processes ...... 200 4.2.5 Infrastructure ...... 211 4.2.6 Evaluation of the Indicators ...... 216 4.3 Steglitz-Zehlendorf ...... 236 4.3.1 Urban Structure ...... 240 4.3.2 Borough Steglitz-Zehlendorf ...... 243 4.3.3 Victor-Gollancz-Volkshochschule Steglitz-Zehlendorf . . . 245 4.3.4 Structure and Key Processes ...... 253 4.3.5 Infrastructure ...... 258 4.3.6 Evaluation of the Indicators ...... 263 4.4 Sustainability Challenges ...... 282 4.5 Conclusions ...... 285

5 Research Results 288 5.1 Perspectives for the Volkshochschule ...... 288 5.1.1 Potentials in Sustainable District Development ...... 289 5.1.2 Prerequisites for the Infrastructure ...... 292

ii CONTENTS

5.2 Insight gained through Orientation Theory ...... 294

6 Conclusions 297 6.1 Sustainability, Social Infrastructure and District Development . . 297 6.2 Orientation Theory in Urban Development ...... 299 6.3 Lessons from Berlin ...... 300

Bibliography 305

Appendix A 328

iii List of Tables

1.1 Age distribution of the population in Germany (2006) - Ofﬁcial prognoses (2030)...... 21

2.1 Environmental properties and environment-determined basic orientors. 44 2.2 System-determined basic orientors...... 45 2.3 Guidelines for the development of an indicator set...... 46 2.4 Development and composition of the VHS personnel (2004-2007). . . . 61 2.5 VHS educational offers (2004-2007)...... 61 2.6 Distribution of VHS courses (2004-2007)...... 62 2.7 Distribution of VHS events (2004-2007)...... 63 2.8 Distribution of VHS income (2004-2007)...... 64 2.9 Distribution of VHS expenditures (2004-2007)...... 64 2.10 Sector System ”Government and Administration”...... 81 2.11 Sector System ”Infrastructure”...... 82 2.12 Sector System ”Economic System”...... 82 2.13 Sector System ”Social System”...... 83 2.14 Sector System ”Individual Development”...... 83 2.15 Sector System ”Environment and Resources”...... 84

4.1 Population distribution and mobility in Pankow (2007)...... 185 4.2 Demographic change of the population in Pankow (1995, 2007). . . . . 186 4.3 Age distribution of the population in Pankow (2003-2005)...... 186 4.4 Teaching hours realised in VHS Pankow facilities (2007)...... 217 4.5 VHS Pankow offers hosted in public schools (2007)...... 217 4.6 VHS Pankow offers hosted in other borough institutes (2007)...... 218 4.7 VHS Pankow offers hosted in facilities of third partners (2007)...... 219 4.8 VHS Pankow offers realised in natural areas (2007)...... 220 4.9 Distribution of VHS Pankow teaching hours (2007)...... 220 4.10 Distribution of VHS Pankow teaching hours (2004/05-2006/07). . . . . 221 4.11 VHS Pankow: infrastructure provision (1999, 2003, 2008)...... 221 4.12 VHS Pankow: evaluation of the infrastructure (2005)...... 222

iv LIST OF TABLES

4.13 Capacity utilisation of the VHS Pankow facilities (2003, 2008)...... 224 4.14 Capacity utilisation of the VHS Pankow facilities (2004/05-2006/07). . . 225 4.15 Inﬂuence degree of VHS Pankow on infrastructure issues...... 228 4.16 VHS Pankow: innovation rate per semester (II04-II08)...... 233 4.17 VHS Pankow: offers realised in cooperation with partners (2007). . . . . 233 4.18 VHS Pankow: distribution of offers in cooperation with associations (2007)...... 234 4.19 VHS Pankow: distribution of offers in cooperation with other institutes (2007)...... 234 4.20 VHS Pankow: distribution of offers in cooperation with partners (2008). 235 4.21 Offers under request/contract provided by the VHS Pankow (2004-2007).236 4.22 Population distribution and mobility in Steglitz-Zehlendorf (2007, 2008). 237 4.23 Demographic change of the population in Steglitz-Zehlendorf (1995, 2007)...... 237 4.24 Age distribution of the population in Steglitz-Zehlendorf (2003-2005). . 238 4.25 VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf facilities (2007, 2008)...... 259 4.26 Teaching hours realised in VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf facilities (2007, 2008).263 4.27 VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf offers hosted in public schools (2007, 2008). . . 264 4.28 VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf offers hosted in other public facilities (2007, 2008)...... 265 4.29 VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf offers hosted in facilities of third partners (2007, 2008)...... 266 4.30 VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf offers in other locations (2007, 2008)...... 266 4.31 Distribution of VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf teaching hours (2007, 2008). . . 267 4.32 VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf: infrastructure provision (1999, 2000, 2007, 2008).267 4.33 VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf: evaluation of the infrastructure (2005). . . . . 268 4.34 Capacity utilisation of the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Adult Education House (2007, 2008)...... 271 4.35 Capacity utilisation of the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf House (2007, 2008). 272 4.36 Capacity utilisation of the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Teaching Facility (2007, 2008)...... 273 4.37 Offers of the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf under request/ﬁnanced by third partners (2007, 2008)...... 279 4.38 Offers under request/contract provided by the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf (2004-2007)...... 280 4.39 Evaluation of the basic orientors...... 282

6.1 Age distribution of the population in Athens (2001)...... 301 6.2 Distribution of unemployment in Greece (2009)...... 301

v LIST OF TABLES

6.3 Distribution of participation in adult education in Greece (2007). . . . . 302 6.4 Education and employment status between people with migration background in Greece (2008)...... 303

vi List of Figures

1.1 A scheme of integrated social and educational infrastructure in the district...... 15 1.2 The Berlin VHS and its environment...... 26

2.1 The system and its environment...... 40 2.2 Main concepts of orientation theory: General environmental properties and the basic orientors derived from them...... 43 2.3 Societal system: Hyper-systems and their sector systems...... 48 2.4 A systemic description of the LQW: Main elements, processes and parameters...... 66 2.5 The VHS-Model...... 70 2.6 A proposed indicators set for the evaluation of the VHS infrastructure...... 90

4.1 The boroughs of Berlin...... 174 4.2 VHS offers: provision and response...... 177 4.3 Adult education provision - Key figures...... 178 4.4 VHS offers per programme sector...... 179 4.5 VHS resources: distribution of the personnel (number of employees)...... 180 4.6 VHS resources: distribution of income sources ( €)...... 181 4.7 Distribution of VHS expenses ( €)...... 182 4.8 Investments and expenses through the VHS - Key figures ( €). . . 183 4.9 Degree of covering the VHS expenses - Key figures ( €)...... 184 4.10 Local districts in Pankow borough...... 190 4.11 Organisation of the borough Pankow...... 196 4.12 Location of VHS Pankow offers (I)...... 214 4.13 Location of VHS Pankow offers (II)...... 215 4.14 VHS Pankow: Distribution of expenses...... 220 4.15 VHS Pankow: Distribution of income sources...... 227 4.16 VHS Pankow: Change of expenses in relation to the median. . . . 231

vii LIST OF FIGURES

4.17 Local districts in Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough...... 241 4.18 Organisation of the borough Steglitz-Zehlendorf...... 244 4.19 Location of VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf offers (I)...... 261 4.20 Location of VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf offers (II)...... 262 4.21 VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf: Distribution of expenses...... 268 4.22 VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf: Distribution of income sources...... 274 4.23 VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf: Change of expenses in relation to the median...... 276 4.24 Orientation Star: Area of satisfaction for the basic orientors and position of VHS Pankow and VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf...... 284

viii Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Adult Education in Sustainable District Devel- opment

The viability of cities in global economy depends on issues of specialisation and competitiveness. As a result, conﬂicts and local pressures that threaten urban viability are intensiﬁed (Walters (ed.) 1997, Nijkamp 1990). The urban landscape is shaped by rapid technological advances, high mobility and the rising of knowledge society (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions 2004, Bron/Schemmann (eds.) 2003). The acquisition of advanced skills seems to be the only viable choice for the citizens of post-industrial societies (Lapple¨ 2006)1. Nevertheless, the acquisition of such skills has become more time and cost intensive, limiting thus the chances of the socially weak groups. The increase of inequalities and urban poverty has generated the need for stronger social support (Kronauer 2002 and 1998, p.p. 22-24)2,3. At the same time, the withdrawal of the social state has triggered the re-consideration of crucial issues regarding social infrastructure. Questions of who could provide these services and with which criteria have to be settled anew (Convery 1998). Distinctive of this situation is the pressure that most educational institutes confront. They are called to balance between market demands and social needs at both functional and contextual level (Lohmann/Rilling (eds.) 2002). These

1Lapple,¨ Dieter: ”Stadtische¨ Arbeitswelten im Umbruch - zwischen Wissensokonomie¨ und Bildungsarmut”. In: Heinrich-Boll-Stiftung¨ (Hrsg.) 2006, p.p. 19-35. 2Kronauer, Martin: ”Die neue soziale Frage: Armut und Ausgrenzung in der Großstadt heute”. In: Walther (Hrsg.) 2002, p.p. 45-55. 3Kronauer, Martin: ”Armut, Ausgrenzung, Unterklasse”. In: Haußermann¨ (Hrsg.) 2000, p.p. 13-27.

1 1. Introduction conditions have led to a search for new resources and management strategies (Stein (ed.) 1988). However, even though the available resources are shrinking, the quality of the infrastructure needs to be reconsidered and shape the new strategies, rather than the quantity (Gestring/Janßen 2002, p. 156)4. A central point in this discussion is the role educational infrastructure should undertake in a globalised world shaped by local conditions (Hake/van Gent/Katus (eds.) 2004, Walters (ed.) 1997). A sustainable approach of the above issues calls for a political culture which recognises the district as the central handling unit (Alisch 2001, p.11)5. In every district different conditions and potentials are present each time and social infrastructure has to adapt to them. Furthermore, the local provision of the infrastructure facilitates the proximity to groups with low physical and social mobility. An open and ﬂexible infrastructure, connected to place and residents, is a prerequisite, in order to respond to local needs and mobilise local potentials (Koller-Tejeiro 1998, p.60)6. The development of such infrastructure can be achieved only with the active involvement of the local actors (Voß 2001, p. 137)7. Local policies are important not only for the engagement of resources, but also for the recognition of individual and social needs and the building of networks (Corcoran/Thake (eds.) 2003, Louis 2002, Chanan 1999, Conway 1998). Innovative policies that promote cross-sectional cooperation and wider participation must be further developed. However, a contradiction is evident in the implementation of local strategies. On one hand, the expected outcomes are set very high. On the other hand, the available investments are constantly shrinking and restricted (Kapphan 2002, p.p. 95-96, Koller-Tejeiro 1998, p. 60)8. As a consequence, a part of the responsibility for social provisions is transferred to the people that are in need of them. Through the support of civil society the community can participate once more in problem-solving, as well as in decision-making processes (Corcoran/Thake (eds.) 2003, Chanan 1999). Nonetheless, the framework of this participation has changed considerably. In

4Gestring, Norbert/Janßen, Andrea: ”Sozialraumanalysen aus stadtsoziologischer Sicht”. In: Riege/Schubert (Hrsg.) 2002, p.p. 147-159. 5Alisch, Monika: ”Zwischen Leitbild und Handeln - Alte Forderungen nach einer neuen politschen Kultur”. In: Alisch (Hrsg.) 2001, p.p. 9-26. 6Koller-Tejeiro, Yolanda M.: ”Neue Aufgaben der Sozialplanung - Ein sozialpolitisches In- strument als Zaubermittel oder zahnloser Tiger?”. In: Alisch (Hrsg.) 1998, p.p. 53-68. 7Voß, Brigitte: ”Von Hummeln und fahrenden Zugen¨ - Bildungseinrichtungen als Schrittmacher gesellschaftlichen Wandels”. In: Alisch (Hrsg.) 2001, p.p. 131-150. 8Kapphan, Andreas: ”Das arme Berlin: Zu Entstehung und politischem Umgang mit Armut- skonzentrationen”. In: Walther (Hrsg.) 2002, p.p. 87-98.

2 1. Introduction the 70s such movements were widely supported and initiated by the citizens, who tried to influence the public policy. Today these concepts are promoted by the state (Walther 2002, Hinte 1998, p. 154)9,10. Co-operations between civil and private actors under the coordination of the state, social-sponsoring and social- investment are examined as alternatives for the provision of social infrastructure (Dahme 2001, Nerlich/Kirchberg 1998)11. However, the civil actors often lack the necessary skills, knowledge or even the interest on participating in such structures (Haußermann¨ 2006, p.p. 130- 133)12. In order to overcome such obstacles, policies for ”capacity-building” and ”empowerment” are developed (Hinte 1998, p.154). But the implementation of such strategies presupposes the support of education. Otherwise arises the danger of fostering the selective participation of citizens, who already have the adequate skills or who promote specific interests (p. 155). In particular in disadvantaged areas the provision of corresponding educational offers, accessible by all citizens, has yet to be ensured (Habermann-Nieße 2006, p.101)13. The implementation of sustainability policies is often connected to action at the district level. Many local practises are concentrated in the promotion of health in connection to quality of life and democracy through inclusion, at national and European level (Jacobs/Dutton 2000, Drewe 2000, Stender 1998, Suß¨ 1998)14,15,16,17. Regarding educational infrastructure, there is, however, a gap. Specifically, as Habermann-Nieße (2006, p.101) recognises, the planning and provision of education that corresponds to local particularities is still missing from most of the German communities. There is still a necessity, as Voß

9Walther, Uwe-Jens: ”Ambitionen und Ambivalenzen eines Programms - Die Soziale Stadt zwischen neuen Herausforderungen und alten Losungen”.¨ In: Walther (Hrsg.) 2002, p.p. 23-43. 10Hinte, Wolfgang: ”Bewohner ermutigen, aktivieren, organisieren - Methoden und Struk- turen fur¨ ein effektives Stadtteilmanagement”. In: Alisch (Hrsg.) 1998, p.p. 153-170. 11Nerlich, Mark R./Kirchberg, Volker: ”Social-Sponsoring und social-Investment - Un- ternehmerische Forderung¨ fur¨ soziale Projekte im Quartier”. In: Alisch (Hrsg.) 1998, p.p. 251- 273. 12Haußermann,¨ Hartmut: ”Die Stadt als politisches Subjekt - Zum Wandel in der Steuerung der Stadtentwicklung”. In: Heinrich-Boll-Stiftung¨ (Hrsg.) 2006, p.p. 121-136. 13Habermann-Nieße, Klaus: ”Die Stadt der Stadtteile - Uber¨ die Differenzierung und Quali- ﬁzierung der Stadtquartiere”. In: Heinrich-Boll-Stiftung¨ (Hrsg.) 2006, p.p. 93-103. 14Jacobs, Brian/Dutton, Clive: ”Social and Community Issues”. In: Roberts/Sykes (eds.) 2000, p.p. 109-128. 15Drewe, Paul: ”European Experiences”. In: Roberts/Sykes (eds.) 2000, p.p. 281-294. 16Stender, Klaus-Peter: ”Gesundheits- und sozialvertragliche¨ Stadtpolitik - Vom Versuch, einen Anspruch politikfahig¨ zu machen”. In: Alisch (Hrsg.) 1998, p.p. 69-86. 17Suß,¨ Waldemar: ”Policy - Analyse. Armut und Gesundheit. Berichterstattung und intersek- torale Kooperation im Politik-Prozeß des Public Health Action Cycle”. In: Alisch (Hrsg.) 1998, p.p. 111-129.

3 1. Introduction

(2001, p.137) also underlines, each community to develop its own qualiﬁcation, its own strategies and context of education.

1.2 Urban Issues at the District Level

As described above, urban development is shaped today by the pressures of globalisation, information and knowledge society, as well as by social inequalities. Social development is determined by demographic changes, increased in- and out migration, segregation processes and a new urban poverty (Munier (ed.) 2007, Kazepov (ed.) 2005, Haußermann/Siebel¨ 2004, Frey 1999). In order to come up to these challenges, urban development strategies are implemented at different levels and with diversified broadness of goals. The development and implementation of urban strategies involve social, as well as spatial dimensions. However, there is a strong interaction between space and social dynamics (Keim 2003, Riege/Schubert (eds.) 2002). This interaction is recognised as an essential factor of urban development processes. Therefore, it must be taken into account, in order to define the appropriate level of planning and intervention. During the last century this subject is thoroughly examined in the literature of both fields, of social sciences and of spatial research. In the field of social ecology, Barker (1968) observed closely the human behaviour in relation to its environment. As a result, he recognised the existence of different behaviour settings, where particular activities of individuals or groups take place. In his social theory, Pierre Bourdieu referred to different concepts of capital (1980). He also connected the capital to the place where it is developed (1980 and 1993, p. 108). These reflections led to the widely used concept of social capital, as ”the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to pos- session of a durable network of more or less institutionalised relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition” (Bourdieu 1986, p. 243)18. Bourdieu’s notion of ”habi- tus” was also the base of the social milieu concept, which has gained important attention since the 80s. The observation of milieus varies between region, city, district or neighbourhood. The revival of the concept the last decade is connected to social inequality, local differentiation and socio-spatial effects at the district level (Kromer-Badoni/Kuhm¨ 2000, p.152-153, Matthiesen (ed.) 1998)19. The idea of a ”space of experiences” for each individual (”Erfahrungsraum”) was introduced by Mannheim already in the 1930s. Schulze (1992) underlined

18http://www.gnudung.com/literature/deﬁnition.html 19Kramer-Badoni,¨ Thomas/Kuhm, Klaus: ”Milieu”. In: Haußermann¨ (Hrsg.) 2000, p.p. 152- 162.

4 1. Introduction the physical aspects of this notion, as well as the connection to the concept of social milieu. This discourse is crystallised in the ”social space” (”sozialer Raum”, Lapple¨ 1991) an essential concept of modern urban planning. It expresses that ”social” is inseparable connected and inter-depended to the the spatial and temporal conditions under which it emerges (Herrmann/Lang 2001, p. 44)20. However, Becker (1998, p. 223)21 still recognised a denial to integrate spatial effects in social sciences (”Raumblindheit der Sozialwissenschaften”). In the last decade the interest on a common approach of physical and social space is awak- ened (Gestring/Janßen 2002, Becker 1998, p. 224). However, the framework of space analysis is shaped according to new patterns of time (Henckel 2000)22, the effects of globalisation and sustainability concerns (Keim 2003, Rodenstein 1991)23. Furthermore, as Haußermmann¨ (1998, p.89)24 underlines, globalisation has intensified considerably the social and spatial separation of different groups. A separation caused by demographic and economic changes. In order to analyse and govern socio-spatial development, acting at the local level is widely adopted in theory and practice (Kessl/Otto/Ziegler 2002)25. Klaus Selle (2001) emphasises the importance of action in the district and the re- discovery of the “local” in the “global-local” debate. Alisch (1998, p. 8) describes the influence that the quarter where one lives can exert to the individual. She supports that the connection to the neighbourhood, as a spatial unit, can offer chances for integration and social interaction. Many authors underline the attachment that people seem to have to their neighbourhood (Forrest 2004) and the consequences, positive and negative. It is especially the disadvantaged people that seem to have a strong attachment and spend most of their time in their neighbourhood (Gestring/Janßen 2002, p. 156). Some authors express their objections regarding the influence that local conditions can exert to the citizens. These objections are mainly based on the high mobility within cities and on the boundless possibilities offered by technology (Frey 1999). However, especially weak social groups often do not have the ac-

20Herrmann, Heike/Lang, Barbara: ”Zur Perspektive des Sozialen in der Stadt”. In: Alisch (Hrsg.) 2001, p.p. 29-45. 21Becker, Joachim: ”Wohnmilieus in der Stadtplanung”. In: Matthiesen (Hrsg.) 1998, p.p.221- 231. 22Henckel, Dietrich: ”Zeitstrukturen”. In: Haußermann¨ (Hrsg.) 2000, p.p. 312-321. 23Rodenstein, Marianne: ”Stadtebaukonzepte¨ - Bilder fur¨ den baulich-raumlichen¨ Wandel der Stadt”. In: Matthiesen (Hrsg.) 1998, p.p. 31-67. 24Haußermann,¨ Hartmut: ”Globalisierung, Global City”. In: Haußermann¨ (Hrsg.) 2000, p.p. 79-91. 25Kessl, Fabian/Otto, Hans-Uwe/Ziegler, Holger: ”Einschließen oder aufmachen? Der Raum, sein Kapital und deren Nutzer”. In: Riege/Schubert (Hrsg.) 2002, p.p. 177-190.

5 1. Introduction cess to these offers. The reason can be physical or social barriers, as well as deficiencies on the know-how of advanced technology. Furthermore, disadvantaged groups often lack the stimulus to overcome such barriers, trapped for example on the so-called downward spiral (Kazepov (ed.) 2005, McLoughlin 1969). These effects underline the close connection of social, economic and spatial processes at the local level. Such processes are stirred by the interaction between the prevailing social conditions, the existing opportunities and accessibility in a district and the social skills and personal development of the residents (Power/Willmot 2007, Temkin/Rohe 1998). Social capital also depends on this interaction and local practises must often be engaged for its enhancement, especially in disadvantaged areas (Herrmann/Lang 2001, p.p. 32-34). This also includes the presence and quality of social infrastructure (Crawford 2006, Mid- dleton/Murie/Groves 2005, Alheit 2001). Community infrastructure is important for the identity and image of the district and therefore for the local development and integration potentials (Habermann-Nieße 2006, p.p. 97-99). Therefore, both group-specific social infrastructure and cultural offers addressed to different groups have to be provided. Attractive offers could function in that case, as a connection point to people outside the district (Herrmann/Lang 2001, p.p. 37-38). Integration is understood here as coexistence in a multicultural society and not as assimilation of the immigrants. Prerequisites for such integration is to support exchange and participation. The direct contact of different groups and cultures locally offers the chance for working out or strain conflicts. For immigrants the neighbourhood can become their point of crystallisation. The correspondence of the infrastructure to their needs, the social networks and the local economy are fundamental for these processes (Der Paritatische¨ (ed.) 1998). These factors are also decisive for the approach of the immigrants as a potential resource of urban development (Ipsen 2006)26. However, in polarised societies the socio-spatial effects can lead to further segregation through the discrimination of disadvantaged groups. Especially for immigrants, the socio-spatial segregation is made evident to them already through the housing policy. The spatial concentration of disadvantaged groups harbours the danger of enhancing negative neighbourhood effects. The downward spiral is a result of such effects. For example, as Kronauer (2000, p. 25) describes, poor residents tend to confine themselves within their neighbour-

26Ipsen, Detlev: ”Migration und die Vielfalt der Kulturen als Ressource der Stadtentwick- lung”. In: Heinrich-Boll-Stiftung¨ (Hrsg.) 2006, p.p. 105-120.

6 1. Introduction hood. The distance to other, more developed districts prevent the residents from social confrontations and realisation of their own situation. Stigmatised neighbourhoods make their residents feel even more confined and provoke social conflicts. Kronauer underlines that the conditions in disadvantaged areas depend on the spatial structure and the social composition. Many sustainable development projects and initiatives are implemented at the neighbourhood or the urban district. In this way, the initiators hope to understand the actual needs of the residents and secure their participation. The Eu- ropean assessment tool towards sustainable neighbourhoods “HQE2R” (Mar- tin/Blum 2002), URBACT I and II27 and ENTRUST (Empowering Neighbour- hoods Through Recourse of Urban Synergies)28 are just some examples of such projects at the European level (Corcoran/Thake (eds.) 2003). In Germany integrative urban policies have being implemented at the district or neighbourhood level since the first half of the 90s. The first programme, named ”Districts with special development needs”, was initiated in Nordhein- Westfalen in 1993. It was followed by Hamburg (Programme for fighting Poverty, 1994), Hessen (1997) and Bremen (1998). In 1999 the federal programme ”So- cially Integrative City” (the ”Social City”)29, (Difu 2003, Walther (ed.) 2002) was initiated. The overall aims of the programme are to stop the socio-spatial polar- isation in German cities and stabilise the disadvantaged districts (BMVBS (ed.) 2008, p.5). Therefore, the programme supports measures for the improvement of the living conditions, the individual life chances, the image and openness of the district, as well as for the integration to and the identification with the neighbourhood (Difu 2003, p.12). Until 2007 approximately 500 urban districts in 320 communities and cities had participated in the programme. The dimension of space in the ”Social City” is extended from the physical conditions to a place of experiences and learning processes. As described by Kronauer (2002, p.52) it has a ”status character” and is a place of ”social self- definition”. Although the programme has adopted action at the local level, it is made clear that this alone is not enough to solve all the targeted problems. However, it can contribute to milder their effects in the district (Difu 2005, p. 9). Through the programme it is never neglected to stress that local strategies have to be connected to overall concepts for the city. This concerns more the educational and employment policy, the provision of housing, the social and cultural infrastructure (Difu 2003, p.13). The evaluation of the programme reveals a positive influence on the in-

27http://urbact.eu 28http://207.36.166.168/entrust/Default.htm 29http://sozialestadt.de/programm

7 1. Introduction volved districts (Difu 2005). The awareness of the communal politicians for the problems in the district has rose significantly. The disposition of the citizens and the image of the areas have improved. Important steps have being made in the fields of house quality, living environment and social infrastructure (especially the infrastructure for children and young people). Living together in the district has also improved significantly (in particular between Germans and foreigners). A smaller improvement has being achieved in working and training possibilities in the district. Poverty and unemployment levels have fallen only slightly (Difu 2005, based on the ”Zwischenevaluierung Soziale Stadt”, Institut fur¨ Stadtforschung und Strukturpolitik GmbH 2003). The programme has indicated that the citizens are more willing to contribute to local processes than it was expected. However, new informal ways of engagement have to be developed. Therefore, direct communication to the involved actors is required. Associations have an important role to the support of participation, since they are the dominant organisations of civil engagement. They have also revealed a high potential of organising networks and self-support, as well as undertaking important functions within the programme. The communal politicians and administration have yet to overcome questions of power and availability of resources. Competencies for dialogue and cooperation across different fields must be further developed (Difu 2003, p.p.17-29). The current discussion within the programme refers to strategies of anchoring at the local level. This concerns mostly the transition of the undertaken tasks from an area-based support to strategic goals of district development. Actors that could fulfil such tasks are still to be found. Resource acquisition and management also need to be further considered (Difu 2006). It is also underlined that the ”Social City” is a learning programme with experimental character. The programme supports the acquisition and exchange of experiences for innovative and integrative strategies (Difu 2005, p.7). A future pursuit through the programme should be to make a step further from stopping negative development to supporting the positive development of the districts involved (p. 9). There is also an important critique of the programme, which aims at two directions. On one hand it refers to programme-specific issues. On the other hand it refers to issues related to the district level approach. In the first direction the investment strategies, the limited short-time resources and the institutional anchoring are regarded insufficient with respect to the problems on hand. Furthermore, the high goals set by the programme generate doubts about their feasibility. It is not always regarded possible to realise the innovative policies that such integrative strategies require. For some authors the goals set by the

8 1. Introduction programme remain still too abstract (Difu 2005, p.7). Haußermann¨ (2002, p. 82)30 supports that the most important deficit of the ”Social City” is that it has not managed to turn the factors that lead to disadvantaged areas into an object of politics for an integrative city. As Haußermann¨ underlines, the same ministry that fights segregation through the ”Social City”, is promoting a free market housing policy, which leads to stronger segregation effects. Haußermann¨ (p. 83) warns that it is important not to loose the view of the city as a whole. Strategies should be developed that will integrate the district back to the city. Other authors also draw attention to the limitations of the local approach per se. Hanesch (Alisch 1998, p. 10)31 supports that local strategies have minimum chances of success. The conditions in the district are shaped by processes on which the community has no influence. Therefore the district offers a narrow frame of handling possibilities. Transferring the responsibility to the community cannot generate a solution. On the contrary, it may only push the problems further down. The causes of the problems, like poverty and unemployment, are wider and need central management (Vranken/De Decker/Van Nieuwenhuyze 2002, p.p. 42-52). The importance of city-wide concepts is not diminished by the local approaches. Furthermore, an overall integrative concept is widely recognised as a prerequisite for local concepts. The advantages that local as a handling unit offers, are discussed at length in the previous paragraphs. Cities have lost their homogeneity and integrative function (Haußermann¨ 2002). As Habermann and Nieße (2006, p. 96) underline, the stabilisation of the urban districts is a requirement for the development of the whole city. The coarse granularity of overall strategies does not allow them to tackle local particularities. The potentials and dynamic of each district and not only of the disadvantaged ones, are unique and have to be addressed individually (Herrmann/Lang 2001, p. 43). Only if these potentials are supported and enhanced, it is possible to control the development in the district and the effects of global processes. Due to the limited handling possibilities and resources, conflicts occur between districts. In this case, the differences have to be discussed and priorities should be set (Haber- mann/Nieße 2006, p.100).

30Haußermann,¨ Hartmut: ”Global, lokal, sozial. Von der Unteilbarkeit der Stadt”. In: Walther (Hrsg.) 2002, p.p. 71 - 84. 31Alisch, Monika: ”Stadtteilmanagement: Zwischen politischer Strategie und Beruhi- gungsmittel”. In: Alisch (Hrsg.) 1998, p.p. 7-22.

9 1. Introduction

1.3 Trends in Adult Education

In order to come up to the challenges posed by socio-economic changes, society has once again assigned a variety of tasks to adult education (Confintea V, 1997). The field of adult education was established at the beginning of the last century, in order to provide workers with up-to-date know-how. Further- more, the participation in democratic processes presupposed the development of the necessary skills and of a common identity between citizens (Hake/van Gent/Katus (eds.) 2004). After the end of the second world war a period of intensive learning and training activities followed. Nonetheless, survival and restoring of the economy were not the only reasons. There was also the need for restoring the identity of the citizens through civic education (Siebert 1999, p. 54)32. The 60s were characterised by an euphoria on one hand, and realism on the other. The service sector was rising and high mobility was dominating everyday life. Edu- cation was important for acquiring the qualification that could insure a good career and therefore a good quality of life (Siebert 1999, p.60). Since the 60s the subject of equal participation in education was central in the pedagogical dis- courses (Barz/Tippelt 1999, p. 127)33. That led educational offers of the 70s to have a strong orientation towards specific target groups (Siebert 1999, p. 63, Barz/Tippelt 1999, p.127). The ecological perspectives of the individual life- style of the time also found their way in adult education (Reck-Hog 1999, p. 145)34. Integration and distribution of chances were central mottos for the provision of adult education by the welfare state. In the 80s the crisis of the social system was apparent. Individualism and pluralisation of lifestyles were also influencing education (Siebert 1999, p. 68, Tippelt/Barz 1999, p.128). The orientation on everyday life, the background, the environment and the biography of the addressees were also adopted by education on the second half of the 80s (Griese 1999, p. 86, Jochen 1999, p.p. 97-109). At the end of the 80s and beginning of the 90s there was also an increased interest on the cultivation of the body ”from the inside and the outside”. Physical and psychical health was promoted even in business training . A plurality and variety in educational offers was available (Barz/Tippelt 1999, p.p. 127-128). The 90s were characterised by the effects of globalisation and the transition of eco-

32Siebert, Horst: ”Erwachsenenbildung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Alte Bun- deslander¨ und neue Bundeslander”.¨ In: Tippelt (Hrsg.) 1999, p.p. 54-80. 33Barz, Heiner/Tippelt, Rudolf: ”Lebenswelt, Lebenslage, Lebensstil und Erwachsenenbil- dung”. In: Tippelt (Hrsg.) 1999, p.p. 121-144. 34Reck-Hog, Ursula: ”Der sozialokologische¨ Ansatz in der Erwachsenenbildung”. In: Tippelt (Hrsg.) 1999, p.p. 145-156.

10 1. Introduction nomic activities to the service sector (Siebert 1999, p. 72). The importance of the spatial dimensions of educational infrastructure was examined systematically for the first time. Nuissl recognised three different types of learning places: the institutionalised adult education, the working environment and the everyday life (Reck-Hog 1999, p. 148). Industrial development in the past and high mobility of population today, have both led to increased migration, although under different conditions. Im- migration and emigration is intensive, not only between countries, but inside countries and cities as well. Multicultural societies are no longer the exception, rather the rule. A variety of cultures, values and notions of social responsibilities and rights is in a constant interaction within cities. Adult education supports the integration of immigrants in the society, through for example language courses or civic education. Furthermore it supports exchange and multicultural learning. Therefore it is a decisive actor for turning conflicts or latent potentials to an advantage for a successful life in the global society. Multicultural societies on one hand, individualism and a redefined sense of citizenship on the other hand, have led to the search for a new identity (Hake/van Gent/Katus (eds.) 2004). In Europe a common identity is cultivated with the help of adult education (Bechtel/Lattke/Nuissl 2005). An identity that can, however, embrace global and local characteristics (Walters (Hrsg.) 1997). The development of personal, social, political and professional skills remains the central task of adult education (Hake/van Gent/Katus (eds.) 2004). The support of lifelong learning is substantial for the fulfilment of this task, under the current socio-economic conditions (Kew 2006, Kade/Seitter 1998). The continuous transfer of knowledge, information and innovation (Olesen 2003)35 is a basic function of adult education institutes. It is also fundamental for the competitiveness and viability of the institutes (Olstedt 2003)36. The role of informal learning and the way it can be integrated in the educational landscape has gained interest in the recent discussions (Dietrich/Herr 2004, Faust/Holm 2001)37. In the post-industrial era the importance of vocational education is also counterbalanced by broadened educational fields. These fields include leisure or free-time and creative activities.

35Olesen, Henning Salling: “Generating knowledge about learning in the knowledge society – or learning about how the knowledge society knows”. In: Bron/Schemmann (eds.) 2003, p.p. 183–202. 36Olstedt, Ewa: “ICT - Burden or Beneﬁt for Education?”. In: Bron/Schemmann (eds.) 2003, p.p. 222–239. 37Dietrich, Stephan/Herr, Monika: ”Organisationsentwicklung und neue Lernkulturen”. In: Nuissl/Schiersmann/Siebert (Hrsg.) 2004, p.p. 24–32.

11 1. Introduction

The educational outcome and the consequent social (Tippelt/von Hippel 2005) and economic outcomes (Wildemeersch (ed.) 2000) of adult education are decisive for the competitiveness and viability of cities (Conﬁntea V, 1997). The development of skills for the support of private, social and economic activities, the exchange between cultures and ideas (Ramcharan 2002) or the development of human and social capital are substantially supported by adult education (Cave 2005, Convery 1998). Finally, a direct contribution to the confrontation or prevention of social problems is made through educational offers targeted to the integration of speciﬁc social groups. Adult education is traditionally connected to modern concepts, such as the welfare state, education for the working-classes and equal opportunities. It was also connected to social movements and civil society (Jarvis 1998)38. Today however, it is called to balance social with individual responsibility and needs. Fur- thermore, equal opportunities is a debatable concept. The state provides adult education mostly as a measure for supporting disadvantaged social groups in deprived urban districts. With the withdrawal of the welfare state and the wide privatisation, adult education was called to balance between educational, social and economic policies (Klemm 2003)39. Education is often considered as a product. Individuals are expected to recognise the need for continuous education and invest on it. The traditional providers of adult education face a considerable number of competitors. Today a reform of the institution of adult education is taking place (Welton 1998)40. The context of the various learning opportunities undergoes important changes (Finger/Jansen/Wildemeersch 1998, Edwards/Usher 1998)41,42. The necessity of new learning cultures and methods that correspond to the individual needs is widely recognised (Nuissl (ed.) 1999). Institutional and biographical changes in society call for creative learning processes. The modern concept of education as an institution is developing to a post-modern concept of education as a learning process. The framework of education as a learning process

38Jarvis, Peter:”The education of adults as a social movement: a question for late modern society”. In: Wildemeersch/Finger/Jansen (eds.) 1998, p.p. 57-72. 39Klemm, Ulrich: ”Erwachsenenbildung auf der Suche nach Identitat¨ - Spannungsfelder und Widerspruche¨ in den 90er Jahre”. In: Zimmermann (Hrsg.) 2003, p.p. 86–98. 40Welton, Michael: ”Civil society as theory and project - Adult education and the renewal of global citizenship”. In: Wildemeersch/Finger/Jansen (eds.) 1998, p.p. 187-220. 41Finger, Matthias/Jansen, Theo/Wildemeersch, Danny: ”Reconciling the irreconsilable? Adult and continuing education between personal development, corporate concerns and public responsibility”. In: Wildemeersch/Finger/Jansen (eds.) 1998, p.p. 1-25. 42Edwards, Richard/Usher, Robin: ”Modern ﬁeld and postmodern moorland: adult education bound for glory or bound and gagged”. In: Wildemeersch/Finger/Jansen (eds.) 1998, p.p. 27 - 56.

12 1. Introduction should be formed according to global interdependencies, local multiplicity and community practice (Jansen/Finger/Wildemeersch 1998)43. The acquisition, maintenance and management of the physical infrastructure of education binds a considerable amount of resources, financial, material, natural and human. Quality and adequacy of the infrastructure are very important for the fulfilment of the function of adult education, as it is discussed in the following section. Whereas the investments on reconstructing existing or building new infrastructure are more and more restricted. Therefore, an integrated approach of adult education infrastructure in the urban development can be proven very useful. On one hand, it can contribute to the efficient provision and management of the infrastructure. On the other hand, it can support the optimisation of resource use and the mobilisation of new resources. The existing literature has examined in a limited way such a perspective. Considerations and proposals in this field are mostly in the form of discussion papers or contributions to workshops. This signifies an increased interest towards this direction, which research has to examine further.

1.3.1 Educational Infrastructure in the District

The provision of social infrastructure at the district level, as has been argued above, offers many advantages. The proximity to the citizens facilitates the approach and gain of trust of the addressees, the overcome of physical obstacles (Chanan 1999), the recognition of different needs and expectations and the integration of bibliographical and social milieu parameters (Matthiesen (ed.) 1998). Furthermore, deficiencies or potentials can be early spotted, as well as the involved actors that can best handle them. Important examples from the German practise in this field are the local educational network ”Lokales Bildungsverbund” in Tiergarten, Berlin (LBV)44 and the project “Lernen im sozialen Umfeld” (LISU)45. Also within the programme ”Social City” educational infrastructure has won important attention. The corresponding programme field ”School and Education”46 handles relative questions in connection to the integration to the employment market. An important prerequisite is the openness of educational institutes towards new learning

43Jansen, Theo/Finger, Matthias/Wildemeersch, Danny: ”Reframing reﬂectivity in view of adult education for social responsibility”. In: Wildemeersch/Finger/Jansen (eds.) 1998, p.p. 237- 248. 44http://www.tiergarten-sued.de/Bildungsnetzwerk-LBV.2215.0.html 45http://www.abwf.de/content/main/publik/report/2003/Report-79.pdf#page=139 46http://www.sozialestadt.de/veroeffentlichungen/endbericht/5.5.phtml

13 1. Introduction methods, towards the neighbourhood and the citizens. Therefore the cooperation with various actors of district development is promoted. The ideal for future development is to realise the management of educational opportunities at district level (BMVBS 2008, p. 7, Difu 2003, p.p. 27-28). In the past, educational offers at district level were provided in connection to specific local strategies. In 1982 the results of the project ”Stieghorst”, in Bielefeld were published. Through this project the importance of district oriented political education was highlighted (Baacke/Brucher/Ferchhoff/Wessel¨ 1982, p. 124). The European Center for Community Education supported the programme ”Jugendhilfe - Schule - Stadtteil” (Filtzinger/Johann/Sauer/Seibel 1987). The aim of the project was to discover and develop the creative abilities of young people with the help of targeted socio-cultural offers (p. 89). This aim was achieved through the networking of local educational and cultural actors (p.p. 95-97). The Robert-Bosch-Stiftung initiated a five years programme in Wedding, Berlin for the integration of immigrants in the district (Mayer 1987). The programme was based on the kindergarten, as a place where children and parents meet. The aim was to give the impulse to support integration between Germans and foreigners in the place where people live, with the help of professional social actors (p. 16). In the 90s more projects were initiated, forerunners of the ”Social City” (Albermann/Roters/Krauß et. al. 1997). The concept of ”communal educational landscapes” is taking these considerations a step further (DVOPF¨ e.V., 2007). It expresses the need for cooperation of all the involved actors at the local level (organisations, institutions, family etc.) for the creation of a common concept of education. The community is also responsible to realise this concept and manage the resources. A similar concept is that of the educational action zones (Ranson 2000) referring especially to disadvantaged social groups. In Figure 1.1 the local actors that should be involved to the development of social and educational infrastructure at the local level are presented (Grimm 2005). Community education is not a concept met today for the first time, but the context under which it re-emerges differs considerably. Adult education was first supported by trade unions and community organisations. The emerge of modern concepts, a strong welfare state and equal distribution of chances turned adult education to an important responsibility of the state. The withdrawal of the welfare state is now the one calling community back to action (Wildemeersch/Finger/Jansen (eds.) 1998). The public responsibility for the provision of adult education is essential, not only for the viability of the institutes, but for ensuring the plurality and quality of the offers. This responsibility is partially transferred to the citizens, through

14 1. Introduction

Urban (District) Intercultural Children Development Work Day-Care Centres Urban District Work / Elementary Neighbourhood Modules of Schools Management Social and Educational Education Infrastructure in the District Secondary Children, Schools Youth

Further Education/ Youth and Families, Qualification/ Family Support Seniors Family Education

Figure 1.1: A scheme of integrated social and educational infrastructure in the district. Source: Translation from Grimm (2005, p.15).

civil engagement and creation of lifelong learning opportunities, formal and informal (Dohmen 1998, p. 40). Dohmen regards this as a prerequisite for the development of new ”learning societies” in the community (p.p. 79-86). The interaction of educational infrastructure with the urban district is decisive for two main reasons. The first one is that the state and change of educational infrastructure influences the potentials, attractiveness and development perspectives (directly or indirectly) of a district (Gordon/Monastiriotis 2006, Kazepov (ed.) 2005). The second reason is that actual or expected changes at the district level (social, demographic, economic, political etc.) direct decisions regarding the provision and financing of educational infrastructure. Studies in this field examine educational institutes as actors of regional development and are oriented on economic development, knowledge spillovers and competitiveness between regions. Educational infrastructure is also part of regional networks and affects their performance. The shape of differentiated educational and cultural landscapes contributes to the attraction of people and activities. However, the effects of educational infrastructure at the local level, within a city, are handled in a limited way by the existing literature. The present research examines these effects and especially the potential role of adult education in-

15 1. Introduction frastructure for the development of the district, where it is located.

1.3.2 Spatial Effects of Educational Infrastructure

The contribution of infrastructure to the fulfilment of adult education goals is widely recognised (Egger 2004, p. 8.). The quality of infrastructure and the achievement of desired learning environments are discussed at length during the last two decades (Fisher 2005, Meijers/Wijers 1998)47. Learning ecology is a field developed in order to cover such considerations (Reck-Hog 1999)48. In this field specific criteria for adult oriented facilities have being shaped. Exemplary educational institutes, where these ideas are implemented, can be found around the world (OECD 2007, PEB 2006, 2001, 1996). However, the available built assets were often intended for different uses than those serving through the years. Many buildings are dated back to the early 20th century, as for example an important part of the housing stock in northern Europe. Another important part of the built assets was constructed after World War II and until the 70s, when a tendency of demolition and construction dominated (Cars 1991, p.p. 1-2)49. As a result, most of the existing built stock satisfies different criteria of quality, technology, living and learning cultures, than those shaped in our days. The regeneration policies widely undertaken aimed primarily to declining neighbourhoods, since physical deterio- ration is a decisive factor of the downward spiral. The importance of the interaction between the built environment and the user is underlined in many contributions. Main concepts in this field are the concept of adapted spaces (Needham 1977, p.3, Chapin 1965), of “Athmosphare”¨ (Kurkowska 2005, p.162, Bohme¨ 1995) and of behavioural settings (Barker 1968). Flexibility is a key characteristic of educational infrastructure (Ponti 2005). It serves the challenges posed by urban development and educational needs, as outlined in the previous sectors. The technological advances have even supported a vision of education beyond place or time limitations (Taylor/ Peltsverger/Vasu 1997). However, practice has shown that the stimuli generated by face to face contact and its externalities cannot be replaced in distant communication (Audretsch 2003).

47Meijers, Frans/Wijers, Gerard: ”Flexibilisation or career identity?”. In: Wildemeer- sch/Finger/Jansen (eds.) 1998, p.p. 73-95. 48Reck-Hog, Ursula: ”Der sozialokologische¨ Ansatz in der Erwachsenenbildung”. In: Tippelt (Hrsg.) 1999, p.p. 145-156. 49Cars, Goran:¨ ”Introduction: Comparisons and Counterparts”. In: Alterman/Cars (eds.) 1991, p.p. 1-6.

16 1. Introduction

The attention given to the effects of educational infrastructure in the literature is quite restricted. In most cases it concerns the way infrastructure supports the desired educational outcomes (Abend 2005) and the related activities taking place in them (Kuhn¨ 2005). An example is the influence that classrooms exert on attainment and performance (Garner/Randenbush 1991). However, educational infrastructure generates another outcome. A spatial outcome, which refers to the externalities of its locality and the way it interacts with the urban environment. This interaction is not only restricted to the direct urban environment. It is extended to the whole district and can generate various outcomes, depending on the local particularities. In some cases, the influence of the educational infrastructure is extended over the borders of the local community. As Werner Zuhlke¨ (2001, p. 16) underlines: “Es ist auch davon auszugehen, dass angesichts der Ressourcenknappheit und der zunehmenden Vernetzung von Aufgabenfeldern innerhalb der kommunalen Zuständig- keiten multifunktionale Infrastruktureinrichtungen immer mehr an Bedeutung gewin- nen. Deren Planung und Umsetzung tangiert nicht nur die primärzielgruppenspezi- fischen Ausrichtungen in der Infrastrukturgestaltung, sondern macht auch veränderte Förderverfahren erforderlich, die sich eher an der räumlichenWirkung der Infrastruk- tur orientieren als an deren zielgruppenspezifischer Ausrichtung.“ The state and the presence or even absence of infrastructure in a district influence the development potentials and the way people experience the district. They contribute to the internal and external image of a district. Furthermore, the high differentiation between urban districts can lead to significant different responses to similar impulses. Therefore, the effects generated by infrastructure can have a specific local character or be experienced in diverse ways at the different urban levels (Haußermann¨ (ed.) 2000).

1.4 Adult Education in Germany

Germany is a federal state consisting of individual states. As a result, responsibilities and educational policies are developed at several levels. At federal state level a general educational policy is shaped. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is responsible for the supervision of educational provision according to Article 7 of the Basic German Law. Furthermore, this ministry takes decisions about the allocation of resources, educational research and quality support. The most important level of action is, however, the level of each state. The legislative framework, the provision and administration of educational infrastructure is determined and ﬁnanced by each state. Accordingly a state ministry

17 1. Introduction or senate is setting the framework for the function and monitoring of the educational institutes. The established public adult education institutes in Germany are the district centres of further education, named ”Volkshochschule” (in short VHS). The provision, financing and management of these institutes are, however, under the responsibility of the communal administration. Various other offers in the field of adult and continuing education are available by other public institutes, as for example the universities. Furthermore, private institutes, as well as no-profit organisations, provide adult education, such as the church or the different chambers. Before discussing the educational trends in Germany, a short introduction to the educational system is necessary. The most important characteristic of the school system is its dual character. After the first nine years of primary and basic general education different choices of general and vocational schools are available. Schools of general education offer the possibility of certified qualification for the entrance to the university. Vocational schools offer the possibility of certified specialisation in an occupation and/or of certified qualification for the entrance to the technical university. The choice of school, made in a quite early stage, is decisive for the available future choices. Inside transitions from one school type to another are possible and frequent, but time and cost intensive. The participation to the VHS offers is possible after the 15th year of age. There are rarely any limitations regarding previous qualification or age for the participation to a VHS course. A report regarding participation and transition in the educational system at federal level is published, according to the information provided by each state (Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung 2008). This report offers a valuable inside into current trends and future challenges in all educational fields. It underlines the connection between educational, social and financial processes, backgrounds and outcomes. Therefore the most important results connected to general educational trends and adult education are presented in this paragraph. In the academic year 2005/06 one fifth of the population of 82 million people participated in educational offers from the kindergarten to the university. Almost 25 million people participated in the offers of adult education. More than 1,2 millions new enrolments are realised in vocational training per year. An increased demand is noticed in vocational schools and especially in the transitional system. At the same time there is a low demand for higher education. However, the number of people qualified to enter higher education has raised. Pupils have started to prefer higher general education schools to intermediate ones (especially women). However, for each upward transition almost five transitions to less qualifying school types follow.

18 1. Introduction

The number of graduates without a school degree remains at high levels. In the age between 18 and 25 years, 2,4% of the people have no school certificate and do not participate in education. A percentage of 8% of the pupils abandon the school without acquiring even the basic school certificate. People often obtain the secondary general school certificate later in life. There is a slightly increased tendency to obtain a certificate outside general education schools. Be- tween 1996 and 2006 the percentage of the acquired intermediate school certificates outside general education raised from 14 to 17% and in qualification for higher education from 11 to 15%. The European Union regards the graduation from the higher secondary education as the minimum qualification for a successful integration in the labour market. The target set is that before 2010 at least 85% of the young adults will have graduated successfully from a higher secondary school. The EU average for people between 20 and 25 years is 78%. However, in Germany this percentage is around 72% (2006) with a significant improvement for people between 25 and 30 years. The percentage of people without a vocational education certificate has slightly increased between younger people. In 2006 17% of the population between 20 and 30 years had neither a vocational certificate nor did they participate in education. In eastern Germany the situation is worse. The lack of training places and the out migration of high qualified young people have contributed significantly to this change. Besides the relative achievement of certificates, there are also long transitional paths to a full qualifying training. Therefore the efficiency of the transitional system is doubted. The difficulty is significantly higher for youth with a basic school certificate or with no certificate. On the other hand university graduates have significantly better chances to find a job. The last five years unemployment has raised, especially between youth. Although the number of university graduates has increased (30% increase between 2001 and 2006) the percentage is still inadequate (the university graduation percentage of 22% is below the target of 35%). In other OECD countries this percentage has risen significantly. Among people between 25 and 65 years, 26% have a tertiary degree (2005). This percentage is slightly bellow the OECD average. The participation in adult education remains stationary. However, an important discrepancy is evident between the discourse of lifelong learning and the actual participation of people in general and vocational adult education. This is true especially for low qualified groups and seniors. On the other hand, both of these groups grow significantly and have a decisive social role, unfortunately

19 1. Introduction more often than not in downgrading and segregating processes. The social and educational status of the family has a strong influence on the pupils until their transition to the university. Pupils coming from families with higher socio-economic status tend to attend up to three times less the lower general school and five times more the high school. In Germany this connection seems to be stronger than ever and is stronger than in other countries. Chil- dren of academic families undertake more often higher education studies, than children with the same certificate from non academic families. Youth with migration background are in some regions more than the half of their age group. In western Germany 21% of the population has migration background. In eastern Germany this percentage is only 8%. An important fact is that children, youth and young adults with migration background are in some regions of western Germany up to 50% or more of the participants in the educational system. As the data indicate, social segregation begins already in the kindergarten. Around 30% of the children whose family language is not Ger- man visits a facility, in which more than the half children do not have German as family language too. People with migration background have on average a lower educational achievement than people without, especially women. The percentage of people between 20 and 30 years with no vocational education certificate and no participation in education is double for people with migration background. The migration background is connected at all levels of the school system and of vocational training to downward effects. The negative trends described above appear to have higher rates between pupils and youth with migration background, than between other children of the same social status. However, there seems to be no disparity at finding the first employment, after the training is successfully completed. Women remain more successful in the educational system than men. They also use adult education offers more intensively. However this is partially negat- ed in the professional life. The differences between men and women are significantly increased. The risk of young men to fail in the educational system is increased, especially for those with migration background. The public investment in education is below the OECD average and it is constantly reduced (from 6,9% of the net country income in 1995 to 6,3% in 2005 and 6,2% in 2006 ). A similar tendency is noticed in the support of youth organisations and measures for learning outside the school (6% decrease of the total investments in youth support between 2000 and 2006). The budget for adult education is drastically reduced. The public investments sunk by 20% between 1999 and 2005. The investments on vocational

20 1. Introduction adult education of the federal employment office were reduced by 70% during the same period. One of the reasons leading to this situation seems to be the labour market reforms (Hartz-Reforms). At the same period the direct investments of companies, private non-profit organisations and regional corporations for company training education were reduced by 16%. The investments in adult education and the offer of adult education events in companies differ in each economical branch and increase with the size of the company. However, there is a noticeable decrease between 1999 and 2005. In international comparison the adult education activities of German companies are in the lower medium field. Finally, the demographic changes are in the middle of interest for setting future goals. According to the official prognoses the population development between 2006 and 2030 will decrease from 82 to 77 million people (-6%). While in 2006 for every 100 people able to work corresponded 55 children, youth (younger than 19 years old) and seniors (older than 66 years old), in 2030 this number will raise to 69. The expected distribution of the population is presented in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1: Age distribution of the population in Germany (2006) - Ofﬁcial prognoses (2030). Age group Million People Percentage 2006 2030 Total change Between 19 and 67 years old 53.1 45.7 -14% Younger than 19 years old 15.2 12 -21% Older than 66 years old 14 19.5 +8% Source: Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung (2008), p. 17.

The main proposals from the authors of the report regarding the challenges that adult education has to face during the next years are: -The enhancement of provision and use of further education by adults. -The targeted support of young people with migration background through more offers, besides the language courses. According to the above analysis, some further challenges can be recognised: -Targeted offers for parents, so that the educational chances of the children increase. -Wider support for the achievement of school certiﬁcates in an older age. -Integration of adult education to the transition system. -More offers targeted to people older than 66 years old. -Adjust the number and context of the offers to the west/east, women/men and age differences.

21 1. Introduction

1.4.1 District Centres of Adult Education: Volkshochschule

In the late 60s further education (”Weiterbildung”) was a central point of discussion in Germany. The function of adult education in the educational system was reconsidered and its position was legally established. The Volkshochschule is integrated on the educational system as the communal adult education institution. In the years that followed, the German Volkshochschule Association (”Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband e.V.”, short D.V.V. e.V.) set a framework for the function and structure of the Volkshochschule. The openness and public character of the institution are clearly set by this framework (Wittpoth 1997). The community is responsible for the provision of the Volkshochschule, although the organisational model may vary between the states: ”. . . durch die Kommune, eine Anstalt, den Zweckverband, die Stiftung, die gemein- n¨utzigeGmbH oder den eingetragenen Verein und die entsprechende Eingliederung der kommunalen Volkshochschule als Institut, Amt oder unselbst¨andigeAnstalt auf der Amterebene¨ bzw. eine enge kommunale Bindung...”

Otto Volker (1990, p. 55)

The VHS is called to ensure adequate educational and cultural public services, accessible to all citizens (SBJS 2005). The services offered must be oriented to the participants, serving an integrative concept and including other social actors (D.V.V. e.V. (ed.) 1990). The knowledge provided should not be sterilised from its socio-political context. The VHS combines the general adult education, vocational education, civic and cultural education without setting strict boundaries between them (SBWF, Das Bildungsprofil der Berliner VHS). It supports lifelong learning (Marx/Heedt/Walde¨ (eds.) 2006), cultural and multi-cultural education (Gieseke/Opelt/Stock/Borjesson¨ 2005). Furthermore, it strives to balance between the pressures posed by the state and those posed by the market (Wittpoth 1997). The function and the relationship of the VHS with its environment are defined through the process of programme planning (Gieseke/Opelt 2003). It is mainly through this process that the VHS has the opportunity to bring together different actors. The role of the personnel in planning and realising the programme is decisive. Therefore the qualification and activation of the personnel defines the function and the profile of the institute (Dieckmann 1992). The profile of the VHS varies considerable between the different institutes. The above mentioned functions are actually guidelines, followed in different degree by each institute. Some authors even question the fulfilment of these guidelines due to limiting factors, as for example the dominance of specific courses (Wippelt 1997, p.113).

22 1. Introduction

The quality monitoring tools used by the VHS through the years (Mamecke¨ 2003) indicate the corresponding orientation of the institution. These tools were first used to monitor the input, then the output, later the process and then the correspondence to demand. The tool used today, the Learner-Oriented Quality Certification for Further Education Organisations (LQW 3, 2007) is oriented towards the participants and follows the principles of the learning organisations (Thiele 2004, Zech 2004). The current discussion in the field of adult education is also extended to the VHS. The considerations in this field refer to the role of adult education under the changing socio-economic conditions and the structures through which that can be fulfilled, as Droll¨ (1998, p.1) underlines: ”Es gibt eine Diskrepanz zwischen der öffentlichen Betonung der wachsenden Wich- tigkeit von Weiterbildung einerseits und der öffentlichenWahrnehmung des notwendi- gen Streits überdie politische Ausgestaltung ihrer Rahmenbedingungen andererseits.”

Furthermore, many contributions handle the subject of the concept and structure of further education (Gieseke (ed.) 2003) and the development of new learning cultures (Dietrich/Herr 2004)50. An important ongoing research in this field handling the system of adult education is realised by Pr. Ortfried Schaffter:¨ ”Erforderlich wird daher ein Perspektivwechsel, mit dem die gesellschaftliche Funk- tion, aus der heraus sich Weiterbildung institutionalisiert, in den Mittelpunkt einer erwachsenenpädagogischenOrganisationstheorie rückt.Worin nun diese Funktion besteht, ist bisher weder im professionellen Selbstverständnis,noch in einem umfassenden systemtheoretischen Deutungszusammenhang befriedigend geklärt. Die genauere (Selbst)Bestimmung gehörtdaher zu den erfordelichen Reflexionsleistungen bzw. zu den akuten Reflexionsproblemen im Bildungssystem.”

Prof. Ortfried Schaffter¨ (2001, p.71-72)

Some authors mention that adequate, adult-oriented infrastructure has to be provided for the fulfilment of the function of the VHS. They often underline the role of the VHS as community centre and the need for multifunctional facilities, which can support the desired learning environment. References are made to the need of centrality in the community on one hand, attracting actors from other places and the need of presence in the neighbourhood, on the other hand: ”Die kommunale Volkshochschule muß räumlichund personell auch in der Lage sein, solche weitreichenden Funktionen zu erfüllen.Es reicht nicht aus, wenn sie nur Gast in fremden Räumen(gar Schulräumen)ist. Sie benötigteinen zentralen städtis-

50In: Nuissl/Schiersmann/Siebert (Hrsg.) (2004), p.p. 24-32.

23 1. Introduction chen Standort, sie braucht offene, auch größere, multifunktionale Räume,die auch kul- trurelle Atmosphäre vermitteln. Es kann von Vorteil sein, wenn die Volkshochschule und ein anderes kommunales Kulturinstitut (etwa die Bibliothek oder eine Musikschule) räumlichmiteinander verbunden sind.”

Heinz Theodor Juchter¨ (1990, p. 89)51

”Soll berufliche Weiterbildung nicht nur als Anpassungsqualifizierung an schein- bar naturgemäßeEntwicklungen begriffen werden, dann müssenauch Lernräumege- schaffen werden, die eine Reflexion der Veränderungvon Arbeit und Beruf ermöglichen, die der Sicherung des Selbstwertgefühlsdienlich und füreine Teilhabe an den beruflichen Gestaltungsprozessen förderlichwerden.”

Klaus Meisel (1990, p. 104)

”Ich sehe zwei Aufgabe. Die eine besteht darin, in sich in Bewegung zu bleiben, also lernhausinterne Innovationen anzuzetteln. Die andere Aufgabe k¨onntesein, sich klein- schrittig auf die Suche nach Einstiegen in die kleinr¨aumigenQuartiere und Stadtteile zu machen, um dort andere Lernorte anzuregen.”

Prof. Johannes Weinberg (2004, p. 18)

An example from the VHS field is the VHS Marl “Die Insel”, already in the 50s, which was a model of institutionalised cooperation in communal adult education. This concept could be realised through its infrastructure for almost 20 years. But then the required investments for the facilities could not be further attained, forcing the VHS to abandon its concept. The achievement of desired learning conditions, the participation to a network of learning places, to a communal and inter-communal infrastructure network are also supported in the recent VHS debate. But none of these contributions take the discussion further, to concrete conclusions and long-term implementation strategies for the efficient fulfilment of the VHS goals.

1.4.2 The Case of the Berlin Volkshochschule

The Volkshochschule is deﬁned as the communal adult education centre, setting thus its relationship with the community as a basis for its function: ”Sie (die Vhs) versteht ihre Arbeit als einen unverzichtbaren Beitrag zur Gemein- deentwicklung, indem sie durch die Vielfalt ihrer Aktivit¨atendie soziale, kulturelle und

51Juchter,¨ Heinz Theodor: ”Kulturelle Bildung. Weiterbildung und Kulturarbeit - Volk- shochschule als kommunales Kulturinstitut”. In: DVV e.V. (Hrsg.) 1990, p.p. 87-94.

24 1. Introduction geistige Entfaltung der Bürgerinnen und Bürger ermöglicht.Diese enge Verbindung mit der Gemeinde kommt auch in ihrer institutionellen Verfaßtheit zum Ausdruck: Volkshochschulen werden von Gemeinden bzw. Gemeindeverbändenin unterschiedli- chen Rechtsformen getragen. Auch bei der finanziellen Förderungspielen Gemeinden bzw. Kreise ein herausragende Rolle.”

Jurgen¨ Wittpoth (1997, p.110)

Different models of support for the Volkshochschule can be met throughout Germany. A direct communal model can be found in Berlin, where the borough is responsible for the provision of the VHS. In other cases the agency is an organisation, where different public and private actors participate. Centrally organised VHS, as in the case of Munich, have peripheral branches, which are located in different districts. The relationship with the community, aside from the physical presence, is deﬁned through the involvement of the local economic and social actors and the selection of the non-permanent personnel. One of the most important differences between these models is that in the ﬁrst case the VHS is actually a part of the local administration (Figure 1.2). The role and perspectives of Volkshochschule in the development of the urban district, as presented in the existing literature, can be described by the following:

• The important contribution of the VHS to the integration of weak social groups in society, in the employment market and in the political and cultural life. It supports social equity and democracy through the distribution of chances: ”Programmplanung bringt Angebote als Angleichungshandeln (Gieseke/Gorecki 2000) in einem vernetzten Beziehungsgeﬂecht hervor.”

Wiltrud Gieseke/Stefﬁ Robak (2004, p.38)52

• The VHS can contribute on one hand to the mobilisation of civil society actors, obtaining thus important resources and redeﬁning some quality aspects. On the other hand it can recognise the latent engagement potentials in the district and support its activation through advice, information and development of the necessary skills. Therefore it supports the development of human and social capital.

52Gieseke, Wiltrud/Robak, Stefﬁ (2004): ”Programmplanung und Management aus der Bildungsforschungsperspektive - Empirische Befunde und konzeptionelle Wendungen”. In: Nuissl et. al. (Hrsg.) 2004, p.p. 33-41.

25 1. Introduction

Personal Development Social System Population Groups Associations Ethnical/Origin Sport Clubs Sport Facilities Cultural/Language Cultural Associations Cultural Centres Addressees Employment/Income Religion Societies Age/Gender

Population Groups Qualification Social Actors Social Centres

Educational Achievement Associations Women Youth Migrants

Local Actors Decision-making Actors Citizens Committees

Government/Administration State/City Berlin SenF SenIAS Political Actors Parties SenStadt "Social City" Socio-Political Organisation Government QM

European Union SenBWF Department for Further Education and Life Long Learning Office for VHS Federal State

BMBF BAMF BA Borough Administration WB Departments VHS

Infrastructure Social Infrastructure Economic System Educational Institutes Kitas Schools Universities Market Technical Libraries Employment Market Infrastructure Adult Education Institutes Media IT other Educational Actors VHS Enterprises Training Centres Networks Cultural Institutes Sport Facilities Communication Museums Galeries Local Economic Actors Health Actors Services Health Insurance Companies Employment Actors Free-time Facilities Transportation Job Centre Support Structure Science and Research Institutes Distribution Production System Independent Organisations Support Institutes DJI DIE Chambers Training Centres Associations DVVev BAev

Environment/Resources Urban Environment Natural Environment Exchange Networks Land Uses Ecosystems Information Natural Resources Built Environment Renewable Resources Knowledge Innovation Built Assets Environment

Figure 1.2: The Berlin VHS and its environment.

26 1. Introduction

”Aber viele Menschen, die sich engagieren wollen, wissen nicht so recht, wo sie mit ihrer Engagementbereitschaft hin sollen. Sie brauchen Anregung und Be- ratung.” ”Abschließend halte ich fest: Das Lernen in den Stadtteilen und Wohnquartieren ﬁndet in der Form des Alltagslernens bereits statt. Auch Engagementpotential ruht in den Stadtteilen. Aber wer macht die Entdeckungsarbeit und macht was daraus?”

Prof. Johannes Weinberg (2004, p. 19)

The VHS strives to follow the market demands and to offer the required qualiﬁcation opportunities. The relation to local economic actors gives the chance to the VHS to undertake an intermediary role at different levels. It functions as a link between different educational, social and economic actors, as well as between enterprises and work-force. It can be an important advisor for enterprises, for example in issues of further education and can provide information and advice to the participants. It can provide the infrastructure, in order to support cooperation, exchange and innovation transfer (Bundesministerium fur¨ Bildung und Forschung 2006, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Betriebliche Weiterbil- dungsforschung et. al. 2004, D.V.V. e.V. 1990).

”. . . , nämlicheinen “runden Tisch der kommunalen beruflichen Weiterbildung” zu initiieren, an dem alle relevanten öffentlichenInstitutionen und gesellschaftlichen Gruppen vertreten sind und an dem eine fundierte Auseinandersetzung mit der Umges- taltung des Wirtschaftssystems und den daraus resultierenden Anforderungen an die Weiterbildung in den Region zum Thema gemacht werden kann. Hier kann praxisnah erhoben werden, welche Angebote geplant werden müssen,die fürden öffentlichenIn- frastrukturwandel notwendig sind. (...) An diesem Ort kann darübergesprochen werden, wie die vorhandenen Ressourcen sinnvoll einzusetzen sind. Hier kann die VHS evtl. eine Moderationsfunktion einnehmen, und sie kann besser orten, welche Beiträge die VHS leisten kann!”

Klaus Meisel (1990, p.p. 108-109)

- The VHS can function as a seismograph related to adult education issues (Gieseke/Robak 2004, p.38, Schaffter¨ 2004, p.55)53. - The VHS, as an institute of adult education, needs to redeﬁne its structure in order to follow the transformations in society and confront the ongoing crisis.

53Schaffter,¨ Ortfried (2004): ”Erwachsenenpadagogische¨ Innovationsberatung - Institutional- isierung von Innovation in Einrichtungen beruﬂicher Weiterbildung”. In: Nuissl et. al. (Hrsg.) 2004, p.p. 53-63.

27 1. Introduction

The role of VHS in urban development and sustainability is not considered in depth in the literature. However, in practice urban development projects often include VHS as partners. Some of these projects call for solutions that can be implemented through education. In cooperation with the VHS they can, for example, gain access to specific social groups and bring different local actors together. Other projects go a step further and cooperate with the VHS in order to influence the urban landscape of the district. Such examples are co-operations with the “Berliner Agenda 21” initiatives and with actors of the ”Socially Inte- grative City”, in various long- or short term projects (e.g. ”Zukunftskonferenz Mullerstraße”¨ in Wedding and the ”Lernhaus Pohlstraße”). The Berlin Volkshochschule is regarded as the adult education institution most appropriate for the current research. As a public institution it undergoes the crisis that social infrastructure as a whole does. It faces challenges regarding its future role, the provision and financing patterns. As a communal institution it is anchored at the local level. It follows closely the local processes and the effects of major urban trends, like social segregation. Therefore it offers the grounds to examine closely the interaction of the infrastructure with the local environment.

1.5 Monitoring Urban Sustainability

The concept of sustainable development — besides of a wide range of ideas, definitions and implementation initiatives — is followed by the need for monitoring and evaluation. Therefore, different methods in the three different disciplines of ecology, economy and sociology are developed. Most of these methods are restricted to one of these disciplines, while others are integrative. Estab- lished methods in the first two disciplines are the area-based evaluation of the carrying capacity (Rees 1996) and of the ecological footprint (Board on Sustain- able Development 1999, Wheeler/Beatley 2004). Furthermore, the capital stock approach is widely used (Brown-Santirso 2006, Convery 1998). As Bossel (2001, p. 7) describes, these capital assets supply the human livelihoods. Human, natural, financial, social and physical capital are recognised as the five essential assets. In all three disciplines indicators are used for the evaluation, singular or in sets (European Commission/MEANS 1999, Gallopin 1996, Interagency working group on sustainable development indicators). The critique on singular indicators is based on the simple argument that one number cannot depict all the important aspects, neither of human society nor of sustainable development (Bossel 1999). The sets of indicators, on the other hand,

28 1. Introduction offer the potential of monitoring a number of different factors. However, they bear the danger of excess, of getting lost in details or pose high requirements in information that is difficult or expensive to attain. Thus compromising their usefulness and even their feasibility. In the field of urban development all three aspects of sustainability — ecology, economy and equity — have to be taken into account. Indicator sets are a widely used monitoring tool in this field. Different processes and tools are developed for the derivation of indicators, such as the Delfi questionnaires, for the inclusion of all the concerned actors. A very known example is the development process of an indicator set by ”Sustainable Seattle”54. The indicators are defined by experts with the participation of citizens, for different spatial scales. These approaches are often based on the opinion of experts, whose point of view is connected to their specific discipline. Furthermore, most of the existing approaches lack a holistic view (Alisch 2001, p. 195)55. They do not offer a conceptual framework of what to monitor, of which prerequisites or qualities of sustainability have to be satisfied, irrelevant of the monitoring object. They also do not offer an evaluation framework of the indicator sets (Reed et.al. 2001). As the urban transformations and processes take place, it becomes more difficult to describe the functions and relationships of the numerous urban systems and subsystems. However, it is very important to understand them, in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of urban planning and management. This prerequisite is also essential for dynamic processes, such as sustainable development. Most urban strategies are limited to one of the three dimensions of sustainability. Local economy, employment, training and citizens’ participation are the main fields of action. But there is a need for recognising the effects and interrelationships between all three dimensions. Otherwise, indicators will continue to present knowledge and control deficits (Dangschat 2001)56. The systemic approach offers a more concrete view of the function and structure of systems. The definition of the systems — that is the limits, elements and relationships between them — is a very complex procedure, with a relative degree of abstraction and formalisation. But it can be very useful, when the reality is so complex and diverse that it cannot be precisely perceived. Through a systemic approach it is possible to recognise the most important aspects and derive

54http://www.sustainableseattle.org 55Alisch, Monika: ”Zur Gestaltung offener Prozesse am Beispiel sozialer Stadtentwicklung”. In: Alisch (Hrsg.) 2001, p.p. 175-200. 56Dangschat, Jens S.: ”Wie nachhaltig ist die Nachhaltigkeitsdebatte?”. In: Alisch (Hrsg.) 2001, p.p. 71-94.

29 1. Introduction legitimate and feasible handling measures. The use of systemic terms to describe a situation can be very helpful, especially when deﬁcits occur by solving a problem. This approach helps to go beyond narrow practises to long-lasting solutions (Olbrich, p. 168). Systems analysis is also an important tool in policy making. It helps simpli- fying an issue by breaking it down into components. It offers a general method for recognising the main components of the problem under study at a level easier to handle. It is a method applicable to all cases. It involves different aspects while providing a general view. This is in particular important for interdisciplinary group work (Olson/Sjostedt¨ 2004, p. 14)57.

1.5.1 The Contribution of Orientation Theory

Orientation Theory, first developed by Professor Hartmut Bossel in 1977, is a thorough method for approaching and evaluating sustainability. It is based on systems theory, which provides the potential to handle successfully the complexity of sustainability and the dynamic character of natural and human systems. Prof. Bossel was also concerned with the analysis and simulation of human behaviour, as well as simulation of social and natural systems. Other systemic approaches of society are developed, but most of them do not offer a concrete base for developing monitoring tools. Their complexity or degree of abstraction make them useful for exploring theoretical questions or building theories. But in the case of handling specific development aspects, like sustainability, there is a lack of approaches. For such purposes, it seems that orientation theory offers a good starting point. With the help of orientation theory it is not necessary to describe or predict the urban processes, but rather their effects in the environment of the system under study. The approach is further simplified, since these effects are monitored through the description of specific properties of the environment — as these are defined by the theory — at the time that the system is studied. Subsequently, the position of the system towards these properties at the time of the study is evaluated through the basic orientors. Namely, through the system’s present reaction to these properties. Furthermore, the ability of the system to react successfully to these properties on the long term, as well as to react successfully to changes in these properties, is also evaluated. This actually means that the system must be able to exist, fulfil its purpose and develop (in a sense, function more efficiently) in the given environment.

57Olsson, Mats-Olov/Sjostedt,¨ Gunnar: ”Systems and Systems Theory”: In: Olsson/Sjostedt¨ (eds.) 2004, p.p. 3-29.

30 1. Introduction

The basic orientors are derived from the environmental properties and from the characteristics of the system (structure and function). Only if each one of the basic orientors is in a satisfying state, is the system sustainable. Therefore, the evaluation of the fulfilment of each basic orientor is realised with the help of indicators. Up to now, orientation theory is mainly applied for computer simulations (Systems Zoo, Bossel 1994). The author argues that the theory is valid for all systems, including communities and urban systems. Furthermore, he has developed an exemplary indicator set for the general societal system (Bossel 1996). Bossel has also used the basic orientors as a tool for the assessment of other indicator sets (Bossel 1999). However, the potentials of orientation theory as a tool of urban development are not yet explored. There is a great challenge to explore the new insights gained by the application of orientation theory to urban systems. Especially in the field of sustainable urban development, the contribution of orientation theory can be significant. The advantages offered by the application of the theory in this field are presented in the following:

• The environmental properties can serve as a system of reference for the description of the urban environment. Urban systems are highly complex and dynamic, therefore it is not possible to fully describe them in their entirety. Instead we use the environmental properties as ”rules” for recognising which elements of the environment are decisive for the system under study. Important environmental systems are those that exert considerable inﬂuence on these properties. The degree of importance is deﬁned by the limits of the study.

• The environmental properties are, on one hand, connected to the speciﬁc system and on the other hand, they include all important aspects of the environment. Therefore, a multi-perspective analysis is possible, without loosing the focus of the research.

• The basic orientors actually describe the position of the system under study in the environment. Since the basic orientors are deﬁned according to the environmental properties, they are prerequisites that the system must fulﬁl, in order to come up successfully to the conditions and challenges of the environment. So the basic orientors of an urban system describe the relationship of this system with other urban elements (of the important environmental systems). The complex interactions between urban subsystems and the interaction with the system to which they belong,

31 1. Introduction

their internal and external effects can be monitored through the basic orientors.

• The basic orientors help to define the desired position of the system under study in its environment. This position is actually located where each basic orientor is fulfilled at a minimum degree. The fulfilment of each basic orientor refers to the system under study and to its contribution to the hyper-system to which it belongs. Only then can a system be sustainable. This definition can be very useful in order to set specific goals for sustainable urban development. These goals can be defined in each case, by specifying the basic orientors for the urban system under study.

• The degree of fulfilment of the basic orientors also shows where the system is standing at the time of the study, in relation to the desired situation. Furthermore it indicates the orientation of the system, according to the orientor that is at the higher state. These indications can help to design a strategy for reaching the desired position and thus implementing the goals of sustainable urban development. This strategy is based on identifying the basic orientor or orientors that fail to reach the minimum degree. This orientor has to be handled first, without compromising the fulfilment of the other basic orientors.

The system of adult education is strongly connected to the changes in society. The continuous withdrawal of the social state, as well as the lifelong learning debate pose important challenges upon adult education. Demographic changes and local pressures of globalisation shape the fast changing environment. Orientation theory contributes to the observation of the interaction of the adult education system with other societal systems (sector systems). The way these systems shape the conditions in the environment is described through the environmental properties. Adult education binds educational, political, social and economical aspects in an integrative way. The multi-perspective view of orientation theory is necessary in order to recognise the most important of these aspects and the level at which they are evident. Furthermore, orientation theory contributes to the recognition of the way adult education inﬂuences the environment. Through the basic orientors, the way that the system interacts with the environment is better understood. For the orientation of the system’s behaviour, the inﬂuence of all the important elements of the system are taken into account. The case of educational infrastructure and its spatial externalities are discussed in paragraph 1.3.2. Orientation theory contributes to the recognition of new aspects of the interaction between

32 1. Introduction the adult education system and its environment. The development of appropriate indicators helps to evaluate these aspects and their contribution to sustainability. The concepts of orientation theory are expressed in a general form. There- fore, one could argue that they are not useful for speciﬁc observations or that they can be interpreted in various, independent ways. Orientation theory offers a concrete deﬁnition of sustainability in systemic terms, leaving though the necessary space for individual interpretations. Each interpretation depends on the ethical system adopted in each occasion as a reference system.

1.6 Aim and Course of Investigation

The current research investigates the way adult education infrastructure influences sustainable urban development and particularly district development. It is based on the hypothesis that the spatial interactions of educational infrastructure with the environment are affecting urban development processes. How- ever, up to now, these spatial effects are neglected. If they are recognised and integrated on urban development, they can lead to more effective decisions, concerning both the provision of the infrastructure and the development of the district. The adult education institutes chosen for conducting the current investigation are the Berlin district centres of adult education, the Volkshochschule. This choice is made due to the long tradition of this institution and the communal character of the institutes. A theoretical and an empirical approach are adopted for realising the investigation. Thereby it is achieved to control, as well as to support, both approaches. The first approach handles the content of the object under research, which in this case can be expressed through the question: Which is the potential role of the Volkshochschule in sustainable urban district development and which is the contribution of the infrastructure to it? This question binds together different scientific fields. On one hand lie the pedagogic aspects of education, as well as political issues connected to education. On the other hand lie the fields of urban sustainability and district development. Therefore inside views from each of these aspects are required. Unfortunately the interactions and causalities involved here are only limited or one-sided presented in the literature. Therefore, the contribution of experts from each of the above fields is regarded decisive for examining this question in depth. The second approach is a methodological one. It examines the effects of the

33 1. Introduction institutes under study on sustainable district development, through the evaluation of sustainability. It is based on the notion that an institute or any societal subsystem can be sustainable, only if it also supports the sustainability of the society to which it belongs. For that purpose, orientation theory is selected. It is based on systems theory and provides the tools to monitor the sustainability of a system in close relation to its environment. The conditions prevailing in the environment and the interaction with the environmental systems are decisive for satisfying the sustainability criteria (basic orientors) of a system. These criteria are deﬁned by the theory and are valid for every system, human-made or natural. The research question leading this approach is: What conclusions can be drawn from the application of orientation theory to the Volk- shochschule, regarding the sustainability of its physical infrastructure and the effects it can have on district development? With the help of this theory sustainability indicators, with focus on the infrastructure that is the facilities used by the Volkshochschule, are developed. Through the process of developing the indicators the interaction with the close urban environment is examined. The effects that occur from this interaction will be monitored through the selected indicators. Orientation theory is not yet used for evaluating the sustainability of speciﬁc urban systems. Therefore, at the end of this research conclusions will be drawn regarding the applicability of orientation theory to an urban system that is the Berlin Volkshochschule. Finally, the current research investigates the interrelation or contradictions between the approaches described above.

1.6.1 Detailed Research Questions

The leading questions of the present research are highlighted above. In order to investigate them in depth, the involved topics and necessary steps are organised in the form of detailed questions. These questions are directing the course of the investigation and presented in the following:

1. How can orientation theory contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of the adult education system?

(a) How is the relationship between the Volkshochschule and its environment shaped? (b) Which are the prevailing conditions in the environment and what challenges do they pose for the sustainability of the Volkshochschule?

34 1. Introduction

(c) Which aspects, regarding the inﬂuence of the physical infrastructure to the VHS and its environment, come into the surface and how are they evaluated?

2. Which are the established point of view and the future trends in research and practise, regarding the role of the Berlin Volkshochschule in sustainable district development?

(a) How do experts from different ﬁelds perceive the function and structure of the (Berlin) Volkshochschule and its sustainability potentials under the current socio-economic conditions? (b) Which sustainability criteria regarding the infrastructure of the Volk- shochschule and its spatial effects do the experts recognise? (c) What is the opinion of the experts about the contribution and further integration of the Volkshochschule to urban district development? (d) Do the experts recognise possible forms of a local integrative provision of adult education? (e) Is there a connection between the sustainability prerequisites recognised by the experts and by orientation theory?

3. What does the view gained by orientation theory reveal in the ﬁeld?

(a) How is the relation of the Volkshochschule with the environment shaped in the two case studies? (b) Which conclusions regarding the role of the Volkshochschule in the district development can be drawn? (c) How is the inﬂuence of the physical infrastructure of the Volkshoch- schule evaluated in the two examples? (d) What future challenges can be recognised for the two institutes under study through this evaluation?

1.6.2 Methodology and Structure

As described above, two approaches, one contextual and one methodological, are used, in order to conduct the present research. One reason for using two different approaches is the need to combine and complement sources from different fields. Each approach can bring to light different aspects of the research questions. Furthermore, the results have to be verified first in theory and then in practice, in order to examine the applicability of orientation theory in the field under study.

35 1. Introduction

The Berlin Volkshochschule is chosen as the representative communal institution of adult education. It is regarded the most appropriate institution for the purposes of the current research. Literature sources, existing legislation, norms and statistical data about the Volkshochschule with focus on Berlin are gathered and analysed through the research. In Chapter 2 an insight view of the institution is attempted. It is organised according to the three basic characteristics, necessary for describing every system:

• the function and purpose of the system (the guidelines and services of the VHS).

• the structure (organisational structure and infrastructure).

• the relationship of the system with the environment (the urban environment focused on the community).

Further on in the same chapter the Volkshochschule is described in systemic terms. This was only possible due to the invaluable contribution of experts and especially the experts from the Volkshochschule field. The basic elements of the VHS model and the relationships between them are described. A number of internal and external parameters are recognised. During this process it is always taken into account that the Volkshochschule is a subsystem of adult education integrated into the society. It is interacting constantly and in various ways with a number of other actors. The degree of this interaction is examined. The way in which physical infrastructure affects this interaction is evaluated. Furthermore, the existing quality processes are discussed. Orientation theory offers the possibility to examine the Volkshochschule in relation to its environment. It offers a different path for the evaluation of the adult education system. However, this is not enough in order to answer the leading questions of the current research. For the entirety of the research, the view offered by orientation theory is juxtaposed with other, established views and it is tested in the field. Since the view offered by the existing literature is limited, experts are asked for their opinion. Therefore quantitative and qualitative research is combined. The qualitative tools used are interviews with experts and field partners. Open, semi-structured interviews are conducted with experts (Chapter 3) and extensive discussions are conducted with partners from two Berlin Volkshochschule (Chapter 4). The experts are chosen according to (a) their experience, (b) their special knowledge and (c) their participation in decision-making, planning and implementation of strategies on the fields involved (actors with different degree of re-

36 1. Introduction sponsibility and inﬂuence are chosen). According to these criteria, the selected qualiﬁed partners are:

• Academics from the ﬁelds of: (1) adult education, (2) urban sociology and (3) urban development and planning.

• Partners from the central administration, related to the examined issues. That is the ministry for education and the ministry for urban development.

• Local actors and actors of urban district development.

• Private planning actors.

• Partners from the institute under research.

• Partners from the local administration.

The purpose of the expert interviews is defined by the detailed questions in the previous paragraph. Furthermore, experts from the field of adult education are asked to contribute to the application of orientation theory, as mentioned above. The comments and recommendations of the Volkshochschule experts serve the sound application of orientation theory. The guidelines of the interviews are organised according to the structure, the function and the relation of the Volkshochschule with its environment. The first part includes questions of viability and sustainability of the Volkshochschule. The second part refers to the perspectives and forms of the integration of Volk- shochschule in sustainable district development. The insight view gained by the experts is compared with the view offered by orientation theory. The third part is actually a discussion about orientation theory and is not qualitatively analysed. It reveals the position of the experts, although in some cases only superficial, towards orientation theory. During the analysis of the interviews parallels or contradictions with the basic concepts of orientation theory are also searched (Section 3.4). Chapter 4 is then focused on two specific cases of the Berlin Volkshochschule. This step is necessary in order to assess the indicators developed with the help of orientation theory. The interaction of the VHS with the urban environment, as described according to the theory, is also examined in practice. The physical presence of each VHS in the district is described through: (a) spatial data about the location and accessibility of the facilities where VHS offers are hosted, (b) information about the facilities and their use, such as ownership, related costs, pattern of use etc., (c) information on the networking of the facilities and (d) on-site observations.

37 1. Introduction

The interaction with the local environment is described next. The tools used for this purpose are: (a) analysis of statistical data about the function of the VHS and information about its activities in the district (e.g. co-operations), (b) statistical data and information about the district and (c) extensive discussions with employees of the VHS and actors of the community administration. Furthermore, partners from each VHS are asked to evaluate and weight the indicators. The indicators are then assessed for each VHS. The outcome is specified in relation to the influence of infrastructure on district development. In Chapter 5 the results of the conducted research are brought together. On one hand lie the VHS perspectives derived by the application of orientation theory. On the other hand stands the outcome of the experts position. Through their analysis, answers to the two leading questions of the current research are sought. The position of educational infrastructure in spatial processes and considerations is brought into light. The applicability of orientation theory and the advantages of its application are evaluated. In the last chapter it is attempted to draw some conclusions about future research. The provision of social infrastructure, examined at the field of adult education at community level is discussed. The concept of communal education landscapes is considered as a promising strategy of sustainable district development. Furthermore, it is argued that orientation theory could be a useful tool for describing and evaluating objects of urban development. Finally, the example of Berlin is proposed as an experience pool for the organisation of adult education in other countries and specifically for Athens, Greece. Athens is a capital city with around three million citizens and a high percentage of migrants. In contrast with Germany, adult education — with the exception of universities — has a very short history in Greece. Even today, it is mainly a private business, confined in the fields of certified language and computer skills. However, there is a significant pressure for providing lifelong learning opportunities and at the same a limited individual ability or will to invest on education. Therefore, the last years communities, alone or in co-operation, offer a variety of adult education courses, although insufficient to cover the demand. In the last paragraph it is argued that Berlin could and should be used as an example in issues of community adult education. It can transfer an experience of almost a century in this field, under the conditions prevailing in a big European city such as Athens.

38 Chapter 2

Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

2.1 Deﬁning Sustainability in Systemic Terms

The most commonly addressed deﬁnition of sustainable development is given by the Balaton Group (1987) as the ”development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:

• the concept of ”needs”, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given, and

• the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organisation on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.”

This general description of the term is also adopted here as an overall framework. Furthermore urban sustainability is regarded in respect to the three recognised and equally important pillars of society: ecology, economy and equity. ”Economy, ecology and social cohesion are the pillars of a sustainable city. These must be in balance and therefore require an integrated approach. Dialogue is the basic principle for achieving this for Local Agenda 21.”

Conference ”Strategies for Sustainable Cities”, The Hague, June 19991.

In accordance to this deﬁnition some general prerequisites for the sustainability of systems, human and natural, can be expressed (see also Sverdrup and

1http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/Sustainablecities/Characteristics.html

39 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

Svensson 2004)2. A system is sustainable, when it can assure in the long term the necessary resources, without preventing other systems to do so (Bossel 1999). The ”needs” are system specific resources or inputs of various nature. They are necessary to the system in order to exist, develop and fulfil its function(s). The efficient transformation of the resources and the reduction of demands are also vital for the viability of the system. Only in that way can the efficient function of the system be ensured in the long term. These processes are not static. They change through time and space. Furthermore they are determined by the structure of the system and the environment in which it exists at a given time. According to the purpose of each analysis a system can be defined. This means to describe the boundaries, the elements, the structure and function of a system (Figure 2.1).

Figure 2.1: The system and its environment. Source: Bossel (2007, p. 2).

The acknowledgement that most systems are under constant change is decisive for the approach of sustainability. Especially the human society and in particular the urban systems are highly dynamic. Therefore, sustainable development cannot be perceived as a constant, though ”ideal” state. The protection of diversity is vital for the maintenance of a variety of choices for future development. Each organism or system is unique and thus valuable for the environment (Bossel 1999). However, the rate of processes, especially human and natural processes, can vary signiﬁcantly. The result is that many systems or or- ganisms are endangered. Choices and compromises have to be made. In the case of human society, these choices are led by an ethical framework, based on the

2Sverdrup, Harald/Svensson, Mats G. E.: ”Deﬁning the Concept of Sustainability - a Matter of Systems Thinking and Applied Systems Analysis”. In: Olsson/Sjostedt¨ (eds.) 2004, p.p. 143- 163.

40 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability awareness and responsibility of people. Therefore, if sustainable development is adopted as the ethical framework, the importance of every system has to be considered. In other words, man must ”protect all unique systems for their intrin- sic value and share available resources equitable, giving all subsystems the chance to contribute to the development of the whole” (Bossel 1998, p. 90). The limitations posed by the environment are coherent in every systemic approach. But these limitations are not restricted to the acquisition of resources. Society can only be viewed as a nest of interacting systems. Each system is not isolated. It is always a part of the environment and is related in different degree to other systems (Bossel 1999, p. 8). Therefore, the sustainability of the system depends on and contributes to the sustainability of the environment. This interrelationship is more evident, where the interaction with other systems is stronger — in relation to the purpose of each analysis. Therefore an important step is the recognition of the major systems of the environment, which are relevant for the approach of sustainability (p. 14). These general descriptions are based on general system properties. Orienta- tion theory however, takes these considerations a step further. It supports that the prerequisites for the viability and thus sustainability of a system are fulfilled when certain, essential interests of the system — called basic orientors — are satisfied. Therefore, it provides a set of concrete tools for the evaluation of a system in regard to sustainability. The basic orientors express the basic needs of the system in order to exist, function and develop in a specific environment. They arise from the properties of the environment and the characteristics of the system. General environmental properties are described by Bossel. The relationship between system and environment is central to all the systemic approaches. The traditional pattern of interpretation that a system has to adopt to the environment in order to survive, is no more regarded as valid (Ol- brich 1999, p. 170)3. Although orientation theory seems to follow this pattern, actually it goes beyond it. The relationship between system and environment does not follow a simple pattern in the form of action and interaction or input and outcome. The system is intertwined with the environment. Through the environmental properties and their connection to the basic orientors a new perspective of the relation between system and environment is gained (Figure 2.2).

3Olbrich, Josef: ”Systemtheorie und Erwachsenenbildung”. In: Tippelt (ed.) (1999), p.p. 157- 183.

41 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

2.1.1 Development of Indicator Sets with Orientation Theory

Orientation theory is a method of producing sustainability indicators. It offers a theoretical base for the approach and evaluation of sustainability. It is de- duced from general systems theory, although its validity is confirmed through other empirical and theoretical fields (Bossel 1998). An introduction to the theory and its contribution to social systems is offered by Bossel (1999) to a report addressed to the Balaton Group. Bossel has described some general properties of system’s environment (1998, 1999). These properties are unique and adequate, in order to depict the conditions prevailing in the environment. These conditions affect the existence and development of each system within it. In response to these properties and according to the specific characteristics of the system, basic needs or interests that guide the system and orient its behaviour appear (Figure 2.2). They are named basic orientors (Tables 2.1 and 2.2). Only if they are satisfied in a minimum degree is the viability and sustainability of the system achieved. In order to evaluate the fulfilment degree of the basic orientors two groups of indicators are necessary (Table 2.3). One group to monitor the basic orientors for the subsystem under study. A second group of indicators to monitor the contribution of the subsystem to the system to which it belongs. The basic orientors are not supplemental to each other. Therefore, each one of the indicators must lie within an area of satisfaction. Otherwise the sustainability prerequisites are not met. In that case, the basic orientor that lies outside this area has to be set as a handling priority. The strong dependence between the sustainable development of the system and of its environment is made evident here. Furthermore, through the evaluation of the indicators the possibility of spotting the weak- est points is offered. In this way priorities for planning and intervention can be recognised. The application of this method by different people or under different conditions will probably, if not definitely, lead to the development of different indicators. However, Bossel supports that if they answer the above questions, every set of indicators is appropriate for monitoring the fulfilment of the basic orientors. In reverse, this set of questions can be used for evaluating existing indicator sets.

42 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability here needed. nmental variables rces required for a tatively different processes rvival are not immediately Variety scarcity Resource occur and appear in the environment both constantely and intermittently. d. ty. System environment System's and to influence exert available when and w ways the with challenges and patterns of enviro ould, on the long term, be The resou ve in its effort to secure required system's su ystem must have the ability to cope quali Many take the environment Effectiveness needs Psychological actionofFreedom on ist environment necessary. when posed by environmental variety. certain range. t in the Sentient beings have psychological and needs that must be satisfie e available. the detrimental effects of environmental variabili Variability Variability Security

uctuates within the normal environmental range Normal environmental state environmental Normal

After Bossel (1998, 1999, 2007). outside this range.

ther systems in its environment. scarce resources

The actual environmental state withincan a vary in random and ways, these fluctuations occasionally onses to the challenges posed by in various Existence environmental change. behavior to respond appropriately to the effecti The The system must be able to modify its The system sh normal environmental state. information,The energy The The system must be compatible and with able to exis The system must be able to protect itself from The state of the environment fl material inputs needed to sustain the system must b ntly self-organize to generate more appropriate The s may The system must be able to learn, adapt and Othersystems Change Coexistence Adaptability Figure 2.2: Main concepts of orientation theory: General environmental properties and the basic orientors derived from them. for the given system. behavior of the o may have system-specific significance different normal environmental state. resp Other systems or agents whose behavior time, Over the normal environmental state gradually or abruptly change to a permane

43 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

Table 2.1: Environmental properties and environment-determined basic orientors. Properties of system environments Basic orientors of autonomous self- organising systems Normal environmental state: Existence: ”The actual environmental state can vary ”The system must be compatible with, and around this state in a certain range.” able to exist in the normal environmental state. The information, energy and material inputs necessary to sustain the system must be available.” Resource Scarcity: Effectiveness: ”Resources (energy, matter, information), re- ”The system should on balance (over the long quired for a system’s survival are not imme- term), be effective (not necessarily efficient), diately available when and where needed.” in its effort to secure scarce resources from, and to exert influence on its environment.” Variety: Freedom of Action: ”Many qualitatively very different processes ”The system must have the ability to cope in and patterns of environmental variables occur various ways with the challenges posed by en- and appear in the environment constantly or vironmental variety.” intermittently.” Variability: Security: ”The state of the environment fluctuates ”The system must be able to protect itself from around the normal environmental state in the detrimental effects of environmental vari- random ways, and the fluctuations may oc- ability, i.e. variable, fluctuating and unpre- casionally take the environment far from the dictable conditions outside of the normal en- normal state.” vironmental state.” Change: Adaptability: ”In the course of time, the normal envi- ”The system should be able to learn, adapt ronmental state may gradually or abruptly and self-organise in order to generate more change to a permanently different normal en- appropriate responses to challenges posed by vironmental state.” environmental change.” Other actor systems: Coexistence: ”The environment contains other actor sys- ”The system must be able to modify its be- tems whose behaviour may have system- haviour to account for behaviour and inter- specific (subjective) significance for a given ests (orientors) of other (actor) systems in its actor system.” environment.” Source: Bossel 1998, 1999 and 2001.

44 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

Table 2.2: System-determined basic orientors. Reproduction (included in Existence): ”Self-reproducing (autopoietic) systems must be able to fulﬁl their need to reproduce (either as individuals and/or as populations).” Psychological needs: ”Sentient beings have certain additional psychological needs that require a minimum of satisfaction, and that cannot be explained by the system/environment interaction alone, such as affection, avoidance of stress or pain, etc.” Responsibility(reﬂected in the selection of the indicators): ”Conscious actors are confronted with having to make choices among options that produce different consequences for themselves and other affected systems. This requires a normative reference amounting to assigning (relative) weights to the ”interests” (basic orientors) of affected systems.” Source: Bossel 1998, 1999 and 2001.

2.2 The City as a System

The city is often described with terms taken from ecosystems. In the ﬁeld of urban ecology cities are seeing both as ecosystems themselves and as a part of other ecosystems. The basic purpose of such an approach is to monitor the interaction between human and natural systems over time and space. The urban system is used for estimating the participation of cities in the transformation and consumption of resources and the production of pollutants. These ”environmental” approaches try to describe the input and output ﬂows, the use of resources and the relative processes within a city (Chadwick 1978). For example, in industrial ecology, as described by Graedel (see Coehlo/Ruth 2006, p. 4) the urban metabolism is described as the processing of matter and energy, through the economic system. The resources are the inputs and wastes are the output. Furthermore, a systemic description allows the simulation of the processes and the development of scenarios (House 1973). However, the way a system is described depends on the purpose of each analysis. Therefore in social sciences a social approach of the urban system is adopted. People, individually or in groups (e.g. organisations) are described as the system components. The aim of such an approach is usually to explain human behaviour. Therefore social systems are described as behavioural systems (Bates/Harvey 1975). Here it might be useful to note that Bossel also examined and tried to model human behaviour before developing orientation theory. In a holistic approach, cities are described as complex socio-ecological sys-

45 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

Table 2.3: Guidelines for the development of an indicator set. Basic orientor Viability of individual system Contribution to total system Existence ”Is the system compatible with ”Does the system contribute its and can it exist in its particular part to the existence of the total environment?” system?” Effectiveness ”Is it effective and efficient?” ”Does it contribute to the efficient and effective operation of the total system?” Freedom of action ”Does it have the necessary free- ”Does it contribute to the freedom to respond and react as dom of action of the total sys- needed?” tem?” Security ”Is it secure, safe, stable?” ”Does it contribute to the security, safety and stability of the total system?” Adaptability ”Can it adapt to new chal- ”Does it contribute to the flexi- lenges?” bility and adaptability of the total system?” Coexistence ”Is it compatible with interact- ”Does it contribute to the coming subsystems?” patibility of the total system with its partner systems?” Psychological needs ”Is it compatible with psycho- ”Does it contribute to the psy- (only for systems with logical needs and culture?” chological well-being of peo- sentient beings) ple?” Source: Bossel 1998, 1999 and 2001. tems. Concepts connected directly or indirectly to sustainability can be recognised, as for example the parameter of quality of life. As Coehlo and Ruth underline (2006, p.7): ”Issues of scale (physical, temporal) and perspective (ecological, socio-cultural) are critical both for defining system boundaries and subsequent analysis. Research must be holistic as well as focus on individual sectors/components.”. It is possible to recognise some common points between the different approaches of the city as a system. The urban system has high complexity and it is consisted by interacting parts (organisations, institutions, groups, individuals, subsystems, elements etc.), each with a different degree of complexity. The different parts of the system have a distinctive position and role in the system. They are characterised by specific action(s) or function(s). The system is divided by its environment, natural or social, by boundaries set by the purposes of each analysis. The system is not closed. There is constant interaction, often called

46 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

”stimulus” or flow, between the system and its environment. The system is able to ”learn” or otherwise to produce and process ”feedback” and to adapt. Each approach tries to describe a kind of ”behaviour” defined through system specific ”processes”, which is often called ”urban metabolism”. Finally, in every approach each system has a structure and some kind of ”stocks” or ”state variables”. In social sciences these are called ”norms”, ”memories” etc. They can be active or in a latent state. In other approaches they are described as assets engaged for the support and development of human society. They are used individually or collectively and according to constraints posed by man and nature. Cities are actually complex socio-ecological systems and each of the above parameters is necessary for a holistic approach. In the capital approach (Convery 1998) the assets of human society are the capital stocks. According to the principles of sustainable development each of them has to be maintained at a satisfactory level and passed to the coming generations. House (1973) developed the CITY Model, which is determined by sectors and resources. The three sectors, besides the physical environs, are the economic, the governmental and the social. The resources are capital, power and people. In some approaches value system, activity system and adapted spaces can be seen as subsystems, related to each other by flows and ”spillover effects” (Bossel/Klaczko/Muller¨ 1976). These stocks or sectors as described in different theories, indicate that society can be described with the help of distinctive elements or sector systems. According to Bossel (1998, 1999) human, support and natural system can be regarded as the major societal systems or hyper-systems of society (Figure 2.3). Each of them contains a number of nested subsystems with different forms of capital assets (natural, human, social, physical, financial, organisational). Their state determines the potentials of human society. Each of these hyper-systems can be further divided in sector systems. Bossel has recognised six sector systems. This division can differ according to the purpose of each analysis.

The human system consists from the social system, the government system and individual development. The social system includes different population groups, their composition and development. Furthermore, it refers to the social structure and living conditions, to social provisions, social security and self- organisation. The government system includes the organisation, regulation and control mechanisms. The legal system and the ﬁnancial organisation, as well as the administration, policy making and implementation tools belong to this system as well. Individual development is separated from the social system because it refers

2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT GOVERNMENT SOCIAL SYSTEM SYSTEM HUMAN SYSTEM

INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEM ECONOMIC SYSTEM SUPPORT SYSTEM

ENVIRONMENT/ RESOURCES

NATURAL SYSTEM

Figure 2.3: Societal system: Hyper-systems and their sector systems. After Bossel (1998 and 1999). to individual and personal characteristics, rather than to social groups and structures. Such characteristics indicate the state and potentials of the individual. They include qualification, abilities, ambitions as well as beliefs, life and family standards, rights, individual freedom and values. Individual development is similar to the concept of individual biography used in other systemic approaches, as for example in Luhmann (about this subject see also Olbrich 1999, p. 162-163). The difference is that here it is neither regarded as a medium, object nor output of other societal systems, but as a distinct sector system. The support system contains the infrastructure and the economic system. Technical infrastructure includes networks — for transportation, communication, distribution, drainage etc. — and supply systems. Social infrastructure includes institutes of social development, facilities, as well as the required personnel to man them. Some examples are the public services, health care, cultural, sport and open space facilities, educational, training, science and research institutes. The organisation of production, the extraction and transformation of natural resources, the market laws of distribution of products and services are all functions of the economic system. They set the basis for the organisation and function of the other systems. They regulate economic activities, employment and income distribution, consumption and competition for resources. The last system contains the environment and resources. It refers to the natural environment, the various ecosystems for the support of life, the extraction of raw materials and energy. The environment serves also as a receiver of un- desirable products and flows. However, the environment has a system specific dimension. Therefore it contains a variety of system specific resources. The resources related to the system include material resources, information, knowl-

48 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability edge and cultural heritage. As noted above, the depth of the analysis and the aspects considered are determined by the purpose of the analysis and the system under study. Therefore the previous description offers only a general view of the sector systems. In Fig- ure 1.2 a more detailed description of the environment of the VHS is presented and will be discussed further in this chapter.

2.2.1 The Subsystem of Adult Education

The term educational system is an established term, which refers to the type and structure of educational institutes in a society. The traditional educational institutions are mainly schools, vocational institutes and university. In a broadened pedagogical sense, the educational system includes all institutes that have to do with upbringing and until recently, with formal transmission of knowledge. However, it was the concept of lifelong learning that broadened the object of education to include people of all ages and background. As argued in the first chapter, today education supports individual and social development, including different experience fields and learning experiences. As Olbrich (1999, p. 162) argues, adult education is a distinct system of society. It is recognisable and its necessity is apparent to other systems and social actors. It has distinct functions referred to specific objects and special tasks. However, it has a problem of identity and a systemic approach can contribute to define it. Adult education as an autonomous system of society was developed relatively late in comparison to school or university. Furthermore, other systems — like the political or economical system — interfere to or hinder this identity search. Although they cannot offer what adult education can, some of their services have a cross-systemic character. Many systems in the society are influenced by or depend on the outcomes of adult education. However, each of these systems have different expectations or interests. The high differentiation of interests leads to a high complexity and pressure between system and environment. This is intensified by the fact that sometimes the learning outcomes of adult education are not directly evident in the environment (Olbrich 1999, p. 168 - 169). When approaching the adult education system, it must be taken into account that lifelong learning is a part of it. It has led to the reconsideration of individual characteristics — biography and age — of the learning context and possibilities in time and space. Although lifelong learning is connected to many fields of everyday life, the learning process is part of professional adult education and not of the everyday experience. The advantages of an effort to institutionalise

49 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability informal learning is not ignored. However, adult education remains connected to a special socialisation with time, context and social dimensions. The planed programme is realised in given time and in specific places. In contrast with other education systems, the time horizon is not connected to specific life sequences. There is no intention or attempt to proceed further to a theory of adult education, to the search of identity or to Luhmann’s approach. However, the issues described above must be taken into account, in order to recognise the basic subsystems or elements of the adult education system. This description is based on the principles of general systems theory. The adult education system contains numerous elements and parameters of different nature. The main subsystems can be recognised, so that their function is not overlapping and the system is fully described. Adult education can only be conceived in relation to an object, a theme, a programme. Therefore a basic subsystem is the programme. The programme is connected to the question of what is desired to be achieved in the specific learning period. It is the outcome of a process, which is influenced by the various environmental systems, as argued above. It has the form of concrete educational offers in time and space, though without compromising plurality or variety. The balance between system and environment is determined through this process. It involves various interests, pedagogical, political, market or individual. Nei- ther the programme, nor the process and factors involved are of a static nature. Through the programme the specific functions of the adult education system are fulfilled (Olbrich 1999, p. 170-173). The participants are a clearly recognisable subsystem of adult education. The individuals can be defined as the elements of this subsystem. They can also be described in different groups, according for example to their specific educational interest or their social background, composing thus smaller subsystems. Their participation is a conscious act, connected to the awareness of knowledge and acquisition of skills. Each of them has a background, a biography, different needs and ambitions. Each individual also has a different degree of awareness. They are present in other sector systems, though with a different function, such as the social system or individual development. The process of planning and implementing the programme is carried out by specialised personnel. The personnel can be divided according to the function it undertakes into administrative, pedagogical and support personnel. The different functions undertaken by each subsystem require also different qualification. Both participants and personnel, as human systems, have a highly dynamic behaviour and relation to each other. Finally, each educational institute has a physical existence that is the spaces

50 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability where the different activities take place. The subsystem of physical infrastructure can also be deﬁned as the adapted spaces used for the purposes of the system. The activities and behaviour within the system are regulated by a framework or rules and norms that is the institutional infrastructure. At this point, it must be underlined that the physical infrastructure is the subsystem on focus of the current research. The infrastructure interacts with the other subsystems and with the behaviour of the whole system. The other subsystems will not be examined in depth. What is important is their interrelationship with the physical infrastructure, within a sustainability context and according to the theoretical background described in Chapter 1. The pedagogical aspects will not to be analysed in this work, since this approach is made from an engineer’s point of view. Their effects in the need and use of physical infrastructure must, and will be, however, appropriately considered. It is the contribution of the physical infrastructure to the satisfaction of the basic orientors, which will be evaluated further in this chapter. The Berlin district centre of adult education (VHS) is the system under study. The main questions posed by orientation theory in this case, are:

• Is the subsystem of the physical infrastructure of the VHS viable?

• How does this subsystem contributes to the viability of the VHS?

The term viability is used here, according to Bossel, in the systemic sense of the satisfactory fulfilment of each basic orientor. Therefore, at the end of this work we cannot argue about the sustainability of the whole system, but only about the contribution of the physical infrastructure to it. Otherwise, the same approach must be applied to the other subsystems. A task that requires researchers with adequate knowledge from each scientific field. With the help of orientation theory it is attempted to bring into the surface new aspects of the adult education infrastructure and its spatial effects. Furthermore, conclusions about the applicability and contribution of such an approach to the urban subsystem of adult education infrastructure are drawn. For the further course of the research an inside view of the system under study is required. This is necessary, in order to describe the system and the system-specific environment in the depth required for the current analysis. The system is described in the next step in the form of a model. The model is developed with the help of experts from the field of adult education and especially from the VHS.

51 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

2.3 The Berlin Volkshochschule

The Berlin district centres of adult education that is the Volkshochschule, are community centres of general and vocational education. Their relationship to the community to which they belong is defined by their guidelines. On one hand they try to recognise and respond adequately to the deficiencies and needs of the people in the community. On the other hand they strive to be embodied to and strengthen the local community. This is realised through the organisation of events with up-to-date subjects, the promotion of culture and networks, the contact with employers, as well as with other public and private organisations. The Berlin VHS are mainly financed by public means and tuition fees. They are addressed to people who lack the skills, in order to come up with their every day and/or professional life and need motivation to acquire them. They have a certain autonomy in shaping their educational programme and special offers. They also provide their participants with recognised certifications and offer preparation for various examinations of other organisations. In order to understand the function of the VHS, the way it is structured, as well as the internal and external processes, interactions and basic aspects of the VHS are described in the following sections. These aspects concern the Berlin VHS as an institution and may vary in each specific occasion. They are based on guidelines, goals and average statistics which do not always depict the situation in each district. However, they offer a good insight in the institution and serve the comprehensive understanding of the VHS.

2.3.1 Educational and Socio-political Tasks

The Volkshochschule aim to provide the citizens with the necessary qualiﬁca- tion, in order to come up with the challenges of everyday, social, cultural, political and professional life. These aspects of education are treated as intercon- nected and thus promoted cohesively. This attempt is also supported by bringing together people of different culture, age, qualiﬁcation, social and working state. The motivation and integration of weak social groups, as well as the vocational training and/or rehabilitation of adults are two major objectives of the VHS. Their educational offers are shaped according to the social and cultural structure of the borough to which they belong. Many offers address to certain groups, especially to women, migrants, illiterate, elderly people and people with special needs. In brief, the following goals are pursued by the Volkshochschule:

52 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

• Political and cultural development: competence in political, cultural and inter-cultural domains, in order to participate and follow the course of events in local, national, European and international level. Harmonic coexistence with people of different cultures.

• Personal development and free time activities: cultivation of the personal- ity, discovery of and engagement in interests and hobbies, physical activities, team-work.

• Social and professional integration of minorities and weak social groups. Social equity.

• Lifelong education for the acquisition of new skills or the upgrade of existing skills, in order to ensure the occupational future of the participants.

Legislative Framework

The main legislative framework of the Berlin Volkshochschule is the School Act of 2004 (Appendix A). According to this Act every borough (”Bezirk”) of Berlin has the obligation to support one VHS, alone or together with other boroughs. The boroughs are responsible for the adequate provision of further education in their district. Today, in every borough of Berlin functions one VHS with its own management and housing. All the citizens above the age of 15 have the right to enrol in a VHS. For the enrolment a tuition fee is usually claimed. In some cases, other prerequisites are also required (age, qualification etc.). Certain courses, especially language and integration courses, which are addressed to target groups with native language other than German, can be offered without tuition. The basic tuition is 1,84 Euro per teaching hour (45 minutes) with a range between 25 and 200% of this price, according to the course and the discount category to which the applicant belongs. The VHS may also offer supervision for children, with a charge of 0,26 Euro per child and teaching hour of the visited courses, which can only reach the amount of 10,23 Euro per semester. Every VHS defines the minimum and maximum number of participants in every course and event, with the restriction that there are at least eight participants present. For the courses that lead to a certificate and last more than one semester this limitation is valid only for the first semester. If the number of the participants in three successive meetings is below the half of the minimum number, as this is defined by the VHS for that course, then it has the right to cancel the course. After the consequent attendance of at least 80% of the of-

53 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability fered course hours and a final exam, a certificate of successful participation is awarded to the participants. Second-chance education courses can be provided either in a school of the secondary education or, with the agreement of the School Supervision Board, in a VHS. The number of participants in such courses and the time-table (30 hr for morning courses and 16/15 hr for evening courses) is defined by the ”Guide- lines for the Berlin Public Schools”, published by the senate for education. Ac- cording to these norms the average number of participants must not be under 20, with a minimum of 25 participants at the beginning of the course. The Berlin VHS are members of the German VHS Association (”Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband e.V.”, short D.V.V. e.V.). The D.V.V. e.V. has undertaken various tasks for the promotion of the work and the networking of the VHS. Furthermore it has shaped the sectors of their educational programme. Through a subsidiary institute it is also engaged in the development of certification criteria, as for example in the field of language skills. The responsible senate for the VHS is the senate for education, science and research (”Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung”, short SBWF). It is the former senate for education, youth and sports (SBJS). This change could be evident of a political change regarding the importance and orientation of education. The senate for education has the power to specify the details on VHS processes, through legal regulations, such as:

• The terms of acceptance and the regulation of the examinations.

• The process of the certiﬁcation of the quality, including the quality standards and the requirements of the self evaluation.

The main legislation and norms regulating the function of the VHS are:

• ”Stellung und Aufgabe der Volkshochschule”, D.V.V. e.V. 1978: a description of the main tasks of the VHS.

• ”Schweriner Erklarung¨ des D.V.V.” from 1994, about the future of adult education. It underlines that the VHS is a public centre of further education, with broad educational tasks and a variety of offers. It must be open and serve the equal distribution of social chances and the restrain of discrimination.

• ”Schulgesetz fur das Land Berlin (Schulgesetz-SchulG)”, is the Berlin School Act of 2004.

54 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

• ”Richtlinien fur die Lehrerstundenzumessung und die Organisation der offentlichen Berliner Schulen”, SBJS, II A 1 (annual edition): the ofﬁcial guidelines for the Berlin public educational institutes.

• ”Ausfuhrungsvorschriften uber¨ Entgelte der Volkshochschulen (Entgelt- vorschriften Vhs)”, 23. August 2005, SBJS, II C 3.10: norms about the implementation of offers, the tuition fees and discounts for the VHS offers.

• Regulations of the instructors fees by the SBJS.

• ”Fortbildung fur¨ Mitarbeiter/innen der Berliner Erwachsenenbildung” by the SBJS: refers to the further education of the personnel in the Berlin adult education.

• References in other laws and regulations, such as the Basic Law.

• The General Organisation of the Berlin Administration (GGO I) and the reform (VGG) of 2001, according to which the Berlin boroughs were reduced from 23 to 12 and the ﬁnancing was regulated on a product-cost basis.

• Regulations of the boroughs.

• In the Berlin Urban Development Plan (SteP) the norm for the provision of adult education infrastructure is set. This norm is one VHS owned course room per 5000 citizens (Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Stadtentwicklung (Hrsg.) 2001, p.4).

Finally, each VHS has its own General Terms and Conditions (available in the annual programme issue, the homepage and the info points of the VHS) which the participants have to accept at the registration. All the data of the participants are protected from customers protection regulations. A common data protection regulation is applied for all Berlin VHS.

Programme and Services

The permanent personnel of the VHS with the cooperation of the part-time or freelance personnel (as are almost all the course instructors) shapes the educational programme with a certain autonomy. The educational ﬁelds, according to which the programme of every VHS is organised, are deﬁned by the D.V.V. e.V. as follows:

• Politics, Society and Environment

55 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

• Culture and Design

• Public Health

• Languages

• Employment and Profession

• Elementary Education and School Certiﬁcates

Particular offers in these domains or independent from them, can be shaped with a specialisation on the interests of certain addressee groups. The programme is available in a database, through which every interested person can be informed and advised. Personal consulting is also provided. For some courses, e.g. language courses, classification tests are required. Such tests are also available in the internet for personal evaluation. The different VHS cooperate with each other and with other public or private educational institutes, in particular with schools and universities. They also try to strengthen their relationship with employers and enterprises, through targeted events, seminars and cooperation partnerships. They also undertake requested courses under contract. In some sectors special framework conditions exist, in order to satisfy widely accepted quality standards and certificates. Such frameworks include the ”Eu- ropean reference framework for language courses” and the ”VHS-Quality Ring for public health”. The vocational education provided by the VHS includes the preparation for the examinations of official — recognised at national or European level — certificates (Xpert European Computer Passport/Personal Business Skills, Domes- tic Economy and certificates of different Chambers). Preparation for official examinations, other than that those organised by the VHS, is also offered to the participants of language courses. Furthermore, the VHS host preparatory courses which can lead to the acquisition of different school certificates (second-chance education). In any case, the applicants must participate successfully in the corresponding examination. The courses can take place during the two semesters or in particular cases, between the semesters. The summer semester begins in January or February and the winter semester in September. They both last several weeks, depending on the duration of each course. In some VHS summer courses are also offered (starting in April/May). The distribution of the teaching hours varies between full time, weekly and weekend courses or courses which last a few days, in the morning or in the

56 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability evening. The availability of adequate spaces inﬂuences this distribution, as some VHS do not own adequate facilities to host all their offers. Therefore some of their courses have to be hosted by other institutes.

2.3.2 External and Internal Organisation

The VHS is part of the borough administration. The organisation of each borough is different and therefore each VHS may belong to a different department. There is however an initiative for a common borough structure. The way the departments are organised today indicates, although not in a strict way, the framework under which each task is executed. The office in charge of the Volk- shochschule is, for example in some boroughs also responsible for schools. This common allocation of responsibilities underlines a common conceptualisation of these institutions and of handling the relative resources. In other boroughs this office includes the VHS sector and the cultural development sector. In this case a more wide perception of adult education under the concept of educational and cultural landscapes is indicated. Finally, the office for adult education can be separated from other sectors, implying a strong support of the VHS in the borough and a higher autonomy level. The municipality votes for its representatives, who then have key positions in the borough. The borough house of representatives shapes the general political guidelines of the borough and defines the tasks that should be undertaken, in order to fulfil them. Therefore, the support and framework of the communal adult education provision is determined by the borough politicians. The permanent employees of the VHS are public servants and are subject to the corresponding legislation. Therefore the employment of new personnel is a long bureaucratic process. The director of the VHS is also director of the corresponding department, office or sector of adult education of the borough. The financing of the VHS is decided by the financial department of the borough. The budget of each borough is determined by the senate for finance of the state/city of Berlin. It is based on a product provision and cost evaluation report, which was introduced after the latest administration reform. The tasks provided by each borough are expressed as products and divided in service and responsibility centres (”Leistungs- und Verantwortungszentren”, LuV). Each service and responsibility centre produces specific products. The expenses of each centre are connected to the production of each of these products. As a result, the cost per product unit is calculated. These cost-product reports of all the centres are processed by the senate for finance. According to the declination

57 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability from the median (the average of the 6th and 7th higher value) the financing of each product is decided. Then, the total budget for the borough is determined. The further distribution of the resources within the borough departments is determined by the financial department. However, there is no restriction or norm defining the financing of the VHS — in contrast with the provision of schools, the social welfare benefits etc. As a consequence, it depends upon the financial state of the borough (subjected to cuts in times of crisis) and the political position towards adult education. Each VHS can seek external resources, mostly public funds bounded to specific educational offers and in some cases private contracts. Responsible for the provision of the infrastructure is the corresponding department of the borough. The management of the infrastructure is, up to a varying degree, under the control of the VHS. Most VHS have to use external facilities, either through the borough, such as schools or through private cooperation. Each VHS has one general director and one director for each programme sector. In most VHS the sector directors are responsible for more than one of the programme sectors described above. The general director of the VHS is responsible for the distribution of the resources to the sectors. The director of each sector manages these resources and is responsible for the employment of qualified and adequate pedagogical personnel (part-time course instructors) and the availability of facilities. The specification of the programme is a process that can differ between the VHS. It is mostly based on the sector directors, who are responsible for following up the changes in the environment and on the proposals of the course instructors. The internal processes of decision-making and programme development are in general horizontally organised. They depend on the available human and material resources. They are based on internal transparent communication. The sector directors are on a constant contact with the general director. The permanent personnel has a meeting at the beginning and end of the year, for the discussion and the evaluation of the programme respectively. The course instructors are mainly in contact with the sector directors. The degree of participation of the course instructors and of the participants (e.g. through proposals, complains, questionnaires) varies considerably. Some of the institutional tools, such as the participants’ assembly, are defined by each VHS but in practise are not fully used. Internal communications are based on a digital database. All the statistical data, information, meeting proceedings, emails etc. are stored there within a short time and are accessible by the personnel. An exchange of information between VHS is also supported through the database.

58 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

External Actors

In Figure 1.2 the most important systems connected directly or indirectly to the VHS are presented. The main administration actors, which set the framework for the function of the VHS, are the senate for education, science and research, especially the department of further education (Department II) and the senate for finance. Besides them other state and federal institutes affect, directly or indirectly, the VHS. The senate for integration, labour and social issues (SIAS) and the senate for urban development set the corresponding policies at the state level. They also finance specific educational offers — often realised by the VHS — for the implementation of their policies at the local level. The local actors of the programme ”Socially Integrative City”, initiated by the senate for urban development, have occasionally cooperated with the VHS. As for example in Berlin Mitte, where they have supported, together with other local actors, the creation of a community education centre. The communication distance between the different senates is indicative of the position that adult education infrastructure has or for that matter does not have, in urban development. At a higher level the federal ministry for education and research (BMBF) shapes the educational policy, the investments and the research trends. The federal office for migrants and refugees (BAMF) often finances VHS offers, which are serving its own task. The federal employment agency (BA) on the other hand, some times finances other institutes, which provide similar offers as the VHS in the field of training or computer courses. The actors of the economic system function mainly competitively towards the VHS. There are, however, some actors like the job centre or in some cases private companies that finance or request certain VHS courses. There are also a number of independent institutes and associations that support the work of the VHS or undertake relative tasks and research:

• The German VHS Association (D.V.V. e.V.)4.

• The German Institute for Adult Education (Deutsches Institut fur¨ Erwach- senenbildung e.V., D.E.V. e.V.)5.

• The German Youth Institute (Deutsches Jugendinstitut, D.J.I.)6.

• The Federal Association for Alphabetisation and Elementary Education (Bundesverband Alphabetisierung und Grundbildung e.V., B.A.G. e.V.)7.

4http://www.dvv-vhs.de 5http://www.die-bonn.de 6http://www.dji.de 7http://www.alphabetisierung.de

59 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

• The Brandenburg VHS Association (Brandenburgischer Volkshochschule Verband e.V., B.V.V. e.V.)8.

The VHS cooperate with schools, museums and libraries, especially with those that belong to the same borough. In some cases they organise common events and often their offers are hosted by schools in the district. Those VHS that have extensive cultural offers often cooperate with private cultural actors, like art galleries. Most of the VHS cooperate with sport associations, in order to acquire the necessary sport facilities. The Berlin Swimming Pools Company (Berliner Bader¨ Betriebe, B.B.B.) and the sport halls of schools are the most often examples. In some cases, when the VHS own such facilities, like a gym, they may set it at the disposal of other local actors as well. The health insurance companies are important partners, since they often order speciﬁc courses or they ﬁnance the participation of their members to various courses of the health sector.

2.3.3 Present Stand and Future Trends

The most characteristic statistical data regarding the rendering of services, the engagement of human potential and the financial means of the Berlin VHS are submitted in this paragraph (Tables 2.1 to 2.6). In Berlin there are twelve Volk- shochschule, one in each borough. The data presented here refer to average values and can vary significantly for the individual institutes. They reveal, however, specific trends of the Berlin VHS. The number of the VHS courses and events indicates the variety of the offers and the number of teaching hours the plurality. The number of enrolments indicates the response to the offers.

Trends

The educational provision per citizen of the VHS in Berlin presents a continuous increase between the years 1998 and 2002 (from 154 to 161 teaching hours per 1000 citizens). Since 2003 the situation is reversed, reaching at 2005 the lowest level (151 teaching hours per 1000 citizens). However, in the years 2006 and 2007 important increase is noticed, reaching 176 teaching hours per 1000 citizens. The teaching hours per participant increase slightly from 2,4 (2004) to 2,8 (2007). During the same period the teaching hours per course increase from 33,5 to 35,3 hours. The participants per course decrease from 13,9 to 12,6. The percentage of enrolments per citizen remain almost the same for the period 2004 to 2007 (6,4%).

8http://vhsverband-brb.de

60 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

Table 2.4: Development and composition of the VHS personnel (2004-2007). Personnel 2007 2006 2005 2004 Part-time/freelance course instructors 4.419 4.259 4.010 4.266 % of the total personnel 96% 96% 96% 96% % women 63% 63% 62% 63% Permanent employed 166,7 171,7 171,1 177,9 of which, administrative personnel 85,1 90,1 88,2 90,8 % women 87% 78% 72% 79% Permanent educational personnel 69,6 68,6 70,9 75,1 % women 60% 60% 60% 61% Directors 11 12 12 12 % women 55% 42% 42% 33% Source: Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung 2005-2008.

Table 2.5: VHS educational offers (2004-2007). Courses and Events 2007 2006 2005 2004 Courses 16.943 16.116 14.987 15.504 Teaching hours 598.489 561.343 510.042 518.933 Enrolments 213.321 203.134 195.375 215.749 Courses under contract 1.132 1.005 405 222 Teaching hours 43.281 33.279 18.441 25.090 Enrolments 12.695 11.308 4.317 2.422 Events under contract 1.215 1.243 1.310 1.686 Teaching hours 4.319 4.198 4.649 5.859 Enrolments 19.271 18.569 20.543 25.022 Source: Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung 2005-2008.

The investments per citizen increase from 7,8 € to 9,24 €, including an increase of the state investments from 4,4 € to 5,3 €. The tuition fees per citizen remain the same (2,7 €). The investments per citizen are almost doubled, from 0,62 € to 1,02 €. The courses for migrants cover more than half of the teaching hours aimed to speciﬁc target groups. They vary from 28,7% to 35% of the total teaching hours and from 12,9% to 17% of the enrolments. They are followed by courses for illiterates (from 2,4 to 3,3% of the group speciﬁc teaching hours), for seniors (from 3,1 to 3,3%), for people with native language other than German (from 1,4 to 2,4%), for women (from 2,1 to 1,9%) and for youth (from 1,6 to 1,8%).

61 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

Table 2.6: Distribution of VHS courses (2004-2007). Programme ﬁeld 2007 2006 2005 2004 Languages 7.098 6.745 6.263 6.714 Teaching hours 370.839 349.163 311.959 316.986 Enrolments 87.993 85.736 81.344 100.145 of which Language courses for migrants 1.889 1.700 1.525 1.734 Teaching hours 211.095 196.740 172.477 148.893 Enrolments 29.530 26.191 25.515 36.735 Health 2.984 2.816 2.647 2.652 Teaching hours 52.003 47.470 47.333 47.125 Enrolments 40.631 39.057 37.789 39.451 Culture and Design 2.655 2.546 2.506 2.531 Teaching hours 76.933 69.798 66.551 64.555 Enrolments 33.572 32.387 32.579 32.715 Employment and Profession 2.149 2.778 2.352 2.480 Teaching hours 71.724 66.219 58.926 67.867 Enrolments 30.939 29.451 24.794 26.853 Politics, Society, Environment 944 947 969 872 Teaching hours 14.506 14.495 14.427 12.706 Enrolments 13.530 15.930 13.888 - Elementary Education/School Certiﬁcates 321 284 250 255 Teaching hours 12.483 12.197 10.846 9.696 Enrolments 3.180 2.973 2.939 2.697 Source: Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung 2005-2008.

62 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

Table 2.7: Distribution of VHS events (2004-2007). Events 2007 2006 2005 2004 Single events and series of lectures 1.038 1.066 1.072 1.412 Teaching hours 2.595 2.665 2.680 3.530 Enrolments 16.963 16.149 16.861 20.386 Educational trips 21 21 22 29 Days 124 125 140 155 Teaching hours 617 812 1.022 - Participants 271 270 300 334 Educational excursions 156 156 216 245 Teaching hours 1.107 811 1.157 1.307 Enrolments 2.037 2.150 3.382 4.302 Self-sponsored events 71 65 87 62 Days 2.268 3.401 5.055 3.799 Visitors 36.365 33.405 35.970 23.688 School courses, Preparation for Certiﬁcates (second-chance education) Teaching hours 118.504 141.014 137.555 170.849 Participants 1.994 2.989 2.793 3.299 Participants in the examinations 626 786 749 825 Advanced education Events 59 56 56 44 Teaching hours 657 643 620 515 Enrolments 815 742 776 872 VHS advanced education Seminars 140 136 68 - Teaching hours 1.773 2.226 906 - Enrolments 1.244 1.622 685 - Source: Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung 2005-2008.

63 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

Two thirds (62%) of the total teaching hours (46,4 to 41,2% of the enrolments) are in the field of language courses. More than one third (32,7 to 37,2%) of the total teaching hours and 14,6 to 16,6% of the enrolments is in the field of German as second/foreign language. One third of these offers is in the field of mother and parent courses. Finally, 75% of the total participants are women.

Table 2.8: Distribution of VHS income (2004-2007). Income source 2007 2006 2005 2004 (€) Contracts 1.634.273 1.308.609 365.802 612.177 State/City of Berlin 18.005.952 16.883.243 15.586.757 14.995.457 Tuition fees 9.119.274 9.037.303 9.001.241 9.025.133 Language Sponsorship 2.414.093 2.008.448 1.128.532 1.510.259 Employment Ofﬁce 525.036 451.756 207.690 429.532 (SGB III Sponsorship) EU Sponsoring means 444.103 264.405 39.779 28.991 Other Means 856.529 700.564 276.531 330.792 Other federal means 80.754 42.773 210.500 118.675 Total Income 31.445.741 29.388.491 26.451.029 26.438.838 Source: Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung 2005-2008.

Table 2.9: Distribution of VHS expenditures (2004-2007). Expenditures 2007 2006 2005 2004 (€) Personnel 24.560.211 23.546.782 21.179.688 21.651.420 of which for part time/freelance personnel 62% 62% 60% 59% Building expenses 4.904.342 4.196.721 3.762.623 3.144.200 Other material expenses 1.976.739 1.668.474 1.512.015 1.617.840 Advanced education 4.430 8.035 5.666 11.241 Total Expenditures 31.445.722 29.420.012 26.459.992 26.424.702 Source: Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung 2005-2008.

Conclusions

The educational offers of the VHS present a ﬂexibility in time and organisation, as well as a high variability in content, level and orientation. The diverse and inexpensive offers, the provision of children care and other supporting means

64 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability for the participants make the VHS a pole of attraction for many people, especially for weak social groups. In addition, the various co-operations and events promoted by the VHS and their openness shape their profile as community institutes. On the other hand, the VHS have a strong dependence on public financing, which is their first income source. Inappropriate external facilities, such as school classrooms, are often used in cases of inadequate infrastructure. In addition to the dominance of freelance personnel a relative bad image, as well as reservations towards the quality of the services provided by the VHS are shaped.

2.3.4 Quality Monitoring in the VHS

The Volkshochschule are obliged to certify the quality of their services and to undergo a regular self-evaluation. The responsible senate has to publish a report every five years regarding the course of the provision and quality of services of each VHS. Therefore, the VHS have entrusted the inspection of their quality to an external partner, the ArtSet (Research, Education and Consulting GmbH for Qual- ity Certification). The certification is made according to the model ”Learner- Oriented Quality Certification for Further Education Organisations”, Version 3, 2007 (Lernorientierten Qualitatsentwicklung¨ in der Weiterbildung, LQW) which was developed between 2000 and 2005 with the support of the Ministry for Ed- ucation and Research (BBF). The VHS must also secure the continuous upgrade of the knowledge and skills of the educational personnel. Therefore, regularly advanced education seminars for the instructors of the courses are organised by the senate and they normally take place in the VHS. The main aspects of LQW are presented in Figure 2.4. The human resources refer mainly to the personnel, which is divided in administrative and teaching personnel. A basic parameter of the personnel is the competence of the employees. The infrastructure shapes the work and learning conditions, but it also affects the whole environment in which learning takes place, influencing thus the success or failure of the learning process. Learning is a process determined by the learner. The learner is responsible for the success of learning, while the organisations provide different learning opportunities. Education as a ”branch” and education as a ”product” differ because of that. Whether adult education will actually take place or not cannot be controlled by the educators. Therefore not the quality of education but rather

65 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability Strategic Development Strategic Goals Evaluation Controlling Key Processes Needs Analysis Needs Social Needs Social (Interactive Behaviour) (Interactive Teacher -Teacher Process Learner

Individual EducationalNeeds

Management

Customer Relations Relations Customer Customer Customers Programme (Participants) Infrastructure Pedagogical Personnel Pedagogical Administration (Learning Context) (Learning Human Resources Human Figure 2.4: A systemic description of the LQW: Main elements, processes and parameters. Definition of Definition successful learning successful Mission Statement Mission

66 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability the quality in the organisation can be evaluated and improved. In this case, such an evaluation implies the existence of an ethical framework. A deﬁnition of successful learning, as this is understood within the organisation, is basic for the quality evaluation. However, the different actors of the environment recognise different kinds of ”outcome”. LQW is based on feedback and not on formalised processes. It introduces a continuous cycle of quality development and assists setting strategic development goals. The organisation is prompted to continually learn and adapt. At the end the educational organisation will become a ”learning organisation”. Quality requirements for the certiﬁcation by ArtSet are examined in the following areas:

1. Mission Statement

2. Analysis of Needs

3. Key Processes

4. Teacher-Learner Process

5. Evaluation of the Educational Process

6. Infrastructure

7. Management

8. Human Resources

9. Controlling

10. Customer Relations

11. Strategic Development of Goals

The steps followed within the LQW are:

1. Introduction workshop (for newly registered organisations).

2. Internal evaluation (analysis of strengths and weaknesses).

3. Mission statement and organisation-speciﬁc deﬁnition of successful learning, followed by the planning and implementation of the required quality development measures. This process is documented in the form of a self- evaluation report.

67 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

4. External evaluation: the self-evaluation report is subject to an external evaluation by LQW trained auditors during an audit visit.

5. The auditors visit the organisation and discuss the audit report.

6. If the report complies to the quality criteria, then the quality cycle is completed with a ﬁnal workshop, where strategic goals are set.

Systemic thinking can be also traced in the background of the quality development in ArtSet. A prerequisite for learning by organisations and individuals is, in the ﬁrst instance, observation. Observation of the environment and self- observation. There are, however, blind spots in both. Systems can also become resistant to learning in the course of time. External and independent observers of systems and their surroundings will therefore see things that are not obvious inside the systems. The same mechanism applies to the observers. The system of the organisation and of the auditor meet. So long as the systems permit it, the exchange of observations can be extremely productive. It is important to understand that the auditors cannot instruct or give directions to the organisation about its quality development process. In the same way that teachers cannot do the learning for their students. The educational offers or any certiﬁcation process provide only the context and the conditions for learning.

2.4 Implementation of Orientation Theory to the Volkshochschule

Before applying the concepts of orientation theory to the VHS, it is necessary to develop a model describing the system. The process of developing and improving the model lasted throughout the whole research. The result is a conceptual model serving the understanding of the system’s structure. Furthermore, the model contributes to the understanding of the most important processes and interactions related to physical infrastructure. It does not aim to the simulation of the system or to any computer analysis. The model is built with the valuable contribution of experts from the ﬁeld of adult education, theory and practise and especially employees of the VHS. At ﬁrst, a model is shaped based on theory, on existing literature about adult education, VHS and the Berlin VHS. The initial model serves as a basis for discussion with the experts. Through the discussion with the experts an insight of the system is gained.

68 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

The next step is to recognise the most important systems in the environment and the influence they exert on the VHS. The direct relationships are first examined. The indirect influences are recognised, but only limited analysed. This limit is set by the influence they exert on infrastructure issues. The properties of the VHS environment are then described. The environmental systems and the interaction between them shape these properties. In parallel to the environmental properties, the basic orientors are also interpreted. This is because the basic orientors occur from the environmental properties and of system specific characteristics. The VHS Model is central for the recognition of such system specific characteristics. These characteristics also determine how the system reacts to the environmental properties. Through the common analysis of the model, of the environmental systems and properties it is possible to describe what each one of the basic orientors means for: (a) the physical infrastructure, (b) its contribution to the system and (c) the interaction with the environment. Finally, these interpretations take the form of specific indicators for the monitoring of the basic orientors.

2.4.1 The Model of the Volkshochschule

Based on the subsystems of adult education, on the specific function of VHS and the structure of the Berlin VHS as described in the previous paragraphs, a model is developed (Figure 2.5). The model is built with the use of three types of variables. These are the state variables, the change variables and the parameters. These variables are connected to each other through flows that represent an influence or relation (Bossel 1994). Sustainable development requires responsibility from each subsystem. The support and intervention of the system is always available, but restricted for when it is really necessary. At every moment, the system is at a particular point in its accessibility space. This is the space of possible system’s situation due to current constrains — physical/technological, ecological, social/political, ethical/psychological etc. It is described through the state variables or reservoirs. The rate of change of these variables is characteristic of the system’s behaviour and can be triggered by environmental (parameters) or internal (feedback) influences. The state variables are the ”stocks”, the subsystems or elements from which a system consists. If they are known at a given moment, then the state of the system can be described at that moment. They are characteristic of the structure of the system. Through their function and interaction they serve the function of the system. They also undergo changes through various processes. These processes

69 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

German VHS Association Land Use Plan/Construction Norms Cooperation Senate E.S.R. Partnerships Municipality C Inst.Framework CPhysical Infrastructure Institutional Framework Registrations Programme

CTuition Fees Addressees Physical Infrastructure Socio-economic Cooperation Partners Background Participants Resources Programme Planning Municipality CResources

CPersonnel Employment Market External Resources Implementation of Further Education Personnel the Institutional Framework

Interaction

CPersonal Development

Socio-economic Background Cooperation Partnerships

INDEX Parameter State Variable Converter Flow

CInst.Framework = Change of Institutional Framework

CResources = Change of Resources

CPhys.Infrastructure = Change of Physical Infrastructure

CPersonnel = Change of the Personnel

CTuition Fees = Change of the Tuition Fees

CPersonal Development = Change of the Personal Development of the Participants Senate E.S.R. = Senate for Education, Science and Research External Resources = Investments from the E.U., the Federal State, the Senate etc.

Figure 2.5: The VHS-Model.

70 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability are influenced by other state variables, by internal and external parameters. The direction of the influence is indicated through the flow arrows. Important parameters, besides the state of the system and its environment, are the rates of change and information about the conversion of the system’s state, expressed through the converters. The model is used, in order to describe the system and its subsystems and to denote the flows between them and between the system and the environment. The VHS model has five state variables: (a) the personnel, (b) the participants, (c) the institutional framework, (d) the programme and (d) the physical infrastructure. The state variables, the processes of their change and the involved parameters are analysed below. The programme is recognised as a distinctive state variable after intensive discussion with experts. It is clear that it has a different function than the institutional framework and the other state variables. The programme serves directly the fulfilment of the system’s purpose, while the institutional framework serves the definition of the purpose and the regulation of the processes leading to its fulfilment. The system serves a purpose, has a distinctive function and produces an ”output”. In the case of adult education this ”output” can have different forms and it is not always measurable or even tangible. Other systems also pose certain demands on adult education. The ”outcome” which each of these systems expects from adult education can vary considerably. However, there is a common point in these expectations and the purpose of the system. This common point is to enhance, in one way or another, personal development. Personal development is used here as a sector system of the environment, as described in the previous paragraph. There is important influence from the environment on personal development. The participants are not isolated. They have a background and they constantly interact with other actors. The most important parameters of this interaction, which the VHS could take into account, is the effect of the social and economical background of the individuals. These effects can lead the selection of appropriate cooperation partners, although it is not possible to control their influence. It is mainly through the focused support of personal development that the VHS influences the different environmental systems. Although this description has a very general character, it suffices for the purposes of the present research. Some authors in the field of adult education and systems theory try to specify this influence (see also Schaffter¨ 2001). However, the aim of this analysis is not to go in depth in the theoretical discourse regarding the purpose of the system. The aim is to evaluate the contribution of one subsystem, the physical infras-

71 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability tructure, to the function of the system and its relation to the environment. The specific function of the system has a central place in the analysis. The theoretical considerations are discussed in the first chapter. This step is fundamental before proceeding to the development of a model. The specific characteristics of the Berlin VHS, as described in the previous section, are leading the course of the analysis. They are also evident in the description of the subsystems, their particular function and interaction, which are described here.

Subsystem Personnel

The subsystem of personnel is further divided, according to the functions it serves, into (a) the VHS-director, (b) the administrative personnel, (c) the permanent educational personnel, (d) the part-time/freelance course instructors and (e) the support personnel (in charge of cleaning, repair, security etc.). The state variable of personnel is described as the number of the employees in each position, their employment status, cost and qualification. The position of the employees refers to their function in the institute. This is described through the hierarchy of positions and the distribution of responsibilities (organisation chart). The employment status of the personnel is usually either that of public servers employed by the borough (permanent personnel) or of colleagues employed directly by the VHS with short-term contracts. The permanent personnel is therefore subject to the institutional framework set by the borough. The VHS-director has a dual function. One function is as a director of the VHS and one in charge of the adult education office of the borough. But this second function is above the VHS system. It is, therefore, going to be examined within the system-environment relationship. An important parameter of change in the personnel is further education. The participation on further education can improve the qualification and performance of the personnel. Furthermore, it can enhance the transfer of knowledge and innovation to the system. Investments on further education are realised by the senate for education. Relative offers are also available within the system. The personnel is very important for the communication and exchange between system and environment. One of the tasks of the personnel is to follow the development in the environment and introduce it to the system. This is also realised through informal processes or even subconsciously. The change of the personnel refers to all processes that affect the number (dismiss or employ new personnel), the position (merging positions, expansion of responsibilities), the qualification (participation in formal and informal processes) or the employment status and cost. Therefore, it also depends on the

72 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability available financial resources. These processes will not be examined in depth here. The interaction of the personnel with the physical infrastructure is indicated in various ways, directly or indirectly. On one side, the personnel poses demands on infrastructure. It requires adequate space such as offices, meeting rooms, free-time facilities etc. The norms for such provisions are usually described in the institutional framework. The personnel also shapes the programme of the VHS. Through this process specific demands on infrastructure for the implementation of the programme are set. The management and decisions regarding the infrastructure for the fulfilment of the programme is undertaken mainly by the personnel. The state and number of the available facilities is taken into account by the personnel while planning the programme. On the other side, the conditions shaped by the physical infrastructure influence the performance of the personnel (the function and fulfilment of their purpose, the exchange between them and with other actors). This is indicated on the model as ”Interaction” and is further explained later in this paragraph.

Subsystem Participants

The participants refer to the persons registered and attending any course or event organised by the VHS. Quantitatively it can be described through the number of the participants attending each course at a given period. A qualitative description includes the characteristics of the participants such as age, gender, educational level, employment, social, cultural and family background. The characteristics of the addressees, biographical and social milieu parameters are taken into account by the personnel while planning and implementing the programme. Possible co-operations with actors from the environment can be specified through such parameters. Participants, in accordance with the overall framework set by the senate for education, are potentially all people above the age of fifteen. However, according to demographic changes, the pressure of the market, the needs in the community and other parameters specific target groups are recognised. In the model the parameter ”Addressees” is used to describe the potential participants and the various target groups. The addressees become actual participants through the enrolment, followed by the attendance of a course or event at least one time. Whether an addressee will proceed onto registering and visiting an offer of the VHS depends on several variables. The programme is one of them and specifically the degree in which an addressee believes that the offer serves her/his individual needs.

73 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

Another important parameter for the number and distribution of the participants is the way the tuition fees are regulated. This regulation is made through the institutional framework. The senate for education sets directly some general regulations about the fees and the discounts. In the institutional framework are also included VHS specific regulations for the tuition fees, the terms of participation and the number of the participants in each offer. Another parameter is the economic situation of the people interested for an offer in relation to the tuition fees. That is taken into account during the programme planning and according to the institutional framework relative discounts are offered for the subscription in specific courses. The location where each offer takes place also affects the decision of whether to visit the particular offer or not. Therefore, it is taken into account by the personnel during the programme planning according to the addressees they want to attract. After the subscription, there is also an ”Interaction” between participants and the physical infrastructure. This interaction affects the processes taking place in each space, as well as the further participation in the specific or in future offers.

Subsystem Institutional Framework

All the regulations described above are part of the institutional framework of the VHS. The borough can also set some norms regarding the function of the VHS. The German VHS association (D.V.V. e.V.) offers very important guidelines, such as the programme fields or the certification processes supporting the function of the VHS. If any change occurs in these norms — due for example to changes in the environment (political, economical etc.) — the institutional framework of the VHS has to be adopted to it. The institutional framework also regulates the terms of use of the facilities. These terms are accepted by the participants with their registration. The institutional framework regulates the registration process, as well as the rights and obligations of the participants. Very important elements of the institutional framework are the guidelines of the VHS and the evaluation report (both described in detail in the previous section). The evaluation process is regarded as a basic process of ”Change of the Institutional Infrastructure”. This is because the evaluation offers a very important feedback within the system. Through this process the function of the system is monitored, the strategic goals of the institute are reconsidered and new goals are set. Through the quality certification the position of the VHS in the environment is also influenced (as described in Paragraph 2.3.4).

74 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

The personnel has the responsibility to ensure that the institutional framework is implemented. It translates the overall framework to speciﬁc tasks for the VHS and realises the evaluation process. Furthermore, it ensures that the purpose of the institute, which is described through the guidelines and goals of the institute set in the institutional framework, are served through the programme. This can be described as a feedback. The programme deﬁnes the degree of ”Im- plementation of the Institutional Framework” and the institutional framework directs the planning of the programme.

Subsystem Programme

A central process of the VHS, as indicated by experts from theory and practice, is the planning of the programme. An employee of the VHS described this process as ”the heart of the VHS”. It is the process that brings together all other elements. Through the programme planning the distinct function of the VHS is actually defined. This process defines the position of the system in the environment and its relationship to other systems. The educational personnel is responsible for planning the programme, under the coordination of the director and with the help of the administrative personnel. Each programme field director follows the development in the environment and the market needs in the corresponding field. The field directors discuss new ideas with the course instructors. Furthermore, social trends in the community and the city are monitored through reports of the city and the municipality. These trends are examined in relation to the overall national, Euro- pean and global trends. In some cases, further tools are adopted by the VHS in order to recognise the needs of the people in the community, their biographical and social milieu background. Internal monitoring tools are the evaluation of the participants’ feedback through questionnaires, complain reports, registration levels, drop out levels and in general the response to the courses. Through this process the context of the offers, as well as the adequate personnel and facilities for its implementation are specified. These elements form the programme of the VHS. The planning of an offer by the corresponding educational personnel is based on four factors. The first factor is the context and structure of the offer. Through the context, a purpose is served (as described in the institutional framework) and usually a target group is aimed. The second factor is the resources. The availability of financial resources for adequate educational personnel, equipment, material etc. and for the maintenance of tuition fees within the reach of the addressees has to be ensured. The third factor is the

75 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability participants. Next to the question of who does an offer strive to reach, follows the question of how could these people come to the VHS and vice versa. Finally, the adequate and appropriately equipped facilities must be available. The background of the influence that educational facilities have to the performance of the system is discussed extensively in the first chapter. Through the process of programme planning the personnel comes in touch with potential partners. The cooperation with a partner is based on the satisfaction of the above factors. The context must follow the purpose served by the VHS (the guidelines and goals of the VHS). If this prerequisite is satisfied, it is usually enough for a partner to offer one of the other three factors, in order to establish a cooperation with the VHS. The borough often invests on or requests specific educational offers from the VHS, in order to promote socio-political goals, such as the integration of migrants. The VHS is, after all, the communal adult education institute.

Subsystem Physical Infrastructure

The offers can take place in the facilities of the VHS, the facilities of a partner, rented facilities, open-air facilities etc. The important point is whether the offers serve the purpose of the VHS or not. In some cases, events are organised by external actors and take place in the facilities of the VHS, but not in cooperation or within the framework of the VHS (as e.g. when a VHS rents a facility to an external actor, without any involvement on the context of the event). That is not the case for events, which promote the purpose of the VHS and are supported by it, even if they do not take place in the facilities of the VHS. For the description of the physical infrastructure it is necessary to know the characteristics of the facilities and the particular location. These characteristics include the state, size and equipment of the different buildings, the number and possible uses of the different rooms, safety and use specifications (e.g. appropriate access for disabled people). The flexibility of the facilities and especially the function and context which they support, are of central significance. This parameter includes the satisfaction of the criteria for adult education facilities, as well as course specific demands. Another parameter is the ”atmosphere” prevailing in the spaces. This notion is discussed in the first chapter. Although it might be difficult to measure it, the feedback from the personnel and the participants can offer an indication about this aspect. The location is another significant characteristic of the physical infrastructure. It defines the accessibility of the facilities, through for example the connection to public transportation. Accessibility barriers depend also on age, gender,

76 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability social background etc. and have to be taken into account when providing an offer at a specific place. Accessibility is also influenced by the proximity to low mobility groups. These factors shape the attractiveness of the facilities, which is affected by the uses surrounding them. The change of the physical infrastructure can be qualitative or quantitative. The existing facilities may need repair, renovation or adaptation to new devel- opments. New facilities may be built, bought or rented. Facilities of new partners may host VHS offers. On the other hand, facilities may be abandoned, soled or closed down. The degree in which the personnel of the VHS can meet such decisions varies considerably. In each case, the borough has an important, if not decisive, influence on these decisions and on their implementation. Another parameter is of course the existing land use planning and construction regulations. An important regulation in this field is the protection of monuments and of the built cultural heritage. VHS are often hosted in buildings of historic value, contributing to their preservation and openness to the public. Interaction is used to describe the way human actors influence each other in a specific space. The human actors of the system are the personnel and the participants. The way they interact depends partly on their specific characteristics, such as their qualification or biography. However, human behaviour is highly dynamic. Therefore, it is difficult to be described or explained. But this interaction can be decisive for the performance of each actor and the fulfilment of the system’s functions. Besides the interaction between human actors, space has also an influence on their behaviour and on the learning process. Different activity systems can be developed according to the potentials which the space offers and the way human actors perceive them and react to them. Finally, a basic parameter affecting all variables of the VHS is the availability of the financial ”Resources”. The terms under which these resources are provided are also indicative of the relation of the system with the environment. The senate for finance influences indirectly the public investment on the VHS. That is, through the financing of the borough, which then decides about the allocation of the resources, including the financing of the VHS (”Change of Re- sources”). The fact that there is no legislation regulating the financing of the VHS must be underlined here. Many other provisions offered by the borough have to follow specific norms — such as the school provision, the welfare support etc. The VHS — although it is anchored in the legislation — remains a provision which is relative free to handle. This is even more important since the 60% of its financing comes from public funds through the borough. The tuition fees, which change according to the subscriptions, are the second important financial re-

77 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability source of the VHS (30%). Besides these two sources other ”External Resources” are available, but not exploited at the same degree by all VHS. These resources can be public or private, as for example speciﬁc educational measures of the state, the EU or courses under contract for private actors.

2.4.2 The Environment of the Volkshochschule

The existence of a system is connected to the specific environment in which it functions and develops. A system can be viable only when it reacts successfully to the challenges posed by the environment. These challenges depend on other environmental systems and the conditions that occur from the interaction between them. Each system strives to influence the environmental conditions for its behalf. For that purpose the relationship between the various systems is a decisive factor. The systems hierarchy (degree of intervention) and synergy, as well as the competition or cooperation between systems define this relationship. Systems have different degree of complexity. As this degree increases the function of the system, as well as the interaction with the environment, become more complicated. The system depends more on the environment for acquiring the necessary resources for its function. It has to develop advanced mechanisms in order to protect itself and ensure these resources. The viability of the system is thus depending on its ability to respond adequately to the properties of its environment in order to cover sufficiently its needs. Every system (at least in the present analysis) is in constant interaction with other systems in the environment. Therefore, each system is regarded as a part of a total, closed system which also includes the system’s environment. The viability and sustainability of the system and of the environmental systems are interrelated. So are the properties of the environment and the basic orientors of the system. The interaction between them can be vital for the analysis. There- fore, the systems of the environment must be defined with caution, so as neither to neglect any substantial elements (substantial in relation to the system under study) nor to include unnecessary information. For the development of orientation theory Bossel has described some fundamental environmental properties which are valid for every system (Table 2.1). These properties are unique and adequate in order to depict the important conditions in the environment. They are, however, general and for the purposes of the present analysis they can be interpreted as follows:

1. The normal environmental state describes the ”speciﬁc economic, social, cultural, legal and political environments.” ”The actual environmental state can vary within a certain range and still remain normal” (Bossel 2001, p. 4 and

78 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

1998, p.p. 76-77).

Under this property are examined:

• The socio-economic conditions under which the system functions and the basic environmental actors that inﬂuence them. • The most important sector systems that affect or are affected by the system under study. • Prerequisites deﬁned by one or more environmental systems and which the VHS must satisfy. • Parameters shaped in the environment and concerning, directly or indirectly, the subsystem of physical infrastructure.

2. Resource scarcity refers to ”the resources (energy, matter, information, etc.) required for a system’s survival and development” and whether they are or not ”immediately available when and where needed” (Bossel 2001, p. 4). In order to describe this property the resources required for the existence and function of the system are recognised. The focus is on the physical infrastructure and the resources connected to it are investments, facilities, equipment, communication networks etc. Attention is paid to:

• The availability of resources in the near or distant environment. • The resources that are most difﬁcult to attain. • The way the provision of these resources can be ensured and the in- ﬂuence which the system or the environment can exert in order to achieve this.

3. Variety occurs because ”the system environment is seldom uniform; many qualitatively different processes and patterns of environmental variables occur and appear in the environment both constantly and intermittently” (Bossel 2001, p. 4). This property refers to:

• The different parameters that are shaped by each environmental system and can broaden the choices or the challenges for the system under study. The dependency degree on speciﬁc environmental factors is shaped by this property. • The different paths (choices) that can be followed in the same environment in order to achieve the same goal. The availability of different choices is examined, in particular regarding the subsystem of

79 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

physical infrastructure. Furthermore, the variety of choices which the infrastructure can offer to the system is also taken into account. The different choices regarding the infrastructure inﬂuence on a different way the other subsystems and the system/environment relation.

4. Variability is a result of the fluctuation of the environmental variables. ”The state of the environment fluctuates within the normal environmental range in random ways and these fluctuations occasionally take the environment outside this range” (Bossel 2001, p.4). In order to examine these fluctuations certain issues regarding the environment must be considered:

• Which environmental variables have an important influence on the system and are more unstable in the time of the analysis. • The way these fluctuations influence the system and in particular the subsystem of physical infrastructure and how can the system react to them. • How close do these fluctuations lead to critical points in the development and function of the system (e.g. important technological advances, provision standards and norms).

5. Change refers to the possibility that ”over time, the normal environmental state may gradually or abruptly change to a permanently different normal environmental state” (Bossel 2001, p.4). Such changes include:

• Important changes that have occurred or are anticipated in the normal environmental state and the system has to adapt to them (e.g. globalisation, demographic change). • Changes in the important environmental systems (structural changes, emergence of new systems etc.) and consequences to their relationship with the system under study. Rise of new challenges, in particular for the subsystem of physical infrastructure.

6. Other systems or agents in the environment, ”whose behaviour may have system-specific significance for the given system” (Bossel 2001, p.4). These are mainly the environmental systems with a strong relationship to the system under study. It refers especially to those systems which influence or are influenced by decisions regarding the physical infrastructure.

80 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

The properties of the VHS environment at the time of the analysis are described according to these deﬁnitions (Tables 2.10 to 2.15). The most important environmental systems which shape the conditions in the VHS environment are presented in Figure 1.2. This step is very important in order to recognise the existing situation in the VHS environment, the stand of the system in relation to a desired situation and possible paths to reach this situation. That is to ﬁnd an orientation for future development, to locate possible problems and to recognise what has to be changed and in which direction.

Table 2.10: Sector System ”Government and Administration”. System Influence on the Environmental Properties European Union Policy making, Lifelong learning Federal Government and Parties Decision making, Educational policy Federal State Instruments: Implementation strategies, Legislation Federal Ministry for Education and Adult education goals and strategies, Re- Research (BMBF) search orientation Federal Office for Migrants Integration strategies - Adult education and Refugees (BAMF) (Language courses, Political education) Federal Employment Office (BA) Employment strategies, Qualification (Vocational education) State/City of Berlin: Sustainability agenda, Concept of education Senate for Education, Science and Adult education structure and strategies Research (SenBWF) - Department for Further Education Implementation and control instruments Senate for Finance (SenF) Availability of resources Senate for Integration, Employ- Improvement of social conditions, Invest- ment and Social Issues (SenIAS) ments on adult education Senate for Urban Development Urban development goals and strategies (SenStadt) Borough: Local development policies Office for Education/ Provision of adult education, Adult Education/VHS Monitoring of local needs Office for Urban Development/ Urban development strategies Infrastructure Management Availability and state of facilities Office for Finance Distribution of public investments EU Commissioner Networking, Acquisition of resources

81 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

Table 2.11: Sector System ”Infrastructure”. System Inﬂuence on the Environmental Properties Social Infrastructure: Availability and exchange of resources Vicinal Public Educational and Cul- Existing and potential partners or competi- tural Institutes tors Public and Private Facilities Availability of facilities, (sport, free-time, open-air) Quality standards of offers and facilities Research Institutes and Leading research in relative ﬁelds - Independent Associations: Monitoring the environment German VHS Association (DVV e.V.), Form guidelines and norms for the VHS and German Institute for Adult Education for adult education, (DEV e.V.), Common target groups (synergy effects), German Youth Institute (DJI), Strategies and implementation instruments, Federal Association for Alphabetisa- Provision of adult education offers, Network- tion and Elementary Education (BAG ing e.V.), Brandenburg VHS Association (BVV e.V.) Technical Infrastructure: Range of possibilities, Attractiveness Transportation Network Accessibility Communication and IT Network Exchange of knowledge and information Transfer of innovation

Table 2.12: Sector System ”Economic System”. System Inﬂuence on the Environmental Properties Local economic activities Local opportunities, Networking with enterprises Public and private investments Availability of resources, Policy priorities Dominating economic sectors Demand for high skill training Market regulation, Local reﬂection and pressure of Globalisation global processes and requirements Competition Local needs for adult education, Attractive- ness Level of unemployment Need for integration in the employment market, Support strategies Income distribution Availability of local resources, Quality of life Dependency (Subsidies) Handling possibilities, Disadvantaged districts

82 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

Table 2.13: Sector System ”Social System”. System Influence on the Environmental Properties City: Social conditions and actors at city level Population Development and distribution Composition (Age, Sex, Demographic change, Origin / Native language) Multiculturalism Stratification Social inequalities In- and Out-Migration High mobility, Transfer of culture and ideas, Need for adaptation and integration Social Provisions and Benefits Social security and dependency Community: Special conditions at local level Household structure/income Social mobility, Social conflicts Living space and cost Living conditions, Segregation Local initiatives Local resources, Partners, Synergy effects Citizens Organisations Participation, Engagement potential

Table 2.14: Sector System ”Individual Development”. System Inﬂuence on the Environmental Properties Population Groups: Individual needs and development potentials Educational achievement Exchange of knowledge, Awareness Participation skills Initiatives, Democratic processes Distribution of qualiﬁcation, Distribution of chances Personal skills Associations: Variety of activities and partners Cultural and Cultural exchange, Creativity, Religious Associations Individual values and standards Sport Clubs and Promotion of health, Free-time Associations Personal mobilisation, Socialisation, Ex- change Active local actors Availability of local resources, Volunteer initiatives Degree of awareness and mobilisation

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Table 2.15: Sector System ”Environment and Resources”. System Inﬂuence on the Environmental Properties Natural Resources: Availability and cost Ecosystem Carrying capacity Extend of environmental impacts Energy/Water Production, distribution and management Renewable energy policy Urban Environment: Land Land uses, Competition and cost Built environment Regulation of construction and use Existing building stock Availability, State, Function Material Resources Distribution and consumption policies Information, Knowledge Formal and informal exchange Technology Transfer of new technologies (Events, Commerce, Networks) Cultural Heritage Preservation and further transfer, Protection of historical places

2.4.3 From the Basic Orientors to an Indicator Set

According to Bossel (1999) basic needs or interests of systems appear, in response to the environmental properties and according to system-specific characteristics. These basic interests guide the system and orient its behaviour, as argued in the previous paragraphs. Only if each one of these basic orientors is satisfied at a minimum degree, is the viability and sustainability of the system possible. A subsystem must not only satisfy this prerequisite. It must also contribute to the fulfilment of the basic orientors for the system to which it belongs. Therefore, each basic orientor is described as a response to each of the environmental properties (Figure 2.2). The interpretation of the basic orientors for the VHS system is based on the VHS model and on the influence of the environmental systems. It is made once more clear that the basic orientors are described for the subsystem of physical infrastructure and its contribution to the VHS system. Bossel (1998, 1999 and 2001) has presented some guidelines for the development of indicators. These guidelines are in the form of questions, which refer to each basic orientor (Table 2.3). Following, an interpretation of each basic orientor and of the subsequent questions as shaped for the system under study is presented.

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Environmental Property: Normal Environmental State Basic Orientor: Existence ”The system must be compatible with and able to exist in the normal environmental state. The information, energy and material inputs necessary to sustain the system must be available.” (Bossel 1999, p. 31). The existing infrastructure can be described through its state and performance. It must be adequate (quantitative) and appropriate (qualitative) for the performance of its function. Furthermore, it must fulﬁl certain norms that depend on criteria set by the environmental actors. It also inﬂuences the existing state and can support the function of the VHS (e.g. through positive spatial externalities) or pose certain pressures (e.g. costs).

Guiding Questions: -”Is the system compatible with and can it exist in its particular environment?” (Bossel 1999, p. 59).

• Are adequate facilities for the implementation of the programme ensured and how?

• Does the state variable of physical infrastructure satisfy the relative norms (existing legislation)?

-”Does the system contribute its part to the existence of the affected system?” (Bossel 1999, p. 59).

• How does the physical infrastructure inﬂuence the existence of the VHS system under the current conditions?

• Does it contribute to the fulﬁlment of the VHS speciﬁc function (as a community adult education institute)?

Basic Orientor: Psychological Needs ”Sentient beings have psychological needs that must be satisﬁed.” (Bossel 1999, p. 31). In all cases where people are involved, psychological needs appear and guide their behaviour. The socio-cultural background and the self-awareness of the people are very important factors for their psychological needs. The different population groups and individuals have different educational ideals, standards and expectations that have to be satisﬁed. For example, people who feel socially and professionally isolated may have the need to belong to a group with similar characteristics. A poorly equipped and isolated facility might make the people

85 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability feel unwanted, feel that they do not deserve anything better, they cannot afford better and that they are neglected. Such needs can function as an obstacle or motive for visiting a VHS offer. The VHS is called to monitor such needs of the local population and of the target groups and to choose appropriate offers and facilities. These are, for example, places that are open and which all social groups can access and feel welcomed there.

Guiding Questions: -”Is it compatible with psychological needs and culture?” (Bossel 1999, p. 59).

• Are the people using the facilities satisﬁed with them?

-”Does it contribute to the psychological well-being of people?” (Bossel 1999, p. 59).

• Do the participants feel comfortable and motivated to learn in this environment?

• Are the local people aware of the presence and offers of the VHS and how accessible do they think these offers are for them (promote the feeling of having a variety of chances and the freedom of choice)?

Environmental Property: Resource scarcity Basic Orientor: Effectiveness ”The system should, on balance over the long term, be effective (not necessarily efficient) in its efforts to secure required scarce resources (information, matter, energy) and to exert influence on its environment when necessary.” (Bossel 2001, p. 5). The acquisition and use of financial, material but also immaterial resources influences and is influenced by the state, quality and function of the physical infrastructure. The availability and quality of facilities are also fundamental for the function of the VHS. The system must be in the position to ensure the necessary resources for covering the infrastructure needs in the long term.

Guiding Questions: -”Is it effective and efﬁcient in its processes and operations?” (Bossel 2001, p. 6).

• Is the VHS infrastructure effective on fulﬁlling its function?

• How effective is the management of the necessary resources, in order to operate the facilities?

-”Does it contribute to the efﬁcient and effective operation of the total system?” (Bossel 1999, p. 59).

86 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

• How does the infrastructure contribute to the attractiveness of the VHS and support the participation in the offers?

• How efﬁcient is the acquisition and management of resources?

Environmental Property: Variety Basic Orientor: Freedom of action ”The system must have the ability to cope in various ways with the challenges posed by environmental variety.” (Bossel 1999, p. 31). The VHS has to cope with a dynamic environment. The environment offers many possibilities but also risks, which the VHS must be able to recognise and respond to on time. On one hand, cities are characterised by high mobility and a variety of offers. On the other hand, the local population has speciﬁc characteristics, as for example the mobility of the different social groups. The provision of infrastructure has to be made according to these characteristics. The early recognition of future needs and of the appropriate facilities which respond to them, is very important for the provision and management of the infrastructure, both quantitative and qualitative.

Guiding Questions -”Does it have the necessary freedom to respond and react as needed?” (Bossel 1999, p. 59).

• In which degree does the infrastructure respond to the VHS needs?

-”Does it contribute to the freedom of action of the total system?” (Bossel 1999, p. 59).

• What is the dependency degree on the overall system for the infrastructure provision?

• Does the VHS have the ability to inﬂuence the environment and ﬁnd alternatives in order to cope with the constraints and challenges posed by the environment?

Environmental Property: Variability Basic Orientor: Security ”The system must be able to protect itself from the detrimental effects of environmental variability, i.e., variable, ﬂuctuating and unpredictable conditions outside the normal environmental state.” (Bossel 1999, p. 31). Fluctuations in the environment can lead to new challenges for the VHS. The

87 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability potential partners may be reduced (e.g. an economic crisis can lead to the shut- down of local companies with which the VHS could cooperate). A facility may not be available any longer. The restriction of public investments and the economic crisis can make a resource more difﬁcult to acquire. The reaction of the participants to the offers may change, due, for example, to changes in the demographic distribution of the citizens.

Guiding Questions: -”Is it secure, safe and stable despite a variable and unpredictable environment?” (Bossel 2001, p. 6).

• Is the necessary infrastructure for the function of the system provided, even under unpredictable and ﬂuctuating conditions, without compromising its function or purpose?

-”Does it contribute to the security, safety and stability of the total system?” (Bossel 1999, p. 59).

• What is the inﬂuence of the infrastructure to the distance which the VHS indexes have from critical values, set by ofﬁcial norms?

Environmental Property: Change Basic Orientor: Adaptability ”The system should be able to learn, adapt and self-organise to generate more appropriate responses to the challenges posed by environmental change.” (Bossel 1999, p. 31). In the environment new technologies, ideas, learning methods etc. appear constantly. According to these new challenges the environmental conditions — including competition, quality standards and expectations — change at a different pace. In order to cope with these changes the VHS may have to adapt its structure, learn from other systems and even change the culture of the institute. The infrastructure is a central element of adaptation to new methods, to quality standards and new cultures.

Guiding Questions -”Can it adapt to new challenges from its changing environment?” (Bossel 2001, p. 6).

• How ﬂexible is the infrastructure?

• Are the facilities adapted to new technologies, learning methods and needs?

-”Does it contribute to the ﬂexibility and adaptability of the total system?” (Bossel 1999, p. 59).

88 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

• Does the infrastructure support the adaptation of the system to changes in the environment?

• Is the physical infrastructure adapted to the culture of the organisation and to relative changes?

Environmental Property: Other Systems Basic Orientor: Coexistence ”The system must be able to modify its behaviour to respond appropriately to the behaviour of the other systems in its environment.” (Bossel 2001, p. 5). Systems with a direct relation to the VHS or with a signiﬁcant inﬂuence on the VHS environment affect the availability and quality characteristics of the infrastructure. These systems may interact directly or indirectly with the subsystem of physical infrastructure, for example through changes in the environment or interaction with other VHS subsystems. The infrastructure affects the interaction of the VHS with systems in its direct environment and the closeness to other systems.

Guiding Questions -”Is it compatible with interacting subsystems?” (Bossel 1999, p. 59).

• Is the cooperation with environmental actors supported by the infrastructure and vice versa?

-”Does it contribute to the compatibility of the total system with its partner systems?” (Bossel 1999, p. 59).

• Does the infrastructure promote the attractiveness and openness of the institute towards other systems of the VHS environment?

For the monitoring of the satisfaction degree of these questions an indicator set is developed. The indicators included strive to express: (a) the satisfaction of the basic orientors for the subsystem of the VHS infrastructure and (b) the contribution of the infrastructure to the satisfaction of the basic orientors for the VHS system. The ﬁnal set of indicators is shaped with the contribution of the VHS employees and is presented in Figure 2.6. A short description of each indicator follows.

89 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

Subsystem of physical infrastructure Contribution to the VHS system Existence „Is the system compatible with and can it exist in its particular „Does the system contribute its part to the existence of the total environment?“ system?“

Esusy1: Percentage of the VHS offers that take place in: (a) Esy1: Distribution of expenses under which infrastructure VHS facilities, (b) public schools, (c) other public institutes and expenses. (d) facilities of third partners. Esy2: Topography of the participants - Borough residents to Esusy2: VHS infrastructure provision - Degree of norm total participants. fulfilment (1 room/5000 citizens).

Psychological Needs „Is it compatible with psychological needs and culture?“ „Does it contribute to the psychological well-being of people?“

PNsusy1: Satisfaction of the participants with the infrastructure. Pnsy1: Satisfaction of the participants with the learning atmosphere.

Pnsy2: Familiarity with the VHS in the district.

Effectiveness „Does it contribute to the efficient and effective operation of the „Is it effective and efficient?“ total system?“

Efsusy1: Infrastructure capacity utilisation by the VHS/by Efsy1: Influence degree of the infrastructure on the course external users. selection.

Efsusy2: Management of natural resources - Change in the use Efsy2: Distribution of income sources and cover degree of of natural resources, under which use of renewable resources. expenses.

Freedom of Action „Does it have the necessary freedom to respond and react as needed?“ „Does it contribute to the freedom of action of the total system?“

FAsusy1: Percentage of the spaces used by the VHS that fulfil FAsy1: Influence degree of the VHS in decision making the concept of the institute (adult education criteria). regarding the infrastructure.

Security „Does it contribute to the security, safety and stability of the total „Is it secure, safe, stable?“ system?“

Ssusy1: Time planning of the infrastructure needs: Frequency of Ssy1: Deviation of the VHS infrastructure expenses from the changing the programme due to changes in infrastructure median. availability.

Adaptability „Does it contribute to the flexibility and adaptability of the total „Can it adapt to new challenges?“ system?“

Asusy1: Variety of learning places according to different target Asy1: Innovation rate. groups and special context. Asy2: Infrastructure quality management - Frequency of goal Asusy2: Rate of computer rooms renewal. evaluation.

Coexistence „Does it contribute to the compatibility of the total system with its „Is it compatible with interacting subsystems?“ partner systems?“

Csusy1: Offers per year organised together with partners - Csy1: Distribution of VHS public and private partners, under Percentage of these offers that takes place in VHS facilities and which new cooperation partners per year. source of financing.

Figure 2.6: A proposed indicators set for the evaluation of the VHS infrastructure.

90 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

Existence

• Esusy1: This indicator describes the fulﬁlment of infrastructure needs and the dependency on external facilities. The facilities of other institutes, especially schools, are usually less appropriate, since they are built for different purposes. In each case, the needs of these institutes are set as the priority of each facility management. This indicator shows the ability of the VHS to cover its needs, especially through cooperation partners, when it does not own adequate facilities. Furthermore, it is an indication of the plurality of learning places.

• Esusy2: A norm for an adequate provision with adult education infrastructure is set by the senate for urban development (StEp). The fulﬁlment of this norm indicates the degree of covering the local needs with the facilities which the VHS has in its disposal. It should be underlined at this point that the existing norm is not widely accepted and therefore it is only a suggestion.

• Esy1: This indicator shows the expenses for the infrastructure in comparison to other expenses. It describes how expensive the infrastructure is for the VHS and whether the investments on the infrastructure are adequate, according to the Berlin average. These parameters also shape the ﬁnancial viability of the VHS.

• Esy2: The VHS is the communal adult education institute, therefore it must serve the local population. However, some offers may have a wider area of attraction. The spatial distribution of the participants indicates the degree of attractiveness in relation to the distribution of offers, within and over the borough.

Psychological needs

• PNsusy1: The participants have certain standards regarding the infrastructure based on their background. The opinion they have about the infrastructure also shapes the way they behave and use it. Counting the amount of complaints is one method to monitor the dissatisfaction of the participants and to spot possible problems or deﬁcits regarding the infrastructure. The existing quality monitoring tools include only limited parameters regarding this indicator.

91 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

• Pnsy1: The learning atmosphere is inﬂuenced by many parameters, including the built environment, the perception and culture of the users. The physical infrastructure affects the process of learning and the behaviour of the participants, through the learning atmosphere which is supported by it.

• Pnsy2: The degree of acquaintance with the VHS can have various effects. It inﬂuences the way people conceive their options and the opportunities offered in the borough. It is important for people to know that the VHS is there for them. The location and constellation of the infrastructure can form this message.

Effectiveness

• Efsusy1: A high degree of capacity utilisation by the VHS, indicates that the infrastructure is effective in the fulﬁlment of its function, serving the purposes of the VHS. However, when the VHS infrastructure stays empty, for example during the summer, valuable resources are wasted. The efﬁ- cient use of the available VHS infrastructure should then be considered and allow other uses to be hosted there. But this is only the case, when hosting other uses does not compromise the needs and purpose of the institute.

• Efsusy2: The VHS infrastructure should be effective in implementing renewable energy technologies, which support its ecological function. It can then be less dependent on resources more difﬁcult to acquire and highly regulated by the market, such as gas or oil. Furthermore, the management of the resources on the long term indicates how efﬁciently they are used.

• Efsy1: This indicator underlines the importance of the location and the effects it has on the relationship between the addressees and the VHS. The accessibility and attractiveness of the infrastructure shapes the efﬁcient address of the institute to its target groups.

• Efsy2: The variety of income sources indicates how effective the VHS can influence its environment, in order to acquire the necessary financial resources. The amount of the income sources is connected to the degree of covering the expenses. This relationship is shaped by the efficiency of the resource management and it is decisive for the financial viability of the VHS. The attractiveness of the VHS towards external actors is very important in order to acquire a variety of income sources. This attractiveness is

92 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

shaped, among other factors, by the VHS infrastructure.

Freedom of action • FAsusy1: The quality characteristics of the infrastructure define the degree at which it can support various activities. The degree of response to the variety of context and methods of learning, as well as to different target groups, is examined here. In order to fulfil the goals and concept of the institute, certain prerequisites are set for the infrastructure. The availability of spaces which fulfil these prerequisites, indicates the ability of the VHS to respond to the different needs.

• FAsy1: The infrastructure is a basic element for the implementation of the VHS programme and the fulﬁlment of its purpose. When the decisions about the infrastructure are made at a higher administrative level, the function of the institute is inﬂuenced. In this case, the freedom of the institute to respond to the environmental conditions is limited and depends on the overhead structure. This indicator aims to examine the degree of dependency of the system on the overhead structure.

Security • Ssusy1: The availability of infrastructure indicates the ability of the VHS to secure the necessary resources for its function. However, the conditions under which these resources are secured may be unstable. This is even more probable, when the VHS is hosted in other institutes. The infrastructure planning and management should provide security for the fulﬁlment of the VHS function even under such conditions.

• Ssy1: The amount of the public financing of each institute is regulated according to the deviation from the Berlin median. Therefore, the deviation of the infrastructure expenses from the relative median influences the amount of public resources which the institute receives. Since the VHS depends on public resources a negative influence of the infrastructure, supported by the other expenses, can endanger the function of the institute.

Adaptability • Asusy1: The VHS infrastructure hosts different participants and offers, which are subject to various changes in their consistency and context respectively. The infrastructure must reﬂect this variety, in order to adapt early to change.

93 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

• Asusy2: Important advances in technology and knowledge occur in society. These must be integrated into the infrastructure, in order to respond appropriately to current needs and demands. The adaptation to advances in computer science are indicative of the adaptability of the infrastructure since they occur constantly and are signiﬁcant for learning.

• Asy1: The infrastructure inﬂuences the adaptability of the VHS, since it supports the adaptation of the learning context to change. A norm set by VHS employees, for a satisfactory integration of new offers in the programme, is 10% of the total offers. The innovation rate achieved by its institute depends on the availability of the appropriate infrastructure.

• Asy2: The goals and even the concept of the institute are adapted to change through the quality management process (LQW). The goals of the institute are reviewed every four years, in order to respond to changes in the environment. The infrastructure has to support the fulﬁlment of the new goals of the institute. Therefore, the frequency with which the goals connected to the infrastructure are reviewed and evaluated affects the adaptability of the institute.

Coexistence

• Csusy1: The potentials offered by the VHS infrastructure shape the relation of the VHS with other systems in the environment. This relationship is expressed through the number of offers organised together with partners. On one hand, the cooperation with various actors is promoted when the required spaces are available. Therefore, through the provision of infrastructure, it is possible to attract more resources to the VHS. On the other hand, the VHS can search for partners which can offer the infrastructure necessary for speciﬁc offers and which the VHS does not have in its disposal (quantitative or qualitative). The necessary infrastructure is deﬁned by the context of the offers, but also by the desired spatial distribution and the target group to which they address.

• Csy1: The distribution of the VHS partners is shaped by the available infrastructure. The infrastructure contributes to the attractiveness of the VHS as a cooperation partner. Furthermore, it affects the choice of speciﬁc partners, which can provide necessary facilities in speciﬁc locations. The new partners, as a percentage of all partners every year, indicate how attractive the institute is and how many choices it has for new cooperation.

94 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

On the other hand, they indicate how many partners have a long cooperation with the VHS and therefore how stable the cooperation relationships are.

2.5 Conclusions

The application of orientation theory includes a close observation of the environment of the system under study. The sector systems, as proposed by Bossel, facilitate this process, since they indicate a basic structure and function of the systems in the environment. It is thus possible to recognise the position of the adult education system in society. As it is presented in Figure 1.2 the VHS is part of the communal administration and of the adult education system. This dual position has certain consequences for the VHS, which are described in Para- graphs 2.3.2 and 2.4.1. For example, since the VHS is part of the borough, the members of the VHS permanent personnel are public servants. The framework conditions — the employment of new personnel, the distribution of public resources and the provision of infrastructure — are also set by the borough. The specific community character of the institute and the closeness to other community actors are influenced, not always in a positive manner, by this structural organisation. As a part of the adult education system, the VHS is called to serve specific educational and socio-political tasks, including lifelong learning. The most important systems are recognised after a close observation of the VHS environment. The environmental properties are analysed, so as to depict the conditions prevailing in the VHS environment. The influence of the environmental systems on the environmental properties is examined. Therefore, the influence of each system, direct or indirect, on the VHS is determined. An important environmental property is the resource scarcity. In the case of the VHS this property is shaped by the possible income sources — federal, local, project- bounded, private contracts etc. — and their dependence on political goals or market demands. Other important properties, are connected to the addressees and their background, to the characteristics of specific target groups, to demographic and social changes etc. The above approach describes the highly dynamic relationship of the VHS with its environment, as it is shaped at the time of the analysis, through a set of properties, rather than through an attempt to describe the whole VHS environment. Furthermore, the way and the degree in which the individual environmental systems influence the environmental properties, offers the chance to examine the interaction of each system with the VHS. It is, for example, evident that the Federal and State administration form the general conditions of

95 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability the VHS environment and establish the role of the VHS in the educational system. However, the Borough administration defines directly the parameters of the VHS function, including the political priorities (local policy, development plans), the financial management (distribution of investments) and the provision of infrastructure (Table 2.10). Furthermore, it is clear that the influence which the sector systems Infras- tructure (Table 2.11), Social System (Table 2.13) and Individual Development (Table 2.14) have on the VHS environment is shaped mostly at local level. These systems influence parameters with a direct effect to the VHS and more specific to the subsystems of Participants, Programme and Physical Infrastructure, as depicted in the VHS Model (Figure 2.5). As long as the environmental properties are described, the evaluation of sustainability can follow a more concrete path. The basic orientors lead this path. They offer guidelines for the system’s behaviour and they refer to each subsystem of the system under study. The interpretation of the basic orientors for the subsystem of VHS infrastructure is presented in the previous section. Through this interpretation the influence and contribution of the physical infrastructure to the viability of the system is examined. The conceptual model is built in order to recognise all the subsystems of the VHS and their interconnection. The advantages that such a systemic approach offers, besides the research specific interests, is that it presupposes the inclusion of all the elements of the object under study. Therefore, when the physical infrastructure is evaluated its spatial effects cannot be ignored. Hence the spatial dimensions of the adult education system are included, even if the analysis is made from a pedagogical or socio-political point of view and vice versa. This does not mean that the analysis will loose its specific interest; only that it will examine the object under study from all different perspectives. In the present research the VHS infrastructure is evaluated. That could not be done if the other subsystems were not taken into account as well. The guiding questions, as described by Bossel (Table 2.3) are a useful tool, in order to define each basic orientor. These questions actually express what is needed, in order to respond to each environmental property. Therefore the analysis of the questions offers an interpretation of each basic orientor. The questions refer both to the subsystem under study, in this case to the VHS physical infrastructure and to the contribution of this subsystem to the system to which it belongs. It can be argued that the way these questions are expressed, sets the framework of what has to be monitored by the indicators. Therefore, as analysed in Paragraph 2.4.3 they serve as the intermediary step between the basic orientors and the indicator set.

96 2. Orientation Theory as a New Approach of Urban Sustainability

In the first chapter it is argued that the spatial externalities of adult education are neglected in planning. A systemic way of thinking supports the consideration of all dimensions, including the spatial ones. Orientation theory and other systemic approaches offer the tools for this purpose. Orientation theory also sets sustainable development as a framework for planning and evaluation. The spatial dimension of the VHS infrastructure is not examined as an individual aspect of the infrastructure. However, it is brought into light in many cases during the analysis of the basic orientors (Paragraph 2.4.3) as, for example, in the following indicators: Esusy1 – sometimes quality is sacrificed in order to be close to the addressees –, Esusy2 – the infrastructure provision should follow the population distribution –, Esy2 – one factor of the topography is the infrastructure –, Pnsusy1 – the satisfaction with the infrastructure is also shaped by accessibility, proximity etc. –, Pnsy2, Efsusy1 – the VHS can provide infrastructure, where it is most needed –, Efsy1, FAsusy1 – the location of these spaces is defined by the need to be close to specific target groups –, Ssusy1 – sometimes quality is sacrificed in order to be close –, Asusy1 – the location of the places is defined by the need to be close to specific target groups –, Asy2 – the concept of the institute is related to the distribution of the infrastructure –, Csusy1 – the location of the infrastructure is an important factor of whether these offers will take place in the VHS –, Csy1 – the distribution of partners is also related to the distribution of the infrastructure. The concepts introduced by orientation theory — the environmental properties and the basic orientors — are generally defined. Therefore, it could be argued that their validity is a result of this general character and does not have a specific contribution to the analysis. However, the application of orientation theory to the VHS shows that these concepts are very useful for the understanding of the system and its environment. The evaluation of the VHS infrastructure with the help of the basic orientors offers an insight into aspects, which are often neglected in other evaluation approaches. These generally expressed concepts give the necessary freedom for interpretation, which depends on the people conducting the analysis. A framework for evaluating the viability and sustainability of any system is offered. Different sets of indicators, equally valid, can be developed by people with different scientific backgrounds. Moreover, the indicator sets present a flexibility and adaptability to the existing data, without impairing their validity. This is very helpful, since the evaluation of the indicators is often restricted by the availability of the necessary information.

97 Chapter 3

Empirical Research

3.1 Qualitative Methods in Urban Research

Qualitative research includes a number of methods for the acquisition and analysis of information. Social research has widely adopted such methods due to the nature of the required data. The tools developed for these purposes are often used in the urban field. However, in this field the methods used are not focused in particular on phenomena. They rather concentrate on problems and strategies. Questionnaires and semi-structured or open interviews are often used in urban planning. Through the systematic analysis of such material an insight of motives, causes and effects, behaviour and decision making processes can be gained. In addition to the analysis of social phenomena and trends, qualitative methods can contribute to the recognition of interrelations, which otherwise would be very difficult to describe (Deffner 2004, p.2). Qualitative research often has to prove itself against quantitative methods. The main differences are the terminology and spectrum of analysis. Quanti- tative terms and measures are mostly metric, while qualitative ones are more classificatory. Therefore, qualitative methods have an explanatory function and refer to more general principles, while quantitative methods serve more the understanding of interrelationships and connections. Quantitative methods focus on the specific but do not isolate the variables of their object. The qualitative methods are rather inductive, while quantitative ones are rather deductive (Mayring 1997, p.p. 16-18). The qualitative tools used in urban research involve different target groups or individuals. These tools can address to specific social groups, to residents of a specific neighbourhood or users of a specific infrastructure. For example, questionnaires or interviews (narrative, problem specific) are used in order to understand how the citizens conceive their neighbourhood and which problems they

98 3. Empirical Research recognise for the purposes of milieu analysis, the evaluation of development proposals etc. Furthermore, such tools serve the communication with experts from different, though correlated fields. These tools vary from standardised questionnaires, such as those used in the Delphi method to open interviews with free guidelines. They are used for the exploration of future practice and policy making in urban planning1, the qualitative evaluation of statistical data and indica- tors2, as well as for the evaluation of urban projects3. The nature of the two leading questions of the present research dictates the search for relevant, though multifaceted expertise. As argued in the first chapter, the issues examined, both at contextual and methodological level, refer to different fields. Furthermore, some of these issues are not addressed yet or not addressed in depth by the existing literature. Therefore, expert interviews are adopted as a tool for extracting the necessary knowledge, in order to handle these issues. Knowledge which is related to the context of the research questions and to the confrontation of these issues from the involved actors, institutional, private etc.

3.1.1 The Expert Interview

The way that the role of experts in society is understood defines the contextual and methodological aspects of expert interviews. It is basic for the kind of data that is expected to be gained, for the importance of the acquired data and for the value of the conclusions that can be drawn from them (Bogner/Menz 2002)4. The position of experts in society is not something established, as it might be thought at first. Their knowledge is important for the recognition and definition of most problems and for the planning of solutions. The opinion of experts is central for the implementation of economic and political strategies. Further- more, danger can be recognised by experts, therefore they can minimise the risk and provide safe alternatives. However, social experience has shown that the traditional way of thinking is insufficient. Expertise is often confronted with

1Relevant examples can be found in the application of the ”Orientation and Action Frame- work” of the IRS and the COmpetitive METropolises project (COMET). 2Expert interviews are realised by the senate for urban development within the programme ”Monitoring social urban development” (Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Stadtentwicklung 2007). 3Relevant examples are met within the programmes ”Social City” and URBAN II (see also Section 1.2). 4Bogner, Alexander/Menz, Wolfgang: ”Expertenwissen und Forschungspraxis: die mod- ernisierungstheoretische und die methodische Debatte um die Experten - Zur Einfuhrung¨ in ein unubersichtliches¨ Problemfeld”. In: Bogner/Littig/Menz (Hrsg.) (2002), p.p. 7-29.

99 3. Empirical Research unpredictable situations, followed by new risks. This has led to a relative weak- ening of the experts status. In knowledge society expertise is a leading factor. However, knowledge must be coherent with social reality (Bogner/Menz 2002, p. 10). On the other hand, the lack of any guarantees lead to the need for orientation and therefore to an increased social importance of expert knowledge. It is important to take into account that there is a differentiation between experts, a pluralisation of ideas, a number of different ways to describe and analyse the world. There is a variety of experts and often controversies occur between them. This underlines the fact that knowledge is not absolute. It must not be regarded a source of authority, status and prestige. Besides the legitimation of the existing structure, expert knowledge depicts the image that society has for itself; that handling and decision making must follow the predominant rationality muster (Bogner/Menz, p.p. 11-16). The distinction between experts and non-experts cannot be made according to traditional criteria. Attempts to define experts can be found in the literature (Bogner/Menz 2002, p. 46, Meuser/Nagel 2002, p. 73)5. A central point is, that besides the special knowledge and professional experience in the field of research, an expert must also influence that field. Expert interviews meet criticism more often than other qualitative tools, due to the absence of standardised methods of implementation and analysis. On the other hand, they offer more safety in comparison to interviews addressed to target groups, because they communicate professional knowledge. However, they are not representative and they express the experts’ relevant impressions or opinions. Therefore, it is argued in the literature that expert interviews cannot be used to shape any scientific arguments. They rather have a complementary role in this process. They can be used, for example, for the first exploration of the research field and the generation of hypothesis. This is of course a very useful function of expert interviews. An expert can offer an orientation to the research field, can recommend other potential interview partners and even open new horizons for the interviewer. Recommendations from each expert regarding the guidelines, the implementation of the interview, reflections on the interview situation etc. must always be pursued (Bogner/Menz 2002, p. 37). However, expert interviews can also serve an intensive data acquisition, which is difficult to be competed by other methods. The advantages are often

5Meuser, Michael/Nagel, Ulrike: ”ExpertInneninterviews - vielfach erprobt, wenig bedacht - Ein Beitrag zur qualitativen Methodendiskussion”. In: Bogner/Littig/Menz (Hrsg.) (2002), p.p. 71-93.

100 3. Empirical Research the lower cost and time requirements, as well as the accessibility to fields which are otherwise difficult to approach. The experts are usually motivated and willing to contribute to the research, since they have consciousness of their political and scientific role (Bogner/Menz 2002). An expert interview could therefore serve the acquisition of data according to specified thematic subjects. This can be achieved by a thematic differentiation of the guidelines. The data referring to each thematic subject are then comparable. A further function of the expert interview is the exploitation and reconstruction of the ”subjective dimensions” of the expert knowledge. ”The comparability of the experts statement is ensured methodological through the guidelines and empirically through the common organisational and institutional connection of the experts. From there it will be pursued a theoretically rich conceptualisation of (implicit) knowledge stand/existence/expertise, world views and routines, which the experts develop in their practice and is constitutive for the function of social systems. This process aims ideally to theory generation regarding the interpretative generalisa- tion of a typology.”

Bogner/Menz (2002, p. 38)

The experts chosen in most cases share already a common reference system with the researcher. This is a very important aspect for the communication between expert and interviewer. Expert interviews are based on guidelines and must be carefully justified and theoretically grounded. The research field, the guidelines and the selection of the experts are bound to each other. The interaction with the expert and the interview situation must also be subject to a systematic reflection. The interaction effects depend on the way the expert ac- cepts the interviewer, the background of the expert and the time of the interview (Bogner/Menz 2002). The successful realisation of an expert interview is difficult to define and depends on many factors. Therefore the existing literature questions the solidity of the methodological grounding of this method for collecting data. The question is however, not about the basic principles of the expert interview, but about a controversy in the methodology (Bogner/Menz 2002, p. 35). A paradox is that the empirical and the methodological parts of expert interviews are connected only up to a certain limit (p. 38).

3.2 Planning the Interviews

The reliability of expert interviews as a method for acquiring data depends on the satisfaction of certain parameters. According to Bogner and Menz (2002) the

101 3. Empirical Research open questions regarding this issue are the following:

• Which is the role of the expert interviews in the research planning?

• How are the interviews concretely designed?

• Which are the methods for the evaluation of the interviews?

Meuser and Nagel (2002, p. 75) describe the different role that expert interviews can undertake, depending on their position in the research. In the present research expert interviews have a central position, although the experts are not themselves a target group. They are expected to offer information about the questions under research that cannot be acquired by other sources. The ﬁelds of expertise which can contribute to the present research are recognised according to the issues handled by the research questions. These are:

• Adult Education Infrastructure:

– Spatial Effects next to educational-political effects. – The example of the Berlin Volkshochschule.

• Sustainable Urban District Development:

– Orientation Theory as a tool of Sustainable Urban Development. – District as a handling unit of Sustainable Urban Development.

The interviews are guided, semi-structured and open-ended. The guidelines are organised in three parts. The first part includes an introductory question. The aim of this question is to describe the position of the expert towards the Volkshochschule. The first thematic unit refers to the sustainability of the Berlin Volkshochschule. First the institution is described from the expert’s point of view. The issues handled in this part are categorised according to the function, the structure and the relation of the Volkshochschule with the local environment. The third part goes further into issues regarding this relationship and the occurring effects. The experts are asked to consider the role of the Volkshochschule in sustainable district development. Finally, it is questioned whether the district is the appropriate level to organise education and the possible contribution of the Volkshochschule in this case. In order to handle these issues, it was regarded necessary to contact experts with different functions. Interviews are realised both with experts from inside and outside the specific world of experience — the Berlin Volkshochschule. Ex- perts who do not belong to this field possess contextual knowledge about it.

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They shape the framework of the analysis and they influence the research object. The experts who do belong to this experience world are employees of two Berlin Volkshochschule. These partners are interviewed as VHS experts and not as a group under research. Orientation theory is not one of the fields of expertise of the interview partners. However, some of the experts, based on their experience and special knowledge, examine the potentials of applying this theory in their field of expertise. Furthermore, some of the experts contributed to the application of orientation theory to the Berlin Volkshochschule (Chapter 2). Orientation theory proved to be a helpful tool during the development of the interview guidelines. The environmental properties offer a framework for the description of the VHS environment (Figure 1.2). The basic orientors contribute to shaping the questions about the VHS and the relationship with its environment. The open character of the interviews ensure that the experts are not limited by the guidelines. The approach of each expert could go beyond or introduce other aspects than those included in the guidelines. Furthermore, after each interview the guidelines are reviewed according to the issues introduced by the expert. With the help of orientation theory specific aspects of the system’s (Berlin Volkshochschule) relation with the environment, especially the local environment, are described (Chapter 2). It is therefore wished to search whether there are any common points between these aspects and the aspects recognised by the experts. This is conducted only after the conclusion of the computer assisted qualitative analysis of the interviews. ”Atlas.ti” is the programme used to support the analysis of the expert interviews.

3.2.1 The Experts

An expert, as described by Meuser and Nagel (2002, p. 73) is the person who:

• ”undertakes in any way responsibility for the planning, the implementation or the control of a solution to a problem”, or

• ”has a privileged access to information, group of people or decision processes”.

In the previous paragraph the scientific fields handled in the present research are described. The academics from these fields have the access to information and to the latest research. Furthermore, they influence the research according to their interests and their conception. Through their work they also influence the policy-making processes. They often participate in the corresponding committees and institutions, shaping thus the policies and decisions.

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The politicians and the administration are responsible for policy and decision- making, their implementation and problem-solving strategies. The senate for urban development is responsible for the related issues and the district development policies. The educational policy in Berlin is shaped by the corresponding senate. Since the Volkshochschule in Berlin are communal adult education centres, the local administration is responsible for their provision. However, the partners from the local administration refer only to the institute under their responsibility and not to the institution per se. Therefore, interviews with these partners are included only in the two examples from the VHS field studied in Chapter 4. The private sector is a decisive factor of urban development. The way urban planners perceive the role of educational infrastructure influences their work and subsequently their development plans. Local initiatives are also important for the district development. Such initiatives promote local issues and cooperate with other local actors, such as the educational institutes. Therefore, they participate in the problem-solving and can influence the decision-making processes. Finally, the employees of the VHS have an inside view of the research object. They have access to internal information. They are responsible for the implementation of policies and decisions. They affect the policy and decision-making processes. Expert interviews with two VHS employees are conducted. Further interviews with VHS employees are part of the field examples and are analysed in the next chapter. The expert interviews do not refer to the two specific VHS under study. They refer to the VHS as an institution. They are based on the long experience of the interview partners. In some cases the experts contacted did not regard their expertise relevant to the subject. These cases are located in the field of politics and urban development. They indicate the limited connection of professionals in these fields with adult education issues. The approach of experts from Berlin is realised in the areas of:

• Academics

• Administration

• Private Planning

• District Actors

• VHS employees

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Expert interviews are conducted with thirteen partners. The field of adult education is represented by six interview partners. Four experts are from the field of urban development and further three are active in local initiatives and neighbourhood management. The interview partners are presented here, according to the areas of expertise and profession. The experts are also asked to provide information about their background and scientific interests. According to the information provided by the interview partners about their background, the organisation of the transcripts is made according to the area of expertise and the sequence of the interviews. The sequence of the interviews is important because the process is iterative and the findings of each interview influence the process from that point on. The field of expertise of each interview partner is indicated by the respective initials in the brackets. The numbers next to the initials indicate the sequence in which the interviews are realised. The first interview (Ac1) is realised with a professor of urban and regional sociology. The interview partner has conducted extensive studies in the field of urban sociology and the history of social and urban development. He has served as a member in advisory boards on urban and regional development and in several federal committees. He has, however, a limited association to the VHS. Two of the experts interviewed are professors in the field of adult and further education. One of the interview partners (Ac2) is a senior professor occupied theoretically and historically with the VHS. Among other, he has handled questions of community as a learning place. Within his scientific interests lies the organisational structure and development of adult education. He has been for many years a cooperation partner of the VHS in the university. He has promoted in various ways the work of the VHS and participated in a relevant association in Berlin. An interview is conducted with a professor and head of the department for adult education of a university in Berlin (Ac3). The expert has conducted an excessive historical research and programme analysis on adult education, including the VHS. Her scientific interests include cultural and women education. She works on the development of methods and concepts concerning adult education. She has been member in many scientific and evaluation committees, pedagogical commissions and associations for the promotion of adult education and VHS. The fourth interview (Ac4) is conducted with a professor of the sociology of architecture. The interview partner is theoretically and practical interested on urban planning. He has a private planning office of urban renewal and has visited many countries all over the world. He has served as a member in many

105 3. Empirical Research associations on architectural, urban and regional issues, as well as in various relevant advisory committees at borough, city and federal level. Two of the interview partners work for the senate for education, science and research (SBWF) in the office for VHS. One of the partners is of recent assignment in this office. Her prior position in the senate was in the supervision and implementation of the school law. She has long experience as a director of an international meeting point in a community of Berlin and later also of the local VHS. The second partner has a long experience in this position of more than fifteen years. Currently he also handles issues of the VHS quality management process at senate level. The interview is conducted in two parts with both partners together (Ad5). An interview (Ad6) is conducted with a retired colleague of the senate for urban development (SenStadt) in the department for the ”Social City” programme. The interview partner is a political scientist active in urban development and renewal. She has a long experience with neighbourhood management projects coordinated by the senate. Therefore she is well acquainted with many models for the coordination and engagement of local actors, including the VHS. An expert from a private planning office in Berlin is also interviewed (PP11). The interview partner is active for almost fifteen years in social infrastructure planning, prognosis, demography and statistics. He has prior working experience in the senate for education. The director of a communal initiative in Berlin, with a long experience on handling local issues, is interviewed (DA8). The initiative has a network character in order to promote interdisciplinary cooperation. It strives to activate the citizens at district level and support local partnerships. The interview partner is active within the initiative since its beginning, almost twenty years ago. He has studied landscape planning. The subject of his diploma thesis was planning from below within the specific initiative. Within this framework the interview partner has cooperated with the VHS of the borough in several occasions, in the short or long-term. Two further district development experts from the Neighbourhood Manage- ment Programme in Berlin are interviewed together (DA10). One of the experts is active on neighbourhood and social management within the programme for the last ten years. He is project manager in one of the neighbourhoods of the programme. Special fields of his work are the built environment in residential areas, the district related art and culture, the social infrastructure, the development of strategies close to the citizens, participation, local economy, adult education and qualification. The second expert is working since seven years in Neighbourhood Management. He is also coordinator of a local educational net-

106 3. Empirical Research work. The fields of his interest include educational development, networking of educational institutes, cooperation at borough and state level. Both interview partners cooperate often with the VHS at district level. The experience world of the VHS is represented by two experts. The first expert interviewed is programme director in a central Berlin Volkshochschule (V7). The main field of his work is German as a foreign language. He is working almost twenty years for the institute. His work is focused on integration, handling at district level and networking. He is very active in local projects. The second expert is director of a Volkshochschule in the borders of Berlin (V9). The fields of his work are pedagogics and psychology. He is working since thirty five years for the institute in different positions. His previous experience, especially during the 1970s, includes the organisation of VHS work close to the district.

3.2.2 Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria

The expert interviews realised for the purpose of the present research are open but semi-structured. The development of the guidelines is a constant process parallel to the realisation of the interviews. After each interview the guidelines are reviewed according to the focal points highlighted by each expert. At the end of each interview, the interview partner is also asked to give a feedback on the material and the implementation of the interview. This feedback, as well as the notes from the interview are used to improve the guidelines, the complementary material and the situation of the next interview. The complementary material is a description of the Berlin VHS. A short explanation of the terminology used is also available through out each interview. The overall structure of the guidelines is described in the previous paragraph. The interview begins with an introductory question about the idea the interviewee has about the VHS. A brief description of the Berlin VHS follows, for experts from different ﬁelds. The initial structure of the guidelines is shaped with the help of the basic orientors. Thus it is ensured that all important aspects regarding the viability of the VHS are included in the discussion. These aspects refer to the VHS as the overall system and to the infrastructure as the subsystem under study:

• Existence: purpose, identity, organisation, infrastructure.

• Psychological needs: image, infrastructure associations.

• Effectiveness: competence, acquisition of resources, infrastructure effects.

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• Freedom of action: decision-making structure, infrastructure handling possibilities.

• Security: provision structure, infrastructure pressure points.

• Adaptability: orientation of the institute, response, infra-structural adaptation.

• Coexistence: potentials for other systems, inﬂuence through infrastructure.

The guidelines are organised both horizontally and vertically. The horizontal topics refer to the function and structure of the Berlin Volkshochschule and its relation to the environment. The vertical topics refer to issues of sustainability, urban development and the district as a handling unit. The guidelines have a general form so as not to limit the discussion. The guidelines of the ﬁrst thematic unit include the following issues:

• Sustainability prerequisites of the VHS regarding its function and structure.

• Possible advantages of a close relation to the district for the efﬁcient fulﬁl- ment and shape of the VHS guidelines: (a) through the early recognition of the needs and the orientation of the offer towards demand (of addressees, social milieu, market) and (b) through the activation and further development of communal potential and resources.

• Sustainability criteria regarding the physical infrastructure and its effects.

In the second thematic unit the issues guiding the interviews are:

• The possible contribution of the VHS to the confrontation of important urban problems and the support of urban development goals.

• The possibilities for the (further) integration of the VHS in sustainable urban development, especially in district development. Possible forms, prerequisites and the appropriate level at which such an integration can be promoted.

• The concept of communal educational landscapes as a sustainable perspective at the local level. The possible contribution of the VHS to the implementation of this concept.

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The guidelines as well as the evaluation criteria of the interviews aim to provide answers to the research questions described in Chapter 1. The position of the experts in respect to these questions is examined in this chapter. This position is indicated by the way experts from certain fields approach the issues under study. Therefore, the field of expertise is important for the evaluation process. The focal points of the guidelines described in this paragraph are the central observation criteria for the evaluation of the interviews. The interviews are searched for common points on these issues. During the evaluation process the points of disagreement or varying aspects on the same point are also analysed. Specific issues under research from which certain experts keep a distance are investigated. The case that an expert may introduce a new aspect is examined after each interview and included into the analysis.

3.3 Analysis of the Transcripts

The first step of the analysis is actually the development of the interview guidelines as described in the previous section. Based on these guidelines initial categories and codes are formed. All interviews are recorded with the consent of the interviewees. Within a short period after each interview the relative audio file is transcribed. The analysis is then based on the transcripts and on the notes made during and after each interview. The guidelines and the initial coding list are reviewed as the interview process evolves. At the first step of analysis the coding list is in particular enriched based especially on two interviews (Ac2 and V7). These interviews provide many information regarding all the aspects under research. When all the interviews are transcribed they are searched for concordant or discordant aspects on common issues. These aspects are integrated into the initial coding list. The second step of the analysis is to thoroughly review each interview tran- script. The interesting quotations are selected and organised according to the general topics to which they refer. Usually the general topic of a quotation is connected to the respective question. However, the answers given by the interviewees are often extended beyond one topic. After this step is concluded a first structure of the quotations is shaped. This structure is revealing some overall categories according to which the codes are reviewed. The context of the quotations under each category is labelled according to re- current themes. The terms used by the interviewees are adopted as labels when possible. A sub-structure within each category is formed. The overall structure is also reviewed as the sub-categories emerge. The interpretation of the quotations is taken a step further. Many quotations are divided into shorter state-

109 3. Empirical Research ments according to their context. Some appear more than once in case they refer to more than one theme. Besides similarities or differences, the possible relation between the quotations of the same category are examined. The analysis proceeds with the assignment of a label or code for each emerging theme. At ﬁrst the codes are descriptive. As the analysis continues, more interpretative codes are selected. In some occasions this is not possible. Especially when the positions of the experts are very different. The analysis is both inductive and deductive. Inductive since themes and categories emerge through the organisation of the information. Deductive because the guidelines are used as a framework for the analysis. This framework is useful in order to conﬁrm the outcome of the analysis as opposed to the research questions.

3.3.1 The Interview Codes

The categories and codes which emerged from the analysis of the transcripts are presented in this paragraph. The main relations observed are then discussed. During this analysis the similarities and differences between the positions of the experts are presented. The codes under each category are analysed in the following paragraphs according to the interview quotations. They are focused on two points. The ﬁrst point is the stand of the experts towards the institution and its infrastructure from a sustainability point of view. The second point is the role of VHS in sustainable urban district development. The analysis of the interview transcripts produced the following coding list:

1. VHS Task 1.1. Educational task 1.1.1. Open learning opportunities 1.1.2. Multiple educational facets 1.1.3. Personal-vocational co-development 1.1.4. Multi-Cultural education 1.2. Socio-integrative task 1.2.1. Political education 1.2.2. Intercultural function 1.2.3. Reach weak social groups 1.2.4. Market integration

2. VHS Identity 2.1. The communal adult education institution 2.1.1. Unique task assignment 2.1.2. Social necessity

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2.2. Properties 2.2.1. Free 2.2.2. Continuous presence 2.2.3. Recognisable 2.2.4. Low barrier access 2.3. Image 2.3.1. Reﬂect local conditions 2.3.2. Internal versus external image 2.3.3. Name associations

3. Organisation 3.1. Regional patterns 3.2. The Communal Berlin VHS 3.2.1. District task assignment 3.2.2. State-community balance 3.2.3. In and Out of the administration 3.3. Public provision 3.3.1. Borough political priorities 3.3.2. Task-bound 3.4. Mixed ﬁnancing 3.4.1. Public ﬁnancing cornerstone 3.4.2. Stability through variety 3.5. Structural adaptation 3.5.1. Cooperative networks

4. Orientation 4.1. Addressees 4.1.1. Background motives 4.1.2. Varying identiﬁcation degree 4.1.3. Structure effects 4.1.4. Further engagement of participants 4.2. Market Orientation 4.2.1. Pedagogical understanding 4.3. District Orientation 4.3.1. Respond to local impulses 4.3.2. Orientation to social needs 4.3.3. Build local relations 4.3.4. Integrate to overall structures

5. Infrastructure 5.1. Reﬂect political-educational conception

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5.2. The space is the limit 5.2.1. Urban economy trends 5.2.2. Anywhere-everywhere 5.2.3. Alternatives via networking 5.3. Socio-ecological associations 5.3.1. Multi-level barriers 5.3.2. Support adult learning context 5.3.3. Need for interdisciplinary communication 5.4. The places and the spaces 5.4.1. Accessible 5.4.2. Attractive 5.4.3. Flexible 5.4.4. Support multiple activities 5.5. Offer infrastructure 5.5.1. Open house of learning 5.5.2. Shape local potentials 5.6. Location 5.6.1. Synergy effect of spatial proximity 5.6.2. District centre association 5.6.3. To be close is to be strong

6. VHS in District Development 6.1. Communal partner 6.1.1. Advisor on adult education 6.1.2. Offer support structure 6.2. Set structures in motion 6.2.1. Communal platform 6.2.2. Bring openness 6.2.3. Rise awareness on urban issues 6.2.4. Develop participation skills 6.3. Integrative strength through offers 6.3.1. Promote social equity 6.4. Seismograph 6.4.1. Bridge between needs and planning 6.5. Recognition as urban development actor 6.5.1. Self-perception as development actor 6.5.2. Create exchange possibilities

7. Communal Educational Landscapes (CEL) 7.1. Strong district interrelations 7.1.1. Network of learning places 7.1.2. Special proﬁles on education 7.2. District overall aspects 7.2.1. Central coordination and control

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7.3. VHS in CEL 7.3.1. Contact point in the district 7.3.2. Fill the gap between educational institutes

The attitude of each expert towards the Volkshochschule is connected to the degree of acquaintance with it. Those experts who have limited or no relation, personal or scientific, to the VHS have a more reserved opinion about its potentials and functions (Ac1, Ac4, PP11). However, they are aware of the central tasks of the institution and its social necessity. The provision of an open and broad offer is defined as the main task of the VHS by all interview partners. The experts who are related to or have cooperated with the VHS refer further to its address of different educational facets and levels (Ac2, Ac3, Ad5, DA8, DA10). Most experts from different fields refer to the different aspects of the socio-integrative task of the VHS (Ac1, Ac2, Ad5, Ad6, V7, V9, DA8, DA10). The role of the VHS as a place where different people come together is underlined by experts from the VHS field (Ac2, V7, V9). The task to reach the weaker social groups is recognised in almost all fields (Ac1, Ac2, Ad6, V7, DA10). This is partially contradicted by experts active in urban planning, who underline the importance of a wider attractiveness (Ac4, PP11). The integration to the market is directly referred to by two experts (Ac2, Ad5) but indirectly through the need for vocational and personal co-development by all other experts as well. The VHS is identified as the communal adult education institution by experts in most fields, underlined especially by those closer to the VHS (Ac2, Ac3, Ad5, V7, V9, DA10). The communal character of the institution generates a unique task assignment (Ad5, V9, DA10) from which a society should not abstain (Ac2, Ac3, V9, DA10). The main characteristics of the institute are described by the experts but in different degree, according to their background. The academics occupied with the VHS seem to have an overall view about the properties of the VHS. How- ever, almost all experts recognise some of its properties towards other adult education actors. A characteristic of the VHS is that it has a continuous and long presence (Ac2, Ac3, V7, DA8). It is also recognisable and people know what to expect from it (Ac2, Ac3, PP11). It has the freedom to form the context of its offer independent from specific interests (Ac1, Ac2, Ac3, V7, V9). The VHS keeps the barriers to education low (Ac2, Ac3, V9, DA8, DA10, PP11). This refers especially to accessibility and to the relation of quality and cost (Ac3, DA8, DA10, PP11). However, many experts recognise that the low barrier factors can have a reverse effect for certain people (Ac2, Ac4, Ad6, V7, DA8). This is not the case for those the VHS is conceived for (Ac2, V7).

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Most experts support the idea that the VHS image is negative between people who do not have an experience with the institute. This is unjustified from the quality of the offers. On the contrary people who have visited the VHS have a positive image of it (Ac1, Ac2, Ac3, Ad5, V7, DA8, DA10). The name of the VHS often leads to negative associations affecting its image (Ac1, Ac2, Ac3, Ac4, DA8, DA10, PP11). This is not referred by the experts from the VHS. The organisation of the VHS depends on the regional conditions. According to these conditions different structures are developed. The specific conditions of Berlin support the communal VHS (Ac2, V7, V9, DA10) which is legally established (V9, DA8). The experts from the field of administration and urban development do not refer to this point. The need for better communication between the senate and the borough is an issue underlined by experts from the VHS field or with relative experience (Ac2, Ac3, V9, DA10). The double structure of the VHS, partially belonging to administration, is regarded as positive by some experts from different fields (Ac2, Ac3, Ad5, DA8) because it ensures public support and thus freedom on planning and context. Two experts recognise negative effects. Such effects occur in the cooperation with specific actors distanced to administration (PP11). Also the passive form of this structure does not allow the VHS to be more active (DA10). The experts from the two VHS underline the influence which the borough exerts on the VHS through the control of the resources (V7, V9). The necessity for mixed financing is supported by many experts for stabilising the institute even when public resources are not adequate (Ac4, Ad6, V7, DA8, DA10). However it is of significant importance, recognised by almost all experts that the VHS should not depend on external resources (Ac1, Ac2, Ac3, Ad5, V7, V9, DA8, DA10, PP11). The task of the VHS is bound to public financing (Ac1, Ac2, Ac3, V9, DA8, DA10, PP11). Experts from all fields recognise requirements for the sustainable development of the institute. The VHS should differentiate its address and reach more target groups (Ac2, Ac3, Ad5, Ad6, V7, DA8, DA10). New methods and context must be adopted (Ad5, DA10) following the last advances (Ac4). The VHS must develop new forms of communication with local actors under equal terms (Ac2, Ad6, V7, DA8, DA10). The development of cooperation forms in the district is a need for future handling (DA8). Structural adaptations are required (DA10, PP11). The VHS needs to change according to new requirements (Ac3, Ac4). It also lacks the understanding of being a part of a system (Ac2). A network understanding must be developed, where the partners will not loose their identity (Ac2, Ad5, Ad6). Cooperation with partners who can contribute in var-

114 3. Empirical Research ious ways must be further promoted (Ac2, Ac3, Ad5, V7, DA8) but not be the primary VHS structure (Ac3). Experts from urban planning underline that the problem with cooperation projects in the district is that they have short duration and financing (Ad6) and a narrow framework of proposals (Ac4). Furthermore, competition often rises between potential partners (Ac2, Ad5, V9) while it is difficult to engage actors from the economic field (Ad6, V9). An academic occupied with the VHS always underlines the need for a public framework (Ac3). The orientation towards the needs and structure of the addressees is a generally accepted requirement (Ac1, Ac2, Ac4, V7, DA8, DA10, PP11). Therefore the VHS should address the individuals directly at the site (Ac2, Ad5, Ad6, V7, V9, DA10, PP11). The further engagement of the participants promotes quality but requires new forms (Ac2, Ac4, Ad5, Ad6, V7, DA8, PP11). The market orientation is commented only by two experts (Ac2, PP11). However all experts recognise, even indirectly that it is today a necessity in order to acquire additional resources since the public investments are shrinking. Alternatives referred by the experts are networking, civil engagement, social actors and sponsorship. However, one of the experts underlines that these are only alternatives and should not be replacements of public financing (Ac3). The limited resources and personnel are factors mentioned by the experts in all points of discussion, restricting the potentials and sustainability of the VHS (Ac4, Ad6, DA8, DA10, PP11). The district orientation and anchoring are regarded as central for the VHS work and identity by experts from all fields (Ac2, Ac4, Ad5, Ad6, V7, V9, DA8, DA10, PP11). The relation to local actors is also regarded important for the recognition and efficient address of local needs in all fields of expertise (Ac1, Ac2, Ac4, V7, Ad6, DA8, DA10, PP11). However, wider regional aspects should not be ignored (Ac2, Ac3, Ac4, Ad5). The district orientation may have negative effects when the VHS is limited to the borough (Ac2, Ac4, PP11). The VHS may be underestimated by politicians at higher level (Ac3, Ad5). Therefore, it should have an orientation both to the district and to overall structures (Ac2, Ac4, Ad5, PP11). The infrastructure provided to the VHS and the location chosen reflects the political conception of education (Ac1, Ac3). As the experts from the VHS support it depends on the priorities of the borough and the degree of community support (V7, V9). Some actors underline the restrictions posed by the physical conditions (Ac2, Ad6, V7) connected to limited resources. Actors with experience in district development confront the alternatives positively, such as sharing the VHS facilities instead of leaving them underused (DA10, PP11). Actors with VHS experience support networking (Ad5) and underline the necessity of such

115 3. Empirical Research compromises in order to be close to the addressees (V7). The sustainability requirements regarding the infrastructure refer to the promotion of the VHS educational goals, the support of the learning context, the learning situation and atmosphere (Ac1, Ac2, Ac3, Ad5, Ad6, DA10). In order to achieve these requirements, interdisciplinary communication between architecture, urban planning and adult education is needed (Ac2, Ac3, Ac4). The inclusion of the users in some of the relative processes can also have positive effects (Ac1, Ad6). The use of school facilities contradicts these prerequisites but some experts from urban planning recognise how positive the decentralised location of schools can be for the VHS (Ad6, PP11). The experts from the VHS do not refer to the socio-ecological effects of the infrastructure. Their priorities seem to be in other aspects. A basic sustainability prerequisite is the physical accessibility with public transportation (Ac1, Ac3, Ad5, Ad6, PP11). The building should be attractive (Ac4, PP11) modern and flexible (Ac1, Ac2, Ad6, V9, DA8, DA10). It should also have the spaces to support various activities and socialisation (Ac2, Ac4, Ad5, V9, DA8, DA10). Multi-functional buildings are regarded positively by some experts (Ac1, Ac4, Ad5a, Ad6, PP11) since they can be more effective and learn supportive. In these cases there is the need for regulation and adequate equipment for each use (Ac1, Ad5). An expert with experience on district development underlines that in practise most examples are negative when the uses are of different nature, for example economy and education (Ad6). Bringing together different uses is also characterised as an excessive form of sustainability, aiming only to saving resources (Ac3). However, some experts from different fields recognise the VHS as a potential provider of infrastructure (Ac2, V7, DA10, PP11). Besides the effective use of the facilities, the VHS can then support further the district development. An important parameter is the environment of the VHS. It must not pose any obstacles to access the VHS (Ac2, Ac3, Ad5). Other offers, especially public services, should be present near the VHS and easily accessible (Ad6, V9). The spatial concentration of different actors creates positive synergy effects and chances (V7, DA10, PP11). The location of the VHS is of central importance and reflects the role of the institution in society. Most of the experts support that it should be dispersed through the district, to the smallest urban unit possible (Ac1, Ad6, V7, V9, DA8, DA10, PP11). The district is also differentiated from the borough. Some of these experts also agree with the opinion that the VHS should be located in the district centre or where such associations occur (Ac1, Ac3, Ac4, Ad5a, Ad6, DA8). Therefore the choice of location should combine both aspects. The location of the VHS should be both central and dispersed in

116 3. Empirical Research the district (Ac1, Ac2, Ad5b, Ad6, DA8). An expert from the VHS supports that this depends on the structure of the borough, how dense or differentiated it is (V9). An opinion expressed is that the VHS is integrated in social urban development (DA10) and has an important role on urban development when adult education issues occur (V7). Experts from the VHS field support that it can be an advisor on such issues (Ad5, V7). An urban planning expert regards it as a valuable discussion partner when knowledge about the district is required (PP11) although not the only one. The VHS is recognised by experts with relative experience as a communal partner which is ready to be engaged in district issues (V7, DA8, PP11). It supports the development of projects in the district and the activities of local actors (Ac1, V7, DA8). This is realised both through the need for education, qualification and information (Ac1, DA8, DA10) and of space and logistical support (V7, DA8). Through such processes awareness, self-organised learning and mobilisation of local resources occurs and can be further developed by the VHS (Ac1, Ad6, DA8). The VHS can bring together local actors and resources (Ac2, Ad5, Ad6, V7, DA10) and undertake a moderator role (V7, PP11). It also brings up subjects (DA8, V9) and offers chances to discuss with the citizens (Ac1). Almost all experts characterise it as a place of discussion for citizens and local actors (Ac1, Ac2, Ad5, Ad6, V7, V9, DA8, DA10, PP11). It is a ”membrane” allowing communication between the citizens and the administration (V7, DA8). It is a place where the people of the district meet. It brings different people together (DA8, V9) and therefore supports social mix (Ad5, V7). In general it supports openness in the district (V7, DA8, DA10). All these functions are recognised by the experts as potentials for supporting urban development. These is achieved through the support of discussion on urban development issues, of participation in district development processes and of the implementation of urban development strategies. The experts recognise other functions of the VHS which are important and should be integrated in urban development and planning, if they are not already. The integrative strength of the VHS, especially between marginalised groups, is one of them (Ac1, Ac2, Ad5, V7, DA8, PP11). However, at present it is under question (Ac2) and often not anchored in the self-understanding of the institute (Ad6). Another function is the VHS as seismograph for social and demographic trends in the district (Ac3, Ad5, V7, DA10). It can be a bridge between planning for covering local needs and the place where these needs are shaped (Ac2, V7, DA8, DA10). The VHS can be an experimenting field in the district, where new offers or pilot projects are initiated and observed (Ac2, Ad5,

117 3. Empirical Research

Ad6, DA8). The VHS should not be excessively burdened through additional tasks nor replace other local actors which should or could undertake some of these functions (V7, DA8, PP11). The contribution of the VHS can be only in cooperation with other actors, as a part of an overall structure (Ac2, DA10, PP11). The possibilities of the integration of the VHS in urban and district development are yet to be considered (Ac4, DA8). The future role of the VHS is regarded as a programmatic for the next decades (V9). Only the senate can handle these issues and change structures (DA10). However, the senate for urban development keeps a distance on such issues (PP11). This is also supported by the response of the senate when conducted as a possible interview partner. There could not be found someone responsible in the senate who could handle such issues. The way VHS is confronted also depends on the concept of urban development adopted. In an integrative development approach the VHS has many potentials (Ad6). The actors of urban planning and district development should cooperate with actors from all sectors involved, including the VHS (DA10, PP11). Re- source overall work, although an old concept, is yet to be organised especially in district development (Ac4, Ad5, Ad6, DA8). The problem is that the administration is organised in a different way (Ac4) and still carries a traditional perception. The community has the structures for open decision making processes but they are not used (Ad6). There is a two sided lack of recognition between urban development and educational actors. This is stressed by the lack of communication bridges, meeting points and practical experience (Ac2). The urban development actors do not include representatives of adult education in their processes (Ac2, V9). Where the decisions are made there is lack of information on adult education issues and on the way the institutions function (Ac3). On the other hand adult education actors lack a self-realisation as development actors (Ac2, Ac3, Ad6). There is also an absence of participatory processes in education. Urban planning could contribute to the development of such processes since it has a long experience on this ﬁeld (PP11). There is a call for stronger integration of adult education institutions and urban social actors in regional and communal development and planning processes (Ac2, PP11). Education should have a more active role in modern society and this is promoted through communal educational landscapes (Ac4). Cooperation at local level is a focal point of development (DA8). Actors with all special educational proﬁles met in the district should come together (DA10). Communal educational landscapes can be shaped through networking (Ac1, Ac4, DA10). This is

118 3. Empirical Research a concept with continuity (DA8). Therefore the district relation of local institutes should be strengthened (Ac4). This is an important cooperation form for theory and administration (Ad6). Strong community interrelations exist and form an entity and not only an administrative unit. Adult education is part of this entity and shapes its character. The involvement of civil society and the participation of community on shaping adult education should be strengthened (Ac2). Decision making should be made both from above and from below with a public framework (Ac3). In Berlin a double point of view should be considered also in this case. Borough and regional development aspects should be integrated into these processes (Ac2, Ad5, Ad6). There is always the need for central planning and provision (Ac1) especially since ﬁnancing is centrally provided (Ad6). A VHS close to the community can contribute building a communal educational landscape (CEL). It can offer advice (V7) and can handle questions of local potentials and needs (DA10). It can be a centre of networking of the different educational institutes, since it is an institute connecting the different levels of education (Ac1). The VHS is the most stable factor for the development of educational concepts. It functions on a longer time perspective than other actors. Therefore it should be involved in such processes (V7).

3.3.2 The Position of the Experts towards the Volkshochschule

Task

The main purpose of the VHS is the constant offer of open learning opportunities (Ac2). The VHS is called to ensure the provision of open and broad offers (Ac3, Ac4, V7, DA8, DA10, PP11) for all people (Ac1). Offers which respond to different educational levels (Ac3) and to different needs of individuals and social groups (DA10, DA8). The VHS is the adult education institute where all facets of education meet. One of these facets is connected to district education (Ad5). It brings together different knowledge ﬁelds (Ac2). A characteristic of its work is that it takes into account the background of each subject while shaping an offer (DA10, V9). The function of the VHS is described as ambivalent. This is because it is called to balance between a public educational and socio-political task and the service provision function demanded by the market (Ac2). The educational task of the VHS serves the concept of lifelong learning (DA10). Equally important to the development of learning and professional skills is the awareness of people and the development of social skills. The development of both personal and professional skills is an indirect contribution to the enhancement of the market. The integration to the market of skilled manpower is sup-

119 3. Empirical Research ported by the VHS (Ad5). As recognised by all interview partners, the VHS should continue to serve both vocational and personal education. A central task of the VHS is the provision of cultural education (Ac1). It is regarded the spine of the VHS work (Ac3). Cultural education is understood both in a strict and an open sense. However, it has not yet reached sufficiently the addressees (Ad6). A multicultural understanding is promoted at all levels of the VHS work (DA10). Open processes of political education are possible because the VHS is close to the community (V7). Through targeted offers civil society issues can be introduced to the participants. The development of citizenship skills is supported (Ad5, Ac1). These skills are a prerequisite for an equal participation in democratic processes (Ad5). Furthermore, the VHS contributes to a better orientation to the city, the country, even the world whose challenges people face (Ad5, DA8). Many offers aim to a better understanding of the local culture and system where people with different background have to adjust (Ad6). The VHS has an intercultural function (Ac2) which is not fulfilled only through the context of learning. The creation of intercultural relations in the course is a conscious act of political education (Ac1) and supports coexistence (Ad5). Different people meet together at the VHS (Ac2, V7, V9). Through this contact the development of socialisation skills is enhanced (DA10). The socio- in- tegrative task of the VHS is very important. It is called to reach and motivate the weak and marginalised social groups (Ac1, Ac2, Ad6, V7, DA10). An integration through generations is also promoted. When people understand the prevailing culture and system they can transfer this knowledge to the next generation (Ad6). The contribution of the VHS to social integration can be significant but must not be regarded as its own responsibility (Ac1). In general, there is a tendency to implement educational measures when a difficult social problem occurs, e.g. youth violence (Ac2). That would only overwhelm the institute, which has neither the resources nor the potentials to undertake such responsibility. The VHS cannot eliminate the differences in society. It performs its task only in a certain space. While participating in a VHS event the participants may be really equal. However, when they leave the VHS the old factors which segregate them are back (V9). An example mentioned in many interviews is the offer of language courses (Ac1, Ac3, Ad5, DA8, DA10). Through language courses both personal and professional skills are developed. This may vary depending on the purpose of the participation. However, even indirectly, through the development of personal skills, vocational skills are also improved and vice versa. The language courses

120 3. Empirical Research have a strong intercultural function. Through their context they also improve the orientation of the participants to their environment at different levels. Espe- cially German courses have a strong integrative function. Language is a prerequisite for the participation and integration in society. The VHS does not always have to follow change. It supports people in order to adapt to change. However, at the same time it is called to support them develop independently from change (Ad5). The promotion of sustainability in this very difficult socio-political field requires a higher individual support. This is not yet realised at administrative level. A stronger integration of services, information about them and their work in relation to the addressees is necessary in order to reach sustainability (Ad6). The VHS was created under a specific context which has changed through the years. The question is whether the VHS has changed appropriately according to the new requirements. At present the limited resources of the boroughs create serious doubts about it. It is decisive to clarify what should the VHS serve today and ensure that everybody is equally accepted in education (Ac4). The current form of the VHS responds to certain requirements. Contextual changes must be considered and even newly established. However, back steps in the VHS indicate a political loss of the value of education. They are a sign for the need of a new educational and institutional concept in adult education (Ac3). As another expert underlines, the paper about the tasks of the German VHS published in the 60s was never reviewed because then it would come into light on how different bases is each VHS built. The VHS can be actually only postmodern defined. The leading idea of the VHS cannot be expressed in an explicit form any more. The VHS is not a strict institutional form. Rather it is more a roof for different institutional forms. This is a strength and a weakness at the same time (Ac2).

Identity

The VHS is the communal adult education institution (Ac2, Ac3, Ad5, V9). It has a unique task assignment (V9, DA10) which is shaped in the district (Ad5). It does not serve speciﬁc interests (Ac1, Ac3, V7) nor segments of education, in contradiction to other adult education providers. It is not bound to a curriculum (Ac3, V7, V9). In this sense it is free. It is also not specialised in service provision (Ac2). It is a neutral institution with a very wide action space (V9). Therefore it can have a balancing function (Ac3). It is recognised as a social necessity (Ac2, V9, DA10) and a social guarantee (Ac3). ”It feels good that the VHS exists” (Ac1).

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The VHS has a very long tradition (Ac2, DA8). The continuous presence (Ac3, V7) of this one hundred years old institution is important for sustainability (Ad6, DA8). It does not set certain time limits in its provision, therefore it can support longer processes, such as integration (V7). The VHS is known and corresponds to a certain conventional experience of adult education (Ac2). People know what to expect when they visit a VHS and their expectations are fulfilled (Ac2, Ac3, PP11). The long time horizon combined with the availability of mixed resources makes the VHS a very reliable partner (V7, Ad5). This property is shaped through the years. On one hand precious knowledge and competence is gathered in the VHS (DA8). On the other hand whenever someone approaches the VHS, it is there, at site, willing to listen (Ac2, Ac3, V7, DA8). Due to its longer breath and continuous presence the VHS has the potentials to set structures in motion. It has a varying participation degree at all levels of educational and communal planning and action. Therefore, it has a wide network which is one of its competences towards other actors (V7). Another competence of the VHS, often underestimated, is that it can react quickly to educational and political needs. The VHS can shape within short time programmes and concepts that are socially demanded (Ac3). The VHS should be always readjusted as the environment changes (Ac4). However, due to its structure it is regarded less flexible than other adult education institutes (Ac2, Ac3). The VHS ensures low barrier access (Ac2, V9) to education. The low barrier effect refers to physical, social and financial aspects (Ac2). It depends on personal experience (Ac2), social and cultural factors (Ac3). The accessibility to the institute is a commonly recognised barrier. It has a varying influence on different social groups (Ac2, Ac3, Ac4). The VHS keeps the barriers low since it is always there, where people can go (DA8). Furthermore, it is structured in a simple and transparent way. The access to the institute is made easier by choosing instructors from the experience world of the participants (Ac2). A significant low barrier factor is the good quality and cost relation (Ac3, DA8, DA10, PP11). It is important that this relation remains as it is, so as not to widen the social gap (DA10). However, the low barrier factors can have a reverse effect. The broadness and openness of the VHS is a barrier for certain social groups (Ac4). The VHS can be characterised as a mixed place where all is in offer, all is blended (V7) with none of the desired specialisation. The traditional structure of the VHS keeps certain groups in a distance (Ad6) and is not attractive (Ac4). The traditional pathways are not enough to overcome the high barriers in order to reach the VHS target groups (Ad6). The low cost may also act as a barrier (Ac2, DA8)

122 3. Empirical Research since some people associate quality with cost (V7). The cost is also a segregation factor since people are willing to pay more in order to avoid co-participants from other social groups (Ac2). Invisible barriers are present keeping certain groups in a distance (Ac4). The VHS should focus on attractiveness and not just on keeping the barriers low. This includes the way the institute advertises itself and its offers (Ac4). It is a challenge for the VHS to become more attractive for more people. It is important for the sustainability of the institution to differentiate its address and reach new target groups (Ac2, Ac3, Ad6, V7, DA8, DA10). This also depends on the self-image of the VHS and on whether it regards itself as an institute for the weaker social groups (Ac2, V7, DA8). The VHS is not selective and can integrate people of different educational and social background. However, it is not uni- versally conceived. It is rather conceived for people who need learning support (Ac2). It addresses mainly the educational middle class, those who cannot or do not want to invest on education and those who are distant to education (DA10). The profile of each VHS varies significantly and is shaped by the variety of offers (V7, DA11). The colourfulness of the VHS has to be accepted and depends on the conditions in which it is set (V7). As described in Chapter 2 the offers of the VHS are categorised in ”products” according to the financing plan. In some cases the profile of each VHS is defined, at least in Berlin, from how many units of each product are produced (V7). There is a contradiction between the internal and external image of the VHS (Ac1, Ac2, Ac3, Ad5, V7, DA8, DA10). There seems to be a classical perception of the institute which is met mostly among people who have never visited a VHS. The general tendency is that the VHS is not regarded as modern and flexible (Ac3). The external image of the VHS is more negative between the higher social and educational groups (Ac1, Ac2, Ac3). On the other hand it seems to be very positive between other groups, such as migrants (V7). The negative external image is in most cases unjustified by the quality of the offers (Ad5, V7). It is a complicated issue which involves many factors. These factors are not necessarily reflected by the VHS work (V7). This is supported by the fact that there is a positive image shaped by those participating or cooperating with a VHS (Ac2, V7, DA10). The reason and context under which someone comes in touch with the VHS influences the perception they have for the institute (V7, DA10). In each case the image shaped by different people depends on their background (Ac2). An important factor influencing the image of the VHS is the name. As the words ”people”, ”high” and ”school” express (Volks-Hoch-Schule) the VHS provides higher education for the people. The term ”people” has a two sided

123 3. Empirical Research understanding. On one hand it is connected to the less educated or poor social classes (Ac1, Ac3, Ac4). On the other hand it indicates an openness towards all people (PP11). The term ”school”, however, leads to negative associations. It indicates that the institute has a school image (Ac1, Ac2). The school image is enhanced by the use of school facilities by the VHS. This hinders some people to visit the VHS also due to unpleasant experiences at school (DA8). The name is generally regarded as outmoded (Ac1) and associated to an older concept of adult education (Ac2). It might not be appropriate anymore (Ac4). It indicates a past proﬁle which has changed, while the name remained (DA10).

Organisation

The VHS provision is a public responsibility. The organisation of this provision varies through the country (Ac2, V7) depending on the regional and situational framework. The community is always involved in the VHS provision, although in different degree. There is a general requirement, the community to be responsible for the communal infrastructure and not only for the VHS (Ac2). At present there are two main VHS provision forms. The first is mainly met in south Germany. The provider of the VHS is a non-profit association, where the community is also a member. An example is the VHS Munich, which is centrally organised with decentralised facilities (Ac2). The social responsibility there is quite limited. Another example is the VHS Hamburg which is actually organised as independent organisation (V7). This is also the case in other big cities. The VHS is a central institution which try to decentralise through district centres. However, the decision power stays always in the central (V9). The development of such an organisational form seems appropriate in these cities (V9). The specific conditions shape the form of the VHS. This is also the case for the communal VHS met in Berlin (DA10). The Berlin VHS is actually part of the communal administration (Ac2, V7). Therefore when the political and communal structure changes, the educational relation and context also changes (Ac2). The Berlin school law declares the existence of the VHS and defines its tasks. This legal establishment offers an advantage to the VHS (DA8, V9). However, there are no standards or norms regarding the VHS provision. The support of a VHS depends on the political constellation of the borough and the priorities connected to the available resources. The borough can thus change the character but cannot endanger the existence of the VHS as an institution (V9). In Berlin there seems to be an angst for centralisation. This is actually an in- consistency of the political structure. Although the boroughs are autonomous

124 3. Empirical Research they do not build a unit and are always in opposition to the state. This inconsis- tency is ingrained socially in the VHS. Therefore, they lack the understanding of being part of a system. It is a birth mistake of the Berlin VHS (Ac2). The borough and the senate administration often develop opposite handling strategies. The senate is however able to shape new structures (V9). The involvement of the state at all levels is an integrated part of democracy. Control is necessary, in particular financial control, but with free decision making space. Therefore a balance-system is needed (Ac3). Exchange between different administration levels already exists. The transparency of communication must be further ensured. There is, however, the question of how good is this communication and what can be expected through it (DA10). The necessity of central coordination is not overseen. In Berlin there is a central VHS association with priority to influence the allocation of resources at local level (V9). The thought to create a central VHS exists also in Berlin (V7). How- ever, the structure of the city generates a strong borough and district related task assignment. The communal VHS is the appropriate organisation form for this specific task assignment and should remain so (V7, V9, DA10). There are several steps to be made yet but always on this path (V9). The VHS has a double structure. It is both part of the communal administration and of the public educational system (Ac2, Ac3, Ad5, DA8). This structure opens many possibilities. An opinion is that it must not be abandoned. It ensures the public financing and therefore the continuity of the institute. Further- more, it makes the VHS a strong partner and through that widens its cooperation possibilities (DA8). Due to the public support the VHS has the potential to handle new questions and ideas. It is not limited to the mainstream offers but can try new interesting offers and methods. With public support it can also act in new political fields (Ad5). This mixed structure is also a reason the VHS can react fast to need and demand (Ac3). The VHS should be organised more as a learning organisation. Therefore it needs an adequate personnel pool, the adaptation of modern methods and context (DA10). It needs to be open to new methods (Ad5) and more attractive according to the last advances (Ac4). However, it must not do everything. For example it cannot adopt learning from home. It could provide something complementary if there is such need (Ad5). Furthermore, since it is part of the public administration the VHS may not support certain initiatives (PP11). Due to its structure it may often not be able of real cooperation. The already reduced personnel of the VHS carries a traditional perception of adult education. The exchange of personnel is almost impossible. This is a general critic on public administration. It is however particular important for the VHS since it is an important district actor (Ad6). Another opinion is

125 3. Empirical Research that the VHS should keep a distance from the public administration and move towards less passive forms. This means it should become more an active player and not only react under given frameworks. On the contrary, it should set the frameworks together with other actors (DA10). Although it belongs to the administration, the VHS is not bureaucratically organised. Therefore it is not, at least in this sense, stabilised and ensured. It already sustains a significant shortage of resources (Ac3). The final distribution of the resources among the communal institutes is decided by the borough (V7, V9). The borough has thus many possibilities to control the VHS, affecting the available personnel and the infrastructure. This is depicted both on the programme and the spatial representation of the VHS in the borough (V9). As a result of the limited resources the personnel is not as qualified, mobile and flexible as it should be. The adequate personnel is a basic prerequisite to even think independently and plan creatively. It is even more essential when cooperation with other departments is wished (Ad6). Another result is the unstable relationship with the course instructors. This has consequences on the image of the institute and its relation to the local actors (DA10). The VHS is called to balance between business economic requirements and its educational task (Ac2, DA8). The quantification of tasks as products for the allocation of public resources at state level is indicative of this situation (V7, V9). The VHS receives and delivers money which is actually not in its availability. It influences the cost and service report but has no direct influence on the money it receives (V9). The present financial and personnel shrinking is not appropriate to the task the VHS has or could have. It leads to a reduction of awareness of its own task assignment. In many cases it seems easier to organise language courses with state money than to develop integrative models in the district. More is wished but a distribution of resources is not to be discussed (Ad6). The need for a higher independent budget consisting of different resources which work together is recognised by many experts (Ac4, Ad6, V7, DA8, DA10). The acquisition of additional resources is self-evident since the state resources are not adequate in order to build a strong VHS (V7). Additional resources, which the VHS can handle more autonomously, should be used in order to stabilise the course instructors (DA10). They are also necessary in order to organise low barrier offers, as long as the limited public household cannot afford it. This includes the public household at all levels, borough or federal state level or even through state support measures (Ad6). An alternative for the VHS is to raise the tuition fees. However the courses and even the guidelines of the institution are then compromised, as has already happened (Ac3). In this case more

126 3. Empirical Research social forces can undertake the responsibility and participate in social tasks. The investments from sponsors is such an example (Ac3, Ad6). The VHS can be stronger through a mixed financing. The most dependent the institute is on the state, the most endangered it is. The mixed structure produces stability. It allows the VHS to adapt undisturbed to change. It keeps the institute always in motion. It is ”the salt in the soup”. External resources require justification to the outside and not only to the state. The innovation power of a VHS depends on having external resources and participating in cooperation networks. Anchoring in the environment is important in order to receive impulses. Especially in an active environment. It is quite doubtful whether all VHS are aware of the available support links. Especially since not every support is appropriate for each institute (V7). An interesting point is that certain institutes, even certain employees, can apply more effective for this support (V9). It is, however, very important not to be entirely dependent on external resources (V7). The public financing is indisputably the cornerstone of the VHS (Ac1, Ac2, Ac3, Ad5, DA8, V9, DA10, PP11). It must remain communal on a borough household basis (Ac3, DA8, DA10). The purpose of the institution and the fulfilment of its original task assignment binds it to public financing (Ac1, Ac2, DA10). Only then are low prices ensured, so as not to widen the social gap (DA10). Only then can the VHS offer wide and open learning opportunities (Ac2). Only then is the free choice of offers further ensured, independently from the interests of private actors (V9, DA10, PP11). The VHS can only partially undertake its financing through external resources (Ac4, Ad5). It is so much valued by the community that it is not such a necessity to provide a nice building for the VHS, without which it cannot be (Ad5). It is fundamental for the politics in this country to recognise its educational task towards the adult population of a borough, a region or a state. The adequate resources must be available. The contribution of the federal state, the community and the tuition fees will probably be reviewed (V9). More public financing is necessary but it must be combined with the concept of success. Otherwise there is no legitimation for more public money. A central question is how can this be expressed in such an institution. The VHS should be more supported in the future with public money. At the same time there will probably be a change in the offer, maybe in the place and also the name (Ac4). The quality management adopted by the VHS calls for structural adaptations. The VHS employees are used to do things in a certain way which has not changed for years. Now they have to evaluate themselves, organise learning requirements and be able to measure quality properties (DA10). The evaluation is necessary also under the cooperation and control of the people. This is

127 3. Empirical Research always the case in planning. The participation of people with different experience backgrounds is desired. The important is that they bring ideas and not only questions with them (Ac4). The organisation of adult education should be conceived as a network (Ac2). A network where all actors are visible and preserve their own logic. Besides that, the cooperation with many different actors can only bring opportunities and not risks. The VHS should promote networking without losing its own character (Ad5). Cooperation refers to commonness but also directly to difference. The more varying the partners are, the more beneficial the cooperation can be. That is if the partners contribute without competing (Ac2). Each institute according to its structure has the awareness of what is necessary regarding cooperation. Building cooperation depends on how open the institute is (Ad6). Building cooperation networks is important but should not influence the programme of the VHS. It should not be its primary structure. Otherwise the professionalism of the institute is endangered. The VHS is and should remain sep- arate even from the other educational institutes. However, within a cooperation the interests of all the involved actors must be taken into account, if only at the background (Ac3). Many VHS are already champions in cooperation. However, not everything can occur under the VHS label. This is not yet understood by the politicians. A cooperation must offer benefits and development chances to all partners (Ac2). Some initiatives, especially those already established, have an angst towards the VHS. They fear that they might be changed or shadowed by the VHS in a potential cooperation. Another barrier is that the VHS offers are provided only with a tuition fee, except for special cases. On the other hand some initiatives can provide their offers for free and do not intend to risk this status (V9). Ini- tiatives and other local actors may be even considered competitors when they address the same target groups as the VHS (Ac2). Many potential partners face the VHS as competitors. They prefer that the VHS would not provide certain offers, such as sport organisations and offers in the public health field. These pressure groups can indirectly influence politics (Ad5). The cooperation partners must have access to participants and to the problem or subject field (Ac2). In each case it is important to consider the strong points of the VHS and of each potential partner (DA8). The partner must bring something to the cooperation besides a good idea. That is either financial or material resources, such as infrastructure or participants. The VHS employees are also in the position to develop ideas since they are close to the needs but also to the development trends. Furthermore, the most interesting subjects are those financed by the senate. In such cases the idea and the financing is available so it

128 3. Empirical Research is possible to develop an offer. Partners can then contribute in order to cover the other requirements. The financial resources are always connected to a contract or certain task (V7). Examples of such contract assignments with the senate are courses for parents offered in Kindergarten and schools (V7). The acquisition of such resources promotes both the networking of public institutes and the competition for the resources. The courses for mothers in the school, for example, promote the cooperation of the VHS and the elementary school (Ad5). Further examples are the programme ”School in the VHS” and the federal programme ”XENOS”. The VHS also participates in projects within the ”The Social City” programme. The programme field for education promotes and invests on new approaches for cooperation at local level. The acquisition of other federal or EU resources for specific tasks is supported through the programme. These actions are an expression of a handling need still to be developed (DA8). The VHS is a neutral place to exchange and develop handling possibilities. Through projects and cooperation it can gain more partners and stand stronger. The VHS together with communal partners can acquire additional resources and make the projects stronger. The main issue in networking is to recognise which is the central activity of the institute and which is additional (DA8). The financing of such networks and projects is usually temporary. This collides with sustainability, which requires to organise with continuity (Ad6). Furthermore, there is a very narrow framework of proposals which only consider very small changes and do not go further than that (Ac4). A considerable difficulty is to find partners from the field of economy. These partners have something to learn from the VHS and other local actors. The VHS can also recognise strongly what is necessary in the economical field if the two of them work closer together (Ad6). Furthermore, many companies prefer to organise their own further education offers (V9). In general, the cooperation between economy and neighbourhood has succeeded only when there were individual interests in the district. Hardly ever a real engagement took place, where responsibility for a district was longer than the establishment of a company or institute. This does not lie within the interest or the self-perception of big companies. On the other hand, most local economic actors are in a very difficult financial situation. They are small, family businesses which hardly have the personnel, the time or money to really participate in such processes. The positive effects for them are so long term, if any, that they hardly have something to expect. Therefore their engagement is only possible with strong public support (Ad6). Practice supports that a legal framework and public support can help local actions to shape a structure. Not a strict framework followed by excessive

129 3. Empirical Research control. Rather financial management with free decision handling space for professional handling, such as cooperation with regional representatives (Ac3). The sustainability of the VHS would be strengthened if it initiated and especially if it was responsible for cooperative networks in its region. This is difficult at present, mostly due to the market pressure. Network building cannot be described as competition. It can only be described as work under a common public responsibility. Therefore VHS should be urged to offer infrastructure to other actors. However, the VHS still lacks a network understanding and a systemic thinking. It mostly understand itself as individual institution and others as competition. While in reality they are complementary (Ac2). Therefore, new forms of communication with local actors must be developed under equal terms (DA10). Finally it is supported that it is actually indifferent who will organise the network. If there is no other actor to do it, then the VHS should undertake this task. Because the VHS has also an integrative task. But it does not have to be the VHS. The VHS can just be a participant. It can then provide offers when other institutions are not qualified to provide them. If someone else organises the network the VHS will still be very important due to its knowledge of the population. An important prerequisite is that the VHS is open (Ad6).

Orientation

The VHS work is oriented towards the needs of the addressees (Ac2, DA8, DA10, PP11). Understanding these needs can provide answers on the reasons certain groups choose or reject the VHS (Ac4). For example, there is a strong connection between the VHS and people with migration background. The VHS has a good image and provides many offers targeted to this group (Ac2, V7, DA8). Also people who have the time, especially seniors, but may not have the knowledge for certain activities will probably visit the VHS (Ac1). The orientation to weak social groups is important for the VHS. Although theoretically it is promoted, in practise the appropriate forms are yet to be found (Ac4). The VHS is called to balance between serving all people and serving speciﬁc needs (DA8). However, it does not serve those who have selective interests on adult education (Ac2). These factors shape a varying identiﬁcation degree with the VHS. A challenge, besides bringing people together, is to attract those who do not identify with the institute (Ac2, V7, DA8). The limiting factor for the VHS are the people who do not visit the institute. Therefore a stronger district relation (Ac4) and different possibilities to identify addressees, such as stronger cooperation with

130 3. Empirical Research migrants organisations, are required (Ad5). The structure of the population has contextual and methodological effects on the VHS work (V7, V9). It influences how decentralised the VHS will be depending on the mobility of the people (V7, Ad5). In Berlin the VHS follows a decentralised model. It is distributed where people are located (V7, V9). One of the competences of the VHS is that it addresses the individual participant directly at the site (Ac2, DA10, PP11). This is also an indication of how important the addressees are taken into account by the VHS (V7). Furthermore, the orientation to social milieus is necessary for the approach of specific target groups (Ac2, Ad6, DA10) and especially the disadvantaged ones. The addressees can be an important pressure group promoting their educational interests within the VHS (Ad5a). The co-participant is one of the quality criteria in adult education (Ac2, V7). The need to further engage the participants and develop appropriate methods (Ad5, DA8, PP11) through and beyond the courses is recognised, at least in certain fields where special knowledge is needed (DA8). The form of engagement should be considered within the quality management framework (Ad5, DA8). A limiting factor is the availability of resources and personnel in order to organise such structures (Ad6). The degree of this engagement also depends on the openness of each institute (V7). However, it is not enough by itself in order to develop an attractive programme (Ac4). An arising question is whether the participants have the appropriate prerequisites for co-determination (Ac4). They often lack the time and resources (Ad6) even the motivation (DA8) or interest (Ac4) for further engagement within the institute. An important reason is that their presence is transitional or occasional, with no engagement to the VHS interests (DA8, V9). The participant of the VHS does not ”exist”. The context and the participants of each offer vary significantly from each other. As a result, the identification with the institute, although it may exists, is not decisive (V7). Although the participants are taken seriously into account, the Berlin VHS is not especially successful on activating them (Ad5). Such an engagement is rather non-typical for Berlin (Ad5a, V7, DA8). In general, there is no VHS in Ger- many where a long-term co-determination of the participants has really func- tioned. This is because the VHS has less possibilities in this field, in contradiction for example to schools. There the same students are present for many years and the parents engage strongly for the interests of their children. The participant of the VHS is limited to certain courses and is not aware of all the involved factors (V9). An exception mentioned by two experts with relative experience is the Learn House Pohlstraße (V7, DA8). This example could be regarded a model of bringing together and engaging different actors.

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The needs and wants of the participants are recognised with various methods, such as the feedback received during counselling (PP11). Within the quality monitoring process (LQW) other feedback tools are developed. Besides them the institute has developed an important informal sensing system. The VHS colleagues follow the response to the offers and the reaction of the participants (V9). This response is also monitored through the registrations for the following semesters (Ad5). The VHS colleagues shape an offer but if there is no interest for it after some time they withdraw or change it. This is an intensive co-determination form through which the participants influence what the VHS will or will not do (V9). The orientation to the market is not a responsibility of the VHS. The purpose of this institution is in no case to serve the market policy or the employment market (Ac2, PP11). Today market orientation may appear as a necessity in order to ensure resources as discussed above. However, it should only be considered in a pedagogical sense. The participant is a co-producer not a client of learning. The VHS is not a service provision institution (Ac2). The orientation to companies should be improved without serving specific interests (PP11). However, the limits of the market are certain. Market segregates and education integrates. The VHS has a different function than the market, therefore interest conflicts occur. It is even considered as competing with commercial providers. This has as a result that it is often excluded from the implementation of relative policies, as for example by the federal agency for employment (Ac2). Another issue regarding the orientation of the VHS work is how far it can go into the district (DA8). The district orientation of the VHS is directed by the local demand (DA10). These institutes have a strong anchoring to their district (Ac2, DA10, PP11). Each VHS is shaped by the borough where it is located. That is made evident through the differences between the VHS in Berlin. The programme profile, the integration work and networking of each VHS vary significantly (Ad5, V7). Although their programme seems similar it presents regional differences according to the borough structure (V9). The social structure generates certain requirements which the VHS has to consider within the general discussion about each subject (Ad5). Therefore local anchoring is necessary so that generally valid guidelines become really effective in the district (Ad6). The VHS is called to develop as a learning organisation oriented towards social needs. Therefore the VHS offers should respond to the adult education needs in each district. Where special needs are located, the VHS should offer special modules (DA10). Each district has its particular characteristics. It is not meaningful that the same offers are provided everywhere. The contribution of key persons in the district should be considered in such processes (Ac4). The

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VHS should cover educational needs of the community, in and about the community (Ad5). In order to reach specific target groups the VHS is called to act at district level. It must rebuild the cooperation with initiatives, support the creation of meeting points and be closer to the every-day life of the addressees. However this process should not be driven by the lack of resources. The VHS could be compared to the railway company. The goal is to reach further isolated places, to come closer to even more people (Ac2). In many cases the necessary personnel for developing the programme and implementing new methods to approach the people is not available (Ad6). This availability depends on the framework conditions in each region. In Berlin the financial problems often hinder the implementation of such methods (DA10). The VHS should attempt to shape new decentralised learning places where it can work together with partners. It is rather impressive that this is not the case in Berlin. This would support also economic effectiveness, since it could reduce the need on infrastructure. But it is not the rule that such initiatives are really active in the long-term at neighbourhood level and support infrastructures. When it works it is mostly due to personal engagement and the potentials of certain people. But it would have advantages for the institution and for the people in the district (DA8). An exception referred to in the interviews is the Learn House Pohlstraße (V7, DA8). The role of community and local actors is very important for the orientation to local needs and demands (Ac1, DA10, PP11). Other aspects are also important for each district and the VHS cannot recognise them alone. Therefore, it should always be in discussion with local actors (Ac4). It should always be connected to local actors and build working relations (V7, Ad6, DA8). The innovative power of the VHS depends on the availability of external resources and cooperation networks. The stronger it is anchored on its environment, the more impulses it receives in order to develop a successful programme (V7). The VHS has a long tradition in networking with many new and old partners. Through the active participation in local networks it can gain experience, recognise the local actors and shape relationships (V7, DA10). Networking in the district should be professionally organised. It does not occur by itself but it is necessary since nothing can exist without the network (Ad6). Issues of competition should be also faced through an equal participation as discussed in the previous paragraph (Ac2, Ac3, Ad5, V9). The more local the orientation of the institute is to the smallest urban unit possible, the more flexible and adaptable to actual needs and problems it will be. That is actually what is all about (DA10). The most local and multidimensional

133 3. Empirical Research orientation a VHS adopts, the better it can serve the community. The borough is not local enough. Different local conditions exist within the borough. The VHS should go more local. More local means closer to the needs. Especially for integration issues the smaller the urban unit, the more effective the integration work will be (PP11). The neighbourhood is on focus. District is the experimental field of the future (Ac4). The VHS as institution, when referring to district related work, is the most sustainable one that exists in its field (V7). The district-oriented concepts are interesting to implement when they promote integration and a sense of belonging in the world and the region (Ac3). When the district anchoring exists, it is very supportive. However, it is rather doubtful how far the VHS can go into the district and how far is district orientation possible (DA8). It is also not clear how could it be realised. In each case there must preexist a need in the form of a local requirement. It is then the public hand, for example a department of the borough that must operate (Ac4). Certain elements of the VHS work are shaped by district needs and are socially necessary (Ac2, Ac4). However, the wider regional needs should not be ignored (Ac3, Ac4, Ad5). The appropriate reference to the region, the city and the district must be considered (Ac4, Ad5). It is important to have a well defined hierarchy (Ac4). Biographical changes occur which are not connected to the borough. There are borough overall structures and development conditions. Today it is quite problematic to define the VHS at borough level. Its existence and asset are at borough level but not its environment. It is part of the whole system of Berlin with communal interrelations (Ac2). The borough anchoring on profile and understanding is not compulsory for the instructors or the participants (Ac2). Many people will first consider the context and then the location of an offer. Therefore it is important to consider who is interested on each offer (PP11). The course instructors in Berlin can work in many VHS. Therefore they have availability over a differentiated VHS network. It is a structural deficit of the Berlin VHS that it is not understood as a subsystem of a bigger system. Only then can it be recognised as a part of a structure development (Ac2). The VHS is often restricted to the borough limits although it may have a wider influence area. Even when there is a strong district connection, the VHS influence is in certain cases extended beyond the district (Ac2, Ac4, PP11). This extent depends on the offers. The most differentiated the offers are, the widest the attraction area will be (PP11). A decentralised provision does not correspond to offers with limited addressees (Ac2). In this case a regional wider planning area is needed and planning cannot be realised from the view of the community. Otherwise a high differentiation between group interests or com-

134 3. Empirical Research munal concurrence can occur (PP11). At political level the VHS is underestimated when regarded as an institute limited at district level. The political conception of the institution at the level where the conditions are set, such as the senate, is thus limited. An example is the cooperation between the VHS and the public radio station at federal state level. This is not possible in Berlin because there is no discussion partner at city level to talk with the radio station (Ad5). Education intervenes really in all aspects of life. Hence, the approach of narrow communal subjects through adult education often encounters problems in the city administration (Ac3). In Berlin a strong relation to the district is met today mostly in the case of the middle sized VHS in the border of the city. Other VHS have also a central function. The decisive point is to have a borough anchoring but within a wider reference space like Berlin (Ac2). The VHS should do both. On one hand consider what is speciﬁc for the borough where it is located. On the other hand consider in discussion with the other VHS what is important for the city and which borough can contribute to each subject (Ac2, Ac4, Ad5, PP11).

Infrastructure

The provision of infrastructure is connected to the role of the VHS in the educational system (Ac1). The choice of the location and the architecture indicates the political value of education. The place where a city or state chooses to allo- cate its main institutes is usually central (Ac3). The current VHS concept is very restricted. In order to change it new spaces and places have to be considered (Ac1). The borough regulates the VHS resources including the infrastructure (V9). The provision and quality of the infrastructure depends on the community support towards the VHS (V7). This is also the case for its spatial representation (V9) which follows the shrinking of the communal resources (Ad6). Many boroughs reduce their own infrastructure due to high costs. The facilities which remain are often inadequate to cover the needs of the communal organisations (V9). In some cases it is not even regulated who should undertake the maintenance and repair costs. Therefore, the VHS should ensure additional external resources. Otherwise it can only expect limited investments on the infrastructure (V7). While planning the VHS programme, the context and location of the offers is deﬁned, as well as their relevance to the participants. These factors depend primary upon the availability of the infrastructure and not on its quality. The infrastructure is a decisive factor in this process. It is also the most difﬁcult fac-

135 3. Empirical Research tor to improve. Therefore ”the space is the limit” (V7). The physical conditions pose many restrictions. On one hand it is difficult to find appropriate rooms for each group available in the district. Especially rooms for big groups are rarely available in places other than schools. But even when the place can be found, the programme of the VHS often overlaps with the primary use of the facility (Ad6). The VHS is limited at a high degree by its physical prerequisites even when it has its own house. This is a result of the limited financial resources (Ac2). The financial aspects are today stronger than aspects regarding the infrastructure. The urban economy aspects contradict the current use of the VHS infrastructure, which considers only the educational goals and resources of the institute. The capacity of the infrastructure is not fully exploited, while the financial resources are limited. Therefore it seems logical to share the infrastructure instead of letting it empty (DA10, PP11). In this respect the use of school facilities by the VHS during the afternoon is a logical urban economic plan (PP11). In general, the sustainable use of resources — also spatial resources — is transferred as a requirement to the district (DA10). The VHS has limited potentials to set its own requirements on infrastructure. In some cases there is practically no choice. It has to accept the facilities left free by other users (V9). These compromises are necessary in order to serve each target group in the district. The VHS courses can take place anywhere, where there is heating and some chairs, even if the standards of adult education are not satisfied. On the other hand the VHS is distributed through the whole city. It could be said that this is VHS. Neither the VHS nor the borough can build a nice seminar room for each group in the neighbourhood (V7). The VHS will probably never own adequate rooms for all its offers. It will always have to share the facilities. Networking in the borough is thus very important (Ad5). The smallest contribution to sustainability is the ecological function of the VHS own house. In Berlin the principle of low energy use is applied in public buildings. The VHS as a public institution must implement this principle. However, many old VHS buildings are not energy efficient. The institute has very low influence on the management of the relative resources. Neither does it choose in which building it will be housed nor does it receive the investments for the required interventions (Ad5). Besides the economic effects, the infrastructure influences the fulfilment of the educational goals of the institute. The built environment, the concrete location and the learning situation are decisive for whether the offers will be accepted by the people (Ad5). The infrastructure defines the implementation of the programme. The concept according to which it is build affects the context of

136 3. Empirical Research learning. The behaviour settings approach expresses this pure transplantation of adult education in specific spaces (Ac2). The buildings are connected to an atmosphere which is transferred to the learning culture. The learning atmosphere and culture are shaped through buildings and places (Ac3). The built infrastructure is, and always has been, an important capital for the VHS. When adult education is hosted in schools a certain socio-ecological programmatic occurs. The art and context of learning are rather school oriented in such an environment. The VHS identity must continuously fight against a traditional school atmosphere and perception. These are petrified huge mistakes of the past. Modern schools are different. Therefore the first decisive step is to withdraw from old school buildings, which are no longer appropriate and hinder modern education (Ac2, Ad6, DA10). The VHS should not give the impres- sion of a school. Neither through rooms nor through the methods used (Ac1, Ac2). It is partially a school, therefore it has its own house. However it is also organised like a school, which is not appropriate for adults (Ac1). Adult education is not a part of the school upbringing system. The VHS has a different task therefore it requires different infrastructure (Ac2). The classrooms are not appropriate for adults since they are far from being flexible cultural places. On the other hand, the spatial distribution of schools can provide an advantage to the VHS. Schools are the most decentralised public service. This does not change the fact that they are burdened with the general perception of the teacher with the chalk. This image poses barriers to some people. But the decentralised location of schools is a very important positive factor (Ad6). Offers hosted in schools support a variety of places in the borough. A starting point could be to select schools which are better partners, where the VHS can reach more target groups — parents, youths etc. — and the ability to reach out is stronger (PP11). The low barrier effect refers to the context and physical conditions of the VHS offers, as well as to hidden barriers associated to the infrastructure. There are, for example, people who still carry an angst towards schools and would not choose a VHS offer hosted there, while that would not be the case in a district centre. Intimidating huge buildings which look like labyrinths and imply control and administrative hierarchies can be very discouraging. They are not associated to self-organised learning. They would certainly be a barrier for certain social groups, such as people who do not move with confidence around the city (Ad5). Adult education oriented infrastructure is an important framework condi- tion for success in education (Ad5, Ad6). Long lists with relative criteria are developed and should be taken into account when constructing new buildings.

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This is a question for future planning, with the prerequisite that the investments are considerably improved (Ad6). Positive examples of conceptualised architecture exist but are the exception. Architects do not handle issues of adult education. They have a certain image of schools in their mind. Therefore it seems a utopia to develop an adult education socio-ecology at the architectural level. It requires a more clear understanding of adult education. Architecture shapes forms. It brings together different partial aspects in a common, a whole understanding. Successful architecture expresses this understanding. In order to make good adult education institutions, the architects have to understand this common meaning, the common perception of VHS (Ac2). Therefore architects must cooperate with those who have knowledge about the context of adult education and can develop ideas. An interdisciplinary communication is important. However, the decision to develop these new forms of educational offers is still missing (Ac4). Pedagogues at sites and educational theorists should sit together and discuss about current educational concepts and spatial aspects. They should search for a connection between architecture and education. On one hand the way architects work and their usual forms must be considered. On the other hand it must be considered which connections, which interfaces are wished and which spaces are needed. Then people must engage who are honestly interested on education, who are competent and can represent this political connection — between education and architecture. However, such people are often not present (Ac3). The users can be also included in decisions about the infrastructure. Experi- ence has shown that in such cases the infrastructure is more accepted and even taken care afterwards by the users. Furthermore, actors from the district can work together in order to have a better accepted public infrastructure. In the recent past, planners of district renewal acted alone and after some years they wondered why something was broken or not used. Although it is difficult to specify who is going to participate, due to time, budget or awareness limitations, this process is more sustainable (Ad6). It can be beneficial in some cases if the citizens influence the use of the infrastructure. It would mean that the VHS would intertwine more with the local life, but in no case let the people manage by themselves the infrastructure through such cooperation forms (Ac1). The experts recognise certain requirements regarding the VHS infrastructure, in order to support the sustainability of the institute. The VHS needs a big house (V9) and appropriate facilities (PP11) of high architectural standards (Ac3). It is an institution with many places (DA8) which must be in appropriate locations, central (Ac3) and convenient (Ac1) to reach. It is important to be conveniently accessible with public transportation (Ac1, Ac3, Ad5, Ad6, PP11)

138 3. Empirical Research which has a low cost (Ad6). The infrastructure should appear really attractive (Ac4, PP11). Being accessible may not be enough. A place is needed which assigns a social prestige to those visiting it. The building must carry a clear message. In no case should it indicate that it is for poor people or for people with no aesthetic requirements (Ac4). The building must exert an inviting effect to the people (DA10, DA8). An indication could then be the response of the participants to a new place (Ac3). The indoor spaces of the VHS facilities must also be transparent and well accessible with elevators and free space (V9). They must have adequate (V9) and modern technical equipment (Ac1, DA8). The facilities must be modern (Ac1, DA10) and flexible (Ac1, Ac2, Ad6, DA8) with specialised rooms (DA8, V9). The infrastructure should support learning in general, as well as the specific learning context (DA10) and new learning methods (Ac1). Learning should be also pleasant (DA10). A relaxed learning environment (Ac3), friendly and pleasant rooms, well isolated and bright (Ac1) are basic requirements. Spaces where people can feel comfortable and then learn in an atmosphere appropriate for adults (V9). The rooms and the equipment should not be very complicated, so that a wide range of age groups can easily use them (Ac1). The space should support further activities, such as exhibitions of the VHS work (DA8). Space for socialisation should be available like a cafeteria, a recreation room (DA10) or other common areas (DA8, V9). Such spaces do not only cover educational needs but also serve the need of social belonging. Individ- ual meeting points (Ac2, DA8) or spaces between rooms where events can take place (Ad5) should also be available. Places are wished where people can work with new mediums or books while having a coffee and where everything is possible. Where people can stay until late and further educate themselves (Ac4). The use of the spaces and the places between them must be considered (Ac3). The environment of the VHS is decisive. For example, it must be well illuminated in order to avoid causing stress to certain groups (Ac2, Ad5). The existence of walking zones and green spaces is also important (Ad5). Other offers should be located close to the VHS and physically accessible. A place could be formed where further offers of public infrastructure are present, such as children supervision and counselling points (Ad6, V9). The infrastructure should reflect the multi-cultural background of the users. A VHS with a varying multi-cultural programme needs appropriate multifunctional spaces (Ac1). A multi-functional building can host a variety of offers, such as the music school and local cultural events (Ad5a). An important aspect is to bring different actors together, which can make the infrastructure more effective in each place (Ad6). When different learning opportunities come

139 3. Empirical Research together in the district, offers can be available at different time of the day. Be- sides the effective use of the infrastructure, this is also more supportive for the community (PP11). Flexibility is an important requirement of the infrastructure. This does not necessarily mean that the infrastructure hosts other uses. Which could happen, in case the facilities stay empty for long time. But this is independent from flexibility. The VHS should be more flexible in relation to possibilities. It should ”mix and develop” (Ac4). When different uses are hosted under the same roof the question rises whether they disturb each other. The appropriate physical prerequisites and equipment supporting each one of them must then be available (Ac1). Furthermore, regulation is needed. A clear distribution of the responsibilities about the infrastructure, connected to the relative resources, is required (Ad5). The centralisation which occurs when bringing many offers together contradicts the low barrier concept. It is not possible to have always an ideal situation. Decentrali- sation — in the form of the old cultural centres where schools, the borough office for culture and other district actors could be represented — requires resources (Ad6). Since the first steps of adult oriented architecture, special forum-like structures are developed. An example, almost forty years old, is the VHS Marl. The building of this VHS has a flexibility between central and small rooms. The high flexibility depended on the architecture resembles forum interrelationships (Ac2). Multi-functional buildings are already conceived in many places. However, the investments for their realisation are still missing. Most of the existing examples are realised in shopping centres, where certain companies are interested to become known to the district. However, this combination has in general negative effects. The people who want to go to the VHS should first walk through shops and remain there ”hanging”. Furthermore, when the centre is established the educational and cultural offers are replaced by financial activities, for which the centre is initially planned. Even if theoretically this idea is good, there exists scarcely any project where it really worked (Ad6). A positive example outside Berlin is the VHS Cottbus. This VHS is housed in an old renovated shopping centre which was built before the war. Besides the VHS, the district library and a hall for cultural and other events are hosted there. This building is alive. It is alive from morning until late evening. On the contrary there is nothing alive in a dark school building where only a few rooms host VHS courses in the evening (Ad5). When the spatial potentials allow so or when it is newly planned there could be such a VHS. That is a centre, also cultural centre and not only pure VHS. There where the VHS is a guest in other institutes such as an elementary school or a children day care centre, it is very

140 3. Empirical Research difficult to develop in this direction. The VHS needs its own house (Ad6). Bringing different uses together in an educational centre does not produce such a positive effect as it is often argued. The main reason for implementing this strategy today is to save energy costs, to exploit competencies and to occupy less permanent personnel. Sharing the facilities is in a way ”excessive sustainability”. It is unproductive for the main task of the institute. If the infrastructure is used in an over effective manner by other users it can cause a loss of the institute’s own character. Then people may not have the disposition anymore to go there and learn. There are limits of sustainable use. Besides economical limits, society also set limits of what should the VHS provide (Ac3). The spatial concentration of actors generates positive synergy effects (DA10). When different actors from the same field come together in an accepted place in the district, then they can have the maximal influence. This is also the case when local actors are housed next to each other. Communal wealth occurs in the available buildings and spaces. The association is there. All can start just from an initiative hosted in a school (PP11). Another case is the long-lasting cooperation developed between a central VHS and a big international enterprise in Berlin. Outside the window of this VHS one can see the offices of the company. Their cooperation includes the provision of language courses and offers from the art field organised in galleries. They have also cooperated in district initiatives, such as a conference organised for the future of the district. Although at present they may no longer cooperate, there would be no obstacle to undertake something together again. This is due to the long tradition of their cooperation. Other actors would face many difficulties, because they do not have such an established presence in the district (V7). In order to achieve these positive externalities the VHS must be open (DA8). People should feel free to go there and use, for example, an open computer room. The VHS should be an open house of learning. An example where the VHS really opened itself towards the district is the Learn House Pohlstraße. In this case the VHS recognised the need to discuss and decide together with the local actors. It did not make the decisions a priory and then invite those interested to follow. The Learn House Pohlstraße is not the VHS. It is important for the future of the VHS to be part of a network of local actors, also educational network. The VHS might be offering the space or not (DA10). What is important is to participate in a network, without the necessity to assume a leading position. There is always a forerunner in building such networks. This is however, not really the matter. The important issue is that it is developed by all actors together (Ac2, Ad6, V7, DA8, DA10).

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The VHS can also gain support from such initiatives. The municipality often faces the problem of managing and exploiting the infrastructure due to lack of personnel or resources. Through the VHS this infrastructure can become a place of attraction for different local actors which are willing to develop a learning place in the district, such as the Learn House Pohlstraße (V7). Through cooperation it is also possible to acquire the necessary equipment for an offer. In the Learn House Pohlstraße, for example, an association operates a media workshop providing the appropriate equipment (DA8). More than a decade ago neighbourhood centres were organised. However, the resources were not adequate to operate them properly. In order to avoid some expenses the VHS offers were then hosted in other institutes, such as schools or children centres. There the VHS could also be active through projects. However, the contact point or the place which brings together and combines different activities was missing. On the other hand there are VHS offers that should be actually realised in other places, even if there is no such need. For example German as a foreign language or parent courses hosted in schools or neighbourhood centres are realised. A museum is also a learning place, where the learning process is also documented and exhibited. This is a very important function (DA8). Therefore the cooperation with other institutes should be expanded. Through this the VHS can be at places where it can come in contact with different local actors, companies etc. This contact is achieved also when the VHS provides the space for discussion and organisation of common action (PP11). As discussed above, when the VHS facilities stay empty chances for other uses are created. Besides the urban economy argument, a certain strategy is developed in this case. This is to let other users organise offers according to their needs. Then there is a chance to recognise needs, which are probably not ofﬁcially addressed yet. The VHS can offer courses to develop the competencies of these actors. Of- fers should be supported, which keep the barriers low and attract people to the facility (DA10). The quality characteristics differ between the different VHS. This is also depicted on the infrastructure, which is also a quality requirement (Ac4, V7). The VHS cannot have elegant seminar rooms everywhere. There are VHS which do not even have their own house. The image of the VHS is shaped by the participants, the instructors and the infrastructure. Therefore it cannot make a cam- paign with modern and attractive rooms since this is not the case for all the offers (V7). The VHS can be a provider of infrastructure. Furthermore, it has the potential to ﬁnd a place for anyone who may need it in the district and turns to the

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VHS for it. This is possible through the network and contacts which the VHS has developed, also as a part of the administration. Those who turn to the VHS for support are certain groups, such as local actors or other adult education actors (DA10). The availability of infrastructure creates potentials of networking and local mobilisation. Therefore the infrastructure shapes the relationship of the VHS with the local actors. It can also promote civil engagement. Especially local actors or citizens can find logistical support through the VHS, such as facilities and equipment, even if the concept of their offer does not fit exactly with the VHS program. Through sharing the infrastructure the VHS can mobilise civil society actors. This is actually the way to teach civil engagement and not through a course. It is something that only the VHS can do. There is no other open structure in the district to support such needs (V7). Each VHS must focus on the local population and the location of its offers. It should consider the potentials presented in physical aspects and in people. Based on that it can choose the programme, as well as the location and places where to realise its offers. The place can be a school, a children day care centre etc. The important is that in this place the VHS is free to realise problems and potentials and then develop an integrative approach to handle them (Ad6). An argument mentioned above is that many people will first consider the context and then the location of an offer (PP11). However, the location influences the low barrier access to the offers (DA10). If an offer is available in a place where certain people never go, they may not consider it at all. Therefore, it is necessary to distribute the offers in places which the participants can easily access and self-organised learning can take place. There should always be an outsourcing from learning places into every day relations according to the target groups. Long time ago alternative learning concepts were developed. The idea was to take the offers to the participants who do not come to the VHS by themselves. This concept does not seem appropriate any more. The organisation in small, low barrier district centres is still adopted by welfare or other associations when they organise their offices for advise and information. It is useful to organise individual meeting points, which are strongly connected to target group work (Ac2). The concept of open neighbourhood centres could be considered again. It is important to have such a place, a meeting point which people can see (DA8). The VHS is usually connected to the city-hall or other administration buildings, at least as information points. However these places are often too far away from the individual districts. It is difficult for certain people to visit these information points and seriously consider the VHS offers. For this purpose other approaches must be found. It is attempted by the borough offices to distribute

143 3. Empirical Research the information points and the offices in the districts. But they are still far from reaching a low barrier effect (Ad6). The presence of the VHS should not be limited to one place in the borough. It should be dispersed in locations close to each other. There is not only one Berlin VHS. There are twelve, distributed in different places and locations (DA8). The VHS must be present as far as possible in the borough. The participants need to cover the shorter distance possible to reach the VHS (V9, DA10). The question of accessibility is very important for the selection of a location. Many people have no alternative than to reach the VHS with the public transportation (V9). There- fore the distribution to all district centres is very important (DA10). Besides the accessibility aspect it is necessary to achieve an association-like network of learning places. The chosen locations should cover a contextual aspect of what the addressees want and a spatial aspect of distance from home or work. Which leads to the smallest urban unit possible (PP11). The VHS should choose locations where other offers are provided, close and accessible. Close refers always to awareness, in order to cooperate with each other. It is not necessary to be always located in the centre. But a connecting structure must be conceived, including the built aspects and at least transportation and accessibility (Ad6). The local distribution of the VHS should be combined with places where the citizens are active. Where community centres, associations etc. are located. Then the association made is that where the citizens and the community are, the VHS is always present (Ac1). The connection to the district is central for the VHS. District and borough are not the same. The borough is very extended. The presence of the VHS is necessary in the district and not anywhere, rather in the centre. The important functions, the identity and everything that makes a district important comes to the centre. In some district centres there are traditional offers. It is a place where many people pass by, they can see what is in offer, receive information etc. Such a location should be chosen by the VHS (Ac1, Ac4). The location has a central meaning for attractiveness and prestige. Especially people from those social layers who depend on education for qualification and integration visit the VHS. A prerequisite is that even the courses which take place in some unim- pressive place or school, are located in one of the most important centres of the district. They are visible and attractively located. Furthermore, the VHS should give to this place further central importance (Ac4). The VHS should be located where specific competencies are present and that is central. It is important to form places where it is clear that it is a VHS. At the same time the VHS should cooperate, where it is possible, with other partners in other places (DA8). A long distance from the district centre could be preferable, when there is a

144 3. Empirical Research negative association to it. In some cases there is not even a centre in the mind of the people. For example when no other offers are provided there except of a transportation cross. The distance to where differentiated uses are, such as the city hall, a resident area, a commercial quarter, is of course negative for the VHS. It should rather be located directly there (Ad6). Centrally located buildings in the borough are important for the way the VHS is confronted. When it is part of other institutions it is probably underestimated (DA8). The VHS should combine both. It should be centrally located in the district and decentralised (Ac1, Ac2, Ad5b). But a VHS ”face” must be there (Ad5a). The VHS has to be central in the district. Decentralisation is and always was about saving. It is more cost-efficient to use the rooms of schools than to provide new facilities (Ac3). The boroughs certainly have smaller units but their structure varies significantly. In an old borough of Berlin, for example, the VHS is still located in relative equal distance from the borders, the school buildings or other locations where offers take place. The borough is relatively compact and a further decentralised distribution is not important. In a more extended and differentiated borough the situation is the opposite. The expert from the VHS in the borders of Berlin described such an example. The main character of the borough is shaped in the centre, where life is concentrated. The VHS has a significantly limited representation beyond the centre. In the south of the borough lies a family house area with a very low residency density. The VHS cannot find enough participants for a differentiated offer in this district. However, the demand is there and should be on focus in the future (V9). A central structure can offer certain advantages, such as a better image, better personnel management, better position in the senate. But it has as a result the absence from the district. Certain groups will not follow the VHS in the central location. They will stay in the neighbourhood. Therefore the VHS should make sure be present there. The people who need it are there. The idea of a central structure is developed mostly on personal ambitions. A central VHS would lose substantially in ground, in pressure etc. The local distribution may sacrifice quality aspects of the infrastructure but an improved central infrastructure sac- rifices the relation to the citizens. ”We cannot build palaces everywhere. We can only build one palace. And the VHS stands before the decision to have one big palace or many small huts. And I support the many small huts”. An example is the VHS Munich. It is a very big and famous VHS with a central composition. It has four external locations which are however dead. As long as there is no VHS personnel present, nothing can be developed at the local level. When the VHS employees are present at site, they will talk with the director of the children’s

145 3. Empirical Research day care centre, with the schools, the organisations etc. (V7). The decentralised locations are important for the identity of the VHS (Ac1). The offers of the VHS should be organised just in time and just in the location (DA10) so as to create chances and exploit potentials. A question raised by some people is whether it is possible to have a central VHS in Berlin and then consider its presence in each borough (V9). In the past a central VHS was organised in West Berlin with positive results. A decentralised distribution is not always useful. As analysed above, there are educational offers that do not refer only to one borough but the provision is restricted in each borough. It is then reasonable to host such offers in an educational centre in the city, centrally located and accessible for all. Accessibility is the only prerequisite and through that a low barrier effect is ensured. A decentralised location is not necessarily an expression of low barrier (Ac2). A central point for the VHS is to make clear the stress area between a market oriented, economical perception and the provision of offers and infrastructure in its region. The VHS is a public investment and must be efﬁciently managed in order to be viable. However, the future and the legitimation of the VHS does not depend on whether it will organise successfully an individual event. Rather it depends on whether it can offer available infrastructure. The VHS itself is an infrastructure, in which the framework of lifelong learning is given a new meaning. It cannot be newly built every ten years. There must be continuous investments on it. This is a form of sustainability. The decisive difference with respect to many other providers does not occur at the contextual level of the individual offer, which is important beyond doubt. It rather occurs at the lasting provision of learning opportunities. The VHS has to continuously offer an infrastructure and be a part of a regional infrastructure (Ac2).

3.3.3 The Volkshochschule in Urban District Development

The VHS has quality characteristics for the district and the borough (DA10). It can function as an advisor on adult education issues. When district development is connected to the education of people the VHS is already part of the discussion. In this sense it is already integrated with urban development. The VHS is the communal institution specialised on education. It can organise the strategies of urban development which should be realised through education. It can be an advisor of politicians on adult education but not undertake itself the role of politics. It should, however, consider political trends in the development of its own programme (Ad5, V7). The VHS is close to certain target groups. It can thus provide a gateway

146 3. Empirical Research to these groups for other actors, such as the borough or the senate. There are many potentials in this ﬁeld. For example, the VHS is close to the migrants or to women, who other actors cannot easily reach. The Berlin VHS should be present in the district, because the strength of the VHS is that it is very close to the people. It is only then that the VHS has a meaning for urban development. It is then that it can have a contribution to the development of the population, especially in disadvantaged districts (V7). The VHS has certain limits and cannot be everywhere. The personnel, the time and other resources required do not allow to decline from its central task. At borough level, where its presence is continuous, it can have an important role on adult education issues. At senate level this potential is limited, but this is not so important (V7). The contribution of the VHS is valuable when knowledge about a problem situation in the district is needed. The VHS is one of the institutes in the district which understand the feeling and local atmosphere. It is a public agency and promotes public interests (PP11). Another function of the VHS in the district is the support and development of projects (DA8). Furthermore, it supports the engagement of other adult education and civil society activities. It offers a support structure for local activities, a framework and logistical support (Ac1, V7, DA8). It is open to local actors and new ideas. The VHS can bring openness (V7, DA10) and a certain energy. This energy and strength originates not only from the participants but also from those who have offers there, even from those who want to do something with the VHS (V7). The VHS cannot mobilise the citizens by itself but it can offer such possibilities. Especially engaged citizens educate themselves further through this process (Ac1). A prerequisite is that there are people who are interested about a subject and search for partners to be engaged. The VHS is one of these partners in the district (V7, DA8, PP11). In such cases there is usually a problem which cannot be solved by the community or where strong interests collide against each other. When people decide to engage, the VHS rises as a discussion partner. The people are in this case totally aware of the VHS as part of the community (PP11). The VHS can bring together actors and resources from different ﬁelds at local level (Ac2, Ad5, Ad6, V7, DA10). It is the connection part between places of school, education and economy in the district (Ad6). It can form competencies and unlock resources in the community. It is important to participate at local processes as far as it can, because it can bring what no one else has, continuity and durability. The VHS can set structures in motion (V7). A chance to come into discussion with the citizens can be created by the VHS

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(Ac1). The VHS is the only institution where the people of the borough meet, who normally would not come together. Neither would they involve with urban or district development even if they have an opinion about it (V9). Although the aspect was expressed that people are not so interested on the details of urban development. It is regarded more a field for experts (Ac1). People can meet in the VHS. They can exchange ideas and develop handling possibilities. This is a function the VHS could strengthen, also in cooperation with others. It offers a place to discuss forms and meaning of urban development for the district (DA8). The VHS can bring up and handle issues at district level. It can give them a form and find resources in order to develop them further (DA8). This includes the organisation of discussions and events about issues of urban development (DA8, V9). It offers a place for discussion (Ac1, Ad5, V7, DA8, V9). An open communal platform for discussion about public issues (Ad5, Ad6). This is not always the case. But when it is about the future of the borough then the VHS can, at least formally, offer a place and through that set a discussion which otherwise is not offered in the borough (V9). A place where all relative sectors can be represented in the discussion (PP11) in order to recognise early the needs, such as the demographic changes in the district (DA10). This is important also for educational planning. There are, however, too many factors involved. Therefore the criteria must be set, the framework of discussion about what is wished and what is feasible (DA10). Another role which the VHS could undertake at the district level is as a moderator between actors from different fields. This is not one of its tasks but it could undertake this role because it does not serve specific interests. However, it is not neutral since it must protect the interests of its own existence (V7, PP11). The programme of neighbourhood management has offered a new forum where local actors can work together. The VHS cannot undertake this function. How- ever, through the VHS this programme can become more anchored to the district (V7). The educational network is based on the specific contribution of each actor and the interaction effects. Therefore it strives to keep all actors even if there are financial difficulties. The VHS as an actor alone in urban planning cannot achieve this. The scene must be there. In this case the neighbourhood management programme offers the scene. That brings all the actors together, recognise what is needed for the district and form strategies. Then they also contact the responsible committees and political actors. Within these strategies for a strong educational sector someone may spot a facility of good quality. Then they must all participate and agree to follow this strategy (DA10). The double structure of the VHS, in and out of the administration, has sev-

148 3. Empirical Research eral effects, as mentioned above. A potential created through this structure is that the VHS can function as a connection between the citizens and the borough administration (V7, DA8). This rises the question of how can a borough administration open itself. There seems to be a wall between the administration and the citizens. ”They are out and we are in”. The VHS is a mixture of out and in and there such processes can come to life (V7). The contribution of the VHS in the district is valuable but should not replace other actors (DA8). There are other active actors in the district which can undertake some of the above functions (V7). For an efficient use of local resources the VHS should address other local actors, associations, civil society etc. When someone spots a deficit in the district, all the involved actors should come together, such as the borough, the youth organisations etc. The VHS could bring the local actors together, but often lacks the necessary personnel for that. In many cases there is specialised personnel to face these deficits. If this is not possible, it doesn’t matter who will do it, as long as someone does (PP11). An important support of urban development issues is realised through the integration of marginalised groups, locals and migrants. In this field the VHS can have a really important function. It can develop as a learning centre in the district or the neighbourhood. In order to achieve this it has to cooperate with schools, citizen initiatives etc. (Ac1). The VHS is a central integration actor in the borough (PP11). It is an integrative open institution (DA8). The VHS is an institution where the extremes of society meet and social mixing takes place (V7, Ad5). From that it draws its integration strength. Otherwise it would become an institute for disadvantaged (Ad5). At present the integrative function of the VHS is under question. Earlier on, it was a forerunner in citizens initiative and district close work. Today issues of specialisation and market regulation interfere with this work. An alternative is the cooperation with initiatives and civil engagement (Ac2). The VHS is in many places not so integrative arranged. It is not even anchored in the self-understanding of the institute as an active actor. It does not understand itself as a really propulsive actor (Ad6). Two indicative examples are mentioned regarding the contribution of VHS to urban development processes. The first is the contribution of the VHS under the framework of the integration politic in the city. The other example is the development of the political concept of demographic change in Berlin. The VHS is part of this process. It is the place where the specific meaning of the demographic change is discussed for each borough. Where the reaction of different actors in the borough to the expected changes is observed (Ad5). The VHS is characterised as a seismograph (Ac3, Ad5, DA10) at least in certain issues (V7). The structure of the VHS offers can already function as such

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(DA10). The VHS reacts as a seismograph in local events, as indicated by the offers in each sector (Ac3). It can recognise early the development trends (Ad5). Furthermore, it is a bridge between the shape of needs and demands and the planning for serving them (Ac2, V7, DA8, DA10). It is an experimenting field (Ac2, Ad6) since it can always try new offers (Ad5) and experiment (DA8). If the VHS is flexible and has adequate personnel it can undertake pilot projects and build networks (Ad6, DA8). It has a certain background which supports these functions. But eventually should search alone for additional resources (DA8). Possibilities to support the goals of urban development are also created through the VHS offers (Ac1, Ad5, DA8). The VHS can organise a number of offers and events in relation to the urban environment. Such as events about the culture in the district or information on how the district functions (Ac1). Through targeted offers specific issues of sustainable development can be handled, as for example energy saving (Ad5). The VHS offers also promote social equity. The low prices of good quality offers contribute to equity or at least they do not let the differences grow (DA8). One of the experts expressed the opinion, partially contradicted in other parts of the interview that the VHS has limited to no influence on urban development. The only exception recognised is the contribution of the VHS offers. Especially language courses, such as German for migrants or basic education. Through targeted offers the existing knowledge about ecology and sustainability can be transferred on people’s behaviour (Ac1). The VHS can thus exert an influence on the awareness of people, which is also one of its tasks (Ad6). Through the engagement of activated actors self-organised learning is realised. The VHS can further support this learning process. Citizen initiatives used to have courses in the VHS, where they were informed about certain subjects and gained experience. A specific programmatic is required for engaged people to become actors of urban development. Especially for neighbourhood development and the mobilisation of local resources (Ac1, DA8). People need support. At first they need further education. Then there is the need for spaces. The VHS can contribute to both (DA8). The VHS can explain to the participants the decision and planning processes in the city and relatively complex issues. It can also transfer knowledge and skills for an equal participation in urban planning. It could then support the citizens to become not professional but civil experts (Ac1). Education is important for emancipation. Participation necessitates qualification. The development of certain competencies is necessary for civil engagement. The development of these competencies is not the main task of the VHS. It is, however, very helpful to have well educated people willing to participate.

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Participation should not be promoted just for the sake of it. Every relative actor must participate since all actors involved represent aspects of the same spectrum. The organisation of the participation should be as wide as possible. There is no more time to waste on such issues (DA10). It is a quite complicated process to engage the community. Issues of who can and who must be addressed must be confronted first (Ac4). Civil engagement is important but should not act as a replacement. These concepts are today connected to saving effects and are not sustainable (Ac3). The VHS is already an actor of social urban development — as are all the borough sectors— in the field of adult education. But it is not an initiator. It supports together with other local actors the stabilisation of the district and the improvement of opportunities even under difficult conditions (DA10). It should not however be considered that specific social problems can be solved through pedagogical measures. There is a tendency to confront emerging social problems with educational strategies. The VHS can and must be part of regional projects. It contributes to the solution or prevention of social problems which should in no case be pedagogical problems. Their confrontation is not a responsibility of the VHS (Ac2). It can contribute to their confrontation but should not be burdened with heavy expectations. It cannot come up to it and should not. This is not its task and has neither the people nor the methods required. That can be done only in cooperation with others. The VHS is only one piece of the puzzle. It should consider itself as a small part of other structures (DA10, PP11). The discovery of the educational factor in urban development came relatively late, actually not long ago (V7). It is rather mainstream that education is considered now as an important aspect of sustainable district development (DA8). The educational problem is pressing and it is urgent to have results. The VHS has technically an important role for urban development (DA10). It can bring considerable and maybe inheritable knowledge. So in this case it could be avoided to develop something from scratch (V7). The perception that the improvement of a district could be done through the inclusion of adults was developed only recently. The VHS has certainly the potential to develop it further. The hot spot areas still remain a considerable problem. The educational system itself reproduces differences. This does not refer only to school. It includes all adult education aspects, such as parent or family education, group work etc. (DA8). It is not certain whether the VHS could or should undertake more for the district. It is difficult to imagine that in the way it is organised now it contributes to urban development. The VHS is very important for the borough, the district, the locality, also for the common well being. But it has to adapt structurally,

151 3. Empirical Research especially through the engagement of the personnel (PP11). The VHS has possibilities in urban district development. Many things where the VHS could play a role have not been considered yet (DA8). This is an important point to be addressed in the future. The subject of the urban district, the development of the urban district, the conflicts in the urban district and also the urban development in the district. How should it be further planned and what is to be done there (Ac4). The role which the VHS could have in a new structure of urban development is a programmatic for the next 25-30 years (V9). At a central level — as for example the senate — there is appropriate handling of these issues (DA10). However, the senate for urban development holds a distance to adult education issues due to uncertainty. Urban planning defines needs through norms (PP11). The district approach depends significantly on the philosophy of urban development adopted. In a balancing and integrative concept of a mixed city, the VHS has an important function for the realisation of urban development. But this is not the case everywhere. For example, the district administration centre in Berlin is planned with another philosophy. The function of an urban district centre is secondary. The centre is not perceived as a place of mixed plurality. At the same time the meaning of an urban centre is understood differently between people. In such a centre the VHS has no position at all. It is probably located somewhere else (Ad6). Urban development is not always precise. There are aspects of inter-regional interests and others that only concern the people who live in the district (V9). It is also difficult to define urban planning. It is more a physical than a contextual matter. It is difficult for urban planners to include educational policy. Therefore, as argued in the previous paragraph, urban planning should cooperate with all sectors involved — that is all sectors addressed by it. The urban planners should ask and the education administration should answer (PP11). Also programmes such as the social city and the neighbourhood management has to become more open to all the sectors involved, also to adult education (DA10). Urban development needs to cooperate with other resources. The concept of resource-overall work is relatively old but not so simple. The administration is simply differently knitted. At senate level there is in principle a framework of focal points of the law, as for example to strengthen the urban district centres. This is however, or should be, a resource-overall task (Ac4). Therefore resource overall and across-field cooperation (Ad5, Ad6, DA8) as well as experimenting and learning together (DA8) should be promoted . The community has all the possibilities for co-decision processes. The structure is available. The question is whether this path is used by the borough ad-

152 3. Empirical Research ministration for education and for urban development. The support of the borough representative house is required. It is simply a question of personnel and awareness. But it is hindered due to personnel deficits and a traditional perception of public administration (Ad6). The integration of the educational infrastructure into urban development is a question of the borough resources. Differ- ent resources need to work together so that the elements of urban development are integrated with the original educational tasks, but also free time offers etc. These different aspects should be actually handled by resource-overall working groups. But the required resources and the personnel are limited (Ac4). No one occupied with urban development, politically or administrative, has an interest to know the position of the VHS towards such issues (V9). There are no communication bridges between the fields of urban development and education. Not in the administration, neither in committees, institutions, universities and research. There is actually a mutual ignorance. The urban planners and sociologists do not regard education as an actor relative to their domain. The VHS can be for example an object of planning, but not an actor or partner. There is a very deep gap that could only systematic and in the long-term be covered through common projects. But the decisive point seems to be that in all the committees, as a rule when they are planning committees, the pedagogues or the adult education representatives are forgotten. The adult education representatives are totally helpless because they are only recognised as object of planning (Ac2). It is surprising how limited the knowledge of people in advising or state committees is about education. They often do not have the necessary information about the educational institutions. Their concrete knowledge about the patterns and forms used in education and the programme development is restricted. The associations which handle such issues are often over-estimated and short of time. The politicians occupied with education often use the action of such associations for other interests. They lack ”a shot of idealism”. When something is so important as adult education people responsible should get the necessary information and find the resources to implement it (Ac3). On the other hand, in the pedagogical and educational fields there is a lack of recognition and acceptance of urban development and planning. The self- perception of the people active in pedagogics is a key element in this issue. These people consider that the region or the community is the influence area of their pedagogical activities. But they do not consider that they also participate in the regional development. They do not recognise themselves as part of a structure. At this point they are both victims and offenders. It is not recognised from both sides that they are actors and also exert an influence on development.

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This is related to a narrow perception of adult education regarding its thematic field. It is also a training problem which has made very difficult to penetrate to the focus point because there is no experience of co-handling. The adult educators do not consider themselves responsible or able to participate in urban development processes. They regard their influence in the community within the limits of their educational tasks (Ac2). The school pedagogues do not think education could be something else than schools. Sociologists probably do because they think about broader issues (Ac3). A decisive point is to approach adult education as an actor and not only as an object of planning. This is a narrow approach by the VHS which probably understand itself as part of the borough administration. But this understanding is only at the administrative and political level. There is no wonder that they are not understood as actors of a regional development of their own borough. They are basically recognised as service providers at the contextual level. This differentiates the VHS as infrastructure of a regional development from any other adult education institution. The VHS is part of a regional structure and therefore responsible for the development of the structure. But they do not have any practical experience to be active at this position (Ac2). One of the difficulties for the cooperation between adult education and urban development is that there are no meeting points nor exchange of information between the two fields. An example is the university, where the two sectors have no interaction with each other (Ac2). Another important difficulty is the lack of resources and personnel. More important is the lack of self-realisation as actors that belong to and can influence the same structure (Ac3, Ad6) and the lack of relative practical experience (Ac2). There is the need for a new paradigm. An exchange between the two fields can start through common practice and projects at the local level. It can then be considered which new paradigm from the side of planning and of the pedagogics can be included. This means to understand oneself as part of a changing structure. Then in order to make this paradigm concrete, very concrete forms of common practice should be developed. So key situations and committees which create exchange possibilities which do not exist yet (Ac2). The educational administration has not developed participatory processes at any level, from the senate to the borough. In this field it could learn from urban planning, which has a long tradition is such processes. It should be a priority to bring more participation to the educational system at state, senate and borough level (PP11). A first step is the creation of committees from different fields. Urban development belongs to a different ministry than education, where it is decided who

154 3. Empirical Research undertakes which role. A prerequisite is that in urban development there will be a group oriented towards education. That is towards lifelong learning and not schools (Ac3). A stronger integration of educational institutions, also schools, in regional and communal development programs must be promoted (Ac2). Urban planning must provide the physical prerequisites in order to implement such integrative approaches. There is the need for a goal definition and this is sector overall for a region. When the goal is defined it is the task of urban planning to realise the conditions in order to implement it. It has the responsibility to create the physical prerequisites for the citizens’ actions. Urban planning needs an input from the side of education. It is a loss that for example within the borough the adult education office and the office for infrastructure provision do not interact with each other. There is the need, urban planning and adult education, as well as all urban social sectors, to cooperate closely (PP11).

Communal Educational Landscapes

Education is one of the central elements of the present, changing society. There- fore it should also have an active role in it. The development of communal educational landscapes (CEL) is a step towards this direction (Ac4). In principle such a concept is something with continuity and should be promoted. Acting together is crucial, especially at the local level (DA8). All actors of the educational spectrum, with their characteristic function and profile must be involved in such a process (DA10). The district relation of all local institutions should be strengthened (Ac4) in order to build an educational network in the district (Ac1, DA10) and shape a landscape (Ac1). The Local Educational Association (LBV) is an implementation of this concept in Berlin with educational actors (DA10). Another example is met in Bran- denburg. Adult education committees are organised in the district, where all the possible social actors are represented. The committees handle questions about adult education needs and how to recognise them. The civil society also participates and expresses the current needs (Ad5). The Learn House Pohlstraße is also a local educational association where public and none public organisations come together (DA8). Different models of direct or indirect responsibility are developed. The community is not only understood as the communal administration with supervision duties and regulations. It is rather an entity with various interrelations where also different individual initiatives are supported. In Germany there is a tradition of participation in the social field, a civil society concept referred to as subsidiarity. Initiatives from the population and specific groups are involved,

155 3. Empirical Research while the public hand offers a framework (Ac2). The form of adult education, the development and perception of adult education is part of the communal — ”democratisation” — process. The participation of civil society is strengthened in such processes. The politicians are important for the community, but the community is the entity of the citizens (Ac2). The decision making process should be both from above and from below. The state is originally an expression of democracy. So the decision making from above is also democratic. The support should be therefore both through civil society and public activities (Ac3). The cooperation between the state, private actors and civil society must be realised without illusions. In each case someone must organise it (Ac4). These are very important cooperation forms for theory and administration (Ad6). A VHS present in the district can be a very good advisor for the development of such concepts. A VHS with a very decentralised structure can have a significant contribution (V7). The VHS can have a very important function in the development of such a concept, since it fills the gap between the other educational institutions. It can identify everyday pedagogics and special needs in a neighbourhood, analyse them and react to them. It can build in the neighbourhoods a centre for networking different educational institutes (Ac1). The VHS is aware of the local possibilities and needs. Furthermore it can handle quality questions of what is wished and what is possible. For these questions experts who know the local conditions are necessary (DA10). As discussed in the previous paragraph, the regional development perspective is not anchored to the educational understanding (Ac2). The VHS is the most stable factor for the development of regional educational concepts. There- fore it should be more involved in this process. An important problem in urban development is the temporal restrictions and the requirement for success report, even if there is not any. The VHS can be more honest of what is developed. The local educational association in Berlin is an attempt to start something like that. But it is not so successful, as described. For such a regional development concept and structures longer time modes and financing are needed. Otherwise the involved actors are excessively burdened (V7). In Berlin it is important to have a double point of view. That is both at borough and state or city level (Ad5, Ad6). On one hand there is a strong orientation towards the boroughs. On the other hand there are regional development aspects which are over the borough. The need for qualification should not be neglected, in order to handle these aspects (Ac2). Since boroughs do not decide about resources it is necessary to plan also at state level (Ad6). The VHS has both a borough and an overall, a city function. The develop-

156 3. Empirical Research ment of guidelines, exchange and control are realised at city level taking into account the boroughs. At state level issues concerning the whole city are discussed, aspects of the common handling, of what to do in which borough. There cannot be totally different offers in each borough since that would be very expensive. The coordination at city level is necessary also for the avoidance of excessive provision. However social space relations are considered at local level in order to recognise which offers are necessary where (Ad5). The central association of the VHS is necessary also because the advances in learning methods do not arrive at the same time everywhere. So there is the need for central planning and central provision of material and methods. The qualification of the instructors should also be centrally controlled (Ac1). At contextual level it is important not to consider education and specifically vocational educational away from the district, as was the case for a long time (Ac4). The borough position is very strong since it can decide about the provision and influence the programme of the VHS. The borough voted representatives should thus engage more to the context of the VHS offers. Other actors could also make suggestions from their point of view (Ad5). Adult education management in the different boroughs should be promoted including the appropriate politicians, the department directors etc. Beyond Berlin adult education has a very important role in the communal politic. This is because it is the only form that today the communal politicians can still publicly manage (Ac2). At senate and borough level the structure and possibilities can be created for such a concept. It should also be promoted in districts where the neighbourhood management structures or the resources are not yet available. The financial basis is very important (DA10). The resources (DA8) and thus public resources (Ac2) must be ensured otherwise such projects fall into conflicts (DA8). This money does not belong to the communal politicians. Handling for the acquisition of resources is central (Ac2). Until today it does not exist any model of an overall planning cleared from the self-definition of the respective resource, in order to develop such an overall concept. In Berlin it did happen in the 70s. It was theoretically proved right, but could not be implemented because in principle each resource offers a free hand for each own responsibility. The autonomy and the cooperation only goes so far as each resource can profit from it. No administration is ready to give up competition, power and jurisdiction (Ad6).

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3.4 Expert Approach and Orientation Theory

In this section the position of the experts, as described through the codes of the interviews, is considered in relation to orientation theory. The purpose of this step is to recognise possible common points, as well as differences, in the aspects explored by each approach. These aspects handle some of the issues posed by the research questions. The conclusions allow a further evaluation of orientation theory as a tool of urban development. The possible connection of the experts’ position towards the aspects examined by orientation theory — the basic orientors — is examined. Therefore an attempt is made to organise the codes of the expert interviews according to the basic orientors. In the following section the codes corresponding to each basic orientor are organised by category and code number.

• Basic Orientor: Existence VHS Task 1.1. Educational task 1.1.1. Open learning opportunities 1.1.2. Multiple educational facets 1.1.3. Personal-vocational co-development 1.1.4. Multi-Cultural education 1.2. Socio-integrative task 1.2.1. Political education 1.2.2. Intercultural function 1.2.3. Reach weak social groups 1.2.4. Market integration VHS Identity 2.1. The communal adult education institution 2.1.1. Unique task assignment 2.1.2. Social necessity Organisation 3.1. Regional patterns Infrastructure 5.1. Reﬂect political-educational conception

The task of the VHS deﬁnes the purpose of the system in the normal environmental state and in states with a small ﬂuctuation around it. The conditions prevailing in the environment, in and around the normal state, generate certain needs which the system is called to serve. In the category of the VHS task the

158 3. Empirical Research main functions of the system in the environment are described. The identity of the VHS is also shaped by the environment. The function of a communal adult education institute is the most appropriate in order to fulﬁl its purpose in the normal environmental state. The organisational structure of the VHS depends on the regional conditions. Regional organisational forms are developed for the system to be compatible with its environment. The VHS can then be able to acquire the necessary resources in order to function and fulﬁl its tasks. This is also the case for the infrastructure. It must be considered according to the current political conception of education. The available resources for the educational infrastructure and the way it is perceived are shaped by the prevailing educational and political concepts.

• Basic Orientor: Psychological needs VHS Identity 2.3. Image 2.3.1. Reﬂect local conditions 2.3.2. Internal versus external image 2.3.3. Name associations Orientation 4.1. Addressees 4.1.1. Background motives 4.1.2. Varying identiﬁcation degree Infrastructure 5.3. Socio-ecological associations 5.3.1. Multi-level barriers

The way the VHS is conceived depends on the background of the people and the relation they have to the institute. Each individual has different expectations and socialisation and conceives differently the obstacles for participating in education. These factors shape the image which the VHS has between different people. Furthermore, they define the degree of identification with the institute. They also shape the way people experience learning in a specific place. Therefore socio-ecological aspects must be considered when the space for offers addressed to each target group is chosen. Otherwise barriers may rise which do not only have to do with the physical aspects but also the individual perception.

• Basic Orientor: Effectiveness VHS Identity

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2.2. Properties 2.2.1. Free 2.2.2. Continuous presence 2.2.3. Recognisable 2.2.4. Low barrier access Organisation 3.4. Mixed ﬁnancing 3.4.1. Public ﬁnancing cornerstone 3.4.2. Stability through variety Infrastructure 5.2. The space is the limit 5.2.1. Urban economy trends 5.3. Socio-ecological associations 5.3.2. Support adult learning context 5.4. The places and the spaces 5.4.1. Accessible 5.4.2. Attractive 5.6. Location 5.6.1. Synergy effect of spatial proximity 5.6.2. District centre association VHS in District Development 6.2. Set structures in motion 6.2.1. Communal platform 6.2.2. Bring openness 6.2.3. Rise awareness on urban issues 6.2.4. Develop participation skills

The VHS properties shape its competence to influence the environment in a desired way. Due to these properties the system can fulfil its purpose in a more efficient way. The system must be able to acquire the necessary resources for its function from the environment and ensure scarce resources. The VHS is a public institution and it is financed by public resources. Therefore it must be able to secure these resources on the long term. The dependence on public financing and structures often compromise the effectiveness of the institute. Therefore the VHS should be able to influence the environment in order to acquire additional resources from various sources. A factor of effectiveness is the socio-ecological effect of the built environment. The physical aspects must support learning, as well as the fulfilment of the system specific goals. They also affect the attractiveness of the building and

160 3. Empirical Research therefore of the VHS. The location of the VHS is also decisive for the efficient fulfilment of the system’s purpose and its influence on the environment. It should produce those spatial effects and associations which promote the goals of the VHS. These are synergy effects from the spatial concentration of local actors and the proximity to the target groups. They are also associations connected to the district centre, such as plurality of opportunities and central meaning. The VHS can also assign central meaning with its presence and activities in a place. Therefore, it contributes to the efficiency of the overall system, in this case the district. The more close the VHS is to the addressees and local actors the more effective it can reach them and mobilise them. Therefore a further distribution in the district is required. The VHS contributes then to the effectiveness of district development through the support and engagement of local resources.

• Basic Orientor: Freedom of action Organisation 3.2. The Communal Berlin VHS 3.2.1. Strong district assignment 3.2.2. State-community balance 3.2.3. In and Out of the administration Infrastructure 5.2. The space is the limit 5.2.2. Anywhere-everywhere 5.4. The places and the spaces 5.4.4. Support multiple activities VHS in District Development 6.5. Recognition as urban development actor 6.5.1. Self-perception as development actor 6.5.2. Create exchange possibilities

The organisation of the VHS at communal level allows it to react to the variety of the environment. This includes the varying social and demographic structure of each borough and the special district conditions within it. The freedom of the institute depends on the hierarchy of the system where it belongs. From an administrative point of view this is the borough and the senate. Since the VHS has a double structure, it also functions outside the administration, where it can be more ﬂexible. The VHS faces the necessity, which at the same time is also an ability, to be hosted anywhere and everywhere. This indicates a compromise on the quality. On the other hand it indicates the existence of many alternatives. Freedom

161 3. Empirical Research of action necessitates the existence of alternative choices. The choice refers to the quality of the infrastructure but also to the support of a variety of offers, addressees, time patterns etc. These possibilities are shaped by the available spaces and are signiﬁcant for the fulﬁlment of the system’s purpose. Freedom of action refers to the ability of a system to respond to environmental variety. In the district this variety generates the need for the inclusion of all social sectors in development processes. This includes the VHS, especially when it is close to the different local actors and knows the varying local conditions. Furthermore, the VHS contributes to environmental variety with its offers, the opportunities it provides and its local engagement.

• Basic Orientor: Security Organisation 3.3. Public provision 3.3.1. Borough political priorities 3.3.2. Task-bound Infrastructure 5.2. The space is the limit 5.2.3. Alternatives via networking VHS in District Development 6.3. Integrative strength through offers 6.3.1. Promote social equity

The VHS is a public service. Therefore it depends on the distribution of public investments, which is based on political priorities. As a result if the resources are not adequate or the priorities of the borough do not include the VHS it can and in some cases it does face a severe cut down of resources. In this case the function of the system is endangered. It may not be able to fulfil its task and come close to critical conditions for its existence, although its existence is legally established. The infrastructure has a similar effect on the system and also depends on the available financial resources. At present, economical aspects are more important than infrastructural ones, compromising thus the fulfilment of the system’s purpose. The VHS can protect itself against such critical conditions through networking. The VHS cannot own adequate facilities for all its offers. Therefore it should develop cooperative structures in order to acquire them and not endanger the implementation of its programme. The urban system and specifically the district can be at a critical state when social inequalities occur, which lead to segregation and downgrading effects.

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The integrative strength of the VHS is therefore an important function for the district and especially for the local population. The VHS is a stability factor against environmental variability. Even when the environmental state in the district ﬂuctuates outside its normal state, the VHS due to its integrative strength can offer a protection against possible negative effects.

• Basic Orientor: Adaptability Organisation 3.5. Structural adaptation 3.5.1. Cooperative networks Orientation 4.1. Addressees 4.1.3. Structure effects 4.1.4. Further engagement of participants 4.2. Market Orientation 4.2.1. Pedagogical understanding 4.3. District Orientation 4.3.1. Respond to local impulses 4.3.2. Orientation to social needs 4.3.3. Build local relations 4.3.4. Integrate to overall structures Infrastructure 5.4. The places and the spaces 5.4.3. Flexible 5.6. Location 5.6.3. To be close is to be strong VHS in District Development 6.1. Communal partner 6.1.1. Advisor on adult education 6.4. Seismograph 6.4.1. Bridge between needs and planning Communal Educational Landscapes (CEL) 7.1. Strong district interrelations 7.1.1. Network of learning places 7.1.2. Special proﬁles on education 7.2. District overall aspects 7.2.1. Central coordination and control 7.3. VHS in CEL 7.3.1. Contact point in the district 7.3.2. Fill the gap between educational institutes

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The VHS must be able of structural adaptations in order to cope with new requirements and changes in the environment. The cooperative network is a structure able to learn, self-organise and adapt. It can support the function and adaptation of the VHS under new, demanding conditions. The orientation of the institute is very important in order to recognise possible changes and quickly respond to them. This includes the addressees, the needs and structure of whom the VHS must correspond to. The market regulates the VHS environment and poses certain demands. This is also the case for the district, where local needs are shaped. When the VHS is close to local actors it can also receive local impulses and respond early to them. The VHS can then function as a seismograph and contribute to the adaptability of the overall system at district and city level. The local distribution of the infrastructure is a significant factor supporting these processes. An important prerequisite for the adaptation of the infrastructure to change is to be flexible. It is not possible to have new facilities corresponding to each new requirement. Important changes for the VHS can occur at regional level. The VHS exerts an influence on an area wider than the district or the borough. The conditions for the VHS development are also shaped at regional level. The VHS must be part of borough overall structures in order to respond and adapt to these conditions. A new paradigm of structural adaptation according to the present requirements are the communal educational landscapes.

• Basic Orientor: Coexistence Infrastructure 5.3. Socio-ecological associations 5.3.3. Need for interdisciplinary communication 5.5. Offer infrastructure 5.5.1. Open house of learning 5.5.2. Shape local potentials VHS in District Development 6.1. Communal partner 6.1.2. Offer support structure

The VHS influences the environment and the systems in it through its function and the fulfilment of its task. Other systems also influence the function of the VHS. The infrastructure is shaped by such interrelations. Many environmental actors are involved in planning and managing the educational infrastructure. Political concepts, administration at different levels, architects, ur-

164 3. Empirical Research ban planners, pedagogues and adult education actors. Therefore, an interdisciplinary communication of all the involved systems in necessary. Through an open infrastructure the VHS can inﬂuence directly the local actors, the educational actors and the local population. It can provide infrastructure and thus shape local potentials and create opportunities. When it functions as a part of an open learning structure it builds a different relation, more cooperative, supportive and open to the district and the region.

Orientation Theory from the View of the Experts

The experts from the field of adult education and the VHS employees offer a valuable insight to the institute. This contribution is significant for the understanding of the system and therefore for the application of orientation theory. At the end of each interview a discussion about orientation theory is initiated with each expert. The main purpose of this discussion is to recognise all the important actors in the VHS environment, as well as the important components and relations of the VHS Model (Chapter 2). In this discussion some of the experts also express their opinion about systemic approaches and orientation theory. The interview partners are not experts on this field neither are they acquainted with orientation theory. Therefore, the response towards orientation theory is quite spontaneous and does not go in depth. The opinion of the experts expresses only a general position towards this scientific approach. Advises and comments were taken into account by the implementation of orientation theory. The issues posed by the experts are handled in Chapter 2. The implementation of orientation theory is regarded as possible only from a system theoretical perspective. The limits between the system and its environment are dynamic and depend on the requirements of the interpretation. In such approaches the system reference must be clarified. The guideline or binding point of the sub-parts must be visible. That means to embed the adult education system to its social function (Ac2). The steering models introduced by system theory are regarded as overes- timated. The social fields and problems cannot be regulated. The VHS cannot be described as a system, according to the expert’s previous experience. It cannot be described as a system generated by the environment or the social system, specific for education. However, the attempt to evaluate the infrastructure using these criteria and not the VHS is interesting (Ac3). System approaches are formal and do not integrate the temporal dimensions and concrete historical situations. They cannot describe the real current social

165 3. Empirical Research problems nor the context of sustainability. It is unthinkable to describe sustainability in these terms. The question is not whether the VHS satisfies the basic orientors but whether it is a socially meaningful institution. Then it can be considered if something has to be changed in order to be viable (Ac4). It is important to clarify the reference system of the evaluation. The development of such indicators in a total system can be useful for the planners who want to use them as a direction. It is however difficult to express this system in a way understood by other professions. Therefore professionals from other fields must be included in the process. From the experience of the interview partner, the attempts to develop goals and indicators have not been very useful. However, in times of big change such help is needed in order to sharpen the awareness (Ad6). It is a very abstract description which does not contain something usable. It offers the possibility to describe a system of any nature. But when an approach is so general so as to be valid for any system, it is doubtful which contribution it can have for the description of a specific system (Ad5b). The difficulty is that it has a certain abstract character. Each person can describe it in a concrete way according to the individual perception. But then the interpretations would probably vary significantly (V7). The attempt to go from a systemic approach to the development of indicators is reasonable. However it must be examined whether it is beneficial to do so. The indicators can offer concrete directions for planning. In many occasions it is reasonable to know what must be achieved and how far we are from it. But also to get advice on how to achieve it. It is good to have something to reflect on (DA8). It is really interesting that everything is somehow ordered and local relations are defined. For the interview partner this is an access-theory. It is purposeful to observe such an institution as the VHS with such an approach. There are, however, very complex system relations that must be explained. But it offers access to different criteria, which can then serve different situations. Urban systems are also systems. Therefore system theory is in principle applicable and purposeful. It should be noticed that there are remarks on the qualitative carrying capacity which it can bear. Questions of the implementation of the instruments and whether they are efficiently developed should also be taken into account. The approach followed by the present research corresponds to a scientific standard and this is beneficial (DA10a). When the individual questions are considered it appears reasonable. The question is how they are carried out in the context. When this is achieved then this approach is meaningful. The response of the people using the indicators must be considered. The involved partners must

166 3. Empirical Research also be included in this process (DA10b).

3.4.1 A Comparison of Outcomes

The aspects recognised by the experts correspond to the basic orientors described by orientation theory. This is an indication of the adequacy of the basic orientors to describe all the important aspects. The basic orientors are, however, generally defined. Therefore it is expected that many different aspects can be included to them. The basic orientors were also used as a check-list during the process of determining the guidelines of the interviews. In orientation theory the basic orientors are of equal importance and each one of them must be satisfied, at least at a minimum degree. The importance which each expert assigns at each one of the aspects discussed during the interview varies significantly. Therefore it occurs that the basic orientors are not equally handled by the experts, as they are by orientation theory. The basic orientors are also equally important, in the sense that each one of them must be satisfied. The positions of the experts are not equally distributed between them. A focus on effectiveness is evident, while coexistence and security are only addressed up to a certain degree. This may be connected to the current trend for the development of more effective structures due to limited resources. It can also be argued that experts associate sustainability more with issues of efficiency and adaptability. Orientation theory can help to underline other important aspects of sustainability. The position of the experts towards the infrastructure is examined in relation to the indicators developed in Chapter 2. Almost all the issues monitored through the indicators are handled by the experts. Some of these issues are discussed in depth by experts from different fields as described in the previous section. An issue addressed only by one expert is the meaning of norms and their fulfilment. This is important since norms are often used for the definition of needs and for control. On the other hand the lack of norms normally indicates that an aspect is not or is only partially included in planning. However, the degree of response to these issues is in some cases limited. In particular the inclusion of the participants and the spatial effects are not referred by the experts unless they are specifically asked about them. The first answer to questions about the infrastructure is that the VHS should ensure the physical prerequisites for implementing its programme. Accessibility is set as the basic and in many cases the only prerequisite. Different alternatives are also proposed by the experts in order to confront problems related to the availability and efficient use of the infrastructure. The second answer to the issue is to

167 3. Empirical Research recognise the importance of internal socio-ecological effects. Further spatial effects are recognised, often indirectly, after a specific explanation by the interviewer. Some of the experts express a crystallised opinion about the location of the VHS infrastructure. All the experts comment on the importance of its presence in the district, in the centre or further dispersed. The effects of the location are regarded as far as they influence the function and identity of the institute. The experts refer to the importance of being visible and having a central position which assigns also a central meaning to the VHS. Most of the experts underline the necessity to be close to the addressees and build local relations. However, the effects of the infrastructure on the district are only indirectly mentioned. The VHS is referred to as a place where different people of the district meet and a place for discussion. Only one expert confronts the VHS infrastructure as a factor of regional and district development (Ac2). Three more experts from different fields, with the exception of administration, refer to the possible provision of infrastructure by the VHS for the support of district development.

3.5 Conclusions

The position of the experts presents a differentiation according to the background of each expert more than to the ﬁeld of expertise. The academics from the ﬁeld of adult education (Ac2, Ac3) although both occupied intensively with the VHS, have quite distant approaches. One of the experts has participated in the association for the support of the VHS work in Berlin and is using a systemic approach for the development of a theory of adult education (Ac2). This expert is open to a range of possibilities for the function and structure of the VHS and its role in district and regional development. The second expert is occupied more with theoretical-historical aspects of the development of the VHS (Ac3). The main focus of this expert is that the VHS is a public institution which needs public resources. Other alternatives are not rejected but a public framework is necessary. Furthermore it is underlined that the VHS should not risk its own task while participating in such structures which are usually about saving resources. A similar differentiation is noticed between the experts from the two VHS. One of the institutes is in a central borough where many active actors are also present. The interview partner from this VHS is very active in cooperation with local actors (V7). He supports open structures and mixed resources and the distribution of the VHS as far as possible through the district. The other VHS is

168 3. Empirical Research located in a borough at the borders of the city, where most of the activities are concentrated in the borough centre.The cooperation of the VHS with other local actors is rather limited. The interview partner from this VHS is more conserva- tive in supporting an open VHS structure. The interview partners from district development initiatives and programmes (DA8, DA10) have often cooperated with the VHS in various occasions. They recognise the potentials of such an institute and its contribution to the implementation of their own strategies. They are also aware of the way the VHS is organised, as well as of what is required from the VHS for the support of sustainable district development. At senate level the situation described by the expert from the field of private urban planning (PP11) is confirmed. The senate of urban development maintains a distance to adult education issues. Several attempts were made to interview an expert from the senate but the response was that no partner could be found to handle such issues. However, in the interview with a retired employee of the senate in the field of district development (Ad6) the need for an integrative approach between these fields is recognised. This is also the case in the interviews with the other experts from urban planning, both in theory and practise (Ac4, PP11). The experts from the field of urban development, except of the district actors, have a limited view of the VHS. The academics from this field, one also active in urban planning (Ac4) and one in urban sociology (Ac1) are more close towards the perspectives which an institute such as the VHS can have. However, during the interview they engage more with the subject, even indirectly and while promoting their scientific interests they contribute to the issues under question. On the other hand experts from the administration, who also have practical experience on district programmes (Ad6) and experts from private planning (PP11) are more open towards these subjects and can recognise the potentials which lie beneath the surface. The main issues recognised by the experts can be summarised in the following points:

• The dual position of the VHS as part of the adult education system and of the communal administration and the related task assignment.

• The importance of other actors of the VHS environment and the position of the VHS towards them. Possible cooperation partners, which have for example the same target groups as the VHS can be also competitors, aiming for example at the same resources. The VHS has the ability to create cooperation networks, but should do so without the VHS label and all partners should be equally represented.

169 3. Empirical Research

• The position of the VHS towards the overall structure, especially towards the senate for education and the borough, is shaped by the degree of dependency, financial and political. It is important for the VHS to be more independent and flexible in order to react fast to changes, to shape its programme and to reach those groups which keep a distance from the administration. However, there are some positive effects of the dependency on public structures, such as the security through the public financing. An alternative could be to achieve mixed resources, public and private.

• The ability of the VHS to recognise and acquire the available resources in the environment varies between the different institutes.

• The VHS needs to understand itself as a part of an overall structure. A framework is needed in order to build cooperation, which will allow freedom of action.

• The structure and needs of the population is very important for the structure and function of the VHS. This is also the case for the political structure, the public policies, the investment strategy and the employment market. The most important limiting factor for the VHS is the availability of resources, including infrastructure and personnel.

• There is a conﬂict between the market and the VHS task. The market segregates while the VHS has an integrative task. The regulating factor between them is the public policy, as implemented for example through the Federal Agency for Employment.

• The social system also shapes the tasks of the VHS. When it is shaped at borough level, then the VHS has to be present at this level as well and so it can contribute to social development. The VHS also depends on the regional framework.

• The VHS must have the structure and sensors to recognise the conditions in the environment, to receive impulses and their differentiation at the micro-scale. The VHS must recognise the cooperation potentials and support the engagement of the participants. Further issues to be considered by the experts regard the infrastructure of the VHS and how it inﬂuences the function and purpose of the institute, its dependence on structural hierarchies and the relation of the VHS to other systems. The experts were asked about their opinion on central or decentral VHS infrastructure, about how the infrastructure is shaped in relation to the participants, to other systems in the environment and to the available resources. The

170 3. Empirical Research experts underline that the environmental properties shape this choice, including the prevailing political concepts. The question set by the experts is how far do these parameters influence the VHS infrastructure. This question can be handled with the help of orientation theory, since it examines the environmental properties and their interaction with the system under study. Furthermore, all the above issues handled by the experts, at different degree in each case, are included in the analysis conducted with the help of orientation theory (Chapter 2). The experts recognise the importance of the VHS for district development, according to the local conditions, as for example the lack of other institutes or local actors, the need for networking, the provision level of infrastructure, as well as the urban development concept adopted in each case. As one of the experts underlined, it has to be decided which urban development is desired and then which infrastructure must be implemented in order to achieve it. This is also the case for the educational policy, including the level of provision. However, the experts still ignored the spatial interactions of the infrastructure and its influence to the implementation of the urban development and educational policy. According to the experts, orientation theory is useful in order to recognise the interaction but not the integrative concept which connects the systems. There- fore, it can be used as a monitoring tool but not as an integrative theory in order to define the essence of the systems, as for example the role of the VHS in modern society. Through the implementation of orientation theory to the Berlin VHS (Chap- ter 2) it is possible to recognise the important aspects of the analysis, as recognised also by the experts. However, experts from different fields had to be addressed, in order to recognise these aspects and even then the issues related to the infrastructure were only partially approached. The contribution of each expert is related to the scientific field which the expert represents. Orientation theory offers a common framework to all scientific fields, in order to approach sustainability issues and develop indicator sets.

171 Chapter 4

Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

4.1 Aim and Method of the Field Research

In this chapter the methodological and theoretical issues discussed previously will be examined in two examples from the VHS field. It is important to ensure that the results of the current research will be valuable and useful for the VHS. The indicator set developed on Chapter 2 is a tool for monitoring sustainability and can be integrated on the existing evaluation process. The observation of the local interactions and of the function of the institute under different conditions can reveal unexplored connections. Orientation theory contributes to the description of such connections and the evaluation of their importance for the support of sustainability. Therefore, new potentials for the VHS and the relation with the environment can be recognised. The field examples are necessary for an integral investigation of the research goals. The application of orientation theory and the questions handled by the experts are examined in these examples. Furthermore, the exploration of local interactions can lead to a review of the existing evaluation process and development concepts. The field examples are very useful for realising how the structure and organisation of the VHS is shaped according to local conditions. The degree of autonomy and the availability of resources affect the networking in the district. The composition of the population, the relationship with local actors and the local distribution of the VHS define its character. The most important part of the field research is the round of discussions realised with the employees and the director of the two VHS under study. These discussions are composed of two rounds of open interviews. The first round serves the better understanding of the function and internal structure of the

172 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

VHS under the specific socio-economic, demographic, educational and political conditions of each borough. The issues discussed with the experts are examined under these specific conditions. Other information sources, such as statistical data, reports and personal observations, are used in order to describe the stand of the VHS and the relationship with the environment. Interviews are realised with partners from the community administration. The second round of interviews aims to the improvement and evaluation of the indicators. Valuable partners in this process are the director and the employees of each VHS. The indicators are adapted to the available VHS data and their relative importance for the institute. The value of the indicators depends on their contribution to the VHS. A sterilised, theoretical construction is not useful in practise. The indicators attempt to represent the real conditions in the VHS and the availability of information. The weight of each indicator is estimated with different criteria. When norms, limits or VHS standards already exist, they are used as a point of reference. In other cases it is possible to use the deviation from the Berlin VHS average value. In some cases the satisfaction level or range is described by the VHS partners. In general, it is preferable to use a range of values and not one specific value, since the conditions in each case vary significantly. Some of the indicators can be only evaluated qualitatively. In such cases a level of satisfaction of the monitoring value is estimated. The assessment of each indicator is based on its current state and when possible on its development trend. According to the available information the state and trend of each indicator is characterised as satisfactory (indicated as 1), unsatisfactory (indicated as 3) or marginal (indicated as 2). A positive evaluation means that the indicator is currently at a satisfactory level (the state of the indicator is at level 1) and tends to remain at this level and/or to improve (the trend of the indicator is at level 1). If the indicator is just achieving or failing this level of satisfaction, it is regarded to be at a marginal satisfaction level (state level 2). When an indicator that could be improved remains at the same state, then its trend is characterised as marginal (trend level 2). A trend is unsatisfactory (trend level 3) when the state of the indicator worsens through the years. Fi- nally, an indicator is at an unsatisfactory level (state level 3) when it fails to even approach the reference values.

4.1.1 The Volkshochschule under Study

The selection of the ﬁeld examples is made after searching the proﬁle of the Berlin VHS and the prevailing local conditions. Two cases with different back-

173 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule ground conditions are selected, so as to examine the interaction of the local conditions with the institutes under study. Two institutes are selected, the Volk- shochschule Pankow and the Victor-Gollancz-Volkshochschule Steglitz- Zehlendorf.

Figure 4.1: The boroughs of Berlin.

Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=Datei:Berlin.svg&ﬁletimestamp=20060428080557 (07/07/2009).

Author: Felix Hahn (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:Nodder). This image is published under the license

Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 (http://creative commons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.de).

The Volkshochschule Pankow is located in the north-eastern side of the city. Before the unification in 1989 this area was part of the German Democratic Re- public. The present borough consists of three urban districts with special local characteristics. The borough is undergoing an important financial crisis. Char- acteristic of the borough is a high birth rate and an active art community. The VHS has a high financial and organisational dependency on the municipality administration. It is part of the integrated cultural and educational concept developed by the borough. The importance of the infrastructure is stressed in the profile of the institute. The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf is located in the south-western part of Berlin, a part of the former Federal Republic of Germany. The present borough was formed by the unification of two former smaller boroughs. The development in-

174 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule dexes in most districts of the borough are at the middle-upper level. The demographic conditions are characterised by an ageing population. The borough has adopted the concept of sustainable development. The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf might be the only VHS in Berlin that has set specific sustainability goals. The profile of each VHS is described including the guidelines set by each institute. This information is available on the internet page and the annual programme issue of each VHS, as well as in internal and external reports. The profile is actually a description of the self-image of the institute and of its tasks. The interviews complete this internal view and focus on issues regarding the infrastructure. A common trait in the profile of the two VHS is that they define themselves as communal adult education institutes. They both recognise adult education as an integral part of lifelong learning. They attempt to increase the interest on learning and satisfy the expectations and standards of the participants. They attempt to bring together individual needs with social demands and promote integration. The values of both institutes include religious and political independence, openness, tolerance and respect. They aim to be reliable and competent. The continuity of the institutes is reflected on their established programme where they integrate new offers and methods. They organise diverse, motivat- ing, accessible and high quality offers. The qualification and competence of the course instructors is basic for the fulfilment of these goals. The institutes recognise themselves as learning organisations and are open to suggestions and critic. Their relationship with the participants and the course instructors is based on constructive critic and exchange of ideas. The realisation of the interviews follows a different path in each case. This path is influenced by the internal structure of each institute and the organisation of the borough. At the end of each round information and material for the next round are provided. In VHS Pankow four individual interviews are conducted with the VHS director and three VHS programme sector directors. Furthermore, a valuable on- site discussion with the VHS director is realised through the VHS facilities and some of the facilities of the office for culture and education. The second round is also carried out in individual interviews, one with the VHS director and two with one of the sector directors. A conclusive discussion is conducted with the VHS director. Finally, an interview is realised with the director of the office for culture and education. In VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf one of the programme sector directors is assigned as a partner during the whole process. During the first round three common interviews are realised with five of the VHS employees. Except of the as-

175 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule signed partner, the other interview partners are not present in all the interviews. The second round of discussions is realised with the VHS director and the assigned partner in two appointments. The VHS director is also the director of the borough office for education. Therefore, the first interview includes questions about the way the community handles issues regarding the VHS and the tasks assigned to it. The second interview is about the evaluation of the indicators and the conclusions that can be extracted from them. In this point it is underlined once more that the contribution of the VHS director and employees in both cases is invaluable. Precious information and insight views are gained thanks to the time and effort they offered for conducting the present research. In Figures 4.2 to 4.9 a graphical representation of the main features of each VHS is available. They refer to the period from 2004 to 2007 and include the Berlin VHS average. Most of these data are used for the evaluation of the indicators and are discussed further in this chapter. The distribution of the offers within each VHS is similar (Figures 4.4). The programme sector of politics, society and environment covers 2 to 4% of the offers. This is the lowest provision after elementary education and school certificates (1 to 3% of the offers). In the sector of culture and design 14 to 16% of the offers is concentrated, similar to the programme sector of employment and professional skills (14 to 18%). Finally, half of the offers (50 to 55%) in each VHS are available in the language sector. The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf has a high degree of covering the needs at borough level. However, the VHS Pankow provides more offers for each participant, although in bigger groups (Figure 4.3). In Steglitz-Zehlendorf the public investments and subsidies per citizen are higher (but below the average) and so are the VHS tuition fees (Figure 4.7).

176 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Variety of VHS Offers 2500

2000

1500

1000

500

(* including(* Exhibitions ) 0 Number of Numbercourses andevents 2004* 2005* 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average

Plurality of VHS Offers 70.000 60.000 50.000 40.000 30.000

Teaching hoursTeaching 20.000 10.000 0 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Berlin Average

Response to VHS Offers 30.000

25.000

20.000

15.000

Registrations 10.000

5.000

0 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Berlin Average

Figure 4.2: VHS offers: provision and response. Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

177 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Density of Adult Education (VHS) Participation in Adult Education 250 9% 8% 200 7% 6% 150 5% 4% 100 3% 50 2% 1% Registrations/Population (%) Registrations/Population

Teaching hours per hours citizens 1000 Teaching 0 0% 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

Pankow Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Pankow Steglitz-Zehlendorf Berlin

Teaching hours per course Participants per Course 40,0 14,5 35,0 14,0 30,0 13,5 25,0 13,0 20,0 12,5 15,0 12,0 10,0 11,5 5,0 11,0

0,0 courses of Registrations/Number 10,5 Teaching hours/Number hours/Number courses of Teaching 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin

Teaching hours per Participant 3

2,5

1,5

0,5 Teaching hours/Registrations Teaching 0 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin

Figure 4.3: Adult education provision - Key ﬁgures. Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

178 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Politics / Society / Environment Culture/Design 120 350

100 300 250 80 200 60 150 40

Number of courses of Number 100 Number of courses courses of Number 20 50 0 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Berlin Average

Health Languages 450 800 400 700 350 600 300 500 250 400 200 150 300 Number of courses courses of Number

Number of courses courses of Number 100 200 50 100 0 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Berlin Average VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average

Employment/Profession Elementary Education / School Certificates

400 50 350 45 40 300 35 250 30 200 25 150 20 15 Number of courses courses of Number 100 courses of Number 10 50 5 0 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Berlin Average VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average

Figure 4.4: VHS offers per programme sector. Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

179 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

VHS Director Permanent Pedagogical Personnel 1,2 9 8 1,0 7 0,8 6 5 0,6 4 0,4 3 2 0,2 1 0,0 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average

Permanent Administrative Personnel Freelance Course Instructors 12 500 450 10 400 8 350 300 6 250 200 4 150 2 100 50 0 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Berlin Average VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Berlin Average

Figure 4.5: VHS resources: distribution of the personnel (number of employees). Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

180 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Tuition Fees State/City of Berlin 1.400.000 1.800.000

1.200.000 1.600.000 1.400.000 1.000.000 1.200.000 800.000 1.000.000 600.000 800.000 600.000 400.000 400.000 200.000 200.000 0 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average

SGB III Subsidies Language Subsidies 50.000 (for migrants and resettlers) 250.000 45.000 40.000 200.000 35.000 30.000 150.000 25.000 20.000 100.000 15.000 10.000 50.000 5.000 0 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average

EU Resources Other Resources 60.000 120.000

50.000 100.000

40.000 80.000

30.000 60.000

20.000 40.000

10.000 20.000

0 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average

Figure 4.6: VHS resources: distribution of income sources ( €). Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

181 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Permanent Personnel Course Instructors

1.000.000 1.600.000 900.000 1.400.000 800.000 1.200.000 700.000 600.000 1.000.000 500.000 800.000 400.000 600.000 300.000 400.000 200.000 100.000 200.000 0 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average

Further Education Infrastructure (of the VHS-Personnel) 1.000 600.000 900 800 500.000 700 400.000 600 500 300.000 400 300 200.000 200 100.000 100 0 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average

Material Expenses

350.000 300.000 250.000 200.000 150.000 100.000 50.000 0 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin Average

Figure 4.7: Distribution of VHS expenses ( €). Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

182 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Public Investments per Citizen Public Investments per Teaching hour

6 50 45 5 40 4 35 30 3 25 20 2 15 1 10 5 0 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

Pankow Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin

VHS-Expenses per Citizen Tuition Fees per Citizen 12 5 4 10 4 8 3 3 6 2 4 2 1 2 1 0 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin

Fees per Teaching hour and Participant Subsidies per Citizen

2,5 1,2

2,0 1,0 0,8 1,5 0,6 1,0 0,4

0,5 0,2

0,0 0,0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Berlin Pankow Steglitz-Zehlendorf Berlin

Figure 4.8: Investments and expenses through the VHS - Key ﬁgures ( €). Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

183 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Degree of covering the course instructors expenses through VHS resources (excluding public investments)

140%

120%

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0% 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Berlin

Degree of covering the total expenses through VHS resources (excluding public investments)

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% 2004 2005 2006 2007

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz -Zehlendorf Berlin

Figure 4.9: Degree of covering the VHS expenses - Key ﬁgures ( €). Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

184 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

4.2 Pankow

The borough of Pankow is located in north-eastern Berlin. The present borough consists of the three older boroughs of Pankow (northwest), Prenzlauer Berg (central) and Weißensee (east). These three boroughs were brought together after the merging of the Berlin boroughs in 2001 (from 23 to 12 boroughs)1. Al- most all three were part of the GDR. The borough is bordered by the boroughs of Lichtenberg to the east, Mitte and Friedrichshain to the south and Reinick- endorf to the west. The northern borders of Pankow are also the city limits. The country-side extends outside these borders with sparse villages belonging to the state of Brandenburg. Pankow is a borough of 366.899 citizens and 10.307 ha2. It is, therefore, the ﬁrst borough of Berlin in population size and the second one in surface area. The distribution and ﬂuctuations of the population in Pankow are presented in Tables 4.1 to 4.3.

Table 4.1: Population distribution and mobility in Pankow (2007). Population group No of people Total Population 363.601 Women 183.578 Men 180.023 Foreigners 27.780 Pupils 28.976 of which: Foreigners 1.286 (4,4%) Immigrants 30.430 of which: Over the borders of Berlin 15.584 Emigrants 26.390 of which: Over the borders of Berlin 12.737 Members of sport clubs 31.943 (8,8%) Source: Amt fur¨ Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (Hrsg.) 2008: (a) Statistisches Jahrbuch 2008. (b) Die kleine Berlin-Statistik.

The size of the population is constantly raising (Table 4.3) with a total gain of 16,5% between 1995 and 2007 (Table 4.2). The population is equally distributed between the two genders (Table 4.1). The age distribution of the population is relatively steady during the last years (Table 4.3). The deviation from the Berlin

1Gebietsreformgesetz vom 10. Juni 1998 (GVBl. p. 131). 2Amt fur¨ Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (Hrsg.) (2009)

185 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule average is 4% concentrated to the age group of 15 to 65 years old. The most important change is noted in the age group of above 67 years old, with a total increase of 36,1% between 1995 and 2007 (Table 4.2). The percentage of foreigners is slightly increasing but remains half of the Berlin average (6,9% and 13,7% correspondingly in 2005).

Table 4.2: Demographic change of the population in Pankow (1995, 2007). Population 1995 2007 Change Younger than 19 years old 55.600 52.900 -4,9% Between 19 and 67 years old 220.500 261.800 +18,7% Older than 67 years old 36.000 49.000 +36,1% Total 312.100 363.700 +16,5% Source: Autorengruppe Regionale Bildungsberichterstattung Berlin-Brandenburg (Hrsg.) 2008, p.228.

The mobility of the population remains very high, with a slight decrease in emigration. In 2005 the people who moved in the borough reached the 29.621 and the people who moved out the 26.932 (Statistisches Landesamt Berlin (Hrsg.) 2006). That is more that the double of the Berlin average. In both cases more people are immigrating than emigrating. In borough Pankow 13,4% of the citizens received social support in 2007 (4,3% more than the Berlin rate) in 2005. One fourth of the population under 16 years of age received social help (11% below the city average). One third of the population had an income below 900 Euro per month, one third earned up to 1.500 Euro and 27% earned more than 1.500 Euro per month. The average monthly house-hold income reached 1.450 Euro (Statistisches Landesamt Berlin (Hrsg.) 2006).

Table 4.3: Age distribution of the population in Pankow (2003-2005). Population 20031 20042 20053 Younger than 15 years old 38.934 38.700 38.929 Between 15 and 65 years old 259.111 260.300 261.532 Older than 65 years old 49.698 51.500 53.439 Total 347.743 350.500 353.900 Source: 1Statistisches Landesamt Berlin (Hrsg.) 2004. 2Statistisches Landesamt Berlin (Hrsg.) 2005. 3Statistisches Landesamt Berlin (Hrsg.) 2006.

The density of the population (34 people/ha in 2005) is close to the Berlin av-

186 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule erage (38 people/ha). The residential, free land and transportation areas cover half of the borough’s surface (5.134 ha). Finally, 47 enterprises (with more than 20 employees) were located in the borough in 2005. They were occupying 2.879 employees, with a decreasing trend during the last three years. The Berlin average for the same year was 69 enterprises with 8.248 employees (Statistisches Landesamt Berlin (Hrsg.) 2006). The unemployment level reached 10,4% in Jan- uary 2009 (Bezirksamt Pankow 2009). In the district of the old Pankow borough more citizens belong to the older age group (above 64 years) than to the younger group of under 18. In Weißensee this difference is smaller and more unevenly distributed. In Prenzlauer Berg the situation is reversed. The age distribution of the residents is also uneven, especially in the districts near the city centre. In Prenzlauer Berg there is the highest concentration of citizens with migration background. In Pankow this percentage is lower and in Weißensee very low, but not so homogeneously allocated. The unemployment is equally distributed in the three old boroughs and slightly under the Berlin average (Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Stadtentwicklung 2008). The senate for urban development is monitoring the social development in Berlin according to selected indicators. The monitoring is based on small urban cells. The status and dynamic index, as well as their combination in the development index are produced for each cell. In Pankow and Prenzlauer Berg the development index is at a middle level with a homogeneous distribution. In Prenzlauer Berg there is only one cell in the centre with a low development index. In Pankow there is one cell with a high/very high index level (in the west) and one with low (in the north-east). In Weißensee the development index lies for most areas at a middle level and for the north part at a high/very high level. Attention must be given to the districts with the lower development indexes. At the same time the middle development potentials that prevail in the borough can be further exploited. The borough has published a guide with public and private local actors from different ﬁelds of action (Bezirksamt Pankow 2008, Information from town hall p.p. 78-112). Forty-seven associations, clubs, initiatives and networks from different ﬁelds are included in the guide. Local actors from the following categories are named: • Twelve centres for women.

• More than one hundred children’s institutions, kindergartens and day care centres.

• Sixty-seven youth recreation facilities and eleven counselling and welfare services.

187 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

• Fourteen recreation facilities for senior citizens, thirteen meeting points and counselling services and twelve other institutions.

• Two parents and family advice centres.

• One job advisory and exchange centre (Job Centre Pankow).

• Fifteen social centres.

• Eighteen churches and religious communities.

• Eleven facilities for disabled people.

• Twenty nine sport facilities and several sport clubs.

• Seven hospitals and clinical centres with various institutions, six health counselling centres, six health insurance companies.

• Six cultural institutions, three museums and eight libraries.

• Two galleries.

• Five housing associations.

Local actors are also present in other areas of interest (Wegweiser aktuell, Berlin Pankow, Prenzlauer Berg and Weißensee). For example in the field of environment and nature protection five associations are registered in the borough. Organisations for economic development are also active, such as the association ”Economy and Employment Pankow”. Within the programme Social City - Neighbourhood Management two neighbourhood offices were created (currently not financed by the programme). The regional networks and organisations active in the borough include:

• The technology network Berlin.

• The enterprise circle Berlin-North.

• The private development ofﬁce S.T.E.R.N.

In the ﬁeld of adult and vocational education around sixty institutes are registered in the borough. Thirteen are located in Pankow, thirty-six in Prenzlauer Berg (the second at city level) and eleven in Weißensee. The borough and especially Prenzlauer Berg, has a very active art community, as indicated by the numerous offers in this ﬁeld. The relative facilities and activities include:

188 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

• Cultural and art centres: four in Pankow, ﬁve in Prenzlauer Berg and one in Weißensee. In total they consist 18,9% of all Berlin cultural and art centres.

• Art and culture associations: ﬁve in Pankow, three in Prenzlauer Berg and one in Weißensee (16,7% at city level).

• Institutes specialised in art courses: three in Pankow and ﬁve in Pren- zlauer Berg. The 50% of all such institutes in Berlin is registered in this borough.

• Seven art agencies in Prenzlauer Berg (25% of all Berlin art agencies).

• Art and painting atelier: sixteen in Pankow, nineteen in Prenzlauer Berg and six in Weißensee (31,6% at city level).

• Art and Handcrafts: two in Pankow, ﬁve in Prenzlauer Berg and four in Weißensee (16,9% at city level).

4.2.1 Urban Structure

Pankow has a strongly differentiated spatial structure, from the high density central districts to the sparse residential areas at the city borders (Bezirksamt Pankow 2005). The three boroughs that were brought together in 2001, Pankow, Prenzlauer Berg and Weißensee present many particularities. This includes the land use, the existing building stock, the history and the local atmosphere. Prenzlauer Berg is a very densely populated central district. The industrial development of the previous century has still left its traces there. It maintains a famous cultural scene, with many artistic activities and alternative lifestyles. It is highly attractive for various commercial and cultural activities. Pankow and Weißensee on the other hand are not densely populated, although two big residential areas are located there. In these districts a modern residential and a rural atmosphere coexist. The extensive green areas and parks contribute to this atmosphere. The urban structure varies from modern prefab- ricated houses to family houses with gardens and even to villas. The borough is divided in 12 urban districts (Statistisches Landesamt Berlin 2001) and 16 districts oriented to different living conditions (LOR, Senatsver- waltung fur¨ Stadtentwicklung 2006). The last division serves the recognition of comparable spatial units with homogeneous living environments. The criteria for this division are the uniﬁed built structures with recognisable milieus, big streets with high trafﬁc, natural obstacles, occasionally limited population size

189 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Figure 4.10: Local districts in Pankow borough.

Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=Datei:Berlin Pankow.png&ﬁletimestamp=20070402123157

(07/07/2009). Author: BishkekRocks. This image is used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

published by the Free-Software-Foundation (http://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:GNU Free Documentation License) and is licensed under the Creative Commons

Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).

190 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule or existing statistical blocks. The twelve urban districts, which serve administrative purposes too, are:

• Prenzlauer Berg

• Weißensee

• Blankenburg

• Heinersdorf

• Karow

• Malchow

• Pankow

• Blankenfelde

• Buch

• Franzosisch¨ Buchholz

• Niederschonhausen¨

• Rosenthal

Extended green areas are located in the north of Pankow and Weißensee. They are connected to the two big housing areas in North Karow (4.000 residential units for 10.000 residents) and in Franzosisch¨ Buchholz (3.000 residential units for 8.000 residents). The northern part consisting of Karow, Blankenfelde and Buch is only sparsely occupied. In Prenzlauer Berg five rehabilitation areas (”Sanierungsgebiete”)3 are located (Kollwitzplatz, Helmholtzplatz, Teutoburger Platz, Winsstraße and Botzow¨ Straße). One rehabilitation area is located in Pankow (Wollankstraße) and one in Weißensee (Komponistenviertel). There is a plan to renew four more prefab- ricated quarters with the support of substantial subvention. One of them is located in Prenzlauer Berg (Greifswalder Straße) and three in Weißensee (Falken- berger Straße, Pankower Neumannstraße, Buch). In the borough fifteen preservation areas are located. Nine are in Prenzlauer Berg, two in Pankow and four in Weißensee. The first regulations for such areas

3Districts with high renewal needs, where high public investments were allocated after the uniﬁcation. The rents after the renewal were supposed to be regulated so as not to burden the residents.

191 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

(for the protection of special milieus) were introduced in Prenzlauer Berg in 1997. They insured the stabilisation of higher rent levels after renovation for the protection of the population’s structure. In total there are 32.000 housing units under milieu protection in the borough. Four more quarters are under preservation, three in Weißensee and one in Pankow. However, the structure of the population is not the main issue in these areas. The preservation concerns primarily the urban structure. According to the urban structure, different centre structures have occurred where trade and services are concentrated. They are extended from traditionally developed old centres to newly shaped areas. The urban planning is directed from the three big centres, one in each of the old boroughs, towards the regions. In the urban development plan (StEP II) of the senate for urban development only three centres are recognised in the borough (Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Stad- tentwicklung 2005). Since this was considered inadequate, a plan is developed depicting the local structure (Bezirksamt Pankow 2005). The concept of this plan is to evaluate the urban structure according to the location of economic activities. The goal is to influence this location and through that the development of the centres. The size of each centre is defined by the area to which the influence of the activities taking place there is extended. These activities include trade and commercial activities, services, public institutes, cultural and free time activities. They are categorised according to their plurality, variety, mix, the quality of products and services, the variety of their target groups, their type (e.g. shopping centres, factory-outlet), the presence of temporary uses (e.g. borough fests, open markets) and public transportation infrastructures (including e.g. under- ground garages) around them. According to these criteria the following centres were recognised in the borough of Pankow in 2005: • Two main centres with influence on the whole borough and beyond, supporting a variety of uses, located in:

– Schonhauser¨ Alle, Prenzlauer Berg. – Breite Straße/Berliner Straße, Pankow.

• Two district centres with inﬂuence at district level (in a radius of 3 km):

– North Greifswalder Straße, Prenzlauer Berg. – Berliner Allee, Weißensee.

• Four local centres with inﬂuence at local level (in a radius of around 3 km, but with less variety of offers):

192 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

– Wiltbergstraße, Buch. – Achillesstraße, Karow. – Alt-Blankenburg, Blankenburg. – Hauptstraße/Triftstraße, Fr. Buchholz.

• Eight local provision centres (inﬂuence area in a radius of 600 m):

– Romain-Rolland-Straße, Heinersdorf. – Hauptstraße, Wilhelmsruh. – Hauptstraße, Rosenthal. – Herrmann-Hesse-Straße/Ossietzkyplatz, Niederschonhausen.¨ – Blankenburger Straße, Niederschonhausen.¨ – Neumannstraße, Pankow. – Gustav-Adolf-Straße, Weißensee. – Greifswalder Straße South, Prenzlauer Berg.

• Two specialised market centres with inﬂuence within and beyond the borough. They support less differentiated uses but respond to longer-term needs:

– Landsberger Allee/Eldenaer Straße, Prenzlauer Berg. – Berliner Allee Nord, Weißensee.

• One area with urban development potentials: the former train station Pankow.

However, this plan is concentrated in the support of trade and commercial activities. The inﬂuence of other factors such as adult education infrastructure is recognised but not handled under a common approach. The borough’s cultural and adult education facilities are mainly located in and around these centres. Their spatial distribution is:

• Main centre Breite Straße (Pankow):

1. Central teaching and administrative building VHS Pankow. 2. Youth art school. 3. Music school. 4. Public library.

• Main centre Schonhauser¨ Allee (Prenzlauer Berg):

193 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

1. Cultural and Educational Centre ”Sebastian Haffner”. 2. Eliashof. 3. House of art. 4. Music school. 5. Public library.

• District centre Greifswalder Straße North (Prenzlauer Berg):

1. Public library.

• District Centre Berliner Allee (Weißensee):

1. Educational centre ”Antonplatz”. 2. Youth club. 3. Free-time house. 4. Music school. 5. Public library.

• Local centre Wiltbergstraße (Buch):

1. Public library.

• Local centre Achillesstraße (Karow):

1. Public library.

• Local centre Hauptstraße/Triftstraße (Franzosische¨ Buchholz):

1. Borough house Buchholz (including a neighbourhood centre). 2. Public library.

• Local centre Old Blankenburg (Blankenburg):

1. Public library.

• District centre Greifswalder Straße North (Prenzlauer Berg):

1. Public library.

• Local provision centre Gustav-Adolf-Straße (Weißensee):

1. Brotfabrik. 2. Public library.

• Local provision centre Hauptstraße (Wilhelmsruh):

1. Public library.

194 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

4.2.2 Borough Pankow

In order to fulfil its administrative tasks the borough of Pankow is divided in six departments (Bezirksamt Pankow 2006). Each department consists of a number of offices (Figure 4.11) located in different places within the borough. The office for culture and education, which is responsible for adult education, belongs to the department for culture, economy and urban development (until 2005 this was the department for culture, economy and public order). It is the sixth service and responsibility centre of the borough (”Leistungs- und Verant- wortungszentrum”, LuV 6). Under this office, organised in sections, are concentrated the responsibilities for the following institutes:

• Volkshochschule.

• Music School.

• Museum/History of the Borough.

• Art and Culture.

• Public libraries.

The borough has published a plan for the development of culture and education in Pankow (Bezirksamt Pankow 2003). In this plan education and culture are recognised as principal competences of the borough. Each actor from these two ﬁelds, public or private, is handled in an integrative way. The ofﬁce for culture and education sets the following guidelines for the further development of this landscape and in particular for the communal institutes:

• Strength through diversity.

• Necessary decentralised organisation.

• Citizens-friendly services.

• Accessible offers.

• Tradition in cultural identity.

• Innovation of cultural identity.

• Professionalism and quality assurance.

• Culture and education as economical factors.

• Public offers as a guarantee of independence from other interests.

195 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule Economy Cooperatives Development Promotion of and Education and Office Office for Culture EU Commissioner EU and Authorisation and Office Office for Planning EconomyandUrban Department for Culture, Communal Employment and Housing and Citizens Services Citizens Services Services andHousing Department for Citizens Health, Office Office for Office Office for Office Office for Social Affairs Social Public Health Public Planning and Social Affairs, Social Social Welfare Social Schools andSport Coordination for Public HealthPublic and Schools andSport Department for Public BoroughPankow Office Office for Public Order Food ControlFood Veterinary and Office Office for Order Department for Civil EnginneringCivil Source: Translation from Bezirksamt Pankow (2006). Figure 4.11: Organisation of the borough Pankow. Services Youthand Real Real Estate Real Real Estate Department for Office Office for Youth Office Office for and Nature and Environment Department for Financial Services and Environment and Personnel Services Financial,Personnel

196 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

• Wide offers and ﬁlling of niche.

• Strength the educational offers outside the school system. The plan is based on the cooperation between the different local actors. Ac- cording to the relevant report the institutes of the office for culture and education participate in at least thirty-five cooperation partnerships for the realisation of learning events. An important sanction set in this plan is the reduction of the places where these institutes are located and of the consequent infrastructure costs. Furthermore, the office for culture and education has shaped a development concept for the educational centre in Antonplatz (Bezirksamt Pankow von Berlin, Bezirkliches Bildungszentrum in Weißensee). In order to support the realisation of these plans the office for culture and education ensures the vicinity of the various borough facilities with each other and with private actors. Furthermore, it provides centrally located facilities where a variety of cultural and educational offers are hosted. These facilities are: • The cultural and educational centre Sebastian Haffner (Prenzlauer Berg), where central facilities of the Prenzlauer Berg museum, the VHS and the public library are located.

• Eliashof; a youth cultural centre in Prenzlauer Berg. The music school, the public library and local youth clubs are brought together with other independent actors of youth work. The facilities also host VHS offers.

• The educational centre in Antonplatz is expanded (under construction until 2010). Besides the VHS and the public library, it will host the music school. The financial state of the borough is critical during the last eight years due to the high public dept. Since the 1st of January 2009 the administration of the borough is supervised by the senate for finance. The consequences of this situation influence the development plans. The higher concentration of the borough institutes to centrally located facilities is an example. Another consequence is the reduction of the working hours of the public servants from 40 to 37 hours per week. The VHS has already faced the drastic cut downs and the reduction of the personnel from 28 to 9 permanent employees since the merging of the old boroughs.

4.2.3 Volkshochschule Pankow

In the ofﬁcial proﬁle of the VHS Pankow, it is still described as the merging of three different Volkshochschule: Pankow, Prenzlauer Berg and Weißensee

197 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

(Bezirksamt Pankow von Berlin, Das Leitbild der Volkshochschule Pankow). The merging was realised in 2001 (after the corresponding borough reform). In the profile of the institute it is underlined that only the communal financing of the VHS can ensure the provision of adult education by the social state. Life- long learning should not be undertaken by the market, if segregation effects and social disadvantage are to be avoided. The VHS Pankow conceives itself as an active part of the learning society. Therefore, among its goals is the personal development of the individual and the social integration. It supports social engagement. It strives to be a place of participatory learning in high level for all interested citizens. Special target groups of the VHS are senior citizens, illiterate, unemployed, migrants, people with mental or physical handicaps, youth, women and men. The employees of the VHS have noticed an increased interest for offers addressing these groups, which is an inspiration to satisfy further special interests. Therefore, it is of great importance to constantly improve the infrastructure according to these interests. Through the development of individual and professional competences the VHS hopes to contribute to the improvement of employment chances and the life quality in the district. Furthermore, it strives to integrate in the local life different mentalities and other cultures. The support of specific target groups has an educational and political dimension. This dimension does not refer only to the provision of adult education, but also to a social integrating function. Therefore, investments on adult education can save the need for investing later in other social interventions. The integration of migrants is recognised by the VHS as a very important social task. The VHS Pankow realises that it has to address this subject in the future intensively, with differentiated offers. Material, personnel and financial resources are engaged for the support of successful learning. The provision of friendly and efficient services with modern communication means is also important for the VHS Pankow. A challenge that the VHS has to confront is to maintain and improve the quality of these services despite the drastic reduction of personnel. The VHS Pankow tries to offer a differentiated programme of high quality. The learning context must however be constantly updated. Therefore, efficient planning, organisation and implementation of offers is required. An important prerequisite is competent personnel that works with engagement and efficiency. The employees of the VHS strive to ensure that the offers take place in a learning environment appropriate for adults. For the improvement of the course conditions and the cost-effectiveness of the infrastructure more attention is given to facility management. Accessible facilities with modern specialised

198 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule course rooms and equipment of advanced technical standards are available and will be further acquired. Furthermore, the learning environment and atmosphere are arranged so as to be pleasant and supportive to learning. A central point for the work of the VHS and the evaluation process is the deﬁnition of successful learning. For VHS Pankow successful learning is ac- complished when the participants achieve a correspondence between their own goals, the personal satisfaction regarding the success of learning and the demands of society on personal competences and ﬂexibility. In order to achieve this goal, the VHS employees try under the prevailing conditions to constantly update the context of learning. The most important changes concerning the VHS during the last years can be summed into the following:

• 2004-2005: First implementation of the LQW model for the quality certiﬁ- cation of the institute (see also Paragraph 2.3.4.). Certiﬁed in 2005 and in 2009 (for four years).

• 2004: Renovation of the facilities in Prenzlauer Allee 227/228 (Prenzlauer Berg).

• 2002: Introduction of the computer assisted administrative system VHS- IT.

• 2001: Merging of the boroughs and of the VHS Pankow, Prenzlauer Berg and Weißensee.

As mentioned above, the reduction of the permanent personnel is one of the most important challenges which the VHS Pankow has to face. In 2001 the VHS had one director, nine employees in the administration, twelve pedagogical employees and three janitors. In 2005 the administrative personnel consisted of ﬁve members and the pedagogical of six (one of them was also representative director). Finally, since 2007 there is no director. The representative director undertook this responsibility and remained in the pedagogical personnel together with four other colleagues. The administrative personnel consists of only four members. An immediate consequence is the reduction of the opening hours for customer services and the lack of administrative personnel in one of the three central facilities of the VHS (Weißensee). The VHS will have to face another challenge during the next years. The average age of the permanent employees is relatively high (54 years old, while the youngest colleague is 44 years old) and some of them will soon retire. Until now there is no planning from the borough for replacing this personnel. The process

199 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule is very time intensive. Taking into account the difﬁcult ﬁnancial situation of the borough even a further reduction of the personnel could be expected.

4.2.4 Structure and Key Processes

The Volkshochschule is organised in programme sectors, according to which the offers are planned and the resources are distributed. The head of the VHS is the director. Today the director has a double role. On one hand he is responsible for the supervision of the internal processes and the fulﬁlment of the VHS tasks. On the other hand he represents the VHS and the protection of its interests. There are two responsibility levels for decision making and implementation in the VHS. The one is the pedagogical level with the permanent pedagogical personnel and the freelance course instructors where: (a) existing needs are recognised, (b) the programme is planned and implemented and (c) the results are analysed. The second level is the administrative level, where support is provided for the fulﬁlment of the tasks and processes in all programme sectors. Finally, the support personnel — such as the janitor or the cleaning company, security services (private companies) etc. — is provided by the borough. The responsibilities of the VHS director include:

• Handling problems, daily advising the leading team, support the engagement of the employees with special issues.

• The support of the programme planning process and provide a framework for its implementation (temporal, spatial and ﬁnancial framework for each programme sector according to data of the previous semester).

• The preparation of the annual programme issue.

• The regular control of covering the course instructor costs and the re- distribution of the resources between the programme sectors, when necessary.

• The regular control of the state and equipment of the course rooms and the relation of space requirements to capacity utilisation.

• The organisation of formal or informal meetings with other VHS employees.

• The contact with other Berlin VHS.

• The representation of VHS interests of the VHS in the borough and other committees and the raise of the awareness of the borough politicians.

200 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

The directors of each programme sector are responsible for:

• Planning the programme: set the contextual and methodological aspects of the offers and the implementation requirements.

• The preparation of the annual programme issue for their sector.

• The selection of the course instructors and the adaptation of new colleagues. The organisation of internships.

• The development of the quality of the offers.

• The control during the planning and implementation of the programme. The sector directors are called to ensure that the learning places and equipment are appropriate for the relative subjects, addressees and methods.

• The internal and external recognition and analysis of needs (including city-wide trends in adult education).

• The evaluation of the monitoring and control instruments.

• The provision of information and advice to the participants and the support of the service personnel during the registration period.

• The contact with other Berlin VHS at programme sector level (personal and formal meetings between colleagues).

• The contact with potential cooperation partners at borough, city or state level.

The administration undertakes the everyday support of the participants, including the provision of information and advice. The administrative personnel is also responsible for the registration process, the reservation of courses and the provision of certiﬁcates. In case of change in the implementation of the programme, they inform the participants and if necessary, the course instructors. Furthermore, they are in constant contact to the course instructors, they prepare their contracts and process the payments. They are responsible for keeping updated the information and announcements in the info-boards and the internet page of the VHS. Finally, they support the preparation of the annual programme issue.

201 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Paths of Communication

The communication between the VHS employees, the personnel and the participants, as well as between the VHS and the borough, is taking place in various formal or informal ways. In order to support the exchange necessary for the function of the VHS, certain internal and external communication paths are established. Many of these communication instruments are common for all VHS. The personnel meetings are organised by the director once per month or on demand. All of the permanent personnel can participate in these meetings. In specific occasions only the pedagogical personnel and the head of the administration or only the administrative personnel participate. The protocol is made known through email to the personnel and published in the VHS shared disk drive. At the end of the personnel meeting or when it is necessary director meetings take place. A general personnel meeting between the director and the permanent personnel takes place periodically (2001, 2004). The purpose of these meetings is to discuss the goals of the institute and to review the VHS profile. The protocol of the last general meeting is available for VHS internal use. The director has also personal contact with his colleagues. These personal discussions are often about the acquisition of most efficient competences for each position. Sector meetings for selected pedagogical, methodological or sector problems are organised every semester between the programme sector director and the course instructors. In these meetings the results of the evaluation, as well as the proposals and hints of the participants to the course instructors are discussed. Another subject of the meetings is the performance of the course instructors. Unfortunately these meeting often do not take place due to the related costs. The fees of the course instructors for participating in the meetings cannot be covered in every semester. Personal discussions between the sector directors and the course instructors take place frequently. The feedback from the participants is an important issue to discuss in these meetings. In some occasions the necessity to improve the quality of the courses is discussed. The most important discussions are those taking place at the end of the semester. An evaluation of the participation in the course (based on the course attendance list) and of the drop out rate is realised at that time. The course instructors evaluate the realisation and the outcome of the courses or events they are responsible for. Thereby they can influence the quality of the learning process. The VHS employees, as all the borough public servants are required to meet with the supervisors in the borough every two years (in practise this frequency

202 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule is not so strict). The purpose of these meetings is to discuss personal problems of the personnel related to their work or the way they are inﬂuenced by important changes in the borough. In August 2001, for example, such meetings took place in order to discuss problems that occurred by the merging of the three boroughs. After these meeting were completed the new distribution of the personnel duties was decided. The next meeting was in August 2004, which was delayed due to signiﬁcant long-term changes in the personnel. All Berlin VHS organise a common sector committee conference at least four times per year. During this day the sector directors and the head of the administration of each VHS meet. During the year personal communication between the employees of the different VHS is developed. Another form of exchange between the institutes occurs when different VHS share common course instructors. The borough council invites the VHS employees to a meeting every month. Meetings also take place at the level of the service and responsibility centre (LuV) every two weeks. These meetings ensure the close cooperation between the director of the LuV and the director of the VHS. Their main subjects are:

• The planning of the resources in cooperation with the responsible borough department. Due to the critical ﬁnancial situation of the borough, the VHS director tries to achieve a binding and long-term provision of the necessary resources. This is a basic prerequisite for the development and implementation of any VHS plans.

• The transparent and normative use of the financial resources. An income inspection takes place: (a) once per year by the financial department of the borough, (b) irregular from the state inspection office.

• The common representation of the VHS interests in the borough council for culture and education, at least once per year.

An important partner from the borough is the EU commissioner. The commissioner supports the networking at European level and helps the VHS to acquire new resources. Finally, the VHS director participates in different committees, in order to promote the work and interests of the VHS Pankow. The communication paths of the VHS determine the exchange degree of information and ideas, the transparency of the processes, the quality and context of the data upon which the processes are based. An important communication tool within and between the Berlin VHS is the computer assisted administration system VHS-IT. The basic idea of this system is that the information about the planning, implementation and output of all the VHS processes are saved

203 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule in a shared disk drive. The information is accessible by all VHS colleagues and includes: (a) all the regulations concerning the VHS, (b) the ﬁnancial and infrastructural framework, (c) the protocols of the meetings, (d) the results of the control instruments and of the evaluation process, (e) important statistical data, (f) data about the courses, the participants, the instructors and (g) prognoses about the VHS. Thereby, it is ensured that all the VHS processes are transparent. The information is kept up-to-date by the administrative personnel. Through this system selected information is exchanged between the Berlin VHS.

Internal processes

The development of the VHS profile in its present state was realised five years ago. For that purpose the VHS director studied the profiles of other VHS and had discussions with different colleagues. As a result, he proposed the first key aspects of the profile to a personnel meeting. The ideas and proposals of the VHS colleagues were integrated on the profile. An outline of the profile was presented on a second meeting. Proposals were made directly through the VHS intranet and were discussed in following meetings. The director of the office for culture and education also submitted his proposals. At the last general meeting (31 March 2004) the profile took its final form with the consent of all the colleagues. The planning of the programme is an annual process that requires at least two planning meetings of the personnel. In these meetings ideas, contextual and financial guidelines and problems are discussed. Through this process all the other processes of the VHS come together. These are:

• Controlling: assess and evaluate the provision, participation and performance indexes and quality indicators. Handling and control of the ﬁnan- cial resources. Internal direct control of the ﬁnancial coverage of the instructors’ fees. Estimate the future costs for employing the necessary course instructors.

• Analysis of needs: interpretation of the acquired information through monitoring processes and instruments.

• Evaluation of the educational process: progress and conclusions of the two quality conferences, conclusions of the self-report, restart the quality cycle (according to the LQW model).

• Selection of the course instructors: process of applications and interviews with potential instructors. Provide necessary information to the new course

204 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

instructors. Communicate all the relevant information about the course instructors, including fees, contracts and certiﬁcations.

• Selection of the infrastructure: ensure that the required course rooms will be available, at a good state and with the adequate equipment for each course.

The responsibilities for realising this process are divided at different levels. The VHS director distributes the available resources for the course instructors between the sectors. He also sets the time plan for the completion of the programme and the delivery for printing. The sector directors make the methodological and pedagogical choices. These choices are based on the analysis of the control instruments and the assessment of needs. In order to draw conclusions about trends and demands on adult education in Berlin, the sector directors:

• study the annual programme of other VHS.

• analyse the Berlin VHS statistics published annually by the senate for education.

• are aware of publications made by the federal institute for vocational education, the federal employment ofﬁce and the German VHS association (D.V.V. e.V.).

• read specialised publications and regional press.

• contact sector directors of other Berlin VHS.

Each sector director sends a course-sheet to the course instructors of the sector. The critique and proposals of the course instructors are thus communicated to the VHS. With the help of all these instruments the sector directors plan the context of the courses, select the course instructors, calculate the instructors and tuition fees and draw the time and facility plan. All the information concerning the VHS is available through the VHS intranet. Through the intranet the VHS colleagues can be in constant communication with each other. The sector directors submit the programme of each sector to the VHS director. The director develops a first version of the annual programme issue and publishes it in the VHS-IT. Then each sector director performs a control and correction of the text. The head of the administration verifies the data regarding the tuition fees and the plausibility of the schedule. After a final control and formatting the director delivers the file to printing.

205 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

As mentioned above, the sector directors are responsible for the selection of the course instructors. When a position is open, the applicants with the necessary qualifications are asked for suggestions about new courses. The sector director receives and evaluates the applications. Information about course instructors can also be asked from sector directors of other VHS. Then the interviews are conducted with selected applicants. During the interview the applicant is asked to fill in a course-sheet together with the interviewer. According to the financial resources of the sector, the sector director makes the final selection. All the relevant information regarding this process and the certification of the instructor’s qualification (including the application and the course-sheet) are available in the VHS-IT. According to the requirements of the quality testing process, the competencies of the permanent personnel has to be documented as well. The future course instructor receives the contract and the general conditions for working in the VHS. Finally, the sector director conducts a guiding discussion with the new instructor concerning her/his new position. For the improvement of the instructors’ performance a short internship is available in the VHS. This includes an intensive dialogue between the course instructor and the corresponding sector director regarding the teaching and learning process. It is concluded with an evaluation interview, where the assurance and improvement of the course quality is discussed. This internship takes place after an agreement between the sector director and the course instructor. It is realised more often in the sectors of Language and Informatics. This serves the better evaluation and confrontation of problems regarding the qualification of course instructors (in particular new instructors), their ability to transfer knowledge and to motivate the participants. The sector directors inform the course instructors for further educational offers and events. The senate for education provides such offers. The administration academy of the state of Berlin offers further education for public servants. The borough Pankow provides especially EDP (electronic data processing) training. The state of Berlin provides offers in targeted areas. As for example, the further education offers provided for course instructors of German for the better implementation of the immigration law. Central further education events were organised for the implementation of the VHS-IT in Berlin (for selected VHS employees). The VHS employees are asked to provide written information about the further education offers they have visited. For newly emerging demands relative further education offers are made available as fast as possible. For example, after the merging of the old boroughs the tasks of the customer services were more condense. This generated the need for the improvement of the English knowledge of two employees from the ad-

206 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule ministration. As a result, the mistakes in the registration of participants with non German native language were reduced significantly. The quality evaluation of the VHS is made according to the LQW model, as described in Paragraph 2.3.4. The quality commissioner is the director of the VHS. The first evaluation process according to this model was concluded in 2005. It lasted more than 15 months and included two workshops, as well as preparation and improvement tasks before and after each workshop. The preparation of the first workshop included:

• An evaluation of the present stand of the VHS.

• Observations about the development of the VHS.

• Team work organised in three quality cycles. Each cycle included three quality fields, as defined by LQW, which were handled by two VHS employees. The fields ”Profile” and ”Strategic Development Goals” were handled by all the VHS employees.

During the first conference (June 2004) an analysis of the previous meetings was realised. For example qualitative interviews were conducted in order to recognise the opinion and anticipations of the VHS employees regarding the LQW-process and the way they perceive quality. An analysis of the potentials and weaknesses of the institute was made. Goals and ways to ensure and improve the quality of the teaching and learning process, as described in the VHS profile, were visualised. The second part of the workshop was about the procedure that should be followed, in order to prepare a self-report. After the conference, the self-report was written and goals for the quality development were specified. In the first meeting of the second workshop (October 2004) the first version of the self-report was discussed. Three weeks later an analysis of the environment and of the organisation of the institute was made. Short and long term development goals, described as strategic development goals, were set (taken into account the plan for cultural and educational development in the borough). The procedure and the results of the workshops were documented in detailed protocols. It was also agreed that in the future an annual evaluation and development workshop would take place. The purpose of this workshop is to review the goals and control the degree of their fulfilment. In the last phase of the quality evaluation process, the self-report was reviewed by some of the colleagues. Their comments and proposals were integrated in the report by the editorial group. Finally, on the 16th of March 2005 the self-report was send for appraisal.

207 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Around four months later additional requirements were set by the two external, independent evaluators. For the control of the fulfilment of these requirements and the discussion of the self-report the first evaluator visited the VHS two months later. Finally, at the end of September 2005 the process was concluded with a workshop, where the evaluator, the permanent personnel, the city advisor and the director of the office participated. All the aspects of the LQW process, as well as goals and strategies for the re-evaluation were discussed.

External Communication

The external communication with the citizens is a basic process of the VHS. Various tools are engaged, in order to ensure the transparency of the institute and the advertisement of the VHS offers. The annual programme issue, which is also available on the internet, is the main communication tool with the addresses. It contains all the relevant information about the goals and methods of the institute. The context of the VHS offers, the course instructors and the conditions for the participation are also described there. Information about the customers services, the location of the offers and the accessibility means are provided. Several registration forms are also included in the programme. However, registration through internet has increased during the last years. The annual programme issue is available in selected places in the borough, such as bookstores and borough info points. A link to the internet home page of the VHS, where all these information is available, can be found in several sites. VHS offers are advertised through publications in the local newspapers and the city’s daily and weekly press. Flyers addressed to speciﬁc groups are also available in selected locations, where these groups can be reached. The VHS Pankow participates occasionally in important adult education events at local and city level. Through this participation it can advertise the work of the VHS, come in contact with other adult education actors, new trends and new ideas.

Monitoring and control tools

A wide range of monitoring and control tools support the VHS processes. The tools used are mainly based on the collection and analysis of internal data. The results of external monitoring tools, at local or city level, are also analysed for the purposes of the VHS. The tools used for internal monitoring in the VHS Pankow are:

• The Berlin VHS statistics by the senate for science, education and research (SBWF 2006-2008, SBJS 2005).

208 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

• The customers survey of the Berlin VHS (Autumn 2002, 2005, 2008). The questions included in the last survey were shaped after the requirements of the LQW model. The questions and the answers were processed centrally for all the Berlin VHS (Berliner Volkshochschulen, Kundenmonitor 2008).

• Programme sector speciﬁc questionnaires which serve the recognition of the participants’ needs (realised as an integrated part of the customers survey in 2005).

• Internal questionnaires (instructor’s feedback) about the quality and implementation of the offers (Autumn 2003). They were organised in all sectors and in 312 of approximately 850 courses. The participation in each course is daily documented and analysed by the sector directors (attendance list).

• The analysis of the attendance lists at the end of each semester, made by the administration. The lists include the registrations in each course, the number of participants in the last day of the course and in the day before. Based on these lists, the drop out rate is estimated for each sector. In September 2004 a telephone enquiry was conducted about the reasons of the drop out. Through the advice offered by the sector directors important feedback from the participants is gained. This feedback is mostly about the satisfaction with VHS courses already attained (context, instructor, infrastructure) and the wish regarding future courses.

• The complain management is divided in oral and written complains. In the ﬁrst case, the VHS employee to whom the complain was communicated informs the person in charge or undertakes the necessary action in order to resolve the problem. In the second case, a written answer is provided by the person in charge within ten days. Complains about the infrastructure are handled directly from the director (and transferred further, if necessary). The director tries to improve the situation directly and with the lower possible cost. Complains about the implementation of the course are resolved in a discussion with the course instructor.

The external monitoring tools include:

• The analysis of available information about changes in the environment (every two to three years):

209 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

– Monitoring social urban development by the senate for urban development (Senatsverwatung fur¨ Stadtentwicklung, Bericht Monitoring Soziale Stadtentwicklung 2008). – Customers survey of the ofﬁce for culture and education (Bezirksamt Pankow 2008, Studie zur Bekanntheit und Nutzung der Kultur- und Bildungseinrichtungen des Bezirks Pankow).

• The Pisa-Study.

• The programme of other VHS.

• Papers from the Federal Institute for Vocational Education.

• Publications of the federal employment ofﬁce.

• Publications of the German VHS Association (D.V.V. e.V.).

• Specialised and regional press. The VHS control instruments, produced with the help of the monitoring tools, are: • The product comparison report of costs and services published by the senate for ﬁnance (available in the intranet). A comparison is made between the Berlin VHS for the calculation of the median. This report is used for the distribution of public resources and other important decisions.

• Budget control list: declination from the median and from advantageous budgeting prerequisites.

• Speciﬁed indexes for the VHS products:

– Number of participants in each course. – Development of the realised teaching hours, the number of courses and participants. – Relation between realised teaching hours and population size - Adult education density. – Relation of VHS income to expenses - Degree of covering the course instructors fees and the VHS expenses.

• Quality indicators:

– Realisation rate based on the attendance lists. – Innovation rate which until today is only numerical and spontaneous evaluated.

210 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

4.2.5 Infrastructure

In the proﬁle of the VHS Pankow it is underlined that the accessibility to lifelong learning offers must be ensured for all citizens. In order to achieve this goal the VHS Pankow strives to maintain a differentiated programme all over the borough and close to the citizens. The infrastructure and the learning atmosphere are basic factors for achieving this goal. The sector directors control, during the programme planning but also during the semester, whether the course rooms and the equipment are appropriate for the methods, subjects and addressees of each course. The state and equipment of the facilities is also supervised by the director. The director monitors the relation of need and utilisation of infrastructure several times each month. The director together with the sector directors make sure that the available technical means are available and in good state. The janitor is usually responsible for the maintenance of the equipment during the vacation period. When repairs are needed, the course instructors inform the janitor or the sector director (if further action is needed for a replacement etc.). A report about the state and equipment of the course rooms is also available in the VHS-IT system. The locations where VHS offers take place are indicated in maps available in the annual programme and in the internet. Good orientation within each building is also important and facilitated by appropriate signs, room numbers and available building maps. The director submits proposals to the decision committees regarding the appropriate infrastructure for the realisation of the plan for cultural and educational development in the borough. These proposals include:

• Addressing more target groups and increase accessibility for handicapped people, through e.g. appropriate entrance and elevators.

• Avoiding sharing facilities with other users. This point does not refer to the facilities of the office for culture and education. It refers to the use of school infrastructure or other facilities of the borough, which are not designed for adults and do not have the appropriate equipment. Therefore, the director of the VHS and the director of the office for culture and education try to influence the borough politicians to adopt the idea of VHS owned facilities. Thereby the quality of the infrastructure can be ensured. This is also necessary, in order to fulfil the provision norm of one VHS owned course room per 5000 citizens (Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Stadtentwick- lung (Hrsg.) 2001, p.4).

The use of school classrooms in order to cover VHS needs is a common prac-

211 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule tice. In many cases, this is regarded as more cost and resource efficient, since the VHS offers many evening courses and the school facilities are not used during this time. Management problems occur daily in such double uses, as for example, when the classrooms are not cleaned after the school activities. How- ever, these facilities are inappropriate for adult education, as recognised both by the VHS employees and the experts from different fields (Chapter 3). School buildings are empty and dark in the afternoon. School classrooms do not have the necessary technical equipment and the school sits and desks constitute an unpleasant learning environment. Furthermore, the access to school buildings is often uncomfortable in the evening — the bus connection is not frequent, the streets in some districts are not well illuminated, the people need to walk through parks or isolated areas etc. For some target groups this can be a serious obstacle. Only in some cases can this double use be really efficient. This is when the VHS addresses specific target groups that are otherwise difficult to reach, such as parents with migration background. The VHS has three central facilities. Two of them, located in Pankow and in Prenzlauer Berg, are regional educational facilities. The third one is located in Weißensee. The main educational and administrative facility of the VHS is in Pankow. It is an old, renovated building, centrally located and very well accessible. Around one third of the offers of all programme sectors (except of the programme sector of German as a second language) are taking place there. Another one third of the VHS offers is taking place in Prenzlauer Berg. Two of the buildings in the cultural and educational centre Sebastian Haffner are at the disposal of the VHS. Offers from all programme sectors are available there and the participation is very high. The programme sector of German as a second language is located there (with the administration and service). This choice was made in order to be closer to particular addressees. The centre includes also the borough’s museum and library. This facility was renovated in 2004. According to future development plans, a central service centre will be created there. The teaching facility in Weißensee is shared by the VHS and the Wolfdietrich- Schnurre-Library, shaping the educational centre in Antonplatz. In this newly constructed building the VHS has eight course rooms at its disposal. Offers from all the programme sectors, except German as second language and Informat- ics, are realised there. Before renting this building the VHS owned three course rooms in a school building on the same street. These rooms were used by the VHS for the period between 1997 and 2004. The building used currently will soon be replaced by a newly constructed borough facility. The borough has undertaken the construction of a new building next to the existing one. The VHS offers will be transferred there. The music school will be also hosted in this

212 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule building. Besides these main facilities many offers of the VHS Pankow are hosted in other facilities of the office for culture and education or of cooperation partners. Two other public facilities in Pankow are mainly hosting the VHS offers. These are the Ossietzky-Gymnasium and the Youth art school Pankow (JUKS). In Figures 4.12 and 4.13 a list of all the locations where VHS offers take place is presented. The ownership of the facilities and the term of use for the VHS are stated. The accessibility of the locations is indicated through the number of public transportation means around the facility (the metro, U-bahn and S- bahn lines offer usually a more often and wide connection). The places that are within or around each centre, as described by the centre concept of the borough (Bezirksamt Pankow 2005), are indicated by different colours. Three of the facilities used by the VHS are located in the neighbourhood boroughs. The locations in each district are organised according to the ownership status. The LuV facilities — that is the sixth service and administration centre of the borough — are listed first for each district, followed by the borough, other public and the private facilities. The organisations followed by an ”e.V.” (”eingetragenes Verein”) are registered organisations of non-profit character. The VHS Pankow is present with its offers in eight of the twelve urban districts of the borough. Prenzlauer Berg is the district with most of the facilities (14) and most of private partners between them (nine including the non-profit organisations). Nine of the facilities are in the area of a main urban district and one of a local provision centre. Besides the VHS facility, two more facilities of the LuV and two of the borough hosting VHS offers are located in the district. Five of the partners are active in the art field. In Pankow seven of the facilities where VHS offers take place are located. They are all close to a main urban centre. The central administrative and teaching facility of the VHS is the only LuV facility. Four schools of the borough host VHS offers. Four of the facilities are from the art field, including one school. A public facility and a private clinic are partners from the health sector. In Weißensee two LuV facilities are located, including a rented building where the VHS and the public library are hosted. VHS offers take place in one school, two youth and free time clubs of the borough and one private club. Of- fers are also hosted in a private clinic. Prenzlauer Berg is the district with the highest variety of VHS learning places. Particularly in the field of arts, many facilities are available. The facilities used by the VHS in Prenzlauer Berg address different target groups. In Weißensee most of the facilities where VHS offers are hosted are youth and free time facilities. The courses offered in Pankow are concentrated in the field of health

213 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule 3 3 2 2 2 No of lines Accessibility 2 3 3 Bus Metro Tram Use Status guest 1 3 guest guest Ownership privateprivateprivate guest guest Cosmetic salon guest Drawing studio 3 1 1 3 1 2 2 private guest Yoga-Praxis 2 2 LuVLuV VHS 1 1 LuV BoroughBorough guestprivateprivateprivate guestprivate guest Gymnastics hallprivate guest Ceramic workshopprivate guest guest 1 1 guest Printing workshop 1 1 2 LuV 1 LuV Borough 1 2 Borough VHS 3 Borough 1 guestprivate 1 guest 3 private Gymnastics hall 2 guest 2 guest 2 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 3 3 3 District Neukölln Prenzlauer Berg 12349 10439 Address Invalidenstr. 100 10115 Mitte Schönhauser Allee 66 10437 Prenzlauer Berg Frankfurter Allee 10 10247 Friedrichshain Prenzlauer Allee 227/228 Senefelder Str. 6 10405 Prenzlauer Berg 10437 Prenzlauer Berg Danziger Str. 101 10405 Prenzlauer Berg Bizetstr. 41 Pistoriusstr. 133 13088 Weißensee 13086 Weißensee Pappelallee 22 Fritz-Riedel-Straße 2 Stubbenkammerstr. 13 10437D.-Bonhoeffer-Str. 3 10407 Prenzlauer Berg 10437 Prenzlauer Berg Schönhauser Allee 58 Prenzlauer Berg 10407 Prenzlauer Berg 10437 Prenzlauer Berg Trarbacher Str. 23 Pistoriusstr. 23 Schönstr. 80 13088 Weißensee 13086 Weißensee 13086 Weißensee Grellstr. 14 10409 Prenzlauer Berg Sangerhauserweg 1 Schönfließer Str. 7 Figure 4.12: Location of VHS Pankow offers (I). Location VHS Teaching facility, Cultural and Educational Centre S. Haffner VHS Teaching facility, Educational centre at Antonplatz Main centre Schönhauser Allee, Prenzlauer Berg. Local provision centre Greifswalder Straße Süd, Prenzlauer Berg.. Local provision centre Gustav-Adolf- Straße, Weißensee. District centre Berliner Allee, Weißensee. Freilandlabor Britz e.V., Environmental Centre in Britzer Garten Club Asiaticus e.V., Multicultural centre / OASE Pankow e.V. 1 Studio Wandel 4 5 16 17 East side Yoga 23 Drawing Atelier Workshop for people with special needs (LWB) Wotanstr. 18 10365 Lichtenberg 18 Communication centre for deaf people 19 Schönhauser Allee 36/39 10435 Prenzlauer Berg 6 Eliashof 7 Arthouse Prenzlauer Berg 21 Bühring-Gymnasium 910 Evening Gymnasium Prenzlauer Berg Wu-Li-School 11 Arthouse at the Water Tower12 Atelier Fritz-Riedel-Straße 13 Filmatelier 14 Graphics atelier Hartwig 15 Chess-café Pasteurstr. 7 - 11 20 Centre for art and culture "Brotfabrik"22 10407 Youth club 23 Rykestr. 2 Prenzlauer Berg Free time house e. V. 24 Children and Youth free time centre (FiPP e.V.)25 Park-Clinic-Weißensee 10405 Prenzlauer Berg Prenzlauer Promenade 3 13086 Mahlerstr. 4 - 6 Weißensee 13088 Weißensee 8 Meeting centre

214 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule 1 1 2 4 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 3 2 2 2 No of lines Accessibility 1 1 1 1 5 5 1 5 1 1 Bus Metro Tram Use Ceramic workshop Gymnastics hall Ceramic workshop Natural area 3 1 Status guest 3 1 guest guest guest VHS guest guest guest guest guest guest Ownership Boroughprivate guestpublic guestprivate guest guest 3 1 7 1 1 1 1 private Borough Borough LuV Borough Borough Borough Borough public private private private private District Blankenfelde Schönhausen Schönhausen Pankow Pankow Pankow Pankow Pankow Pankow Pankow Pankow Pankow Pankow Brandenburg Schönholz 13159 13156 13156 13187 13189 13187 13187 13187 13187 13187 13187 13187 13187 14715 Address Franz-Schmidt-Straße 8-10 13125 Buch Alt Buch 45 13125 Buch Hauptstr. 56 Stille Str. 10 Majakowskiring 58 Schulstr. 29 Thulestr. 39/41 Görschstraße 42/44 Galenusstr. 64 Neue Schönholzer Str. 10 Grunowstr. 8-11 Wollankstr. 131 Amalienpark 6 Mühlenstr. 62 Breite Str. 45 Mittelweg 2 Dorfstr. 26 16247 Brandenburg guest Figure 4.13: Location of VHS Pankow offers (II). Location Künstlerhof Blankenfelde, Arthouse Fee time centre for senior citizens Kulti, Cultural centre of the borough (Kulturbaracke e.V.) VHS teaching and administration facility Trelleborg School Ossietzky-Gymnasium Panke-School for children with special needs Youth art school Pankow (JUKS) House of public health Alte Bäckerei Atelier Amalienpark Atelier Maria Heimsuchung, Caritas Clinic Prietzen (in natural park Westhavelland) Seminars house Schorfheide (in the natural protected area Althüttendorf ) Park "Volkspark Schönholzer Heide" Local centre Wiltbergstraße, Buch. Local centre Französisch Buchholz. Main centre Breite Straße/Berliner Straße, Pankow. 26 Day-care centre for children 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 27 Atelier at "Künstlerhof " 28 Albatros e. V., Neighbourhood centre 29 Borough house Buchholz (Neighbourhood centre)30 Bildungscafé (Children and Youth centre) Berliner Str. 24 Alt Buch 51 Hauptstr. 60 13127 Franz. Buchholz 13125 Buch 13127 Franz. Buchholz

215 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule and sport — the VHS gymnastics hall is located there. In the other ﬁve districts eight facilities host VHS offers. None of them belongs to the LuV. Half of these facilities are public and half private. Five of them are close to local centres and two are close to the main urban centre of Pankow. In general, a relative concentration around three speciﬁc urban centres, one in Prenzlauer Berg, one in Pankow and one in Weißensee, is evident. But this concerns only half of the total facilities. The rest are distributed around the borough and in neighbourhood boroughs.

4.2.6 Evaluation of the Indicators

The evaluation of the indicators presented in Chapter 2 is realised here for the VHS Pankow. In this paragraph the present state of each indicator is evaluated and a development trend is recognised. The present state and the development trend of each indicator is characterised either satisfactory (1), marginal (2) or unsatisfactory (3).

Esusy1: Percentage of the VHS offers that take place in: (a) VHS facilities, (b) public schools, (c) other public institutes and (d) facilities of third partners. Evaluation: State (2), Trend (1).

In 2008, 69% of the VHS Pankow offers was realised in the three VHS facilities and in the two main school buildings named in the previous paragraph. In the first semester of 2003 the VHS facilities in Pankow and Prenzlauer Berg hosted almost half of the total teaching hours (49,4%). One third of the offers (33,3%) was hosted in four school buildings (including the three rooms owned by the VHS in Weißensee). In total 79 spaces in 2007 and 63 spaces in 2008 were used by the VHS in these facilities. The average number of courses and events pro semester for these spaces was 9 in 2007 and 12 in 2008. The rest of the offers were realised in sixty other locations (17,3% in 2007) including a school building. In 2008 besides the three VHS facilities, the facilities of five schools and forty other places were used. Since 2003 an increased use of the VHS own facilities is noted, which remains relative low. There is still high dependency in two school buildings (the only two used since 2003) but not so high dependency in the totally five school buildings used. A more detailed analysis was possible by the data provided by the VHS about the teaching hours realised in each location in 2007. The results are presented in Tables 4.4 to 4.10. In 2007 the three VHS facilities hosted 71,1% of the total VHS offers (Table

216 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.4: Teaching hours realised in VHS Pankow facilities (2007). VHS Facility Teaching hours Administration and Teaching Facility Pankow 10.243 Teaching Facility, Cultural and Educational Centre S. Haffner 9.920 Teaching Facility, Educational Centre at Antonplatz 4.976 Total teaching hours 25.140

Table 4.5: VHS Pankow offers hosted in public schools (2007). Location Use Teaching hours Ossietzky-Gymnasium 4.668 Youth art school Pankow (JUKS) 1.246 Trelleborg School Gymnastics hall 208 Buhring-Gymnasium¨ Gymnastics hall 104 Evening Gymnasium Prenzlauer Berg Gymnastics hall 220 Total teaching hours 6.446

4.9). In the five school buildings, 18,2% of the VHS offers was realised. However, Ossietzky-Gymnasium alone hosted 13,2% of the offers and JUKS 3,5%. The remaining 1,5% was hosted in school sport facilities. Another twelve facilities of the borough hosted 6,4% of the VHS offers. Finally, 3,9% of the offers was realised in twenty further places, two of them located in the neighbourhood boroughs of Mitte and Friedrichshain. The ability of the VHS to provide rooms for its offers has significantly increased between the first semester of 2003 and of 2008. A small drop of 2% is presented between the years 2007 and 2008. However, the dependency on the gymnasium facilities remains high through these years (see also Table 4.10). The dependency on school facilities was significantly reduced after 2004. The VHS acquired its own rooms in Weißensee and did not use any longer the school course rooms in Bizetstr. 64. The other locations, where VHS offers were hosted reduced from around sixty to forty. The variety of the locations remains high. Many of these partners are from the field of art and culture. The borough has a long tradition in this field and a wide range of activities and local actors.

Esusy2: VHS infrastructure provision - Degree of norm fulﬁlment. Evaluation: State (3), Trend (1).

The norm for the provision of teaching rooms owned by each VHS is 1 room per 5.000 citizens (Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Stadtentwicklung (Hrsg.) 2001, p. 4). This includes all rooms with at least 30 m2. The rooms used for second chance

217 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.6: VHS Pankow offers hosted in other borough institutes (2007). Location Teaching hours Eliashof 268 Art house Prenzlauer Berg 1.012 Centre for art and culture ”Brotfabrik” 96 Total teaching hours in LuV facilities 1.376 Youth club of the Borough 16 Free time centre for senior citizens Pankow 32 Free time centre for senior citizens Schonhausen¨ 184 Kulturbaracke, Cultural centre of the borough 90 Cultural house Peter Edel (sold) 344 House of public health 20 Day-care centre for children 60 Borough house Buchholz, Neighbourhood centre 156 Total teaching hours in borough facilities 2.278 courses (ZBW) are not included (p. 44). According to these criteria, the degree of the norm fulfilment for VHS Pankow has slightly increased between 1999 and 2000, but remains significantly below the Berlin average (63,6%). In 1999 there were three VHS, Pankow, Pren- zlauer Berg and Weißensee. The VHS Pankow owned 12 rooms, which was half of what the norm indicated. The VHS Prenzlauer Berg provided 12 rooms, reaching almost the half of the norm value. Finally, in Weißensee the VHS owned only 2 rooms (13,6% of the norm). After the borough fusion in 2000, Pankow had 329.586 citizens and 26 VHS rooms, fulfilling 39,4% of the norm (Senatsverwal- tung fur¨ Stadtentwicklung (Hrsg.) 2001, p. 45-46). The provision of VHS infrastructure is low for the whole borough and especially in Weißensee (Table 4.11). In 2003 an important improvement is noticed in Pankow and Weißensee (around 6% increase) raising the norm fulfilment to 43% (Bezirksamt Pankow 2003, p. 20). In 2005 five additional rooms were acquired in Weißensee. According to the new calculations of the VHS, the degree of norm fulfilment had a further increase, reaching 49%. The provision of VHS infrastructure is still below the average and far from fulfilling the norm. However, the situation has constantly improved. Weißensee remains the area with the lowest provision, limiting the VHS offers available in the district. It is expected that this situation will be significantly improved after the completion of the new building of the borough for the VHS and the music school.

218 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.7: VHS Pankow offers hosted in facilities of third partners (2007). Location Use Teaching hours Wu-Li private school 56 Alte Backerei¨ 32 Atelier Amalienpark Ceramic workshop 60 Atelier Fritz-Riedel-Straße 40 Graphics atelier Hartwig Printing workshop 64 Film-atelier 112 Kunstlerhof¨ Blankenfelde, Arthouse Ceramic workshop 176 Drawing Atelier Drawing studio 44 Art house ”Kunstlerhof”¨ Ceramic workshop 72 Bildungscafe,´ Children and youth centre 32 Albatros e. V., Gesindehaus Buch 200 Club Asiaticus e.V., Multicultural centre / OASIS 52 Free time house e.V. 64 Children and Youth free time centre (FiPP e.V.) 42 Workshop for people with special needs (LWB) 16 Communication centre for deaf people 90 Maria Heimsuchung, Caritas Clinic 19 Park-Clinic-Weißensee 2 East side Yoga Yoga Praxis 42 Studio Wandel Cosmetics salon 162 Total teaching hours 1.377

Esy1: Distribution of expenses under which infrastructure expenses. Evaluation: State (2), Trend (3).

It is important to notice in this point that, as described above, the income and expenses of the VHS are not handled by the institute. Only the fees for the course instructors are estimated and paid directly by the VHS. The expenses of the VHS Pankow present a general drop (-10,6%) and remain below the Berlin average for the period 2004-2007 (Figure 4.7). In 2007 the VHS expenses were 25% less that the average of the Berlin VHS. Only the expenses for the course instructors have slightly increased during this period (+6,9%), but remain quite below the average. The fees of the course instructors cover almost half of the VHS expenses (Figure 4.14). The material expenses present the highest drop (-41,2%) with an important fall in 2007. They are sig- niﬁcantly below the average and cover a very small percentage of the VHS ex-

219 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.8: VHS Pankow offers realised in natural areas (2007). Location Teaching hours Seminars house Schorfheide (natural protected area) 16 Prietzen (in natural park Westhavelland) 104 Park ”Schonholzer¨ Heide” 20 Total teaching hours 140

Table 4.9: Distribution of VHS Pankow teaching hours (2007). Location Teaching hours % of Total teaching hours VHS Facilities 25.140 71,1% School Facilities 6.446 18,2% Borough Facilities 2.278 6,4% Third Partners Facilities 1.377 3,9% Natural Areas 140 0,4% Total teaching hours 35.381 penses (2,6% in 2007). The expenses for the permanent personnel are around one third of the total VHS expenses (2007) and present an important and constant fall (-30,6%). There are no investments on further education during this period.

Distribution of expenses

2004 41,1% 36,8% 18,1% 3,9% Permanent Personnel

2005 37,1% 39,0% 20,3% 3,6% Course Instructors Fees

2006 30,8% 40,5% 25,1% 3,5% Infrastructure

2007 31,9% 44,0% 21,5% 2,6% Other Material Expenses

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 4.14: VHS Pankow: Distribution of expenses. Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

The infrastructure expenses on the other hand, are quite high. In 2006 these costs reached one fourth of the total VHS expenses. Although the previous years the infrastructure costs were increased, they barely reached the Berlin average

220 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.10: Distribution of VHS Pankow teaching hours (2004/05-2006/07). Location 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 VHS Facility Pankow 10.822 (30,3%) 10.762 10.909 (29,6%) VHS Facility Prenzlauer Berg 12.317 (34,4%) 11.883 9.195 (25%)∗ VHS Facility Weißensee - 3.318 5.264 (14,3%) Ossietzky-Gymnasium 4.788 (13,4%) 4.579 4.701 (12,8%) School in Bizetstr. 64 4.180 (11,7%) - - Youth Art School Pankow (JUKS) 1.273 (3,6%) 1.377 1.336 (3,6%) Other Locations (ca. 50) 2.388 (6,7%) - 5.416 (14,7%) Total teaching hours 35.767 - 36.821 ∗The availability of the facility during this period was reduced due to repairs.

Table 4.11: VHS Pankow: infrastructure provision (1999, 2003, 2008). Degree of Norm Fulﬁlment 1999 2000 2003 2008 Course rooms >30 m2 Course rooms >50 m2 Pankow 49,4% 56% Prenzlauer Berg 46,2% 45% Weißensee 13,6% 20% Total 40% 39,4% 43% 49%

(2007). The investments on infrastructure are necessary but not in expense to the other needs. Since the infrastructure costs barely reached the average level and all other expenses are below this value, the state of the indicator is at a medium level of satisfaction. The trend of the indicator is not satisfactory. There is a constant fall of most expenses, while there is a need for further investments both on personnel and infrastructure.

Esy2: Topography of the participants - Borough residents to total participants. Evaluation: State (1), Trend (1).

According to the customers survey of 2008, 68,9% of the participants are citizens of the Pankow borough. A satisfactory value set by the VHS director is 60- 70%. The VHS Pankow fulﬁls this value every year. The other participants come mostly from Mitte (9,3%), from the surrounding areas outside Berlin (7,7%) and from Lichtenberg (5,1%).

221 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

PNsusy1: Satisfaction of the participants with the infrastructure. Evaluation: State (2), Trend (1).

In the customers survey of 2008 the evaluation of the course rooms is made according to two criteria, the appropriate equipment and the cleanliness of the rooms. A scale from 1 to 6 is used and the average of the answers is estimated. The minimum satisfaction level of this indicator is therefore equivalent to note 3 of the customers survey. For the appropriateness of the equipment the evaluation is 2,1. For the cleanliness it was 2,1. In customers survey 2005 additional criteria are used for the evaluation of the satisfaction of the participants with the infrastructure. A four degree scale is used from very good to very bad. The scale is converted to a six degree scale and a note is calculated. The results from the customers survey 2005 are presented in Table 4.12.

Table 4.12: VHS Pankow: evaluation of the infrastructure (2005). Evaluation Criteria Evaluation (% of valid answers) Note Very good Good Bad Very Bad Accessibility 48,7% 46,7% 4% 0,6% 1,9 State of the building 29,7% 54,6% 13,1% 2,7% 2,3 Orientation in the building 27,5% 59,1% 13,2% 0,3% 2,4 Furniture 28,5% 56,4% 12,2% 2,8% 2,4 Cleanliness 33,3% 54,8% 10,6% 1,2% 2,3 Technical equipment 29,5% 53,3% 13,2% 4% 2,5 Source: Berliner Volkshochschulen: Kundenmonitor 2008 - Volkshochschule Pankow.

The total note concerning the satisfaction of the participants with the infrastructure is 2,3. The lowest evaluation is for the equipment of the facilities, followed by the orientation in the building and the furniture of the rooms. The note assigned in 2008 is slightly improved (2,1). In 2005 the satisfaction with the equipment is evaluated with 2,5 and the cleanliness of the rooms with 2,3.

Pnsy1: Satisfaction of the participants with the learning atmosphere. Evaluation: State (1).

In customers survey 2008 the participants are asked to evaluate the implementation of the course. A number of parameters of the context and implementation of the course, the course instructor and personal motives are included in the evaluation. One of this parameters is the pleasant learning atmosphere,

222 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule which is evaluated with a high note (1,3).

Pnsy2: Familiarity with the VHS in the district. Evaluation: State (2).

The borough Pankow realised a customers survey about the familiarity and use of the cultural and educational facilities of the borough (Bezirksamt Pankow 2008). Questionnaires were handed out randomly in frequently visited places in the borough. The questions regarding adult education were addressed only to adults. From the people who participated in the survey, 34,5% live in Pankow, 41,3% in Prenzlauer Berg and 24,3% in Weißensee. The most representative age group is between 19 and 45 years old (57,5%). The familiarity degree of the VHS reaches 40,8% and the degree of use 18,5%. The criteria used in the questionnaires are evaluated in a four and in a six degree scale, where one is equivalent to ”important” and four or six to ”unimportant”. The familiarity with the public institutes is 39,9%. The three VHS own facilities are recognised as the basic public adult education institutes. Nine other locations where VHS offers are hosted are known to the respondents (familiarity degree 1,2%). The most known and frequently used location is the VHS facility in Pankow. In general the degree of familiarity and use seems to increase between older people and people with steady residence, especially between pensioners. The most frequent users of the VHS are middle aged working people. These are mostly university graduates between 46 and 55 years old. Furthermore, favourable conditions appear at local level. People living in each district are more familiar and use more often the local VHS facility. The familiarity at local level is 43,3% in Pankow and 25% in Prenzlauer Berg. The local use degree of the VHS facility in Pankow (22%) is double than in the other two districts of the borough. The familiarity of the residents with the VHS is at an average level. Almost one third of the respondents attend at least one VHS offer (28%). However, two thirds of them prefer a VHS in another borough. The reasons for this choice can vary, from special offers not available in Pankow to more convenient location, close to the working place. Unfortunately this information is not available. However, the people were asked about the reasons of not using the offers at borough and district level. Most of them answered that they had no time (42,4%). One quarter of the respondents were not satisﬁed with the offers, with higher percentage in Pankow and Weißensee, especially between pensioners. The other reasons, each with around 20%, were no information, money or interest.

223 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Efsusy1: Infrastructure capacity utilisation by the VHS/by external users. Evaluation: State (3), Trend (2).

The VHS Pankow calculates the capacity of the rooms considering that they can host 8 teaching hours per day for 5 days per week, 30 weeks and 24 weekends per year. The capacity of each VHS room is therefore 1.200 teaching hours for week days and 384 teaching hours during the weekends. The capacity of a room is estimated to 1.584 teaching hours per year. According to information provided by the VHS employees, the senate for education has proposed a minimum of 1.000 hours per year for the course rooms. For the evaluation of this indicator the value of 1.200 teaching hours per year is the reference value (VHS norm). A satisfactory utilisation of the infrastructure capacity ranges between 83% (1.000 t.h. per year) and 132% (1.583 t.h. per year) of the reference value.

Table 4.13: Capacity utilisation of the VHS Pankow facilities (2003, 2008). VHS Facility 2003 2008 Rooms % Rooms % VHS norm VHS norm Pankow, Schulstrasse 29 14 80% 14 63% Prenzlauer Berg, Prenzlauer Allee 227 12 60% 14 62,8% Weißensee, Bizetstr. 64 3 55% - Weißensee, Bizetstr. 41 - 8 45,8%

The capacity utilisation is very low and does not reach even the lowest satisfaction level. As occurred from the discussion with the VHS director the basic reason is the lack of means for the employment of pedagogical personnel. On the contrary, the personnel has been drastically reduced the last years. The calculations of the data provided by the VHS Pankow for the academic years 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07 are based on a reference value of 1.583 t.h. per year. Therefore the area of satisfaction of these calculations is from 63% to 100% utilisation of the capacity — which is equivalent to the range mentioned above for the reference value of 1.200 t.h. per year. In most cases, the utilisation degree lies within this area. The coverage of the capacity of the VHS facility in Prenzlauer Berg had an important fall in the academic year 2006/07. In VHS Pankow there was an important increase of the capacity utilisation during that period. In 2005/06, the facility in Weißensee, being a newly acquired facility, was only limited used. The use of the VHS facilities by external actors is quite rare. Only during the last two years were the facilities available for external use. The decision was

224 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.14: Capacity utilisation of the VHS Pankow facilities (2004/05-2006/07). VHS Facility 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 Rooms % VHS norm Pankow, Schulstrasse 29 14 64,4% 64,1% 81,4% Prenzlauer Berg, Prenzlauer Allee 227 14 73,3% 70,7% 59,9% Weißensee, Bizetstrasse 64 3 87,1% - - Weißensee, Bizetstrasse 41 8 - 34,6% 65,3% made by the LuV director after discussion with the VHS director. The ﬁrst case of external use is an annual conference for creative therapy. The second case was the Goethe Institute, which in summer 2008 rented some rooms of the VHS facility in Prenzlauer Berg. Besides the rental it also undertook some repairs in the building. Other public actors use often the sport hall of the VHS, as e.g. the public sport association Pankow. However, the availability of the infrastructure for external uses has negative consequences for the VHS, including additional costs. Therefore the costs per VHS product, according to which the income of the VHS is determined, are increased. On the other hand, the borough receives the income from renting the facilities and not the VHS. The only advantage for the VHS in this case, are the repairs in the building. The VHS director has discussed with local actors the possibility of hosting their activities in the VHS facilities. These discussions did not have any results up to now, mainly because of the limited interest of these actors. The perspective, however, for a future availability of the VHS facilities is still under consideration. For example, a women centre has expressed such an interest and is under discussion. These potentials might be better explored if there were more direct advantages for the VHS.

Efsusy2: Management of natural resources - Change in the use of natural resources, under which use of renewable resources. Evaluation: State (3), Trend (3).

The VHS does not participate in the management of the natural resources used in its facilities. The costs of the natural resources is undertaken by the borough and no norms are set for the VHS or public buildings. The Pankow borough has not announced any speciﬁc strategy for renewable energy use in public buildings.

225 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Efsy1: Inﬂuence degree of the infrastructure on the course selection. Evaluation: State (2).

In the customers survey 2008 the participants were asked to choose between twelve possible reasons for visiting the specific course. In the first position the convenient course location was chosen. More than half of the answers (53%) included the location as one of the reasons. The specific context was only in the second position, chosen in 34% of the answers. A similar answer referred to the reasons for visiting the specific institute. The most often answer was the price and discounts (60,9%). The course location and accessibility was in the second position, included in 21,7% of the answers. This indicates the importance of the infrastructure location for the participants. The percentage is, however, relatively low, expressing an average satisfaction with the location.

Efsy2: Distribution of income sources and cover degree of expenses. Evaluation: State (3), Trend (2).

The VHS Pankow can cover around one third of its expenses (37,9%) without the state investments (Figure 4.9). Between 2004 and 2007 this percentage has increased by 7,2%, remaining though below the Berlin average (4,8% below in 2007). The VHS has limited income sources, besides the public ﬁnancing and the tuition fees. The income from language subsidies has increased between 2004 and 2007 but remains very low (2,2% of total income in 2007). The public investments have decreased during this period (- 20%). They remain the most important income source, covering 62,1% of the VHS expenses (2007). The tuition fees have slightly increased (3,4%) and cover an additional 4,6% of the expenses (Figure 4.15). All the income sources of the VHS are below the Berlin average (Figure 4.6). There is a high dependency on state support, in order to cover the VHS expenses. Since the state investments are withdrawing, the VHS is forced to cut down its expenses. This situation endangers the viability of the institute. It is therefore vital to search for additional income sources. However, this process should not endanger the communal character of the institute. For example, other available resources, which are not yet exploited by the VHS Pankow, are EU investments and other public subsidies.

226 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Distribution of income sources

2004 29,4% 69,3% 1,0% 0,2% Tuition Fees

2005 31,6% 64,8% 0,9% 2,5% State/City of Berlin

2006 33,0% 64,9% 1,1% 0,9% Language Subsidies

2007 34,0% 62,1% 2,2%1,7% Other Income Sources

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 4.15: VHS Pankow: Distribution of income sources. Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

FAsusy1: Percentage of the spaces used by the VHS that fulﬁl the concept of the institute (adult education criteria). Evaluation: State (2), Trend (1).

According to the VHS director more than 80% of the course rooms satisfy the criteria of adult education. This percentage includes all the VHS facilities, the cultural facilities and art workshops. From the totally 36 VHS owned course rooms, 35 satisfy the VHS criteria. The only room that does not satisfy these requirements is the photography workshop of the VHS. However, one of the course rooms in Weißensee (26 m2), three in Pankow and two in Prenzlauer Berg are relatively small (smaller than 30 m2 required for course rooms). Therefore, these rooms are used only for small groups with up to fourteen participants. The older VHS facilities are renovated and together with the new facilities provide modern adult oriented and appropriately equipped rooms. The problem with the older facilities was until recently the access for people with special needs. After the repairs undertaken in the VHS facility in Prenzlauer Berg, this problem was solved. In Pankow it is planned to build an elevator for the same purpose.

227 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

FAsy1: Inﬂuence degree of the VHS in decision making regarding the infrastructure. Evaluation: State (3), Trend (3).

As mentioned above the decisions regarding the infrastructure are taken by the borough. The VHS director promotes these issues to the office for culture and education and the responsible committees. Responsible for the management of the buildings is the borough office for real estate. The small repairs are undertaken by the janitor. The responsibility for the use of the VHS own facilities lies exclusively on the VHS director. In Table 4.15 the influence which the VHS Pankow has on decisions regarding the infrastructure is presented.

Table 4.15: Inﬂuence degree of VHS Pankow on infrastructure issues. VHS Facility Planning, Renovation, Adaptation Equipment Construction Pankow none limited: inﬂuence in order high to build an elevator Prenzlauer Berg none average: entrance appropriate high for people with special needs, 2009 reconstruction of the roof Weißensee high none low Other facilities none none low

The director of the office for culture and education (LuV 6) is responsible for the infrastructure of all the LuV institutes. The VHS director and the director of the office discuss relative issues regarding the VHS facilities and the use of other LuV and borough facilities. The influence degree of the VHS in such decisions is regarded as average to high. The use of the VHS own facilities from external actors — when they are not used by the VHS — is decided by the LuV director. The terms of the use are also determined by the LuV. The VHS director can express a disagreement for specific reasons (e.g. possible damages). The direct advantages for the VHS are very limited, as in the case e.g. of undertaking small repairs. The influence that the VHS has in such cases is limited. Other decisions regarding the infrastructure are made by the responsible committees of the borough. The concepts and plans are also developed by the borough and the relative department or office. The influence that the VHS can have in these processes consists of the proposals made by the VHS director. The influence at LuV level is higher, since the VHS director is in close contact to the LuV director. Therefore the degree of the VHS influence on the implementation of the borough educational concepts is low to average. The construction

228 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule investment plan of the borough also sets the priorities and goals regarding the building stock. The VHS has no inﬂuence on the development of these plans. Four different decision levels regarding the provision and maintenance of the infrastructure are shaped in the borough. According to the inﬂuence degree of the VHS (from higher to none) these are:

• VHS director: Decides about the use of the VHS facilities by the VHS. En- sures, in cooperation with the LuV director, the adequate provision of infrastructure. Expresses his opinion about the use of the VHS facilities by external actors.

• Janitor (employed by the LuV): Undertakes the maintenance and small repairs in the VHS facilities.

• Ofﬁce for culture and education (LuV): Manages all the LuV facilities and sets the development concepts and plans for their implementation. It is also responsible for the distribution of the ﬁnancial resources available by the borough to the relative institutes, including the VHS.

• Borough real estate ofﬁce: Construction and maintenance of the VHS facilities, investment plan.

Ssusy1: Time planning of the infrastructure needs: Frequency of changing the programme due to changes in infrastructure availability. Evaluation: State (2), Trend (2).

Changes to the programme due to last minute changes in the availability of the infrastructure, occur rarely and only by the use of external facilities. The only case occurred in recent years, was when a gymnasium in Buch wanted to expand. The VHS had then to transfer the offers hosted there to Eliashof (a facility of the LuV). The central management of the LuV facilities is in such cases a safety net for covering infrastructure needs. Another problem for the long term time planning is the implementation period of the borough’s plans. In 2006 the borough decided to build a new facility for the educational centre at Antonplatz (Bezirksamt Pankow, Bezirkliches Bil- dungszentrum in Weißensee) after several years of discussion. The construction of the building was planned for 2010. The problem in the availability of the infrastructure is focused on the sport facilities (gymnastics halls). Most of these facilities used by the VHS are rented by the borough. In recent years, however, from six halls the VHS could only use three (in addition to the VHS gymnastic hall in Pankow).

229 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Some of the complains of the participants refer to problems occurred in the use of external facilities. Although these cases are limited, they cause distur- bances in the implementation of the programme. These problems occur by the use of external facilities, in particular schools. Therefore, the acquisition of the new VHS rooms in Weißensee can improve this situation.

Ssy1: Deviation of the VHS infrastructure expenses from the median. Evaluation: State (3), Trend (2).

As described in the previous paragraphs, the public financing of the Berlin VHS is regulated according to the deviation of the median. In Figure 4.16 the expenses of the VHS Pankow per teaching hour and the Berlin median are presented. The infrastructure expenses per teaching hour are significantly above the median. These costs have an increasing tendency for the period 2004-2007, with an important increase in 2006 and a consequent fall the next year. Although it is only the third highest expense per teaching hour, it is the one with the highest deviation from the median (61,4% above the median). The course instructors fees per teaching hour are very close to the median for the period 2004-2007 (4,5% above the median in 2007). The expenses for permanent personnel are above the median but constantly dropping. In 2007 these expenses per teaching hour were 12,9% above the median. The material expenses per teaching hour have a falling tendency, remaining significantly below the median (44,3% below in 2007).

The high deviation of the infrastructure expenses from the median causes higher costs per teaching hour. This deviation causes a further shrinking of the public investments, based on the product and cost relation. In this case the infrastructure is regarded as very expensive for the services provided. However, the infrastructure capacity is only partially used. The provision of more teaching hours in order to cover this capacity would, therefore, improve the situation. For this purpose, it is necessary to invest further on the personnel. Due to this vicious circle, the importance of limiting the dependency on the state ﬁnancing is once more underlined.

230 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

30 Permanent Personnel

25 Permanent Personnel Median

Course Instructors Fees 20

Course Instructors Fees Median 15 Infrastructure

10 Infrastructure Median Cost per Teaching hour (Euro) hour Teaching per Cost

Other Material Expenses 5

Other Material Expenses Median 0 2004 2005 2006 2007

Figure 4.16: VHS Pankow: Change of expenses in relation to the median. Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

Asusy1: Variety of learning places according to different target groups and special context. Evaluation: State (1), Trend (2).

In 2007 the VHS offers were realised in 45 different locations. After a discussion with the VHS director the locations chosen due to specific target groups or specialised infrastructure needs are distinguished. Besides the three VHS facilities, seven learning places are oriented to specific target groups and seventeen to special infrastructure requirements. For people with special needs three locations are chosen. One school of the borough, one centre for deaf people and one workshop in Lichtenberg. Further- more, VHS offers are available in one of the borough centres for senior citizens. In cooperation with East Side Yoga, courses for pregnant women are organised. The courses take place in the centre’s facility, where the conditions are more appropriate for this target group. In the association OASE Pankow e.V. — which supports the integration of migrants — courses for migrants are provided. Fi- nally, the VHS offers courses for women from Vietnam in an intercultural house in Pankow oriented to migrants from Asia. As mentioned above, a wide range of cultural and art activities can be found in the borough. The VHS offers are realised in a number of places, mostly from the art field, with specialised equipment or context-specific learning atmosphere. Seven private ateliers, two private art-houses, one public art-house and one art school of the borough host relative offers of the VHS. Six of these learn-

231 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule ing places offer special facilities and workshops: one drawing studio, one ﬁlm atelier, one printing workshop and three ceramic workshops. Two cultural associations, one of them supported by the borough, are also chosen because of their infrastructure (drawing and design workshops). Furthermore, one cosmetic studio is chosen due to its well equipped cosmetic salon. Three specialised facilities from the health sector (one public institute and two private clinics) host VHS offers. Finally, one private school is chosen, due to its location, where the VHS can be close to certain target groups. From the eighteen further learning places, three are in natural areas. Offers about environmental issues or open air sports are realised in these areas. Three school sport facilities are also used in order to cover the VHS needs. In comparison to 2003 many of the learning places have changed. However, most of them were replaced with new places covering the actual VHS needs.

Asusy2: Rate of computer rooms renewal. Evaluation: State (2), Trend (2).

The VHS has in its disposal four computer rooms. Each year the equipment of one room is renewed. Therefore the renewal rate is once every four years. This is just adequate for following the most important technological advances.

Asy1: Innovation rate. Evaluation: State (2), Trend (2).

The data about the percentages of the newly planed offers in respect to the total offers for the years 2004-2008 are provided by the VHS. A satisfactory provision level of new offers, as deﬁned by the VHS employees, is 10% of the total offers. As shown in Table 4.16 the innovation rate of the VHS Pankow presents an important ﬂuctuation between the semesters. The range of the values extend from 3,7% (2008) to 15,9% (2007). In the academic year 2004/05 this rate was 11,6%, only to drop the next year to 9,4%. In 2007/08 it dropped to its lowest value of 6%, which is a very low level for the innovation rate. In the second semester of 2008, however, it increased back to a satisfying level (10,4%).

Asy2: Infrastructure quality management - Frequency of goal evaluation. Evaluation: State (1), Trend (1).

Within the framework of LQW quality evaluation system, the VHS Pankow realises an evaluation workshop every year. In this workshop the realisation

232 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.16: VHS Pankow: innovation rate per semester (II04-II08). Semester I05 I06 I07 I08 Innovation Rate 13,9% 9% 15,9% 3,7% Semester II04 II05 II06 II07 II08 Innovation Rate 9,3% 9,7% 15,9% 8,3% 10,4% degree of the VHS goals in all quality ﬁelds, including the infrastructure, is monitored. The present stand of the VHS is evaluated and new strategies for reaching its goals are discussed. The new goals of the institute are described in the self-report of the VHS. The reports and the subsequent external auditing is realised every four years. In September 2009 the VHS Pankow participated successfully for the second time in this process.

Csusy1: Offers per year organised together with partners - Percentage of these offers that takes place in VHS facilities and source of ﬁnancing. Evaluation: State (2), Trend (2).

According to the data provided by the VHS, from the 1.403 offers realised in 2007, 83 were planed in cooperation with other partners. Eight of them were organised together with other adult education institutes, twenty six with associations, nine with companies and forty with other institutes and VHS (Table 4.17). The offers planned and realised in cooperation with partners cover 4,9% of the total teaching hours and 5,9% of the total offers.

Table 4.17: VHS Pankow: offers realised in cooperation with partners (2007). Cooperation partner Offers Teaching hours Adult education institutes 8 63 Associations 26 652 Companies 9 18 Other institutes and VHS 40 990 Total offers with cooperation partners 83 1.723 VHS Total offers 1.403 35.429

The eight offers organised together with other adult education institutes were consisted of 63 teaching hours and took place in the VHS facility Pren- zlauer Berg. From the nine offers realised in cooperation with companies, eight took place in Caritas Clinic Pankow (16 teaching hours) and one in Park-clinic Weißensee (2 teaching hours). The location where VHS offers in cooperation with associations (Table 4.18) and other institutes, including other VHS (Table

233 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

4.19) were realised varies signiﬁcantly. The place where each offer takes place is not indicative of the partner with which the offer is planned (Table 4.20).

Table 4.18: VHS Pankow: distribution of offers in cooperation with associations (2007). Location Offers Teaching hours Antonplatz VHS 7 168 Antonplatz public Library (LuV) 2 24 Eliashof (LuV) 2 76 Meeting centre (Borough) 2 32 Atelier at ”Kunstlerhof”¨ 2 96 Albatros e.V. 7 180 FiPP e. V. 1 24 ASIATICUS e.V. 1 20 OASE e.V. 2 32

Table 4.19: VHS Pankow: distribution of offers in cooperation with other institutes (2007). Location Offers Teaching hours VHS Prenzlauer Berg/Pankow 4 90 Culture house Peter Edel (LuV/sold) 1 40 Art house Prenzlauer Berg (LuV) 12 508 JUKS (Borough) 3 102 Ossietzky-Gymnasium (Borough) 2 60 Buhring-Gymnasium¨ (Borough) 2 16 Panke school for children with special needs (Borough) 2 48 Kulti (Borough) 3 90 Youth club Weißensee (Borough) 1 16 House of public health Pankow 10 20

According to the annual programme issue of the VHS Pankow for the academic year 2008/09 twenty seven courses are planned in cooperation with nine partners. Two of them belong to the ofﬁce of culture and education (LuV) and one in the borough. Other partners include two local and three Berlin associations. Sixteen of the offers are realised in the facilities of the VHS partners. Four take place in the VHS facilities and seven in other facilities of the ofﬁce for culture and education. Eight courses are planned together with the Youth Art School Pankow (JUKS) and are realised in the school’s facilities. The VHS Pankow has a wide range of cooperation partners. Only some of these partners can offer the infrastructure for the realisation of the common offers. Many other LuV and borough facilities are used to cover these needs (Table

234 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.20: VHS Pankow: distribution of offers in cooperation with partners (2008). Cooperation partner Location Offers Bridge centre Berlin VHS Pankow 2 Freilandlabor Britz e.V. VHS Prenzlauer Berg/Pankow 2 INKUK∗ Eliashof (LuV) 2 JUKS (Borough) JUKS (Borough) 8 Library at Water Tower Educational centre S.Haffner (LuV) 1 and Public Museum (LuV) Educational centre S.Haffner (LuV) 2 SchreibArt e.V. Meeting centre (Borough) 2 and Public Library Antonplatz Educational centre at Antonplatz (LuV) 2 Albatros e.V. Albatros e.V. Gesindehaus Buch 6 ∗ Inter-cultural kiez scene Prenzlauer Berg e.V. .

4.20). Many cooperation partners are from the field of art and culture. An important number of associations, mostly local but also Berlin wide, is cooperating with the VHS. Partners from the field of environmental education can be found within these associations. Partners from the public health field (two private clinics in 2007) are also cooperating with the VHS. As mentioned above, VHS offers are available in two associations for the integration of migrants. As described above, most of the VHS offers are financed by state investments and tuition fees. Other resources are available but limited. In the field of computer courses, VHS offers for teachers are available in schools within the programme Masterplan eEducation. However, these offers are far below the Berlin VHS average (Berliner Volkshochschulen, Masterplan eEducation- Zahlen und Fakten 2006). In general, the VHS Pankow provides limited offers under request/contract (Table 4.21). During the period 2004-2007 such offers have increased but still remain significantly below the average. Therefore, this indicator is only at a middle level of satisfaction.

Csy1: Distribution of VHS public and private partners, under which new cooperation partners per year. Evaluation: State (1), Trend (2).

In the educational and cultural development plan Pankow 2003-2007 (Bezirk- samt Pankow 2007, p.p. 22-23) thirty eight direct VHS cooperation partnerships are named (2003). From these partnerships, ﬁve are with other LuV institutes and six with borough schools, centres and ofﬁces. Four additional partners belong to the public sector. Three more schools, not included in the list of direct partnerships, host VHS offers. Twenty three partnerships are realised with pri-

235 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.21: Offers under request/contract provided by the VHS Pankow (2004-2007). Requested offers/Contracts 2004 2005 2006 2007 Offers 0 11 26 50 Berlin average 19 34 84 94 Teaching hours 0 220 520 1.000 Berlin average 2.091 1.537 2.773 3.607 Subscriptions 0 146 293 634 Berlin average 202 360 942 1.058 Percentage of total VHS income (%) 0,0% 0,3% 0,7% 1,5% Berlin average 2,3% 1,4% 4,5% 5,2% Source: SBWF 2006-2008, SBJS 2005: VHS Statistik. vate partners, including at least three non-profit associations. In a report for the next development plan provided by the VHS, thirty two direct partnerships are named (2007). Three partnerships are with other LuV institutes, five are with borough schools and centres. Another partner of the VHS is a cultural centre (Kulti) which was registered as an LuV centre in 2003. However, since 2007 a non-profit association is responsible for the centre with the support of the borough. Three more public actors are cooperating with the VHS. Four additional schools, three of them providing their sport facilities for VHS offers, are not included as direct VHS partners. Twenty private partners, of which four non-profit associations, are direct cooperation partners of the VHS. Between 2003 and 2007 the number of direct partnerships is reduced from thirty eight to thirty two. The withdrawal of partners is equally distributed among the different partners. The number of partnerships remains relative high, as well as the variety of partners from different fields. According to the VHS director, at least 80% of the present partnerships are long term. Between 2003 and 2007, 59,4% of the partners remained the same. For the direct future only one potential partner, the Lernladen Pankow (advice and information centre for adult education) has initiated a discussion with the VHS.

4.3 Steglitz-Zehlendorf

The Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough is located at the southwest borders of Berlin. It is the merging of the boroughs Steglitz and Zehlendorf (2001). In the north of the present borough is Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and a small part of Spandau with extensive nature and green areas between them. In the east is lo-

236 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule cated the borough of Tempelhof-Schoneberg.¨ The other borders of the borough are connected to the state of Brandenburg. The city of Teltow is in the south and the country side to the west. The borough covers an area of 10.252 ha, being thus the third largest of all the Berlin boroughs. The population of Steglitz-Zehlendorf remained steady during the years 1995-2008 (Table 4.22-4.23) and it is slightly above the Berlin average (2008). The foreigner citizens form the 10% of the total population; that is 4% above the city average (Table 4.22). The age distribution of the population presents a constant trend towards the oldest age group (Table 4.23 and 4.24). While the percentage of population in the other age groups is falling, the age group of people older than 67 years old presented a signiﬁcant gain of 19% between 1995 and 2007.

Table 4.22: Population distribution and mobility in Steglitz-Zehlendorf (2007, 2008). Population 2007 2008 Total Population 290.305 291.871 Women 156.324 156.938 Men 133.981 134.933 Foreigners 31.862 29.628 Pupils 34.631 - Immigrants 20.996 - Emigrants 18.165 - Source: Bezirksamt Steglitz-Zehlendorf (Hrsg.) 2009, p. 110. Amt fur¨ Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (Hrsg.) 2008: (a) Statistisches Jahrbuch 2008. (b) Die kleine Berlin-Statistik.

Table 4.23: Demographic change of the population in Steglitz-Zehlendorf (1995, 2007). Population 1995 2007 Change Younger than 19 years old 48.900 46.800 -4,3% Between 19 and 67 years old 195.300 187.100 -4,2% Older than 67 years old 47.400 56.400 +19% Total 291.600 290.300 -0,4% Source: Autorengruppe Regionale Bildungsberichterstattung Berlin-Brandenburg (Hrsg.) 2008, p.228.

The Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough has conducted a milieu study based on the social milieus described by Barz and Tippelt (2004) for adult education in Ger- many. This study examines the representation degree of each social milieu in

237 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.24: Age distribution of the population in Steglitz-Zehlendorf (2003-2005). Population 20031 20042 20053 Younger than 15 years old 37.100 36.700 36.100 Between 15 and 65 years old 194.800 193.100 191.400 Older than 65 years old 56.500 58.700 61.200 Total 288.400 288.500 288.700 Source: 1Statistisches Landesamt Berlin (Hrsg.) 2004. 2Statistisches Landesamt Berlin (ed.) 2005. 3Statistisches Landesant Berlin (Hrsg.) 2006. the borough in relation to the Berlin standards. The actual number of people belonging to each group is the basis for calculating this index. The ranking, however, of the social milieus according to the participation (number of people) on one hand and to the representation degree on the other, offers quite different results. The conclusions of the study presented here are made available by the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf (translation from the German text). The most representative milieu in Steglitz-Zehlendorf is the ”modern performers” (third in participation). It refers to the young and unconventional elite, whose life is characterised by high mobility and flexibility. This elite consists of highly motivated and good educated people, who are well acquainted with technological advances. They recognise the importance of further education and they support informal learning. Close behind the ”modern performers” is the milieu of the ”post-materialists”. These are mostly good educated, creative and tolerant people, with a critical view of technology and globalisation. They have a high participation in adult education offers for personal development, while they choose with strict criteria which vocational offers they visit. They visit more often adult education institutes than other groups and prefer the private sector. The third representative social milieu of Steglitz-Zehlendorf is that of the ”well-established” citizens. It is also the milieu with the higher participation. It includes the good educated, self-confident elite with high income. The people who belong to this group pursuit professional success and can react with flexibility to new challenges. Integration of learning in their life is self-evident for them. They prefer informal learning and have a wide range of interests. The style of the adult education facilities they visit is very important to them. They visit rarely the VHS, since they prefer private institutes. The other social milieus are under-represented in relation to the city standards. However, fourth in participation is the ”mainstream middle-class”. It

238 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule includes status oriented people of a moderately wealthy life style. Professional success and a safe working place is important to them. They wish an establishment in the middle class. Most of them have acquired a secondary certiﬁcate, some maybe a university degree. They regard learning as necessary for acquiring important tools for professional and everyday life. They have on average the highest participation degree in VHS offers. They pose only the basic demands on the learning environment and the facilities, but regard very important the competence of the course instructors. An important study about the social development in Berlin is realised by the senate for urban development (Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Stadtentwicklung, Moni- toring Soziale Stadtentwicklung 2008). According to the monitoring report, the development, status and dynamic indexes for Steglitz-Zehlendorf are above the average and quite homogeneously distributed. In particular, the development index is average for the east part of the borough (Steglitz and Lankwitz). Most cells in Lichterfelde have also an average index, with two cells of high/very high development. The central part (Dahlem, Zehlendorf) of the borough is characterised by high/very high development, with two cells of average development. Most of the west part of the borough is not characterised, since it is mostly natural and green areas. Two cells in Nikolassee and one in Weißensee present average development. The status and dynamic indexes follow the same trends. In the east part the status of development is average with a stable dynamic. In the central part of the borough there is mostly high development status with positive dynamic, two cells of average status and stable dynamic and one of high status and stable dynamic. The four analysed cells in the west part are of high status, two with stable and two with positive dynamic. The local actors have an important contribution to local development. There is a number of different associations and initiatives active in the borough. In the ﬁeld of adult and vocational education, however, the competition is quite limited. Besides the VHS, there are only nineteen other institutes and services (Weg- weiser aktuell, Berlin Steglitz and Berlin Zehlendorf). According to the borough guide (Bezirksamt Steglitz-Zehlendorf (Hrsg.) 2009) the active associations and institutes in the borough are:

• Twenty eight women centres.

• Fifty three church and religious associations and ﬁve church institutes.

• Fourteen meeting points for different social groups.

• Fourteen associations for people with special needs.

239 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

• Twenty two free time associations.

• Twenty two health associations.

• Thirty ﬁve children, youth and family organisations.

• Nineteen cultural and history organisations.

• Four neighbourhood associations.

• Twenty one nature and environmental organisations.

• Six centres for seniors. Furthermore, there are seven public mansions and seven free time facilities for seniors, as well as eleven more under other sponsorship.

• Seven foundations.

• Sixteen economic associations.

• Thirteen institutes for science, education and research.

• Twelve welfare organisations.

• Six consulting organisations for residents and tenants.

4.3.1 Urban Structure

The Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough was created by merging two previous boroughs, where urban districts with distinctive local characteristics are located. The old Steglitz borough consisted of Lichterfelde, Steglitz and the smaller district of Lankwitz. The old Zehlendorf borough, besides Zehlendorf, included Dahlem, Nikolassee and Wannsee, which are green small residential areas in the borders of the city. Wannsee and Nikolasee are also attractive recreation areas due to the lakes and natural green areas located their. With the contribution of the VHS partners a small proﬁle is shaped for each district. Zehlendorf is an upper middle-class district, with engaged citizens of high educational level. The eastern part of Zehlendorf is characterised by a socially weaker population. The residents of Steglitz belong to the middle-class with a high percentage of public servants among them. Dahlem is an upper class residential area. Due to the high cost and limited availability of houses in this district the last three years the construction activity shifted from Dahlem to Lichterfelde. The population of Lichterfelde is traditionally over represented by middle aged citizens. It is a very green area, although it is not very attractive for

240 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Figure 4.17: Local districts in Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Berlin Steglitz- Zehlendorf.png (07/07/2009). Author: BishkekRocks. This

image is used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License published by the Free-Software- Foundation

(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:GNU Free Documentation License) and is licensed under the

Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).

241 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule young people. There is however, an effort to introduce some innovative ideas and to change the district’s image. The urban development plan (StEP II) of the senate for urban development includes urban centres and trade activities across Berlin (Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Stadtentwicklung 2005). Seven of these centres are located in Steglitz-Zehlendorf. The aim of the plan is to regulate land use development and construction activities, in order to support commercial development and a desired centre structure. The urban centres are organised in six categories, according to their commercial and free time offers and have a good transportation connection. These categories are:

• Centres:

– Centre area core(s) consisting together a centre area. – Main centre.

• Urban districts centres:

– Special urban district centre. – Urban district centre. – Urban district centre asset/under construction.

• Local centres.

The centres located in Steglitz-Zehlendorf according to StEP II are:

• The main centre Schloßstraße, Steglitz.

• The special urban district centre Zehlendorf Mitte, Zehlendorf.

• Five local centres:

– Leonorenstraße, Lankwitz. – Kranoldplatz, Lichterfelde. – Drakestraße, Lichterfelde. – Mexiko Platz, Zehlendorf. – Wannsee, Wannsee.

Three of the VHS facilities are located in Zehlendorf Mitte. The fourth one is located near the centre of Kranoldplatz. Many other commercial, cultural and educational facilities are located at the two centres of Zehlendorf Mitte and Schloßstraße.

242 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

4.3.2 Borough Steglitz-Zehlendorf

The Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough is divided in six administrative departments, each with several offices (Figure 4.18). The section for Volkshochschule is part of the office for education, together with the section for the music school. The director of the office is also director of the VHS. This administrative structure offers the VHS a high autonomy degree. It also generates a relative distance to the other educational and cultural institutes of the borough. The office for education is a service and responsibility centre (LuV) managing thus its own resources (according to the products and cost report). The public libraries and the cultural offers of the borough belong to another office of the same department. For every administrative unit with at least five employees there is a personnel council. Steglitz-Zehlendorf is the only borough with a commissioner for the climate. In April 2008 the borough concluded the plan ”Steglitz-Zehlendorf 2100”, where clearly defined sustainability goals are set (Bezirksamt Steglitz- Zehlendorf 2008). The plan is based on the principles set on the conference of Rio (1992) and the need to develop local sustainability goals. Steglitz-Zehlendorf is the second borough in Berlin to set a local Agenda 21. Before this programme was initiated, important steps were made towards this direction. For example, the CO2 emissions connected to the borough’s buildings were reduced by 38% between 1994 and 2008. Steglitz-Zehlendorf is also the borough with the largest number of solar collectors on public buildings. For the economic viability of the project the operation of solar systems on the roof of schools and administration buildings will be appointed to private investors. For the implementation of the local Agenda 21 a number of measures are undertaken by the borough (Bezirksamt Steglitz-Zehlendorf (Hrsg.) 2009, p.p. 27- 28). Some of these measures concern the protection of the natural environment, for example through the careful selection of wood providers and the protection of the numerous local lakes and water bodies. Another measure is to organise events in order to provide information and support to house owners who are interested on energy saving solutions. The goal is to reduce the CO2 emissions connected to households from the current value of almost 7 tn/person to 2 tn/person until 2020, which is the amount that the global climate system can bear. The commissioner for climate provides relative advice to investors and public institutes. The office for environment provides all interested citizens with free information about environmental protection. Another measure is to renovate the borough’s buildings for more efficient energy use. Some of the goals set for a sustainable urban development are: (a) to main-

243 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule Services Office Office for Education and Libraries and Department for Citizens Services Citizens Office Office for Culture Office Office for Citizens Education,Culture and Office Office for Public Health Public Department for Office for Trade, and Food andControl Order, Order, Veterinary and Transportation Economy,Public Health Office Office for Schools and Environment Envronment Office Office for Youth Office Office for Schools Department for Youth, BoroughSteglitz-Zehlendorf Sport Office Office for Social Department for Affairs Affairs andSport Social Affairs Affairs Social and Source: Translation from Bezirksamt Steglitz-Zehlendorf (2009). Figure 4.18: Organisation of the borough Steglitz-Zehlendorf. Control Services Office Office for Office Office for Protection Real Real Estate Green areas Green Construction Excavationand Management of Department for Construction,Urban Planning andNature Financial Personnel and Department for FinancialServices Personnel Services

244 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule tain and create connected green areas, (b) to achieve more efﬁcient land uses and socially mixed residential, work, consumption and free time uses in the districts and (c) to support the use of bicycles for close distance transportation and triple it before 2020. The VHS, the music school and the public library have undertaken the task to provide education for a sustainable development. Within this framework the VHS attempts to reach new target groups, to widen the foreign language offers, to promote public health education and to support the creativity of the citizens. Every two to three years a congress about the future of the borough is organ- ised4. In this congress all the active actors of the borough are brought together and discuss issues regarding future development and goals. The realisation of a network and information point about all initiatives and associations in Steglitz- Zehlendorf is one of the short-term goals of the borough. Furthermore, the last twelve years the borough beneﬁts from the Berlin Eu- ropean Fonds. With this support a number of public facilities have been renovated, measures of local marketing within the programme Local Social Capital (LSK) have been implemented and many projects in the borough have been realised.

4.3.3 Victor-Gollancz-Volkshochschule Steglitz-Zehlendorf

The Victor-Gollancz-Volkshochschule of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough (also VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf) deﬁnes itself as a communal public institution of adult education. The general task of the institute is described in the School Act of Berlin. The institute strives to contribute to the development of the free and critical thought of the citizens. It addresses to people from all social layers, who want to educate themselves further and independent from their previous education, their age, sex and origin. Special offers are available for speciﬁc target groups. The VHS tries to be attractive for other customers as well, such as organisations, schools, universities etc. Educational offers can also be provided under contract with private partners. The overall goals of the Victor-Gollancz-VHS are to be close to the citizens, reliable and competent. In order to achieve these goals information and advice are provided according to demand. Attention is also given to building a network with other regional and over regional institutes. The VHS work focuses on raising its attractiveness and building a positive image. Transparency in cooperation with elected committees is also a point of focus. The trust and good

4www.zukunft-steglitz-zehlendorf.de

245 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule cooperation within the VHS team and the support of the identification of the employees with the VHS is important for the achievement of these goals. Spe- cial attention is given to the development of a supportive working environment. The decisions are made together with the participants and the course instructors through their elected committees. The personnel of the VHS consists of competent permanent personnel and qualified freelance course instructors. Advice on adult education issues is available by the VHS personnel. Extensive information about the VHS offers, as well as about other VHS, is available in the annual programme issue and on the internet. A customer-friendly registration process is developed, during which advice and information on the VHS offers is available. A constant effort is made to enhance the engagement of the participants and their interest on learning. The further education of the employees is promoted, in order to expand their competence and constantly improve their work. The VHS tries to adapt its offers to the structural and cultural characteristics of the borough. A cooperative way of functioning with increased sense of responsibility is supported. Therefore, the distribution of responsibilities is constantly reviewed and the organisational structure is transparent within and outside of the VHS. A wide range of offers in time and context is provided. The chance to participate in adult education is offered to all citizens, while integration is supported. New tasks and cooperation potentials are constantly explored. The institute is oriented towards the socio-cultural needs of the addressees, as well as towards the regional educational demands. The quality standards and demands prevailing in the market are constantly monitored. Recognised certificates are provided by the VHS according to these standards. The VHS is also subject to a constant quality control and certification. Successful learning, according to the definition developed by the institute, is achieved when the participants:

• Fulﬁl the goals they have set by the participation to a VHS offer.

• Develop an interest and are motivated to set new goals for learning and further education.

• Enjoy the learning process.

• Have acquired new knowledge and improved their competencies.

• Can better handle personal, professional or social challenges.

• Have a better performance in all aspects of their life.

246 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

As discussed in the previous paragraph, the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough has set certain sustainability goals. Within this framework, the contribution of the Victor-Gollancz VHS is to provide education for sustainable development. This contribution refers to its role as a communal adult education institute, as well as to the special role of each programme sector (Bezirksamt Steglitz- Zehlendorf 2006). Lifelong learning is a central concept shaping this role. One of the goals set by the VHS is to develop a proﬁle and to plan offers with a long term, wide acceptance within the addressees. The VHS offers aim to cul- tivate the necessary abilities for meeting the challenges of a constantly changing knowledge society. They help the participants to develop the skills they need as active members of the civil society. Therefore the VHS strives to connect learning with every day experience. The participants have to confront real life situations in supportive learning environments. External learning places and a variety of cooperation partnerships gain a new meaning under this perspective. Furthermore, the VHS is oriented towards European ideas and standards. In order to implement these goals the VHS searches for: • Innovative educational offers that address new target groups.

• New alliances, integration to regional learning processes and coordination instruments.

• Further cooperation with schools, as a basic tool for promoting lifelong learning. Each programme sector has set goals connected to its speciﬁc context and has developed the strategies to achieve them. In the sector of politics, environment, society and intercultural education the strategies adopted include: • The cooperation with initiatives of the local Agenda 21, in order to bring together local actors from the ﬁelds of education, economy, administration and civil society.

• The public awareness about the principles of sustainable development through environmental education. Furthermore, the VHS promotes the interest on European issues. For example a series of lectures is offered about new candidate countries of the European Union. In the programme sector of art and design, cultural education is provided for the support of sustainable development. The tools used in this sector are: • The provision of offers that develop individual potentials, creative and intercultural skills.

247 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

• The organisation of series of events in the UNESCO facilities.

• The participation in networks and cooperate with other institutes in the borough, such as foundations, schools and associations.

• The engagement of tools for gaining future customers by approaching young people, for example with special offers for children and youth in the summer programme.

• The implementation of projects for balancing the deﬁcits of young people. One of these projects, planned together with the sector for employment and profession, offers preparation to young people (between 16 and 25 years old) for a vocational training in three design professions. The project is co-ﬁnanced by the European social fund.

The promotion of public health through information and consulting close to the citizens is a public responsibility. The programme sector of public health offers information about the social, economic and environmental factors of a healthy life. Furthermore, the provided offers aim to the empowerment of the participants, in order to be able to control these factors. Important information is provided about the use of health services. The Victor-Gollancz-VHS participates in the project ”VHS together promote Health”. Aim of this project is to make health education accessible to all people. This is also a contribution to the equal distribution of chances. The VHS tries to recognise local and regional interests on life quality and public health for the development of educational processes based on sustainability principles. The cooperation with other public and private institutes, organisations and associations from the ﬁeld of public health is very important for the implementation of the goals set by this sector. Networking with other actors, for example with health insurance companies, borough ofﬁces, communal consulting and support organisations, is central for:

• Binding new resources.

• The enhancement of synergy effects.

• The development of innovative models.

During the last years the VHS, together with the HELIOS Clinic Emil von Behring, organises a series of lectures on public health issues (”Health Forum”). The lectures take place both at the VHS and at the clinic’s facilities. Other important VHS partners in this ﬁeld are: the society for the promotion of public health (”Health Berlin e.V”), the state sport organisation, the feminist women

248 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule health centre (FFGZ) and the neighbourhood centres. The VHS aims to widen its networking and search for new, non-public partners. The language sector is divided in two fields. The first field includes integration courses and German as a second or foreign language. The goal set through the provision of these offers is to improve social orientation and integration of foreigner citizens. Intensive consulting, innovative and interdisciplinary courses are offered, in order to support the social and cultural adaptation of the participants. At federal state level the Immigration Law is implemented through these courses. The Victor-Gollancz-VHS cooperates since 2005 with the Berlin coordinator of the federal office for migrants and refugees (BAMF). The aim of this cooperation is the organisation and context of integration courses. The VHS receives financial support from the federal office for the realisation of these courses. The Berlin VHS also carry out the Berlin Language Test for the acquisition of the German citizenship. The second field includes the foreign language courses. These courses culti- vate the intercultural competences of the citizens. They offer necessary skills for professional or personal life. At the same time they offer the chance to come in contact with other cultures. These are basic prerequisites for cultivating a Euro- pean identity. Furthermore, all language courses contribute to the development of individual and social skills, through the process of learning in a group for several semesters. The new School Act of Berlin (SBWF 2004) promotes sustainable learning in the sense of lifelong learning. In order to serve this purpose the VHS cooperates with several actors in the borough. In the foreign language sector, English courses are offered to the pupils of the public higher education centres (Ober- stufenzentren) for business administration. The courses, which are not available by the centres, are focused on English for business. Promoting sustainability through life long learning is also a goal set by the European reference framework for language courses. The European council of the borough (Europa-Rat) has introduced this framework, according to which accessible offers should be provided through all European countries. Besides the cooperation with the federal office for migrants and refugees, the VHS organises language courses for local partners. Since 1996 the VHS organises German and English courses for foreign scientists of the Max-Planck- Institute for Molecular Genetic of the Free University of Berlin. Since 1997 the VHS cooperates with the Fritz-Haber-Institute of the Max-Planck-Society for realising German as second language and English courses. Furthermore, the VHS organises English and German courses for local companies the last fifteen years.

249 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

In a short term project, the VHS organised a three month language seminar for the local Job Centre, ﬁnanced by the European social fund. The sector of employment and profession has developed the following goals according to the three corner stones of sustainable development:

• Socially accessible prices in order to ensure the equity of chances in adult education.

• Learning context than can improve the future potentials and ﬁnancial abilities of the participants.

• Provide information about ecological issues and local Agenda 21 within vocational further education offers.

In order to achieve these goals, the following strategies are adopted:

• The development of handling competencies and self-organised learning, for example through computer based training in the ﬁelds of EDP (Elec- tronic Data Processing) and language courses.

• The provision of up-to-date knowledge and information.

• The development of the necessary skills for the participation in discussions and decision making processes in two course of lectures, ”personal business skills” and ”cultural communication skills”.

• The organisation of a preparation course for the pupils of a local school, who want to participate in a practical training in Pollen. This course is an example of the promotion of ﬂexibility and mobility through education.

• The support of equal chances for speciﬁc target groups, for example computer courses for women.

• The provision of further education offers on the energy pass.

• The organisation of further education courses in the Freilandlabor Zehlendorf for employees of day-care centres. These courses are realised in cooperation with the borough’s ofﬁce for environment.

• The provision of IT-courses to school teachers within the framework of the Berlin wide programme ”Masterplan eEducation” (Berliner Volkshoch- schulen 2006). Through these offers the VHS serves lifelong learning and promotes the networking with local schools. Already in the ﬁrst two years of the programme almost 100 such courses took place in 38 schools in the borough. They were ﬁnanced by lottery funds.

250 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

The VHS is working since 1999 together with the Vocational Education and Consulting Centre (ABZ) of the Central Institute for Data Processing of the Free University of Berlin. This public partnership aims to the provision of innovative offers in information and communication technology courses. Since many years the VHS provides qualification courses in the fields of EDP, ecology and job application training for work agencies in the borough. The main goal of the sector for elementary education and school certificates is to improve the chances of adults participation in education. In order to achieve this goal the following offers are available:

• Courses for young men and women who want to acquire a school certiﬁ- cate.

• Alphabetisation courses for adults.

• Elementary education courses for youth and adults in the ﬁeld of German and Arithmetic.

Speciﬁc target groups, as for example people with special needs, require more support than the provision of the basic school knowledge. Their self- consciousness, personal mobility and handling abilities must be inﬂuenced in a sustainable and positive manner. Since 2005 the VHS offers training courses for young adults with special needs in the facilities of the working community Berlin-Brandenburg. The VHS cooperates with the women commissioner of the borough for the provision of offers targeted to women. The seminars for women in the vocational and health sector organised by the VHS, are often included in the borough’s calendar of events. The VHS is also participating in the network of the borough’s businesswomen, ”connecting women”. Within this cooperation the VHS hosts relative events, offer further education or internet support.

VHS Image

The Victor-Gollancz-VHS has realised an image analysis (Bezirksamt Steglitz- Zehlendorf, Victor-Gollancz-Volkshochschule Steglitz-Zehlendorf 2008). This analysis examines how VHS employees (internal image) and people from the borough (external image) evaluate speciﬁc aspects of the VHS. Questionnaires are handed out to people in three central shopping centres of the borough. These places are chosen because people from different socio-economic and age groups can be found there. The people interviewed are randomly chosen. Those of them who are citizens of Steglitz-Zehlendorf are used for the analysis of the external

251 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule image of the VHS. A six note system is used for the evaluation — where one is indicating a very good state and six an inadequate state — of the following criteria:

• known

• close to the citizens

• modern

• variegated

• competent

• aware of quality aspects

• attractive

• with appropriate price and services

• customer-friendly

• socially integrative

These criteria refer to all aspects of the VHS, including the infrastructure. For example modern VHS refers to the provision of new, innovative offers, as well as to the state of the facilities. From all the respondents to the questionnaires, 62% are citizens of Steglitz- Zehlendorf, 21% of Tempelhof-Schoneberg¨ and 9% of Charlottenburg- Wilmersdorf. Furthermore, 32% of the respondents are between 37 and 47 years old, 19% are between 26 and 36 years old and 19% are between 59 and 69 years old. The 48% of the respondents have already visited an offer in the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf and 31% have visited offers in another VHS. According to the results of the analysis, the internal image of the VHS is evaluated with the note 1,9. The note for the external image is 2,1. The actual image of the VHS is evaluated by the combination of these two values, with a note of 2. The worst note assigned by the respondents and the VHS employees is for the criterion ”modern” (note 3). The only differences between the two profiles are for the criteria ”variegated” and ”aware of quality aspects” (internal profile note 1, external profile note 2). The note for all other aspects of the evaluation, both for internal and external profile, is 2. The respondents between 15 and 25 years old gave the most negative evaluation (note 3 for five out of ten criteria). The respondents above 70 years old is the group that assigned the worst note (note 6 for ”known”) and they evaluated three more criteria with the note 3.

252 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

The external proﬁle, as described above, is identical with the evaluation of the respondents between 37 and 47, as well as 59 and 69 years old. The best note (note 1 for ”customer-friendly”) is assigned by the respondents between 26 and 36 years old. A ﬁrst conclusion from this analysis is that the VHS could widen the variety of choices offered to the participants. Furthermore, it could integrate more effectively quality aspects responding to the participants’ standards. A new approach should also be considered for the target group of 15 to 25 years old. Finally, a closer approach could be adopted for the elderly people. This population group is constantly increasing. However, as the image analysis reveals, they do not feel adequately addressed by the VHS.

4.3.4 Structure and Key Processes

The personnel of the Victor-Gollancz-VHS is consisted by the director, the permanent pedagogical personnel (including the programme sector directors), the permanent administrative and service personnel and the course instructors (employed under different status, mainly freelancers). The VHS director is also the director of the borough’s office for education (LuV). Certain tasks for the support and control of the VHS work are undertaken by the borough. An important position is the controller, who works both for the VHS and the office for education. The controller gathers and interprets data regarding the VHS. The LuV assigns a manager for each facility of the VHS and of the music school. Finally, the borough offers a personnel council for the VHS employees. The VHS personnel works in three teams: (a) the pedagogical team, (b) the service and (c) the team for finance. The pedagogical team shapes the division of responsibilities one or two times per year. In the organisational plan of the institute the responsibilities of each position are described. One sector director (permanent position) is also responsible for the quality certification process (LQW). Two working groups within this team analyse information about the VHS in the fields of internal structure and external framework. The controller is also a member of the pedagogical team. The distribution of the available resources is decided by the VHS director and the sector directors. The fixed costs are handled by the VHS director, the controller and the facility manager. The service team and the sector directors update the information about the use of resources. Furthermore, they propose new topics through relevant questionnaires. One person from the team for finance is responsible for handling the budget of the VHS for material and infras-

253 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule tructure expenses. Another colleague of this team is responsible for ﬁnding new resources.

Internal communication and processes

The internal communication, as well as the communication with the other Berlin VHS is supported by the EDP VHS-IT system, as described in the previous section. The personnel participates in various meetings and workshops for the planning, monitoring, evaluation and management of the VHS work, the VHS environment and the use of resources. Meetings are held for the exchange of ideas and information between the sector directors, the course instructors and the participants. The decisions within the VHS are made in a cooperative manner. The VHS director has, in theory, a veto right, which in practise is never used. The VHS director has the responsibility towards the borough and the political committees regarding the use of the budget and the context of the VHS work. At the beginning of the semester a meeting of all the permanent personnel is held (general personnel meeting). In this meeting the sector directors inform the service team about the changes in the programme. Meetings also take place at least once per semester in each programme sector (sector meetings). At the beginning of the year this meeting has the character of a planning workshop. In the second meeting, the data selected through the academic year are evaluated. The participation in this meeting is not compulsory. Finally, the directors of each programme sector from all Berlin VHS meet at least two times per semester (sector committee conference). Workshops are organised within the quality monitoring process. In these workshops the quality aspects set by the LQW are discussed. The evaluation and development workshops are realised annually in autumn. In these workshops the following subjects are handled:

• VHS principles.

• Organisation analysis.

• Analysis of the VHS environment.

• Degree of goals realisation.

• Innovation degree.

A meeting with the participants takes place once per semester. In these meetings the VHS director, the head of the administration, the sector directors, the

254 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule borough council and the participants representatives — one representative from each course voted annually — are present. Participants from all courses are also invited. The representatives vote for one person who will lead the meeting and discuss any upcoming issues with the VHS director during the academic year. The subject of these meetings is mainly the proposals and critique of the participants. There is no legislative framework for these meetings. Their implementation is regulated by the VHS. A representative of the course instructors is also elected once per year. The representative offers an open visiting time twice per month. Another responsibility of the instructors representative is to invite all course instructors to a meeting twice a year. The sector directors select the course instructors after the appropriate application and interviewing process. They also evaluate the proposals of the course instructors and organise individual meetings. They study the programme of VHS in other big cities. The conclusions are discussed in a team meeting. They are also informed about any changes in their ﬁeld and about market trends. Each sector director meets the representatives of companies two times per year and upon demand. After the analysis of the selected information and new ideas the overall structure of the programme is shaped. Planning meetings are realised, where:

• The context of the courses is decided.

• The necessary rooms, instructors and dates are settled.

• The sector directors calculate the payment of the instructors and the tuition fees.

Two further educational seminars for the pedagogical personnel are planned by the VHS each year, but are not always available. Other actors, like the senate, offer such events, as described in the previous section. Further educational offers are available in other cities. The VHS employees and the personnel of the borough engaged with VHS issues meet once per year. In these meetings the VHS director, the sector directors, the head of the administration and the controller have the chance to discuss with the administration and the facility manager. The meetings have a personal and conﬁdential character. Their purpose is to improve the individual development perspectives and to raise the satisfaction of the VHS employees with their work. The results of each discussion are taken into account when the goals of the institute are set.

255 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

The sector directors discuss the internal goals of the institute with the VHS director (director meetings). These goals are described in a final report. This process is directed by the external goals set by the borough, the director of the department for education, culture and citizens services and the director of the office for education (VHS director). The VHS and specifically the controller constantly monitors the product and cost analysis status, the use of the resources and the declination from the internal and external goals. The controller is also responsible for the reports that the VHS has to present to the borough regarding the achievement of these goals. The VHS has to deliver a half year report at the end of September and an annual report at the end of March. The financial services of the borough control the product and cost reports of the VHS. According to these reports the borough defines the financing of the VHS from its budget. Since 2005, when the products and costs analysis was introduced, the VHS has three products and are 100% financed by the borough.

External communication

The communication of the Victor-Gollancz-VHS with the citizens is not only based on the provision of adequate information but also on its active presence in the community. Through the annual programme issue, information ﬂyers and the internet site of the VHS all relevant information about the offers are widely available. Furthermore, every year the Victor-Gollancz-VHS organises and participates in a number of events in the borough, strengthening thus its local presence:

• The VHS annual festivity before the beginning of the winter semester. The VHS courses are brieﬂy presented, information and advice are available and registrations are possible during this day.

• An open day every year, usually in the late summer, when all people interested can visit the VHS.

• The VHS in cooperation with an elementary school hosts the Christmas art bazaar of the borough.

• In autumn 2006 the VHS and the public library organised an educational exhibition. For the organisation of the exhibition, a round table of public and private educational and consulting institutes under the coordination of the VHS was realised.

• In 2005 the VHS participated in a festivity of the regional team for tourism development.

256 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

• The VHS had a stand in the 13. Art Parade of Zehlendorf (2005) organised by the Zehlendorf-Mitte-Marketing e.V.

Besides its local presence the Victor-Gollancz-VHS participates in several adult education events where it can present its work and get informed about new trends. Such events are:

• A learning festivity of various educational actors across the country organised three times per year.

• The annual exhibition ”Expolingua” (market stand for education).

• The Berlin adult education exhibition, which takes place twice per year.

In 2006 all the Berlin VHS participated in the exhibition ”Active in Older Age”. Every year the Berlin VHS organise in common a series of events about an actual subject, as for example the series ”Total Global” and ”Memorial places in Berlin”. The Victor-Gollancz-VHS has also received the innovation prise of the ministry for education and research (BMBF). Finally, the VHS employees often participate in sector speciﬁc committees at state or federal level.

Monitoring and control tools

Some of the monitoring tools used by the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf are common for all the Berlin VHS or are based on centrally collected and analysed data. These tools serve the evaluation of the VHS in comparison to the Berlin standards and are described in detail in the previous section. Other instruments are also used for monitoring the local conditions and local VHS related issues, as described above. The internal tools include:

• The Berlin VHS statistics by the senate for science, education and research.

• The customers survey of the Berlin VHS.

• In some programme sectors the course instructors are asked to ﬁll in a course evaluation sheet after the end of each course.

• Questionnaires through which the course instructors can express their critic and new ideas (send with the post every semester).

• Course evaluation sheets are ﬁlled in from the participants in some programme sectors and differ between the sectors.

• Complain management. Written complains are answered within ten days.

257 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

• Attendance list, drop out rate and telephone enquiry about the reasons of the drop out.

• Questionnaires are ﬁlled in by the VHS employees every year regarding the further education offers they attended.

• Analysis of the products and costs monitoring report. Deviation from the median.

The VHS speciﬁc indexes include:

• The drop out rate.

• The cancellation rate (cancellation of courses due to inadequate registrations).

• The achievement of the participants: percentage of the participants who managed to acquire a course certiﬁcate (visit 80% of the course hours).

• The innovation rate.

• The density of adult education offers in the borough (teaching hours per thousand citizens).

• The degree of covering the VHS expenses to the VHS income.

The external monitoring tools include the evaluation of information from the environment, such as the social atlas by the senate for urban development and publications of the federal institute for vocational education or the German VHS Association (D.V.V. e.V.). Another common practise is the evaluation of the programme of other VHS and of the local and regional press. Speciﬁcally for the local environment valuable information is gained by the milieu study Steglitz-Zehlendorf (November 2007) discussed in the previous paragraph.

4.3.5 Infrastructure

The Victor-Gollancz-VHS has at its disposal four facilities. Three of them are located in Zehlendorf. One of these facilities hosts the administration of the office for education and of the VHS. The other building is located in Lichterfelde. The VHS facilities in Zehlendorf are centrally located. In 1995 the old fire station was added to them with modern renovated computer rooms and art workshops. In Lichterfelde the VHS is located in the old city hall. This facility is used by the VHS since 1996 for courses and administration use. At first the

258 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

VHS only used one ﬂoor of the building. Before the VHS, the ofﬁce for youth was hosted there. It is the only VHS facility not centrally located. In Table 4.25 the number of rooms (including all spaces such as rooms, halls, workshops where VHS offers take place) and the number of teaching hours for each facility are presented. This information is the result of the process of data provided by the VHS for the purposes of the current research for the years 2007 and 2008. According to these data more than the half of the teaching hours took place in the Adult Education House in Lichterfelde. A total of 57.558 teaching hours were realised by the VHS in 2008, both in owned and external facilities.

Table 4.25: VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf facilities (2007, 2008). VHS Facility 2007 2008 Rooms Teaching Rooms Teaching hours hours Adult Education House, Lichterfelde 32 26.604 30 27.078 VHS House, Zehlendorf 15 11.749 16 12.906 Teaching Facility, Zehlendorf 8 8.429 9 7.978 Administration Building, Zehlendorf 1 148 1 311 VHS Facilities 56 46.930 56 48.273 Total VHS teaching hours 58.978 57.558

Until recently an important percentage of the VHS offers was hosted in school buildings. In Zehlendorf the side building of a school was used for the VHS needs for over ten years. However, the VHS was forced to acquire more facilities of its own. That was due to the high expenses for the infrastructure and the European directives for adult education. Today only the sport halls are still provided mainly by schools. In the VHS learning facilities modern, adult oriented and adequately equipped course and workshop rooms are available. They are used from morning to evening, during the week and at the weekend. These advantages cannot be provided when the VHS offers are hosted in school buildings. However, in this case the offers are better dispersed through the borough. The VHS facilities are far from the border areas of the borough. The people living there may therefore prefer to visit a VHS in a neighbourhood borough. The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf is one of the better equipped VHS in Berlin. The VHS employees, however, recognise the need for a more local distribution of the offers. In Figures 4.19 and 4.20 all the facilities used by the VHS, as well as relative information about them are listed. The facilities are organised according to the district where they are located. For each district the VHS facilities are ﬁrst, then

259 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule schools, followed by other public and last by private facilities. The urban distribution of the facilities can be recognised by the facilities in each local district. In Zehlendorf there is the highest concentration of learning places. However, besides the three VHS facilities, most of the other places are schools. In Steglitz there is no VHS facility but there is a variety of learning places. Furthermore, the facilities located in or close to an urban centre, as described previously, have a distinctive colour. All the VHS facilities and most of the external facilities are actually in the area of an urban centre. The accessibility of the facilities is indicated by the number of different transportation means in a walking distance. The numbers in brackets indicate how many transportation lines are close but still in a distance which could be a problem for weak social groups (e.g. for the elderly or for women in the evening courses). The ownership and status of use of each facility is also presented in these figures. Almost two thirds of the facilities are owned by the borough. The facilities characterised as private are mainly non-profit organisations and local centres. The VHS is then a guest and in some cases organises the offer together with the local actor that provides the space. Only in two cases the VHS has to pay a rent for the use of a facility. It can also be observed that most of the external places used by the VHS are sport facilities. Finally, at some places only a few teaching hours are offered by the VHS. In these locations the VHS is only limited present and not established. On the other hand, there is also limited dependency on the availability of these facilities. Since these offers have just a few teaching hours, they could be easily hosted in another facility if necessary. The office for education is responsible for the decisions related to the use and management of the VHS facilities. For each facility there is one facility manager and personnel from a private security company or a janitor. The employee responsible for each building reports the needs for each room to the resource manager before the beginning of each semester. A questionnaire about the deficits and the status of the equipment is sent to the course instructors twice per year (together with the semester letter). The employee who has undertaken the management of the resources, examines all these reports and distributes the resources for repairs or replacements in coordination with the VHS director. The janitor or the personnel of the private security company ensures that all the necessary material resources are provided. The same employee controls the status and function of the equipment. A list is available in every building with the equipment of each room.

260 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule 1 1 2 1 1 (2) (1) (1) (1) (1) 1 (1) 1 (1) 1 (2) 4 4 5 6 4 3 Bus Metro 1 (6) 2 (7) 1 (2) 1 (8) 3 (4) 2 (2) 1 (3) 5 (1) 2 (2) 4 (3) Accessibility No of lines Use Working room Gymnastics hall Gymnastics hall Gymnastics hall Gymnastics hall/room Room 1 Central hall Recreation room Seewing room/course room Parish hall Gymnastics hall Gymnastics hall Yoga room/course room Status guest guest guest guest guest guest guest guest guest guest guest guest guest Ownership Borough Borough Borough Borough Borough Borough public Borough privat privat privat VHS public Borough Borough District Steglitz Steglitz Steglitz Steglitz Steglitz Steglitz Südende Steglitz Steglitz Friedenau Lichterfelde West Lichterfelde Lichterfelde Lichterfelde Lankwitz Lankwitz 12163 12163 12169 12169 12163 12165 12169 12169 12157 12161 12205 12207 12209 12207 12247 12247 Address Lepsiusstraße 24-28 Gritznerstr. 57 Plantagenstraße 8 Elisenstraße 4 Paulsenstraße 22 Rothenburgstraße 14 Immenweg 10 Selerweg 22 Kniephofstr. 58 Fregestr. 53 Ringstraße 36 Goethestr. 9-11 Kastanienstr. 6-8 Ostpreußendamm 3-17 Schulstr. 17-27 Bruchwitzstraße 37 Figure 4.19: Location of VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf offers (I). Location Kopernikus-Higher secondary school Paulsen-Higher secondary school Schmidt-Ott-Higher secondary school Hermann-Ehlers-Higher secondary school Youth free time centre Flemming Johann-August-Zeune-School for blind children Youth centre/District centre Steglitz e.V. Club Steglitz - Free time facilities Non-profit building association Steglitz Al Nadi Neighbourhood-house Johannes-Church Adult education house Elementary school "Unter den Kastanien" Stadium Lichterfelde Alt-Lankwitzer-Elementary school District library Lankwitz Main centre Schloßstraße, Steglitz. Local centre Drakestraße, Lichterfelde. Local centre Kranoldplatz, Lichterfelde. Local centre Leonorenstraße, Lankwitz. Offers with 50 to 100 teaching hours. Offers with 10 to 49 teaching hours. A/A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

261 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 (1) (1) 2 2 2 1 6 3 8 6 3 1 2 5 2 4 1 8 1 2 Bus Metro 4 (2) 1 (3) 4 Accessibility No of lines Use Rooms JK27/116, JK27/121b Gymnastics hall Hydrotherapeutical Bath Multifunctional room Gymnastics hall Gymnastics hall Old Gymnastics hall Aula/Gymnastics hall Kitchen Gymnastics hall Gymnastics room Hydrotherapeutical Bath Room 216 Dining Area Painting Therapie Room Status guest rented guest guest guest guest guest guest guest guest guest guest rented Ownership FU-Berlin guest Borough privat VHS VHS VHS Borough Borough Borough Borough Borough Borough Borough Borough Borough Borough privat District Dahlem Nikolassee Nikolassee Zehlendorf Zehlendorf Zehlendorf Zehlendorf Zehlendorf Zehlendorf Zehlendorf Zehlendorf Zehlendorf Zehlendorf Zehlendorf Zehlendorf Zehlendorf Zehlendorf Zehledorf Zehlendorf Dahlem Dahlem 14129 14129 14169 14163 14163 14163 14129 14165 14163 14163 14163 14195 14169 14163 14165 14165 14195 14195 14165 14167 14195 14195 Address Habelschwerdter Allee 45 Fabeckstr. 32 Wasgenstr. 50 Potsdamer Chaussee 69 Onkel-Tom-Str. 14 Rondellstr. 5 Markgrafenstr. 3 Potsdamerstr. 7 Claszeile 57 Wilskistr. 78-80 Schönower Str. 8 Beuckestr. 25 Beuckestr. 29 Hartmannsweilerweg 47 Hüttenweg 40 Onkel-Tom-Str. 60 Kirchstr. 1-3 Sachtlebenstr. 30-32 Gimpelsteig 9 Teltower Damm 269 Königin-Luise-Str. 94 Clyallee 81 Figure 4.20: Location of VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf offers (II). Location Social therapeutical workshops gGmbH Central Institute for Data Processing (ZEDAT) Johannes-Tews-Elementary school Clinics in Theodor-Wenzel-Werk VHS House VHS Teaching facility VHS Administration building Nord-Elementary school Süd-Elementary school Zinnowwald-Elementary school Droste-Hülshoff-Higher secondary school Beucke-Higher secondary school Schadow-Higher secondary school/Side building Pestalozzi-School Biesalski-School Sports hall Onkel-Tom-Str. City hall Zehlendorf Freilandlabor Zehlendorf HELIOS Clinic Emil-von-Behring Special urban district centre Zehlendorf Mitte, Zehlendorf. Offers with 50 to 100 teaching hours. Offers with 10 to 49 teaching hours. Free University of Berlin - A/A 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Working Community Berlin-Brabdenburg - 17

262 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

4.3.6 Evaluation of the Indicators

The indicators developed with the help of orientation theory are evaluated for the Victor-Gollancz-Volkshochschule Steglitz-Zehlendorf. An extensive description of the VHS and its environment is provided in the previous paragraphs. Based on this information and on data provided by the VHS the indicators are evaluated.

Esusy1: Percentage of the VHS offers that take place in: (a) VHS facilities, (b) public schools, (c) other public institutes and (d) facilities of third partners. Evaluation: State (2), Trend (2).

In the following tables the distribution of the teaching hours offered by the VHS for the years 2007 and 2008 is presented, according to the location where they are hosted.

Table 4.26: Teaching hours realised in VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf facilities (2007, 2008). Location Teaching hours 2007 2008 Adult education house 26.604 27.078 VHS House 11.749 12.906 Teaching facility 8.429 7.978 Administration building 148 311 Total teaching hours 46.930 48.273

An increasing percentage of the VHS offers takes place in VHS facilities (+4,3%). The sport facilities of schools host an important number of VHS offers. A limited use of these facilities is noticed between 2007 and 2008 (-3%). A small drop is also noticed in the use of facilities of third partners (-0,5%). The higher percentage of these facilities is concentrated in the health sector. The VHS facilities host a high percentage of the VHS offers. A dependency on sport facilities of schools is evident but decreasing. The use of specialised facilities of third partners from the health sector is ensured. There is, however, a limited cooperation with other local initiatives and organisations. The need for a further local distribution of learning places is recognised by the VHS employees. The availability of facilities through local partners could contribute to serve this need, as well as to implement specialised offers or address certain target groups.

Esusy2: VHS infrastructure provision - Degree of norm fulﬁlment.

263 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.27: VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf offers hosted in public schools (2007, 2008). Location Use Teaching hours 2007 2008 Nord-Elementary school Multi-functional room 159 211 Sud-Elementary¨ school Gymnastics hall 156 103 Zinnowwald-Elementary school Gymnastics hall 96 76 Johannes-Tews-Elementary school Gymnastics hall 487 515 Alt-Lankwitzer-Elementary school Gymnastics hall 149 101 Elementary school ”Unter den Kastanien” Gymnastics hall 37 27 Kopernikus-Higher secondary school Working room 117 112 Paulsen-Higher secondary school Gymnastics hall 56 58 Schmidt-Ott-Higher secondary school Gymnastics hall 283 323 Hermann-Ehlers-Higher secondary school Gymnastics hall 1.464 148 Droste-Hulshoff-Higher¨ secondary school Old Gymnastics hall 80 40 Beucke-Higher secondary school Aula, Gymnastics hall 140 214 Schadow-Higher secondary school/Side building Rooms D.01/02/03 1.180 602 Pestalozzi-School Kitchen 80 96 Biesalski-School Gymnastics hall 360 366 Johann-August-Zeune-School for blind children Gymnastics hall 326 326 Course room Total teaching hours 5.171 3.317

Evaluation: State (1)/Trend (1).

The norm set by the senate for urban development for the provision of adult education infrastructure is 1 VHS room per 5.000 citizens (Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Stadtentwicklung (Hrsg.) 2001, p. 4). The fulfilment degree of the official norm in 1999 was 102,6% for Zehlen- dorf borough and 26,6% for Steglitz (Senatsverwaltung fur¨ Stadtentwicklung (Hrsg.) 2001, p.p. 45-46). The VHS Zehlendorf owned 20 course rooms and the VHS Steglitz owned 10 course rooms. The average value for both Steglitz and Zehlendorf was 64,6%, while the Berlin average was 58,4%. In 2000 the unified VHS owned 34 teaching rooms and the official norm was fulfilled only by 59,6% (Berlin average 63,6%). According to the data provided by the VHS (teaching hours per room) the VHS facilities provide 50 rooms (excluding the rooms for second chance courses). The fulfilment of the infrastructure provision norm has significantly improved during the last ten years (Table 4.32). In the years 2007 and 2008 the infrastructure provision reached 86,2% of the official norm. Although the norm is not reached yet, the fulfilment degree is very high and has significantly improved. Therefore the indicator is at a satisfying level.

264 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.28: VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf offers hosted in other public facilities (2007, 2008). Location Use Teaching hours 2007 2008 District library Lankwitz Yoga room/Course room 1.062 1.042 City hall Zehlendorf Foyer/Room C21 13 17 City hall Lankwitz Seminar room 7 Sports hall Onkel-Tom-Str. Gymnastics room 276 324 Stadium Lichterfelde 124 120 Senior free time centre Sud¨ Basement hall 4 Youth free time centre Flemming 68 77 Youth centre/District centre Steglitz e.V. Room 1 20 40 Free University of Berlin - ZEDAT 318 320 Total teaching hours 1.881 1.951

Esy1: Distribution of expenses under which infrastructure expenses. Evaluation: State (1)/Trend (1).

Almost half of the expenses of the VHS are for the course instructor fees. One third of the expenses is for the permanent personnel (Figure 4.21). The expenses follow the general trend of the Berlin average and are in most cases above this value (Figure 4.7). The expenses for further education are very low and have a negative trend. The material expenses are at a high level with a quite ﬂuctuating change through the last years. The expenses for infrastructure are below the average, reaching this value only in 2006. Between 2004 and 2006 these expenses have signiﬁcantly increased (+51%). This increase is the highest between all VHS expenses for this period but it is regarded as necessary since the infrastructure expenses were below the average. The expenses for infrastructure are 11,6% of the total VHS expenses (2007). This percentage has slightly increased (+1,8%) since 2004 and has reached a satisfactory level (close to the average).

Esy2: Topography of the participants - Borough residents to total participants. Evaluation: State (1)/Trend (1).

The evaluation of this indicator is based on the customers survey of 2008. In this survey information about the residence of the participants is also asked.

265 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.29: VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf offers hosted in facilities of third partners (2007, 2008). Location Use Teaching hours 2007 2008 Citizens meeting point Lichterfelde-West 42 Club Lankwitz Small hall 24 5 Club Steglitz Central hall 48 60 Al Nadi Neighbourhood-house Sewing room/ 176 178 Course room Working Community Berlin-Brandenburg 725 478 Non-proﬁt building association Steglitz Recreation room 69 69 Freilandlabor Zehlendorf 101 118 Johannes-Church Parish hall 80 77 HELIOS Clinic Emil-von-Behring Hydrotherapeutical Bath 424 357 Clinics in Theodor-Wenzel-Werk Hydrotherapeutical Bath 112 107 Steglitzer Kreisel Rooms 104-107 28 Auf dem Grat Seminar room 7 Radio House Foyer 2 4 Schwartzsche Villa Central hall 4 4 Walter-Bischoff-Galerie Foyer 8 8 Total teaching hours 1.844 1.473

The 71,8% of the people who participated in the survey, are citizens of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough. A satisfactory value of this indicator is around 60-70% (see VHS Pankow). The other participants are mainly residents of the neighbourhood boroughs of Tempelhof-Schoneberg¨ (8,4%) and Charlottenburg- Wilmersdorf (8,1%) and of the surrounding area (6,8%). Although this percentage may vary during the previous years, it is still high according to the VHS employees.

PNsusy1: Satisfaction of the participants with the infrastructure.

Table 4.30: VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf offers in other locations (2007, 2008). Location Teaching hours 2007 2008 Other meeting point 259 293 Unknown location 2.894 2.252 Total teaching hours 3.153 2.545

266 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.31: Distribution of VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf teaching hours (2007, 2008). Location Teaching hours (% of total teaching hours) 2007 2008 VHS Facilities 46.930 (79,6%) 48.273 (83,9%) School Facilities 5.171 (8,8%) 3.317 (5,8%) Public Facilities 1.881 (3,2%) 1.951 (3,4%) Third Partners 1.844 (3,1%) 1.473 (2,6%) Total 58.978 57.558 A small deviation can occur due to rounding errors.

Table 4.32: VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf: infrastructure provision (1999, 2000, 2007, 2008). Year 1999 2000 2007 2008 Population 285.700 285.378 290.305 291.871 Number of VHS rooms 30 34 50 50 Norm (number of rooms) 57 57 58 58 Norm Fulﬁlment 64,6% 59,6% 86,2% 86,2%

Evaluation: State (2), Trend (1).

For this evaluation the customers surveys and the complaints list are used. In 2008 the evaluation of the course rooms in the customers survey is made according to two criteria, the appropriate equipment and the cleanliness of the rooms. A scale from 1 to 6 is used and the average of the answers is estimated. Both the appropriateness of the equipment and the cleanliness of the facilities are evaluated with 2. The total note for the satisfaction with the infrastructure is 2, which is translated as good. In the customers survey of 2005 various criteria are taken into account, in order to evaluate the satisfaction with the location where the course is taking place. For the evaluation the four scale system very good, good, bad, very bad is used. The results of the survey are used to calculate a note in an equivalent scale from 1 to 4. The average note for the infrastructure is 1,9 (Table 4.33). In the survey of 2008 the infrastructure is evaluated with 2 (good) in a six degree scale. This is equivalent to 1,3 in a four degree scale (where 1 is equivalent to very good). Therefore there is an improvement of around 31,6% of the total satisfaction degree with the infrastructure. A comparison between the criteria used in both surveys — furniture, technical equipment and cleanliness — indicates a similar improvement. These criteria are evaluated with the lowest note in 2005. A similar evaluation is supported by the complaints list of 2008. From the nineteen complaints reported, eight are related to the infrastructure.

267 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Distribution of expenses

Permanent Personnel 2004 33,7% 45,7% 0,01% 9,8% 10,9%

Course Instructors Fees 2005 32,4% 50,2% 0,01% 10,2% 7,1%

Further Education

2006 32,2% 44,6% 0,0% 12,1% 11,0%

Infrastructure

2007 28,8% 50,5% 0,0% 11,6% 9,1% Other Material Expenses

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 4.21: VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf: Distribution of expenses. Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

Table 4.33: VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf: evaluation of the infrastructure (2005). Evaluation Criteria Evaluation (% of valid answers) Note Very good Good Bad Very Bad Accessibility 41,2% 51,7% 6% 1,1% 1,7 State of the building 29,6% 60,9% 7,7% 1,7% 1,8 Orientation in the building 29,3% 62,1% 7% 1,6% 1,8 Furniture 28,7% 58,3% 11,4% 1,6% 1,9 Cleanliness 30,7% 55,3% 11,5% 2,5% 1,9 Technical equipment 23,5% 54,6% 19% 2,9% 2 Total 30,5% 57,2% 10,4% 1,9% 1,9

Three of them are related to the cleanliness of the room or hall, two report inadequate equipment, two complaints are about the access to the room and one about changing the room of the course.

PNsy1: Satisfaction of the participants with the learning atmosphere. Evaluation: State (1).

The satisfaction of the participants with the learning atmosphere is included in the customer survey of 2008. It is a criterion for the evaluation of the implementation of the course. The note assigned is 1,2 (very good) in a six degree scale.

268 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

PNsy2: Familiarity with the VHS in the district. Evaluation: State (1).

In the image analysis of the VHS (2008) it is monitored how known, close to the citizens and socially integrative the VHS is in the borough. The note for each one of these criteria in a six degree scale (1 very good, 6 inadequate) is 2 (good). A declination from this value is noted for the two ﬁrst criteria among different age groups. People between 15 and 25 years old evaluate the closeness to the citizens with 3. The criterion of how known the VHS is, is evaluated with 3 from people between 48 and 58 years old and with 6 from people over 70 years old. Special attention should be paid in this age group, since their evaluation endangers the future state of this indicator.

Efsusy1: Infrastructure capacity utilisation by the VHS/by external users. Evaluation: State (2), Trend (2).

The capacity of the infrastructure is calculated according to a minimum of teaching hours that can be realised in each room. The norm used by the VHS Pankow is 1.200 teaching hours for the week days and 384 teaching hours for the weekends (1.584 teaching hour in total). Therefore, a viable use of the course rooms in the long term is regarded when 1.200 to 1.584 teaching hours are hosted in each room every year. The minimum standard set by the senate for education for course rooms is 1.000 teaching hours per year. For the evaluation of the indicator, the reference value is 1.200 teaching hours, which is 100% of the VHS norm. The lower threshold of 1.000 teaching hours is then 83,3% of the VHS norm. The higher threshold of 1.584 teaching hours is 132% of the norm. Therefore, the values below 83% and above 132% indicate a negative use of the infrastructure (under utilisation in the ﬁrst case and over utilisation in the second). The evaluation includes only course rooms where more than 350 teaching hours have taken place during the year of evaluation. The other course rooms are excluded because they were not available during the whole year. For a future evaluation of the indicator other criteria could be included, as for example summer courses or capacity of workshops or specialised rooms. In the present evaluation, the realisation of summer courses is examined only in cases of over utilisation. The degree of norm fulﬁlment for all VHS course rooms is 90% in 2007 and 85,6% in 2008. The capacity utilisation of the VHS infrastructure is only 2,6% above the lower level of satisfaction. Therefore the indicator stand is at a

269 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule medium level. Between 2007 and 2008 there is a fall on the degree of the capacity use (-4,4%) indicating a slightly negative trend. The number of course rooms, however, is increased from 29 to 35 rooms. A longer period is therefore regarded necessary, in order to achieve the better use of the additional course rooms. It is important to underline that the situation between the three main teaching facilities of the VHS varies signiﬁcantly. More than half of the course rooms are found in the adult education house. Most of these rooms have a satisfactory capacity cover. The degree of using two of these rooms is even above the upper level of capacity utilisation, since summer courses are hosted there. However, this facility presents the highest drop of capacity utilisation between 2007 and 2008 (-14,2%). Six of the rooms in this facility are only limited available in 2007. The VHS house has a relatively low capacity coverage. In 2007 the facility failed to satisfy even the lower fulﬁlment degree of the VHS norm. In 2008, after an increase of 5,9%, it is just above this value. The VHS teaching facility presents a reverse trend. After a fall of 4,9% it hardly reaches the satisfaction threshold. Half of the course rooms fail to satisfy this minimum value. Therefore it should be set as a priority in a long-term infrastructure management. Attention should also be paid to the VHS house. According to the VHS director, the VHS facilities can no longer be available for use by third actors due to the high capacity coverage. Some of the offers provided in cooperation with external partners take place in the VHS facilities. However, external uses are not hosted in the facilities, not even during the vacation period between the semesters. During the summer vacation the VHS facilities are partially used. According to the data provided by the VHS, the VHS courses which started and were concluded in August 2008, consisted of 387 teaching hours. Most of these teaching hours (305) were realised in the VHS facilities, where 12 rooms were used. In total, 33 of the 54 VHS rooms were used during August 2008. In August 2007, 31 of the 55 VHS rooms were used and hosted 687 of the 786 teaching hours, which were realised during this period.

270 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.34: Capacity utilisation of the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Adult Education House (2007, 2008). Room 2007 2008 Teaching hours % VHS norm Teaching hours % VHS norm Entrance hall 108,7 - 98,7 - R.001 1.723,7 143,6% 980,2 81,7% R.006 560,7 46,7% 504,3 42% R.014-ZBW 271,9 - 245,5 - R.015-Locker room 132 - R.21 1.097,7 91,5% 508 42,3% R.23 1.283,8 107% 1.127,3 93,9% R.24-Art workshop 742,7 - 340,7 - R.101-Ofﬁce 10,7 - R.109-EDP 1.102,1 - 955,1 - R.110 1.407,7 117,3% 878,1 73,2% R.112 1.463,5 122% 803,9 67% R.113 1.351,9 112,7% 1.378 114,8% R.117 1.387,3 115,6% 1.477,2 123,1% R.118/119 1.663,5 138,6% 1.139 94,9% R.120-ZBW 390,02 - 353,7 - R.121 1.225,8 102,2% 1.133,8 94,5% R.122-ZBW/EDP 2.978,7 - R.124-ZBW 327,7 - 883,9 - R.204 393,3 32,8% 1.093,8 91,2% R.205-ZBW 171,7 - 234 - R.206 805,6 67,1% 316,5 26,4% R.207 724,2 60,4% 363 30,3% R.208 1.522,3 126,9% 1.021,3 85,1% R.210 1.443,3 120,3% 1.373,9 114,5% R.212-EDP 1.703 - 1.643,5 - R.303-Art atelier 633,7 - R.306 78,7 - 1.037,8 86,5% R.307 150 - 1.590,5 132,5% R.308 150 - 1.508,5 125,7% R.309 90 - 1.468,2 122,4% R.310 100 - 1.106,6 92,2% R.311 40 - 879,3 73,3% Total teaching hours 26.604 - 27.078 Course Rooms 18.054 100,3% 21.689 86,1%

271 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.35: Capacity utilisation of the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf House (2007, 2008). Room 2007 2008 Teaching hours % VHS norm Teaching hours % VHS norm Courtyard Workshop: Roof Atelier 900,2 - 721 - Goldsmiths 552 - 590 - Ceramic room 332 - 149,3 - R.3 148 - 138 - R.07 945,3 78,8% 838 69,8% R.07a 244 - R.11-Drawing hall 1.306,6 - 1.628,7 - R.12 1.157,1 96,4% 1.290 107,5% R.16 1.047 87,3% 1.178 98,2% R.19 43,3 - 249,4 - R.21 920 76,7% 988,1 82,3% R.22 1.059,7 88,3% 1.176,3 98% R.23-EDP 1.122,7 - 1.366,8 - R.27-Roof Atelier 413,3 - 526 - R.28 777,7 64,8% 860 71,7% Column-hall 1.023,97 - 962,1 - Total teaching hours 11.749 - 12.906 Course Rooms 5.907 82% 6.330 87,9%

As described above there is a satisfactory capacity utilisation of the VHS infrastructure during the semesters. The non-exploited capacity is relatively limited. Therefore, although there are no external uses hosted in the VHS facilities, the indicator is at a medium level of satisfaction.

Efsusy2: Management of natural resources - Change in the use of natural resources, under which use of renewable resources. Evaluation: State (1), Trend (1).

The management and cost of the natural resources is undertaken by the borough. As described in the previous paragraphs, the borough has developed a sustainable natural resource management for all its facilities. Speciﬁc strategies for renewable energy are implemented and the CO2 emissions are reduced. Fu- ture goals for further reduction of consumption and emissions are set within the framework of the local Agenda 21.

272 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.36: Capacity utilisation of the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Teaching Facility (2007, 2008). Room 2007 2008 Teaching hours % VHS norm Teaching hours % VHS norm R.1 1.001,3 83,4% 1.034,3 86,2% R.2 1.178,7 98,2% 1.066 88,8% R.3 849,7 70,8% 924 77% R.4 1.387,3 115,6% 1.333,3 111,1% R.11 1.312,7 109,4% 1.198,7 99,9% R.13 974,3 81,2% 975,3 81,3% R.14 926 77,2% 737 61,4% R.15 799,3 66,6% 693,3 57,8% R.21 16 - Total teaching hours 8.429 7.978 Course rooms 8.429 87,8% 7.962 82,9%

Efsy1: Inﬂuence degree of the infrastructure on the course selection. Evaluation: State (2).

In the customers survey of 2008 a question is included about the reasons to visit the specific VHS course. In this question a number of choices are provided, covering different aspects of the design and implementation of a VHS course. The choice concerning the infrastructure is about the convenient course location. It is the first selection, met in half of the answers (50,1%). Another question of the survey is about the reasons to visit the VHS. The second choice is due to the location and its accessibility (selected in 21,7% of the answers). The first choice is due to the price and discounts (selected in 44% of the answers). According to the above, the influence of the infrastructure on the course selection is positive. However, this influence is limited. In half of the answers it is not recognised as one of the motives to visit the course and even less to visit the VHS.

Efsy2: Distribution of income sources and cover degree of expenses. Evaluation: State (1), Trend (1).

The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf has various income sources and can cover more than the half of its expenses without the state/city investments (Figure 4.9). Al- though this degree presents a slightly fall between 2004 and 2007 (-6%) it remains above the Berlin average.

273 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Between 2004 and 2007 the income from the tuition fees remains relatively steady, with a slight increase of 3,4%. This income source is signiﬁcantly above the Berlin average and almost as high as the public investments. The public investments are increasing until 2006, when they reach the Berlin average (Fig- ure 4.6). An important percentage of the VHS income comes from external resources. Since 2007 the VHS receives additional European investments. The language subsidies present a signiﬁcant and constant increase, remaining however below the Berlin average. The expenses and income present an increase of 26,91% between 2004 and 2007 (Figures 4.6 and 4.7). The distribution of expenses and income is shown in Figures 4.21 and 4.22. The increase in tuition fees and state/city investments is only enough to cover the increase of the expenses for the personnel (permanent personnel and course instructors). It is evident that the income increase from language subsidies and EU investments is important, in order to cover the infrastructure and material expenses. They also compensate the loss of other resources.

Distribution of income sources

Tuition Fees 2004 52,3% 42,6% 0,6% 4,5%

State/City of Berlin

2005 51,7% 46,1% 1,2% 0,9%

Language Subsidies

2006 43,6% 51,2% 2,7% 2,5% EU Resourcesl

2007 42,8% 48,6% 5,1% 1,7% 1,8% Other Income Sources

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 4.22: VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf: Distribution of income sources. Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

FAsusy1: Percentage of the spaces used by the VHS that fulﬁl the concept of the institute (adult education criteria). Evaluation: State (2), Trend (1).

Almost all spaces used by the VHS fulfil adult education criteria, with the exception of some sport facilities provided by schools. The fulfilment of the VHS requirements raised significantly, after the recent transfer of courses hosted in

274 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule schools to the VHS facilities.

FAsy1: Inﬂuence degree of the VHS in decision making regarding the infrastructure. Evaluation: State (1), Trend (1).

The borough office for education is responsible for the management of the VHS facilities. The director of the office is also the director of the VHS. As a result, the VHS has a high degree of autonomy in decision making regarding the management of the infrastructure. The acquisition of new spaces is decided within the borough. The investments on VHS infrastructure are rising during the last years (Figure 4.7). Therefore it can be argued that the influence of the VHS director for acquiring new resources for the infrastructure is high. The management of the natural resources related to the infrastructure, is a responsibility of the borough. It is realised within the framework of the local Agenda 21.

Ssusy1: Time planning of the infrastructure needs: Frequency of changing the programme due to changes in infrastructure availability. Evaluation: State (2), Trend (1).

The director of the ofﬁce for education and of the VHS is responsible for the VHS facilities. Therefore it is possible to recognise early the relevant needs or changes and plan the infrastructure provision on the long-term. According to the VHS employees, problems on the implementation of the programme occur occasionally, when external sport facilities are used — gymnastic halls and swimming pools. Therefore the indicator is at a medium level of satisfaction. The transfer of many courses from school buildings to VHS facilities during the last years has contributed to a more efﬁcient planning of the infrastructure needs.

Ssy1: Deviation of the VHS infrastructure expenses from the median. Evaluation: State (1), Trend (2).

The infrastructure expenses per teaching hour reach around 77% of the median (Figure 4.23). The public ﬁnancing of the VHS is regulated by the deviation from the median. When the expenses per product unit exert this value the ﬁnancing is shrinking. The infrastructure expenses are very close to the median until 2005. In 2006 they are slightly below the median, although they present

275 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule an increase. In 2007 these expenses drop and the negative deviation from the median increases.

30 Permanent Personnel

Permanent Personnel Median 25

Course Instructors Fees

20 Course Instructors Fees Median

Further Education 15 Further Education Median

Infrastructure 10

Cost per Teaching hour (Euro) hour Teaching per Cost Infrastructure Median

5 Other Material Expenses

Other Material Expenses Median 0 2004 2005 2006 2007

Figure 4.23: VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf: Change of expenses in relation to the median. Data source: SBWF (2005-2008): VHS Statistik - Die Berliner Volkshochschulen.

During the period 2004-2007 the infrastructure expenses are not at a level that would cause any risk for the VHS. The costs for the course instructor fees and the permanent personnel are also below the median (by 8% and 21,9% respectively). The other material expenses present a constant ﬂuctuation and in 2007 are almost double than the median. However, when the infrastructure expenses per product unit are signiﬁ- cantly below the median, the quality of the infrastructure can be under question. Although this is not the case here, it should be kept under consideration for future risks.

Asusy1: Variety of learning places according to different target groups and special context. Evaluation: State (2), Trend (2).

Since 2008 the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf offers language and integration courses for mothers with migration background in schools. This is a Berlin wide pro-

276 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule gramme ﬁrst implemented in the inner city boroughs5. Alphabetisation courses for people with special needs also take place in adequately equipped facilities of VHS partners. As it is presented in Figure 4.20 the VHS has two specialised partners in the health sector (clinics) where VHS offers take place. The working community Berlin-Brandenburg also offers facilities appropriate for people with special needs. The VHS cooperates with the Free University of Berlin, where courses are hosted in specialised computer rooms. In the other programme sectors there are, however, no partners offering specialised facilities according to the target group of the offers. Furthermore, the VHS is no longer providing courses to facilities for senior citizens. Therefore the indicator is at a middle satisfaction level.

Asusy2: Rate of computer rooms renewal. Evaluation: State (1), Trend (1).

According to the VHS employees, the hardware in the six computer rooms is renewed every three years. The advances in the software are constantly monitored by the VHS personnel in each sector and kept up-to-date.

Asy1: Innovation rate. Evaluation: State (1).

The innovation rate refers to the new offers provided each year. The evaluation of this indicator is based on the comparison of the offers provided in 2007 and 2008. Of the 2.137 offers realised in 2008, 381 were not provided in 2007. The percentage of new in 2008 is 17,8% of the total offers. The lower level of satisfaction for this indicator is around 10% (VHS Pankow).

Asy2: Infrastructure quality management - Frequency of goal evaluation. Evaluation: State (1), Trend (1).

The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf participates in the LQW quality audit system since 2004. It is successfully certiﬁed until February 2013. In the annual evaluation workshop, realised within the LQW framework, the goals of the VHS and the degree of their fulﬁlment are evaluated and adapted to the actual conditions. The infrastructure is one of the quality parameters included in the LQW.

5For more information visit: http://www.bebis.de/themen/erwachsenenbildung/ muetterkurse

277 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Therefore the evaluation of the infrastructure and the recognition of new needs is also made in an annual base. Every four years the institute is evaluated by external LQW controllers. For this purpose, all quality parameters and goals set by the institute are reviewed and presented in a report.

Csusy1: Offers per year organised together with partners - Percentage of these offers that takes place in VHS facilities and source of ﬁnancing. Evaluation: State (1), Trend (2).

As described in the previous paragraphs, the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf plans some targeted offers together with local actors. These courses are described in the VHS annual programme issue. Twenty one offers organised in cooperation with eleven partners are included in the programme of 2008/2009. Further data about the courses implemented in 2008 are provided by the VHS. Three of the offers planned for 2008/2009 were cancelled. Four of the remaining offers were planned in the facilities provided by the partner and fourteen in VHS facilities. All the offers were ﬁnanced by public means. In the programme issue of 2008/09 the following offers in cooperation with partners are included: • The association Ostwarts¨ e.V. (for east European culture) organised together with the VHS a series of events about the Russian-Germans in Berlin. The events started from Berlin-Marienfelde and ended in Marzahn.

• The participation of the VHS in the ”Week of Brotherhood” with an event organised together with the Jewish VHS. The subject of the event was the life of Jews in Berlin and it would be hosted in the Jewish community house in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

• The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf organised a French course which would take place in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

• An astronomy course for beginners was offered in cooperation with the VHS in the Planetarium am Insulaner (Tempelhof-Schoneberg).¨

• The VHS together with the Al Nadi neighbourhood centre offered a course for Arab women hosted in the centre.

• The Feminist Women Health Centre cooperated with the VHS for the implementation of eleven different offers in the ﬁeld of public health (divided in two semesters). The offers were planned in the VHS facilities.

• An event was offered together with the Federal Association for Stutter Self-help e.V. and it would be hosted in the VHS facilities.

278 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

• The VHS together with the organisation Connecting Women offered a series of lectures for businesswomen. Two of these lectures were planned in cooperation with the Women and EU commissioner of the borough.

The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf provides courses under request financed by third partners. External resources are also acquired for the provision of specific courses, for example language subsidies. According to the information provided by the VHS, the requested offers are in the fields of IT and computer courses (including Masterplan eEducation), text processing and English courses. In 2008 the company courses were restricted only to English courses. Most of the offers took place in VHS facilities. In 2007 some offers in the youth programme were also financed by external resources. They included computer courses, art courses and courses for personal skill development. Between 2007 and 2008 there is a significant withdrawal in the implementation of such offers (Table 4.37).

Table 4.37: Offers of the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf under request/financed by third partners (2007, 2008). Request/Externally financed 2007 2008 Offers Teaching hours Offers Teaching hours Under request 89 1.649 60 837 Externally financed 14 67 12 505 Youth programme 10 132 - - Company courses 26 473 5 167

In Table 4.38 the provision of offers under request/contract between 2004 and 2007 is presented. The provision and participation in these offers present an increasing trend and are above the Berlin average. The income from such courses is, however, below the Berlin average with important fluctuation during this period. In 2007 this income source was almost one fourth of the Berlin average. The courses planned in cooperation with local actors are limited but indicate the openness of the VHS. Although most of these offers are hosted by the VHS, some of the partners selected also offer appropriate facilities. The provision of externally financed offers or offers under contract remain at a high level during the last years. The VHS seems quite attractive and with the adequate facilities to implement such offers. The potentials for cooperation with partners that can provide appropriate facilities for specific VHS offers could, however, be further exploited. Therefore, the state of the indicator is at a high level but the trend at a middle level of satisfaction.

279 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Table 4.38: Offers under request/contract provided by the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf (2004-2007). Requested offers/Contracts 2004 2005 2006 2007 Offers 53 86 102 94 Berlin average 19 34 84 94 Teaching hours 2.298 2.992 2.361 5.612 Berlin average 2.091 1.537 2.773 3.607 Subscriptions 725 877 1.150 1.122 Berlin average 202 360 942 1.058 Income (Euro): 59.334 22.299 72.712 37.499 Berlin average 51.015 30.484 109.051 136.189 Source: SBWF 2006-2008, SBJS 2005: VHS Statistik.

Csy1: Distribution of VHS public and private partners, under which new cooperation partners per year. Evaluation: State (2), Trend (1).

The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf cooperates with a number of partners from the public and private sector. Most of these partners are local actors working with the VHS for several years. The public partners of the VHS include:

• The borough women commissioner.

• The borough ofﬁce for environment.

• The borough ofﬁce for youth.

• The public library.

• The centre for vocational education and consulting (ABZ) of the central institute for data processing of the Free University of Berlin (since 1998).

• The society for the promotion of public health (”Health Berlin e.V”).

• The state sport organisation.

• Other VHS (e.g. within the programme ”VHS together promote health” and the annual series of lectures).

The private partners of the VHS are mostly from the ﬁeld of public health, such as insurance companies — mainly for requested or externally ﬁnanced offers. The VHS offers a number of courses together with the feminist women

280 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule health centre (FFGZ). Some of the VHS courses are also hosted in neighbourhood and youth centres. In the ﬁeld of requested or contracted offers the VHS cooperates with local companies (private partners) and occasionally with the Job centre. Long time partners (over ten years) for the provision of German and English courses are the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetic of the Free University of Berlin and the Fritz-Haber-Institute of the Max-Planck-Society. The newest cooperation partners of the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf are:

• Since 2004 the VHS cooperates with the network ”Connecting women” (initiated by public and private actors).

• The partners with which a new cooperation is initiated in 2005 are:

– The public higher education centres (Oberstufenzentren) for business administration in the borough. – The federal ofﬁce for migrants and refugees (BAMF) for the provision of integration offers. – The working community Berlin-Brandenburg, hosting VHS courses in facilities equipped adequately for people with special needs (private partner). – The senate for education and many local schools (38 schools in 2006) for the implementation of the senate’s project Masterplan eEduca- tion.

• Since 2006:

– The VHS is an online Test-centre for the acquisition of the certiﬁcate Xpert ECP (European Computer Passport) in cooperation with the central examination centre in Hannover. – At local level the VHS cooperates with the HELIOS Clinic Emil von Behring for the realisation of a series of lectures in the ﬁeld of public health (”Health Forum”).

• According to the VHS colleagues two new cooperation partners are introduced in the period 2007-2008:

– The visitors service of the public museums of Berlin (SMB). – Local children services.

281 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf has many partners from the fields of public health, German and English courses (including integration offers) and EDP/ computer courses. The proximity to the Free University of Berlin supports the cooperation with the VHS in the last two fields. The VHS organises together with the borough various events. VHS courses take place in two youth centres of the borough. However, of all the borough’s cultural institutes the VHS is cooperating only with the public library. In Steglitz-Zehlendorf a variety of local actors is present, public and private. There is still an important potential for building new cooperation partnerships at local level, especially in the private sector or with non-profit organisations. As described in a previous paragraph, there are many local actors that could work together with the VHS for addressing existing or reaching new target groups. For example in the past, the VHS cooperated with local facilities for senior citizens. The VHS could expand the cooperation range with partners from other fields, for example actors from the cultural sector, civil society or environment. Therefore the state of the indicator is estimated at a middle level of satisfaction. The trend of the indicator is positive, since the VHS searches each year for new partners from different fields, public and private.

4.4 Sustainability Challenges

In Table 4.39 the evaluation of the basic orientors for the two VHS under study is presented. The evaluation of each basic orientor is based on the degree of satisfaction of the respective indicators. For the evaluation, the same graded system is used as for the state and trend of the indicators. The basic orientors that lie beyond a minimum level of satisfaction (equivalent to note 2) are highlighted.

Table 4.39: Evaluation of the basic orientors. Basic Orientor VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf Stand Trend Stand Trend Existence 2 1,5 1,3 1,3 Psychological Needs 1,7 1 1,3 1 Effectiveness 2,8 2,3 1,5 1,3 Freedom of Action 2,5 2 1,5 1 Security 2,5 2 1,5 1,5 Adaptability 1,5 1,8 1,3 1,3 Coexistence 1,5 2 1,5 1,5

282 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

For the VHS Pankow three of the seven orientors fail to reach the minimum satisfaction level. Therefore, the sustainability and long-term viability of the institute is at risk. These orientors are effectiveness, freedom of action and security. The infrastructure fails to satisfy most of the existing norms for an adequate provision and efficient use. This situation is closely related to the structural organisation of the VHS and the high dependency on public financing. The reduction of the personnel is also limiting the handling possibilities of the VHS. It leads to an insufficient use of the available infrastructure, due to lack of pedagogical and administrative personnel. This has as a result the higher cost of the infrastructure. The reduction of the public financing, which is intensified by the high costs per product unit, leads to less available resources for course instructors. The central management of the VHS from the borough in connection to the reduced personnel does not allow the institute to act freely. The increased tasks of the permanent personnel hinders them to search for new cooperation partners or explore other potentials. The mentality of the institute hinders the exploitation of investments from the private sector. The VHS Pankow underlines in its profile that the public investment is the only appropriate, since it is the communal adult education institute. Furthermore, the personnel might not be motivated to search for alternative handling strategies, since all the decisions and outcomes are controlled by the borough. As a result, the dependency on public investments and on the office for culture and education for finding solutions — also on infrastructure issues — is intensified. The VHS Pankow has a number of different partners where VHS offers are hosted. Most of these facilities satisfy the adult education criteria. The integrated cultural and educational plan of the borough on one hand and the special local conditions on the other, contribute to the availability of such places. The local networking of the VHS can contribute to the confrontation of the sustainability challenges connected to the infrastructure. The relationship of the VHS with the borough (system-hypersystem relation) is decisive for the handling ability of the VHS. According to the evaluation of the indicators, the long- term viability of the institute depends on the way it handles the following issues:

• the management of the VHS infrastructure: (a) utilisation of capacity, (b) use of natural resources, (c) infrastructure expenses.

• the acquisition of more income sources, both from the public (e.g. public subsidies, European funds) and private (e.g. contracts) sector.

The fulﬁlment of each basic orientor for the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf is

283 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule

Existence

Coexistence Effectiveness 2

Adaptability Freedom of Action

Security

VHS Pankow VHS Steglitz- Minimum Zehlendorf Satisfaction Level

Figure 4.24: Orientation Star: Area of satisfaction for the basic orientors and position of VHS Pankow and VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf.

284 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule achieved at a satisfying degree. The VHS has adequate personnel to perform its tasks and to search for new resources and potentials. This task is even assigned to one of the members of the pedagogical personnel. The VHS Steglitz- Zehlendorf is also one of the best equipped VHS in Berlin. In cooperation with the borough, for each building there is a person responsible to handle all resources and problems. The borough has set a sustainability framework within which the VHS can handle its own resources and needs. The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf has managed to acquire a number of different income sources. It also offers many courses under contract. The capacity utilisation of its infrastructure is high and it poses a relative low cost (per product unit). In general, the infrastructure satisfies all norms or prerequisites for a qualitative and adequate provision. The VHS is autonomous in issues related to infrastructure, except of sport facilities. Therefore it has limited external partnerships, especially regarding the availability of infrastructure. The further cooperation with local actors could contribute to a better distribution of the VHS offers. It may even contribute to the better provision for specific target groups. For example, the age group of citizens above 67 years old is increasing. How- ever, according to the image analysis, the older citizens are not so satisfied with the existing offers and their distribution through the borough.

4.5 Conclusions

The evaluation of the indicators is based on the existence of norms or weights. In the case of the infrastructure, however, it is very difficult to find common criteria for all Berlin VHS. In most cases each institute sets its own prerequisites for the quality and use of the facilities. Even in cases that a widely accepted norm exists, it does not have a binding character. For example, the norm for the infrastructure provision set in the urban development plan (StEP) is only occasionally applied as a control unit. Therefore a discussion about such norms should be initiated between actors of urban development and adult education. Furthermore, the customers survey of the VHS should include more aspects regarding the infrastructure. There is also the need to further monitor the conditions in the environment, with relevant surveys at district level. The infrastructure influences the system and the relationship with the environment in various ways. The first considerations regarding the infrastructure are about the related provision and expenses. The capacity of the infrastructure determines the potentials for planning the VHS offers. On one hand, adequate resources should be ensured, in order to attain and maintain the appropriate adult oriented facilities. On the other hand, when the infrastructure costs exit

285 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule the median a reduction of the state investments can be caused. Therefore it is for the best benefit of the VHS to fully exploit the capacity of the infrastructure. This might also mean that the VHS should be more open in hosting external uses in each facilities. The VHS strives to offer a differentiated programme through the whole borough. As a result, the VHS infrastructure cannot cover the requirements of all courses and events. As it is presented in the previous sections, the stand of the VHS infrastructure influences the relationship of the VHS with its environment. Depending on the available VHS infrastructure and the uses it can support, the facilities that should be acquired through partners are determined. For example, partners can provide sport facilities, specialised workshops or facilities for specific groups (people with special needs, senior citizens, pregnant women etc.). According to the concept of the institute, distributed partners may be searched in districts where the VHS is not present. As it is discussed during the evaluation of the indicators, the central location of the institute supports the familiarity degree with the VHS but not the approach of specific target groups. Furthermore, a preference for the VHS facilities located at the place of residence is noticed. This preference depends on the context of the offers in relation to the local population. In Prenzlauer Berg for example, the programme sector of German as a foreign or second language is located. In Pankow many offers from the health sector take place. The fact that the VHS sport hall is located in Pankow is important for this distribution. The VHS facility in Pankow is very well visited, especially from people living in this district. Special offers can also be attractive for people from other boroughs, if a good connection with the public transportation is available. The facilities located near the city centre attract people from the whole city. At the same time, the environment has an important influence on the infrastructure potentials. The conditions for cooperation or competition are shaped according to the variety and nature of the local actors. The possible cooperation partnerships are determined by the desired context in relation to the available infrastructure. In borough Pankow, for example, a number of different adult education actors are present. A traditional and wide cultural and art scene exists. The borough has developed an integrated plan of adult education and cultural development. In the central facilities of the office for culture and education such offers exist next to each other. Many other actors from this field are available, especially in Prenzlauer Berg. The VHS offers take place in such facilities, for example in private ateliers. Although this situation does not compromise the offers in the other programme sectors, it provides better prerequisites for the VHS in this programme sector. In the other sectors, for example, facilities that

286 4. Examples from the Berlin Volkshochschule do not always fulfil the VHS and adult education criteria might be used more often, in order to cover the infrastructure needs. The VHS-Pankow offers are distributed through the borough and in some districts they cover the lack of other social infrastructure. In Steglitz-Zehlendorf the development index lies at the upper middle level. Many development and economic actors are present at the borough. The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf provides many offers under contract for local companies and institutes. The Free University of Berlin is located at the borough. The VHS has a long cooperation with different institutes of the university. On one hand, it offers language courses for the university employees. On the other hand, VHS offers are hosted in the modern computer rooms of the university. In Pankow there are many offers in the health sector, since the VHS owns a sports hall and they are attended mainly by the local residents. In Steglitz- Zehlendorf, the VHS does not own a sports hall and has to use the facilities of schools, adapting thus its offers to the availability of the infrastructure. Pren- zlauer Berg is very close to the city centre, so many language offers are available there, which attract people from all over the city. In Steglitz-Zehlendorf there are many companies to which the VHS provides language courses under contract, in cooperation with the University. In Prenzlauer Berg there is an artist community and the VHS cooperates with many local actors in order to provide offers in specialised workshops and studios. These examples indicate the importance of the spatial proximity for the orientation of the institute towards the environment and the choices regarding the infrastructure. Furthermore, when the VHS is located centrally at the urban district, it increases the familiarity with the residents and the central role of the VHS. When it is dispersed around the borough it increases attractiveness and closeness to specific target groups. The results of the evaluation of the indicators for the two VHS are related to the development index of each borough. Regarding the fact that the VHS has a high dependency degree on the borough, the good financial status of the borough is connected to higher investments on VHS. However, the VHS Steglitz- Zehlendorf has managed to acquire different income sources, public and private. It is also quite independent from the borough, regarding the decision- making process. On the contrary, the VHS-Pankow has a high dependency on the borough, which is related to the concept of the institute. This has as a result to compromise both the Freedom of Action and the Security of the institute (Fig- ure 4.24). However, the VHS Pankow has a wide cooperation network which it could exploit in order to increase Freedom of Action on one hand and Effective- ness of the resource acquisition.

287 Chapter 5

Research Results

5.1 Perspectives for the Volkshochschule

In the previous chapters the detailed research questions described in the first chapter are examined. The VHS, the relation to the environment and the role of the physical infrastructure are described from the sustainability perspective offered by orientation theory (Chapter 2). Experts from relative fields contribute to the research questions from their scientific point of view (Chapter 3). They recognise certain characteristics and sustainability prerequisites for the VHS and the influence of the infrastructure. When they do not mention the spatial effects, they are asked for their opinion on the subject regarding the infrastructure and the role of the VHS in urban district development. The concept of communal educational landscapes (CEL) as an integrative concept of sustainable district development and the support through the VHS is discussed with the experts. Finally, two examples from the VHS field are studied in order to examine the validity and contribution of the theoretical observations (Chapter 4). The connection between the different perspectives is described at the end of each chapter. In this chapter the two overall research questions are discussed. The first question refers to the potential role of the VHS in sustainable urban district development and the contribution of the infrastructure to it. The second question is about the conclusions drawn by the application of orientation theory to the VHS. These conclusions refer to the relation of the system with the environment, the sustainability of the VHS infrastructure and the effect it can have on district development. In order to answer these questions the results of the two approaches, the theoretical and the empirical one, are presented next to each other. This section focuses on the potentials of the VHS and the perspectives for the infrastructure. In the next section the applicability and contribution of

288 5. Research Results orientation theory is examined.

5.1.1 Potentials in Sustainable District Development

In Chapter 2 the relation of the VHS with its environment is described. The VHS is connected directly to all sector systems both as part of the local administration and as part of the social infrastructure. The environmental properties describe the conditions in the VHS environment. These conditions are specified for each sector system. The interrelation between the VHS and the systems of the environment are described in these tables. Many of them refer to fields or issues handled by urban development. The connection to the district is underlined through these interrelations. The VHS has a strong relation to the sector system of government and administration (Paragraph 2.4.3). This is the case at local, federal and European level. Besides adult education the interaction refers to issues of integration, sustainability strategies, social conditions, urban development strategies and local development policies. A number of organisations are related to the VHS including cultural institutes, adult education institutes and youth organisations. The environment is shaped by the economic conditions at global and local level. Opportunities are created for the VHS but also challenges, such as special needs shaped in disadvantaged areas. The VHS affects these systems, through, for example, the satisfaction of market demands on specialised personnel. The social system includes the addressees of the VHS and the conditions under which they live and act. Important challenges both for urban development and VHS are the social inequalities and segregation. The VHS confronts these inequalities and influences social integration through its function. The distribution of chances and the support of personal engagement contribute to individual development. They also promote the mobilisation of local resources. The urban environment is planned and managed by urban development actors. The land use and building stock availability shaped by urban development define the environment in which the VHS is located. On the other hand, the presence of the VHS influences these properties and the related resources. Besides the physical and material resources the VHS depends on the transfer of knowledge and information and other immaterial resources such as cultural heritage. The VHS infrastructure shapes the interaction with the sector systems and is influenced by it. Through the indicators, some aspects of the relation of the VHS infrastructure to urban development can be monitored. The potentials shaped by the infrastructure refer mostly to local relations and district development. These include the local distribution and variety of learning opportunities in the

289 5. Research Results district (indicators Esusy1 and Asusy1) and the provision of infrastructure to other actors (indicators Efsusy1 and Csusy1). However, other aspects refer to district overall effects, such as the influence area of the VHS and the attractiveness degree supported by the infrastructure (indicators Esy2 and Pnsusy2). Another aspect which can extend the local limits is the networking with other systems (indicator Esusy2). These aspects are further discussed in the following paragraph. The fulfilment of norms set by urban development for adult education infrastructure provision is monitored through the indicators (indicator Esusy2). The existence of such norms and the processes through which they are specified are important for the relation between adult education and urban development. The way they are shaped at present indicates the lack of communication and understanding between the two fields, as is also noticed in the field examples. The experts recognise certain potentials of the VHS in urban development (Chapter 3). These potentials are described by the relative codes. According to the experts the VHS has an important role as a communal partner. It can offer advice when the strategies of urban development include adult education and contribute to their implementation. The VHS can support the activities of other communal actors and offer them infrastructure when needed. The VHS has a good networking ability due to its long tradition and reliability and can set structures in motion. However, in some cases being attractive is not enough. The VHS must be able to initiate, to motivate and not only to participate in development processes. The VHS has the structure and the infrastructure to do it at local and regional level. However, neither is it recognised as a development actor nor does it acknowledge itself as one. The VHS provides a communal platform where all local actors can come together. The infrastructure has a very important role in this function. Another important factor is the openness of the institute towards other actors. Urban development issues can be brought into discussion by the VHS in the district. Another contribution of the VHS to urban development processes is the development of participation skills. The VHS provides a differentiated and accessible offer at low cost, where people of different social groups meet. Hence it has an important integrative function and restrains the intensification of social inequalities. The VHS functions as a seismograph since it is close to local changes and needs and responds to them. It can thus support urban planning where knowledge about the district is needed. More exchange and common practise between the two fields is needed. In the two studies from the VHS field the relation of the institute to the local conditions is underlined. Decisive factors for the profile of each institute

290 5. Research Results are the urban development factors, the support of the borough and the mentality of the institute. In Pankow many different cooperation partners all over the borough shape the profile of the institute. A concentration of the central facilities is realised in three main borough centres. The offers available in each of these districts are related to the composition of the local population. However, the VHS transfers its offers in other districts within the borough — besides the main borough centres — and contributes to their local profile and development potentials. In places where different institutes of the borough are concentrated, the creation of cultural and educational centres with a wider influence area is realised. The borough has developed a common cultural and educational development plan. There are many cultural and art activities in the borough which offer possibilities for education. These places of culture and education shape the special profile of the districts where they are located. They also raise the attractiveness within and over the borough. The urban development trends and the concentration of certain activities — such as galleries and workshops — are supported by the distribution of the VHS presence in the borough. The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf is supported at a high degree by the borough. This support includes the provision of the appropriate infrastructure, which the VHS can manage. The VHS employees are highly motivated and engaged in the acquisition of further resources. The internal structure of the institute is more flexible. They have the freedom to make decisions regarding the infrastructure and they use its capacity at a high degree. However, this generates a distance to local partners. The need to find alternatives through cooperation is low and therefore also the cooperation with local initiatives and organisations. This has as a result the limited distribution of the offers through the borough. On the other hand the VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf interacts more with economic actors. Many offers are provided for companies under contract. The VHS covers some of their needs (language courses, vocational training) and so supports their further preference for the borough. The presence of the Free Uni- versity of Berlin in the borough also creates potentials for cooperation with the VHS. These factors, in addition to the fact that most of the borough population belongs to the upper middle level, shape the special profile of the VHS. Most population groups in Steglitz-Zehlendorf have high standards of adult education (milieu study). The competition is low since not many adult education institutes are present in the borough but people are oriented to the private sector. This creates higher standards on adult education. People have a higher awareness and are motivated to participate in adult education. However, a preference to the VHS is concentrated to the middle class with lower awareness and

291 5. Research Results standards. This is connected to the low barrier access to the VHS and underlines its integrative function.

5.1.2 Prerequisites for the Infrastructure

The indicators developed with the help of orientation theory describe the fulﬁl- ment of the basic sustainability prerequisites — the basic orientors — regarding the VHS infrastructure. The main aspects of the infrastructure and its inﬂuence on the VHS and the environment, to which these prerequisites refer, are:

• Availability, variety and attractiveness.

• The support of special learning context and target groups and the integration of individual perspectives and background.

• Economic aspects, efﬁciency and utilisation.

• Openness, hierarchies, decision making freedom.

• Quality management, adaptation to concepts, advances and new knowledge.

• The relation to other environmental actors, networking and potentials through it.

The infrastructure shapes the relation of the VHS with the environment in various ways. A basic factor is the distribution of the VHS offers in other institutes (indicator Esusy1). An important prerequisite is the degree in which these places support the concept of the institute (indicator FAsusy1). The variety of learning places (indicator Asusy1) is an aspect of infrastructure which covers the need for the distribution of learning opportunities in the district. The infrastructure influences the selection of the courses by the addressees (indicator Efsy1) and therefore the topography of the participants and the influence area of the VHS (indicator Esy2). An important parameter shaped by these conditions is the influence of different places upon the various target groups. Other prerequisites for the infrastructure is to bring opportunities close to the people and make the institute visible. Hence it can raise the familiarity degree with the VHS (indicator Pnsusy2) and shape the image people have for the existence of opportunities in the district. Therefore it must also support the transfer of knowledge and innovation (indicators Asusy2 and Asy1). An important prerequisite for the quality characteristics and function of the infrastructure is the further inclusion of the participants. The inclusion degree of the users is

292 5. Research Results reflected to their satisfaction with the infrastructure (indicator PNsusy1) and the learning atmosphere (indicator PNsy1) shaped in interaction with the built environment. The provision of infrastructure to other uses (indicator Efsusy1) and to cooperation partners (indicator Csusy1) indicate how important factor the infrastructure is for the openness in the district and the support of local activities. This is further indicated by the networking degree supported by the infrastructure (indicators Csusy1 and Csy1) within and over the district. Urban planning shapes these prerequisites and should consider these factors when deciding about the adult education infrastructure. The infrastructure is an important investment and requires available resources for its function and maintenance (indicators Esy1, Ssy1, Efsusy2 and Asusy2). Hence a prerequisite is the existence of alternatives (Efsy2) through networking (indicators Esusy1 and Csusy1) and openness to other uses (indicators Efsusy1 and Csusy1). This is shaped by the freedom on decision making (indicators FAsy1 and Ssusy1) and the concepts of the institute transferred to the infrastructure (indicators Asy2 and FAsusy1). The contribution of the indicators is presented in two cases from the field of the Berlin VHS (Chapter 4). The present state and future challenges in connection to the infrastructure of each institute are recognised. They correspond to the problems faced by the institutes and to the conditions shaped at each case. The VHS Pankow has to face significant challenges since three of the indicators fail to reach the minimum satisfaction level. The severe reduction of the VHS resources and the high dependency on the borough compound these problems. On the other hand the ability of the institute to exploit the possibilities created by the various cultural and art activities in the borough is monitored through the indicators. The available infrastructure for the VHS offers and the distribution through the borough is actually ensured through networking. However, the VHS could be more open with its own infrastructure in order to support its viability and its function in the district. The VHS Steglitz-Zehlendorf is one of the best equipped VHS in Berlin due to the high communal support. The capacity of the infrastructure is exploited at a high degree. Offers for private actors and cooperation partners are available. The cooperation with the Free University of Berlin provides the use of facilities with modern technical equipment. Even in this case the need for networking for a better distribution in the borough and response to target groups needs is recognised. As analysed in Section 3.4, the experts refer to most of the aspects recognised with the help of orientation theory regarding the infrastructure. The po-

293 5. Research Results litical concept of education has to be changed it order to improve the provision of infrastructure. The space poses many limitations depending on availability, efficient use and the need for alternatives through cooperation. Basic prerequisites for the infrastructure are accessibility and attractiveness according to the addressees and new target groups. The infrastructure must be flexible to respond to a differentiated need and support socialisation and other activities. The strength of the VHS is to be close to the addressees and the local actors. This is only achieved through the local distribution of the infrastructure and the opportunities offered at site. The experts are asked about their opinion on further spatial effects of the infrastructure. The spatial proximity to other organisations, companies and local actors defines the local development perspectives. The assignment of a central importance is possible when the VHS is centrally located. On the other hand the VHS contributes to the assignment of such a meaning to the location where it is present. The self-realisation of the VHS as an open house of learning and part of a network creates possibilities for the VHS as a provider of infrastructure. Development potentials are then created by the VHS. The significance assigned by each expert depends on the scientific background and interest. Another requirement regarding the infrastructure is the consideration of the effects on the users and their participation. It is recognised by the experts that by the selection of infrastructure the background of the addressees should be taken into account. However, the infrastructure is related mostly to issues of accessibility and attractiveness. The socio-ecological effects and the involvement of the users are addressed up to a certain limit, without explicit and explanatory questions about them. The infrastructure is interacting with the users, it influences the learning atmosphere and affects the learning context, The requirement for interdisciplinary communication in planning and managing adult education infrastructure is underlined.

5.2 Insight gained through Orientation Theory

Orientation theory offers a framework for the observation and evaluation of the subsystem of the VHS infrastructure. Through the implementation of orientation theory important aspects of the relation of the VHS system with the environment are recognised. The connection of the VHS to other systems which shape its environment and the way they inﬂuence the environmental properties are described (Paragraph 2.4.2). The environmental properties shape the conditions in which the VHS functions and develops. Therefore, it is important that they are described and recognise how the system can respond to them. Ori-

294 5. Research Results entation theory describes this response for a long-term viability of the system through the basic orientors. As shown by the analysis of the expert interviews (Section 3.3) each expert describes these conditions from a certain scientific point of view. Except of two cases (interviews Ac2 and V7) it can be argued that these contributions focus on certain aspects of the VHS relation to the environment and the sustainability prerequisites. Other aspects are ignored or only partially addressed by each expert, depending not only on the field of expertise but mainly on the expert’s background and experience (Section 3.5). With the help of the basic orientors the function and influence of the VHS infrastructure on the VHS system and the environment is observed (Paragraph 2.4.3). Each basic orientor refers to certain properties of the infrastructure or aspects of its relation to the VHS and the environment. According to these properties the indicator set is developed. These indicators are evaluated for two Berlin VHS and certain deficits regarding the infrastructure are found. Furthermore, the fulfilment degree of each basic orientor is evaluated (Section 4.4). It is then possible to recognise where future development plans should concentrate and which should be the priorities for the viability of each institute. The aspects handled by the basic orientors include the support of the system’s purpose through the infrastructure. In this case this is achieved mainly through the implementation of the VHS programme (indicators Esusy1 and Ssusy1) the satisfaction of adult education requirements (indicator FAsusy1) and needs of the addressees (indicators Esy2, PNsusy1 and Asusy1). An important element of this support is the interaction of the infrastructure with the addresses and the participants (indicators PNsy1, PNsy2 and Efsy1). Another aspect is the burden which the infrastructure poses to the institute, which is monitored mainly through the economic indexes (indicators Esy1, Efsy2 and Ssy1). The basic orientors and the respective indicators offer further insights to the interaction of the infrastructure with the VHS environment. They include the fulfilment of relative requirements posed by the environment. In this case this is the norm set by urban planning for the provision of adult education infrastructure (indicator Esusy2). The relation to other systems form the environment both for the use of the infrastructure and for opportunities created through cooperation and networking (indicators Efsusy1, Csusy1 and Csy1). The hierarchies in the environment affect the provision and management of the infrastructure and indicate the importance assigned to it by the overall system (indicator FAsy1). The response of the institute to the conditions and changes in the environment includes the acquisition and management of resources, such as natural

295 5. Research Results resources but also knowledge, information and innovation (indicators Efsusy2, Asusy2 and Asy1). Furthermore, it includes the ability of the institute to adapt its concept and subsequently the infrastructure to new needs and conditions (indicator Asy2). These factors indicate the importance of the infrastructure for the relation to other systems and its influence on the environmental conditions. The effects of the infrastructure refer to the fulfilment of the system’s purpose and the context of learning, the interaction with the participants and the economic effects. Fur- thermore, orientation theory offers an insight to the spatial effects of the infrastructure. These effects are considered in connection to other elements, such as the distribution and background of the addressees (indicators Esy2, Efsy1 and PNsy2) the learning context (indicator Asusy1) the openness to other uses (indicators Efsusy1 and Csusy1) and the distribution of cooperation partners (indicator Csy1). The spatial effects are produced by the spatial distribution of the infrastructure, the local presence and the proximity to other uses. They create chances for the VHS, for example the acquisition of infrastructure through other institutes. They also produce positive effects for approaching the addressees. The spatial effects are connected to the provision of a variety of chances at local level, which are shaped by the presence of the VHS. They depend on the openness of the infrastructure and the provision of infrastructure by the VHS. They support the attraction of other uses and cooperation partners. Finally, the positive spatial effects raise the attraction of the location where the VHS is present. The experts recognise some of these effects but only to a certain extent, with the exception of interview Ac2 (Paragraph 3.4.1). Only after this aspect is explained by the interviewer, based on the inputs of orientation theory, some of the experts refer further to this subject. This persistence on the subject reveals that many experts can recognise such effects, often indirectly through examples from their experience. Other subjects addressed up to a certain limit by the experts are: the importance of urban planning for the provision of adult education infrastructure and the inclusion of the participants to infrastructure issues. These aspects, as well as the other aspects recognised by the experts (Section 3.4) are examined through the implementation of orientation theory. Therefore, it is affirmed that orientation theory offers an insight into all important aspects related to the sustainability of the system under study.

296 Chapter 6

Conclusions

6.1 Sustainability, Social Infrastructure and District Development

In the previous chapters adult education infrastructure is examined in regard to sustainable development. The role it can have in urban and district development is exploited. The results of the present research are outlined in Chapter 6. Valuable conclusions are drawn from these results regarding the provision and planning of social infrastructure. Interdisciplinary communication between actors of urban development and adult education is necessary for an integrative and efficient provision. This is the case in planning and designing the infrastructure, where all involved actors should be present, such as architects, pedagogues and social actors. The need for interdisciplinary communication between different administrative levels is extremely important and urgent. Resource-overall work is required in order to gain the necessary understanding of the social infrastructures and the potentials they bear for development. An obstacle in the implementation of such concepts is the lack of resources and the structure of administration. However, on the long-term the resources are used more efficiently when better understanding is achieved. This is also the case when the different resources and potentials for urban development are recognised and integrated in the relative processes. Furthermore, the community has the structures to support the implementation of such concepts. On the other hand, according to the results of the present research, adult education infrastructure has a strong interaction with the community. The potentials of the social infrastructure can be exploited at local level, while integrating or even influencing regional development trends. The present research reveals that at present it is rather the need or the lack of adequate

297 6. Conclusions resources which shape local relationships. While this relationships should be based on a common understanding and self-awareness as development actors. The communal educational landscapes (CEL) promote the need. The community is the most appropriate urban and administrative unit — but also social entity — to form the educational concept which serves the specific needs and responds to the local conditions. As described in Chapter 1 these conditions vary significantly in big cities. The actors to handle and implement this concept are located in the district. Therefore, the structure should be available where all the involved actors can meet and form local strategies. The provision and coordination at higher level is necessary. Overall concepts at city level set the guidelines and the framework for development. Therefore, the need for a better communication and exchange between the city or state and the community is underlined once more. The present research highlights the influence of adult education infrastructure on district development. However, adult education is neither recognised nor does it understand itself as a development actor. Subsequently it is not included in urban development processes. As a result the potentials offered by adult education actors (Paragraph 5.1.1) for shaping and implementing sustainable urban development strategies are only occasionally exploited. An aspect of adult education infrastructure neglected in development processes is its spatial effects (Paragraph 5.1.2). These effects offer many chances for the sustainable development of the district where the infrastructure is located. The influence area of these effects is extended beyond the borough, at a wider regional level. Positive externalities from spatial effects can be exploited, especially when the infrastructure is conceived as a part of an overall structure. It is thus made evident that urban development should take into account the spatial effects of adult education infrastructure. The A strong connection between the physical and the social space is highlighted in the study of the two Berlin VHS. Each institute contributes to specific spatial associations through its presence and spatial distribution but also through the specific offers available in each location (Section 4.5). On the other hand the spatial conditions influence and in some cases even define the distribution of adult education offers. The development of certain district centres and the concentration of certain activities in certain places generate specific possibilities but also requirements for adult education in each place. Not all adult education offers are appropriate in all districts or even in smaller urban units within the district. Therefore, adult education infrastructure must be flexible and exploit spatial potentials.

298 6. Conclusions

6.2 Orientation Theory in Urban Development

Orientation theory offers a framework for a holistic analysis of sustainable urban development. The description of the environment through the sector systems and the environmental properties is a contribution towards this direction. It is a tool for the recognition of the important systems and interactions in the environment which influence the system under study. An important point of orientation theory is that the observation is not limited by specific interests or individual handling priorities. On the contrary, orientation theory offers a framework for the individual handling. The experts, even though they already have the relative knowledge, have a specific point of view, shaped by their scientific field, which often constrains the observation into certain aspects. In urban development, the appropriate urban unit for addressing different subjects and implementing strategies is often considered. The environmental properties allow to recognise how strong the interaction between the system under study and the environmental systems is at different levels. They indicate which are the important parameters shaped at each level and which actors have a strong influence on them. Dependencies and closeness to other systems can then be described. Therefore, important relations and trends which can be shaped through urban development strategies can be located. The state and function of the system under study in the given environment are monitored through the basic orientors. The effects of the system to the overall structure are recognised by this approach. In the case of urban systems this is very supportive, since they are very complex and highly interrelated. The integration of these parameters into urban development can lead to an effective planning in the long term. In the two VHS under study the evaluation of the indicators contributes to recognising the deficits regarding the infrastructure (Section 4.4). Handling priorities are defined and the desired state of the indicators offers an orientation for the necessary interventions. This can be the case for other social infrastructures. The handling needs for the future of social infrastructure are not a task which urban development actors alone, or experts from a single field can undertake. The special handling priorities set by each expert need a common framework. Furthermore, aspects regarding the sustainability of urban systems, which may lie beyond the interest of certain experts, can be observed with the help of orientation theory.

299 6. Conclusions

6.3 Lessons from Berlin

The need for adult education and lifelong learning served by the VHS is intensified in the modern and rapidly changing society. The VHS has a long tradition and has gathered valuable experience. Therefore, it offers the possibility to examine the effects of adult education organisation on society. The communal character of the Berlin VHS and its integrative strength respond to the conditions of big cities with differentiated local conditions. Therefore, the Berlin VHS could be used as an example in cities with similar conditions but less experience in the organisation of adult education. The city of Athens, Greece is one of these cases. The city is growing very fast but lacks integrative structures. It is often difficult to recognise where the border of the city are and where the periphery begins. According to the official statistical service of Greece1, the city had a population of 2.664.776 in 2001 with an equal distribution between men and women (Table 6.1). Today it is estimated that more than 3.000.000 people live in the city of Athens. The city has a decentralised administrative organisation but the resources are centrally provided. It consists of 45 municipalities and 3 small communities at the borders. The municipality of Athens is the biggest one in surface and population, with 745.514 citizens (2001). Only two boroughs have a population of slightly above 100.000 people. The population of all other boroughs is between 20.000 and 80.000 citizens. There are 274.882 foreigners (10,3% of the population) living in Athens, with an equal distribution between men and women (2001). Almost half of them maintain that they came to Athens in order to find a work. In the periphery of Attiki, to which the prefecture of Athens belongs, the unemployment for the last quarter of 2000 was 12% (11% at national level) and for 2009 it was 10,2% (10,3% at national level). An important point is that unemployment between women is double than between men. Unemployment is very high between young people (Table 6.2). The Hellenic Statistical Authority realised a research about the participation in further education (March 2009). According to this research, during the last twelve months 14,5% of the people participated in further education, equally distributed between men and women (2007). Most of them are between 25 and 34 years old (22,7%) followed by the age group of 35 to 49 years old (14,7%). Around 17,8% of the people participating in further education are employed,

1The data originate from the Population census 2001. The population census is realised every ten years. The statistical data about Greece are provided by the Hellenic Statistical Authority and are available in the internet page: www.statistics.gr

300 6. Conclusions

Table 6.1: Age distribution of the population in Athens (2001). Age group People under 14 years old 368.927 15-24 years old 378.363 25-39 years old 662.674 40-54 years old 567.002 55-64 years old 276.658 65-79 years old 330.941 over 80 years old 80.211 Total population 2.664.776 Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, Population census 2001.

Table 6.2: Distribution of unemployment in Greece (2009). Age group Men Women Total 15-29 years old 15,7% 26,2% 20,4% 30-44 years old 6,5% 13,1% 9,3% 45-64 years old 5,3% 8% 6,3% over 65 years old 1,1% 0,6% 1% Total unemployment 7,7% 14% 10,3% Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, Press release 18 March 2010.

13,2% unemployed and 5,4% do not belong to the employment market. Most of these people (84%) choose educational activities within the official educational system. A high percentage (78,4%) from all educational levels participates in further education for professional reasons (Table 6.3). An interesting point is that 54% of the people who participated in the research declare that they cannot use a computer. However, only 16,3% of those participating in education choose computer courses. Most of the people (25,3%) attend courses in the field of social sciences, finance and law. Of the 74,1% of the people who do not participate in further education only 19,2% wants to but cannot. Among those who do not want to participate in further education, 22% is because of family obligations, 21% for personal reasons and 17,4% because of their age or health problems. The distance from the educational centre was mentioned only by 1,2%. Another 4,5% admit that they do not feel comfortable going back to school. The respective percentages for those who want but do not participate in education are: 27,3% because of family obligations, 26,5% due to the difficulty to combine the working and course time,

301 6. Conclusions

14,9% due to the cost of education, 7,1% because of the distance from the educational centre and 2,2% of the people does not feel comfortable going back to school.

Table 6.3: Distribution of participation in adult education in Greece (2007). Population Group Professional reasons Personal reasons Both Women 70,1% 23,4% 6,5% Men 86,9% 9,7% 3,4% Higher education 79,8% 13,5% 6,7% Middle education 78,5% 18,3% 3,2% Basic education 71,8% 24,7% 3,4% 25-34 years old 81,4% 12,7% 5,9% 35-49 years old 76,3% 17,7% 6% 50-64 years old 75,9% 23,8% 3% Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, Press release March 2009.

An interesting research of the Hellenic Statistical Authority describes the educational level and integration of people with migration background in the employment market (August 2009). The majority of people with migration background have parents who are both born in Greece (87,8%). Only in 1,5% of the cases one parent is born abroad. When at least one parent is born in Greece the 90,5% of the people have the Greek citizenship. In 1,4% of the cases people with both parents born abroad (8,9%) have the Greek citizenship. The unemployment index between these people is very high (14,2%). Only 6,5% of the people do not have the Greek citizenship. Of these people, 46,6% plans to stay in Greece permanently and 23,4% for at least five years. This is also the group with the lower educational level (Table 6.4). From the total sample, 32,1% recognises the need to improve their knowledge of the Greek language in order to work or find a better employment in Greece. Athens is a rapidly growing city with high unemployment, especially among young women and a high percentage of migrants. Therefore, the need for adult education in order to integrate these groups in society is evident. Computer and language courses seem to be a priority. There are various private providers of such offers for adults but they have a high cost. A more differentiated provision of private offers is concentrated around the city centre. Non-profit organisations with European funding also participate in programmes for the provision of adult education and the integration of migrants. However, these programmes are in most cases available for a limited time. The Hellenic Association for Adult

302 6. Conclusions

Table 6.4: Education and employment status between people with migration background in Greece (2008). Status Greek citizenship Other citizenship Basic education 44,6% 44,5% 54% Middle education 36,8% 36,8% 34,7% Higher education 18,6% 18,7% 11,2% Employed 54,3% 48% 68% Unemployment index 7,2% 14,2% 6,3% Total 7.532.847 114.738 540.345 Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, Press release August 2009.

Education2 underlines the need for a decentralised adult education provision. However, the public provision of adult education is only recently organised in Greece and is still limited. The ministry of education, lifelong learning and religion has founded since 1995 the institute for adult lifelong learning (IDEKE)3 which supports activities and programmes in the field of adult education and integration of migrants. The institute functions with state and European funds. For the provision of offers and the implementation of various programmes IDEKE has founded the centres for adult training (KEE)4. There are fifty-six centres for adult training in Greece. Six of them are in the periphery of Attica, four of which in the prefecture of Athens but with a wider influence area. The courses provided by the KEE are for free and address all people above eighteen years old. However, the provision is limited in comparison with the existing need. The majority of the offers are in the fields of foreign languages (in particular English) and computer science. The IDEKE has also founded the second chance schools5, which function since 2000. These schools address adults who want to complete the basic school education. They are fifty-seven such schools in the whole country and eight in Attiki, six of which are in Athens. Furthermore, the IDEKE has fifty-four parent schools6 functioning since 2003, four of which in Attiki. These schools provide family consultancy and promote the relation between school and family. The chances for public adult education are limited and concentrated in certain locations. In the city of Athens there are only four such locations for adult education and six second chance schools. However, the municipalities have the

2http://www.aae.org.gr/en.html 3www.ideke.edu.gr 4http://kee.ideke.edu.gr 5http://www.gsae.edu.gr/index.php/sde 6http://www.gsae.edu.gr/index.php/sxg

303 6. Conclusions structures to support adult education. They already provide some offers, besides the community library. These include mostly cultural activities, such as group activities and events about theatre, literature or cinema, acting and painting courses etc. The municipality is responsible for the maintenance of the educational infrastructure — in particular schools — and not for the provision. The VHS on the other hand is a ﬂexible form of adult education. It has managed to adopt and serve adult education needs for more than a hundred years. It contributes to the integration of weak social groups, the equal distribution of chances and the balance between market and society. It has the structure to combine different resources, public ﬁnancing, sponsorship, private investments and civil society resources. The communal VHS is a form of adult education provision than can be transferred to Athens. The role of the municipalities would have to be upgraded for such an attempt. However, this structure can exploit the local potentials, which are until now ignored.

304 Bibliography

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327 Appendix A

Schulgesetz Berlin 2004 TEIL XI Volkshochschulen und Musikschulen § 123 Volkshochschulen

(1) Jeder Bezirk unterhalt eine Volkshochschule. Diese Verpflichtung kann auch dadurch erfullt werden, dass Bezirke gemeinsam eine Volkshochschule unterhalten. Die Volkshochschulen sichern die Grundversorgung der Weiter- bildung. Das Bildungsangebot dient der allgemeinen, politischen, beruflichen und kulturellen Weiterbildung, ist einem integrativen Ansatz verpflichtet und soll zur Entwicklung von Schlusselqualifikationen beitragen. (2) Die Volkshochschulen haben die Aufgabe, den Burgerinnen und Burg- ern im Sinne eines lebensbegleitenden Lernens ein Angebot zu machen, das ihnen die Moglichkeiten eroffnet, Kenntnisse, Fertigkeiten und Fahigkeiten zu erganzen, zu vertiefen und neu zu erwerben, ihre Chancen in der Gesellschaft zu nutzen und zu verbessern, ihre berufliche Existenz zu sichern und fortzuen- twickeln, ihr gesellschaftliches und kulturelles Leben nach ihren Vorstellungen aufzubauen sowie sich als Teil von Staat und Gesellschaft zu verstehen und an deren Gestaltung mitzuwirken. Das Angebot soll auch dem Erwerb interkul- tureller Kompetenz dienen und dazu befahigen, am Prozess der europaischen und internationalen Integration mitzuwirken. Fur Menschen mit Behinderun- gen, die wegen der Art oder Schwere der Behinderung nicht das Regelange- bot in Anspruch nehmen konnen, sind ihren Bedurfnissen entsprechende Bil- dungsangebote vorzuhalten. (3) Aufgabe der Volkshochschulen ist es auch, zum Abbau der durch Ge- schlecht, kulturelle und soziale Herkunft oder durch gesellschaftliche Entwick- lungsprozesse entstandenen und neu entstehenden Ungleichheiten beizutra- gen. Die Volkshochschulen wirken bei der Umsetzung sozial-, bildungs- oder arbeitsmarktpolitischer Maßnahmen des Landes und an der Aufgabe der Fest- stellung ausreichender Sprachkenntnisse im Rahmen des Einburgerungsver- fahrens mit. Daruber hinaus sollen sie selbstgesteuerte Lernweisen fordern und Anregung, Beratung und institutionelle Unterstutzung fur die Gestaltung of-

328 Appendix A fener Lernprozesse geben. (4) Die Volkshochschulen konnen Lehrgange einrichten, die insbesondere der beruflichen Fort- und Weiterbildung dienen. Sie schließen mit einer Prufung ab; die erfolgreiche Teilnahme an diesen Lehrgangen wird zertifiziert. (5) Die Volkshochschulen kooperieren untereinander und mit anderen offentlichen und privaten Tragern der Bildung, insbesondere mit Schulen, Hoch- schulen und wissenschaftlichen Einrichtungen. (6) Zur Sicherung der Qualitat ihres Bildungsangebots sind die Volkshoch- schulen verpflichtet, geeignete Verfahren der Qualitatssicherung einschließlich regelmaßiger Selbstevaluationen durchzufuhren und die standige Fortbildung der Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter sicherzustellen. Die fur die Volkshoch- schulen zustandige Senatsverwaltung veroffentlicht regelmaßig, spatestens alle 5 Jahre, einen vergleichenden Leistungs- und Qualitatsentwicklungsbericht zur Arbeit der Volkshochschulen. (7) Das Programmangebot der Volkshochschulen wird als einheitlicher Ber- liner Datenbestand gefuhrt und steht Interessierten und Auskunftssuchenden zur mediengestutzten Recherche zur Verfugung. (8) Die fur die Volkshochschulen zustandige Senatsverwaltung wird erma- chtigt, das Nahere uber die Volkshochschulen durch Rechtsverordnung zu re- geln, insbesondere 1. die Zulassungs- und Prufungsbestimmungen fur die Lehr- gange¨ nach Absatz 4, 2. die Qualitatssicherungsverfahren einschließlich der Qualitatsstandards und der Anforderungen an die Selbstevaluation.

329