THE DIFFERENTIATION OF FURTHER EDUCATION - PROBLEMS OF INSTITUTIONAL AND SOCIOCULTURAL INTEGRATION

The growing division of labor in modern society entails an increasing differentiation of formerly connected tasks and activities. Especially in adult and further education, we have to ask whether and in which s pheres this process of differentiation can be considered functional (g rowing number of institutions fulfilling ever more specific tasks) or whether this has led to a loss of integration. The authors approach th is issue from two diverging perspectives: On the one hand, they study empirically the development of the institutions of further education. On the other hand, they describe, from the perspective of the addresse es of further education, the latters' needs and interests concerning f urther education and their willingness to participate in these program s on the basis of selected cases The results show considerable differe nces between different social milieus.