When it comes to supporting people with basic education needs, a particular challenge lies in targeting them specifically and motivating them to participate in learning opportunities, a task that also plays a central role in the projects supported by GrundbildungsPFADE.
This interview is one in a series showing how the Netzwege and Berko projects approach participant acquisition and needs assessment for their basic education pathways. The projects report on their procedures, outreach strategies and specific approaches to target groups, as well as their practices for identifying needs. This provides practical insights into social, space-oriented and work-oriented approaches. In the third part of the series, Dr Johannes Bonnes reports on how the Competence Centre supports and accompanies the practical work of the funded projects.
In the joint project Netzwege, Arbeit und Leben Hessen, the Bildungswerk der hessischen Wirtschaft and involas – Institut für berufliche Bildung, Arbeitsmarkts- und Sozialpolitik GmbH are jointly developing and testing basic education pathways. The following interview focuses on the Offenbach sub-project, which targets mothers with German as a second language and basic education needs.
What approach do you take to encourage people to participate in your project?
In the first step, we held discussions with the Basic Education Centre (GBZ) and the Adult Education Centre (VHS) in Offenbach to find out about the current status of the services available to the target group, but also about the target group itself (how many participants show up, when and where) and to conduct an analysis of the actors involved in the entire municipality: Who is involved with our target group, who could be relevant, where are services for the target group provided? In the second step, we held discussions with the target group that is already involved with the Adult Education Centre and the GBZ: What do you need in order to be able to learn, where else do you learn? What else would you like to learn?
At the same time, we conducted interviews with all the relevant institutions in Offenbach that had been mentioned in the stakeholder analysis. This revealed other important stakeholders in the network. We always asked about existing services and what else would be needed to provide the target group with tailored support. Where does the target group appear, and how is it referred?
Another important point is to attend relevant networks and events in order to gain access to potentially relevant individuals and slowly approach the target group with its needs. What are the moments of learning motivation (e.g. when a child starts school)? Where does the target group spend its time? What motivates it to embark on the basic education pathway?
Are there any specific outreach strategies, practices or approaches for the target group (mothers for whom German is a second or foreign language)? What role do social space-oriented and outreach approaches play?
A pilot project is planned to introduce the basic education pathway. We and the educational staff will approach parents personally in daycare centres. Parent mentors in Offenbach act as multipliers, and children in particular are a good motivation to learn. For this reason, the approach is being taken in daycare centres and schools.
Outreach education work is considered essential, and it is important to start with a low threshold.
Lack of time and childcare are relevant inhibiting factors. Therefore, childcare services must be planned and/or scheduled during childcare hours: locations must be easily accessible, without having to justify oneself, and within walking distance.
How do you assess the learning needs of your target groups?
We work in a participatory manner and ask the target group directly about their learning needs and their wishes for tailor-made learning formats. We plan to maintain constant dialogue with the target group and also ask, for example, daycare centres how they assess the learning needs.
During our discussions with the institutions (youth welfare office, job centre, etc.), we also inquire about the needs of the mothers they work with, what they require and what they would like to achieve: training, school qualifications, German language courses, etc. This also reveals a need for learning.
What are the biggest challenges you face in attracting participants, and how do you deal with them?
One of the biggest challenges is reaching people who are never reached, such as those who hardly ever leave the house.
Another major challenge is the target group's negative experiences with learning, bureaucracy and institutions. In addition, the heavy burden of multiple problems (debt, poverty, precarious residence status, domestic violence, cramped or threatened living space, precarious employment conditions, challenges posed by bureaucracy, etc.) makes learning difficult or impossible. Other factors include a lack of childcare or counselling services that are not sufficiently accessible, when the target group encounters closed doors, buildings that are difficult to find, far away, unknown, etc. It is also difficult when there are no suitable services available – when childcare is not taken into account or there is no German course at the appropriate level or no German course at all.
