Between giving account and finding the truth

Abstract

Abstract This article aims at analyzing the consequences of using educational monitoring data for adult education research. Refering to the Statistics on German “Volkshochschulen” (Adult Education Centers) the advantages and challenges that the usage of educational monitoring data brings for research purposes are shown. This is made explicit by focussing on the research project “Governance structures and educational performance profiles in adult education organizations” (GLOW) and discussing the empirical design and the cluster analysis which was carried out on the basis of data from the Statistics on German “Volkshochschulen”.

Keywords

• Educational research
• Adult education research
• Educational monitoring
• Statistics on adult education centers
• Cluster analysis