Individual Experiences and Collective Practices of Learning Time in Adult Education: An Empirical Reconstruction of Time Modalities in Educational Processes

Abstract

Education and learning processes cannot be separated from time and temporality. Although current educational research recognizes this, there are still desiderata, especially combining theoretical approaches to qualitative empirical methodological approaches. Therefore, in a current research project we use qualitative-reconstructive methods to investigate the relationship between institutionalized time structures, collective time practices, and subjective experiences of time in the context of paid educational leaves. In this article, we first examine relationships between time and adult education, contextualized to the programmatics of lifelong learning. We then introduce the methodological design of our research project, which combines approaches of qualitative classroom research and biographical (adult) educational research. The analysis interweaves participant observations of courses and narrative interviews with participants, using the documentary method. Using a selected course as an example, we show how this multi-methodological and multi-perspective approach makes it possible to elaborate the complex relationships between collective time practices and subjective experiences of learning time. We focus on structuring the time within the course in contrast to learning time beyond the course and show how different the participants perceive and shape the latter. As conclusion, we elaborate on methodological follow-up questions on temporality that could derive from our current research experiences.