Dimensions for successful digitalisation and mediatisation in adult and continuing education: Initial empirical findings on institutional and organisational contexts

In this article, dimensions for successful digitalisation and mediatisation in adult and continuing education are identified. Using a multilevel model, the institutional and organisational contexts of two umbrella organisations and six adult and continuing education organisations in Germany will be analysed. Based on a literature review in adult and continuing education and in media education, the characteristics of these two contexts are identified. These characteristics serve as a deductive structural grid for analysing general dimensions for success in eight focus group discussions. The data show that collaboration in umbrella organisations may be considered essential for successful digitalisation. To the individual organisations, digitalisation not only means an expansion of their offerings but also a transformation of their organisational structures and work cultures.