Education
University of Zurich, German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Deutsche Industrie- und Handelskammer, DIHK)
Prof. von Hippel and her team researches adult education and further training, and especially lifelong learning processes in adult education. In this context, they investigate institutions of general and professional further education and vocational training. The team has three special research interests. The first focuses on target groups and participant research. Prof. Hippel investigates why people take part in further education and what motivates them. Furthermore, she studies how people participate in further education. A second field of interest is on organisational research. The team investigates, for example, how different providers of further education develop their organisational structure over time and what kinds of trainings they offer for special target groups. Programme research is the third area of Prof. Hippel’s research. In this unit, the team explores the mechanisms that determine the setting of topics and how professional planning in organisations of further education is enacted. Unlike in schools, further education is not restricted by a set curriculum, but nevertheless content has to be negotiated and agreed on by different players. Existing programmes of further education reflect the demand to date, different interests and anticipated needs and are thus of interest for Prof. von Hippel’s research. For the last 20 years, the department has built up its own archive of further education programmes of Berlin-Brandenburg (Weiterbildungsprogrammarchiv Berlin-Brandenburg). It contains the further education programmes of over 500 institutions, accessible to scientific research and teaching.
- group discussions, focus groups and product clinics in the adult and further education sector (innovative method of market analysis for a target group oriented planning of training programmes)
- contract research in the area of further education (group discussions, surveys based on questionnaires and interviews, programme analyses)
- training for those employed in adult and further education (e.g. lecturers, programme planners, HR)
- several institutions of further education, amongst others for the unit for academic further education of the University of Zurich, German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Deutsche Industrie- und Handelskammer, DIHK) and public institutions of further education: implementation of product clinics with the aim of target group oriented planning of training programmes for further education
- direction of a German Research Foundation Project (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) on the subject of planning of continuing vocational training: realisation of case studies in big companies
- several projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research(Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF) related to social milieus and further education: training of further education providers
- in co-operation with large companies and further education providers: supervision of academic theses
Professor Voelkle is an expert in Quantitative Psychology. He and his team work on the development and adaptation of new assessment procedures, the statistical and mathematical modeling of psychological processes, the design of studies as well as the analysis and interpretation of empirical-psychological data. Special emphasis of the research conducted at professor Voelkle’s lab lies on the analysis of longitudinal data and evaluation research. Professor Voelkle and his team are often involved as consultants in research and development projects in the education and health sector. To improve applied empirical research in the social and life sciences, they have founded the Berlin Methods Group in 2017.
Powerful computers and access to all common statistical programs
- Health: Evaluation and statistical advice for psychological-medical research facilities and health insurance companies
- Education: Evaluation and statistical consulting for private and public project executing organisations