Abstract
Particularly in the context of the negotiation of professional beliefs and external expectations, a research desideratum emerges with regard to program planning in political adult education. Using neo-institutionalism as a theoretical basis, this work examines these expectations, individual beliefs and their negotiations using the example of Brandenburg adult education centers. The data obtained from open and guideline-supported interviews were evaluated in the sense of a qualitative, structuring content analysis according to Kuckartz & Rädiker (2022). External expectations of different groups of actors (e.g. municipal authorities, associations, addressees) are traced, which can be summarized in demands for efficiency, appropriateness of content and fulfillment of legal obligations. Individual beliefs can be represented in an interplay of framing beliefs (e.g. political education as something difficult), general goal orientations (e.g. whether the offerings are related to democracy) and individual conceptions of political education (e.g. attitudes critical of the system). Conflicts arise in particular between one’s own attitudes and external expectations of efficiency and appropriateness, which, in the sense of Oliver’s (1991) system, are primarily passive (e.g. in the sense of conscious and unconscious acceptance) and adaptation-oriented (e.g. in the sense of compromises between one’s own attitudes and Expectations) are dissolved. Proactive strategies only appear to a limited extent. It becomes clear that political adult education is irrelevant to gaining legitimacy for the organization, but at the same time it also poses a risk of loss of legitimacy if the offerings are not perceived as being appropriate in terms of content. A dependence on the primacy of efficiency and cost-effectiveness causes system-critical aspects of political education to take a back seat, so that pragmatic approaches predominate in program planning.
