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Project Title:PIAAC-Longitudinal (PIAAC-L) 2016 - Acquisition of Competencies (English Version)
  2. General Information: *Note: This item was tested in German. This is an English translation of the original German wording. The translation does not correspond exactly to the wording in the English PIAAC source questionnaire.*
  3. Introduction: In addition to further vocational training, there is also the possibility to participate in general further training. General further education usually has a private purpose and serves to acquire or extend one's own knowledge and skills (e.g. music, sport, education, health, art, politics, technology or cooking).
    Here, too, the amount of time can vary from a few hours to several months.
    [Über berufliche Weiterbildung hinaus, gibt es auch die Möglichkeit an allgemeiner Weiterbildung teilzunehmen. Allgemeine Weiterbildung hat meist einen privaten Zweck und dient dem Erwerb oder der Erweiterung eigener Kenntnisse und Fertigkeiten (z.B. Musik, Sport, Erziehung, Gesundheit, Kunst, Politik, Technik oder Kochen).
    Auch hier kann der zeitliche Umfang zwischen einigen Stunden und mehreren Monaten liegen.]
  4. Question Text: In 2014, have you participated in at least one general further training course?
    [Haben Sie im Jahr 2014 an mindestens einer allgemeinen Weiterbildung teilgenommen?]
  5. Instruction: INT: The further vocational training courses already mentioned are no longer meant here. [INT: Die bereits genannten beruflichen Weiterbildungen sind hier nicht mehr gemeint.]
  7. Answer Categories Yes [Ja]

    No [Nein]

    1. Recommendations: In the case of several further training courses, a query about how many further training courses the respondents have taken and which ones were involved can also support the respondents' memory. We therefore recommend the following question sequence:
      Introduction: In addition to professional training, there is also the possibility to participate in general further training. General further training usually has a private purpose and serves to acquire or extend one's own knowledge and skills (e.g. music, sports, education, health, art, politics, technology or cooking). The duration of the further training can also be from a few hours to several months.
      [Über berufliche Weiterbildung hinaus, gibt es auch die Möglichkeit an allgemeiner Weiterbildung teilzunehmen. Allgemeine Weiterbildung hat meist einen privaten Zweck und dient dem Erwerb oder der Erweiterung eigener Kenntnisse und Fertigkeiten (z.B. Musik, Sport, Erziehung, Gesundheit, Kunst, Politik, Technik oder Kochen). Die Dauer der Weiterbildung kann auch hier wenige Stunden bis mehrere Monate umfassen.]
      10.1 Have you participated in at least one general training course in 2014? [Haben Sie im Jahr 2014 an mindestens einer allgemeinen Weiterbildung teilgenommen?]
      If in question 10.1 = yes: [Falls bei Frage 10.1 = ja:]
      10.2 How many general training courses did you attend in 2014? [Wie viele allgemeine Weiterbildungen haben Sie im Jahr 2014 besucht?]
      (open answer)
      10.3 What was the most important general further training in 2014 for you? [Was war die für Sie wichtigste allgemeine Weiterbildung in 2014?]
      (open answer)
      If question 11 is not only about one (most important or last) general further training, 10.3 can be omitted and multiple answers can be allowed instead for question 11.
      Answer options: No changes recommended.
  2. Cognitive Techniques:Information image/link to cognitive pretesting General Probing, Specific Probing, Comprehension Probing
  3. Findings for Question: Five test persons (TP 05, 06, 07, 10, 16) state that they have participated in at least one general training course in 2014, the remaining 13 test persons have not participated in a general further training course in 2014.

    By general further training course, most test persons understand continuing education events, such as courses dealing with their hobbies or personal competencies (TP 01, 02, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 13, 15), as the following exemplary quotations show:
    • "General further training aims at developing my personality and my personal competencies. In contrast to professional training, which is about acquiring skills that are relevant to everyday work.” (TP 06)
    • "Anything that broadens the personal horizon. Acquisition of knowledge and skills not necessarily related to my employment, but which can." (TP 07)
    • "I was thinking about cooking classes, painting classes, classes in general." (TP 08)
    • "By general further training I mean things that one does not need professionally or scholastic, but is doing out of private interest." (TP 10)
    It is not clear from test person 05 and 16 what exactly they mean by "general further training":
    • "In general, about me and my life. My lifestyle, which helps me." (TP 05)
    • "I would consider general education more of a recreational activity." (TP 16)
    The test persons 12, 14, 17 and 18 understand by general further training also activities such as reading newspapers, books or magazines, watching news or also quiz shows on television.

    Test person 04 always interprets the term "further training" as vocational further training and would understand general further training as personality development:
    • TP 04: "I would always consider further training as professional. So not in private."
    • CI: "Would you have another word for continuing education when you say that continuing training is always professional for you? What would these further training classes be here?"
    • TP 04: "This could be understood in the broadest sense as personality development."
    All test persons, with the exception of test person 09, found the explanations of the term general further training "very easy" or "rather easy to understand". Test person 09 justified her naming "rather difficult to understand" as follows: "Due to the long text. Too redundant. The examples are helpful so that one knows what is meant specifically."

    In addition, the test persons indicate that there is a difference between vocational and general further training. With the exception of test person 12, all test persons indicate that further vocational training is related to their occupation, while general further training is related to private interests and hobbies and can be attributed to leisure activities:
    • "One is a training that has a specific purpose and the other is a general training that effectively interests you." (TP 01)
    • "Professional training is training in itself, it is professional. Its purpose is to position oneself in the job or to improve. […] And general further training is leisure time. It's a leisure time frame that I create for myself.” (TP 04)
    • "Further vocational training is something that helps me to get ahead in my profession. This general is then my life, my personal life, be it language, cooking, whatever there is." (TP 05)
    • "Further vocational training serves for the acquisition of skills that serve for the profession. General further training is the acquisition of one's own interests, skills or knowledge.” (TP 14)
    • "Well, for me, further vocational training only refers to the subject I am doing in my job [...] General further training is easy if you broaden your own horizon a little. Speak of politics or cooking, languages, whatever.“ (TP 18)
    Test person 12 does not know the difference between vocational and general further training: "Vocational further training is when I want to continue training in my profession [...] And the general further training is when I work at Benz, for example, and buy the internal Benz newspaper and read about how the Benz is developing, the figures and everything, the income, export, import and therefore the general.”
  2. Question Topic: Job and career/ Job situation & professional activity
  3. Construct: Participation in general further training