Pedagogical Relationships in Digitised Adult Education

Abstract

With the COVID-19 pandemic the education sector is facing major new challenges and opportunities, e.g., changes in the pedagogical relationships between teachers and learners. Various publications have already inquired into the importance of pedagogical relationships in primary and secondary education, but not in adult education. Therefore, a closer look should now be taken at pedagogical relationships in adult education and their impact on successful teaching – both in the analogue and the digital realm. The person-centred approach as well as the approach of professional proximity and distance are relevant concepts in this field. From the perspective of person-centred pedagogy, respectful interaction with one another and the facilitation of an equal dialogue between teachers and learners are of great importance. The relevance of relationships between teachers and learners in adult education should not be underestimated – also with regard to enabling successful relationship building in distance learning.