Needs of Students in Further Education: A Mixed Methods Study

Technological progress and volatile working environments inevitably lead to the need for lifelong learning. Learners in continuing education pursuing a professional career are therefore increasingly turning to accompanying continuing education formats (OECD, 2021). In this context, the terms “further or continuing education” describe the deepening, broadening, or update of existing vocational education and training from a previous phase of education. Less time available for studying due to having a job and possibly a family leads to either lower grades or longer completion times (Hall, 2010) or even higher dropout rates (Hoffmann, Thalhammer, von Hippel, & Schmidt-Hertha, 2020). Furthermore, secondary education might date back long ago (Hanft, Maschwitz, & Hartmann-Bischoff, 2013). Digital transformation drives the expectation for digital, scalable, and affordable solutions that are adaptive to this target group’s heterogeneous needs and challenges independent of time and location (Marković, 2014). However, before user-oriented solutions can be developed, their underlying needs must be uncovered.