English

Dr. Michael Bernhard
Lecturer & Research Associate

In my research, teaching and practice, I have been interested in understanding and supporting the learning of adults, particularly in settings beyond pedagogical institutions. My Ph.D. research focused on studying learning processes during life course transitions in the context of migration, employment and mobility, drawing on pragmatist and praxeological concepts. Further, I have been researching and teaching in the area of work-integrated learning, organizational development, and community development.

I am an associate member of the research training group, “Doing Transitions. The Formation of Transitions over the Life Course”, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). In this context, I completed my dissertation on adult migration from a “Doing Transitions” perspective and am now building on this work to investigate career transitions in different labour market regimes. Conceptually, I am interested in the relationship among social practices, institutional contexts, and regulatory frameworks, such as regimes of migration or labour markets.

My roles prior to joining the Department of Adult and Further Education at Goethe University Frankfurt include positions nurturing and coordinating community-engaged scholarship at Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada) and work-integrated learning in the field of social work with the University of Waterloo (Canada), as well as leadership roles in the non-profit and for-profit sectors in Canada, USA and France

After obtaining a degree in physiotherapy from the Medical School of Bad Salzungen (Germany) in 2000, I studied education, psychology and philosophy at Hagen University (Germany), obtaining a B.A. in 2003 and M.A. in 2011.

For morde details, please refer to this Curriculum Vitae.

Publications and Conference Presentations

  • Bernhard, M. (2023). Doing migration in adulthood: Learning to engage with the Canadian Experience discourse. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education. https://doi.org/10.56105/cjsae.v35i02.5688 (peer reviewed)
  • Bernhard, M. & Van Daele, C. (2023). Practice architecture in community development: Mapping traditions in learning and action. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education. https://doi.org/10.56105/cjsae.v35i02.5672 (peer reviewed)
  • Bernhard, M. (2023). Transitioning experience: Migrant learning and engaging with Canada’s labour market challenges. In C. Nägele, N. Kersh, & B. E. Stalder (Eds.), Trends in vocational education and training research, Vol. VI. Proceedings of the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), Vocational Education and Training Network (VETNET) (pp. 43–51). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.820834
  • Billett, S., Hof, C., Ågren, S., Thevenot, E., & Bernhard, M. (2023). Understanding Transitions to and Through Working Life: Concepts, Methods and Procedural Imperatives. Symposium zur European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), Vocational Education and Training Network (VETNET), Glasgow, Scotland.
  • Bernhard, M. (2023). Learning by doing migration: Temporal dimensions of life course transitions. Studies in Continuing Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2023.2223131. (peer reviewed)
  • Bernhard, M. & Hof, C. (2023). Social Dimensions of Learning in Transitions: The Heuristic Value of Non-Western Perspectives on Communal Learning. Paper presentation with the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). Conference Theme: Returning to/Creating/Encountering Community.
  • Van Daele, C. & Bernhard, M. (2023). Bold Encounters in Practice Architecture: Doings, Sayings, and Relatings in Grassroots Community Development. Paper presentation with the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). Conference Theme: Returning to/Creating/Encountering Community.
  • Bernhard, M. (2023). Non-Western Perspectives on Learning During Migration. Paper presentation at the conference "Doing Transitions: Relational perspectiveson the life course", Frankfurt am Main.
  • Bernhard, M. (2022). Boundary experiences in Canada: 'Doing migration' and the role of adult education. Der Pädagogische Blick, 30(1), 6-18. https://doi.org/10.3262/pb2201006. (peer reviewed)
  • Hof, C. & Bernhard, M. (2022). Übergänge als Anlass für Lernprozesse. In S. Andresen, P. Bauer, B. Stauber, & A. Walther (Hrsg.), Doing Transitions – die Hervorbringung von Übergängen im Lebenslauf: Zeitschrift für Pädagogik, 68. Beiheft (S. 181–194). Beltz. https://doi.org/10.3262/zpb2201181. (peer reviewed)
  • Bernhard, M. (2022). Experience and transitions: A relational perspective on migration in adulthood. Paper presentation with the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE) at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Conference theme: ‘Transitions.’
  • Bernhard, M. (2022). Learning by Doing Migration: Temporal Dimensions of Life Course Transitions. Paper presentation at the 12th International Researching Work & Learning Conference (RWL12) at the University of Toronto (OISE), themed ‘Work, Learning & Social Change.’
  • Bernhard, M. & Hof, C. (2022). Lernen in der Krise: Mögliche Anschlüsse an nicht-westliche Theorieangebote. Beitrag zur Jahrestagung der Sektion Erwachsenenbildung der DGfE. Konferenzthema: Re-Konstruktionen. Krisenthematisierungen in der Erwachsenenbildung. [Learning during crisis: The heuristic potential of non-Western perspectives, presented at the annual conference of the Adult Education section of the German Educational Research Association]
  • Bernhard, M. (2022). Encountering a new rulebook: Migrant engagement with the 'Canadian experience' discourse. Paper presentation at the ESREA conference on ‘Encountering the other: biographies, spaces and relationships in adult education.’
  • Bernhard, M. (2022). The messy crossings of national boundaries in adulthood. Paper presentation at the annual congress of the German Society for Education (DGfE).

Courses offered

  • Courses of the current term are listed here.
  • Organisational development and social responsibility (B.A., Fall 2022)
  • "Non-western" perspectives on the learning of adults (B.A., Fall 2022)
  • Community Development: On the quest for communal learning spaces (M.A., Spring 2023)
  • Introduction to the pedagogy of adult age: Learning of adults (B.A., Spring 2023)
  • Life course transitions in adulthood and lifelong learning (B.A.)
  • Adult education in the context of migration and mobility (B.A.)
  • Informal learning from a pragmatist and practice theory perspective (M.A.)