Editorial

Editorial
In light of the Corona pandemic, many people are sharing collective experiences of the loss of „external clocks“ such as gainful employment or education. We are experiencing the paradox of simultaneous slowing down and acceleration, for example when we no longer commute to work but must learn how to handle online technology as quickly as possible. In fact, an individual‘s sense of time is closely connected to the time regime predominant in society; since the start of the modern period, it has become increasingly characterized by acceleration, flexibility and the dissolution of boundaries. This has consequences and implications for the processes of learning and education of adults as well as for the field (of action) of adult education. Taking this as the point of departure, the articles in the current issue of The Austrian Open Access Journal on Adult Education approach the topic „adult education and time.“ While several authors locate time rather subjectively and associate biographical learning processes with external time structures, others take a historical approach to looking at the development of ideas about time and their impact on the individual, processes of learning and education and an adult education that is conscious of and responsible for time. Other articles identify what time remains to learners for education, what time resources are required for successful education and what contribution „slowing down“ can make in adult education. Finally, several articles ask questions about (time) formats and didactics in adult education: What contributes to slowing down or accelerating? And how can learners (continue to) educate themselves with consummate ease in how they deal with time?