Definition: "Fort- und Weiterbildung"

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"Fortbildung" and "Weiterbildung" are often used interchangeably (see Lipowsky & Rzejak, 2021), but they are not the same thing. The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs distinguishes between professional development and continuing education as follows:

"Fortbildung" refers to “professional development activities undertaken alongside one’s career that serve to maintain, update, and further develop existing professional competencies (...)” (KMK, 2020). "Weiterbildung", on the other hand, additional qualifications are acquired, such as teaching certification in an additional subject.

_{Conference of Ministers of Education (KMK) (2020): Joint State Guidelines on In-Service Training for Teachers as a Component of Their Professional Development in the Third Phase of Teacher Education.}

_{Lipowsky, F.; Rzejak, D. (2021). Designing Effective Professional Development for Teachers. A Practice-Oriented and Research-Based Guide. Bertelsmann Stiftung.}

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