Lifelong learning for facilitating democratic participation in Africa

Lifelong learning has come to be internationally recognized as a framework in the development of sustainable education. However, in spite of rhetoric and its endorsement in some nations’ policy documents, lifelong learning is not operationalized and Africa continues to be plagued by social maladies such as HIV/AIDS, capacity poverty, low quality education, global marginalization and ineffective governance. The article argues that post‐colonial Africa transited from concern with service delivery, went through structural adjustment policies to focusing on African renaissance. It indicates that some countries have embraced lifelong learning as policy framework but have not made sufficient efforts to translate that in their teaching and learning. It contents that lifelong learning in Africa can only be effective if African communities are encouraged to make concerted efforts to embrace principles such as deliberative democracy, multiculturalism, decentralization of decision‐making and helping to redirect the agenda of civil society as a way to use lifelong learning to enhance public participation in Africa.     

Lifelong learning policy in two national contexts

This article describes and discusses the development of lifelong learning policy in two EU member states, Denmark and Portugal. The purpose is to show how different societal and historical contexts shape the development and implementation of lifelong learning policies, even though these policies have significant common elements. As a basis for the discussion an inventory of policy elements is presented. Denmark and Portugal have been chosen as examples of smaller EU member states with different historical, social and cultural characteristics. Developments and policies in the two countries, including the links with EU education policy, are described. The discussion includes comparison drawing on the inventory of policy elements. A main conclusion is that the different historical trajectories of the two countries remain very important for present-day education and for the advancement of lifelong learning policy. Early development of public primary education and popular adult education has provided a strong foundation for lifelong learning policy in Denmark while in Portugal not only institutional provision but also popular demand for lifelong learning has had to be built up relatively recently. EU education policy has had much more impact on lifelong learning policy in Portugal than in Denmark, because Portugal has had to depend much more on economic support from the EU social fund.     

Research and policy in lifelong learning

It has long been acknowledged that adult and lifelong educators have exercised little influence over national education policies. This article addresses the issue, with particular reference to the research elements of policy advocacy. Researchers and policy‐makers are distinguished and related as communities of practice and intellectual categories of social function. It is argued that the concept ‘policy‐maker’ is too ambiguous to be of either theoretical or practical use, especially since the focus has shifted over the years away from the advocacy of adult education to the implementation of lifelong learning. Also, the concepts of both ‘policy’ and ‘research’ have undergone significant shifts of meaning, so that traditional ideas of the relation between research and policy are now outdated. We live in an age of public scepticism about the political uses to which research is put, and this also needs to be taken into account in the case of lifelong learning. Thus, the relation between research and the policy process needs to be reconceptualised in a future beyond lifelong learning in order to be meaningful, with the focus much more upon process than outcome. Only in this way could adult and lifelong educators expect to have any influence upon national policies.     

Book reviews

Lifelong learning is recognized as an important tool to reduce social exclusion, but out of the many investigations into the provision of lifelong learning in Europe none has yet sought to examine the specific situation of mental health care service users. This study examines the provision of lifelong learning for this disadvantaged group; it identifies current policies and explores the access to, and nature of, lifelong learning practices for mental health care service users in eight European countries. Data have been collected through a literature and policy review and through questionnaires completed by mental health practitioners in the eight countries. The study found broad compliance amongst the eight countries with the Lisbon policy goals on lifelong learning, but evidence of specific lifelong learning provision for mental health care service users is patchy and sporadic. The study identified the main benefits of, and the barriers to, the participation in lifelong learning for mental health care service users from the viewpoint of mental health professionals and practitioners. The implications for practice were described, and suggestions for actions were made for improving the lifelong learning provision for the target group.     

The Trouble with Higher Education: A critical examination of our universities

This study examined and compared the legal inputs, structural settings and implementation process of lifelong learning policy in Thailand and Japan focusing on street-level agents. The findings demonstrated that while both countries had legal frameworks that provided a legislative platform to promote lifelong learning among the elderly based on a bottom-up implementation of policies, three major differences existed that equated with different outcomes of lifelong learning among the elderly in both countries. First, the promotion of lifelong learning for the elderly in Thailand mirrored complex administrative structures of several host organizations and multiple legal frameworks; whilst Japan’s lifelong learning policy had been promoted based on the Social Education Act under a single ministry. Second, while Thailand based its policy implementation on government agents at the regional and local level in policy delivery, Japan developed a community-based multilayered platform that promoted the policy with active involvement from various local players. Finally, lifelong learning policy for the elderly in Thailand reflected the personal initiatives of policy promotion by government agents at the local level; whereas, lifelong learning policy for the elderly in Japan was pursued based on the interests of the elderly and the community in which they lived.     

Africa and international policy making for lifelong learning: textual revelations

This paper discusses the relationship between international agendas for lifelong learning and financial aid for low income countries, especially those on the African continent. It argues that there are subtle differences in terminology written by policymakers respectively in Europe and South Africa for lifelong learning but that international development agendas reinscribe lifelong learning for countries in receipt of development aid. Taking a postcolonial perspective the paper provides a textual analysis of case examples from policy documents in two African countries to demonstrate how international aid priorities negatively affect government choices and policies for lifelong learning, in spite of more regional analyses of the role of education and lifelong learning for the continent's development needs. It argues that the inclusion of indigenous worldviews from the south have potential to enhance a global agenda for the social purpose element of lifelong learning.     

Lifelong learning policies and discourses: critical reflections from Aotearoa,New Zealand

This article examines New Zealand experiences and understandings of lifelong education and lifelong learning over the past 30 years or so. It investigates the place of lifelong education and lifelong learning discourses in shaping public policy in Aotearoa as well as questions about the similarities and differences between the discourse in New Zealand and in Europe and the UK. The aim of the paper is to throw light on the following questions: what effects, if any, have notions of lifelong education or lifelong learning had on public policy discourses on tertiary education and the education of adults? Is there evidence to suggest that notions of either ‘lifelong education’ or ‘lifelong learning’ have provided a vision or sense of purpose or set of guidelines in developing public policies? Have they served to justify or legitimate new initiatives or funding arrangements? And, if so, what is the nature of this influence? Finally, in the light of this discussion the article also examines the question whether notions of ‘lifelong education’ and ‘lifelong learning’ as they have featured in the academic and policy literature are predominantly located in a Euro‐centred discourse and hence how they might be reconstituted to reflect more adequately discourses of learning and education in other parts of the world.     

Thought and action in the life of F.D. Maurice,with particular reference to the London Working Men's College

Lifelong learning is realized in different ways in different countries. Socio-economic and cultural factors are important determinants of implementation. Japan is a self-styled ‘maturing’ society with an ageing population. It is wealthy, but undergoing rapid social, economic and technological change that poses a threat to its sense of community. Its economy is faltering for the first time since reconstruction after World War II. In the author's view, based on desk study and a visit to relevant agencies in Nagoya and Tokyo in June 1999, lifelong learning is seen to be a key means for addressing these three central issues - ageing, community and economic change. National bodies have deliberated on the problems and informed themselves of needs and options for development. They have articulated policies to promote and celebrate learning of all kinds at any point of life through adult, vocational and community education. Initial education is perceived to have a key role in inculcating aptitude for, and positive attitudes towards, learning over the lifespan. This paper argues that, in Japan, lifelong learning is viewed as a ‘lifeline’ i.e. a vital means of communication on these issues between the national ‘think tanks’, bureaucrats and the Japanese public. The Bureau of Lifelong Learning of the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (Monbusho) seeks to develop and implement policies to achieve these goals.     

Conceptualising Lifelong Learning: a reflection on lifelong learning at Lund University (Sweden) and Middlesex University (UK)

Lifelong Learning has in recent years become a fundamental element of many educational policy strategies aimed at achieving the goal of socio‐economic development. The role of universities in this is viewed by some as crucial and requires some attention. This article examines the concept of lifelong learning and suggests another way in which it could be conceptualised. It further reflects on how two European universities understand and implement lifelong learning and the implications for European regional educational policies in view of the knowledge society.     

The narrative approach in research and its use for policy advice

ABSTRACT

Recent developments in Europe show that policymakers acknowledge the role of qualitative research in evidence building. A number of qualitative research studies, including narrative inquiry, have been contracted out to gather information into selected policy issues. The management of career transitions and lifelong learning has become a focus of research and policy interest in many countries. Based on the findings of two Cedefop studies, which included the collection of narrative interviews among mid-career adults in several European countries, this article argues in favour of narrative inquiry as a tool to inform policymakers and influences policies, for example in the field of career guidance and counselling and lifelong learning. A selection of narratives is provided as an example to show how unique situated knowledge within the context of mid-career adults’ life is influenced by existing policies or implies that policies need to be changed. By providing snapshots of the findings from these two studies and exemplify their informative value for policy, the article advocates for the usefulness of narrative inquiry. The presentation of qualitative data humanises the commonly found statistical representations of individuals’ life circumstances and enables imagination and meaning making.     

'The centre cannot hold': complexity and difference in European Union policy towards a learning society

The notions of lifelong learning and a learning society have been an important policy driver in the European Union at both the Commission and national government levels for a number of years. Overall, these policies aim to promote the twin goals of competitiveness in international markets and social cohesion within the still-expanding borders of the Union itself. To date, however, the impact of this emphasis on lifelong learning has been relatively slight. This article argues that this is in part because the policy process in relation to the development of a learning society is based on a view of governance and power that is open to reasoned dispute, and is, therefore, bound to disappoint in relation to its espoused goals. It is suggested that, rather than implementation being the main ‘problem’ of policy, the policy context inevitably generates many recontextualizations and renegotiations of meanings according to the situations and the actors involved, thereby undermining the notion of ‘implementation’ as a technical-rational process. It is argued that the complex negotiations enacted at local level reveal and are fashioned by tensions between the membership resources available to actors. This emphasizes complexity, diversity, and difference in policy processes, bringing to the fore a communicative and distributed approach to policy rather than one that is technical and centralizing.     

National strategies for implementing lifelong learning (LLL) – the gap between policy and reality: An international perspective

In this article, the late Jarl Bengtsson briefly traces the evolution of the concept of lifelong learning within the member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He points out that on the one hand lifelong learning is accepted, in policy terms, by all OECD countries and many other countries, but on the other hand there is an uneven and slow pace of implementation of lifelong learning. He examines three main reasons for this, namely the lack of workable implementation strategies, the lack of a funding system and stakeholders’ resistance to change. Without denying that each country is different and has to develop its own strategy, Bengtsson identifies a certain number of policy and research issues common to all countries, which are relevant to the acceleration of the implementation of lifelong learning strategies and programmes. Based on a paper originally presented at the Asia European Meeting (ASEM) Conference in Beijing in November 2009, this article closes with a reflection about where lifelong learning might be in 40 years’ time. Jarl Bengtsson updated his seminal paper in 2012 for inclusion in this special issue on lifelong learning, taking into account recent developments such as the establishment of learning societies. Sadly, he died before publication was completed.     

Education and Social Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe

This article evaluates the outcomes of the efforts of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries to make their education systems more effective in enhancing broader social and economic goals. It focuses on those 11 Central and Eastern European countries which became members of the EU in 2004 or following this date. First, it presents a short analysis of how educational goals were connected with the broader goals of social and economic progress before and during the first phase of the transition period after the collapse of Communism. It then analyses the impact of the accession of these countries to the EU, including the impact of some European mechanisms that have contributed to the strengthening of linkages between education and social-economic progress. The third part of the article attempts to evaluate the outcomes of the relevant national education reforms, development programmes and policies, most of them generated by these mechanisms, in the light of a number of selected indicators. A key conclusion of the article is that the adoption of the lifelong learning approach of the EU has been a major engine to strengthen the role of education in social and economic development in the CEE region, but most countries still need further efforts to translate this approach into coherent and effective national policies and to implement them so that they produce relevant and significant outcomes.     

Moving Mountains: will qualifications systems promote lifelong learning?

This article aims at providing a check list of possible mechanisms to trigger more and better lifelong learning from within the national qualifications system. It analyses the existing policy responses to the lifelong learning agenda in the countries under study and identifies possible mechanisms within the qualifications system that could impact on the behaviour of the many stakeholders. There are many other ways to impact on lifelong learning but they are not addressed in this article which focuses on the role of national qualifications systems.
Two mechanisms in particular are studied in more detail because they seem to be at the top of the research and policy agenda of many countries: qualifications frameworks and recognition of non-formal and informal learning systems.     

教育政策执行监测与评估体系的构建

《国家中长期教育改革和发展规划纲要(2010-2020年)》以及相关重大教育政策、重大教育改革项目的实施,客观上要求建立和完善教育政策执行的监测与评估体系。教育政策监测与评估主体是由教育政策执行者、专业机构、行政部门和立法机关、公众和大众媒体以及跨部门的教育政策监测与评估委员会等组成的多元复合体。教育政策监测与评估涉及教育政策成本、教育政策需求与满意度、教育政策执行力、教育政策影响与结果的监测与评估。建立复杂、动态、立体的教育政策执行的监测与评估机制,是实现对教育政策的良性监测与评估,最终促进并保障政策目标达成的重要选择。     

Development of a global lifelong learning index for future education

Since the transition from industrial society to a knowledge-based society, the source of national competitiveness is also changing. In this context, lifelong education has become a new competitive strategy for countries. This study broadly consists of three steps. Step I features a theoretical review of global lifelong learning indices and a comparison of the indices with existing ones. Step II introduces the process of development of indices based on the previous studies. Step III compares the rankings of countries in the area of lifelong learning based on the indices. Indices developed through this study will be used to evaluate the lifelong learning level of a specific country and to compare that with the lifelong learning levels of major countries around the world. In addition, the strengths and the weaknesses of the lifelong learning system of a specific country will be identified based on the indices, and the efforts that the country should make as a priority to improve the competitiveness of its lifelong learning system will be identified. To sum up, these indices will be able to be used as a reference when countries evaluate policies related to lifelong learning and make decisions that aim to improve the competitiveness of lifelong education.     

英国成人学习政策框架与实施效果

作为终身学习体系的重要组成部分,成人教育逐渐成为许多国家教育和人力资源政策的主流部分之一,特别是进入21世纪以来许多国家成人教育政策发展呈现新的动态。英国成人学习政策不断进行探索与变革,在政策体系、管理部门、财政支持和质量保障方面形成了自身的特色,并取得良好的效果。     

新自由主义对国际组织终身学习政策的影响

自20世纪80年代至今,新自由主义已从一种经济学理论成为西方国家主导的政治意识形态,经济合作与发展组织(OECD)等一些国际组织的终身学习政策在新自由主义政策的影响下,呈现出单纯追求市场收益的发展趋势,而这种发展趋势背离了联合国教科文组织(UNESCO)制定终身学习政策的人文主义价值追求。终身学习政策的发展和学习型社会的建立要走出新自由主义造成的困境,有待回归其人文主义价值追求。