Concepts and practices of education and adult education: obstacles to lifelong education and lifelong learning?

Over the last half century, in varying degrees and under various names, there has been much interest in learning throughout life for everybody. Although what has been written has stressed its necessity and feasibility, little has been achieved. As is common to all things educational, it has lagged behind the times. Little considered and highly resistant among the obstacles to it are the current concepts, institutions and practices of education. The widespread, systematic study of education in the 19th century grew out of the need to train teachers required by the introduction of universal primary schooling. Concentration by teacher trainers on this task, and their struggle to establish their subject as a coherent discipline to be taught in institutions of higher education was such that the prevailing view of education came to be restricted not merely mainly, as hitherto, but only, to the upbringing of children and young people. Rejecting this view of necessity, adult educationalists have sought for their own field academic recognition as a discipline, emphasizing their differences from initial education. Study of current educational writings from many countries shows that the reconciliation of these two positions, necessary to lifelong education, has not gone very far. Consideration of what might be done to create a process and a habit of lifelong learning for all on the basis of current practice and theory of initial education and adult education, of which lifelong education can only be a contributory element, will require fundamental changes in both. There are few signs so far of the political will and the sense of urgency that will apparently be required.     

Trans-nationalization of educational policy making: from European innovation projects in adult education to an emerging European space for lifelong learning: what model for the European vocational education and training policy?

This article is drawn from broader qualitative research on innovation in the field of professional adult training within the framework of European pilot projects such as the LEONARDO projects. This research aims at contributing to a general understanding of the phenomenon of innovation, in the context of European calls for projects, as an instrument of the European Vocational Education and Training (VET) Policy, which is supposed to transform the national training systems of EU member states according to the Lisbon Strategy. For this article, the author has chosen to present some of the results of the analysis of the European VET Policy and its transition to a lifelong learning policy. The first part of this article describes the conceptual framework and more especially three of the main concepts examined: public policy, social innovation and European space. The second part distinguishes three periods in the European VET policy’s history, identified through a genealogical examination from its first step within the European Coal and Steel Community to the present lifelong learning policy. The third part highlights the specificity of this supranational public policy model and the links between the European VET policy, the LEONARDO programme and the pilot projects. In conclusion, this article supports the idea of antagonistic logics in the evolution of this policy, on at least three levels: decision-making powers, conception of VET systems and conception of learning.     

From lifelong learning to youth employment: back to the future for higher education in Scotland’s colleges

This article explores aspects of the experience of higher education students in a Scottish college within the context of widespread contemporary concern about youth unemployment. Analysis of published data reveals a marked shift in the demographic profile of higher education students in colleges in favour of young people. An unseen consequence of this change has been a decline in opportunities for older students, particularly women wishing to study part time at an advanced level. Survey data from one college follows up an earlier case study and explores new dimensions of the work/life/study balance. In this study the respective experiences of school leavers, young adults and adults are compared. Over half of the students were in paid work, an increase compared with the previous survey. The relationship between work or family life and study was significant in influencing the quality of the students’ experience. Young part-time students, many of whom were following modern apprenticeships, achieved a more successful work/life/study balance compared with full-time students who were in paid work. It is recommended that colleges should devote attention to enabling students to maximise the benefits of combining work with study, to prepare them for transition into a difficult labour market. It is also argued that the different priorities of older lifelong learners should continue to be recognised as their numbers decline.     

From education for peace to education in conflict: changes in UNESCO discourse, 1945–2015

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, the global education community has focused significant attention on the promotion of education in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, embodied in the growth of a new sub-field called Education in Emergencies. This article points out the surprising distinction of this new sub-field from the more established and closely related field of peace education. It examines United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) documents for insight into the changing global ideas that have facilitated the shift in focus from peace to conflict. Empirically, we draw on a quantitative content analysis of more than 450 UNESCO documents published between 1945 and 2015. We find that education for peace remains a constant, if evolving, concern in these texts, but that a powerful emphasis on individual rights has shifted the discursive focus away from inter-state relations and towards the educational needs of young people. In the documents, conflict is now theorised as a threat to education and peace is re-envisioned not just as the desirable outcome of education, but also as its pre-condition. We show how this ideational transformation has re-cast an expansive array of conflicts, natural disasters, and other emergencies as threats to education.     

Self-regulated learning and students’ perceptions of innovative and traditional learning environments: a longitudinal study in secondary education

This study investigated the relationship between the development of students’ self-regulated learning and students’ perceptions of the learning environment in terms of autonomy support, the emphasis on relevance and collaborative learning. In addition, we compared innovative learning environments that aim to enhance self-regulated learning with traditional learning environments. Questionnaires for measuring self-regulated learning and perceptions of the learning environment were administered by 648 students. Self-regulated learning was measured at the start of secondary education and again half way through the first year. The results point to the importance of how students perceive the learning environment for self-regulated learning. There was a positive relationship between autonomy support and relevance and self-regulated learning. Furthermore, students in innovative environments perceived more autonomy support, more emphasis on relevance and more collaborative learning than those in traditional environments. Students in innovative environments, however, reported no more self-regulated learning than students in traditional environments.     

MOOCs in teacher education: institutional and pedagogical change?

We study the implementation of a MOOC initiative which involved two distinct teacher education institutions at HEIs, and where the implementation was led by a governmental body. Our aim was to see in what ways this initiative changed the teacher education involved, in terms of institutional organisation and pedagogics. Based on interviews with stakeholders from the government and from the two HEIs, we found that the process of implementing and piloting the MOOC faced various sorts of resistance. Our study might serve as a contribution to researchers and practitioners involved in development and running MOOCs as cross institutional initiatives, in that it addresses the diversity of challenges new study models are facing within HEIs. It may also be of interest to teacher education departments responsible for continuing education programs, since it demonstrates the opportunities that comes with a MOOC to provide larger groups of in-service teachers with new educational possibilities.     

Educating for a high skills society? The landscape of federal employment,training and lifelong learning policy in Canada

Government reports and documents claim that building a knowledge economy and innovative society are key goals in Canada. In this paper, we draw on critical policy analysis to examine 10 Canadian federal government training and employment policies in relation to the government's espoused priorities of innovation and developing a high skills society and economy. Our findings highlight three areas of contradiction: a tension between high skills and low skills policy, a contradictory focus on the socially and economically excluded and included, and the paradox of both an active and passive federal government. Drawing on state theories such as inclusive liberalism and the social investment state, we argue that while a ‘highly skilled knowledge economy’ may form part of the overall skills discourse, these contradictions raise doubts that it is to become a reality in Canada in the near future.     

Beginning teachers’ conceptions of competency: implications to educational policy and teacher education in Malaysia

When any innovations or measurement procedures are introduced into the education system to improve or judge the quality of its teaching force, beginning teachers often have to adapt to these new concepts of what constitute a high quality teaching. This article contends that these new concepts neither necessarily match beginning teachers’ own conceptions about their own competency nor has it given beginning teachers a chance to be heard. This study provides an opportunity for beginning teachers’ ‘voices’ to be heard through phenomenography which is an interpretive research approach to discover what beginning teachers in Malaysia conceive and understand as competence in relation to what they do every day as teachers. The main finding of this study is the key role played by beginning teachers’ conceptions of competency which has provided strong implications for educational policies and teacher education. The findings suggest that teachers need to be represented in any quality improvement measures. Careful attention should also be paid to the school systems and to teacher training programmes to support and encourage teachers in their professional growth as competent teachers.     

From traditional to formal education in the lower Arabian Gulf, 1820–1971

This article charts the development of education in the lower Arabian Gulf from its traditional beginnings in the nineteenth century to the provision of more formal schooling and eventually a ministry of education following Britain's withdrawal from the region in 1971. In order to provide a better understanding of the complexities and relative advances and setbacks to this development, special emphasis is placed on the social, economic and political context of education's trajectory; including the lower Gulf's dependent relations with its Imperial protector and its reliance on foreign educational aid from Kuwait.     

Going with the flow: First‐cycle higher education in a lifelong learning context

Abstract

Higher education is in flux as governments around the world seek to use it as an instrument to enhance national economies, and the half‐life of knowledge steadily decreases. Lifelong learning is presented as critically important to the development of human capital, but its implications for first‐cycle higher education have yet to be fully appreciated. It is argued that first‐cycle higher education is evolving in the light of changes in the relationship between the academy and employers. Students’ part‐time work is a significant component of their experience in higher education, yet its potential for learning is generally under‐exploited. The argument is made that part‐time work can be drawn into the formal curriculum without prejudice to traditional academic concerns, particularly if a lifelong learning perspective is taken.     

Improving learner outcomes in lifelong education: formal pedagogies in non‐formal learning contexts?

This article explores how far research findings about successful pedagogies in formal post‐school education might be used in non‐formal learning contexts – settings where learning may not lead to formal qualifications. It does this by examining a learner outcomes model adapted from a synthesis of research into retention. The article first introduces the model. It then explores this model to identify pedagogy suitable for formal education. Next it asks whether this pedagogy may also be appropriate for use in four non‐formal learning contexts: community development; adult literacy; workplace learning; and personal interest learning. While it gives a qualified ‘yes’ to the question, it acknowledges some shortcomings in the pedagogy for non‐formal adult learning. Finally, the article attempts to address shortcomings by integrating a critical dimension into the model, suggesting that learner outcomes in formal education could also benefit from the inclusion of this critical dimension.     

From secondary school blues to lifelong learning? - aspects of the retrospective re-evaluation of formative educational experience by adults

An introductory section traces the connections between published autobiographical accounts of education in childhood, as seen in retrospect, and the construction of hypotheses for more formal research into the continuing influences of formative educational experience for adult learners and educationists. The reported research relates to the re-evaluation of aspects of primary and secondary schooling by 21 adults, seven each from the UK, Germany and Denmark. The results reflect a cross-cultural unanimity of perspective on certain key aspects of formative education, notably the generally positive view which subjects took of their own progress in both primary education and post-compulsory secondary education. Subjects in all three national groups independently expressed more reservations about their progress in schooling in early secondary education. The qualitative interview data failed to support the theory that educational progress in this period compromised by the intrusion of developmental factors relating to puberty and adolescence. Subjects' own accounts pointed more strongly towards interpretations relating to the management of crucial transitions in the responsibilities for academic study, from the early experience of dependency on teachers, in primary school, to the construction of independent learner goals in the later phases of secondary education in anticipation of the greater degree of autonomy required in tertiary and continuing education.     

Making a difference—inclusive learning and teaching in higher education through open educational resources

Recently there has been growing concern about the ways in which professional values such as “acknowledging diversity and promoting equality of opportunity” (Higher Education Academy (HEA), 2006 Higher Education Academy (HEA). (2006). UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education. York: Author. Retrieved from http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/ourwork/rewardandrecog/ProfessionalStandardsFramework.pdf  [Google Scholar], p. 4) have been understood and evidenced in higher education. In this article, we outline how the Learning to Teach Inclusively open educational resource (OER) is addressing this concern by facilitating understanding of the concepts and principles underpinning these professional values. We outline a set of principles for inclusive practice and show how they underpin not only the content of this resource, but also its design, development, and embedding. We argue that while these principles were derived from research in face-to-face teaching, they are just as relevant and applicable to learning, teaching, and curriculum design in distance learning and virtual contexts. Finally, we outline three models for embedding the OER and propose a model for embedding inclusive practice through OER across HE.     

Group-based educational inequalities in India: Have major education policy interventions been effective?

Despite seven decades of policy thrust, group-based educational inequalities persist in India. The tenacious social group-based stratification often proves to be a hurdle for educational participation policies to be effectively rolled out. Given these realities, this study reviews all major national education policy interventions since t 1950s. Using four rounds of National Sample Survey (NSS) data, we analysed the pattern of educational attainments in terms of Average Years of Schooling (AYS) and educational inequalities in India for the period 1994-2012. Three indices of inequality - Gini, Theil’s enttropy and Atkinson - have been constructed to study inequality by gender, place of residence and social groups. . We also empirically estimated the determinants of educational attainments in India by using OLS and Tobit Models. Further using the Oaxaca-Blinder Decomposition technique, we analysed the educational attainment gaps between groups. The study concludes that policy interventions have done little to reduce the group-based educational attainment gap and it’s time to place improved focus on secondary and higher education while continuing the efforts in primary education.     

Becoming an educable lifelong learning subject: adult graduates’ transitions in education and working life

Continuous learning and updating one’s competences and abilities have become requirements for staying ‘up-to-date’ and ‘at the top of one’s game’. Lifelong learning policy has been persuasive in its emphasis on equal learning opportunities for all: everyone has endless possibilities and capabilities to learn according to her/his needs and desires throughout life. This discourse has been especially encouraging for the eight Finnish general upper secondary school adult graduates followed in this study; they had received little formal education in their youth or had been labelled as ‘poor’ students at school through the assessment criteria maintained by the schooling system’s prevailing meritocratic discourse. In order to become lifelong learning subjects, they first needed to prove their ability and competence as students and learners, that is their educability. This was also the key for their transitions in further and higher education and working life. Consequently, half of the interviewees told ‘success stories’ about these transitions. Moreover, they continued to have faith in ‘the great salvation of education’ as well as their own educability. For the other half, however, these transitions turned out to be disappointing or perceived as a broken promise. These adults also started to doubt their own abilities as students and learners.     

English language learning and education policy in Chile: can English really open doors for all?

To date, knowledge of English in Latin America has reflected existing political and economic power structures. It has remained the preserve of the elite with access to private schooling, and as such it demarcates and divides social groups by reinforcing an unequal distribution of wealth, resources, and knowledge. However, the number of people learning English as a foreign language is growing across the region. This article analyses the “English Opens Doors Programme” in Chile, which aims to improve national economic competitiveness and promote equitable access to English language learning in all publicly funded schools. The article examines this initiative within the context of Chilean education policy since 1990, thereby acknowledging the influence of different stakeholders in this process, and the tensions between education for economic growth and education for social justice in a highly segmented and marketised system.     

Vocational education and training for development: A policy in need of a theory?

The current decade has seen a significant return of interest in vocational education and training (VET) amongst the international policy community. This rise in policy and programmatic interest in VET's role in development, however, stands in contrast to the state of the academic debate. Whilst there have continued to be both policy and academic developments in VET in OECD countries; in the South there has been a paucity of VET research and little in the way of theoretical exploration. Rather, the academic orthodoxy in the international education and development field is dismissive of VET's possible contribution. Given the return of the policy interest in VET for development, and the possibilities of a broader vision of education–development relations beyond 2015, when the MDGs end, it is time to revisit the role of VET in development from an explicitly theoretical stance. In this article, I argue that the current approach to VET is grounded in an outmoded model of development, whilst the academic critique of VET in developing countries is clearly long outdated. In contrast, I examine the implications for VET of recent trends in thinking about development through the exploration of three particular theoretical approaches: human rights, capabilities and integrated human development. I conclude by considering the purposes, natures and possibilities of VET as a means of human development.