A Z Of Lifelong Learning

The book covers a list of key topics that are central or even ‘troublesome’ in lifelong learning with each entry offering a critically informed and up-to-date introduction to the topic.

This text explores the different ways in which the various social practices in which people participate becomes signed as learning, how and why that occurs and with what consequences. It takes seriously the linguistic turn in social theory to draw upon semiotics and poststructuralism through which to explore the significance of lifelong learning as an emerging discourse in education.

This first truly comprehensive interdisciplinary, international critique of theory and practice in lifelong learning as it relates to later life is an absolute tour de force. Alexandra Withnall, Universities of Warwick and Leicester, UK. This is a book that needed to be written: it provides a most thorough and skilful analysis of a comprehensive range of contemporary literature about learning in later life from many localities and countries of the world. Peter Jarvis, Professor Emeritus, University of Surrey Impressive in its scope this handbook seeks to describe older learning critically within the lifelong learning literature at the same time that it makes a strong and persuasive case for taking older learning seriously in our postmodern world. Kenneth Wain, University of Malta Lifelong learning in later life is an essential handbook for a wide range of people who work alongside older adults in varied contexts. This handbook brings together both orthodox approaches to educational gerontology and fresh perspectives on important emerging issues faced by seniors around the globe. Issues discussed include the social construction of ageing, the importance of lifelong learning policy and practice, participation in later life learning, education of marginalised groups within older communities, inter-generational learning, volunteering and ‘active ageing’, the political economy of older adulthood, learning for better health and well-being, and the place of seniors in a learning society. Brian Findsen is a professor of adult education, Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. His writings are usually constructed within a social justice framework such as The Fourth Sector: Adult and Community Education in Aotearoa New Zealand (edited with John Benseman and Miriama Scott in 1996) and Learning later (2005). Marvin Formosa is a lecturer in the European Centre for Gerontology, University of Malta, Msida, Malta. In addition to various articles focusing on critical educational gerontology, recent and forthcoming books include Social Class Dynamics in Later Life (2009) and Social Class in Later Life: Power, Identity and Lifestyle (with Paul Higgs, 2012).

Recent changes in the world effected by the transformations of information technology, globalisation, and the move towards a knowledge economy over the last thirty years have been as radical and fundamental as the changes resulting from the invention of the wheel and the printing press. We are now living in a new age in which the demands are so complex, so multifarious and so rapidly changing that the only way in which we shall be able to survive them is by committing to a process of individual, communal, and global learning throughout the lifespan of all of us. A number of international bodies and agencies have taken cognisance of these transformations and the demands they impose upon societies and communities of the twenty-first century and have developed and articulated policies intended to enable all citizens of the world in the twenty-first century to face these challenges. It is now a declared policy of many governments and international agencies that the only vehicle for such preparation is `education, education, education', and that preparing for the knowledge economy and the learning society of the future has to be a lifelong undertaking, an investment in the future that is not restricted merely to the domain of economic advancement but also to those of social inclusion and personal growth. Realising this, policy-makers across the international arena are grappling with the need to move from systems that emphasise education and training to the radically more unworked construct of lifelong learning. In this volume the editors and authors analyse, criticise, and rework the ideas, principles, and theories underpinning policies and programs of lifelong learning, re-interpreting them in the light of examples of `best practice' found in a range of educating institutions around the world. We believe that students of educational change and community development will find it useful and helpful to have available in this volume some of the most up-to-date thinking on the chief concepts, theories, and values of increasing policy interest in lifelong learning, together with a review of some significant examples of the different forms, focuses, and nexuses of thought and practice on this topic. All this enables us to offer some policy recommendations and practical suggestions as to ways forward in the endeavour to make lifelong learning a reality for all.

More than simply a vital collection development tool, this book can help librarians help young adults grow into the kind of independent readers and thinkers who will flourish at college.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the issues involved in Lifelong Learning supported by Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In this overview, the following issues are discussed: -Changing environments, -What is Lifelong Learning? -Who are the learners? -Characteristics of learning environments, -Sustainability of learning environments, -Learning communities, -Role of educational institutions, -Role of ICT. Lifelong Learning in the Digital Age contains reviewed papers by invited authors, as well as a comprehensive report with resource materials produced by a Focus Group of invited participants in the Lifelong Learning Working Track at the e-Train conference, "E-Training Practices for Professional Organizations". The conference was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), Technical Committee 3 (Education), and was held in Pori, Finland in July 2003. Lifelong Learning in the Digital Age will help both decision makers and educational designers to deal with the issues connected with Lifelong Learning. Solutions will have to be unique for each culture and each country, but this book will certainly inform and should considerably assist decision-making and problem resolution.

Since the concept of lifelong learning came to prominence much excellent work has been undertaken but, as Professor Longworth's new book shows, major change in some areas is still needed if the concept of learning from cradle to grave is to become a true reality. Using his unique vantage point from consulting with schools, universities, local, governmental and global authorities, Professor Longworth brings the development of lifelong learning bang up-to-date with a complete survey of the principles of lifelong learning including examples from around the world and crucial information on the impact of lifelong learning on 21st century schools.