The Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR)--defined as a verifiable, portable, interoperable digital asset that recognizes all learning--is currently a topic of interest in the postsecondary and workplace ecosystem. The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and The EvoLLLution conducted a survey of CAEL higher education members and The…

A quick review of national policy documents reveals how lifelong learning has evolved as the key principle for a comprehensive education and learning strategy from cradle to grave. This raises major challenges for how to assess and report the state of lifelong learning in UNESCO Member States. It is in this context that this article critically…

This book explores European governance and policy coordination within lifelong learning markets. Using an instruments approach, the editors and contributors examine the ways in which governance mechanisms employed by the European Union influence policy to regulate lifelong learning, and intervene in lifelong learning markets, at both European and…

'Enquiry Based Learning' (EBL), as an engagement strategy to encourage lifelong learning, is the focus of this paper. Participants in this study are adult learners in full time employment who are returning to education, in many cases, after a substantial break. The empirical data was gathered from these students who are studying a master's in…

In this article, I propose that neither traditional assessment nor alternative, competence-based assessment is adequate to meet the challenges of uncertain change. Existentialist assessment that focuses on developing learners' commitment, rather than their competence, may be more decisive in empowering learners who are facing adversity.…

This chapter addresses financial education across the lifespan, which has the potential to enhance adult financial capability, yet methodological barriers and a lack of robust measures have hampered the ability to identify and measure the effects of educational programs on financial decisions and behavior.

Adult numeracy is key to improving citizens' lives and supporting the development of jobs markets, economies and societies around the globe. However, its importance is all too often overlooked, in terms of both numeracy education (for adults and in schools) and monitoring of skill levels by credible direct assessment. The UNESCO Institute for…

The Innovative Language Pedagogy Report presents new and emerging approaches to language teaching, learning, and assessment in school, further education, and higher education settings. Researchers and practitioners provide 22 research-informed, short articles on their chosen pedagogy, with examples and resources. The report is jargon-free, written…

Increasing recognition of a broadened concept of literacy challenges policy-makers and practitioners to re-define literacy operationally, develop and apply appropriate methods of assessing literacy and consider and act upon the consequent policy implications. This task is given a new urgency by the call of the Belem Framework for Action to…

Learning and Work Institute is an independent policy and research organisation dedicated to promoting lifelong learning, full employment and inclusion. This report sets out the findings of research and consultation carried out by Learning and Work Institute (L&W) for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on learning…

In music education, current attention to student-centered approaches for learning affects our understanding of student assessment. This view to curriculum reform requires new perspectives for assessment. There is a need to move beyond the summative use of assessment to assign grades to examining the roles of assessment in supporting and enhancing…

Qualifications frameworks are political instruments that are supposed to facilitate the assessment of learning outcomes. They are hoped to be drivers for change since they are meant to provide the impetus for a number of fundamental reforms required in education and training systems. These considerations frame the design and implementation of…

Right now, accountability is the elephant in the room for many engaged in lifelong learning. It is difficult to find fault with the persuasive, evidence-based case for promoting lifelong learning so lucidly articulated in the main report of the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning. "Learning Through Life" deftly combines rigorous and…

Online education based on small self-managing groups, with slight supervision by a professional tutor, is a strategically interesting methodology for lifelong learning. This solution may combine aspects of cost-effectiveness (reducing tutors' work) with the demands for active and engaging learning methods based on the exchange and sharing of…

"Taking Stock and Pushing Forward" (2014) reports states' progress toward the Challenge to Lead 2020 Goals for Education. State-specific documents report on student achievement as well as essential state policies to improve it. Among the many metrics: how states are improving achievement on NAEP, high school graduation rates, and access…