The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), launched by the United Nations in 2015, established ambitious targets to be achieved by 2030, including in education. SDG 4, which focuses on ensuring "inclusive and equitable quality education and promot[ing] lifelong learning opportunities for all", attracted attention from the adult education…

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…

In Canada, various studies investigating literacy learning have contributed to our understanding of the lives of the adult student. Through a consolidation of empirical evidence, a portrait of the adult learner is sketched, drawing upon pluralistic interpretations of the important life changes that have resulted from their participation in…

The purpose of this study was to identify knowledge construction patterns in a local learning community. Observation, documents, and semistructured interviews were employed to collect data. Twenty learners were interviewed. Data were analyzed inductively using the constant comparative method. Five major patterns--radiation, circulation,…

Despite UNESCO's Learning Cities agenda, which argues for the mobilisation of resources to promote education across all sectors and environments, there is little evaluative research on Learning City engagement which is both naturalistic and empirically rigorous. The research on informal adult learning in urban contexts is particularly sparse. This…

Neighbourhood Houses in Victoria are significant sites of formal and informal education for adult learners. Intrinsically connected to local communities they play an important role in decreasing social isolation and building social inclusion. The focus of this research is on adult learners and adult learning that engages with "second…

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…

This article presents the main results of a case study on teachers' professional development in terms of competence and identity. The teachers involved in the study are allocated time by their schools to participate in professional "affinity group" meetings. During these meetings, the teachers gather and analyse school-based data about…

This study investigated the relationship between self-directedness (as measured by the Adult Learner Self-Directedness Scale) and biographical factors such as age, race, and gender of adult learners enrolled at a South African open distance learning (ODL) higher education institution. Correlational and inferential statistical analyses were used. A…

The international University of the Third Age (U3A) embodies the principles of lifelong learning and personal fulfilment amongst members. The research reported in this article focused on the Choir of the U3A Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia and the benefits perceived by members undertaking this active music engagement in non-competitive choral…

This report is the third in a series published by the IDEAL (Impact of Distance Education on Adult Learning) project. The IDEAL project ran from October 2013 to September 2015 with financial support from the EU Lifelong Learning Programme. The project aims to: (1) offer insights on the needs of adult learners to both policymakers and distance…

This chapter looks into the changing contexts and definitions of clienteles of lifelong learners over the last quarter of a century. The author has been involved in three closely related studies on who lifelong learners are, how they access and participate in higher education (HE), and how and what are they learning in HE and summarises some of…

The purpose of this multiple case study was to develop an understanding of what older nontraditional undergraduate English majors voiced as the challenges, attributes, and promises concerning their choice of that academic major. Ten participants took part in this study; these were students enrolled during the Spring 2012 semester as English majors…

UNESCO established the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) to encourage the development of learning cities. By providing technical support, capacity development, and a platform where members can share ideas on policies and best practice, this international exchange network helps urban communities create thriving learning cities. The…

Adult learners, and women in particular, have to combat a number of specific barriers to participate in lifelong learning opportunities. Frequently, delivery modes of adult learning programmes do not take these varying demands into consideration (McCulloch & Stokes, 2008). However, when they do, positive results ensue. This case study…