This paper discusses the layered nature of lifelong learning participation, bringing together fragmented insights in why adults do or do not participate in lifelong learning activities. The paper will discuss the roles and responsibilities of individual adults, education and training providers and countries' social education policies, often…

This article examines cross-country variations in adult skills inequality and asks why skills in Anglophone countries are so unequal. Drawing on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's recent Survey of Adult Skills and other surveys, it investigates the differences across countries and country groups in inequality in both…

Many developed countries have issues with the movement of populations away from rural areas. There has been an active move towards "value adding" in rural areas, and in particular, the development of tourism activities, to counter this trend. The purpose of this paper is to document the curriculum development process that was engaged in,…

In the context of aging populations, governments in Australia and in other Western nations fear that slower growth in the numbers of people of working age (15-64 years) will have a dampening effect on economic growth. They are thus considering how to encourage older workers to remain in the workforce beyond the point at which many currently…

This first book in the new OECD Insights Series examines the increasing economic and social importance of human capital--our education, skills, competencies, and knowledge. As economies in developed countries shift away from manufacturing, economic success for individuals and national economies is increasingly reliant on the quality of human…

Reviews the popular notions of adult education in the national economic development process. (DS)

The theoretical fields of adult developmental psychology and andragogy provide some principles or rules for action that may lead to useful improvements in course organization and teaching methodology. An analysis of the principles and the likely effects of their implementation has led to the following speculation: principles that are not likely to…

This book consists of 15 papers addressing issues and conceptions of self-directed learning. The following are included: "Self-Directed Learning as a Political Idea" (Stephen D. Brookfield); "Social Influences on Individual Commitment to Self-Directed Learning at Work" (Alan J. Brown); "Goals of Self-Learning" (Rosemary S. Caffarella); "From…

This discussion paper is from the Adult Learners Week National Seminar on Lifelong Learning Policy (Canberra, Australia, September 1999) that identified a number of ideas about how to foster national policy development on lifelong learning. It consists of three sections. Part 1 contains "A National Lifelong Learning Policy for…

Education and training are seen as a panacea for the problems of deskilling and mass unemployment. The lack of an overarching policy suggests a need for a discourse accepting paid work as an important area for lifelong learning, but also recognizing the learning needs of people largely excluded from paid work. (SK)

Following an Introduction by editor Gerald A. Straka that posits various definitions of self-directed learning and discusses the views of the various authors in the text, this book consists of nine papers addressing issues and conceptions of self-directed learning in Europe. The following are included: "Self-Directed Learning in Continuing…

The article presents a comparative analysis of educational policy and provision in Sweden and Australia, with particular emphasis on the relative investment in continuing and further education in both countries. The authors investigate the extent to which further education opportunities provide a "second chance" at learning for adults…

A survey offers the first overview of lifelong learning activities undertaken in the member states of the European Union, noting the strategies being implemented to varying degrees from one country to the next and presenting a first snapshot of the trends that have developed. The survey found that lifelong learning is a concept that emerged in the…

Three presentations are provided from Symposium 13, Knowledge and Intellectual Capital, of the Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD) 2000 Conference proceedings. "Human Capital Measurement" (Joanne Provo) begins with a literature review that provides a context for understanding how investments in human capital add value to the…

This document consists of three papers presented at a symposium on the learning organization moderated by Roger Miller at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD). "Creating a Learning Organization: A Case Study of Outcomes and Lessons Learned" (Laura L. Bierema, David M. Berdish) reports a study…