In this article, Tom Schuller and David Watson, who were responsible for a major review of lifelong learning in the UK published in 2009, describe the main proposals from that review and compare them with the 1996 UNESCO report, "The Treasure Within". They find many points of similarity, as well as clear differences. Apart from specific…

The Prisoners' Education Trust is working on a "learner voice" initiative that seeks to involve learners more in the development of prison education, helping them to express their views and helping providers to respond to them. Evaluation is an issue of increasing importance, for charities as well as public funders. Everyone agrees it's…

Lifelong learning has a crucial role in enabling individuals to handle key transition points in their lives, but what can education do to prepare them for the final, inevitable transition. Some of the educational contribution to managing the final transition is very broad, a matter of general enlightenment. But there are some more specific…

The splintering of the public domain makes the development of a coherent lifelong learning system less likely. But while people might want to resist plans to dissolve the boundaries between the public, private and voluntary sectors, debate about the relationship between professionals and volunteers in adult education suggests those boundaries…

This paper gives an overview of the work of the recent independent Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning in the UK. The author first outlines the range of the Inquiry, to give an idea of the overall context; this includes its application in each of the regions within the UK ( England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.). He turns then…

In this response to the commentaries, the author makes some general observations on the nature of the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning (IFLL) and "Learning Through Life" ("LTL"): their design and purpose. He then turns to the comments from the "International Journal of Lifelong Education"…

With an election looming and big cuts to public spending on the way, policy proposals that involve spending large sums of new money are unlikely to be well received by politicians. So what questions for candidates might adult educators have in their pockets and put to prospective parliamentarians as they join the throng in the local school? The…

Toxic mortgages are one of the causes of the current economic crisis. Where did they come from--apart from those spectacularly down-at-heel areas of American cities where loans for housing are peddled on a day-rate basis? One driver was the demutualisation of building societies, on the basis that, as banks, they would have access to the capital…

A decade after the National Advisory Group for Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning (NAGCELL) report, "The Learning Age", born in the first flush of the New Labour Government, the task of providing and securing an overall strategic framework for lifelong learning remains as large as ever. NIACE is the Inquiry into the Future for…

The main goal of the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning is to provide a "strategic framework" for the future. In this article, the author considers the key components that will make up the framework. These are: (1) a statement of vision and values; (2) a stock-take of the current position; (3) an "investment…

"Learning Through Life," the main report from the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning, is the culmination of a two-year process of consultation, analysis and reflection. The report sets out bold proposals which go well beyond the boundaries of adult education and training. Several key weaknesses in the current system were…

Distinguishes between human capital and social capital. Examines the social construction of knowledge and various levels: families, organizations, and communities. (Contains 18 references.) (SK)

Explores forms of social capital and the relationship between human and social capital. Depicts the relationship between high and low social capital and initial educational attainment, participation in continuing education and training, and participation in nonformal education. (SK)

Social capital treats learning as both outcome of individual acquisition of knowledge and skills and a function of social relationships, norms, and values. Although social networks can have negative influences, the idea of social capital is useful in rethinking educational practice. (SK)

To address older adults' learning needs in United Kingdom, the Carnegie Inquiry into the Third Age was established in 1991. Paper reviews current adult education situation, provides framework for further policy analysis, and provides list of policy options. Paper calls for development of a "social economy of the third age" that would…