For more than 50 years, governmental and independent reviews have published proposals for strengthening adult learning opportunities, showing a remarkable consistency in the advice offered to government. They have, however, had little more than short-term impact on policy or provision. Since the early 2000s, under the influence of neoliberal…

Apprenticeship is engrained in America's history -- three of the Founding Fathers started their careers as apprentices. Apprenticeship is a model employers can trust, helping to ensure talent is prepared for in-demand opportunities while also providing a quality postsecondary path for young Americans who are questioning the traditional four-year…

The literature regarding the social organisation of 'adult' learning opportunities throughout the life course postulates different significations of policy concepts such as 'lifelong education', 'permanent education', 'recurrent education', and 'lifelong learning' in the 1970s. This paper examines policy formation processes in France during the…

The influence of the European Commission (EC) expert groups on policy coordination within the European Union has received a growing interest among researchers, who have assessed their role in policy-making processes, their participation patterns, their transparency, and their knowledge-generating process. This article interrogates the structural…

The need for individual, community and institutional lifelong learning grows and changes with turbulent social, political and economic change. The national adult education non-government organisation (NGO), Adult Learning Australia, can influence the course of policymaking and ultimately the national culture through diverse activities within or…

The world of work is changing. Digitalisation, deepening globalisation and population ageing are having a profound impact on the type and quality of jobs that are available and the skills required to perform them. To what extent individuals, firms and economies can harness the benefits of these changes critically depends on the readiness of adult…

Validation of prior learning (VPL), also referred to as recognition, validation and accreditation of prior learning (RVA), is becoming an increasingly important political issue at both European and international levels. In 2012, the European Council, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation…

In 2008, the European Council agreed on a Resolution on better integrating lifelong guidance into lifelong learning strategies. The Resolution promoted lifelong guidance as a policy to support people during the multiple transitions provoked by a more volatile labour market. However, when looking into the guidance policy of Denmark, the Resolution…

Adult learning policies, like any other policies, need to be effective: they need to reach their objectives and attain the desired impacts, which should be carefully defined. Understanding the performance of policies allows policy makers to change and improve them. A growing body of research and statistics provides important insights into how…

This qualitative study investigated the experiences and perspectives of seven New Teacher Academy facilitators and how the facilitation experience provided opportunities for learning, professional development, and renewal for these experienced educators. Through interviews, participant vignettes, document analysis, and a researcher journal, this…

Adult and Organizational Learning and Policy Development in Environments of Gray The purpose of this study was to describe, analyze and provide an understanding of the values that influence state legislators' decision-making as it relates to appropriations, tuition and fees, and financial aid for public postsecondary education in Idaho. The study…

"Informal Adult Learning: Shaping the Way Ahead," the Government's consultation on the future of informal adult learning in England, was launched by Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, John Denham, on January 15, 2007. The consultation invites respondents to help shape "a new vision for informal adult…

Discusses online learning and the possible impact on classroom-based courses. Highlights include profits and online courses; problems with classroom learning; hybrid courses; potential for interactivity; adult learners and online courses; policies regarding the implementation of online learning; and a sidebar on the nature of interaction. (LRW)

Problems in research on participation in adult education include the following: (1) treatment of participants as voluntary, which ignores the growth of compulsory training in the workplace; (2) lack of knowledge about the choice to be a nonlearner; (3) individualistic focus; and (4) inadequate investigation of informal learning. (SK)

Whether the new classroom clientele--adult learners--ought to accept the study of public policy as a legitimate part of the curriculum is seen as a policy question as important to the solution of social problems as it is to the future of people as learners and as citizens. (MLW)