In the continuously changing society and knowledge-intensive economy, the demand for the recurrent updating of competencies is coming to the fore for all employees, including low-qualified employees. Employees are considered low qualified when they do not have a starter qualification for higher education. Although many educational studies have…

Despite the expansion of post-school education and incentives to participate in lifelong learning, institutions and labour markets continue to interlock in shaping life chances according to starting social position, family and private resources. The dominant view that the economic and social returns to public investment in adult learning are too…

Learning happens not only in schools, but also in every context that affords new experiences and opportunities for metacognition. We aim to maximize the different activity-milieux in which learners are engaged in developing their life-long learning dispositions to learn within and across contexts. This paper is a follow up of an earlier published…

Mission statements of universities in developing countries usually include serving the surrounding communities. Often this service does not reach beyond lip service. This article puts into context the experience of developing an adult education research program responding to the needs of the surrounding community in a historically disadvantaged…

Widening access to higher education is clearly part of the European policy agenda. Higher education ministers in the Bologna countries, as well as the European Commission, have all expressed a wish to make higher education more representative of national populations. This policy objective has been echoed at national level. One approach to widening…

The recent trend of trying to measure higher education's return on investment misses a fundamental point, argue Charity Johansson and Peter Felten. The central purpose of a college or university is to transform the lives of students--not to merely change them or help them mature. This transformation is an ongoing process of intentionally aligning…

Europe has stressed the importance of lifelong learning as a way for its citizens to enrol and to engage fully in day-today demands of work and citizenship life events. Support is more urgent for those who are at risk of social and educational exclusion. This paper presents an overview on the goals of the European project LIBE "Supporting…

Development Goal "Achieve universal primary education", the challenges faced, along with the way forward towards achieving the fourth Sustainable Development Goal "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all". Statistics show that Tanzania has made very promising steps…

Lifelong learning is the only way to sustain proficient learning in a rapidly changing world. Knowledge and information are exploding across the globe. We need accurate ways to facilitate the process of drawing external factual information into an internal perceptive advantage from which to interpret and argue new information. Accurate and…

This paper presents issues which the European University Association (EUA) considers important for universities in addressing the impact of digitalisation and thus which we propose to explore over the coming years in collaboration with members and partners. EUA's objectives in doing this are, as usual, twofold, providing support to individual…

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the link between age and proficiency in information-processing skills, based on information drawn from the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). The data reveal significant age-related differences in proficiencies, strongly suggesting that proficiency tends to "naturally" decline with age. Age…

The number of U.S. citizens ages 65 years and older is steadily increasing, and members of this cohort are redefining what it means to be an older adult. As members of the Baby Boom generation reach older adulthood, many of them are seeking educational opportunities to help them to meet their needs and desires as lifelong learners. Several factors…

There have been many theoretical and empirical analyses of lifelong learning policies and how to implement, develop, measure and facilitate lifelong learning and lifelong learning policy in order to cater for the needs and requirements of individuals as well as society in general. The particular slant on lifelong learning in different countries…

Demographic trends in Russia make it necessary to prepare people to work beyond retirement age in an economy that is different from the one they were trained for, and younger people need to be prepared for employment in more information-driven occupations. Both trends require a strong program of life-long learning, but Russia has not yet put an…

Grassroots organizations emerge when groups of people decide to work collectively to form an organization as a way to initiate change. Rather than seeking leadership from established government or corporate organizations or departments, the purpose of the organization, the framework for decision making, and the individuals involved in leadership…