Lifelong learning

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Lifelong learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated" [1] pursuit of learning for either personal or professional reasons.

Contents

Lifelong learning is important for an individual's competitiveness and employability, but also enhances social inclusion, active citizenship, and personal development. [2]

Professions typically recognize the importance of developing practitioners becoming lifelong learners. Many licensed professions mandate that their members continue learning to maintain a license. [3]

Lifelong learning institutes are educational organisations specifically for lifelong learning purposes. Informal lifelong learning communities also exist around the world.

History

In some contexts, the term "lifelong learning" evolved from the term "life-long learners", created by Leslie Watkins and used by Clint Taylor, professor at CSULA and Superintendent for the Temple City Unified School District, in the district's mission statement in 1993, the term recognizes that learning is not confined to childhood or the classroom but takes place throughout life and in a range of situations.[ citation needed ]

In other contexts, the term "lifelong learning" evolved organically. The first lifelong learning institute began at The New School for Social Research (now The New School) in 1962 as an experiment in "learning in retirement". Later, after similar groups formed across the United States, many chose the name "lifelong learning institute" to be inclusive of nonretired persons in the same age range. [4]

Traditional colleges and universities are beginning to recognize the value of lifelong learning outside of the credit and degree attainment model. Lifelong learners, including persons with academic or professional credentials, tend to find higher-paying occupations, leaving monetary, cultural, and entrepreneurial impressions on communities, according to educator Cassandra B. Whyte. [5] [6]

Libraries in the United States

Partners for Lifelong Learning, Public Libraries and Adult Education Partners for Lifelong Learning, Public Libraries and Adult Education.png
Partners for Lifelong Learning, Public Libraries and Adult Education

In the United States, librarians have understood lifelong learning as an essential service of libraries since the early part of the 20th century. In 1924, William S. Learned, wrote of the potential of the American public library as an agency for adult education in The American Public Library and the Diffusion of Knowledge. [7] Two decades later, in 1942, the American Library Association Adult Education Board established a new responsibility to the adult reader. [8]

The Adult Education Act of 1966 linked literacy education and adult basic education programs. [9] This occurred at the same time that the Library Services and Construction Act was being passed. [10] Twenty-five years after the U.S. Adult Education Act was passed, the U.S. Office of Education published Partners for Lifelong Learning, Public Libraries and Adult Education. [11]

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) was established in 1996 and incorporated responsibilities from the U.S. Office of Education's library programs, including those focused on lifelong learning. "Championing Lifelong Learning" through libraries and museums is the first goal listed in the organization's strategic plan for 2022-2026. [12]

Definition

Lifelong learning has been defined as "all learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competences within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective". [13] It is often considered learning that occurs after the formal education years of childhood and into adulthood. It is sought out naturally through life experiences as the learner seeks to gain knowledge for professional or personal reasons. These natural experiences can come about on purpose or accidentally. [14]

Lifelong learning has been described as a process that includes people learning in different contexts. [15] These environments do not only include schools but also homes, workplaces, and locations where people pursue leisure activities. However, while the learning process can be applied to learners of all ages, there is a focus on adults who are returning to organized learning. [15] There are programs based on its framework that address the different needs of learners, such as United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 4 and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, which caters to the needs of the disadvantaged and marginalized learners. [16]

Lifelong learning is distinguished from the concept of continuing education in the sense that it has a broader scope. Unlike the latter, which is oriented towards adult education developed for the needs of schools and industries, this type of learning is concerned with the development of human potential in individuals generally. [17]

Pedagogy

Lifelong learning focuses on holistic education and it has two dimensions, namely, lifelong and broad options for learning. These indicate learning that integrates traditional education proposals and modern learning opportunities. [18] It also entails an emphasis on encouraging people to learn how to learn and to select content, process, and methodologies that pursue autodidacticism. [18] Some authors highlight that lifelong learning is founded on a different conceptualization of knowledge and its acquisition. It is explained not only as the possession of discrete pieces of information or factual knowledge but also as a generalized scheme of making sense of new events, including the use of tactics in order to effectively deal with them. [19]

Reflective learning and critical thinking can help a learner to become more self-reliant through learning how to learn, thus making them better able to direct, manage, and control their own learning process. [20] Sipe studied experimentally "open" teachers and found that they valued self-directed learning, collaboration, reflection, and challenge; risk taking in their learning was seen as an opportunity, not a threat. Dunlap and Grabinger say that for higher education students to be lifelong learners, they must develop a capacity for self-direction, metacognition awareness, and a disposition toward learning. [3]

The Delors Report [21] proposed an integrated vision of education based on two key paradigms: lifelong learning and the four pillars of learning. It argued that formal education tends to emphasize the acquisition of knowledge to the detriment of other types of learning essential to sustaining human development, stressing the need to think of learning over the lifespan, and to address how everyone can develop relevant skills, knowledge and attitudes for work, citizenship and personal fulfillment. [22] The four pillars of learning are:

  1. Learning to know
  2. Learning to do
  3. Learning to be
  4. Learning to live together

The four pillars of learning were envisaged against the backdrop of the notion of 'lifelong learning', itself an adaptation of the concept of 'lifelong education' as initially conceptualized in the 1972 Faure publication Learning to Be. [22] [23]

Educational technology

The emergence of internet technologies has great potential to support lifelong learning endeavors, allowing for informal day-to-day learning. [24] [25]

Application

In India and elsewhere, the "University of the Third Age" (U3A) is an almost spontaneous movement comprising autonomous learning groups accessing the expertise of their own members in the pursuit of knowledge and shared experience.

In Sweden, the concept of study circles, an idea launched almost a century ago, still represents a large portion of the adult education provision. The concept has since spread, and for instance, is a common practice in Finland as well.

Formal administrative units devoted to lifelong learning exist in a number of universities. For example, the 'Academy of Lifelong Learning' is an administrative unit at the University of Delaware. [26] Another example is the Jagiellonian University Extension (Wszechnica Uniwersytetu Jagiellonskiego), which is one of the most comprehensive Polish centers for lifelong learning (open learning, organizational learning, community learning). [27]

In recent years, 'lifelong learning' has been adopted in the UK as an umbrella term for post-compulsory education that falls outside of the UK higher education system—further education, community education, work-based learning and similar voluntary, public sector and commercial settings.

In Canada, the federal government's Lifelong Learning Plan [28] allows Canadian residents to withdraw funds from their Registered Retirement Savings Plan to help pay for lifelong learning, but the funds can only be used for formal learning programs at designated educational institutions.

Priorities for lifelong and lifewide learning have different priorities in different countries, some placing more emphasis on economic development and some on social development. For example, the policies of China, Republic of Korea, Singapore and Malaysia promote lifelong learning in a human resource development perspective. The governments of these countries have done much to foster training and development whilst encouraging entrepreneurship. [29]

Aging

In a 2012 New York Times article, Arthur Toga, a professor of neurology and director of the laboratory of neuroimaging at the University of California, Los Angeles, stated that "Exercising the brain may preserve it, forestalling mental decline." [30] Some research has shown that people with higher cognitive reserves, attained through lifelong learning, were better able to avoid the cognitive decline that often accompanies age-related neurodegenerative diseases. [31] Even when subjects had dementia, some studies show that they were able to persist in a normal mental state for a longer period than subjects who were not involved in some type of lifelong learning. [32]

Studies so far have lacked large, randomized controlled trials. [33] In "Education and Alzheimer's Disease: A Review of Recent International Epidemiological Studies" published in 1997 in the journal Aging and Mental Health, C.J. Gilleard, finds fault with other studies linking education to cognitive decline. Among other factors, he suggests that variations in lifestyles could be responsible for an increase in vascular dementia, as blue-collar type workers may be less inclined to work in industries that provide mentally challenging situations. [34]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education</span> Transmission of knowledge and skills

Education is the transmission of knowledge, skills, and character traits and manifests in various forms. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also follows a structured approach but occurs outside the formal schooling system, while informal education entails unstructured learning through daily experiences. Formal and non-formal education are categorized into levels, including early childhood education, primary education, secondary education, and tertiary education. Other classifications focus on teaching methods, such as teacher-centered and student-centered education, and on subjects, such as science education, language education, and physical education. Additionally, the term "education" can denote the mental states and qualities of educated individuals and the academic field studying educational phenomena.

Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences in intelligence, cognitive development, affect, motivation, self-regulation, and self-concept, as well as their role in learning. The field of educational psychology relies heavily on quantitative methods, including testing and measurement, to enhance educational activities related to instructional design, classroom management, and assessment, which serve to facilitate learning processes in various educational settings across the lifespan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Learning theory (education)</span> Theory that describes how students receive, process, and retain knowledge during learning

Learning theory describes how students receive, process, and retain knowledge during learning. Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in how understanding, or a worldview, is acquired or changed and knowledge and skills retained.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Literacy</span> Ability to read and write

Literacy is the ability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was understood solely as alphabetical literacy ; and the period after 1950, when literacy slowly began to be considered as a wider concept and process, including the social and cultural aspects of reading and writing and functional literacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Learning</span> Process of acquiring new knowledge

Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, non-human animals, and some machines; there is also evidence for some kind of learning in certain plants. Some learning is immediate, induced by a single event, but much skill and knowledge accumulate from repeated experiences. The changes induced by learning often last a lifetime, and it is hard to distinguish learned material that seems to be "lost" from that which cannot be retrieved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adult education</span> Any form of learning adults engage in beyond traditional schooling

Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. It can mean any form of learning adults engage in beyond traditional schooling, encompassing basic literacy to personal fulfillment as a lifelong learner, and to ensure the fulfillment of an individual.

In psychology, cognitivism is a theoretical framework for understanding the mind that gained credence in the 1950s. The movement was a response to behaviorism, which cognitivists said neglected to explain cognition. Cognitive psychology derived its name from the Latin cognoscere, referring to knowing and information, thus cognitive psychology is an information-processing psychology derived in part from earlier traditions of the investigation of thought and problem solving.

Situated learning is a theory that explains an individual's acquisition of professional skills and includes research on apprenticeship into how legitimate peripheral participation leads to membership in a community of practice. Situated learning "takes as its focus the relationship between learning and the social situation in which it occurs".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedagogy</span> Theory and practice of education

Pedagogy, most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as an academic discipline, is the study of how knowledge and skills are imparted in an educational context, and it considers the interactions that take place during learning. Both the theory and practice of pedagogy vary greatly as they reflect different social, political, and cultural contexts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Early childhood education</span> The teaching of children from birth to age eight

Early childhood education (ECE), also known as nursery education, is a branch of education theory that relates to the teaching of children from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is up to the equivalent of third grade. ECE is described as an important period in child development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constructivism (philosophy of education)</span> Philosophical viewpoint about the nature of knowledge; theory of knowledge

Constructivism in education is a theory that suggests that learners do not passively acquire knowledge through direct instruction. Instead, they construct their understanding through experiences and social interaction, integrating new information with their existing knowledge. This theory originates from Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

Second-language acquisition (SLA), sometimes called second-language learning—otherwise referred to as L2acquisition, is the process by which people learn a second language. Second-language acquisition is also the scientific discipline devoted to studying that process. This involves learning an additional language after the first language is established, typically through formal instruction or immersion. A central theme in SLA research is that of interlanguage: the idea that the language that learners use is not simply the result of differences between the languages that they already know and the language that they are learning, but a complete language system in its own right, with its own systematic rules. This interlanguage gradually develops as learners are exposed to the targeted language. The order in which learners acquire features of their new language stays remarkably constant, even for learners with different native languages and regardless of whether they have had language instruction. However, languages that learners already know can have a significant influence on the process of learning a new one. This influence is known as language transfer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open education</span> Educational movement

Open education is an educational movement founded on openness, with connections to other educational movements such as critical pedagogy, and with an educational stance which favours widening participation and inclusiveness in society. Open education broadens access to the learning and training traditionally offered through formal education systems and is typically offered through online and distance education. The qualifier "open" refers to the elimination of barriers that can preclude both opportunities and recognition for participation in institution-based learning. One aspect of openness or "opening up" education is the development and adoption of open educational resources in support of open educational practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nonformal learning</span> Category of learning situation

Non-formal learning includes various structured learning situations which do not either have the level of curriculum, syllabus, accreditation and certification associated with 'formal learning', but have more structure than that associated with 'informal learning', which typically take place naturally and spontaneously as part of other activities. These form the three styles of learning recognised and supported by the OECD.

Educational neuroscience is an emerging scientific field that brings together researchers in cognitive neuroscience, developmental cognitive neuroscience, educational psychology, educational technology, education theory and other related disciplines to explore the interactions between biological processes and education. Researchers in educational neuroscience investigate the neural mechanisms of reading, numerical cognition, attention and their attendant difficulties including dyslexia, dyscalculia and ADHD as they relate to education. Researchers in this area may link basic findings in cognitive neuroscience with educational technology to help in curriculum implementation for mathematics education and reading education. The aim of educational neuroscience is to generate basic and applied research that will provide a new transdisciplinary account of learning and teaching, which is capable of informing education. A major goal of educational neuroscience is to bridge the gap between the two fields through a direct dialogue between researchers and educators, avoiding the "middlemen of the brain-based learning industry". These middlemen have a vested commercial interest in the selling of "neuromyths" and their supposed remedies.

Global citizenship education (GCED) is a form of civic learning that involves students' active participation in projects that address global issues of a social, political, economic, or environmental nature. The two main elements of GCE are 'global consciousness'; the moral or ethical aspect of global issues, and 'global competencies', or skills meant to enable learners to participate in changing and developing the world. The promotion of GCE was a response by governments and NGOs to the emergence of supranational institution, regional economic blocs, and the development of information and communications technologies. These have all resulted in the emergence of a more globally oriented and collaborative approach to education. GCE addresses themes such as peace and human rights, intercultural understanding, citizenship education, respect for diversity and tolerance, and inclusiveness.

"Work-based learning (WBL) is an educational strategy that provides students with real-life work experiences where they can apply academic and technical skills and develop their employability." It is a series of educational courses which integrate the school or university curriculum with the workplace to create a different learning paradigm. "Work-based learning deliberately merges theory with practice and acknowledges the intersection of explicit and tacit forms of knowing."

A qualifications framework is a formalized structure in which learning level descriptors and qualifications are used in order to understand learning outcomes. This allows for the ability to develop, assess and improve quality education in a number of contexts. Qualifications frameworks are typically found at the national, regional, and international level.

Online credentials for learning are digital credentials that are offered in place of traditional paper credentials for a skill or educational achievement. They are directly linked to the accelerated development of internet communication technologies, the development of digital badges, electronic passports and massive open online courses (MOOCs).

Education in emergencies and conflict areas is the process of teaching and promoting quality education for children, youth, and adults in crisis-affected areas. Such emergency settings include: conflicts, pandemics and disasters caused by natural hazards. Strengthened education systems protects children and youth from attack, abuse, and exploitation, supports peace-building, and provides physical and psychological safety to children. In times of crisis, education helps build resilience and social cohesion across communities, and is fundamental to sustained recovery.

References

  1. ↑ Department of Education and Science (2000). Learning for Life: Paper on Adult Education. Dublin: Stationery Office.
  2. ↑ Commission of the European Communities: Adult learning: It is never too late to learn. COM(2006) 614 final. Brussels, 23.10.2006
  3. 1 2 Merriam, S. B. & Caffarella, R.S. (2007) Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. San Francisco: Josseey-Bass (3rd. Edition)
  4. ↑ Formosa, Marvin (May 1, 2019). "Universities of the Third Age". Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer Nature Switzerland. pp. 1–6. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_412-1. ISBN   978-3-319-69892-2.
  5. ↑ Whyte, Cassandra B/ (2002). "Great Expectations for Higher Education". Speech at Higher Education Round Table Event. Oxford, England.
  6. ↑ Whyte, Cassandra B. (1989) "Student Affairs-The Future". Journal of College Student Personnel. 30.(1) 86-89.
  7. ↑ Learned, William S. The American Public Library and the Diffusion of Knowledge. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1924.
  8. ↑ Lyman, Helen. Adult Education Activities in Public Libraries (Chicago: American Library Association, 1954).
  9. ↑ Adult Education Act, Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Amendments, Pub. L. 89-750, 80 Stat. 1191-1222. (1966)
  10. ↑ Monroe, Margaret E. "The Evolution of Literacy Programs in the Context of Library Adult Education," Library Trends 35 (Fall 1986).
  11. ↑ Monroe, Margaret Ellen and Kathleen M. Heim. (1991). Educational Resources Information Center (U.S.) Microform, ERIC: ED 341 393. U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Educational Resources Information Center.
  12. ↑ U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. "Championing Lifelong Learning" FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan
  13. ↑ Commission of the European Communities. (2001, November 21). Making a European Area of Lifelong Learning a Reality
  14. ↑ "Higher Education at the Crossroads of Disruption: the University of the 21st Century, Andreas Kaplan, Emerald Publishing House, London" . Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  15. 1 2 O'Grady, Anne (2013). Lifelong Learning in the UK: An introductory guide for Education Studies. Oxon: Routledge. ISBN   978-1-136-34095-6.
  16. ↑ Jarvis, Peter (2009). The Routledge International Handbook of Lifelong Learning. Oxon: Routledge. p. 310. ISBN   978-1-135-20253-8.
  17. ↑ Keith, Davies, W.; Norman, Longworth (2013). Lifelong Learning. Oxon: Routledge. p. 21. ISBN   978-0749419721.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. 1 2 Qinhua, Zheng; Dongming, Ma; Zhiying, Nian; Hao, Xie (2016). Adult Competencies for Lifelong Learning. Aalborg: River Publishers. p. 19. ISBN   978-87-93379-23-7.
  19. ↑ Sharma, Tara Chand (2004). Meaning Of Lifelong Learning. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. p. 56. ISBN   81-7625-484-3.
  20. ↑ Mackeracher, D. (2004). Making Sense of Adult Learning, Second Edition. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
  21. ↑ UNESCO. 1996. Learning: The Treasure Within. Report of the International Commission on Education for the 21st Century. Paris, UNESCO. 
  22. 1 2 Keevy, James; Chakroun, Borhene (2015). Level-setting and recognition of learning outcomes: The use of level descriptors in the twenty-first century (PDF). Paris, UNESCO. pp. 27–28. ISBN   978-92-3-100138-3.
  23. ↑ Tawil, S. and Cougoureux, M. 2013. Revisiting learning: the treasure within. Assessing the influence of the 1996 Delors report. Education Research and Foresight Occasional Paper no. 4, January. Paris, UNESCO. 
  24. ↑ Eynon, Rebecca; Malmberg, Lars‐Erik (March 2021). "Lifelong learning and the Internet: Who benefits most from learning online?". British Journal of Educational Technology. 52 (2): 569–583. doi: 10.1111/bjet.13041 . ISSN   0007-1013.
  25. ↑ Dunlap, J. C., & Lowenthal, P. R. (in press). Learning, unlearning, and relearning: Using Web 2.0 technologies to support the development of lifelong learning skills. In G. D. Magoulas (Ed.), E-infrastructures and technologies for lifelong learning: Next generation environments. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
  26. ↑ "Academy of Lifelong Learning". University of Delaware. 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-06.
  27. ↑ "Wszechnica Uniwersytetu Jagiellonskiego". The Jagiellonian University. 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  28. ↑ Agency, Canada Revenue. "Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) - Canada.ca". www.cra-arc.gc.ca. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  29. ↑ Marope, P.T.M.; Chakroun, B.; Holmes, K.P. (2015). Unleashing the Potential: Transforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training. UNESCO. pp. 119–120. ISBN   978-92-3-100091-1.
  30. ↑ Grady, Denise (2012-03-07). "Exercising an Aging Brain". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  31. ↑ Strom, Robert D.; Strom, Paris S. (2016-01-02). "Grandparent education and intergenerational assessment of learning". Educational Gerontology. 42 (1): 25–36. doi:10.1080/03601277.2015.1059148. ISSN   0360-1277. S2CID   146680601.
  32. ↑ Bennett, David A.; Arnold, Steven E.; Valenzuela, Michael J.; Brayne, Carol; Schneider, Julie A. (2014-01-01). "Cognitive and social lifestyle: links with neuropathology and cognition in late life". Acta Neuropathologica. 127 (1): 137–150. doi:10.1007/s00401-013-1226-2. ISSN   1432-0533. PMC   4054865 . PMID   24356982.
  33. ↑ Hussenoeder, Felix S.; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G. (2018-12-01). "Primary prevention of dementia: from modifiable risk factors to a public brain health agenda?". Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 53 (12): 1289–1301. doi:10.1007/s00127-018-1598-7. ISSN   1433-9285. PMID   30255384. S2CID   52821084.
  34. ↑ Gilleard, C. J. (February 1997). "Education and Alzheimer's disease: A review of recent international epidemiological studies". Aging & Mental Health. 1 (1): 33–46. doi:10.1080/13607869757362. ISSN   1360-7863.

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