Abstract
This book is the third in a series by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning on Lifelong Learning Policies and Strategies in which educators, consultants, and researchers opportunely examine how higher education institutes (HEIs) can provide opportunities in promoting lifelong learning (LLL) for adult learners. As concisely acknowledged in the introduction, UNESCO’s call for addressing this topic is based on several premises. First, the world’s population continues to increase and people are living longer. Therefore, adult learners will need access to resources for better security as this population struggles to adapt to a changing socioeconomic landscape that is constantly being reshaped by forces such as globalization and the ongoing obsolescence of job skills. It is for these reasons that LLL for the adult population is becoming a cornerstone in educational policy discussions worldwide, a discussion that has been percolating for decades in the form of higher education (HE) policies.
Chapter 1 kicks off a series of responses to the question of adult learning by carefully analyzing the relationship between adults and HE internationally. It points out that although there may be cultural vicissitudes on what motivates individuals of all ages to enter HE, the prime motivation is economic security. Although choosing to pursue HE for financial enhancement may not seem surprising, the fact segues to the germane question of tuition. Although it is acknowledged that an educated population benefits society as a whole, should public funding be used to support LLL? Apparently, the trend is not going in that direction, especially for Western societies. On the contrary, research convincingly provided in this chapter points to the fact that in European countries HE tuitions are on the rise for all age groups, which would, one might rightfully assume, be forming a barrier to HE access. Curiously, the chapter does not provide any data or analysis of tuition increases in the United States and how this might affect LLL there.
The chapter also surprisingly discusses the irony that as HE is becoming more widespread and including larger swatches of society, it is not becoming more diverse. It cites Australia’s A Fair Chance for All program as an example. Although intended to help various socially challenged groups to gain access to HE, it only increased participation in HE for one of these groups—women—but it was unable to increase participation for five other groups. Barriers to HE, ranging from economic to racial to gender, were cited in other parts of the world as well.
Much discussion is given to the subject of policies that are meant to bridge gaps and encourage LLL but are often weak and ineffective. The weak link is described as the relationship between policy and the actual implementation of policy. The chapter concludes with an exhaustive analysis of this relationship and solutions.
The book progresses with other chapters shedding light on the plight of LLL. Chapter 2, for example, gives us a needed view on LLL development in HE in European universities from 2005 to 2012. Here the authors provide suggestions on how to overcome institutional barriers in order to adapt strategies for HE. The book also brings us to South Africa with an optimistic assessment of how LLL policies actually are connecting disparate economic classes by affording LLL opportunities, and how these HE opportunities help overcome primary and secondary school shortcomings. From South Africa to Japan, we learn in another chapter about the challenges for adults to pursue LLL. The author argues how a combination of educational policies and flat economic conditions has stymied HE access for adults in Japan but sees encouragement with online classes. We also get a preview of how LLL fairs in China, where roiling development has made older learners (defined in this chapter as above 60) very receptive to LLL. The final chapter is an enlightening look at how a long tradition of adult education can wither in an odd Disneyesque mix of capital and idealism as Yangpu strives to model itself on Silicon Valley.
Although insightful in many areas, this collection of responses would benefit by being more culturally inclusive. There is no mention of HEIs in the United States, where there are many challenges to LLL. In addition, with demographics changing globally, it would benefit the reader to know at what age students are termed adult learners. Is it over 60 years of age, as referenced in chapter 6? Or would a much lower age, say over 25, be more accurate? Also lacking is a discussion on how adult learners actually adapt to the demands of curricula designed for full-time students and how HE could respond to these learners who juggle responsibilities of family and jobs with reduced time.