Fundació Jaume BofillUniversitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)

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We are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Debats d’Educació by giving the educational community the opportunity to air its views

Lifelong learning: who and what for?

What does lifelong education mean in the knowledge society? How can equality of opportunity be guaranteed in this process? How can a response be made to learning needs linked with life trajectories, not just professional trajectories? How should the learning that is acquired in the non-formal sector be recognized? How can individual commitment to one’s learning process be developed?

In our society, learning plays such an important role in economic and social activity as a whole, that not only would it be inappropriate to try and restrict people’s need for learning to a particular stage of their lives, but it would also be presumptuous to believe that this process, one that is necessarily sustained throughout the life cycle, can be restricted to the formal education system. New settings for learning are gaining importance in people’s day-to-day lives. The current configuration of this ecology of learning demands co-responsibility and commitment on the part of the different educational players involved therein. In this purpose, educational policies are called for that view learning as a process that takes place throughout the length, but also the breadth of one’s life (lifewide and lifelong learning), and which go beyond the traditional concept of retraining in the professional sphere to consider development in the other dimensions that make up people's life trajectory.

At all events, in Catalonia the signs are that this remains a considerable challenge: less than 10% of the population involve themselves in this type of learning, and most of those who do are graduates. Therefore, in its current form, this model of learning does not tend to redress educational inequalities and, on the other hand, it offers more opportunities to people who already have more educational capital.


 
 

The 3 things they have learned...

Michael Osborne Michael Osborne
Michael Osborne is Professor of Adult and Lifelong...
  • 1Will MOOCs realise unmet ambitions of lifelong learning protagonists?
  • 2Will LLL bring economic benefit for future generations?
  • 3Are cities in Europe falling behind those of Asia as Lifelong Learning places?
Margarida Massot Margarida Massot
Lecturer in the Faculty of Education Sciences at the...
  • 1Lifelong learning, a silent and constant struggle
  • 2The profession of teacher or setting yourself high demands
  • 3The challenges: if everything remains to be done... then is everything possible?
Joan Manuel del Pozo Joan Manuel del Pozo
Professor of Philosophy at the University of Girona
  • 1ALL LIFE LONG, NOT ONLY DURING YOUR WORKING LIFE
  • 2THE HUMAN BRAIN, CAPACITY FOR IMPROVEMENT WITH THE EVER PRESENT GOAL OF A FULFILLED LIFE
  • 3LEARNING THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH, BUT ABOVE ALL “THE BREADTH” OF LIFE
Josep Miquel Piqué Josep Miquel Piqué
President of XPCAT (Catalan Network of Science and...
  • 1LIFE AS WE LEARN
  • 2RELATIONAL CAPITAL – CONVERSATIONAL CAPITAL
  • 3HYBRIDIZE TO INNOVATE
Montse Blanes Montse Blanes
Director of the Vocational Training and Enterprise...
  • 1Vocational training promotes lifelong learning
  • 2Orientation plays a key role in the development of vocational training
  • 3Vocational training facilitates broad rather than linear pathways
Carles Sigalés Conde Carles Sigalés Conde
Director of Psychology and Education Sciences Studies...
  • 1In the knowledge society, all citizens need lifelong learning
  • 2ICT will play an all-important role in extending lifelong learning
  • 3Lifelong learning questions the rigidity and impermeability of educational institutions